Yazidi woman captured by ISIS rescued in Gaza after more than a decade in captivity

“A 21-year-old Yazidi woman has been rescued from Gaza where she had been held captive by Hamas for years after being trafficked by ISIS.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Thursday that Fawzia Amin Sido was freed this week in an operation coordinated between Israel, the United States and other international actors.

Fawzia told CNN that she has been returned to Iraq after enduring years of captivity.

She said that she was initially kidnapped by ISIS as a child in August 2014 when the group captured the city of Sinjar in the Nineveh Governorate of northern Iraq, executing Yazidi men and boys and committing acts of sexual violence and rape against women and girls, among other crimes.

Over the next few years, Fawzia was trafficked to different locations across several countries.

“We ended up in Al-Hol camp (in Syria) before we were smuggled to Idlib in 2019, and from there, we went to Turkey. In 2020, they arranged a passport for me in Turkey so I could fly from Istanbul to Hurghada, Egypt, and then to Gaza,” she said.

She told CNN that she stayed in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip for a year, where life was “unbearable.”

“Hamas constantly harassed me due to my Yazidi background and contact with my family, even going so far as to format my phone [erase its contents] during their investigations. After a year, they moved me to a guest house.”

When the Israel-Hamas war broke out in 2023, she was again moved around frequently – until October 1, when she said an NGO rescued her.

The IDF said that her captor was killed, “presumably during IDF strikes” in Gaza, allowing her to flee to a hideout, from where she was rescued and taken to the Kerem Shalom border crossing.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/yazidi-woman-captured-isis-rescued-124906793.html

The Israeli attacks in Lebanon could lead to the wider war we’ve been fearing

“A diplomatic solution, perhaps one in which Hezbollah agrees to remove its positions close to Lebanon’s southern border, is certainly possible. That would allow Israelis to move back to their homes in the north. Whatever the outcome, however, Israel will likely not be able to eliminate Hezbollah, just as it has failed at eliminating Hamas. And continued aggression could lead to more extreme outcomes in the future.”

https://www.vox.com/israel/373428/lebanon-hezbollah-israel-hamas-gaza

Mike Kofman and Rob Lee on the West’s Aid to Ukraine, and the Debate Over Red Lines and Escalation

Mike Kofman and Rob Lee on the West’s Aid to Ukraine, and the Debate Over Red Lines and Escalation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWeno1zEc0E

Why The Gaza Pier Failed | Five Issues and the Ultimate Cause Why JLOTS Did Not Succeed

Why The Gaza Pier Failed | Five Issues and the Ultimate Cause Why JLOTS Did Not Succeed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJgspVr2wpM