Volume 29, Number 175 — Monday, June 17, 2024
US Involved in Israeli Massacre of 274 Palestinians
Robert Inlakesh goes over press evidence countering U.S. government denials that its forces were directly involved in Israel’s deadly operation in Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp.
Israeli forces with hostages they rescued during the Nuseirat refugee camp massacre in Gaza on June 8, 2024. (IDF, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
By Robert Inlakesh
MintPress News
Officials in Washington praised Israel’s military operation that freed four Israeli captives from the Gaza Strip but refrained from commenting on the approximately 274 Palestinians killed during the mission, which involved U.S. collaboration.
While Israelis celebrated the extraction of the captives from Gaza’s Nuseirat, Palestinian refugees in the area were left to collect the remains of their loved ones. An eyewitness described seeing “mangled bodies of men, women, and children strewn around a marketplace and a mosque,” while a paramedic likened the scene to “a horror movie.”
A headline in The Washington Post read, “For Israel, a rare day of joy amid bloodshed as 4 hostages are rescued alive,” referring to the event that resulted in the deaths of 274 Palestinians and hundreds of others wounded. Meanwhile, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan praised the operation as “daring,” and President Joe Biden expressed his joy over the rescue without addressing what was one of the largest civilian massacres in Gaza since October.
During the Israeli military operation, which successfully extracted four captives, three others were reportedly killed, including a U.S. citizen, according to a statement from Hamas. Shortly after, information surfaced that the U.S. had played a significant role in the operation, which was hailed as a great success.
A New York Times article reported that “a team of American hostage recovery officials stationed in Israel assisted the Israeli military’s effort to rescue the four captives by providing intelligence and other logistical support.”
Another report from Axios cited an unnamed U.S. official claiming that a “U.S. hostage cell in Israel supported the effort to rescue the four hostages” but did not provide details on the support provided.
Compounding issues for the American government, a video seemingly filmed by Israeli soldiers was widely shared on social media, showing a helicopter taking off next to the U.S.-built temporary pier meant to facilitate the transfer of much-needed aid to Gaza. The aircraft was used in Israel’s military operation to transport the four freed captives.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) quickly released a statement on the issue, claiming:
While Israelis celebrated the extraction of the captives from Gaza’s Nuseirat, Palestinian refugees in the area were left to collect the remains of their loved ones. An eyewitness described seeing “mangled bodies of men, women, and children strewn around a marketplace and a mosque,” while a paramedic likened the scene to “a horror movie.”
A headline in The Washington Post read, “For Israel, a rare day of joy amid bloodshed as 4 hostages are rescued alive,” referring to the event that resulted in the deaths of 274 Palestinians and hundreds of others wounded. Meanwhile, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan praised the operation as “daring,” and President Joe Biden expressed his joy over the rescue without addressing what was one of the largest civilian massacres in Gaza since October.
During the Israeli military operation, which successfully extracted four captives, three others were reportedly killed, including a U.S. citizen, according to a statement from Hamas. Shortly after, information surfaced that the U.S. had played a significant role in the operation, which was hailed as a great success.
How was the killing of nearly 300 Palestinians justified in the name of extracting four Israeli captives?
We breakdown the Israeli forces attack on Nuseirat reugee camp aje.io/uebgqd
A New York Times article reported that “a team of American hostage recovery officials stationed in Israel assisted the Israeli military’s effort to rescue the four captives by providing intelligence and other logistical support.”
Another report from Axios cited an unnamed U.S. official claiming that a “U.S. hostage cell in Israel supported the effort to rescue the four hostages” but did not provide details on the support provided.
Compounding issues for the American government, a video seemingly filmed by Israeli soldiers was widely shared on social media, showing a helicopter taking off next to the U.S.-built temporary pier meant to facilitate the transfer of much-needed aid to Gaza. The aircraft was used in Israel’s military operation to transport the four freed captives.
The Israeli captives were evacuated from Gaza using the US 'humanitarian' pier.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) quickly released a statement on the issue, claiming:
“The humanitarian pier facility, including its equipment, personnel, and assets, was not used in the operation to rescue hostages today in Gaza. An area south of the facility was used by the Israelis to safely return the hostages to Israel. Any such claim to the contrary is false.”
However, contrary to the spirit of CENTCOM’s statement, the video of the helicopter used to evacuate the Israeli captives shows it clearly next to the pier. The vehicles used to transfer the four released detainees likely used the nearby causeway attached to the pier.
Following further denial from the U.S. government that its forces were directly involved, the Pentagon released a statement describing the area used by the helicopter as “near” the pier. This contradicts reports from The New York Times, Axios, and CBS, which cited American officials claiming that U.S. and U.K. intelligence information was used by Israel to conduct the military operation.
Additional reports indicated that U.S.-operated drones were used for surveillance to support the operation. While there are no allegations that U.S. forces were on the ground or participated in armed action, they were clearly involved in other ways.
Despite Washington’s insistence of innocence, the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) remained unconvinced that the close proximity of the Israeli-operated aircraft did not imply the pier’s use in the military operation. WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain announced the organization had “paused” its planned distribution of aid from the pier due to security concerns for its staff. This decision came after two of its sites were attacked during the Nuseirat massacre.
The U.S.-built temporary pier was initially estimated to cost American taxpayers $320 million. Contributions from the United Kingdom and lower rates for contractors allegedly reduced that figure to $230 million. However, the pier suffered damage after U.S. forces failed to account for sea conditions, adding another $22 million in damages to the bill.
The U.S. only managed to reconnect the floating pier to Gaza on June 7, less than a day before the Israeli military operation. This has sparked speculation about the true intended nature of the pier, as it is only operable in conditions with waves smaller than 1.25 meters and has delivered minimal aid for such a costly project.
Robert Inlakesh is a political analyst, journalist and documentary filmmaker currently based in London, UK. He has reported from and lived in the occupied Palestinian territories and hosts the show ‘Palestine Files’. Director of ‘Steal of the Century: Trump’s Palestine-Israel Catastrophe’. Follow him on Twitter @falasteen47
This article is from MPN.news is an award winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for their newsletter.
No investigations on Palestinians civilians still holding citizens of Isreal
ReplyDeletehostages?
Very impartial rreporting
Fucking woke AHs
Consortium Fake News spreading disinformation, as usual.
ReplyDeleteIt is no secret that US forces provided intelligence and other advice to the Israeli hostage rescue team.
The fact is Hamas CHOSE to
1) Hold the hostages at gunpoint
2) Held them in a densely populated civilian area
3) Surrounded the hostages with heavily armed militants
4) The Heavily armed militants erupted with intense fire directed at the hostages and the rescue team once the rescue effort was exposed as they left the buildings.
The consequences of these HAMAS actions and choices were inevitable.
It was then a Kill or Be Killed situation for the Hostage rescue team.
Israeli forces responded with intense firepower. There would be no repeat of the "Black Hawk Down" disaster. The Hamas militants got massacred.
Wakakakaka…
DeleteHas the Hollywood film maker sent u an invitation to assign a Yankee war film on the Zionist/Hamas conflict yet?
Were you or any Malaysians, affected by the BCCI scandal? Remember reading part of news report as a teen in the 80s. It seems surreal now, looking back at those period...
ReplyDelete~~~~~
https://badlands.substack.com/p/who-is-the-real-enemy?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web
Who Is The Real Enemy?
Wars and Drug Trafficking Have Funded the Hidden Enemy for Generations
JOE LANGE
MAY 01, 2024
...
This feature is a follow-up to ‘Profiting from War.’
Why was the BCCI (Bank of Credit and Commerce International) so important to the CIA, the Bush family and Prince Alwaleed?
It was a massive money spigot.
...
Check Daim's secret link with BCCI!
ReplyDelete