News
Israel Launches Most Intense Night Of Airstrikes In Gaza Since Start of Conflict
![Israel](https://www.chiangraitimes.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/131556629_mediaitem131556627.jp_.webp)
(CTN NEWS) – Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have experienced the heaviest night of Israeli bombardment since the war with Hamas began three weeks ago.
Hamas-run authorities said hundreds of buildings were destroyed in air and artillery strikes, and that at least 377 people were killed in the past day.
Israel’s military said its warplanes hit 150 underground targets, including tunnels and other infrastructure.
Tanks and troops also went into the Strip and clashed with Hamas fighters.
The military said some soldiers would remain in the field, as Israel’s defence minister declared that the war had entered a “new phase”.
Speaking at a news conference on Saturday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had entered the second stage of the war with Hamas.
He said additional Israeli ground forces have gone into what he called “that stronghold of evil” – referring to Gaza – to “dismantle” Hamas and bring hostages home.
“This will be a long and difficult war,” Mr Netanyahu added.
Israel began its bombing campaign in Gaza in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack by hundreds of Hamas gunmen on 7 October, in which 1,400 people were killed and 229 taken hostage.
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says more than 7,700 people have been killed in the territory since then, and the UN is warning that a “humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding”.
On Friday night, the Israeli military conducted a powerful operation in various dimensions to advance the goals of the ongoing war, with ground forces expanding their operations.
During the same period, Palestinian mobile phone and internet networks experienced disruptions, severely limiting communication both within the Gaza Strip and the ability to report on the situation.
Hamas’s military wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, reported clashes with Israeli troops in the northeastern town of Beit Hanoun and the central Bureij area.
They also launched a series of rocket barrages towards Israel.
On Saturday morning, Rushdi Abu Alouf, a BBC correspondent in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, described a chaotic scene on the ground.
He noted that the bombardment in northern areas was on an unprecedented scale, while there were fewer strikes in southern areas.
Panic spread among the hundreds of thousands of people sheltering in the south after Israel instructed residents in the north to evacuate their homes.
The Israeli military reported airstrikes on 150 underground targets in northern Gaza, which belonged to Hamas, an organization classified as a terrorist group by Israel, the UK, and various other countries.
These targets included tunnels, underground combat facilities, and additional subterranean infrastructure.
Later, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared that “last night, the earth in Gaza shook.”
He emphasized that the Israeli forces had attacked targets both above and below the ground, targeting terrorist operatives across all levels and in various locations.
Gallant made it clear that the operation would continue until further notice.
Gaza Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal informed AFP news agency that hundreds of buildings and houses had been entirely destroyed, with thousands of other homes sustaining damage.
He noted that the Israeli strikes had significantly altered the landscape in northern Gaza.
A video posted on Instagram by photographer Shehab Younis showed a severely wounded man being hastily evacuated from a building and placed in the back of a truck due to the unavailability of an ambulance.
In a voice note sent to the BBC, Younis described the situation as catastrophic, with people unable to contact emergency services because all means of communication had been disrupted.
William Schomburg, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross sub-delegation in Gaza, provided harrowing insights into the dire healthcare situation in Gaza.
Hospitals have been operating ceaselessly to cope with the high number of casualties.
Schomburg stated, “I’ve been able to visit different hospitals, including the Al-Quds hospital, and the scenes there are difficult to describe.”
He recounted the challenging conditions faced by healthcare workers who are tirelessly treating the wounded, all while dealing with personal tragedies.
He shared the story of a doctor who had lost his brother and cousin the previous night.
Healthcare facilities have been forced to transform into shelters for displaced civilians, who believe that hospitals are the only safe places available to them.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is hosting more than 600,000 of the 1.4 million people who have been displaced from their homes.
The agency lost most of its contact with its teams during what it referred to as the “worst and most intensive night” of bombings thus far.
Juliette Touma, a spokeswoman for UNRWA, conveyed the immense challenges they are facing due to the disruptions in communications.
She reported that they had lost 53 colleagues and expressed fear that the number of casualties among their team might have increased as a result of the overnight bombardment.
Tensions have escalated in the Israel-Gaza conflict as Israel’s military operations continue against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Several factors are contributing to the intensification of this conflict, including the presence of Israeli hostages, the involvement of other governments, and the ongoing rocket attacks from Gaza.
The situation remains complex, and the outcome is uncertain.
The presence of Israeli hostages in Gaza has heightened the stakes in this conflict.
Many of the hostages are Israelis, but there are also a large number of foreign citizens and dual nationals among them.
This means that several other governments, including the US, France, and the UK, have a stake in the operation to secure their safe release.
The pressure to ensure the safety of these hostages is mounting, and it has become a critical aspect of this conflict.
French strategic specialist Col Michel Goya has pointed out that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) face a difficult decision.
They must choose between sparing the lives of the hostages or launching an operation to inflict maximum damage on Hamas.
This decision is laden with moral, political, and strategic considerations.
Additionally, the families of those held in Hamas captivity have been making heart-rending appeals, adding to the pressure on Israel’s leaders.
The emotional toll on these families and the broader Israeli public cannot be underestimated.
Another important aspect is the historical context.
In 2011, Israel exchanged more than 1,000 prisoners for the release of a soldier, Gilad Shalit, who had been held by Hamas for five years.
However, the consequences of that swap are still felt today.
One of the men freed in that exchange, Yahya Sinwar, has since become the political leader of Hamas in Gaza.
This complicates Israel’s approach to future large-scale prisoner exchanges.
The regional dynamics and how Israel’s neighbors respond also play a crucial role in the conflict’s duration and outcome.
Egypt, in particular, is a key player.
The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza has become a humanitarian focal point, with limited aid entering Gaza.
Foreign nationals and Palestinians with foreign passports are trying to leave Gaza, adding to the complexity of the situation.
Egypt faces international pressure to be seen as supporting the Palestinians in Gaza, but it has been cautious about letting a mass influx of Gazans into northern Sinai.
Jordan’s King Abdullah has also set clear red lines, emphasizing that Palestinian refugees should not be pushed out of Gaza into neighboring countries.
Israel’s northern border with Lebanon is under close scrutiny, with potential risks of cross-border attacks by Hezbollah.
Iran, the main sponsor of Hezbollah, is also making threats against Israel and is the focus of international concern.
The US has deployed military assets to the eastern Mediterranean in response to these threats.
The situation in Gaza is further complicated by the potential consequences of significantly weakening Hamas.
Israel withdrew its army and settlers from the Gaza Strip in 2005 and has no intention of returning as an occupying force.
A power vacuum or the rise of other groups could pose new risks and challenges.
There’s also the question of what might replace Hamas if it were to be significantly weakened.
One possibility is the gradual return of the Palestinian Authority (PA) to Gaza.
The PA currently controls parts of the West Bank, but it is weak there, and reconciliation and governance in Gaza would be highly complex.
The international community may need to provide an interim solution, as it did in Kosovo when the UN ran the region after Serbian forces withdrew in 1999.
However, it’s important to note that the UN is widely mistrusted in Israel.
Another option is to create an administration in Gaza run by local mayors, tribes, clans, and non-governmental organizations, with involvement from Egypt and the US, as well as other Arab states and the PA.
This approach could help stabilize the situation and rebuild Gaza’s devastated infrastructure.
Israel will likely insist on even tighter restrictions on “dual-use goods” entering Gaza and might call for an expanded buffer zone along the fence with Gaza to enhance the protection of Israeli communities.
In any case, Israel will seek to ensure that a similar attack does not happen again in the future.
The situation is complex, and the outcome remains uncertain.
MORE RELATED NEWS:
3 Palestinian Men Killed in West Bank Overnight, Totaling 114 Since October 7
Canada’s intelligence tells another Sikh leader that India wants to kill him
Increased Risk of Israeli War Crimes due to Gaza Communications Shutdown
News
Trudeau’s Gun Grab Could Cost Taxpayers a Whopping $7 Billion
![Trudeau's Gun Grab](https://www.chiangraitimes.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Trudeaus-Gun-Grab.jpg)
A recent report indicates that since Trudeau’s announcement of his gun buyback program four years ago, almost none of the banned firearms have been surrendered.
The federal government plans to purchase 2,063 firearm models from retailers following the enactment of Bill C-21, which amends various Acts and introduces certain consequential changes related to firearms. It was granted royal assent on December 15 of last year.
This ban immediately criminalized the actions of federally-licensed firearms owners regarding the purchase, sale, transportation, importation, exportation, or use of hundreds of thousands of rifles and shotguns that were previously legal.
The gun ban focused on what it termed ‘assault-style weapons,’ which are, in reality, traditional semi-automatic rifles and shotguns that have enjoyed popularity among hunters and sport shooters for over a century.
In May 2020, the federal government enacted an Order-in-Council that prohibited 1,500 types of “assault-style” firearms and outlined specific components of the newly banned firearms. Property owners must adhere to the law by October 2023.
Trudeau’s Buyback Hasn’t Happened
“In the announcement regarding the ban, the prime minister stated that the government would seize the prohibited firearms, assuring that their lawful owners would be ‘grandfathered’ or compensated fairly.” “That hasn’t happened,” criminologist Gary Mauser told Rebel News.
Mauser projected expenses ranging from $2.6 billion to $6.7 billion. The figure reflects the compensation costs amounting to $756 million, as outlined by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO).
“The projected expenses for gathering the illegal firearms are estimated to range from $1.6 billion to $7 billion.” “This range estimate increases to between $2.647 billion and $7 billion when compensation costs to owners are factored in,” Mauser stated.
Figures requested by Conservative MP Shannon Stubbs concerning firearms prohibited due to the May 1, 2020 Order In Council reveal that $72 million has been allocated to the firearm “buyback” program, yet not a single firearm has been confiscated to date.
In a recent revelation, Public Safety Canada disclosed that the federal government allocated a staggering $41,094,556, as prompted by an order paper question from Conservative Senator Don Plett last September, yet yielded no tangible outcomes.
An internal memo from late 2019 revealed that the Liberals projected their politically motivated harassment would incur a cost of $1.8 billion.
Enforcement efforts Questioned
By December 2023, estimates from TheGunBlog.ca indicate that the Liberals and RCMP had incurred or were responsible for approximately $30 million in personnel expenses related to the enforcement efforts. The union representing the police service previously stated that the effort to confiscate firearms is a “misdirected effort” aimed at ensuring public safety.
“This action diverts crucial personnel, resources, and funding from tackling the more pressing and escalating issue of criminal use of illegal firearms,” stated the National Police Federation (NPF).
The Canadian Sporting Arms & Ammunition Association (CSAAA), representing firearms retailers, has stated it will have “zero involvement” in the confiscation of these firearms. Even Canada Post held back from providing assistance due to safety concerns.
The consultant previously assessed that retailers are sitting on almost $1 billion worth of inventory that cannot be sold or returned to suppliers because of the Order-In-Council.
“Despite the ongoing confusion surrounding the ban, after four years, we ought to be able to address one crucial question.” Has the prohibition enhanced safety for Canadians? Mauser asks.
Illegally Obtained Firearms are the Problem
Statistics Canada reports a 10% increase in firearm-related violent crime between 2020 and 2022, rising from 12,614 incidents to 13,937 incidents. In that timeframe, the incidence of firearm-related violent crime increased from 33.7 incidents per 100,000 population in 2021 to 36.7 incidents the subsequent year.
“This marks the highest rate documented since the collection of comparable data began in 2009,” the criminologist explains.
Supplementary DataData indicates that firearm homicides have risen since 2020. “The issue lies not with lawfully-held firearms,” Mauser stated.
Firearms that have been banned under the Order-in-Council continue to be securely stored in the safes of their lawful owners. The individuals underwent a thorough vetting process by the RCMP and are subject to nightly monitoring to ensure there are no infractions that could pose a risk to public safety.
“The firearms involved in homicides were seldom legally owned weapons wielded by their rightful owners,” Mauser continues. The number of offenses linked to organized crime has surged from 4,810 in 2016 to a staggering 13,056 in 2020.
“If those in power … aim to diminish crime and enhance public safety, they ought to implement strategies that effectively focus on offenders and utilize our limited tax resources judiciously to reach these objectives,” he stated.
Related News:
Millennials in Canada Have Turned their Backs on Justin Trudeau
Millennials in Canada Have Turned their Backs on Justin Trudeau
News
Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding, But Still Accounting 48% Search Revenue
![Google](https://www.chiangraitimes.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Google-2.webp)
Google is so closely associated with its key product that its name is a verb that signifies “search.” However, Google’s dominance in that sector is dwindling.
According to eMarketer, Google will lose control of the US search industry for the first time in decades next year.
Google will remain the dominant search player, accounting for 48% of American search advertising revenue. And, remarkably, Google is still increasing its sales in the field, despite being the dominating player in search since the early days of the George W. Bush administration. However, Amazon is growing at a quicker rate.
Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding
Amazon will hold over a quarter of US search ad dollars next year, rising to 27% by 2026, while Google will fall even more, according to eMarketer.
The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the forecast.
Lest you think you’ll have to switch to Bing or Yahoo, this isn’t the end of Google or anything really near.
Google is the fourth-most valued public firm in the world. Its market worth is $2.1 trillion, trailing just Apple, Microsoft, and the AI chip darling Nvidia. It also maintains its dominance in other industries, such as display advertisements, where it dominates alongside Facebook’s parent firm Meta, and video ads on YouTube.
To put those “other” firms in context, each is worth more than Delta Air Lines’ total market value. So, yeah, Google is not going anywhere.
Nonetheless, Google faces numerous dangers to its operations, particularly from antitrust regulators.
On Monday, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled that Google must open up its Google Play Store to competitors, dealing a significant blow to the firm in its long-running battle with Fortnite creator Epic Games. Google announced that it would appeal the verdict.
In August, a federal judge ruled that Google has an illegal monopoly on search. That verdict could lead to the dissolution of the company’s search operation. Another antitrust lawsuit filed last month accuses Google of abusing its dominance in the online advertising business.
Meanwhile, European regulators have compelled Google to follow tough new standards, which have resulted in multiple $1 billion-plus fines.
![google](https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2014/10/12/12/38/google-485611_960_720.jpg)
Pixa Bay
Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding
On top of that, the marketplace is becoming more difficult on its own.
TikTok, the fastest-growing social network, is expanding into the search market. And Amazon has accomplished something few other digital titans have done to date: it has established a habit.
When you want to buy anything, you usually go to Amazon, not Google. Amazon then buys adverts to push companies’ products to the top of your search results, increasing sales and earning Amazon a greater portion of the revenue. According to eMarketer, it is expected to generate $27.8 billion in search revenue in the United States next year, trailing only Google’s $62.9 billion total.
And then there’s AI, the technology that (supposedly) will change everything.
Why search in stilted language for “kendall jenner why bad bunny breakup” or “police moving violation driver rights no stop sign” when you can just ask OpenAI’s ChatGPT, “What’s going on with Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny?” in “I need help fighting a moving violation involving a stop sign that wasn’t visible.” Google is working on exactly this technology with its Gemini product, but its success is far from guaranteed, especially with Apple collaborating with OpenAI and other businesses rapidly joining the market.
A Google spokeswoman referred to a blog post from last week in which the company unveiled ads in its AI overviews (the AI-generated text that appears at the top of search results). It’s Google’s way of expressing its ability to profit on a changing marketplace while retaining its business, even as its consumers steadily transition to ask-and-answer AI and away from search.
Google has long used a single catchphrase to defend itself against opponents who claim it is a monopoly abusing its power: competition is only a click away. Until recently, that seemed comically obtuse. Really? We are going to switch to Bing? Or Duck Duck Go? Give me a break.
But today, it feels more like reality.
Google is in no danger of disappearing. However, every highly dominating company faces some type of reckoning over time. GE, a Dow mainstay for more than a century, was broken up last year and is now a shell of its previous dominance. Sears declared bankruptcy in 2022 and is virtually out of business. US Steel, long the foundation of American manufacturing, is attempting to sell itself to a Japanese corporation.
SOURCE | CNN
News
The Supreme Court Turns Down Biden’s Government Appeal in a Texas Emergency Abortion Matter.
![Supreme Court](https://www.chiangraitimes.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Supreme-Court-1.webp)
(VOR News) – A ruling that prohibits emergency abortions that contravene the Supreme Court law in the state of Texas, which has one of the most stringent abortion restrictions in the country, has been upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States. The United States Supreme Court upheld this decision.
The justices did not provide any specifics regarding the underlying reasons for their decision to uphold an order from a lower court that declared hospitals cannot be legally obligated to administer abortions if doing so would violate the law in the state of Texas.
Institutions are not required to perform abortions, as stipulated in the decree. The common populace did not investigate any opposing viewpoints. The decision was made just weeks before a presidential election that brought abortion to the forefront of the political agenda.
This decision follows the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that ended abortion nationwide.
In response to a request from the administration of Vice President Joe Biden to overturn the lower court’s decision, the justices expressed their disapproval.
The government contends that hospitals are obligated to perform abortions in compliance with federal legislation when the health or life of an expectant patient is in an exceedingly precarious condition.
This is the case in regions where the procedure is prohibited. The difficulty hospitals in Texas and other states are experiencing in determining whether or not routine care could be in violation of stringent state laws that prohibit abortion has resulted in an increase in the number of complaints concerning pregnant women who are experiencing medical distress being turned away from emergency rooms.
The administration cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in a case that bore a striking resemblance to the one that was presented to it in Idaho at the beginning of the year. The justices took a limited decision in that case to allow the continuation of emergency abortions without interruption while a lawsuit was still being heard.
In contrast, Texas has been a vocal proponent of the injunction’s continued enforcement. Texas has argued that its circumstances are distinct from those of Idaho, as the state does have an exemption for situations that pose a significant hazard to the health of an expectant patient.
According to the state, the discrepancy is the result of this exemption. The state of Idaho had a provision that safeguarded a woman’s life when the issue was first broached; however, it did not include protection for her health.
Certified medical practitioners are not obligated to wait until a woman’s life is in imminent peril before they are legally permitted to perform an abortion, as determined by the state supreme court.
The state of Texas highlighted this to the Supreme Court.
Nevertheless, medical professionals have criticized the Texas statute as being perilously ambiguous, and a medical board has declined to provide a list of all the disorders that are eligible for an exception. Furthermore, the statute has been criticized for its hazardous ambiguity.
For an extended period, termination of pregnancies has been a standard procedure in medical treatment for individuals who have been experiencing significant issues. It is implemented in this manner to prevent catastrophic outcomes, such as sepsis, organ failure, and other severe scenarios.
Nevertheless, medical professionals and hospitals in Texas and other states with strict abortion laws have noted that it is uncertain whether or not these terminations could be in violation of abortion prohibitions that include the possibility of a prison sentence. This is the case in regions where abortion prohibitions are exceedingly restrictive.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which resulted in restrictions on the rights of women to have abortions in several Republican-ruled states, the Texas case was revisited in 2022.
As per the orders that were disclosed by the administration of Vice President Joe Biden, hospitals are still required to provide abortions in cases that are classified as dire emergency.
As stipulated in a piece of health care legislation, the majority of hospitals are obligated to provide medical assistance to patients who are experiencing medical distress. This is in accordance with the law.
The state of Texas maintained that hospitals should not be obligated to provide abortions throughout the litigation, as doing so would violate the state’s constitutional prohibition on abortions. In its January judgment, the 5th United States Circuit Court of Appeals concurred with the state and acknowledged that the administration had exceeded its authority.
SOURCE: AP
SEE ALSO:
Could Last-Minute Surprises Derail Kamala Harris’ Campaign? “Nostradamus” Explains the US Poll.
-
News3 years ago
Let’s Know About Ultra High Net Worth Individual
-
Entertainment2 years ago
Mabelle Prior: The Voice of Hope, Resilience, and Diversity Inspiring Generations
-
Health3 years ago
How Much Ivermectin Should You Take?
-
Tech2 years ago
Top Forex Brokers of 2023: Reviews and Analysis for Successful Trading
-
Lifestyles2 years ago
Aries Soulmate Signs
-
Movies2 years ago
What Should I Do If Disney Plus Keeps Logging Me Out of TV?
-
Health3 years ago
Can I Buy Ivermectin Without A Prescription in the USA?
-
Learning2 years ago
Virtual Numbers: What Are They For?