UN: Israel pushing Gaza’s health system to brink of collapse – National & International News – Tue 31Dec2024

FBI seizes largest homemade explosives cache in its history.

South Korean court approves arrest of president after martial law crisis.

UN: Israel pushing Gaza’s health system to brink of collapse.

NATIONAL NEWS

FBI seizes largest homemade explosives cache in its history

Earlier this month, the FBI rated a home in Isle of Wight County, VA, after its owner Brad Spafford was arrested for illegal possession of an unregistered short barrel rifle. In the home, investigators found more than 150 homemade explosive devices which were identified as pipe bombs. Some of these pipe bombs had been affixed to a wearable vest. In Spafford’s freezer, investigators also found a jar of HMTD, a highly volatile explosive compound. The jar was kept next to food items with a label saying “dangerous” and “do not touch”.

More pipe bombs were found in a backpack in a bedroom with the label #nolivesmatter. No Lives Matter is an extremist nihilist political movement which encourages adherents to engage in targeted attacks, mass killings, and animal abuse. 

Authorities have alluded to the presence of two young children in Spafford’s home. All of these dangerous items were accessible to them.

The agency began looking into Spafford in early 2023 after a neighbor reported that Spafford was stockpiling weapons and had lost three fingers on his right hand. The neighbor also said that Spafford used photos of President Biden for target practice at a local shooting range. He had also recently sought qualifications to practice shooting a sniper rifle.

According to Spafford’s attorneys, he has “no criminal record and no history of substance abuse or mental illness”. The attorneys are seeking Spafford’s release, arguing that there is no evidence that he had ever threatened anyone. Spafford’s home, a 20-acre farm, is 180 miles south of Washington DC.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

South Korean court approves arrest of president after martial law crisis

A court in South Korea has approved a request by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) to arrest the country’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol. The CIO is investigating Yoon’s short-lived imposition of martial law earlier this month. Yoon has been accused of leading an insurrection, which is one of the few criminal charges for which a sitting president has no immunity in South Korea.

On the evening of December 3, Yoon declared martial law after failing to overcome push back from the opposition Democratic party, which controls the National Assembly. The decree was only in place for a few hours before enough parliamentarians managed to convene and voted to invalidate the order. 

Yoon apparently failed to get enough of the military establishment on-side before issuing his declaration. Some high-ranking officers said that Yoon’s televised announcement was the first they had heard of any plan to declare martial law. 

On the 14th, the National Assembly voted to impeach Yoon and suspend his presidential powers. Other members of his cabinet have also been impeached. Most recently, the National Assembly voted to impeach Han Duck-soo, the prime minister and acting president. Han is a member of Yoon’s conservative People Power Party but had publicly opposed Yoon’s attempt to declare martial law.

Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, an Independent, has replaced Han as acting president.

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UN: Israel pushing Gaza’s health system to brink of collapse

Last week, Israeli forces invaded and bombarded Kamal Adwan Hospital, the last functioning hospital in Northern Gaza. They also arrested The hospital’s director Dr. Hussam Abu Safia. Reports have emerged this week indicating that Dr. Abu Safia is being held at Israel’s Sde Teiman base in the Negev desert. Sde Teiman has become notorious for torture of Palestinian detainees. It was there that Israeli soldiers were caught on camera raping a Palestinian detainee. Other doctors from Gaza detained by Israel are believed to have been tortured to death.

Since October, Northern Gaza has been under near total siege. Israel has repeatedly targeted healthcare institutions, food distribution centers, UN shelters, and refugee camps. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been forcibly expelled from refugee camps and cities in the North, most recently Beit Hanoun. 

Israel’s overall goal appears to be to make Northern Gaza uninhabitable by depriving those living there of all the necessities of life. Human rights observers and international groups have accused Israel of attempting an all-out ethnic cleansing within Northern Gaza, probably with the goal of re-establishing illegal Jewish settlements which were dismantled in 2005.

The UN Human Rights Office says Israel’s attacks in and around hospitals have pushed Gaza’s health system to “the brink of total collapse”. The office also said Israel’s systematic dismantling of health centers in Gaza may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. The World Health Organization has also demanded an end to attacks on Gaza’s hospitals. Last week, Tedros Ghebreyesus, the director of WHO, narrowly missed being killed in an Israeli airstrike on an airport in Yemen.

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