BellingcatA strike on Jabalia Refugee Camp north of Gaza City killed dozens on Tuesday, as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continued advancing into the Gaza Strip https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2023/10/31/confirming-a-strike-on-jabalia-refugee-camp-as-israeli-forces-approach-gaza-city/?utm_source=mastodon
The IDF sent ground troops into Gaza on October 27, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Satellite imagery shows the IDF have entered the territory in several places along its northern border, and southeast of Gaza City.
Both humanitarian and medical organisations working in Gaza have outlined that it is not possible for all civilians in northern Gaza to evacuate south, as Israel has repeatedly ordered them to do.
This afternoon, at 2:30pm local time, reports of an airstrike hitting Jabalia Refugee Camp in the northern Gaza Strip emerged. The airstrike appears to have been caught on a Reuters livestream at approximately 2:24pm.
By using a technique called intersection, where known points in a view are aligned, we can identify that this explosion matches exactly with the location of the impacts at Jabalia.
Videos and images have also appeared in various Telegram channels showing widespread destruction at a location that Bellingcat was able to geolocate to the following coordinates in Jabalia: 31.53271, 34.49815
The IDF has confirmed an airstrike was carried out on Jabalia. “The strike damaged Hamas’s command and control in the area, as well as its ability to direct military activity against IDF soldiers operating throughout the Gaza Strip,” the army said in a statement.
The Jabalia Refugee Camp has been hit by multiple airstrikes in the past month, resulting in scores of casualties. An October 9 airstrike killed 60, an October 19 airstrike killed 18, and an October 22 airstrike killed 30.
Separately, on Monday a video was posted by Youssef Al Saifi, a Palestinian journalist showing an IDF tank firing upon a station wagon on Salah al-Din road.
Salah al-Din had previously been identified by the IDF as a safe evacuation route for civilians within Gaza City. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/14/gaza-civilians-afraid-to-leave-home-after-bombing-of-safe-routes
The location of the footage was geolocated by Benjamin den Braber to 31.470545, 34.432676 and independently confirmed by Bellingcat. The IDF Press Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about this incident.
Additionaly, satellite imagery taken on October 30 reveals more than 50 armoured military vehicles and extensive demolition and fortification work in the Al-Karama area.
Satellite imagery shows evidence of IDF vehicles and troops movements both north and south of Gaza City. Visible tracks are evident in multiple locations, in this image with Beit Hanoun present on the left side.
Find all of the satellite images and analysis from Bellingcat in the full article here:
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2023/10/31/confirming-a-strike-on-jabalia-refugee-camp-as-israeli-forces-approach-gaza-city/?utm_source=mastodon
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2023/10/31/confirming-a-strike-on-jabalia-refugee-camp-as-israeli-forces-approach-gaza-city/?utm_source=mastodon
The Bellingcat team will continue to monitor the latest war in Israel-Palestine,with the aim of documenting civilian harm.
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Kevin Karhan 
@Bellingcat shure it ain't Hamas Rockets?
Paul Jacobson@Bellingcat
Are you able to independently verify the casualty figures that the Hamas health authority reports, and differentiate the casualties between those caused by errant rocket fire from terrorists and those resulting from IDF actions?
Are you able to independently verify the casualty figures that the Hamas health authority reports, and differentiate the casualties between those caused by errant rocket fire from terrorists and those resulting from IDF actions?
Coach Pāṇini ®I think we’d agree that no right-thinking human being of #faith would send a rocket into a refugeee camp, anywhere.
@paninid @Bellingcat
And what would you say about the terrorists who intentionally locate their tunnels and military infrastructure under those refugee camps, hospitals and other civilian locations specifically because they want to use those civilian facilities as a shield?
And what would you say about the terrorists who intentionally locate their tunnels and military infrastructure under those refugee camps, hospitals and other civilian locations specifically because they want to use those civilian facilities as a shield?
@paul @Bellingcat
I say that the first and closest victims of Hamas are the Palestinian people, then their neighbors.
I think that history doesn’t repeat, but it does rhyme.
Mahatma Gandhi and Yitzhak Rabin were assassinated by ideologues for similar reasons and partition, religion, and ethnic differences over territory shared for millennia carries forward challenges.
I think we choose to ignore lessons and that hurt people hurt people.
@paninid There's a practical challenge here. If Israel doesn't remove Hamas' ability to continue operating in Gaza, the Palestinians in Gaza will continue to be used as shields for this and other terrorist organizations in Gaza.
To add to that, Israel will continue to be attacked by these terrorist groups and could face an attack that is worse than the one they launched on the 7th of October.
Eradicating Hamas (as much as possible) is in both the Palestinians’ and Israelis’ interests.
@paul
Is there a lot of available evidence that defeating radicalized terrorists by violence achieves a sustainable peace? Does killing gangmembers make Chicago safer?
From what I understand, some factions of Israel want to eradicate Palestinians and some factions of Arabs want to eradicate Israel.
“neither are leaving the land, and that they have to find a way toward shared co-existence”
@paninid Thankfully those Israeli factions don't represent the majority of Israelis who just want to live in peace with our neighbours. Unfortunately those extremists have outsized support in o9ur current government. I'm hopeful that this government won't survive long after this war.
As for the risk of radicalizing more people, we have to take that risk. We have to make it clear that attacking us like this will have devastating consequences for the attackers so they don't try this again.
@paul
Traumatized children with experiences during formative years do not forget them easily.
Family with nothing to lose become even more radicalized, like YouTube recommendations, but with explosions.
Hurt people hurt people.
@paninid You're forgetting how the educational system in Gaza teaches their kids to hate Israelis, and indoctrinates them.
What do you suggest as a solution? To badly paraphrase a quote attributed to Golda Meir: “If Hamas lays down its arms, we will have peace. If Israel lays down its arms, Israel will be destroyed”.
Hamas' attacks on 7 October are a clear demonstration of what they will do if we stop fighting. They are not interested in negotiation. Only to kill Jews.
@paul
It’s been like this since 1967, I imagine, yes?
The easy solution is the one that the faction with bloodlust cannot accept and Rabin paid for it with his life.
@paninid Oh, no, this goes way way back.
@paul
I don’t disagree. It’s a couple thousand year old story, at least: https://sampathpanini.medium.com/two-millennia-of-nuance-94b2e09f9a24
I don’t disagree. It’s a couple thousand year old story, at least: https://sampathpanini.medium.com/two-millennia-of-nuance-94b2e09f9a24
@paninid It's not a good option. There aren't any good options in this conflict. All the choices are difficult, and will lead to more devastation. That includes a ceasefire that would be the most devastating option for everyone except the terrorists.