ISRAELI forces continue with their deadly attacks in violation of the October ceasefire with Hamas with at least four Palestinians killed in the al-Sanafour area of war-battered Gaza City.
While diplomatic circles welcome the recovery of the last captive’s remains in Gaza and the imminent partial reopening of the enclave’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt, a quieter, darker reality is taking shape on the ground.
According to comments by retired Israeli General Amir Avivi, who still advises the military, Israel has cleared land in Rafah, an area in southern Gaza that it had already flattened in more than two years of its genocidal war, to construct an enormous facility to entrench its military control and presence in Gaza for the long term.
Albania’s PM defends Israel, blames Gaza crisis solely on Hamas
In an address to the Knesset, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has shielded Israel from accountability, pinning Gaza’s humanitarian catastrophe entirely on Hamas while ignoring the killing of more than 71,000 Palestinians in Israel’s ongoing genocide.
Rama opened his speech by expressing goodwill towards Israeli leaders, including Netanyahu, and highlighting Albania’s longstanding solidarity with the Jewish people. He spoke of Albania’s historical support for Jews, saying the country and its people stood “as few others did for the Jewish people” and deserved recognition from Israel.
Drawing a parallel with Albania’s past, Rama said international criticism often misidentifies the source of Gaza’s suffering, arguing that many observers “mistook the finger for what it was pointing at” and failed to see that “the jailer of Gaza is Hamas, no one else but Hamas”.
