IRANIAN SNOTBAG DEATH CULT SAYS LOOK OUT BIG SATAN AMERICA AND ISRAEL.

JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER. 1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)

 IRANIAN SNOTBAG DEATH CULT SAYS LOOK OUT BIG SATAN AMERICA AND ISRAEL.

EARTHQUAKES

EZEKIEL 37:7,11-14
7  So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.(POSSIBLE QUAKE BRINGS ISRAEL BACK TO LIFE-SO NOISE AND SHAKING-QUAKES WILL ALSO DESTROY ISRAELS ENEMIES)
11  Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
12  Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
13  And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,
14  And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.

MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places,(DIFFERNT PLACES AT THE SAME TIME) and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

REVELATION 11:11-14
11 And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
12 And they(ELIJSH-MOSES) heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither.(REV 4:1 WE KNOW IS THE RAPTURE FOR SURE) And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.(RAPTURED)
13 And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14 The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.

REVELATION 16:18-20
18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
19 And the great city (JERUSALEM) was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.

1 OF 3 GOD GAVE THEN OVER TO
1-PROMISCUOUS SEX AMOUNG EACH OTHER.
ROMANS 1:24
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: (THE 60S FREE SEX)
2 OF 3 GOD GAVE THEM OVER TO
2-SODOMITES - MEN LUSTING MEN, AND WOMEN LUSTING AFTER WOMEN.
ROMANS 1:26-27
26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
3 OF 3 GOD GAVE THEM OVER TO
3-A DEPRAVED MIND-ANY SIN GOES.
ROMANS 1:28-31
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER GOD GAVE THEM OVER TO THESE 3 DEPRAVED ABOMINATION SINS?
OH OH NOAHS DAY. WHAT HAPPENED IN NOAHS DAY. THE WHOLE WORLD WAS JUDGED BY WATER.
GENESIS 6:7,17
7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.
GENESIS 7:4
4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.
GENESIS 8:16
16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
WELL THE SODOMITES PICKED THE RIGHT SIGN OF A RAINBOW FOR JUDGEMENT. THE SODOMITES TRYED TO STEAL GODS SIGN THAT THE WHOLE EARTH WILL NEVER DIE FROM FLOOD WATERS AGAIN. BUT THE JUDGEMENT THIS TIME IS GOING TO BE BY FIRE.NOT WATER.
2 PETER 3:7
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

Rare NYC-area earthquake rattles, unnerves northeastern United States-East Coast quake felt by some 42 million people; no major damage reported from 4.8-magnitude tremor; trains slow down as officials check infrastructure; Biden briefed, WH says-By Jennifer Peltz and MIKE CATALINI 5 April 2024, 8:59 pm

NEW YORK (AP) — An earthquake shook the densely populated New York City metropolitan area Friday morning, with residents across the Northeast reporting rumbling in a region unaccustomed to it.The United States Geological Survey reported a quake at 10:23 a.m. with a preliminary magnitude of 4.8, centered near Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, or about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of New York City and 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Philadelphia. The agency’s figures indicated that the quake might have been felt by more than 42 million people.People from Baltimore to the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border reported feeling the ground shake. While there were no immediate reports of serious damage, officials were checking bridges and other major infrastructure, Amtrak slowed trains throughout the busy Northeast Corridor, and a Philadelphia-area commuter rail line suspended service out of what it said was “an abundance of caution.”“Pretty weird and scary,” Shawn Clark said after feeling the quake in his 26th-floor midtown Manhattan office. Clark, an attorney, initially feared an explosion or construction accident.His colleague Finn Dusenbery worried the ceiling or even the building would collapse.“I wanted to get out of the building when I felt that,” Dusenbery said.In midtown Manhattan, traffic grew louder as motorists blared their horns on shuddering streets. Some Brooklyn residents heard a boom and felt their building shaking. Cellphone circuits were overloaded for a time as people tried to reach loved ones and figure out what was going on.At United Nations headquarters in New York, the shaking interrupted the chief executive of Save The Children, Janti Soeripto, as she briefed an emergency Security Council session on the threat of famine in Gaza and the Israeli drone strikes that killed aid workers there.“Is it an earthquake?” Soeripto wondered aloud, then asked if it was all right to go ahead. She did, but soon diplomats’ phones blared with earthquake alerts.In New York City’s Astoria neighborhood, Cassondra Kurtz was giving her 14-year-old Chihuahua, Chiki, a cocoa-butter rubdown for her dry skin. Kurtz was recording the moment on video, as an everyday memory of the dog’s older years, when her apartment started shaking hard enough that a large mirror banged audibly against a wall.Kurtz assumed at first it was a big truck going by. The video captured her looking around, perplexed. Chiki, however, “was completely unbothered.”Earthquakes are less common on the eastern than western edges of the US because the East Coast does not lie on a boundary of tectonic plates. The biggest Eastern quakes usually occur along the mid-Atlantic Ridge, which extends through Iceland and the Atlantic Ocean.Quakes on the East Coast can still pack a punch, as its rocks are better than their western counterparts at spreading earthquake energy across far distances.“If we had the same magnitude quake in California, it probably wouldn’t be felt nearly as far away,” said US Geological Service geophysicist Paul Caruso.A 4.8-magnitude quake isn’t large enough to cause damage, except for some minor effects near the epicenter, the agency posted on X.EarthCam captured the moment a 4.8-magnitude earthquake recorded in New Jersey shook residents in surrounding states and New York City on Friday morning. The earthquake was the strongest in NJ since 1884. pic.twitter.com/cKXmXqmxtW— EarthCam (@EarthCam) April 5, 2024-Earthquakes with magnitudes near or above 5 struck near New York City in 1737, 1783 and 1884, the USGS said. And Friday’s stirred memories of the August 23, 2011, earthquake that jolted tens of millions of people from Georgia to Canada. With an epicenter in Virginia, it left cracks in the Washington Monument and rattled New Yorkers ahead of the 10th anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks.Registering magnitude 5.8, it was the strongest earthquake to hit the East Coast since World War II.On Friday, the White House said in a statement that US President Joe Biden had been briefed on the earthquake and was “in touch with federal, state and local officials as we learn more.”As of noon, New York City had no indications of “major life safety or infrastructure issues from the earthquake,” Mayor Eric Adams said on X, adding that the city was inspecting critical areas.New York Governor Kathy Hochul posted on X that the quake was felt throughout the state, but officials had no reports of any life-threatening problems.Solomon Byron felt it as he sat on a park bench in Manhattan’s East Village.“I was just like, ‘Where is that vibration coming from?'” Byron recalled. He was especially puzzled since there were no subways running nearby.But he didn’t realize there had been an earthquake until he got the alert on his cellphone.

2024 Total Eclipse: Where & When-Eclipse Explorer

For a mobile-friendly or full-screen version of this interactive map, visit go.nasa.gov/EclipseExplorer.-NASA's Eclipse Explorer is an interactive map designed to enhance your eclipse-viewing experience. Crafted to complement our existing static eclipse maps, this tool enables users to dive into this amazing celestial event like never before. With this map, you can learn what will be visible in different areas, see a prediction of the corona, compare this path to previous eclipses, and more. To see it full screen, visit go.nasa.gov/ EclipseExplorer.-NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio-The Monday, April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse will cross North America, passing over Mexico, the United States, and Canada. The total solar eclipse will begin over the South Pacific Ocean. Weather permitting, the first location in continental North America that will experience totality is Mexico’s Pacific coast at around 11:07 a.m. PDT.A map of the contiguous U.S. shows the path of the 2024 total solar eclipse stretching on a narrow band from Texas to Maine.The total solar eclipse will be visible along a narrow track stretching from Texas to Maine on April 8, 2024. A partial eclipse will be visible throughout all 48 contiguous U.S. states.Want to download this map and view other versions? Visit NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio.The path of the eclipse continues from Mexico, entering the United States in Texas, and traveling through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Small parts of Tennessee and Michigan will also experience the total solar eclipse. The eclipse will enter Canada in Southern Ontario, and continue through Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Cape Breton. The eclipse will exit continental North America on the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, Canada, at 5:16 p.m. NDT.A map developed using data from a variety of NASA sources shows the total eclipse path as a dark band. Outside this path, purple lines indicate how much of the Sun will become covered by the Moon during the partial eclipse. This video shows different areas of the map, explaining these and other features that describe what observers across the country can expect to see during the total eclipse.This table provides the time that totality begins in some U.S. cities in the path of totality. These areas will also experience a partial eclipse before and after these times.
Location-Partial Begins-Totality Begins-Maximum-Totality Ends-Partial Ends-
Dallas, Texas-12:23 p.m. CDT-1:40 p.m. CDT-1:42 p.m. CDT-1:44 p.m. CDT-3:02 p.m. CDT
Idabel, Oklahoma-12:28 p.m. CDT-1:45 p.m. CDT-1:47 p.m. CDT-1:49 p.m. CDT-3:06 p.m. CDT
Little Rock, Arkansas-12:33 p.m. CDT-1:51 p.m. CDT-1:52 p.m. CDT-1:54 p.m. CDT-3:11 p.m. CDT
Poplar Bluff, Missouri-12:39 p.m. CDT-1:56 p.m. CDT-1:56 p.m. CDT-2:00 p.m. CDT-3:15 p.m. CDT
Paducah, Kentucky-12:42 p.m. CDT-2:00 p.m. CDT-2:01 p.m. CDT-2:02 p.m. CDT-3:18 p.m. CDT
Carbondale, Illinois-12:42 p.m. CDT-1:59 p.m. CDT-2:01 p.m. CDT-2:03 p.m. CDT-3:18 p.m. CDT
Evansville, Indiana-12:45 p.m. CDT-2:02 p.m. CDT-2:04 p.m. CDT-2:05 p.m. CDT-3:20 p.m. CDT
Cleveland, Ohio-1:59 p.m. EDT-3:13 p.m. EDT-3:15 p.m. EDT-3:17 p.m. EDT-4:29 p.m. EDT-
Erie, Pennsylvania-2:02 p.m. EDT-3:16 p.m. EDT-3:18 p.m. EDT-3:20 p.m. EDT-4:30 p.m. EDT
Buffalo, New York-2:04 p.m. EDT-3:18 p.m. EDT-3:20 p.m. EDT-3:22 p.m. EDT-4:32 p.m. EDT
Burlington, Vermont-2:14 p.m. EDT-3:26 p.m. EDT-3:27 p.m. EDT-3:29 p.m. EDT-4:37 p.m. EDT
Lancaster, New Hampshire-2:16 p.m. EDT-3:27 p.m. EDT-3:29 p.m. EDT-3:30 p.m. EDT-4:38 p.m. EDT
Caribou, Maine-2:22 p.m. EDT-3:32 p.m. EDT-3:33 p.m. EDT-3:34 p.m. EDT-4:40 p.m. EDT

DISEASES-ANIMAL TO HUMAN (500 million Dead )

REVELATION 6:7-8
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth,(2 billion) of (8 billion) to kill with sword,(WEAPONS)(500 million) and with hunger,(FAMINE)(500 million) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES)(500 million) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE)(500 million).

DRUG PUSHERS AND ADDICTS

1 PET 5:8
8 Be sober,(NOT DRUGED UP OR ALCOHOLICED) be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

REVELATION 18:23
23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries (DRUGS) were all nations deceived.

REVELATION 9:21 (RAGE OF THE LAST DAYS AGE SATAN WORSHIP AND DRUG SELLING AND JUNKIES)(THEY REFUSE TO REPENT OF THESE SINS)
21 Neither repented they of their murders,(KILLING) nor of their sorceries (DRUG ADDICTS AND DRUG PUSHERS), nor of their fornication,(SEX OUTSIDE MARRIAGE OR PROSTITUTION FOR MONEY) nor of their thefts.(STEALING)
G5331 - Sorceries-Strong's No.:    G5331-Greek:φαρμακεία-Transliteration:pharmakeia-Word Origin:From G5332-Bible Usage:Sorcery witchcraft.
Strongs-Definition:medication ("pharmacy") that is (by extension) magic (literal or figurative)-Thayers-Definition: 1. the use or the administering of drugs-2. poisoning 3. sorcery, magical arts, often found in connection with idolatry and fostered by it-4. metaph. the deceptions and seductions of idolatry

DRUGS (SORCORIES IN THE BIBLE IS WITCHCRAFT)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQreiDHCzYM
I HAD MUSHROOMS AS A CHRISTIAN-WHAT HAPPENED
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BmqCZMLjEE

World bank says Nigeria on track to meet digital ID registration target-NIMC makes changes to ensure NIN data security-Apr 2, 2024, 4:27 pm EDT    | Ayang Macdonald

Nigeria is well on course to reach a target of issuing digital ID to 148 million citizens by June 30 this year, the World Bank has said in its 2023 annual report.According to the 82-page report, released at the close of last month, Nigeria, through the efforts of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), under the Nigeria Digital Identity for Development (Nigeria ID4D) initiative, has issued 104.16 million national identification numbers (NINs), representing 70 percent of the 148 million target.The report titled “Putting people at the center of DPI” beams a spotlight on the “significant progress” made by the Identification for Development (ID4D) and Digitalizing Government to Person Payments (G2Px) Initiatives, highlighting the “achievements, lessons learned, and the impact of these initiatives in promoting safer and more inclusive digital ID and government-to-person payments systems, with a focus on placing people at the forefront.”Per the report, Nigeria’s success so far has been attained thanks to a number of innovative measures aimed at expediting the process for issuing the NIN. The upgrade, per the report, includes the enhancement of the android enrollment software which has significantly reduced the time needed for enrollment, the building of partnerships with civil society actors to encourage the enrollment of more women, and the introduction of child enrollment which began with successful pilots.The novelties and progress notwithstanding, the World Bank contends that many challenges remain to be cleared in order to further smoothen the NIN issuance process and make it more all-encompassing and broad-based. One of the recommendations here is for the NIMC to further shorten the NIN issuance time by creating the possibility of real-time NIN generation, which would significantly cut wait time for NIN applicants.Efforts to put in place safeguards to ensure data security and privacy are also recognized in the report.Nigeria’s digital ID program is run with funding from the World Bank through the International Development Association, the European Investment Bank and the French Development Agency.In a bid to provide stronger direction for the digital ID project, Nigeria’s federal government recently inaugurated a steering committee to ensure overall governance and coordination.Licensed agents to have restricted access to NIMC database-Meanwhile, as part of efforts to guarantee the safety and security of personal data, and in response to a recently reported database breach incident, the NIMC has restricted access by third-party licensees to its digital ID repository.In a statement issued March 28, the National Data Protection Commission (NDPC) said investigation into the data incident revealed that “a third party, who among others, was originally authorized to provide verification services to citizens and genuine businesses, might have allowed expressverify.com to use its NIN verification credentials to conduct verification.” Expressverify.com is the platform where some NIN data was reported to have been illegally obtained and put on sale.“After a painstaking review, limited access has been granted to few establishments that are providing pivotal public services such as education and security. At the moment, data processing by licensees generally are to be scrutinized and only those that are cleared based on credible evidence of regulatory compliance will be permitted to carry out NIN verification going forward,” reads a part of the statement signed by the NDPC’s head of Legal, Enforcement and Regulations, Babatunde Bamigboye.As another preventive move, the NDPC says “a series of trainings will be conducted in order to ensure that personnel and licensees are abreast of the duty of care and the standard of care mandated by the Nigeria Data Protection Act, NIMC’s Privacy Policy and other relevant regulatory protocols.”

US healthcare industry in a ‘mad dash’ toward digital transformation-Decentralized identity and other tools prescribed for chronic data management pain-Apr 5, 2024, 12:16 pm EDT    | Joel R. McConvey

The quest to simplify patient healthcare records is its own miniature saga in technological history, and advances in decentralized digital identity are opening up the latest chapter. Managing huge amounts of health data, protecting it from breaches and accurately matching it with patients has become a costly and precarious enterprise for U.S. healthcare providers.As pointed out by Chris Schuler, CEO of identity access management firm Simeio, in a recent post for Forbes Technology Council, “few industries face more severe consequences than healthcare.”“Data sits at the heart of everything in the healthcare industry,” Schuler says. “And yet, this vital information – a goldmine for cybercriminals and a prime target for breaches – remains acutely vulnerable, exposed to the harsh reality of cyberattacks. Patients often end up as collateral damage.”A new bill before Congress aims to address a key issue pertaining to interoperability. Previously proposed matching schemes based on a unique patient identifier (UPI), an individual numerical code that providers could use to match patient data, have been ensnared in wider political debates. This new proposed legislation aims for a reset.According to a report from Health Leaders, the Patient Matching and Transparency in Certified Health IT (Match IT) Act of 2024 would “establish the patient match rate as a clinical quality measurement, creating standards by which providers identify patients with their services and information.” The act would define “patient match rate” and set a standard match rate of 99.9 percent – a degree of accuracy that would likely mean issuing digital IDs. However, the standard would be voluntary and the law does not require disclosure of results.Verato identity data management maturity model-The Match IT Act aside, the healthcare industry is making what Clay Ritchey, CEO of digital identity firm Verato, calls a “mad dash” toward digital transformation and interoperability.“As an industry, we’ve been focused on digital transformation, and now we’re at the phase where we need to start utilizing all of our digital data to improve care and reduce costs,” says Ritchey. “Knowing who is who is the first step of that process.”Verato has announced the launch of an online assessment for its Verato Identity Data Management Maturity Model. A press release calls it “the industry’s first proven best practice assessment framework designed to help healthcare organizations evaluate, benchmark, and enhance their identity data management processes and resources to drive meaningful impact across their entire enterprise.”The online assessment covers an organization’s maturity in six categories: sources of truth, areas of data excellence, agility and flexibility, data stewardship, data governance, and data trust.“No matter where you are on the maturation curve, Verato can help guide you along the path for continual improvement,” says Ritchey.Healthcare industry has a digital identity problem-Writing for the American College of Health Data Management, authors Jared Jeffery and Samuel Smith say the problem with healthcare is the same as it is everywhere: in centralized digital identity.“Most of us – often without realizing – have anchored our digital identities to centralized systems,” they write. “And centralized identity systems, despite their convenience, are plagued with vulnerabilities.”The authors argue that decentralized identity or self-sovereign identity models, which place data back in the hands of the ID holder, “could usher in revolutionary improvements” in healthcare. Among these, they cite decreased risk from the reduction of huge data honey pots into smaller repositories, increased patient agency, interoperability, and reduced dependence on third-party intermediaries in data verification.Although they also cite challenges with implementing decentralized digital identity systems in healthcare, the authors ultimately believe that “the marriage of healthcare’s data and next-generation identity solutions is not a question of ‘if’ but ‘when.’”“Integrating decentralized identity into the healthcare sector could not only streamline administrative processes,” they say, “but also enhance the quality of care and patient trust.”These will be in high demand as the sector moves forward into a future in which digital identity and biometrics are common. In his Forbes article, Chris Schuler points out that, “in 2023 alone, over 540 organizations reported breaches to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), impacting an astonishing 112 million individuals.” The list of consequences manifests as a house of cards: medical identity theft leading to crippling debt; prejudice and discrimination against those whose leaked data has revealed preexisting conditions or genetic predispositions; and ultimately, a collapse of trust in medical institutions.“Recognizing the importance of investing in cybersecurity is essential, especially when considering the alternative consequences,” writes Schuler. “Treat it not as a cost but as an essential investment.”

Digital ID at center of Europe’s data sharing changes: report-Apr 5, 2024, 3:08 pm EDT-| Masha Borak

As the European Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet inches closer to reality, organizations are trying to grasp how the project and the new regulation surrounding it will impact their work.The Centre of Excellence for Data Sharing and Cloud (CoE DSC), an international initiative for data sharing based in the Netherlands, has published a guide on what the European digital identity will mean for data spaces, including service providers and data sharing initiatives.Common European data spaces are the continent’s attempt to create a single market for data, ensuring that more data becomes available for use in the economy, society and research.“Digital Identity (DI) is a key building block for data spaces,” the paper notes. “In this dynamic environment, data spaces must adopt a strategic approach to remain agile and effective.”Data spaces are set to benefit from the EU-wide digital identity which will enable cross-sectoral data sharing and interoperabi lity. Collaboration and partnership among data spaces, digital identity providers and regulatory bodies should be encouraged, the paper notes.CoE DSC provides an analysis of the upcoming eIDAS 2.0 regulation, which aims to introduce new trust services and regulate the EUDI Wallet for natural persons and the “Organisational Digital Identity Wallet” (ODIW) for legal entities. It outlines several recommendations for organizations working in the data space, including using components and infrastructure created by eIDAS 2.0.“Data spaces should explore opportunities to maximize leverage of eIDAS2 functionalities as generic building blocks and not reinvent the wheel,” the report says.In November, the European Parliament and the Council reached an agreement on eIDAS 2.0. The next step will be delivering the wallet’s technical specifications. Government, banking and utilities institutions will be obligated to accept the EUDI Wallet within just 24 months after the regulation is adopted, so preparation will have to start soon, the report warns.Other organizations have published their own guides on the EUDI Wallet and the upcoming eIDAS, including Identity, a nonprofit organization focused on decentralized identity verification services, and identity verification company iDenfy.

PayByFace expands across European markets-Apr 5, 2024, 9:55 am EDT-Bianca Gonzalez

The Amsterdam-based biometric payment processing startup PayByFace has announced agreements to expand into several European markets including Netherlands, UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Romania and Bulgaria.Customers can make purchases by adding their payment method to a digital wallet that they can access by submitting a face scan at the point of sale. PayByFace uses a decentralized architecture and can authenticate in less than one second.“PayByFace enables its eWallet users to actively transform the shopping experience with personalized attention… Those 5 to 10 second interactions can be meaningful if dedicated to the client and not to the process,” says Mike Draghici, Founder and CEO of PayByFace.PayByFace has built the platform based on the Architecture Reference Framework in anticipation of the EUDI Wallet Reference Implementation that will be set into motion in Q2 of 2026. The platform will be interoperable based on the standards set out by the European Union.PayByFace expanded into South Africa, India, UAE, and the US in 2022, but GDPR compliance adds a unique element to European expansion.“As a pioneer EU fintech start-up, among the very few validated global biometric solutions, PayByFace strives to enable global movement towards a cashless and cardless society, using face as a highly secured virtual card,” says Draghici.“This is a significant milestone in the company’s journey to both enable and scale biometric technology adoption in our commitment to simplify the future of check-out interactions, while remaining fully GDPR compliant with the EU regulation,” he continues.PayByFace has also announced that Ryan Zanchetta will serve as Chief Growth Officer, bringing with him 20 years of generating leads for international B2B opportunities.

AuthenticID and Anonybit founders demystify privacy-centric biometric authentication-Apr 5, 2024, 1:18 pm EDT-Chris Burt

An epidemic of data breaches has created a situation in which businesses and consumers are simultaneously worried about protecting themselves about fraud, and worried about using and storing sensitive information like biometrics.Innovations in biometric authentication and the back-end infrastructure that supports it means that these concerns can now be proactively and effectively addressed. AuthenticID Founder and President Blair Cohen and Anonybit Co-founder and CEO Frances Zelazny joined Biometric Update to discuss what those innovations are, and how organizations can take advantage of them to restore consumer confidence in the use of their biometrics with unhackable security.The webinar, “SecureFaces: A privacy-centric approach to biometric authentication,” explored the different models of biometric authentication available, and the range of ways that decentralized data storage can work and their relative advantages and disadvantages.The choice of specific technologies has practical implications, not just in terms of accuracy, but also speed and scalability. Cohen noted that a traditional association of biometric authentication with friction has become obsolete, with matches occurring faster than users are capable of perceiving.Zelazny pointed out that while the U.S. regulatory landscape is highly fragmented when it comes to biometrics, there is common ground around consent, specificity of use and responsible storage.A poll of attendees showed that most but not all are already using biometrics.  How they do so, and how technologies for capturing and matching biometrics are combined with technologies for storing and processing data, determines how secure their systems are against both fraud and data breaches.The webinar is available for on-demand viewing for free with registration.

Sri Lanka fosters continued collaboration with India as country sees DPI successes-Apr 5, 2024, 12:26 pm EDT-Bianca Gonzalez

At the end of March in Colombo, the High Commission of India and the Ministry of Technology, Government of Sri Lanka held a conference exploring opportunities for DPI, according to Sri Lanka Mirror.India is investing in key parts of Sri Lanka’s digital transformation, providing grant support for the development of the Unique Digital Identity Project to the tune of roughly $5.4 million.In one session, President of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe, said collaborating with India can help his country accelerate its growth by adopting what was successful about India Stack. In another session, experts spoke about adopting DPI in Sri Lanka and progressing towards comprehensive digital governance.Another discussed the potential for DPI to benefit startups by unifying technology, markets, and governance. In a breakout session with stakeholders from both countries, Startup India’s team hosted a capacity building workshop for Sri Lanka’s startups.Another breakout session fostered collaboration between officials involved in Digital India and Startup India programs and those who are leading the six Working Groups of Government of Sri Lanka on Digital Economy.The Chief of IIT Chennai’s Incubator Parvartak networked with startup incubators in Sri Lanka.This is a step towards implementing the Vision Document adopted by both countries during Sri Lanka’s visit to India in July 2023 to promote digital inclusion.Sri Lanka is a 50-in-5 first mover country. Its National Fuel Pass system, which began in July 2022, has been one example of the county’s DPI efforts generating impact.Led by the Information and Communication Technology Agency and Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, the system allows users to scan a QR code at fuel stations to use their weekly fuel quota in light of a shortage due to the financial crisis.The system received over a million registrations on its first day, later reaching 6.5 million registrations, closer to the number of active vehicles in the country. The system eliminated fuel queues, minimized unnecessary consumption, and revived the economy. Monthly fuel import costs decreased from $500 million to $240 million.It used features from Sri Lanka’s existing DPI such as secure data exchange between interoperable systems, pulling information from the Department of Motor Traffic System for validation, streamlining processes by preventing information silos.

New Zealand’s privacy watchdog investigating facial recognition, promises tougher regulation-Apr 5, 2024, 10:18 am EDT-Masha Borak

New Zealand’s privacy watchdog wants tougher regulation covering the use of biometrics and AI technology such as facial recognition.New legislation may also be on the table. Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster promised to publish a draft biometrics code this autumn, according to Radio New Zealand (RNZ).“However, the cross-cutting issues raised by biometrics are such that legislative amendments may also be necessary to safeguard this sensitive personal information,” Webster says.The move comes amid a record surge in privacy complaints of 79 percent within the last financial year. One of the most high-profile cases is facial recognition technology (FRT) trials conducted by grocery cooperative Foodstuffs which plans to implement the technology in 25 stores over a period of six months to combat retail crime.On Thursday, Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster launched an investigation into Foodstuff’s facial recognition trial, examining its compliance with the country’s Privacy Act.“At the end of the six-month trial I will be assessing the evidence that the use of FRT is justified,” Webster says. “Has it made a practical and statistically significant difference to the incidence of retail crime in Foodstuffs North Island supermarkets relative to other less intrusive options?”The inquiry will monitor privacy and data protection safeguards implemented by the 25 stores introducing the technology, as well as potential biases and accuracy issues, staff training and how the stores handle cases of identifying a person on the system’s watchlist. The privacy office will also review whether shoppers are confident their data is being used safely.“There are two parts to the inquiry,” Webster told RNZ.  “The first is to monitor the way the stores are running the trials to ensure that it’s compliant with the Privacy Act.”As part of it, the watchdog will be examining whether adequate warning signs are displayed and how the stores handle biometric data. The second part of the inquiry will examine the effectiveness of using facial recognition in reducing harmful behavior.“We really do need some clear statistical evidence,” he says. The Commissioner, however, declined to share which rate of crime reduction would be considered statistically significant.Aside from more stringent regulation, the Privacy Commissioner Office is also hoping to introduce heavier penalties for breaches. The highest fine according to the Privacy Act is only around NZ$ 10,000 (US$ 6,019) while privacy breaches carry no offense.Webster also says that its office has been operating on limited resources – A grant of NZ$8.1 million (US$ 4.9 million) and a staff of 51.“We do not believe we can fully deliver on our statutory responsibilities and meet the expectations of citizens and organizations with our current funding and powers,” he says.

GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences;(BIOLOGICAL/CHEMICAL/NUCLEAR) and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)

Leviticus 26:15-17 (KJV)
15-and if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:
16-I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
17-And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.

Job 22:4-22 (KJV)
4-Will he reprove you for fear of you? will he enter with you into judgment?
5-Is not your wickedness great? and your iniquities without end?
6-For you have taken a pledge from your brother for nothing, and stripped the naked of their clothing.
7-You have not given water to the weary to drink, and you have withheld bread from the hungry.
8-But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honorable man dwelt in it.
9-You have sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
10-Therefore snares are round about you, and sudden fear troubles you;
11-Or darkness, that you can not see; and abundance of waters cover you.
12-Is not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are!
13-And you say, How does God know? can he judge through the dark cloud?
14-Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he sees not; and he walks in the circle of heaven.
15-Have you marked the old way which wicked men have trodden?
16-Who were cut down before their time, whose foundation was swept away with a flood:
17-Who said unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do to us?
18-Yet he filled their houses with good things: but the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
19-The righteous see it, and are glad: and the innocent laugh them to scorn.
20-Surely our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire consumes.
21-Acquaint now yourself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto you.
22-Receive, I pray you, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart.

REVELATION 16:3-7
3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.(enviromentalists won't like this result)
4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
6 For they(False World Church and Dictator) have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.

2 Peter 3:6-7 Amplified Bible (AMP)
through which the world at that time was destroyed by being flooded with water. But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly people.

Iran army chief promises ‘maximum damage’ as it seeks to avenge killing of top general-Mohammad Bagheri speaks at memorial ceremony for top IRGC general killed in strike blamed on Israel, says Jerusalem will ‘regret’ its actions-By AFP and ToI Staff Today, 2:02 pm-APR 6,24

Iran on Saturday again threatened retaliation for the deaths of seven Revolutionary Guards in a strike on Damascus, with the army chief saying his country’s enemies will “regret” the killings and threatening to exact “maximum damage.”Tehran has vowed to avenge Monday’s air strike on the Syrian capital it blamed on Israel, which has not commented.The attack leveled the Iranian embassy’s consular annex in Damascus, killing seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) members including two generals.Iran’s response “will be carried out at the right time, with the necessary precision and planning, and with maximum damage to the enemy so that they regret their action,” Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri said on Saturday.He was speaking at a ceremony in the central city of Isfahan to commemorate Mohammad Reza Zahedi, one of the two dead brigadier generals from the Quds Force, the IRGC’s foreign operations arm.Zahedi, 63, was believed to be the Quds Force commander for the Palestinian Territories, Syria and Lebanon.He had held several commands during a career spanning more than 40 years, and was the most senior Iranian soldier killed since a United States missile strike at Baghdad airport in 2020 killed Quds Force chief General Qassem Soleimani. The IRGC is a US-designated terrorist organization.On Saturday, crowds at the gathering in Isfahan chanted “Down with Israel!” and “Down with the United States!”The Islamic Republic’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said Israel “will be punished” for the killings.Monday’s strike in Damascus took place against the backdrop of the Gaza war which began with Hamas’s October 7 assault on Israel. Some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed.Tehran backs Hamas but has denied any direct involvement in the attack which sparked a massive Israeli operation to destroy Hamas in the Gaza Strip.On Friday, IRGC chief commander General Hossein Salami warned that Israel “cannot escape the consequences” of the Damascus strike.Bagheri’s warning came after the Iran reportedly put its military forces on “full high alert” ahead of their expected strike.Two Iranian officials quoted on Friday by The New York Times said Iran has made a decision to directly attack Israel, in a move meant to create deterrence. Meanwhile, a US official said the United States was on high alert and preparing for a possible attack by Iran targeting Israeli or American assets in the region.“We’re definitely at a high state of vigilance,” the official said in confirming a CNN report that says an attack could come in the next week.A senior administration official who spoke with CNN said the US is bracing for a “significant” attack and that both Washington and Jerusalem believe an Iranian response was “inevitable.”CBS News reported that the US gathered intelligence indicating Iran is planning an attack that would involve a sward of explosive Shahed drones and cruise missiles. US officials who spoke to CBS said they did not know the timing and target of Iran’s anticipated response, but the report said it was expected to come before Ramadan ends next week.Israel has not commented on Monday’s strike, which leveled the Iranian embassy’s consular annex in Damascus, but analysts saw it as an escalation of its campaign against Iran and its regional proxies that runs the risk of triggering a wider war beyond the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip.On Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to respond to efforts to harm Israelis, as the country geared up for a possible Iranian response.Speaking at a meeting of the security cabinet soon after a phone call with US President Joe Biden, Netanyahu said “Iran has been acting against us for years — directly and via proxies. And, therefore, Israel acts against Iran and its proxies — defensively and offensively.”Netanyahu added: “We will know how to defend ourselves, and we will act according to the simple principle: that those who harm us or plan to harm us, we will harm.”

IDF says it blew up Hamas tunnel that stretched hundreds of meters into Israel-Underground route was discovered in 2019 but never disclosed to the public; military had repeatedly claimed no tunnels entered Israel since construction of underground barrier-By Emanuel Fabian-Today, 10:01 pm-APR 6,24

The Israel Defense Forces announced Saturday that it had destroyed three major Hamas attack tunnels in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza — including one that entered several hundred meters into Israeli territory — which it said had been under Israeli surveillance in recent years.The revelation came as a shock to residents of border communities and reporters, as the IDF has for years claimed that no tunnels from the Gaza Strip have crossed into Israel since the construction of Israel’s underground border barrier, completed in 2021 (some tunnels have been located on the Gaza side of the underground barrier, technically several meters into Israeli territory).The tunnel that passed hundreds of meters into Israel was first found in 2019 during the construction work on the new border barrier, the IDF said.The IDF said the passage that entered Israel had remained under “secret” surveillance and control since its discovery.“Sensors and explosives were placed in [the tunnel] in order to be used by the IDF if needed, as part of a special operation against the underground network of the Hamas terror organization,” the military said.The IDF said the tunnel was struck numerous times amid the war, alongside other operations to render the section that entered Israeli territory inoperable.The rest of the tunnel was blown up in recent weeks, it said Saturday. According to the IDF, the tunnel was not used by Hamas during the October 7 onslaught and remained under intense surveillance amid the war.Another of the three tunnels was first uncovered a decade ago, and during the 2021 Gaza war it was targeted in an airstrike, killing several Hamas operatives, the IDF said.At the beginning of the current war, the same tunnel was struck at several locations, preventing it from being used. It was blown up within the past few weeks, according to the IDF.The third tunnel was first found in 2014, and at the time crossed into Israeli territory and was later destroyed. The IDF said Hamas did not work to fix the tunnel, and in recent weeks another section of the underground passage, deeper inside Gaza, was blown up.In January, senior Israeli defense officials estimated to The New York Times that Hamas’s vast tunnel network within Gaza runs a total of 350-400 miles long, much more than previously believed. The tunnels are believed to be accessed by some 5,700 shafts.The IDF said Hamas had used more than 6,000 tons of concrete and 1,800 tons of steel and likely invested tens of millions of dollars into the project.Since launching a ground offensive in the wake of the October 7 massacres, in which Hamas-led terrorists killed some 1,200 people and took 253 hostages, Israeli forces have worked to destroy the tunnels, uncovering more and more of the underground network.

Analysis-Israel’s begrudging approach to humanitarian aid could cost it the war in Gaza-Netanyahu was pressured into announcing new measures for Gazans in wake of deadly strike on WCK aid workers, but again Jerusalem risks doing too little, too late-By Lazar Berman-Today, 12:28 pm-APR 6,24

There are many aspects of Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza that have frustrated its closest allies. Ill-considered statements by ministers and other elected officials, a refusal to talk about the “day after” Hamas, and, especially, the civilian death toll have strained the unqualified support Israel enjoyed in the immediate aftermath of the October 7 massacre by Hamas in southern Israel.But it is the Netanyahu government’s approach to the complex and often desperate humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip that is truly endangering support for the continuation of the war, and is placing the “total victory” he promised in doubt.For months, allies have been both quietly and publicly trying to get Israel’s war leadership to recognize how fundamental the aid situation is to the war effort.Israel’s response has been to instinctively deny each request, then ultimately agree to those same demands when circumstances on the ground leave little choice. That approach, which seems built around domestic political calculations, is causing Israel to bleed support even as victory doesn’t seem especially imminent.Tough talk-“I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed,” declared Defense Secretary Yoav Gallant two days after the October 7 massacre.Less than two weeks later, the siege was lifted, as the first aid trucks bearing food and medicine were crossing in from Egypt.By mid-November, pressure from the US and NGOs pushed Israel to reverse course on fuel as well, as trucks started bringing fuel tanks for hospitals, aid trucks, water pumps, desalination plants, bakeries and sewage plants.Fuel would also go to the Paltel telecoms company so that Gazans could enjoy phone and internet service.Now, COGAT boasts about how many fuel tankers it lets in every day.Under the stated policy of disconnecting Israel from Gaza — trumpeted by Israeli leaders from the very start of the war — decision-makers also promised that no aid would go into the Strip from the Kerem Shalom crossing. The Biden administration and the broader international community pressured Israel for weeks to open Kerem Shalom, previously Gaza’s main goods crossing.In December, Netanyahu and the government relented, and now it advertises how many trucks go through the crossing every day.Israel wouldn’t let the Ashdod Port be used for the transfer of aid either. Finally, in January, Netanyahu gave in to American pressure and allowed a massive flour shipment to reach the docks. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich blocked the release of the flour for weeks to keep it from getting to UNRWA, predictably angering the Americans, before it was finally allowed into Gaza.Now, in the wake of Monday’s deadly strike on the World Central Kitchen convoy, Israel continues to walk back its tough talk.Ashdod Port will be open for aid from Sunday. Israel is also opening the Erez crossing into northern Gaza, the main crossing point into the Strip where many Israelis were killed and abducted by invading Hamas terrorists on October 7, after defying calls to do so for months.It is also keeping the Kerem Shalom crossing open for longer hours and over the weekend. COGAT had dismissed the need for such a measure, saying that it processes more trucks every day than organizations in Gaza are able to handle. Now Israel is claiming that keeping the crossing open for longer will enable more aid to reach Gazans.Instead of showing its allies that it is leading the aid effort, Israel is seen as dragging its feet as the humanitarian situation in the Strip gets worse.That perception — not at all unfounded — is putting the entire campaign in danger.US President Joe Biden is no longer definitively conditioning a ceasefire on the release of hostages. He told Netanyahu in their tense phone call after the WCK strike that “an immediate ceasefire is essential to stabilize and improve the humanitarian situation and protect innocent civilians.”A ceasefire imposed from the outside without any major concessions from Hamas would, of course, be a disaster for Israel, especially as it tries to figure out how to pull off the last stage of conquering Gaza.The southern city of Rafah, insist Israel’s leaders across the political spectrum as well as its military chiefs, must be taken. Four Hamas battalions, plus the fighters that have fled south, remain in the city. The Philadelphi road, the route along the border between Gaza and Israel, under and over which Hamas arms flowed into Gaza since 2007, also needs to be in Israeli hands.But humanitarian concerns, with more than a million displaced Palestinians sheltering in the city, are holding up that offensive as well, and it looks increasingly like the IDF won’t be able to carry out the operation it wants to.Given the potential for a further deterioration of the situation for Gazans sheltering around Rafah, the Biden administration now opposes any major operation there, and won’t rule out consequences for Israel if it chooses to move ahead.  Israeli government sources tell The Times of Israel that there is a growing sense that the leadership is not actually going to carry out a meaningful operation there, despite its repeated promises.Netanyahu’s aides presented a humanitarian plan to evacuate Rafah ahead of the military operation to their American counterparts this week, but the Americans were underwhelmed by what they saw, reportedly dismissing the plan as unimplementable.“It’s because of the humanitarian issue that we are isolated from the world,” said Einav Levy, Founding Director of The Israeli School of Humanitarian Aid. “We already lost image-wise.”Chaos-Even though Hamas is intentionally getting in the way of aid distribution and sees benefits in impending starvation in the Strip, Israel has to accept responsibility for the provision of aid there, argued Bar Rapaport of Mitvim: The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies.“This should have happened so long ago,” she told The Times of Israel, referring to the imperative for Israel to ensure sufficient humanitarian aid.Levy said that there is currently chaos when it comes to aid in Gaza. “There is no real ability to know who is doing what and where they are doing it,” he said.There is a shifting panoply of international NGOs, UN agencies and state-sponsored initiatives, operating alongside Hamas, local clans and the IDF. Territorial control changes all the time and civilians move as well.Rapoport, who is in regular contact with aid agencies in Gaza, including the WCK, said they complain that working with the IDF isn’t an especially organized process: “It depends if you fall on someone in the IDF who is ready to listen, who knows you personally or not.”The NGOs, she noted, also complained that they weren’t always sure exactly who to turn to.The WCK declined to comment, saying it was not giving interviews at this time. COGAT did not respond to repeated requests for comment.“There isn’t an orderly, coordinated mechanism for the crossings, for the distribution of aid, for the contacts between Israel and international actors,” lamented Rapoport. “Everyone does what he thinks is right.”As long as there is chaos on the ground, Israel will struggle to achieve its long-term goals in Gaza.Israel has ruled out UNRWA operating in Gaza moving forward, and obviously won’t let Hamas be involved in managing the Strip. Israel itself is not interested in reassuming responsibility for 2 million hostile Palestinians.For now, Netanyahu is hoping that aid organizations will succeed in replacing UNRWA and Hamas’s civil functions, but killing workers from one of Israel’s most effective partners makes that aim even harder to achieve. The WCK has pulled out of Gaza, and it is unclear if it will return.Netanyahu is hoping that pro-Western Arab states will eventually fund the reconstruction of Gaza, but they are not about to step into the violent bedlam there.“The minute it is managed more effectively in Israel,” said Rapoport, “it will be easier for Israel to bring on board regional actors to help.Initiative-In a macabre twist, the seven aid workers who lost their lives in the IDF strike might have done more in their deaths to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza than they could have dreamed of doing in their daily work.Israel’s war leadership understood it had no more room for error. If Israel is seen as getting in the way, the US could well use its veto less at the UN and hold up weapons shipments.But Netanyahu and his circle still don’t seem to have fully internalized the gravity of the situation. The measures they announced this week are still reactive and seem limited by a fear of upsetting the far-right flank of the government.The statement announcing the new aid measures included a justification aimed at National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, Bezalel Smotrich and their supporters, explaining the measure by pointing out that they are crucial for the continuation of the war. The very decision on the aid was rushed through before Ben Gvir arrived at Thursday night’s cabinet meeting, the far-right minister claims.Many Israelis point out that the hostages Hamas has been holding for six months don’t enjoy aid shipments. They also argue that the very same countries holding Israel’s feet to the fire have fought wars with far less regard for the suffering of enemy civilians.That might be true, but Israel’s leaders have to operate within the expectations and standards its allies hold them to, even if they might seem unreasonable.Netanyahu can show initiative on the humanitarian front, and regain some legitimacy to finish the job against Hamas. That would include opening all crossings, appointing a humanitarian aid czar, conducting regular meetings with aid organizations, laying water pipes into Gaza ahead of the summer, and even establishing Israeli field hospitals on the border.There is no reason to wait until the US demands more measures and then be seen as callous toward the suffering of civilians.“If Israel had shown from the beginning that the humanitarian issue is important to it,” said Rapoport, “that it is doing everything to make sure as few innocents as possible are being harmed, to publicize it, to show how much it is bringing in, we would be in a very different position now.”

UN chief ‘deeply troubled’ by reports Israel using AI to identify Gaza targets-IDF has denied claims it’s using artificial intelligence to identify terrorists, select targets; says programs only assist human analysts-By Agencies and ToI Staff Today, 11:06 am-APR 6,24

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday expressed serious concern over reports that Israel was using artificial intelligence to identify targets in Gaza.According to a report in the magazine +972, Israel has used AI to identify targets in Gaza — in some cases with as little as 20 seconds of human oversight.Guterres said that he was “deeply troubled by reports that the Israeli military’s bombing campaign includes artificial intelligence as a tool in the identification of targets, particularly in densely populated residential areas, resulting in a high level of civilian casualties.”“No part of life and death decisions which impact entire families should be delegated to the cold calculation of algorithms,” he said.The +972 report claims that “the Israeli army has marked tens of thousands of Gazans as suspects for assassination, using an AI targeting system with little human oversight and a permissive policy for casualties.”The report said that, according to “six Israeli intelligence officers,” a system dubbed Lavender had “played a central role in the unprecedented bombing of Palestinians, especially during the early stages of the war.”“According to the sources, its influence on the military’s operations was such that they essentially treated the outputs of the AI machine ‘as if it were a human decision’,” +972 reported.Two sources said that “the army also decided during the first weeks of the war that, for every junior Hamas operative that Lavender marked, it was permissible to kill up to 15 or 20 civilians.”If “the target was a senior Hamas official… the army on several occasions authorized the killing of more than 100 civilians,” it added.The Israeli army on Friday rejected the claims.“The IDF does not use an artificial intelligence system that identifies terrorist operatives or tries to predict whether a person is a terrorist,” it said.Instead, it has a “database whose purpose is to cross-reference intelligence sources… on the military operatives of terrorist organizations” to be used as a tool for analysts, it added.“The IDF does not carry out strikes when the expected collateral damage from the strike is excessive,” it said, using a term that includes civilian casualties.The Gaza war erupted with Palestinian terror group Hamas carrying out an unprecedented attack against Israel on October 7, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 253 hostages, half of whom are still held.Since the start of the war, more than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. These figures can not be verified and do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.Israel says it has killed more than 13,000 gunmen in Gaza and another 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7. More than 250 IDF soldiers have been killed in Gaza.

Shaken by daily mass protests on Gaza, Jordan accuses ‘infiltrators’ of stoking unrest-The Hashemite kingdom has been one of Israel’s most vocal critics, but the Jordanian public is dissatisfied with the government’s rhetoric and many demand an end to the peace treaty-By Gianluca Pacchiani-Today, 5:50 pm-APR 4,24

For the 11th night in a row, thousands of Jordanians took to the streets on Wednesday to protest against the war in Gaza and call on the Hashemite kingdom to break ties with Israel.The protest movement began on March 24, when a large crowd marched toward the Israeli embassy in Amman — which was evacuated months ago — following calls on social media to “lay siege” to it, demanding an end to the peace treaty that Jordan signed with Israel in 1994.The protest movement has gained momentum in recent days, and Jordanian security forces have stepped up their response, carrying out multiple arrests and charging demonstrators with resisting arrest or assaulting security officers — claims that civil society activists have said were trumped up, according to the Qatari-owned New Arab daily.While large anti-Israel rallies have been a frequent occurrence in the Arab world and the West since October 7, the ongoing wave of protests in Israel’s eastern neighbor has shown unprecedented persistence, and has prompted some Jordanian officials to accuse foreign agents of fomenting unrest.The Jordanian Parliament’s Lower House Foreign Affairs Committee issued a statement on Monday rejecting “any attempts carried out by a small, infiltrated group that seeks to sabotage and undermine national unity in Jordan.”MP Khaldoun Hina, head of the committee, shared a video on X denouncing the “incitement” by foreigners against the Jordanian regime, stressing the Hashemite kingdom’s efforts in support of Gaza and its repeated condemnation of the Israeli military operations.Former Jordanian information minister Samih Al-Maaytah was more explicit in his accusations, alleging in an interview with the Saudi Al-Hadath news channel that Hamas leaders in Qatar have been stirring unrest in Jordan.Former Jordanian Information Minister Samih Al-Maaytah: Hamas Leaders in Qatar Are Stirring Unrest in Jordan, Trying to Tell Us That They “Own” the Jordanian Public; We Should Seriously Consider Revoking Their Jordanian Citizenship #Jordan #Hamas #Qatar @AlmaitahSamih pic.twitter.com/5TPT0600iI— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) April 3, 2024-The hidden hand of Hamas-Evidence suggests that Hamas may indeed be fomenting tension in the kingdom, at a time when the intensity of the fighting in Gaza has been winding down but with no clear end in sight to the conflict.“The timing of the current protests is mainly related to the intensification of religious sentiments among the Jordanian public opinion during Ramadan and the strengthening of religious-Islamic sentiments,” said Dr. Ofir Winter, senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) at Tel Aviv University.Aaron Magid, a former Amman-based journalist, noted that the outbreak of the rallies, on March 24, coincided with a false report on Al Jazeera that Israeli soldiers had raped Palestinian women inside Gaza’s Shifa hospital, an unfounded allegation that was later retracted.“Even though the former Al Jazeera director general said that that case was fabricated, for many in Amman it was very convincing. And thousands of Jordanians hit the streets to protest,” said Magid, host of the podcast “On Jordan,” which discusses current affairs in the Hashemite kingdom. (Full disclosure: He is also the brother of The Times of Israel’s US bureau chief Jacob Magid.)-????HAPPENING NOW | JORDAN DAY 7.Protests in Amman, Jordan denouncing the Israeli crimes and in solidarity with Gaza,Palestine. pic.twitter.com/HsIikQlYp5— Suppressed Voice (@SuppressedNws) March 30, 2024-“Jordan is more vulnerable than other countries in the region for such protests,” Winter added, “not only because of the high percentage of Palestinians in its population, estimated as at least fifty percent, but also because of the relatively large operational space given to Islamist forces in the country, from the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood and its political representative, the Islamic Action Front, to the Qatar-based International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS),” which is listed as a terror organization in a number of other Arab countries.The slogan “All of Jordan is Hamas” has been a popular chant at the protests, alongside “Death to America, death to Israel.”Thousands in Jordan chant “death to America” and “death to Israel”pic.twitter.com/WVZrkJAwce— Tameem | تميم (@TameeOliveFern) March 28, 2024-“The Hamas leadership has been deeply involved in efforts to recruit broad Arab and Islamic transnational public support for its struggle against Israel, and sees Jordan specifically as a promising and fertile ground for such recruitment efforts,” said Winter.Hamas leaders have sought to stir up tensions in Jordan since the early days of the war. Hamas military spokesman Abu Obeida addressed citizens of the kingdom in a speech in November, and called on them to escalate all forms of protest, saying: “You, our people in Jordan, are the nightmare of the occupation (Israel) that fears your mobilization and strives tirelessly to neutralize and isolate you from your cause.”Placards with Abu Obeida’s picture have been a common sight at the latest protests.More recently, former Hamas politburo head Khaled Mashaal, who survived a Mossad assassination attempt in Amman in 1997, took part remotely in a women’s event in Jordan, urging Muslims around the world to support the struggle so that “their blood will mix with the blood of the people of Palestine,” and calling for financial donations for the people of Gaza.The Hashemite kingdom has been a vocal critic of the Jewish state since the early days of the war, which broke out on October 7 when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and kidnapping 253 into Gaza.Jordan was the first country to recall its ambassador from Tel Aviv when Israel fought back. It has called incessantly for a ceasefire in Gaza, and has delivered substantial amounts of aid to Gaza, including by airdrops in which King Abdullah II participated in person (in coordination with Israel).Queen Rania has gone as far as to claim that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is “deliberate.” And yet, the anti-Israel rhetoric of the leadership and the actions in support of Palestinians are not enough for many in the kingdom, who demand more decisive action.“While many in Israel view Jordan as overtly hostile, from the Jordanian public’s view, the government’s position has been overly nuanced. It has upheld the peace treaty with Israel, preserved the multi-billion dollar gas deal, kept the Israeli embassy in Amman, and also maintained a reported land bridge that allows Israel to bypass the Houthi [attacks on shipping],” Magid said.“The war keeps going on and on, and the Jordanian public see no resolution in sight. There is significant discontent with the government’s position,” he added.After 11 consecutive days of mass protests, the Hashemite regime has become concerned about the rallies, and has tried to downplay them or depict them as the work of troublemakers.“When they do cover the protests, the government-aligned Jordanian press focuses on the breakdown of law and order, and quote police sources saying some demonstrators are rioters and vandals,” according to Magid.The police crackdown, however, is not likely to intensify. “The Jordanian regime in general is more sophisticated than other Arab governments like Syria or even Egypt. They’re probably not going to start shooting at protesters with live fire or use heavy violence,” Magid predicted.Given the strong alliance between the Hashemite regime and the US, it is unlikely that any of the demands to break off ties with Israel will be met, experts agree.“That’s just not a sustainable policy for the government, considering they’re so dependent on annual US aid of around $1.5 billion along with Washington’s  security guarantees. From the regime’s perspectives, what the protesters are demanding is just impossible to fulfill,” Magid said.Winter concurred. “The most pressing concerns for the Jordanian rule right now with regards to the war between Israel and Hamas are the smuggling of weapons from Jordan to the West Bank, and continued use of Jordanian airspace by drones targeting Israel coming from places such as Iraq and Yemen.“The costs of canceling the water or gas deals with Israel would be very high for Jordan, given the lack of decent alternatives, so the regime will try its best to avoid them,” the researcher added. “The same applies to canceling the peace agreement with Israel, which continues to provide the Kingdom with political, financial, and security strategic benefits.”

UN rights council votes to extend scrutiny of Iran by additional year-United Nations’ top rights body prolongs mission of special rapporteur, citing need to monitor ongoing situation following deadly crackdown on protests that erupted in 2022-By AFP Today, 4:44 pm-APR 4,24

GENEVA, Switzerland — The UN Human Rights Council on Thursday prolonged by a year an independent international fact-finding mission investigating Iran’s deadly crackdown on protests that erupted in 2022.The United Nations’ top rights body extended the mission, and the mandate of the council’s special rapporteur on Iran, Javaid Rehman, with 24 votes in favor, eight against and 15 abstentions in the 47-member chamber.It said the extension for Rehman was necessary to “continue to monitor the ongoing situation of human rights, including civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.”It also decided to keep up the fact-finding mission to allow it to complete its work, “including by ensuring that the large amount of evidence of human rights violations” relating to the protests, “especially with respect to women and children, is fully and effectively documented, verified, consolidated and preserved.”Iran was rocked by widespread demonstrations sparked by the September 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd who had been arrested for allegedly violating the strict dress rule for women based on Islamic sharia law.Tehran does not cooperate with either Rehman or the fact-finding mission and they have not been allowed on Iranian soil.The resolution called on Iran to cooperate fully with the rapporteur and the international investigators, “and to grant them unhindered access to the country and to provide all information necessary” to fulfill their mandates.Argentina, Chile, France, Germany, Japan, Morocco and the United States backed the resolution.The countries voting “No” were Algeria, Burundi, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Indonesia, Sudan and Vietnam. Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Malaysia, Qatar, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates abstained.

Jerusalem police say they thwarted suspected stabbing attack in Old City-Large knife found strapped to body of 17-year-old Palestinian, say cops; ‘No satisfaction without heaven,’ suspect, who was illegally in Israel, posted on social media-By ToI Staff Today, 7:29 pm-APR 6,24

A 17-year-old Palestinian from the West Bank was arrested near Jerusalem’s Old City on Saturday, suspected of intending to carry out a stabbing attack, police said.Police frisked the young man due to his “suspicious behavior,” discovering a large knife taped to his body. After an interrogation, law enforcement concluded that the suspect intended to execute a terror plot, finding he had posted beforehand on social media: “The important thing is that I end my life content, because there is no satisfaction besides heaven.”According to police, the terror suspect is from Birzeit, north of Ramallah, and was illegally in Israel.A video released by police showed the suspect loitering in the shade at the top of a staircase, when a border police officer in full gear exited an adjacent building and drew close to the suspect. Three more officers moved in as the first one pulled the young man into a bind. The video then shows the suspect, face blurred, escorted into a police station.The arrest on Saturday followed a tense but largely peaceful final weekend of Islam’s holy month of Ramadan. The final Friday of Ramadan saw some 120,000 people attend prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount.Throughout the weekend, police arrested some two dozen people for pro-Hamas chants and attacking police officers, but the prayers were otherwise peacefully dispersed.Ramadan’s relatively uneventful end allayed Israeli security forces’ fears that the perennially fraught holy month would see violence in Israel exacerbated due to the Gaza war.

UN says Israel approved reopening of 20 bakeries, water pipeline in northern Gaza-Amid efforts to boost flow of aid into Strip, humanitarian official says coordination to be enhanced between military and aid workers, trucks entering from Jordan to be doubled-By ToI Staff Today, 9:33 pm-APR 6,24

The United Nations on Saturday said Israel had authorized the opening of 20 bakeries in the northern Gaza Strip and and a waterline to supply the area, as part of a list of the country’s “commitments” to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.A statement from the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Gaza and the West Bank, Jamie McGoldrick listed other measures announced earlier this week, including the opening of the Erez Crossing to the northern Strip for the first time since October 7 and increasing the number of trucks entering via Jordan from the Allenby Bridge crossing.McGoldrick also said a “better functioning coordination cell will be established that links humanitarians directly with the IDF Southern Command.”While most of the steps detailed in McGoldrick’s statement were announced by the Prime Minister’s Office early Friday morning, he expanded on the details of the approvals, which he said came “in response to our repeated requests.”In addition to expanding border crossing operating hours and capacity, the UN official said Israel has approved the activation of 20 bakeries and the reopening of the Nahal Oz waterline in northern Gaza, which was shut off on October 9, with the outbreak of war.Two other pipelines were reopened in October.The statement said the number of trucks allowed to pass through from Jordan will be increased from 25 to at least 50 per day, while an additional 100 trucks per day will be scanned via the Kerem Shalom and Nitzana crossings in the south of the Strip.He noted an additional scanner would be installed at Kerem Shalom “to accelerate the transfer of aid into Gaza.”“As I have stated previously, the humanitarian community is prepared to scale up assistance in Gaza, but this requires better security, greater access, and more reliable facilitation from Israeli authorities,” he said in the statement.“We stand ready to work with all parties to alleviate the suffering of people in Gaza.”The new measures were announced after a tense phone call Thursday between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden, who threatened to condition support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza on Jerusalem taking concrete steps to protect aid workers and civilians.It was the first conversation between the two since an Israeli strike in central Gaza late on Monday killed seven aid workers from the World Central Kitchen. Israel has called the strike on the WCK convoy a “grave mistake” and has announced the removal of a number of officers responsible. But Netanyahu also said that “these things happen in war” — a line that wasn’t well received internationally.Secretary of State Anthony Blinken welcomed the moves on Friday while adding that success would be measured by the results in improving the situation on the ground.“Really the proof is in the results, and we will see those unfold in the coming days, in the coming weeks,” Blinken said, speaking alongside European Union leaders in Belgium.The end of this war is so long overdue.It is not enough for six months of war to be a moment of remembrance and mourning.It must also spur a collective determination that there be a reckoning for this betrayal of humanity. pic.twitter.com/p8TMxu0mf1— Martin Griffiths (@UNReliefChief) April 6, 2024-Earlier Saturday, the United Nations’ under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief, Martin Griffiths, decried the ongoing war in Gaza as a “betrayal of humanity.”In a statement on the eve of the six-month anniversary of the war, the outgoing humanitarian official called for a “collective determination that there be a reckoning for this betrayal of humanity.”“For the people of Gaza, the past six months of war have brought death, devastation, and now the immediate prospect of a shameful man-made famine,” he said-“For the people affected by the lasting horror of the October 7 attacks, it has been six months of grief and torment,” he added.The Israel-Hamas war erupted with Palestinian terror group Hamas carrying out an unprecedented attack against Israel on October 7, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 253 hostages, some half of whom are still held.Since the start of the war, more than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. These figures can not be verified and do not differentiate between civilians and combatants. Israel says it has killed more than 13,000 gunmen in Gaza and another 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7. More than 250 IDF soldiers have been killed in Gaza.

Hamas to send team to Cairo talks, reiterates demand for permanent Gaza ceasefire-Terror group still seeks full IDF pullout from Gaza, as Biden urges mediators to put pressure on for a deal-By Agencies and Jacob Magid-Today, 6:19 pm-APR 6,24

A Hamas delegation headed by the group’s deputy chief in Gaza, Khalil Al-Hayya, will go to Cairo on Sunday for Gaza ceasefire talks, in response to an invitation extended by Egyptian mediators, the group said in a statement.CIA Director Bill Burns is expected to attend Sunday’s talks, along with Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and an Israeli delegation, Egypt’s Al Qahera news reported on Saturday.Hamas on Saturday reiterated its demands issued in a March 14 proposal prior to a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip that was passed on March 25.“Hamas confirms its adherence to the position it presented on March 14 … and we will not back down from this position,” it said in a statement.“The demands … are complete ceasefire, withdrawal of the occupation forces from Gaza, the return of the displaced to their residential areas, freedom of movement of the people, offering them aid and shelter, and a serious hostage exchange deal,” it said.Hamas’s insistence on its demands came as US President Joe Biden urged an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza.Ahead of the weekend talks, Biden wrote to the leaders of Egypt and Qatar urging them to secure commitments from Hamas to “agree to and abide by a deal,” a senior US administration official told AFP.However, the mediators of hostage negotiations between Israel and Hamas are failing to exert any pressure on the terror group, a senior Israeli official told The Times of Israel on Friday.Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar “is dragging his feet and does not want a deal, despite Israel’s tremendous flexibility,” the senior Israeli official claimed.“No pressure [on Hamas] is being jointly applied by the Qatar-led mediators. Qatar has refrained from deporting the Hamas leaders it hosts, nor has it closed their bank accounts, which hold hundreds of millions of dollars used for terrorism,” the senior Israeli official asserted.“Sinwar does not want a deal. He is not interested in the suffering of his people in Gaza,” the official continued. “He is waiting for tensions to increase and for there to be further escalation.”The senior official also said Jerusalem has still not received any answer from Hamas to Israel’s latest hostage deal proposal after CNN reported earlier Friday that the terror organization had turned it down.During a phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, Biden pushed him to “fully empower” his negotiators to reach a deal.White House officials have said negotiating a pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas to facilitate the exchange of hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian security prisoners held in Israel is the only way to put a temporary ceasefire into effect and boost the flow of badly needed humanitarian aid into the territory.Stop-start talks have made no headway since a week-long truce in November, the only one since the start of the war on October 7, which saw the exchange of dozens of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian security prisoners detained by Israel.The Hamas side of the talks is indirect, with proposals relayed through third parties to Hamas leaders hiding in tunnels beneath Gaza.

As Hamas sticks to demands, Israeli officials warn Cairo talks likely an ’empty show’Terror group still seeks full IDF pullout from Gaza, as Biden urges mediators to put pressure on for a deal; unnamed Israeli source says talks give families ‘false hope’By Agencies and Jacob Magid-Today, 6:19 pm-APR 6,24

A Hamas delegation headed by the group’s deputy chief in Gaza, Khalil Al-Hayya, will go to Cairo on Sunday for Gaza ceasefire talks, in response to an invitation extended by Egyptian mediators, the group said in a statement.CIA Director Bill Burns is expected to attend Sunday’s talks, along with Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and an Israeli delegation, Egypt’s Al Qahera news reported on Saturday.Hamas on Saturday reiterated its demands issued in a March 14 proposal prior to a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip that was passed on March 25.“Hamas confirms its adherence to the position it presented on March 14 … and we will not back down from this position,” it said in a statement.“The demands … are complete ceasefire, withdrawal of the occupation forces from Gaza, the return of the displaced to their residential areas, freedom of movement of the people, offering them aid and shelter, and a serious hostage exchange deal,” it said.An Israeli diplomatic source told Channel 12 news Saturday that Hamas believes it can force a ceasefire on Israel without releasing hostages “because of the international pressure on us, and because of the internal crisis between Israel and the US.”“The departure of a senior delegation to Cairo, without a compromise on Hamas’s part, will raise false hopes among the families and it will be an ’empty show,'” the source said.Ministers and other officials familiar with the details of the talks told Channel 12 that the main sticking point in the talks was the question of the return of displaced Palestinians to the northern Gaza Strip. They said that negotiators needed a broader mandate than what they have been given so far by the government to finalize a deal.Hamas’s insistence on its demands came as US President Joe Biden urged an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza.Ahead of the weekend talks, Biden wrote to the leaders of Egypt and Qatar urging them to secure commitments from Hamas to “agree to and abide by a deal,” a senior US administration official told AFP.However, the mediators of hostage negotiations between Israel and Hamas are failing to exert any pressure on the terror group, a senior Israeli official told The Times of Israel on Friday.Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar “is dragging his feet and does not want a deal, despite Israel’s tremendous flexibility,” the senior Israeli official claimed.“No pressure [on Hamas] is being jointly applied by the Qatar-led mediators. Qatar has refrained from deporting the Hamas leaders it hosts, nor has it closed their bank accounts, which hold hundreds of millions of dollars used for terrorism,” the senior Israeli official asserted.“Sinwar does not want a deal. He is not interested in the suffering of his people in Gaza,” the official continued. “He is waiting for tensions to increase and for there to be further escalation.”The senior official also said Jerusalem has still not received any answer from Hamas to Israel’s latest hostage deal proposal after CNN reported earlier Friday that the terror organization had turned it down.During a phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, Biden pushed him to “fully empower” his negotiators to reach a deal.White House officials have said negotiating a pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas to facilitate the exchange of hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian security prisoners held in Israel is the only way to put a temporary ceasefire into effect and boost the flow of badly needed humanitarian aid into the territory.Stop-start talks have made no headway since a week-long truce in November, the only one since the start of the war on October 7, which saw the exchange of dozens of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian security prisoners detained by Israel.The Hamas side of the talks is indirect, with proposals relayed through third parties to Hamas leaders hiding in tunnels beneath Gaza.

Iran said to decide on direct response to Syria strike, put its forces on full alert-Israel and US readying for ‘significant’ retaliation to alleged IDF attack that killed 7 IRGC members, including generals; CBS says Tehran may attack with swarm of explosive drones-By ToI Staff Today, 5:57 am-APR 6,24

Iran has reportedly put its military forces on “full high alert,” as it vows revenge for an alleged Israeli strike on Monday that killed a top Iranian commander in Syria and several other Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members.Two Iranian officials quoted Friday by The New York Times said Iran has made a decision to directly attack Israel, in a move meant to create deterrence.Meanwhile, a US official said the United States was on high alert and preparing for a possible attack by Iran targeting Israeli or American assets in the region.“We’re definitely at a high state of vigilance,” the official said in confirming a CNN report that says an attack could come in the next week.A senior administration official who spoke with CNN said the US is bracing for a “significant” attack and that both Washington and Jerusalem believe an Iranian response was “inevitable.”CBS News reported that the US gathered intelligence indicating Iran is planning an attack that would involve a swarm of explosive Shahed drones and cruise missiles. US officials who spoke to CBS said they did not know the timing and target of Iran’s anticipated response, but the report said it was expected to come before Ramadan ends next week.Israel has not commented on Monday’s strike, which leveled the Iranian embassy’s consular annex in Damascus, but analysts saw it as an escalation of its campaign against Iran and its regional proxies that runs the risk of triggering a wider war beyond the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip.Iran has said that among the dead were two brigadier generals from the Guards’ foreign operations arm, the Quds Force: Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi.Zahedi was reportedly responsible for the IRGC’s operations in Syria and in Lebanon, for Iranian militias there, and for ties with Hezbollah, and was thus the most senior commander of Iranian forces in the two countries. The IRGC is a US-designated terrorist organization.Both Iran and its proxy Hezbollah have vowed that Israel will not go unpunished for the attack. Though that possibility has raised the specter of a wider war, two Iranian sources told Reuters that Tehran’s response would be calibrated to avoid escalation.“We warn you, no enemy act against our holy system will go unanswered,” Revolutionary Guards chief General Hossein Salami said Friday during the funeral for Zahedi and the other IRGC members.“The collapse of (the Zionist regime) is very possible and close with God’s grace,” he added, saying the US has become “wildly hated by the world, especially in Muslim-dominated countries” for supporting Israel.Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday the Damascus strike was a “desperate” effort by Israel that “will not save them from defeat” in Gaza.On Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to respond to efforts to harm Israelis, as the country geared up for a possible Iranian response.Speaking at a meeting of the security cabinet soon after a phone call with US President Joe Biden, Netanyahu said “Iran has been acting against us for years — directly and via proxies. And, therefore, Israel acts against Iran and its proxies — defensively and offensively.”Netanyahu added: “We will know how to defend ourselves, and we will act according to the simple principle: that those who harm us or plan to harm us, we will harm.”Agencies contributed to this report.

Colombia petitions ICJ to join South Africa’s Gaza genocide case against Israel-Application for second intervention on behalf of Palestinians cites Latin American country’s wish to ensure ‘the very existence of the Palestinian people’By Reuters and ToI Staff 5 April 2024, 11:48 pm

Colombia has asked the International Court of Justice to allow the country to intervene in South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide in the Gaza Strip, the court said Friday.In its application, Colombia called on the court to ensure “the safety and, indeed, the very existence of the Palestinian people.”The ICJ, the highest United Nations court, can allow states to intervene and give their views. Several states have said they would also seek to intervene in the case, but so far only Colombia and Nicaragua have filed a public request, while Germany requested in January to intervene in support of Israel.On March 28, ICJ judges ordered Israel to take all necessary and effective action to ensure basic food supplies arrive without delay to Palestinians in Gaza.In January, the ICJ, also known as the World Court, ordered Israel to refrain from any acts that could fall under the genocide convention and to ensure its troops commit no genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza.Israel denies targeting Palestinian civilians, saying its sole interest is to destroy the terrorist group Hamas. Lawyers for Israel have dismissed South Africa’s case as an abuse of the genocide convention.Israel launched its war on the Palestinian terror group after thousands of its operatives stormed the country’s south on October 7, killing nearly 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and taking 253 hostages.Vowing to dismantle Hamas and release the hostages, Israel mounted an unprecedented assault on the Gaza Strip, which has displaced about half the enclave’s residents while destroying about half its residences. United Nations officials have said that hunger levels in the Strip approach famine levels.The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 32,000 people in the Strip have been killed in the fighting so far, a figure that cannot be independently verified and includes some 13,000 Hamas terrorists Israel says it has killed in battle. Israel also says it killed some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7. Over 250 IDF soldiers have been killed in Gaza.

INSTEAD 0F THESE BRAIN DEAD, BABY MURDERING DEMOCRAPS STOPPING ISRAEL FROM GETTING WEAPONS. THEY SHOULD BE MICROCHIPPING EVERY SEX FOR MURDER PEDOPHILIA MUSLIM AND MIGRANT COMING INTO AMERICA. SO THEY COULD KEEP TRACK OF THESE ILLEGAL CULT OF TERRORISTS CROWD OF MISFITS, SET FREE JAIL BIRDS AND GANG BANGIN DRUG DEALIN PIMP DEMONS WHO SHOULD BE IN THE HOLDING LOCAL JAIL IN HELL. WAITING TO STAND IN FRONT OF JESUS FOR THE FINAL PENATENUARY SENTENCE THE LAKE OF FIRE IN SOME BLACK HOLE OUT IN OUTER DARKNESS SOMEWHERE WHERE ITS 1 MILLION DEGREES HEAT WITH THEIR NEVER DYING BODIES FOREVER IN TORMENT AND DEMONS TORTURING THEM FOR ZILLIONS UPON ZILLIONS OF YEARS, NEVER ENDING. AND WE ON EARTH THINK 120 YEARS ON EARTH IS A LONG TIME. BUT FOREVER IS FOREVER IN HELL TORMENTS.

AND SPEAKING OF THE DEMOLIBNUTS RUNNING ON ABORTION (BABY MURDER). AND THESE NUT TARDS ACTUALLY THEY THINK THEY CAN BEAT TRUMP ON MURDERING GODS CHILDREN NOT THEIRS. GODS THE ONE WHO PUT THAT CHILD IN THE MOTHER AND FATHER HAVING SEX THAT HE JESUS CHOSE. THE BIBLE SAYS GOD KNEW THE BABY BEFORE IT WAS EVEN CONCIEVED BY THE CARRIER. SO WHEN A WOMAN SAYS ITS HER CHOICE TO HAVE AN ABORTION. I TELL THAT WOMAN. WHOS CHILD IS THAT. I SAYS ITS GODS CHILD AND YOUR NOT ONLY MURDERING YOUR OWN CHILD BY ABORTION. YOU MURDERED GODS CREATED CHILD AND THE WHOLE GENERATION OF THE BABY OF YOUR OWN CHILD. NO WONDER GOD SAYS IF YOU KILL ONE OF THESE LITTLE ONES. ITS BETTER FOR YOU TO COMMIT SUICIDE BY PUTTING A CEMENT BLOCK AROUND YOUR HEAD AND DROPPING IT IN THE DEPTH OF THE SEA. THEN TO HURT ONE OF JESUS ' LITTLE BABIES OR CHILDREN.

AND THATS NOT THE LAST TIME YOU WILL GIVE ACCOUNT OF THAT MURDERED BABY. BUT WHEN IT COMES TO EVERYBODY ON EARTH BEING JUDGED BY JESUS  FROM THE BEGINNING OF ADAM AND EVE TO THE LAST PERSON BORN DURING JESUS' THOUSAND YEAR REIGN ON EARTH. EVERY ONE EVER BORN WILL STAND IN FRONT OF JESUS TO GIVE AN ACCOUNT OF THEIR LIVES WETHER GOOD OR BAD. AND TO SAY TO JESUS YOU ARE THE ONLY GOD OF THE WHOLE EARTH. AND WHEN IT COMES TO A WOMAN THAT HAD AND ABORTION. JESUS WILL SAY. I SEE ON THIS CERTAIN DAY OF YOUR LIFE. AT THIS TIME-YOU HAD AN ABORTION SECRETLY. NOBODY EVEN KNEW YOU WERE PREGNANT BECAUSE YOUR ONE NIGHT STAND GOT YOU PREGNANT. FOR THIS EXAMPLE WE WILL SAY SHE HAD THE ABORTION 10 YEARS AGO. JESUS WILL SAY 10 YEARS AGO ON THIS DATE YOU HAD A SECRET ABORTION. BEFORE HE GOES ON JESUS TELLS HER ALL HIDDEN SECRETS IN PEOPLES LIVES WILL BE EXPOSED AT THE FINAL PENATENTUARY SENTENCE THAT JESUS HANDS OUT. NO MATTER WHAT SECRET SIN IT WAS BECAUSE ANGELS WRITE DOWN IN A BOOK OF OUR LIVES. EVERY THING WE SAY AND DO. WETHER SECRETLY OR OUT IN THE OPEN. EVEN OUR MOTIVES ARE WRITTEN DOWN. IF THEY WERE FALSE OR NOT. NOW BACK TO THE ABORTION WOMAN STANDING IN FRONT OF JESUS FOR HER FINAL FOREVER JUDGEMENT. WELL JESUS WILL SAY TO HER AND EVERY OTHER WOMAN WHOEVER MURDERED THEIR OWN CHILD AND JESUS'. WOMAN HER NAME AND I HAVE SOMEBODY THAT WANTS TO MEET YOU BEFORE YOUR FINAL JUDGEMENT IS FINISHED. SHE WILL SAY SOMETHING LIKE. WHO WOULD LIKE TO TALK TO ME WHILE I AM BEING JUDGED IN FRONT OF YOU JESUS. JESUS WILL SAY TO HER. LITTLE JOHN COME ON OUT HERE AND YOU CAN ASK YOUR MOTHER WHO MURDERED YOU 10 YEARS AGO. WHY SHE NEVER LET YOU LIVE AND GROW UP. OUT COMES 10 YEAR OLD JOHN-SAYING TO HIS MOTHER. MOM-WHY DID YOU SECRETLY KILL ME AND YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD GET AWAY WITH IT SECRETLY. THAT NO ONE WOULD EVER KNOW. ALL I WANTED TO DO WAS JUST BE A NORMAL CHILD-WHO KNOWS I MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA. IF I WASN'T MURDERED BY YOU. I WILL BE IN THE AUDIENCE WATCHING THE LOOK ON ALL THE WOMENS FACES WHO EVER HAD AN ABORTION OR MORE ON EARTH. WHEN JESUS TAKES THEM OFF GUARD AND FORCES THEM TO BE CONFRONTED BY THE CHILD OR CHILDREN THEY MURDERED BY ABORTION. THAT WERE WRITTEN ABOUT THEIR LIVES IN BOOKS IN HEAVEN. CAN YOU BELIEVE THE SHOCK AND GUILT AND SHAME THEY WILL FEEL WHEN THEIR ABORTED CHILD CONFRONTS THEM. WE THINK THE LAKE OF FIRE THEY GET THROWN IN FOR MURDERING THAT BABY BY ABORTION IS BAD ENOUGH. BUT THE THOUGHT IN HER MIND FOREVER THAT HER BABY AND GODS BABY SHE MURDERED BY ABORTION ACTUALLY CONFRONTED HER. SO SHE SEEN HOW HE GREW IN HEAVEN  LIKE HE WOULD HAVE ON EARTH. AND ALL HIS ACTIONS. OH OH-I CAN PRETTY WELL GUARENTEE THE LAKE OF FIRE FOREVER SHE IS IN WITH HER NEVER DYING BODY. WILL ALMOST PALE IN COMPARISON TO THE GUILT, SHAME, CRYING, AND SUCH THAT THE TORMENT OF HER MIND WILL BE LIKE FOREVER. EVER SECOND SHE THINKS ABOUT THE BABY OR BABIES SHE MURDERED THAT NEVER DIED. JUST WENT DIRECTLY TO JESUS TO GROW UP A NORMAL CHILD IN HEAVEN. AND THE KICKER-TO BE CONFRONTED BY THAT BABY ASKING HER. MOM-WHY DID YOU MURDER JESUS' AND YOUR OWN BABY ME.

SO JUST THINK THESE BABY MURDERING DEMOCRATS AND LIBERALS  ARE ACTUALLY RUNNING ON MURDERING GODS AND THEIR OWN CHILD. FOR THE SAKE OF WINNING AN ELECTION. DO THESE IDIOT NUTJOB DEMOLIBNUTS ACTUALLY KNOW ALL THE BLOOD OF THE MURDERED BABIES BY ABORTION THAT THEY WILL HAVE TO GIVE AN ACCOUNT FOR AT JESUS' JUDGEMENT. WHY THEY PROMOTED AND WORSHIPPED MURDERING BABIES LIKE SEX FOR MURDER DEATH CULT ISLAM MURDERS IN THE NAME OF THEIR USELESS NOSE PICKER ALLAH SITTING ON A CRESCENT MOON ON THE MOON. I WONDER WHO WILL BE GETTING THE GREATER JUDGENTS ON THEM IN THE LAKE OF FIRE FOR ALL THE ABORTED BABIES ON THEIR HEADS. RIGHT ABORTION PROMOTERS. THE MOTHER WILL JUST HAVE HER ABORTION ON HER HEAD. BUT THE ONES THAT PROMOTE THIS BABY MURDERING. WILL HAVE EVERY ABORTIONS BLOOD ON THEIR HEADS FOREVER IN THE LAKE OF FIRE.ALL I GOTTA SAY GOOD LUKE TO ALL THESE DEMOCRAPS AND LIBERALS THAT PROMOTE BABIES LIVES FOR A 4 YEAR POWER HUNGRY VOTE.

WE KNOW THE BABIES DO GO DIRECTLY TO HEAVEN. ABSCENT FROM THE BODY IS INSTANTLY PRESENCE WITH THE LORD. NO CHANGING THAT TRUTH IN THE BIBLE.

What happens to children who die in infancy? By David Roach, posted August 25, 2015 in Theology & Doctrine.

NASHVILLE (BP) — In response to the release of a series of videos showing Planned Parenthood employees reportedly discussing the sale of baby parts obtained through abortion, evangelicals have expressed a range of views on the eternal destiny of children who die in infancy.Among Southern Baptists, most agree Scripture suggests aborted babies — along with others dying in infancy and individuals with severe mental disabilities — go to heaven. But pastors and theologians disagree on various related issues from the clarity of Scripture on children’s salvation to whether infants bear guilt before God.Points of agreement include the evil of abortion and the goodness of God.“As tragic as this situation is,” Connecticut pastor David Saylor said of infant deaths, “it’s not beyond the sovereign power of God to be in control of. We’re not totally lost to our situation. We’re still in the hands of God.”Saylor, pastor of First Baptist Church in Manchester, Conn., told Baptist Press he doesn’t think the Bible “specifically or directly” explains the eternal destiny of infants who die in infancy or other persons mentally unable to understand the concepts of sin and faith. While Christians “can’t be dogmatic about what God hasn’t chosen to clearly reveal to us,” Saylor believes “God may apply Christ’s blood to those who are unable to accept by faith the gift of salvation.”Infants are not innocent before God because they bear guilt that is imputed to all humans due to Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden, Saylor said, citing Psalm 51:5 and Romans 5:12-14. “A baby just born or in the womb hasn’t sinned personally yet, but he has a fallen nature and that’s the issue God has to conquer.”Saylor’s belief that God “may” apply Christ’s blood to infants is based on his notion of “the justice of God” rather than a specific Scripture passage, he said. It is reasonable to speculate that if children “haven’t come to the point where they can have faith, then God may apply Christ’s blood even without that faith,” Saylor said.Doug Melton, pastor of Southern Hills Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, believes the Bible allows Christians to express greater certainty about the eternal destiny of babies who die in infancy.“Whenever we take the full context of Scripture,” Melton told BP, “I have a real hard time sitting in front of a mom and dad and saying to them, ‘I don’t know where your stillborn child is.'”Infants who die in infancy go to heaven, Melton said. He based his view, first, on the Old Testament teaching that God only punished Israelites 20 and older when the nation rebelled against Him on the edge of the Promised Land. In contrast, God allowed younger people to enter the land after 40 years of wilderness wandering. Adolescents and children were not barred from the land presumably, Melton said, “because they had not willfully rebelled against God.”That account from Numbers 14, he said, is “a type that’s pointing ahead to the scriptural understanding of heaven.”Second, Melton said Romans 1:20 suggests individuals unable to “perceive” God through observation of His creation “are not held accountable because they have not willfully rebelled.” All humans inherit a sinful nature from Adam, Melton said, but Scripture only threatens punishment for personal sin.Despite infants’ lack of moral culpability, Melton believes they are saved by Christ’s atonement, though he does not “fully understand” how that salvation transaction works.Beliefs of ‘most Southern Baptists’In 2013, a Calvinism Advisory Committee appointed by Frank S. Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee, acknowledged disagreement among Southern Baptists on some issues related to infant salvation — such as whether all humans inherit Adam’s guilt. But the committee noted in its report, “Most Southern Baptists believe that those who die before they are capable of moral action go to heaven through the grace of God and the atonement of Christ, even as they differ as to why this is so.”Among committee members to express their views on the death of infants is Steve Lemke, provost at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. In a 2010 article for Louisiana’s Baptist Message newsjournal, Lemke argued “children are not morally accountable until ‘they are capable of moral action,'” referencing Article III of the Baptist Faith and Message.The section of the BF&M Lemke referenced states, “As soon as [humans] are capable of moral action, they become transgressors and are under condemnation.” Both the 1925 and 1963 editions of the BF&M make similar statements.Baptists, Lemke wrote, typically “do not believe in inherited guilt.” Drawing on the new covenant prophecies in Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 18 among other Scriptures, Lemke argued humans “are only accountable under the new covenant for our own sins.” Therefore, “Baptists have always believed that since infants are not yet capable of actual sin, they go to heaven.”Calvinism Advisory Committee members R. Albert Mohler Jr. and Daniel Akin wrote in a 2009 article, “We are born marked by original sin, and thus we cannot claim that infants are born in a state of innocence.” Yet “we are to be judged on the basis of our deeds committed ‘in the body,'” presumably a reference to 2 Corinthians 5:10.Scripture “does not teach that we will answer for Adam’s sin,” wrote Mohler and Akin, presidents of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary respectively. Therefore, “heaven will be filled with those who never grew to maturity on earth.”A historical perspective-Historically, the questions of whether infants bear guilt and the eternal destiny of those dying in infancy have been debated. As Mohler and Akin noted, the fourth-century church father Gregory of Nyssa believed infants, along with all other humans, would have an opportunity after death to confess Christ as Savior. Another fourth-century Christian, Ambrose of Milan, believed baptized infants would go to heaven while unbaptized infants would not, though he said they received immunity from the pain of hell.The 17th-century Westminster Confession of Faith argued, “Elect infants, dying in infancy, are regenerated, and saved by Christ, through the Spirit … so also are all other elect persons who are uncapable [sic] of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word.” Particular Baptists’ 1689 Second London Confession echoed that assertion, along with its implied distinction between elect and non-elect infants.In the 18th century, John Wesley, the father of Methodism, dealt with the issue of infant guilt by arguing Christ’s death removed original guilt from every human so that no one is eternally condemned for Adam’s sin, according to an article by Leo Cox in the Bulletin of the Evangelical Theological Society. Wesley himself wrote that Adam’s sin “is imputed to all men.” But “that any will be damned for this alone, I allow not, till you show me where it is written. Bring me plain proof from Scripture, and I submit; but till then, I utterly deny it.”Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon said in an 1861 sermon, “We say, with regard to infants, Scripture saith but little, and, therefore, where Scripture is confessedly scant, it is for no man to determine dogmatically. But I think I speak for the entire body, or certainly with exceedingly few exceptions, and those unknown to me, when I say, we hold that all infants are elect of God and are therefore saved.”‘Stand together’ on ScriptureAmong Baptists today, Wayne Robertson, pastor of Morningside Baptist Church in Valdosta, Ga., takes a position on infant salvation with echoes of several historical figures.“I do understand that infants are a member of Adam’s fallen race and are born with a sin nature,” Robertson told BP in written comments. “I believe the Scriptures teach that condemnation is based on the rejection of God’s revelation whether general or specific and not based on ignorance of it. I hold the position that the unborn and infants have not comprehended general revelation nor have they been given special revelation and as a result, have not been declared ‘without excuse’ (Romans 1:18-20).“Therefore, trusting the many Scriptures that tell us that Jesus expressed His love for children, such as Matthew 19:13-15, I believe that Christ’s atonement covered the guilt of these infants,” Robertson said.As Christians continue to discuss the eternal destiny of infants, Melton, of Southern Hills in Oklahoma City, urged charity among those who trust the authority of Scripture.“There’s a whole lot of different interpretations of Scripture,” Melton said, “and I believe everyone is trying to stand together on what Scripture teaches.”Author-David Roach-is a writer in Mobile, Ala.

Straight Answers: Do Aborted Children Go to Heaven? Fr. William Saunders-10/8/98 (CATHOLIC POINT OF VIEW)

Given that as Catholics we believe that life begins at conception, it would necessarily follow that an unborn child has a soul. If so, are the souls of aborted children lost to limbo as well? I know of several contrite mothers who have suffered the pains of an abortion and been consoled by clergy assuring them that their child is in Heaven. Given your explanation of limbo, this cannot be… can it? — A reader in Alexandria.Before addressing the question at hand, we must first be clear on two points.First, the idea of limbo is a theological speculation, not a defined doctrine of the Catholic Church. Remember we must uphold what our Lord taught concerning the necessity of Baptism: He said, “I solemnly assure you, no one can enter God’s kingdom without being begotten of water and Spirit” (John 3:5). Therefore, the Catechism rightly asserts, “The Church does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude” (#1257). Limbo, consequently, was a speculation as to what happened to the souls of children in particular who died and who through no fault of their own were not baptized. They did nothing to warrant eternal damnation in Hell, but because of Original Sin and the lack of Baptism they could not enter Heaven. Consequently, theologians, including St. Thomas Aquinas, posited there was a limbo, a place of benign existence. Nevertheless, the teaching of limbo still remains undefined and speculative.Second, the unborn child is indeed a person at the moment of conception. The Declaration on Procured Abortion asserted, “From the time that the ovum is fertilized, a life is begun which is neither that of the father nor of the mother; it is rather the life of a new human being with his own growth. It would never be made human if it were not human already” (#12). The Church, however, does not specifically define when ensoulment takes place. However, we rightly believe that Almighty God infuses the soul into the body when in accord with His will that creation is a person: for most of us, that would be at conception, but for identical twins or others, this would be after the initially fertilized single ovum divides. Here again the Church emphasizes that life is sacred from that moment of conception and must be protected. Even if a doubt existed about the personhood of the child in the womb, to risk murder would be an objectively grave sin (#13).Returning now to the fate of children who are murdered through abortion, or die in the womb before birth, or are miscarried, or are born but die without the benefit of baptism, the Catechism asserts, “The Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God, as she does in her funeral rites for them. Indeed, the great mercy of God, who desires that all men should be saved, and Jesus’ tenderness toward children which caused Him to say, ‘Let the children come to me, do not hinder them,’ allow us to hope that there is a way of salvation for children who have died without Baptism” (#1261). Therefore, while upholding our Lord’s teaching about the necessity of Baptism, we also focus on “the great mercy of God.” Throughout Sacred Scripture the mercy of God is extolled: For instance, Psalm 136 reminds us, “His mercy endures forever,” and Psalm145:8-9 proclaims, “The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness. The Lord is good to all and compassionate toward all His works.” Throughout the Gospel, Jesus dealt mercifully with sinners who had freely chosen to sin. St. Paul wrote, “God is rich in mercy; because of His great love for us, He brought us to life with Christ when we were dead in sin” (Ephesians 2:4-5). In all, Sacred Scripture consistently emphasizes the infinite mercy of God.Because of our firm belief in God’s infinite mercy and His universal salvific will that all should be saved, we have a genuine hope that there is indeed a way of salvation for children who have died without the benefit of Baptism through no fault of their own. After all, could we not rightly speculate that the desire of the parents, of the whole Church, of the child (who is made in God’s image and likeness, and at least in the most simple way has a natural longing for God), and of God Himself is truly a desire for salvation? Just as those adults, who through no fault of their own know neither the Gospel of Christ or His Church but seek God with a sincere heart and live by the dictates of their conscience with the help of His grace, may attain eternal salvation (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, #16), we certainly trust that a helpless, innocent child who has died in the womb, been aborted, been miscarried, or died without the benefit of Baptism will not be abandoned by the Lord or denied His saving grace.This hope is evident in the “living faith” of our Church. Pope John Paul II in EvangeliumVitae, when compassionately addressing women who have had abortions, wrote, “…You will also be able to ask forgiveness from your child, who is now living in the Lord” (#99). Such a statement indicates the Holy Father’s trust in the infinite mercy of God for these children and their place in the Heaven. In the Opening Prayer for the funeral Mass of an unbaptized child, the priest offers one of the following prayers: “Lord, listen to the prayers of this family that has faith in you. In their sorrow at the death of this child, may they find hope in your infinite mercy,” or, “Father of all consolation, from whom nothing is hidden, you know the faith of these parents who mourn the death of their child. May they find comfort in knowing that he is entrusted to your loving care.” Interestingly, prior to the Second Vatican Council, a priest always offered the Mass of the Angels for the children who died without baptism, entrusting their care to the Guardian Angels who look upon the face of God in Heaven. The graces of atonement of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass which flow from the death and resurrection of our Lord must surely give repose to these children and comfort to their grieving families. Moreover, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Innocents on December 28, who are considered martyrs for the faith although they were neither technically baptized nor knew Christ. Surely, the victims of abortion must be considered modern martyrs, who have shed their blood just because they were created by God yet rejected by others.While we may still struggle with this issue and find tension due to the lack of definitive teaching, we place our trust in the Lord. While the Lord has revealed to the Church that Baptism is the means of salvation, He is not restricted in offering other graced means unknown to the Church to these helpless children, and for such means the Church has great hope. However, such a hope in the infinite mercy of God must not make us complacent and thereby negligent in having children baptized or in evangelizing others. Rather, we must conscientiously fulfill our duty and enable all people to come to the Lord through Baptism.

Pelosi joins call by 37 Democrats for Biden to halt transfer of US weapons to Israel-Former speaker’s support for measure underlines growing demand among mainstream Democrats for a fresh look at military aid to Israel amid the Gaza war-By ToI Staff and Reuters Today, 9:23 am-APR 6,24

Several dozen Democratic members of Congress, including former speaker Nancy Pelosi, have sent a letter to US President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling for a halt on arms transfers to Israel following an IDF strike in Gaza that killed seven staffers of the World Central Kitchen, including a dual US citizen.“In light of this incident, we strongly urge you to reconsider your recent decision to authorize the transfer of a new arms package to Israel, and to withhold this and any future offensive arms transfers until a full investigation into the airstrike is completed,” the House representatives wrote.“We also urge you to withhold these transfers if Israel fails to sufficiently mitigate harm to innocent civilians in Gaza, including aid workers, and if it fails to facilitate — or arbitrarily denies or restricts the transport and delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza,” they said.Noting that Israel has said it did not intentionally target the aid workers, the Congress members said that “if this is true, it is a shockingly unacceptable mistake.” They also called for the administration “to conduct a thorough investigation into this airstrike,” which the White House reiterated Friday it will not do.Most of the signatories were from the Democrat’s left flank but the backing by Pelosi indicated support for stopping weapons deliveries to Israel is increasingly becoming mainstream among Democrats.Among the other 36 Democrats to sign were Representatives Barbara Lee, Rashida Tlaib and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.Biden has stepped up pressure on Israel in recent weeks and again in the wake of the killing of the aid workers, but has pushed back on suggestions he could cut off aid to Israel.Biden said Friday that Israel was heeding his demand to let aid into Gaza, a day after he warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of a sharp shift in policy.Asked as he left the White House whether he had threatened to stop military aid to Israel in the call with Netanyahu, Biden replied: “I asked them to do what they’re doing.”Biden also appeared to take umbrage at the suggestion he would end support for Israel when asked by a reporter if he was abandoning Israel.“Where you from, man?” Biden shot back, seemingly shocked by the question, given his longstanding support for the Jewish state.“Are you abandoning Israel?” the reporter asked again.“Is that a serious question?” the president replied, without giving a further response.In a tense call on Thursday, Biden warned Netanyahu that US policy on Israel was dependent on the protection of civilians and aid workers in Gaza, following an Israeli strike that killed seven aid workers.It was the first conversation between the two since an Israeli strike in central Gaza late on Monday killed seven aid workers from the World Central Kitchen. Israel has called the strike on the WCK convoy a “grave mistake,” and vowed an in-depth investigation into how it occurred. But Netanyahu also said that “these things happen in war” — a line that wasn’t well received internationally.Hours after the two leaders spoke, Israel announced that it would allow “temporary” aid deliveries into famine-threatened northern Gaza through the Israeli port of Ashdod and the Erez border crossing in the northern Gaza Strip for the first time since it was significantly damaged during the Hamas-led October 7 terror onslaught that sparked the ongoing war, when many Israelis were killed and abducted there.Israel also said it was firing two officers after an IDF probe found that a series of “grave mistakes” led to the drone strikes that killed the World Central Kitchen aid workers.