Still in the Dark cartoon

Israel agrees to 5-hour cease-fire to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza

Israel agreed Wednesday to halt its airstrikes on Gaza for five hours in order to allow humanitarian aid, following a request from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.
The military said in a statement Wednesday that it would hold its fire for five hours starting at 10:00 a.m. local time on Thursday.
It warns however that it will retaliate "firmly and decisively" if Hamas or other militant groups launch attacks on Israel during that time.
The cease-fire request came from U.N. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Robert Serry, Haaretz reports.
There was no word on whether there would be a similar lull from Palestinian militants, who fired at least 90 rockets at Israel on Wednesday and vowed not to stop until their demands were met.
After news of the cease-fire broke, Israel’s “Iron Dome” missile defense system continued to intercept rockets heading toward Israel, the newspaper added.
Earlier in the day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the international community to condemn the militant group Hamas for committing a “double war crime” of firing barrages of rockets at Israelis while using Palestinians as human shields.
Netanyahu, speaking at a news conference, said "Israel will continue to do what it needs to do to defend itself until peace and quiet are restored,” according to the Jerusalem Post.
He added that the demilitarization of Gaza is "most important step for the international community to insist on."
The comments came as a senior Hamas official said the militant group has formally closed the door on the Egyptian proposal for a cease-fire aimed at ending the conflict with Israel.
Sami Abu Zuhri said Wednesday in a text message to The Associated Press that the group "informed Cairo today officially that we don't accept the proposal they made."
Israel had held out hope that the cease-fire deal plan could be salvaged. But Abu Zuhri says it has been definitively rejected.
Both sides once again exchanged a flurry of rockets Wednesday.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said it had struck 50 Hamas targets in Beit Lahiya -- a town of approximately 70,000 people in northern Gaza -- the Zeitoun and Shijaiyah neighborhoods of Gaza City and other parts of northern Gaza.
The website of the Gaza Interior Ministry said Israeli warplanes hit 30 houses, including those of senior Hamas leaders Mahmoud Zahar, Jamila Shanti, Fathi Hamas and Ismail Ashkar.
Zahar was a key figure in Hamas' violent takeover of Gaza in 2007, while the other three were members of the Palestinian parliament elected in 2006. Many Hamas leaders have gone into hiding since the beginning of the Israeli offensive.
Israeli warplanes also bombed a coastal road west of Gaza City, killing four Palestinian boys, who were cousins and ages 9 to 11, said Ashraf Al Kedra, a Palestinian doctor. Seven others -- adults and children -- were wounded in the strike, he said.
The boys' uncle, Abdel Kareem Baker, 41, raged at Israel after the attack.
"It's a cold blooded massacre," he said. "It's a shame who come they didn't identify them as kids with all of the advanced technology they claim they're using."
The Israeli military said it was looking into the incident.
In response, Hamas fired 74 rockets at Israel Wednesday, 29 of which were intercepted by the country’s “Iron Dome” missile defense system, according to the IDF’s Twitter account.
The IDF also reported that 100 of Hamas’ rockets have struck their own territory since fighting erupted on July 8.
Prior to the intensified strikes in Gaza, Israel warned thousands of Palestinians living in the area Wednesday to “evacuate immediately” or face danger.
An Israeli military spokeswoman told The Wall Street Journal that residents of Beit Lahiya and parts of Gaza City had been warned by telephone.
On Wednesday morning, hundreds of residents of Zeitoun and Shijaiyah were seen walking in the streets, carrying small bags with belongings.
Older children carried smaller ones, in their arms or on their backs. Some of the women and children cried, looking terrified.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that 100,000 automated calls had been made to Gaza residents, but that number was not confirmed by the military.
The warnings were also delivered by text message and by leaflets dropped from planes. The Israeli military said in its message that large numbers of rockets were launched from these areas and that Israel plans to bomb these locations.
"Whoever disregards these instructions and fails to evacuate immediately, endangers their own lives, as well as those of their families," the message said.
Gaza residents told The Wall Street Journal that most of Beit Lahiya had already emptied out even before the latest warnings. But many residents in other parts of northern Gaza have decided to stay.
The Wafa Rehabilitation Center in Shijaiyah, which cares for 15 disabled and elderly patients, received several calls demanding the patients evacuate, director Basman Ashi told the AP. He said a shell fired by Israel hit near the building, causing damage to the second floor, but no injuries. Ashi added that he wouldn't evacuate his elderly patients, claiming they had nowhere to go.
An Israeli military spokesman told the Associated Press that the hospital's residents "have been asked repeatedly to leave."
"There is a rocket launching site in the area," the spokesman said, adding that Gaza militants are using the center to hide "behind civilians."
Four foreign volunteers -- from England, the U.S., France and Sweden -- have set up camp at the rehabilitation center to deter the military from targeting it.
English volunteer Rina Andolini, 32, said the patients range in age from 12 to over 70, and none can walk or move without assistance. She said there are also 17 Palestinian staff members.
Andolini said the patients are living in a constant state of fear, intensified by the Israeli tank shelling from across the border.
The Palestinian death toll in nine days of fighting rose to 204, with some 1,450 wounded, Palestinian health officials said.
However, it is not clear how many of the dead are civilians and how many are Hamas militants.
On the Israeli side, one man was killed and several people were wounded since the fighting erupted on July 8.
Hamas had come under pressure from the international community to reverse its initial rejection of the Egyptian cease-fire proposal, which would have gone into effect Tuesday morning had both sides agreed. Instead, Hamas announced its rejection of the proposal moments after Israel announced that its Security Cabinet had accepted it.
"I cannot condemn strongly enough the actions of Hamas in so brazenly firing rockets in multiple numbers in the face of a goodwill effort to operate a cease-fire," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday.
"I hope the Hamas leadership now understand the best thing to do is to call a halt, have the negotiation, discussion, and sit down with everybody to work out a long-term, viable plan for Gaza," former British Prime Minister and Middle East peace envoy Tony Blair told Sky News.

Fed-backed group drops plan to buy fancy hotel to house illegals

Bailey: Just the beginning of the end of America.

A plan to house hundreds of illegal immigrant children at a multimillion-dollar hotel complex in Texas was scuttled after the prospect of taxpayers footing the bill for luxury lodging proved too much of a public relations obstacle.
BCFS, previously known as Baptist Child and Family Services, which has a contract with the Department of Health and Human Services to run camps at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio and Fort Sill in Oklahoma, had a deal to buy the Palm Aire Hotel in Weslaco, Texas, for $3.8 million. The hotel was built in the 1980s and includes three swimming pools, tennis courts and an exercise room.

The Palm Aire Hotel is not exactly Club Med but the 7-acre site features three swimming pools, lighted tennis courts, concierge service and a Jacuzzi.

"This proposal sought to find a solution for providing safe, humane care for the children flooding across the border and overwhelming U.S. Border Patrol and communities," BCSF said in a statement announcing the deal was scrapped. "BCFS is thankful to the City of Weslaco for their consideration and support, and is disappointed that misinformation has fueled so much negativity against this effort that its success is likely jeopardized."
Officials said the project never reached the point of submitting a proposal to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, but one of the hotel's current owners confirmed that a sales agreement with BCSF had been in place.
The deal died Wednesday afternoon, hours after FoxNews.com reported that as many as 600 children between the ages of 12-17 could be placed at the Palm Aire, where BCFS would also provide medical and mental health care and educational and recreational programs under a contract that sources said could total as much as $50 million.
The Palm Aire Hotel is not exactly Club Med -- but the 7-acre site features three swimming pools, lighted tennis courts, concierge service and a Jacuzzi. The property also has around 10,000 square feet of retail and meeting space.
Weslaco is part of the complex of communities that includes McAllen at Texas' extreme southern border, where tens of thousands of unaccompanied children from Central America have crossed over from Mexico, overwhelming Border patrol facilities. Federal agencies and non-governmental organizations have been scrambling for places to house the massive surge of illegal immigrants.
BCSF had planned to hire 650 workers – some making upward of $45 per hour - to staff the facility, according to sources.
Officials said the location made sense, even if it made for bad optics. 
"The facility also would have allowed for the quick transfer of children in Border Patrol custody in South Texas to a residential child care facility, and then expedited release to their families," BCFS officials said. "The average length of stay was expected to be 15 days. During that time, children would be provided room and board, in addition to basic education, recreational activities, medical and mental health care, case management, and religious services, if they chose to participate. The children would not have attended public school."
But images of the hotel's amenities generated a backlash that officials said could not be overcome.
"We are not going to continue with trying to purchase that hotel," a source close to the plan told Fox News. "It was just too controversial. We should have known better, no matter what the cost."

Misperceptions about U.S. immigration policy behind surge of illegal children, report says

A new intelligence assessment concludes that misperceptions about U.S. immigration policy – and not Central American violence – are fueling the surge of thousands of children illegally crossing the Mexican border.
The 10-page July 7 report was issued by the El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC), which according to the Justice Department website is led by the DEA and incorporates Homeland Security. Its focus is on the collection and distribution of tactical intelligence, information which can immediately be acted on by law enforcement.
"Of the 230 migrants interviewed, 219 cited the primary reason for migrating to the United States was the perception of U.S. immigration laws granting free passes or permisos to UAC (unaccompanied children) and adult females OTMs (other than Mexicans) traveling with minors,” the report said.
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., told reporters Tuesday, "It's a critical situation and if we don't deal with it urgently but well- done right- then we're facing a crisis of just huge proportions." 
Diaz-Balart, who along with other lawmakers just visited Central America, described how human smugglers -- known as coyotes - are exploiting perceived changes to U.S. immigration law after the Obama administration decided in 2012 to practice prosecutorial discretion in cases where individuals were brought into the U.S. illegally as minors.
"The violence isn't new. The situation in those countries is not new," Diaz-Balart said. "These cartels have seen a weakness in the system. They've seen statements coming from the administration that they have used in order to just frankly increase the number of people coming over.
“Remember this is not a five-year-old or an 11-year-old can't just walk over the border and get to the United States. These are organized coyotes doing this.”
The intelligence assessment, which is unclassified but not meant to go beyond law enforcement, also cited data from the United Nations office on Drugs and Crime Statistics saying despite an explosion in the number of illegal minors, crime data for Central America actually showed a dip in violence.
"There's no doubt the message went out- go across border now the United States won't do anything about it," said Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas. "That came primarily from the coyotes who were transporting these kids. These coyotes - it really was something we weren't prepared for - they sort of advertised themselves, actually advertise, as social workers- we're gonna help you take your kids out of the poverty and the danger they have in these countries and put them in the United States, where they'll receive an education and be taken care of. And that was the message."
A draft chart obtained separately by Fox News, and circulating on Capitol Hill, showed data from Homeland Security projects that if current trends continue, as many as 90,000 illegal children will enter the U.S. by the end of this year and nearly double that,160,000, next year.
"We need a combination of things, want to swiftly and humanely return them to their home, said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. “Only until we do that will we stop the flow. So we need a message of deterrence." 
While customs and border protection officials issued no statement about the intelligence report, Homeland Security officials stressed that a combination of factors, including a bad economy and security concerns, were behind the surge. Earlier this month, a media campaign was launched by the U.S. government in Central America to combat misperceptions about American laws.

Israel warns Gazans to leave homes as Hamas urged to accept cease-fire

Israel resumed its aerial offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip Wednesday, one day after the Islamic militant group rejected a cease-fire plan proposed by Egypt. 
A Hamas website claimed that Israel had fired missiles at the homes of four senior leaders. The BBC reported that Israel officials said that senior Hamas militants had died in strikes carried out overnight. It was not clear if the two reports were about the same people.
The Israeli military had warned thousands of Palestinians living in the eastern and northern parts of Gaza to leave their homes by 8 a.m. Wednesday local time (1 a.m. Eastern Time). An Israeli military spokeswoman told The Wall Street Journal that residents of Beit Lahiya, a town of approximately 70,000 people in northern Gaza, as well as the Zeitoun and Shijaiyah neighborhoods of Gaza City had been warned by telephone. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that 100,000 automated calls had been made to Gaza residents, but that number was not confirmed by the military. 
Gaza residents told The Journal that most of Beit Lahiya had already emptied out even before the latest warnings. But many residents in other parts of northern Gaza have decided to stay.
The Wafa Rehabilitation Center in Shijaiyah, which cares for 15 disabled and elderly patients, received several calls demanding the patients evacuate, director Basman Ashi told the Associated Press. He said an Israel shell hit near the building, causing damage to the second floor, but no injuries. Ashi added that he wouldn't evacuate his elderly patients, claiming that  they had nowhere to go.
Four foreign volunteers -- from England, the U.S., France and Sweden -- have set up camp at the rehabilitation center to deter the military from targeting it.
English volunteer Rina Andolini, 32, said the patients range in age from 12 to over 70 and none can walk or move without assistance. She said there are also 17 Palestinian staff members.
Andolini said the patients are living in a constant state of fear, intensified by the Israeli tank shelling from across the border.
Gaza health officials say that 204 Palestinians have died in the nine days since the fighting began. However, it is not clear how many of the dead are civilians and how many are Hamas militants. 
Hamas has come under pressure from the international community to reverse its initial rejection of the Egyptian cease-fire proposal, which would have gone into effect Tuesday morning had both sides agreed. Instead, Hamas announced its rejection of the proposal moments after Israel announced that its Security Cabinet had accepted the proposal.
"I cannot condemn strongly enough the actions of Hamas in so brazenly firing rockets in multiple numbers in the face of a goodwill effort to operate a cease-fire," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday.
"I hope the Hamas leadership now understand the best thing to do is to call a halt, have the negotiation, discussion, and sit down with everybody to work out a long-term, viable plan for Gaza," former British Prime Minister and Middle East peace envoy Tony Blair told Sky News.
Egyptian officials told the Wall Street Journal they were still confident a truce deal could be reached and were keeping up their efforts. President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi planned to host Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Cairo on Wednesday. Abbas has expressed support for the Egyptian proposal.
Meanwhile, Israel's decision to accept the cease-fire exposed fault lines in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. Late Tuesday, Netanyahu dismissed his deputy defense minister, Danny Danon, after he said Mr. Netanyahu had made a mistake in accepting the cease-fire. 
Other members of Netanyahu's government, like Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, have advocated for a ground invasion of the territory, with Lieberman telling a press conference "The Israel Defense Forces must finish this operation in control of the entire Gaza Strip."