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The Wire
2 days ago
- Health
- The Wire
'Not a Side Effect of War': Israeli Human Rights Groups Say Israel Committing Genocide in Gaza
New Delhi: In a first, Tel Aviv-based human rights organisations, B'Tsalem and Physicians for Human Rights Israel, have released statements calling out Israel for committing the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. They have said that Israel has systematically and deliberately targeted Palestinians and that its western allies have the power to stop it. In both their statements, the leading human rights groups have noted that Israel's policy towards Palestinians shifted on October 13, 2023, which marked the beginning of a military onslaught lasting more than 21 months and counting. B'Tsalem stated that it has resulted in mass killing, both directly and through creating unlivable conditions, serious bodily or mental harm to an entire population, decimation of basic infrastructure throughout the Gaza Strip, and forcible displacement on a huge scale, with ethnic cleansing added to the list of official war objectives. "The mass arrests and abuse of Palestinians in Israeli prisons, which have effectively become torture camps, and tearing apart the social fabric of Gaza, including the destruction of Palestinian educational and cultural institutions, compound it. The campaign is also an assault on Palestinian identity itself, through the deliberate destruction of refugee camps and attempts to undermine the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA)," it stated. The group also highlighted the failure of the international community in stopping the atrocities, especially the leaders of the Western world, particularly the United States and Europe, who, it said, "share responsibility by providing support that enables Israel's acts of destruction". Meanwhile, Physicians for Human Rights' statement focused on the starvation and killing of children by the Israeli occupation. "Each day, dozens die of malnutrition. Ninety-two percent of infants aged six months to two years don't get enough to eat. At least 85 children have already starved to death. Israel has displaced 9 in 10 Gazans, destroyed or damaged 92% of homes, and left over half a million children without schools or stability. It has wiped out essential health services – including dialysis, maternal care, cancer treatment, and diabetes management," it stated. The organisation said that this was not temporary but a "strategy to eliminate the conditions needed for life". "Even if Israel stops the offensive today, the destruction it has inflicted guarantees that preventable deaths – from starvation, infection, and chronic illness – will continue for years. This is not collateral damage. This is not a side effect of war. It is the systematic creation of unlivable conditions. It is the denial of survivability. It is a genocide," it stated. B'Tsalem further warned that this genocide will not remain confined to the Gaza Strip, and that the actions and underlying mindset driving it may be extended to other areas as well. "The recognition that the Israeli regime is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip, and the deep concern that it may expand to other areas where Palestinians live under Israeli rule, demand urgent and unequivocal action from both Israeli society and the international community," it said. The groups have urged international community to fulfil its duty Ito stop the genocide Israel is carrying out in Gaza. The death toll in Gaza now stands close to 60,000, as per the health ministry data, and the remaining population is on the verge of famine. Over the weekend, Israel announced a few measures to allow aid access, including a limited 10-hour daily "tactical pause" in certain areas of Gaza City. However, there have also been reports Israeli attacks taking place where people were trying to collect aid.
Bloomberg
17-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Cybersecurity Bosses Are Growing Increasingly Worried About AI Attacks and Misuse
Nearly a quarter of cybersecurity bosses said their companies have experienced an attack powered by artificial intelligence in the past year, according to a new survey in which AI risk emerged as the defining challenge. The number of AI-enabled attacks is likely underestimated because they are often hard to differentiate from human-led efforts, according to a report from the Tel Aviv-based venture fund Team8, which focuses on cybersecurity, AI, data, fintech and digital health. For the survey, the firm queried about 110 chief information security officers, who expressed both fear of malicious uses of AI and hope that it could improve cyber defenses.
Mint
20-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
Israel's war on Iran is costing hundreds of millions of dollars a day
Israel faces steep costs to repair hundreds of buildings damaged in Iranian missile strikes, including in Tel Aviv. Israel's conflict with Iran is costing the country hundreds of millions of dollars a day, according to early estimates, a price tag that could constrain Israel's ability to conduct a lengthy war. The biggest single cost are the interceptors needed to blow up incoming Iranian missiles, which alone can amount to between tens of millions to $200 million a day, experts say. Ammunition and aircraft also add to the price tag of the war, as does the unprecedented damage to buildings. Some estimates so far say that rebuilding or repairing damage could cost Israel at least $400 million. The mounting costs add up to pressure on Israel to wrap up the war quickly. Israeli officials have said the new offensive could last for two weeks, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has shown no indication of stopping before Israel achieves all of its goals, which include the elimination of Iran's nuclear program and its ballistic-missile production and arsenal. But the war is expensive. 'The main factor which will really determine the cost of the war will be the duration," said Karnit Flug, a former governor of the Bank of Israel and now a senior fellow at the Jerusalem-based think tank Israel Democracy Institute. Flug said she thought Israel's economy could sustain a short campaign. 'If it is a week it is one thing," she said. 'If it is two weeks or a month it is a very different story." An interceptor responds to an incoming missile this week in the skies above Tel Aviv. Over the last few days, Iran has launched more than 400 missiles at Israel, according to the Israeli government, which require sophisticated air-defense systems to stop. More missiles usually means more interceptors. The David's Sling system, developed jointly by Israel and the U.S., can shoot down short-to-long range missiles, drones and aircraft. It costs around $700,000 each time it is activated, assuming it uses two interceptors, normally the minimum launched, according to Yehoshua Kalisky, a senior researcher at the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies. Arrow 3, another system being used, shields against long-range ballistic missiles that leave the earth's atmosphere, at a cost of around $4 million per interception, Kalisky said. An older version of the Arrow, known as Arrow 2, costs around $3 million per interceptor. Other military expenditures include the cost of keeping dozens of warplanes, such as F-35 jets, in the air for hours at a time some 1,000 miles away from Israeli territory. Each costs around $10,000 per hour of flight time, according to Kalisky. The cost of refueling jets, and ammunition including bombs such as JDAMs and MK84s, also must be factored in. 'Per day it is much more expensive than the war in Gaza or with Hezbollah. And it all comes from the ammunition. That's the big expense," said Zvi Eckstein, who heads the Aaron Institute for Economic Policy at Reichman University in Israel, referring to both defensive and offensive munitions. According to an estimate by the institute, a war with Iran that lasts one month will amount to around $12 billion. The arrivals hall at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv was largely empty on June 13 after Israel closed its airspace to takeoffs and landings. Israeli military spending has gone up since the war began yet economists don't foresee a recession at this point, Eckstein said. Much of Israel's economy has shut down in recent days as a result of the Iranian strikes. Only workers in essential industries were called to work, and many businesses such as restaurants were closed. The country's main international airport was closed for several days and has now opened for limited flights back to Israel for those stuck abroad. On June 16, S&P released a risk assessment for the Israel-Iran escalation but didn't change its credit outlook. Israeli markets rose to record highs Wednesday, continuing to outperform U.S. benchmarks despite the conflict with Iran, betting that the war will end in Israel's favor. Some economists say that the markets appear to think that Israel's economy will prove resilient as it has demonstrated over the past 20 months of war in Gaza. Still, the damage inflicted by Iranian missile attacks will add up. Engineers say that the destruction caused by the large ballistic missiles is unlike anything they have seen in recent decades of war in Israel. Hundreds of buildings have been destroyed or heavily damaged, and they will cost hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild or repair, said Eyal Shalev, a structural engineer who has been called to assess the damage to civilian infrastructure. Shalev estimated it would cost at least tens of millions of dollars to repair a single newly-built skyscraper in central Tel Aviv, which was affected by the strikes. More than 5,000 people have been evacuated from their homes because of missile damage, and some are being housed in hotels paid for by the state, according to Israel's National Public Diplomacy Directorate. Targeting of critical infrastructure has been a top concern in Israel. Two strikes on Israel's largest oil refinery in northern Israel led to its shutdown and killed three of the refinery's employees. Some employees who work in sensitive or critical infrastructure industries have been told in recent days not to come to work, according to Dror Litvak, CEO of ManpowerGroup Israel, which supplies over 12,000 employees in Israel to different sectors. On Wednesday, Israel's home front command said it would partially lift a ban on gatherings—allowing up to 30 people in total to meet—and that workplaces in much of the country could reopen as long as there is a nearby shelter. But with schools still closed, many parents are struggling to juggle working from home and entertaining their children amid yet another military campaign. Ariel Markose, 38 years old, a chief strategy officer for an Israeli nonprofit, now holds her morning work calls from a park in Jerusalem where she spends several hours with her four young children. She heads home at around 4 p.m. and continues to work while her husband takes over with the children. 'There are families that are completely collapsing under this," she said. Iranian missiles have hit critical Israeli infrastructure, and some homes have been damaged, as in Ramat Gan. Write to Anat Peled at
New York Post
14-06-2025
- Business
- New York Post
NYPD to contract Israeli firm to search deep web for bomb makers
The NYPD is preparing to partner with an Israeli company to scour the deep web for terrorists who want to make bombs, other explosive devices and chemical weapons, according to an official notice online. The two-year, $567,000 deal with Tel Aviv-based Terrogence Global will cover the purchase of 'Explosive Tradecraft Intelligence Reporting Services' that will look for and analyze online conversations in multiple languages, according to the notice seeking public comment. The comment stage is a precursor to a deal. The company provides a tool for searching for online discussions on IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices), bombs and chemical weapons, a police source said. Advertisement 3 The NYPD is entering a contract with a company that will help scour the Internet for threats. AFP via Getty Images On its website, Terrogence says its 'analysts utilize multiple virtual agents (Avatars) to gather information' from the Internet. They agents also 'proactively engage potential threat actors on social media, instant messaging and the Deep Web, and provide the relevant context to mitigate threats,' according to the website. The three-year contract would go into effect Sept. 15 with options to renew through 2033, according to the notice seeking public comment. Advertisement The move to bolster the detection of bad actors online comes as arsonists torched at least 11 marked NYPD vehicles in a Brooklyn parking lot Thursday. Investigators found undetonated explosive devices in the area after two masked suspects were seen running away, police and sources said. 3 The company will search clandestine spaces on the web, according to its website. Gorodenkoff – 3 Shai Arbel is chief executive officer at Terrogence Global, the company that's set to get the NYPD contract. linkedin/in/shai-arbel-7a430b6 The NYPD has been ramping up its tech abilities recently overall. Advertisement Last year the department inked an $383,744 contract to purchase a drone-tracking system. The stationary system uses radio frequencies, cameras and radar to id and follow drones, according to the contract.
Time of India
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
'Significant damage': Iran breaches Iron Dome, strikes Israel's 'Pentagon' in Tel Aviv
Iran launched a powerful retaliatory strike late Friday night, targeting one of Israel's most heavily guarded military sites, the Kirya compound in Tel Aviv, following Israel's Operation Rising Lion, which targeted Iran's nuclear facility at Natanz. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The Kirya, often referred to as Israel's version of the Pentagon, houses the Israel Defence Forces' (IDF) general staff, the ministry of defence, and critical military command and intelligence units. It also includes Camp Rabin, named after former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, and is considered vital for Israel's national security operations. According to reports, Iran fired a barrage of missiles at the Tel Aviv-based military complex, striking deep into Israel's defence infrastructure. Israel's well-known Iron Dome air defence system failed to stop the targeted attack launched by the Khamenei-led Islamic Republic. The New York Times verified alarming social media footage showing a missile slamming into the area, causing what was described as "significant damage." "This is Israel's version of the Pentagon, the Kiryat, and the building on this compound was just hit," Fox News reported. "There is significant damage." The dramatic videos showed Israel's air defence systems firing interceptors into the night sky moments before a large explosion lit up central Tel Aviv. One of the warheads appears to have penetrated Israel's defences and struck a sensitive command site. Fox News correspondent on the ground described the incoming attack as a "massive amount" of Iranian ballistic missiles, forcing them to take cover during the live report. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "These ballistic missiles make the rockets that were being fired from Gaza look like toys," the correspondent said, adding that Iran used around 150 ballistic missiles to hit residential areas and military facilities in and around Tel Aviv. The IDF has not officially confirmed that its headquarters were struck but released footage showing Iran firing waves of ballistic missiles into Israeli territory. "The IDF cannot, and will not, allow Iran to attack our civilians," the military said in a post on X. Iran's targeting of the Kirya marks a major escalation in the ongoing conflict, as the site is one of the most sensitive and strategically important in the country, coordinating military planning, intelligence, and operational command.
