Israeli war planes bomb central Gaza as 2024 begins - Biden worries about his re-election prospects

al Jazeera:


Israeli war planes bomb central Gaza as 2024 begins

People gather around women preparing meals by a stove outside at a camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip near the border with Egypt on December 31, 2023 [AFP]
By Lyndal Rowlands

Published On 1 Jan 2024



Fierce ground fighting is ongoing in the centre of Khan Younis, reports Al Jazeera’s Wael al-Dahdouh, as Palestinians start 2024 sheltering from Israeli shelling.
Israel says it will withdraw reservists from its Gaza ground invasion so troops can “gain strength” for future battles


Meanwhile:

Biden recognises ‘murderous images doing him damage’: Analyst


As Biden looks to the November 2024 election, he “recognises that the most murderous images” from Gaza “are doing him damage”, says American author and political scientist Norman Finkelstein, speaking to Al Jazeera from New York.

“Biden is concerned not about ending the Israeli genocide, but that it doesn’t look so bad in the media,” Finkelstein told Al Jazeera, noting that US voters aged 18 to 34 oppose the war.

But, Finkelstein says, that while there are reports that “Israel will agree to Biden’s demand that certain aspects of the genocide will be reduced” this may “not have a major impact on the essence of the Israeli assault on the people of Gaza.”