There are two cities in eastern Ukraine where street-to-street fighting is taking place, the two most-coveted targets of the Russian army: Pokrovsk, in the Donetsk region, and Kupiansk, in Kharkiv province. Both are locations of great strategic value, but while all indications are that Pokrovsk could fall into the hands of the invaders in the short term, Ukrainian troops have so far managed to reverse a defeat in Kupiansk that seemed certain a few months ago.
But Israel has continued since then to demolish hundreds of homes and critical civilian infrastructure in what residents see as an effort to not just prevent their return but erase their history. In the village of Hula in southern Lebanon, a monument engraved with the names of almost 100 Lebanese killed here in 1948 just after the creation of the state of Israel lies covered in graffiti and smashed to pieces.
The plan for the Israeli occupation of Gaza City has begun. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed Wednesday morning the approval of the military project to occupy the largest municipality in the occupied Palestinian territories, where nearly one million people live in poverty. Hours later, military spokesman Effie Defrin confirmed that the first steps are already being taken. We have begun preliminary operations and the first phases of the attack on Gaza City.
