After 9 months of being in israeli custody, a once perfectly healthy & fit young Palestinian man is released hardly able to stand or walk unaided pic.twitter.com/QLKrePtV4m

— Sarah Wilkinson (@swilkinsonbc) July 9, 2024

■ 'I have the prison inside me': The emaciated Palestinian bodybuilder broken by Israel (MEE)

Oman’s Maritime Security Center announced, on Wednesday, the rescue of nine out of 16 crew members from an oil tanker that capsized off the coast of the Sultanate earlier this week. | Oman’s Maritime Security Center announced, on Wednesday, the rescue of nine out of 16 crew members from an oil tanker that capsized off the coast of the Sultanate earlier this week. [...] A warship from the Indian Navy rescued the nine survivors after an all-night search around the tanker’s last known location off the coast of Duqm, a coastal province in Oman.

■ “All rules of war have been broken in Gaza”, with at least eight schools housing displaced Palestinians attacked by Israel in last 10 days, says UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini.
■ Al Jazeera’s correspondent reports at least 81 killed in day of attacks targeting homes and UN facilities in Gaza.
■ Riyad Mansour, Palestine’s envoy to the UN, tells the UN Security Council that Israel’s war on Gaza is the “most documented genocide in history”.
■ Washington’s envoy to the UNSC says there is progress in talks to adopt an immediate ceasefire in Gaza nearly four months after the council demanded one.
■ At least 38,794 people have been killed and 89,364 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza. The death toll in Israel from the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 is estimated at 1,139, with dozens of people still held captive in Gaza.

Washington's belief that the United States will not suffer from a new global war and that the main actions will unfold on the European continent is a misconception, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. | Americans [...] have no idea at all that the US Government has taken actions so grave, that the American heartland is now being openly discussed as a future war zone. ● How [Lavrov's remark] arose in the UN, was after White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby, said that "Washington does not want a war with Russia as it would affect the European continent." ● Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov mentioned this remark and then said (verbatim)

💬 "In Washington, they are convinced that a new global war will affect not the US, but their European allies. If this analysis forms the basis of the Biden administration's strategy, it is a very dangerous misconception, and Europeans should realize what a suicidal role has been assigned to them."

Any resolution of the European crisis must include concrete steps to eliminate the threats to Russia that emanate from the West, the diplomat went on to say. He recalled that Moscow's conditions for establishing lasting peace in Ukraine have already been outlined by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin also noted that Zelensky's term has expired and his legitimacy cannot be restored by any means. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov clarified that Putin does not rule out negotiations with Ukraine, as there are other legitimate authorities there.

Joe Biden is ‘more receptive to standing down’ after a series of senior Democrats called on him to pull out of the presidential race. | The US President’s tone has closed behind closed doors and he is more ‘willing to listen’ to those who are calling for his resignation, the New York Times reports. Those who have called on Mr Biden to pull out of the race include the former House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, as well as Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries. ● New polling suggests Donald Trump may have experience a slight boost in the polls after he survived an assassination attempt over the weekend. Mr Biden is now trailing the former US President in a number of the key swing states, which may impact his decision to stand down.

■ President Biden tests positive for COVID-19 during Las Vegas visit (Shafaq News)

According to the emerging plan, some 9,600 young Haredim will be recruited within two years – far fewer than the 63,000 ultra-Orthodox men of draft age. The General Staff will continue to rely on reservists as long as the Gaza war continues – and also during the tense period expected on the borders in coming years | There is a big gap between the army's immediate needs, as presented to political leaders amid the severe erosion in manpower due to the prolonged war in Gaza and with Hezbollah, and the pace at which the IDF plans to recruit young ultra-Orthodox men. The General Staff described the need to create additional brigades of conscript soldiers, given the losses sustained since the October 7 massacre. This includes 681 fatalities and over 4,100 hospitalized wounded men, with a few thousand additional soldiers suffering from post-traumatic responses to the war. The drafting of Haredi men, following the collapse of the law enabling their exemption and demands by the High Court of Justice to finally resolve this crisis, is expected to proceed at a slower pace.

■ Jewish Mercenaries Commit Majority of War Crimes in Gaza (VIDEO)
■ “Israel” Army Admits: Suffering Shortage of Tanks, Ammunition (Alahed News)

Rasha Reslan | In its latest reports, the HRW perpetuates a longstanding Western narrative that serves to whitewash the current Israeli atrocities being committed in Gaza by the Israeli occupation. | Over the past nine months, a well-documented genocidal carnage in Gaza has been unfolding daily, live and unabated in front of the world's eyes. ■ Today, the Human Rights Watch published a comprehensive 280-page report. And no, it's not about the Gaza genocide. The report does not focus on the unbearable civilian death toll, the numerous massacres committed within a few hours of each other daily, the decayed bodies scattered in the streets, the children dying from man-made famine, the beheaded children due to the use of heavy bombs, the bodies cut into pieces, the more than 9,000 abductees, or the disturbing reports of torture and rape from Sde Teiman and other Israeli prisons. ■ Unsurprisingly, the HRW report perpetuates a longstanding Western narrative that serves to whitewash the current Israeli atrocities being committed in Gaza by the Israeli occupation. Nothing new as the report turns a blind eye to the fact that these actions have been ongoing since 1948.

Peace talks to resolve the conflict in Ukraine will likely begin this year if Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump wins the 2024 US presidential election, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto told RIA Novosti.

💬 "I think that the US presidential elections will definitely be a game changer in this regard [peace talks on Ukraine]," Szijjarto said on Wednesday. "I think if President Trump wins, there will be a good chance for peace talks to be started already this year."

The position of the United States on the conflict will change under Trump, Szijjarto said. Trump is the only potential leader who could be elected in the foreseeable future who could make a "successful mission" to create peace in Europe, Szijjarto added. During a recent meeting with former US President Donald Trump, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban shared with him the results of his trips to Russia and China as part of peace efforts to end the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Peter Szijjarto said.

■ Hungary ready to host Russia-Ukraine talks – FM (RT.com)
■ Von der Leyen vows to turn EU into "defense union" (TASS)
■ EU’s rebuke of Orban’s peace mission speaks for itself – Kremlin (RT.com)
■ Hungarian foreign minister slams EU attempts to prevent his country’s contacts with Russia (07/17/24)