World News: Israel Pummels Gaza, Death Toll Rises

The two-month Israeli Palestinian cease fire was shattered this week, amidst allegations from Israel that Palestinian government is not honoring the agreement, which Palestine denies, after both sides were unable to negotiate terms for an extension.

Israel launched the initial military offensive after Hamas militants, funded by Iran, brazenly breached multiple Israeli borders, on October 7, 2023, and proceeded to slaughtering more than 1200 residents in their homes, and at festivals, killing indiscriminately and taking more than 250 hostages.


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The simmering peace between the two nations, which was always a single incident from exploding into war, was destroyed by the October 7, 2023, attack. Since then, Israel military led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have applied maximum pressure in the effort to dismantle the Hamas terrorist organization.

The nearly 18-month war has decimated the Gaza Strip, which was home to 2.3 million Palestinians, leaving the small strip of land bordering the Mediterranean Sea, devastated and in ruins. The war has displaced more than 90% of the population, and left much of the Gazan population homeless, living in deplorable, and unsafe tent cities, and facing one of the worst humanitarian crises the region has experienced.

Western allies, before the current administration, implored Netanyahu to allow more humanitarian aid into the region. While some aid reached the needy, other convoys were subject to air strikes, which the Israeli government explained were “mistakes.” Many aid organizations ceased efforts to deliver food and supplies as it became increasingly dangerous. More than 50,000 Palestinians have died since October 7, 2023.


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Netanyahu has maintained a maximum pressure strategy and still has been unable to destroy Hamas. Although he has succeeded in exposing much of the terror network, through a series of strategic attacks which exposed a hidden underground maze of tunnels, and war rooms, complete with hidden arsenals and weaponry.

As the cease-fire agreement stalled this week, leaders from both sides could not find common ground to extend the agreement for an additional three months. After peace talks fell apart, Israel began air strikes on the already annihilated region.


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According to Al-Jazeera.com, “A senior Hamas leader has been killed in a predawn strike in southern Gaza, as Israel has intensified attacks across the Gaza Strip. [. . .] Salah al-Bardawil, a senior member of Hamas’s political bureau, was killed on Sunday along with his wife while praying in their tent shelter in Khan Younis, according to the Palestinian group, which accused Israel of assassinating him.”

Even as the terror organizations Hamas and Hezbollah, both funded by Iran, regroup, rebuilding that infrastructure will take time. For now, Netanyahu will continue to apply maximum pressure, and continue the bombardment on the already devastated region, forcing Palestine back to the table to end this bloody war.


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Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation's top stories, for more than a decade.  A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category and was persuaded to withdraw the submission. Ms. Walker has completed five screenplays, "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She is completing the non-fiction narrative, "Unholy Alliances: A True Crime Story," which is expected to be released in early 2025. She is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and a former member of the International Federation of Journalists.

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