NBC News: Gaza Fuel Running Out; Hostage Talks Progressing

“Gaza’s health system is failing, as the humanitarian crisis there reaches unprecedented levels. Hospitals are on their last drops of fuel and some have shut down. Sources of food are quickly running out, and people have resorted to unsafe drinking water. U.N. shelters are also completely overrun, with some holding 10 or 12 times as many people as intended, and can “no longer provide dignified living conditions,” the U.N. relief agency UNRWA said. If fuel isn’t allowed into Gaza soon, the UNRWA said it would be forced to reduce or stop humanitarian operations. Growing international calls for a cease-fire, however, have been met with fury by Israel, which angrily denounced the head of the U.N. for saying that the attack had not happened “in a vacuum.” Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council failed, once again, to come to an agreement on how to ensure aid reaches the Palestinian people after it shut down dueling resolutions from the U.S. and Russia. Fears of broader escalation with Hezbollah across the border in Lebanon as well as a ground war in Gaza are still growing, as Israel conducted new strikes on the occupied West Bank and against Syria overnight. Netanyahu said Israel was “getting ready” for ground offensive in Gaza but wouldn’t reveal details.”

Associated Press: Israel Accuses UN Chief Of Justifying Terrorism For Saying Hamas Attack ‘Didn’t Happen In A Vacuum’

“Israeli officials expressed outrage Wednesday over U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ remarks that the deadly Hamas attack on southern Israel “did not happen in a vacuum,” saying his comment at a Security Council meeting amounted to a justification for terrorism. Foreign Minister Eli Cohen canceled a scheduled meeting with Guterres following Tuesday’s council meeting, Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan called for Guterres’ resignation, and Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial, said the U.N. chief “failed the test.” Guterres responded to the Israeli criticism, telling reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York that he was “shocked” at the misinterpretation of part of his statement to the council, “as if I was justifying acts of terror by Hamas.” He reiterated the start of his statement on Tuesday: “I have condemned unequivocally the horrifying and unprecedented 7 October acts of terror by Hamas in Israel. Nothing can justify the deliberate killing, injuring and kidnapping of civilians — or the launching of rockets against civilian targets.” The secretary-general said he spoke of the grievances of the Palestinian people and also stated: “But the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas.””

United States

Voice Of America: US Asks Gulf States To Help Shut Down Hamas Fundraising

“In an emergency session of the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC) this week, the U.S. called on allies in the Middle East to increase efforts to cut off outside funding for Hamas, the organization that perpetrated a massive attack on Israeli civilians on October 7. The Treasury Department called on the member countries of the TFTC to use their influence to do more to cut off the flow of funds to Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, home to some 2.3 million Palestinians who have been under relentless Israeli shelling for more than two weeks. The U.S. has classified Hamas as a terrorist organization since 1997. “From our perspective, not acting against Hamas and its terrorism is a disservice to the Palestinian people,” Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in a prepared statement released Tuesday to the group. “From a financial standpoint, we can clearly see that Hamas has exacerbated economic hardships for decades in the Gaza Strip by diverting humanitarian assistance to support its campaign of terror, and we must publicly condemn these actions.” The TFTC is made up of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and the United States.”

Associated Press: International Terror Defendants Face Longer Prison Terms Than Domestic Counterparts, New Study Finds

“People convicted of crimes related to domestic extremism face far shorter prison terms than those convicted in international terrorism cases, even when the crimes are similar, a new report on the outcomes of hundreds of federal criminal cases has found. The first-of-its-kind analysis, completed by terrorism researchers at the University of Maryland, was provided exclusively to The Associated Press. It comes after federal officials and researchers have repeatedly identified domestic violent extremists such as white supremacists and anti-government groups as the most significant terror threat to the U.S. And it follows scrutiny of the outcomes of Jan. 6 cases, including for some Oath Keepers and Proud Boys who received sentences years lower than what was called for by prosecutors and sentencing guidelines. President Joe Biden has echoed the concerns about domestic terrorism, calling it a “stain on the soul of America” and the “ most urgent terrorism threat ” faced by the country, yet the new analysis shows that on average, domestic extremists receive more lenient penalties.”

Turkey

Reuters: Turkey's Erdogan Says Hamas Is Not Terrorist Organisation, Cancels Trip To Israel

“Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, in his strongest comments yet on the Gaza conflict, said on Wednesday the Palestinian militant group Hamas was not a terrorist organisation but a liberation group fighting to protect Palestinian lands. NATO member Turkey condemned the civilian deaths caused by Hamas's Oct. 7 rampage in southern Israel, but also urged Israeli forces to act with restraint in their response. Ankara has strongly criticised Israel's bombardment of Gaza. "Hamas is not a terrorist organisation, it is a liberation group, 'mujahideen' waging a battle to protect its lands and people," he told lawmakers from his ruling AK Party, using an Arabic word denoting those who fight for their faith. Unlike many of its NATO allies and the European Union, Turkey does not consider Hamas a terrorist organisation and hosts members of the group on its territory. Ankara backs a two-state solution to the decades-old Israel-Palestinian conflict. Erdogan also slammed Western powers for supporting Israel's bombing of Gaza and called for an immediate ceasefire, the unhindered entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza and for Muslim countries to work together to stop the violence.”

Middle East

The National: Who Are The Key Targets On Israel’s Hamas Hit List?

“… Director of The Counter Extremism Project, Hans-Jakob Schindler, believes Israel will target Hamas’s military and political leadership but will take aim at its military commanders first. “It is clear, of course, that 'destroying Hamas' involves at minimum two sets of targets,” he said. “The priority is the physical terrorist infrastructure, which includes tunnels, weapons, rockets and fighters, as well as the terrorist command and control structure, which is the leadership of the terrorist forces, the commanders and the Hamas intelligence apparatus. “In my assessment, these are the things that Israel is focusing on first. In addition, in order to reduce the influence that Hamas has, the political leadership in and outside of Gaza is the second priority. “Hamas is a hybrid organisation and therefore does ideological and social work in addition to its terrorist activities," he added. "However, it is also a strictly hierarchical organisation, meaning the overall leadership of the organisation as well as its political/ideological leadership bear responsibility for the terrorist activities and therefore are also important. “Furthermore, in order to diminish Hamas’s influence in the Gaza Strip will mean that Israel will also have to focus on the ideological structures that Hamas has set up to maintain power in Gaza.”

NBC: Gaza Is Plagued By Poverty, But Hamas Has No Shortage Of Cash. Where Does It Come From?

“... Although the U.S. and the European Union have designated Hamas as a terrorist organization, “they’re not effectively cut off from the international financial system,” said Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Counter Extremism Project. “They actually are able to invest funds in companies and in real estate.” Hamas’ leadership has invested its income in an international investment portfolio worth $500 million in real estate and other assets from companies in Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, which it uses to conceal and launder its money, according to a Treasury announcement. Cryptocurrencies have helped the group invest its money while bypassing international financial sanctions according to a report by the Counter Extremism Project. To combat those efforts. “Hamas was an early adopter of fundraising in crypto starting in 2019,” said Ari Redbord, a former federal prosecutor and global head of policy and government affairs at TRM Labs, which is working to track Hamas funding. “They were using Telegram channels to solicit donations. They then stood up website infrastructure to solicit donations.” Yet, experts, including Rebord, emphasize that cryptocurrency remains a small piece of the group’s financial strategy.”

Fox News: Middle East Paying Price Of Biden White House Removing Houthis From Terrorist List, Experts Say

“Critics have urged the United States to consider reclassifying the Houthis in Yemen as a terrorist organization as the Iran-backed group has mounted attacks against Israel and U.S. military assets. "In word and in deed, the Houthi’s in Yemen are proving to the world their connectivity to Iran’s axis of resistance and why they should have remained on the U.S. terror list," Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital. "Pulling punches and failing to hold Iran and it’s proxies to account, even diplomatically, shows you how far things have devolved," he added. Senior Pentagon officials on Monday discussed an expected "significant escalation" of attacks against U.S. troops in the Middle East as tensions flare following a Hamas terrorist attack on Israel that killed at least 1,400 people and the subsequent retaliation that the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza claimed has killed at least 5,700 Palestinians, including 2,360 children. The U.S. said that preliminary intelligence did not indicate any Iranian involvement in the planning or execution of the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 but claimed that subsequent attacks from various Islamic extremist groups, which have injured dozens of American service members, have "Iranian fingerprints all over them."”

Reuters: Israel Mounts New Sortie Into Gaza, Hints There May Be Several 'Invasions'

“Israel said its ground forces had pushed into Gaza overnight to attack Hamas targets as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was "preparing for a ground invasion" that could be one of several. "I will not elaborate on when, how or how many," he said in a televised update to citizens on Wednesday evening. The besieged Palestinian enclave is already reeling from almost three weeks of Israeli bombardment, which was triggered by a mass killing spree in southern Israel by the Iranian-backed Hamas militants who run Gaza. Hamas has threatened to kill some of the more than 200 hostages it brought back to Gaza, of whom Israel says more than half hold foreign passports, from 25 countries. Other Iranian-backed groups have since attempted attacks on Israel elsewhere in the region; Western leaders fear that a high death toll among Palestinian civilians, who have already been killed in large numbers by Israeli air strikes, could spark a wider war. U.S. President Joe Biden held a call with Netanyahu, discussing "ongoing efforts to locate and secure the release" of Americans believed held hostage in Gaza, the White House said overnight.”