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<ul><li>India had on April 7 sent to Israel medical equipment and five tonnes of medicines, including hydroxychloroquine, which was earlier dubbed as a game changer in the fight against coronavirus. </li><li>Israeli Prime Minister <keyword id="6358722" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="benjamin-netanyahu">Benjamin Netanyahu</keyword> had reached out to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi with a special request for the supplies. </li><li>A special flight carrying researchers, defence experts and advanced medical equipment from Israel landed India on Monday. </li></ul>Pitching for further strengthening of relations, Israel on Monday said the supply of advanced medical equipment to India was the reciprocation of the help extended to it by the South Asian country to tackle the coronavirus crisis. India had on April 7 sent to Israel medical equipment and five tonnes of medicines, including hydroxychloroquine, which was earlier dubbed as a game changer in the fight against coronavirus. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had reached out to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi with a special request for the supplies. A special flight carrying researchers, defence experts and advanced medical equipment from Israel landed India on Monday. The Israeli team will join hands with researchers in India to develop a rapid testing solution for COVID-19. Reacting to it, Deputy Director General for <keyword id="21718" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Asia">Asia</keyword> and the Pacific at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, <keyword id="9417595" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="gilad-cohen">Gilad Cohen</keyword>, wrote in a blog for Times of Israel that the unprecedented global pandemic has provided an opportunity for both countries to "assist each and further enhance their relations". "Israel's exceptional gesture today was a welcome 'thank you' to India, which, just a few months ago, sent medicines and other essential diagnostic equipment," Cohen wrote, adding that his country "went out of its way" to approve the export and transfer of sophisticated ventilators to India. "In this way, Israel and India successfully transformed this unprecedented global pandemic into an opportunity to assist one another and further enhance their relations," he asserted. Pointing out the improvement in the Indo-Israel relations over the past several years, the diplomat said it's hard to believe that just three decades ago, Indian passports were valid "for every country except Israel". Cohen in his blog also highlighted the growth in the bilateral trade, which was just US dollar 200 million in 1992, when the diplomatic relations were established between both countries. Cohen also hailed the leadership of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the country is emerging as a regional and global power under him. "Under the leadership of Narendra Modi, India is assuming its role as a regional and world power and our diplomacy has succeeded in showing India the many advantages that can come from strengthening its ties with Israel", Cohen said. "The Foreign Ministry is determined to continue cultivating its ties with the second largest country in the world to ensure that our relations with India continue to thrive into the future", he concluded. The Israeli team, comprising 20 experts from various fields, will help development diagnostic technologies. It is being led by Israel's Ambassador to India Ron Malka and Defence Attache Col Assaf Meller. The team also includes Prof Nati Keller, an infectious diseases specialist from Sheba Medical Center; and Itai Gordon, head of the Innovation Department at the Israel's Ministry of Health. The delegation includes engineers and other professionals from the companies involved in the development of various diagnostic solutions. "What they all have in common is the ability to detect the presence of the virus in the body quickly--usually within minutes," a statement from the Israeli Defence Ministry said on Thursday. "Developing diagnostic capabilities is a goal for the State of Israel and of many additional countries around the world. It is the most effective way to cut off chains of infection, prevent prolonged quarantine and enable the reopening of the global economy," it said. On Friday, Israel's Alternate Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Benny Gantz, had talked to <keyword id="32733" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Defence">Indian Defence</keyword> Minister Rajnath Singh, expressing hope that the strong bilateral ties between the two countries will contribute significantly to the global efforts in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. "I was glad to speak this morning (Friday) with Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh about the excellent defence cooperation enjoyed by our two countries and our shared aspirations for stability and calm in our regions", Gantz told . "I told him that I welcome the promotion of bilateral partnership, even in the midst of the coronavirus crisis, and that I am sure that the Israeli delegation arriving in India next week will contribute significantly to global efforts to combat it," he had said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/coovid-vaccine-from-oxford-serum-institute-and-astrazeneca-shows-promising-immune-response/articleshow/77069321.cms">The COVID-19 vaccine from Oxford and AstraZeneca shows 'promising' results in early human trials</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/dil-bechara-kissing-booth-2-and-other-movies-you-can-watch-on-netflix-amazon-prime-disneyhotstar-this-week/slidelist/77142498.cms">Dil Bechara, Kissing Booth 2 and other movies you can watch on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+Hotstar this week</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/work-from-home-effect-these-companies-are-shelling-out-for-employees-power-bills-internet-cost-and-more/articleshow/77139229.cms">WFH effect – These companies are paying for employees' power bills, internet cost and more</a>

Israel is returning India's earlier favour with fresh supply of medical equipment

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Some are likening Saturday's attack on Israel by Hamas to the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US.</li><li>The scale of the attacks — from land, sea, and air — is unlike anything Israel has faced before.</li></ul>Reut Aisenberg woke with a start on Saturday morning to the sound of air raid sirens slicing through the otherwise tranquil Tel Aviv air.At about 6 a.m., Aisenberg, 36, scrambled into the reinforced concrete safe room inside the flat she shares with her 40-year-old husband and their two young children. Together, in their pajamas, they huddled in the darkness as the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-israeli-soldiers-gun-battle-hamas-gaza-war-day-2-2023-10">first of thousands of missiles</a> rained down over their city, the opening act of a brazen <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-hamas-2023-10">strike by Hamas</a> that some in Israel are calling the country's "9/11 moment."It was far from how the family thought the day would unfold, having planned to mark the annual Simchat Torah holiday at a local park.The timing of the attack on Saturday morning "was a shock," Aisenberg told Insider on Sunday night from her home. "No one saw it coming," she said, adding: "This is going to be a trauma that Israel is going to carry with it from now until the end of time.""It's a very small country and everybody knows someone who is either in the military or someone who lives in one of those communities that were hijacked by terrorists," Aisenberg said.Within Israel's borders, where the clash has already <a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-rockets-airstrikes-tel-aviv-ca7903976387cfc1e1011ce9ea805a71">claimed more than 700 lives</a>, people have begun drawing parallels between the onslaught and the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.Multiple Israelis spoke to Insider throughout the weekend about what they'd witnessed and the attack's impact, which they say will long burn in their nation's collective memory.<h2>'You have rockets raining from the sky'</h2>Like 9/11, which changed the United States and its identity for years to come — remaking its national security and intelligence-gathering apparatus, triggering a protracted military campaign in the Middle East, and fueling a sense of patriotism unseen in years — Aisenberg and others agreed that the events of the past 48 hours would also fundamentally reshape Israel from cultural, security, and political perspectives.Despite the long-term ramifications, for now, Aisenberg is just hoping to ride out the conflict wherever it leads. She feels relatively secure in Tel Aviv since the sirens typically provide about 60 seconds' worth of warning before the impact of incoming missiles from Gaza.Compared to the 15 seconds she previously had while serving as a member of the Israeli armed forces in Sderot, a city close to the Gaza border, a full minute feels like a relative luxury — ample time to seek shelter in a stairwell or another location before an explosion.With 15 seconds, the only option is to run into someone's house if the door is open, she said, or lay on the ground and "pray to God" that you don't die."I'm not freaking out. I'm still in control," Aisenberg said. "I can make decisions, I can function. But clearly, it's not easy. You have rockets raining from the sky."Although Israelis are both "shocked" and "very sad," she said they are resolved not to give in. "We are going to win this."<h2>Historical parallels</h2>Israel is not a country unaccustomed to violent clashes with its neighbors.But the scale of these attacks — which saw Hamas fighters take hostages back over the Gaza border and mount offensives across the land, sea, and air from <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-israel-hamas-gaza-paragliders-music-festival-2023-10">motorized paragliders</a> — are of a different magnitude than the country has witnessed before."This is Israel's 9/11," Ian Bremmer, a political scientist and founder of the Eurasia Group, a risk research and consulting firm, <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/ianbremmer/status/1710684352630120654?s=20">wrote on X</a>, the platform formerly known as Twitter. But, by the sheer volume of casualties, he said, the stakes for Israel are even higher.Several other posts on the social networking site also likened the attacks to 9/11 or Pearl Harbor, the Japanese attack on an American naval base in Hawaii that drew the United States into the Second World War in 1941.Jessica Cohen, a 25-year-old American from Long Island, New York, who has called Israel home for the past seven years, was just 3 years old on 9/11 but still remembers how "distraught" her family was that day."I can imagine," she told Insider by phone from her home, about 20 minutes south of Tel Aviv, that this attack on Israel is very much "that same nightmare, that same fear — but 10 times worse."Hamas leaders have claimed their incursion was a response to Israeli escalations against Palestinians, including the "desecration" of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-commander-says-attacks-are-in-defense-of-al-aqsa-claims-5000-missiles-fired/">Al-Aqsa Mosque</a> in Jerusalem. Tensions have been exacerbated between Israelis and Palestinians this year as the right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has supported an increase in the number of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/29/world/middleeast/israel-west-bank-settlements-expansion.html">Jewish settlements</a> in the West Bank.Security experts have said Israel quietly let down its guard amid rising unrest, political infighting, and pushback against Netanyahu's government.Some have speculated that Hamas sought to exploit the breach to jettison <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/significance-hamas-chose-attack-israel-now-rcna119351">diplomatic efforts</a> between Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the US that might have resulted in Riyadh extending diplomatic recognition to Israel. Iran, too, appears to have been eager to take advantage of the instability. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/iran-israel-hamas-strike-planning-bbe07b25">The Wall Street Journal reported</a> Sunday that Tehran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had coordinated the strike with Hamas since August.As was the case with the United States after that attack 22 years ago — which led to a prolonged military campaign in Afghanistan — Israel is already mounting a widespread retaliatory effort called Operation Swords of Iron. Netanyahu has vowed to exact "an <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/netanyahu-israel-response-hamas-attack-devastating-for-gaza-2023-10">unprecedented price</a>" and a response "on a scale and intensity that the enemy has so far not experienced."Israeli jets have <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHEBb9YBHZ4">struck buildings in Gaza</a>, while ground forces have <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/video/watch-israeli-military-tanks-seen-near-gaza-border/E080D91F-3EFC-4868-BE7B-93BCD14E1BEF.html">mobilized heavy artillery</a> like tanks and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.idf.il/en/mini-sites/swords-of-iron/real-time-updates-07-10/">engaged in skirmishes</a> with Hamas fighters. US officials have reportedly predicted that a mass <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/israel-formally-declares-war-on-hamas-seeks-full-control-gaza-2023-10">ground invasion</a> is imminent, and more than 400 Palestinians have already died, according to the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/israel-hamas-gaza-rockets-attack-palestinians">Palestinian Health Ministry</a>.Kenneth Quinn, a 57-year-old American high school English teacher who's lived in Israel for more than three decades, drew other comparisons between this conflict and 9/11 — mainly because both national tragedies claimed high numbers of civilian lives."It had never happened in New York," he explained by phone from Israel. "Something like this had never happened here. In those two ways, it's similar."Up and down the country, Israelis were angered by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-the-hamas-attacks-have-trashed-israels-reputation-for-spying-2023-10">the lapses that enabled Hamas</a> to evade the eyes of Jerusalem's military and intelligence services, Quinn added, calling the failures "incomprehensible." He predicted they could ultimately spell ruin for the political fortunes of the country's deeply divided coalition government.<h2>Loved ones lost</h2>Some Israelis who spoke to Insider worried that the country might not have expelled all of the Hamas fighters that crossed over from Gaza, which could lead to further violence. Those fears may have been magnified by the unrest in communities near the border region just hours after the attack got underway.There, close to the Gaza border, Aisenberg's mother- and father-in-law spent much of Saturday afternoon hiding in their home as Hamas fighters infiltrated their small town and wreaked havoc. Aisenberg said they would relocate to her sister-in-law's house by way of special armored transports she believed local officials were organizing.In the central city of Be'er Sheva, Quinn said he'd spent part of Sunday at Soroka Hospital, where wounded Israelis were receiving medical attention. He recounted meeting a woman who had attended the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/israelis-palestinian-militants-invaded-fled-desert-festival-2023-10">Tribe of Nova</a> festival, where hundreds descended on a site near the Gaza border to revel in a night of music and dance.The woman — a single mother of several children who did not attend the festival — sustained multiple gunshot wounds after Hamas fighters transformed the event into an early staging ground for their campaign, claiming more than 250 casualties and seizing numerous hostages, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/music-festival-revelers-israeli-desert-became-victims-hamas-militants-rcna119394">media reports</a>.At the hospital, the woman told Quinn that she was separated from her friend during the chaos and had spent hours lying on the ground, pretending to be dead in a bid to survive. She was later discovered alive and is expected to recover from her injuries.One of Quinn's former colleagues, a high school teacher who taught physics, also attended the same festival, he came to find out. Unlike the woman who was taken to the hospital, however, the teacher is unaccounted for and, as of Sunday evening, Quinn said it was unclear whether he had been killed or taken hostage.Cohen, the American woman living south of Tel Aviv, is facing a nightmare of her own: She and her husband, Gilad Peretz, have been unsuccessfully trying to track down Peretz's 51-year-old father, Mark, who disappeared Saturday morning after racing to pick up his daughter from the music festival.While his daughter survived, Mark's whereabouts remain a mystery, Cohen and her husband told Insider. They believe his cellphone is dead, and they say they spotted his white Audi A4 sedan on a newscast not far from where he vanished after the fighting broke out.<h2>'We cannot afford to be divided'</h2>As the fighting continues, Aisenberg said Israelis are determined to prevail against Hamas and <a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/lebanon-israel-chebaa-farms-gaza-rocket-attack-cd7b26f890bf4cae32491721506ec0a1">Hezbollah</a>. The second militant group began to provoke additional violence along the northern border that Israel shares with Lebanon following the attacks from Gaza.Though officially founded after the conclusion of World War II, Israel has faced "so many terrible wars" from "biblical times" through the Holocaust to more recent clashes, Aisenberg said. She hopes that this one will unite the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hamas-surprise-attack-israel-palestine-not-shock--netanyahu-critics-2023-10">international community</a> behind the embattled Jewish state — but, given its many adversaries on the world stage, it's unclear whether that hope will be realized."I hope this is going to be an incentive for everybody to come together," she said. "We cannot afford to be divided."At the very least, whether or not her sentiments extend to Israel's allies or her country, whose political organs are racked by painful schisms, Aisenberg and her family are vowing to stick together. As a professional tour guide, her job is to introduce visitors to Israel's ancient sites, but there's little need to give tours during a war. Instead, she'll spend the coming days with her children and her husband, a software engineer who works from home.Together, they're ready to ride out whatever comes. And they'll wait with bated breath, just a few steps from their safe room, until the inevitable din of air raid sirens rings out again.Are you affected by the crisis in Israel and Gaza, or do you know someone who is and is willing to share their story? Reed Alexander can be reached via email at <a target="_blank" href="mailto:ralexander@insider.com">ralexander@insider.com</a> or SMS/the encrypted app Signal at +1 561 247 5758.

'This is Israel's 9/11': Why Israelis say Hamas' unprecedented assault will change their country forever

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Former <keyword id="6355311" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="japan" source="Orion">Japan</keyword> Prime Minister <keyword id="12446420" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="shinzo-abe" source="Orion">Shinzo Abe</keyword> was shot and killed on Friday.</li><li>Abe's death shocked world leaders, who described the former PM as an outstanding leader.</li></ul>Shinzo Abe, the former prime minister of Japan, was killed on Friday, officials confirmed.Abe, 67, was shot at 11:30 a.m. local time while giving a campaign speech in western Japan, <a href="https://nordot.app/918008875698700288">according to Kyodo News</a>. Abe, who was airlifted to a hospital in the city, was said to be <a href="https://t.co/oT7329sEpI">"unconscious and unresponsive."</a> He was <a href="https://nordot.app/918069532928016384">pronounced</a> dead at 5:03 p.m.A 41-year-old man was arrested at the scene in relation to the incident, <a href="http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220708_31/">per NHK.</a>Abe's shooting and subsequent death shocked former and current political leaders around the world. Abe, Japan's longest-serving prime minister, spent nine years <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/09/30/shinzo-abe-fumio-kishida/">in office</a> before resigning in 2020, citing health reasons.Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said <a href="https://twitter.com/kishida230/status/1545384415513440256">in a series of tweets</a> that Japan has "lost in a most tragic way a great leader who loved this country and was always looking one step ahead, working tirelessly for a better future for Japan."Kishida called Abe "a close friend" and an "outstanding leader.""His steady hand guided our nation through a number of severe internal and external crises," he said. US President Joe Biden <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/shinzo-abe-former-japanese-prime-minister-assassination-biden-outraged-2022-7">condemned the assassination of Abe</a>, saying that he is "stunned, outraged, and deeply saddened" by his death."This is a tragedy for Japan and for all who knew him," Biden said in a statement. Former President Barack Obama, under whom Biden served as vice president, said <a href="https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/1545388676242456576">in a statement on Twitter</a> that he is "shocked and saddened by the assassination of my friend and longtime partner Shinzo Abe in Japan."Former President Donald Trump said he was "devastated" by the attempt on Abe's life before the <keyword id="11893589" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="news" source="Orion">news</keyword> broke that Abe died.Trump had previously lauded Abe as<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-politics-abe-trump-pm/trump-told-abe-he-was-japans-greatest-prime-minister-white-house-says-idUSKBN25R0C2"> "the greatest prime minister in Japan's history."</a>"Absolutely devastating news that former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, a truly great man and leader, has been shot, and is in very serious condition. He was a true friend of mine and, much more importantly, America. This is a tremendous blow to the wonderful people of Japan, who loved and admired him so much. We are all praying for Shinzo and his beautiful family!" <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/108609898741678524">Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.</a>Former President George W. Bush denounced the "senseless assassination" of Abe. "Shinzo Abe was a patriot of his country who wanted to continue serving it," Bush said in a statement. Australian Prime Minister <a href="https://twitter.com/AlboMP/status/1545263750818988032">Anthony Albanese wrote in a post on Twitter</a> that he was shocked that Abe was shot. "Our thoughts are with his family and the people of Japan at this time," he wrote.US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel praised Abe for being "an unwavering ally" of the US. "We are all saddened and shocked by the shooting of former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo. Abe-san has been an outstanding leader of Japan and unwavering ally of the United States. The U.S. Government and American people are praying for the well-being of Abe-san, his family, and people of Japan," Emanuel told Insider in a statement.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said his thoughts were with Abe's family and the Japanese people."I do have to say before we meet how deeply saddened and concerned we are by the news coming from Japan about the attempt on the life of Prime Minister Abe," <a href="https://www.cnn.com/asia/live-news/shinzo-abe-japan-pm-collapses-nara-07-08-22-intl-hnk#h_60eac2b66feceaad82bcecf29c87b911">Blinken said at the G20 foreign ministers meeting in Bali.</a> "This is a very, very sad moment and we are awaiting news," he added.Israeli Ambassador to Japan Gilad Cohen commemorated Abe's commitment to building diplomacy between their nations. "I am surprised at the shocking incident that occurred in Nara," <a href="https://twitter.com/GiladCohen_/status/1545257666762575872">Cohen wrote in Japanese on Twitter.</a>"One of Japan's leading leaders, Abe, was the driving force behind the building of today's friendly relations between Israel and Japan, and the strong bond between the two countries would not have been possible without his presence. I pray for your safety from the bottom of my heart," Cohen continued.Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister of New Zealand, said her thoughts were with Abe's wife and the Japanese public."So deeply shocked to hear about the past PM of Japan-Shinzo Abe. He was one of the first leaders I met when I became PM. He was deeply committed to his role but also generous &amp; kind. My thoughts are with his wife and the people of Japan. Events like this shake us all to the core," <a href="https://twitter.com/jacindaardern/status/1545293424030466049">Ardern wrote on Twitter.</a>British Prime Minister <a href="https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson/status/1545287087716548608">Boris Johnson tweeted</a> that he was appalled by the shooting. "My thoughts are with his family and loved ones," Johnson added.Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen condemned the attack on Abe, describing him as a "good friend" of Taiwan."I believe everyone is as surprised and sad as I am. Taiwan and Japan are both democratic countries with rule of law," <a href="https://www.facebook.com/tsaiingwen/posts/pfbid02UbLhu8gTr4x8RRA1S1AdYQsFy7gfvtmE8FGSDCuN9sTiYcApdy5W2Wam6S5pzhNzl?__cft__[0]=AZVmlBVt-bfY0MQIudbY_ZCTpnrOuuzlkrEZV_cd6gCo5b3Uw9m6yYpCmu-5-0hp2WsCUg6rkQ7dem-5GpJU964p4-PJWpu3_q6uOYa5fF0fwhGjrFbu_ZS-moO9MfJxE5kexa1fhuusT82nKhJ4D5hLXt3CKv_LIHtF78u43pczPwXRMGHLatojhlZfZuiha34&amp;__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R">she wrote in Mandarin in a Facebook post.</a>"Former Prime Minister Abe is not only a good friend of mine, but also a staunch friend of Taiwan's. He has supported Taiwan for many years and spared no effort to promote the progress of Taiwan-Japan relations," Tsai added.Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, wrote on Twitter that she's praying for Abe's family. "Dear @AbeShinzo, stay strong! Our thoughts and prayers are with your family and the people of Japan," <a href="https://twitter.com/vonderleyen/status/1545291518575087617">von der Leyen wrote</a>. Singaporean Prime Minister <a href="https://www.facebook.com/100044284156667/posts/pfbid02UbtNp9TLVE44n2QSiS8GtWqxyKbM7CKgHRYkw2jX7VaAUXeTxtPayhS7xLRaZEsMl/?d=n&amp;mibextid=u5mUxV">Lee Hsien Loong wrote in a Facebook post</a> that the attack was a "senseless act of violence" and that he was "deeply shocked.""Mr Abe is in critical condition and doctors are working to save him. Mr Abe is a good friend of Singapore. I had just hosted him to lunch in May, on my visit to Tokyo. My thoughts and prayers are with Mr Abe and his family," Lee added.Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson at the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said before Abe died that the Chinese government wishes for his recovery."We are following the development of the situation and hope that former Prime Minister Abe will get out of danger and recover soon," <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/reaction-shooting-japans-former-pm-abe-2022-07-08/">Zhao said at a regular briefing, according to Reuters.</a>Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez condemned the attack and added that his country stands in solidarity with Japan."Shocked by the shooting of the former Prime Minister of Japan, @AbeShinzo," <a href="https://twitter.com/sanchezcastejon/status/1545309294047920128">Sanchez tweeted in Spanish.</a>"Our best wishes to him and his family and our resounding condemnation of this cowardly attack. Spain stands in solidarity with the Japanese people in these difficult times."French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron described the attack on Abe as "heinous." "Our thoughts are with the family and friends of a great Prime Minister," <a href="https://twitter.com/EmmanuelMacron/status/1545310303621193728">Macron wrote in Twitter post in French.</a> "France stands by the Japanese people."South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's office acknowledged Abe's shooting but had declined to comment before the Japanese government released updates on Abe's condition, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/07/08/world/japan-shinzo-abe-shooting/ad7d0da6-bf2e-5685-a168-5ab0b6aa3674?smid=url-share">according to The New York Times.</a>

Political leaders react to the shooting and death of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="159857" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Chinese-embassy">Chinese Embassy</keyword> in Japan tweeted an image of the grim reaper wielding a scythe with an Israeli flag on it.</li><li>The meme is popular with prominent Holocaust deniers.</li><li>The embassy deleted the tweet after requests from two Israeli politicians, The Jerusalem Post said.</li></ul>The Chinese Embassy in Japan tweeted and then deleted an antisemitic and anti-US meme after Israeli officials reached out, according to <a href="https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/chinese-embassy-tweets-and-deletes-antisemitic-cartoon-666973">The Jerusalem Post.</a>The tweet, posted on Thursday night, featured a cartoon image of a grim reaper wearing an American flag. The reaper appeared to be knocking on a door labeled 'Egypt' and to have left a trail of blood behind. The other doors in the image are labeled Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Libya, and Syria.On the reaper's scythe was an Israeli flag with a Jewish Star of David centered. "If the United States brought 'democracy,' it would be like this," the caption read in Japanese.The cartoon has been featured on several extremist websites and is popular with white supremacists and Holocaust deniers, the Jewish journal <a href="https://www.algemeiner.com/2020/05/26/white-supremacist-origin-of-antisemitic-anti-us-cartoon-promoted-by-chinese-embassy-in-paris-exposed/">Algemeiner</a> reported.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/henry-kissenger-interview-politics-after-pandemic-china-europe-2021-4">INTERVIEW: Henry Kissinger on the political consequences of the pandemic, China's rise, and the future of the European Union</a>On social media, people criticized the "antisemitic" post.But it was only deleted after interventions from high-profile Israeli politicians.Israel's ambassador to Japan, Yaffa Ben-Ari, contacted his Chinese counterpart to point out that the image is offensive, The Jerusalem Post reported. The Chinese ambassador replied that he was unaware that Israel was featured in the image, the paper said.Israel's Foreign Ministry Deputy Director-General for Asia and the Pacific, Gilad Cohen, also contacted the embassy to complain.The tweet was deleted within the hour, The Jerusalem Post said.The same image was posted by the Chinese Embassy in Paris last year, the Algemeiner reported.It has also been featured on the websites of high-profile Holocaust deniers, according to French monitoring organization <a href="https://twitter.com/conspiration/status/1264662135805816834">Conspiracy Watch</a>.The Chinese Embassy in Japan has not publicly addressed the tweet. It did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Chinese embassy deletes tweet of an antisemitic meme popular with Holocaust deniers and white supremacists

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The start of May has seen a string of violent clashes, arrests, and killings in <keyword id="6355227" type="LOCATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="jerusalem">Jerusalem</keyword> and the <keyword id="82362" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="West-Bank">West Bank</keyword>.</li><li>The situation is set to get worse. Significant dates in the coming week signal further violence.</li><li>An upcoming court verdict about Palestinian property evictions is already causing chaos.</li></ul>After a week of violent and sometimes deadly clashes between Jewish settlers, the Israeli military, and <keyword id="6385649" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="palestinians">Palestinians</keyword> in the occupied West Bank, tensions and enmity are boiling over.But the situation is only set to worsen, with several historically significant but politically sensitive dates forecast to add fuel to fuel the fire.The advent of Jerusalem Day, Nakba Day, and the end of Ramadan - all taking place in the coming days - has prompted the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to bolster troop deployments in anticipation of further violence, <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-bolsters-troops-amid-fears-of-escalation-with-jerusalem-gaza-tensions/">The Times of Israel</a> said.And an upcoming Supreme Court hearing on Monday regarding the eviction of Palestinian families in East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood threatens to exacerbate the tensions and add to the worst turmoil the region has seen in years.<h2>Tensions have been rising during Ramadan</h2>The Islamic month of Ramadan has been fraught with conflict in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. Violent clashes in the city have become a nightly occurrence during the holy period, the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-strip-middle-east-religion-jerusalem-e37ec6fe6f28f254cd617e9b4a206d3e">Associated Press</a> reported in April.The placement of barricades outside the Damascus Gate entrance to Jerusalem's Old City - a popular nightly gathering point with local Palestinians after the end of the Ramadan fast - resulted in a confrontation with Israeli police and more than 100 Palestinian injuries on April 22, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/israel-retaliates-against-gaza-rocket-fire-after-jerusalem-riots-2021-4">Insider reported</a>.<div type="image" title="Israeli security forces outside the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City" height="4868" width="6490" msid="82495931" hostid="261"></div>On the same night, Israeli police blocked supporters of a far-right Jewish group, Lehava, as they marched through the Jerusalem streets towards the Damascus Gate. Some of the followers of the group chanted "death to Arabs," <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/23/middleeast/jerusalem-clashes-injured-intl/index.html">CNN</a> said.In other incidents, <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-two-palestinian-teens-arrested-in-jerusalem-assault-of-haredi-man-shared-on-tiktok-1.9729592">Palestinians filmed TikTok videos</a>. They attacked ultra-Orthodox Jews, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/23/world/middleeast/israelis-palestinians-clash-jerusalem-old-city.html">Jewish youths attempted to set fire to a Palestinian family's home</a>, and a video emerged of an Israeli motorist being beaten by a Palestinian mob before his car was set ablaze.After the riots, Palestinian militants in Gaza shot rockets into <keyword id="6355882" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="israel">Israel</keyword>. Israel retaliated by launching strikes on Hamas targets there, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/israel-retaliates-against-gaza-rocket-fire-after-jerusalem-riots-2021-4">Insider</a> reported.The chaos in the Palestinian territories coincides with increased violent attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians.Settler violence in the occupied West Bank has risen markedly in recent months, according to a report by the <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26991&amp;LangID=EID=E">United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs</a> (OCHA). In the first three months of 2021, the OCHA recorded more than 210 incidents of settler violence in the territory. One of the authors of the report, Michael Lynk, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, spoke to Insider about the motivations behind the attacks."There's a very entrenched belief that's probably shared by most settlers that this land is theirs that it has been historically and biblically granted to them," Lynk told Insider. "Therefore, what they are carrying out is righteous violence in the name of both religion and nationalism."<h2>A week of violence - the timeline</h2>The start of May has seen a string of violent clashes, arrests, and killings. Below is a comprehensive - but not exhaustive - list of recent events.<ul><li>On May 2, an Israeli soldier shot a 60-year-old Palestinian woman who tried to carry out a knife attack, the Israeli military said. She later died of her wounds, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/palestinian-woman-killed-two-israelis-wounded-west-bank-violence-2021-05-02/">Reuters</a> reported. Footage of the incident shows the woman slowly approaching soldiers with a sharp weapon before being fired at.</li></ul><ul><li>Also on May 2, a Palestinian man carried out a drive-by shooting in the West Bank that killed a 19-year-old Israeli and left two other Jewish teenagers injured, <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210502-three-israelis-wounded-in-west-bank-drive-by-shooting">France24</a> said.</li></ul><ul><li>After the drive-by shooting, the Israeli Defense Forces searched the occupied West Bank village of Beita for the suspect and Palestinians throwing Molotov cocktails at Israeli soldiers who responded with live fire, The Jerusalem Post reported. Several Palestinians were injured and at least 19 were arrested, the Israeli newspaper said.</li><li>Overnight, extremist Jewish settlers vandalized property and hurled stones in the West Bank village of Jalud, according to human rights groups. </li><li>On May 3, settlers attacked two Palestinians and vandalized properties in three separate incidents in the West Bank, according to The Jerusalem Post.</li><li>On May 5, a 16-year-old Palestinian boy was shot and killed by an Israeli soldier. The killing followed Palestinians in Beita, hurling Molotov cocktails towards IDF soldiers, <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/israeli-investigation-after-16-year-old-palestinian-boy-shot-dead-by-soldiers-12298708">Sky News</a> said. "The troops responded according to open-fire protocols, including firing towards the suspects. The incident is being investigated," an IDF spokesperson told the media outlet. A second Palestinian was shot in the back and is being treated in hospital, according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-troops-shoot-dead-palestinian-teen-during-west-bank-clashes-2021-05-05/">Reuters</a>.</li><li>Three Palestinian gunmen shot at Israeli border police based in the occupied West Bank early on Friday, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/palestinian-gunmen-killed-after-firing-israeli-base-west-bank-2021-05-07/">Reuters</a> reported. Israeli fire killed two of the Palestinians and critically wounded the third, the <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news">news</keyword> agency said.</li><li>Israeli-Palestinian clashes have broken out nightly ahead of a Monday court hearing that could see Palestinian families evicted from Sheikh Jarrah - an East Jerusalem neighborhood.</li><li>More than 200 Palestinian worshippers were injured after clashing with Israeli police outside the al-Aqsa mosque, a significant holy site that is sacred to Muslims and Jews, on Friday night, <a href="https://www.insider.com/palestinians-israeli-police-clash-in-jerusalem-injuring-200-report-2021-5">Insider reported</a>.</li><li>At least 90 people were injured as Palestinians and Israelis clashed in Jerusalem again on Saturday night, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/07/middleeast/al-aqsa-mosque-palestinian-injuries-jerusalem-police-clash-intl/index.html">CNN</a> said.</li></ul><h2>Several significant dates threatening a new wave of violence</h2>The IDF has already beefed up its forces in anticipation of a week fraught with conflict, The Jerusalem Post said. An additional battalion and special forces are to be deployed to the occupied West Bank, the paper reported. "We have dates that offer some sort of warning that there might be a rise in violence," Oded Revivi, the mayor of the Efrat settlement in the occupied West Bank, a community of Jewish settlers that is considered to be illegal under <keyword id="6356001" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="international">international</keyword> law, told Insider. One of these dates is Jerusalem Day, which starts on Sunday evening and lasts through Monday. It is an Israeli national holiday commemorating the capture and consequent establishment of Israeli control over the Old City in the aftermath of the 1967 Six-Day War.The holiday observed by thousands of religious Zionists is controversial to secular Jews and many Arabs.<div type="image" title="Israelis gather outside Damascus Gate on Jerusalem Day in 2019." height="4281" width="5708" msid="82495935" hostid="261"></div>As part of the Jerusalem Day celebrations, an annual "Dance of Flags" parade sees participants walk through the Old City while waving Israeli flags.This year, taking into account the rising tensions, Jerusalem's police chief has asked for the parade to be re-routed to avoid passing through the Muslim quarter of the city. "The passage of the parade in these two sensitive areas in the last week of Ramadan fasting, when all warnings relate to a possible flare-up due to events related to Jerusalem would be irresponsible and could claim human lives," Israel Police's Jerusalem District Chief Doron Turgeman told The Jerusalem Post.It could incite a "violent outbreak" in other parts of the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, Turgeman added.Jerusalem Day also happens to fall on the same date as a highly-anticipated verdict by Israel's Supreme Court on a toxic property dispute between Jews and Arabs.The Supreme Court will decide on upholding a ruling that would see several Palestinian families in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, known in Hebrew as Shimon Hatzadik, evicted from their homes in favor of right-wing Jewish settlers that assert a historic claim to the land.The upcoming ruling has been a flashpoint for nightly protests and violence.On Thursday, Palestinians and Israeli settlers hurled rocks at each other in Sheikh Jarrah before Israeli police separated them, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/jerusalem-middle-east-israel-lifestyle-religion-f4c2594aab82ca8117c39b577a42ff01">AP</a> said.But Amit Gilutz, a spokesperson for the Jerusalem-based human rights organization B'Tselem, told Insider that the situation in Sheikh Jarrah is just one example of the mistreatment of Palestinians."Settler violence rampaging all over the West Bank, a racist parade marching through Jerusalem's Old City, and the Supreme Court granting permission to expel more Palestinian families from their homes and hand the property to settlers; all these take place with the backing and encouragement of the state," Gilutz said.Tensions relating to the upcoming Sheikh Jarrah verdict have also prompted threats from the leader of a <a href="https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/45313.pdf">Palestinian terrorist group - the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.</a> "This is our final warning," Mohamed Deif, the head of Hamas' military wing, said on Wednesday. "We will not stand idly by, and the occupation will pay a heavy price."Ohad Zemet, a spokesperson for the Embassy of Israel in London, has accused Hamas and the Palestinian Authority of politicizing the upcoming legal decision for personal gain. "The Israeli judicial system is independent and will reach a just legal conclusion based on the law and the facts. It is unfortunate that the Palestinian Authority and the Hamas terrorist organization try to use this case for their own political purposes and in a bid to incite violence," said Zemet.<h2>Muslim holy shrine becomes a battlefield</h2>On Friday night around 200 Palestinian worshippers were injured after clashing with Israeli police at the al-Aqsa mosque, <a href="https://www.insider.com/palestinians-israeli-police-clash-in-jerusalem-injuring-200-report-2021-5">Insider's Kelsey Vlamis and Sarah Al-Arshani reported</a>. Several Israeli police officers were also hurt in the clashes, according to the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-57034237">BBC</a>. Thousands of Muslims had gathered at the holy site to observe the last Friday of Ramadan. Israeli police say the clashes begun after worshippers threw rocks, according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/07/middleeast/al-aqsa-mosque-palestinian-injuries-jerusalem-police-clash-intl/index.html">CNN</a>. Videos of the event show people running as Israeli forces shot rubber bullets and stun grenades.Over 90,000 Muslim worshippers prayed at the Al-Aqsa Mosque to mark the holy night of Laylat al-Qadr on Saturday, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-boosts-security-forces-ahead-tense-night-jerusalem-2021-05-08/">Reuters</a> said. <div type="image" title="Palestinians pray on Laylat al-Qadr outside the Dome of the Rock" height="3872" width="5162" msid="82495936" hostid="261"></div>Nearby, outside the Old City's Damascus Gate, Palestinian protesters pelted Israeli police officers with rocks and water bottles and set barricades alight, the Associated Press reported. Officers responded by firing stun grenades and periodically firing a water cannon, the news agency said. Around 64 Palestinians were wounded, according to the AP.Palestinian President Mahmoud Abba accused Israel of "sinful attacks."<h2>These dates may play a part in further violence</h2>In addition to the Sheikh Jarrah verdict and Jerusalem day, two other dates could provide the backdrop to more violence.Nakba Day, which takes place next Saturday, is an annual Palestinian commemoration of the Nakba, or the so-called "Palestinian catastrophe." It mourns the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, and, in the past, the day has been marked by bloodshed.In 2011, protesters attempted to breach Israel's borders from the occupied Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, and Jordan. At least 12 Palestinians were killed and hundreds wounded due to shootings by the Israeli Army, AFP reported.Eid al-Fitr is the feast marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Wednesday. Israel's Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtaiheld has order commanders in the Jerusalem area to "significantly" boost their forces ahead of the Ramadan celebrations, <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-bolsters-troops-amid-fears-of-escalation-with-jerusalem-gaza-tensions/">The Times of Israel</a> said.<h2>The international community is appealing for de-escalation</h2>The international community has appealed for an end to the violence.A US State Department spokeswoman told reporters that Washington was "deeply concerned about the heightened tension."The EU followed suit, with a spokesperson calling on authorities to "act urgently to de-escalate the current tensions" in Jerusalem. "Violence and incitement are unacceptable and the perpetrators on all sides must be held accountable," the EU spokesperson said in a statement.The UN's rights office has urged Israel to call off the evictions in Sheikh Jarrah, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/8/world-reacts-to-east-jerusalem-eviction-rallies-israeli-assaults">Al Jazeera</a> reported.But according to Lynk, the UN'S Special Rapporteur, these types of statements aren't enough. "I've called for the international community to speak louder and more forcefully," he said.

Spike in revenge attacks between Jewish settlers and Palestinians adds fuel to the fire of the spiraling violence in Jerusalem and the West Bank

<div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image">REUTERS/Amir CohenIsraeli soldiers stand guard inside a tunnel exposed by the Israeli military near Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha, just outside the southern <keyword id="39746" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Gaza">Gaza</keyword> Strip October 13, 2013.</div></div><keyword id="6355882" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="israel">ISRAEL</keyword>-GAZA BORDER (Reuters) - Israel displayed on Sunday what it called a Palestinian "terror tunnel" running into its territory from the Gaza Strip and said it was subsequently freezing the transfer of building material to the enclave.
"The discovery of the tunnel ... prevented attempts to harm Israeli civilians who live close to the border and military forces in the area," Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon said in a statement, accusing Gaza's ruling Hamas Islamist movement of being behind construction of the 2.5-km (1.5 mile)-long tunnel.
There was no claim of responsibility in Gaza but a spokesman for Hamas's armed wing wrote on Twitter that "the determination deep in the hearts and minds of resistance fighters is more important than tunnels dug in the mud".
Hamas, along with other militant groups, tunneled into Israel in 2006 and seized an Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, who was held for five years before being exchanged for 1,400 Palestinians in Israeli jails.
The Israeli military said it found the tunnel along its fortified Gaza border last week near a kibbutz, or communal farm. It invited journalists to view it on Sunday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who launched an eight-day war against militants in the Gaza Strip last November with the declared aim of curbing rocket attacks against Israel, publicly congratulated the army "for uncovering the terror tunnel".
<div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image on-image">REUTERS/Amir CohenAn entrance to a tunnel exposed by the Israeli military is seen near Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha, just outside the southern Gaza Strip October 13, 2013.</div></div>
The military said the tunnel, dug in sandy soil, had been reinforced with concrete supports, and Yaalon announced that he was immediately halting the transfer of building material to the Gaza Strip.
For years, Israel had refused to allow these goods into the territory because it said militants would use them to build fortifications and weapons.
In 2010, as part of its easing of its internationally-criticized Gaza blockade, Israel gave foreign aid organizations the green light to import construction material for public projects. Last month, Israel resumed the transfer of cement and steel to Gaza's private sector.
Hamas seized the Gaza Strip in 2007, a year after winning a Palestinian election, from forces loyal to Western-backed President Mahmoud Abbas. The movement is shunned by the West over its refusal to renounce violence and recognize Israel.
(Writing by Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem, Additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza; Editing by Matthew Tostevin)

Israel Finds 1.5 Mile-Long Tunnel Under Its Gaza Border, Halts Shipments Of Construction Supplies

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image">REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa</div></div></div>Israel launched<a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/07/18/israel-gaza-conflict/12822491/"> a ground campaign Thursday</a> to target and eliminate a series of tunnels around the Gaza strip that Hamas militants have been using to smuggle goods and materials, and to carry out attacks. Militants have continued to build and use these tunnels despite repeated Israeli efforts to block or destroy them. Below, you can see the entrance to one of those tunnels on the Israeli side of the Gaza border in March 2014. That entrance was exposed by the Israeli military. 
<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image">REUTERS/Amir Cohen</div></div></div>Tunnels have a long history in Israeli-Palestinian clashes. In 2006, Hamas tunneled into Israel, seized a soldier, Gilad Shalit, and held him for <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/19/opinion/gilad-shalits-release.html">five years before negotiating his release</a> in return for more than 1,o00 jailed Palestinians. The picture below shows a Palestinian worker repairing a tunnel that was flooded by Egyptian forces under the Egyptian-Gaza border in February 2013. <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image">REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa</div></div></div>
A spokesman for Israel's military told Reuters that its campaign to target the tunnels <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/17/us-palestinians-israel-idUSKBN0FI04420140717">isn't meant to destroy Hamas itself</a>. However, a Hamas spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, scoffed at the new Israeli ground attacks, telling Reuters, "We warn Netanyahu of the dreadful consequences of such a foolish act." Below a worker ascends on a rope in a tunnel in the southern Gaza strip in October 2013. <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image">REUTERS/Ahmed Zakot </div></div></div>The current conflict was spurred by both the<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bodies-found-in-west-bank-2014-6"> deaths of three Israeli teenagers</a> in the West Bank and the subsequent <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mohammed-abu-khdeir-death-murder-suspects-arrest-2014-7">killing of a Palestinian 16-year-old</a> on July 2 in what many believe may have been retaliation. In the photo below, a Palestinian security officer is preparing to seal a tunnel used to smuggle arms in the southern Gaza strip.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image">REUTERS</div></div></div>Hamas leaders have publicly boasted about their "tunnel campaign," <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/17/us-palestinians-israel-idUSKBN0FI04420140717">according to Reuters</a>. They've posted publicity videos online featuring soldiers smuggling rockets through the tunnels before emerging in an orchard, loading the rocket into a hidden launcher, and firing it. The tunnels are used to transport anything from medicine to cattle to luxury goods and foods, in addition to weapons, <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/israels-gaza-blockade-baffles-both-sides/">according to CBS News</a>. In the photo below, a smuggler is actually hauling a calf through one of the tunnels. <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image">REUTERS/Mohammed Salem</div></div></div>Sometimes even people are moved in and out, like this Palestinian groom walking with his Egyptian bride beneath the Gaza-Egypt border in March 2013. <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image">REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa</div></div></div>The new operation has no set end date, and duration may be dependent on how many civilians are killed, which will increase pressure to ceasefire.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image">REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa</div></div></div>

Israel Wants To Destroy These Elaborate Tunnels In Gaza

<div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image">Amir Cohen/ReutersSmoke rises after an explosion in the northern Gaza Strip July 27, 2014.</div></div>It's tough to say with certainty the conflict in Gaza is completely over, but it certainly looks like the latest war between Hamas and Israel is winding down.
Israel <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/IDF-wipes-out-remaining-known-Hamas-tunnels-in-Gaza-369953">claims to have destroyed</a> the entirety of Hamas' cross-border tunnel system, the discovery of which ostensibly triggered the country's ground operation in Gaza. As a result, Israel is <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28654229">pulling its ground troops</a> out at the same time Hamas has agreed to the same ceasefire parameters that it rejected over three weeks ago.
It's too early to make sense of the latest conflict, but we can draw some insights into it from previous operations involving Israel.
In 2012, Israel killed Hamas <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/9685598/How-Israel-killed-Ahmed-Jabari-its-toughest-enemy-in-Gaza.html">military commander Ahmed Jabari </a>and destroyed Hamas' long-range rocket arsenal without having to send in ground troops for weeks on end - an eight-day operation known as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Pillar_of_Defense">Operation Pillar of Defense</a>. Even that apparently successful campaign couldn't deter Hamas from escalating this latest war; by that measurement, Operation Pillar of <keyword id="6354810" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Defense">Defense</keyword> was a failure.
In 2006, the Israeli military muddled its way through a three-week campaign in Lebanon, drawing <keyword id="6356001" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="international">international</keyword> condemnation and losing over 120 soldiers in a rapidly escalating campaign that never had any clear long or even short-term objective. But the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah hasn't fired a rocket at Israel since then and Israel's deterrence on its northern border was apparently re-established; by that measurement, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Lebanon_War">the 2006 Lebanon War</a> was a success.
The real "winner" of this latest war might not be known for years or decades, or even at all. But it's possible to speculate on the conflict's eventual impact. And we can still take stock of the gains and losses each side has had during the most violent month the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has seen in over a decade.
<div class="KonaFilter image-container float_left"><div class="image">Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/REUTERSHamas fighters on parade</div></div>
<h3>Hamas' Losses</h3>
Hamas has lost its cross-border tunnel network, which <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/hamas-tunnels-stoke-anxiety-bolstering-israelis-support-of-war/2014/07/31/ae67267e-18e7-11e4-85b6-c1451e622637_story.html">required 800 tons of concrete</a> per corridor and ate up a reported <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/gazas-tunnel-wars/">40% of the group's pre-conflict budget</a>. It probably lost <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/07/29/israel-hamas-rockets-gaza-tunnels/13316973/">around half</a> of its rocket launchers and launch sites, as well. Israeli officials also <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/israel-hamas-cease-fire-begins-article-1.1891983">believe they have killed 900 enemy militants</a>.
The group traded much of its terror infrastructure and hundreds of fighters for a ceasefire agreement that <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/04/world/mideast-crisis/index.html">reflects almost none of its demands</a>. Hamas could have salvaged a partial win by abducting an Israeli soldier and then trading him for various concessions, a tactic that met with some success during <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilad_Shalit_prisoner_exchange">negotiations over the captured Gilad Shalit</a> in late 2011. Despite a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-gaza-conflict-is-entering-dangerous-uncharted-territory-2014-8">carefully planned operation</a> during a ceasefire late last week, Hamas failed at that, too.
Hamas appeared divided over the course of the war, with its Qatari-based political leadership often of sync with the fighters on the ground, supposedly led by <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/deif-the-islamic-holy-warrior-unites-hamas/">Gaza-based commander Mohamed Dief</a>. Most notably, Gaza-based Hamas leaders <a href="http://washington.cbslocal.com/2014/08/01/kerry-no-guarantees-cease-fire-would-bring-end-to-gaza-war/">claimed to have captured a soldier</a> on Aug. 1 only to have Doha-based spokesperson Osama Hamdan deny a kidnapping ever took place. At times, it appeared Hamas's Doha leaders were merely passive spectators in their own war.
Hamas' state patrons suffered blows to their credibility over the course of the month. Turkish Prime Minister Recip Tayyip Erdogan seemed <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/michael-koplow-rapprochement-between-turkey-and-israel-is-dead-2014-7">more eager to stoke anti-Israel and anti-Semitic hysteria</a> among his political base than he was to maintain his credibility as a potential mediator and negotiate on Hamas's behalf. Qatar acted as a go-between for western diplomats and Hamas's Doha leadership. But the latest ceasefire was negotiated in Egypt, one of Qatar's major opponents within the Arab world.
Worst still, few Arab governments seemed eager to defend Hamas. It already <a href="https://twitter.com/NeriZilber/status/496690072700583937">appears unlikely</a> the Egyptians will be at all sensitive to Hamas' various post-conflict demands. Hamas is as isolated as it's ever been, only it has lost some of its most important coercive capabilities, along with hundreds of its men.
<h3>Hamas' Wins</h3>
The conflict was not without its successes for Hamas. Hamas proved it could consistently attack nearly every major city in Israel with rocket fire. This time around, bombardments of Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Jerusalem were a daily occurrence, rather than an unnerving rarity. Hamas also managed to strike just outside the perimeter of Ben Gurion International Airport. In getting the U.S. government to ban all American flights to the airport for over 36 hours, Hamas manifested <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/hamas-crossed-two-of-israels-red-lines-2014-7">a long-held Israeli fear</a> and accomplished something genuinely unprecedented.
Most importantly, Hamas survived the war. The group is still standing, and it is still in charge of Gaza. Even after a major Israeli operation decimated its infrastructure, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, the U.S., and Israel have seemingly no choice but to deal with Hamas through political or diplomatic channels.
<div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/idfonline/14508876656/">Flickr/IDF</a></div></div>
<h3>Israel's Wins</h3>
Israel destroyed Hamas' tunnel network and thousands of its rockets, and killed hundreds of its fighters. If the ceasefire holds, then it extracted itself from this conflict without any of its soldiers getting abducted and without having to make any serious concessions. It <a href="http://www.jta.org/2014/07/28/news-opinion/israel-middle-east/report-hamas-planned-rosh-hashanah-attack-through-gaza-tunnels">might have foiled</a> a major Hamas terrorist attack scheduled for the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashana, an event that could have triggered a war even more severe than this latest one.
Hamas is still in power, which <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/31/bibi-wants-hamas-to-stay.html">some in Israel might actually count as a victory</a>. Israel depleted the group's capabilities without creating a leadership vacuum in Gaza. And Israel drew <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/31/world/middleeast/fighting-political-islam-arab-states-find-themselves-allied-with-israel.html">notably little condemnation</a> from Arab governments eager to see someone beat up on an <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/proxy-conflicts-in-gaza-2014-8">Iran-supported Muslim Brotherhood offshoot</a>, even if it was Israel doling it out.
<h3>Israel's Losses</h3>
But the country could emerge from the conflict weakened in certain crucial respects. If Israel really didn't know about Hamas's cross-border tunnel network before the war started - and if it didn't manage to destroy all of Hamas' tunnels as it believes it has - then this war encapsulates an intelligence failure of potentially historic proportions.
Moreover, the war proves the unsustainability of Israel's current dynamic with Hamas, which has led to three major military confrontations since 2008 that have collectively killed over 4,000 people. Israel's gains were arguably pyrrhic. With hundreds of civilian deaths and numerous battlefield incidents that drew <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/03/un-school-shelling-_n_5645771.html">unprecedented condemnation from the U.S. government</a>, the country will have even narrower leeway in how its military conducts itself the next time there's a conflict with Hamas.
More fighting in Gaza also seems virtually inevitable. After all, the seemingly-durable ceasefire that ended the last spate of Gaza violence in 2012 created the conditions that allowed for this latest conflict to happen in the first place. And for Israel, the recent conflict was far costlier than the last two. The country lost over 60 soldiers, was condemned throughout the world, and had its major international airport all but shuttered for over a day.
The destruction of Hamas' tunnel network and rocket arsenal are gains that can be and likely will be reversed. Hamas shows little sign of moderating or reforming itself, even after the setbacks it experienced over the course of the war. Israel still has to deal with Hamas, either by destroying the group entirely or figuring out how to mainstream or marginalize it out of all possible relevance. 
It's far from clear how far it advanced towards these goals over the past month - or whether it advanced towards them at all.

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