The European Commission (EC) is investigating the social networks X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok for spreading illegal content and terrorist propaganda from the war between Israel and Hamas. The EC will check whether

In the case of the Chinese social network, the EC gave it a notice for containing “terrorist propaganda” after the attack and asked it to take measures to eliminate it, taking into account that it is a platform used by minors.

A request for information to X

At the beginning of this week, Brussels had asked X for explanations about the measures it will take to eliminate terrorist content that, according to the Commission, is circulating on the platform after the Hamas attack on Israel.

“The Digital Services Act is here to protect both our freedom of expression and our democracies, including in times of crisis. We have sent X a formal request for information, the first step in our investigation to determine whether they comply with the DSA,” European Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton wrote in X.

The EU Executive said it is examining X's policies and practices regarding warnings about illegal content, the handling of complaints, risk assessment and measures to mitigate identified risks, according to a statement.

The social media giant led by Elon Musk will have to respond to the request for information before October 18, in the case of the operation of its crisis response protocol, and before October 31, in the case of the rest of questions that Brussels asks you.

A fine of up to 6% of your annual turnover

The Digital Services Law allows the EU to impose fines if X's response is “incorrect, incomplete or confusing”, as well as if the platform does not respond to your request for information. Ultimately, an investigation could end in a fine for the company of up to 6% of its annual worldwide turnover.

Due to its size, the exercise of fundamental rights, the rights of minors, public safety and mental well-being,” Brussels recalled.

Beyond the digital services law, in force since this year, there is also the regulation on the fight against the dissemination of terrorist content on the Internet, which obliges platforms to eliminate them within one hour from the moment they are ordered to do so. national authorities.

X has “deleted or tagged” messages about the war

In response to this claim from the European Commission, the company's main executive, Linda Yaccarino, has published a letter on the social network in which she assures that X has “deleted or labeled tens of thousands” of messages about the war between the Islamist group and Israel and has also deleted “hundreds” of accounts linked to the Islamist group.

“There is no room in X for terrorist organizations or violent extremist groups and we continue to eliminate these accounts in real time, which includes proactive efforts,” said the executive, who has “redistributed resources and refocused internal teams” for this work.

In addition to deleting thousands of messages, X has deleted “hundreds” of Hamas-affiliated accounts in accordance with its policies against violent entities, he added.. It has also assured that the platform eliminates “illegal content, including terrorist content”, in accordance with its internal policies, and as for those contents that are “harmful, but not illegal”, it includes a notice that “limits” the scope of the publications.

Yaccarino pointed out that some 700 “community notes” are adding context to a multitude of content on X about the conflict and another 5,000 notes specifically accompany widely shared images and videos with context.

A warning to TikTok

Thierry Breton also wrote a letter to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, asking him to explain what measures he will take.. “Given that many users, particularly minors, turn to their platform as a news source, reliable sources must be properly differentiated from terrorist propaganda,” he said.

In addition, he pointed out the “special obligation” that he believes Shou Zi Chew has to protect children and adolescents “from violent content depicting hostage-taking and other graphic videos that are reported to be circulating on its platform.” “he said, referring to the Israeli citizens that Hamas has captured.

Luis Alfredo Garavito, convicted of abusing and murdering nearly 200 girls, boys and adolescents, died this Thursday in the prison where he was serving his sentence in the city of Valledupar, in northern Colombia, reported the National Penitentiary and Prison Institute (INPEC).

“Mr. Luis Alfredo Garavito Cubillos, who was detained in the city of Valledupar, died in the last minutes,” INPEC reported in a brief statement, adding that he died early in the morning at the new Santo Tomás clinic due to “multiple conditions.”.

Garavito is considered the largest serial killer of children in Colombia and was in prison after confessing that he raped and murdered 197 children in various regions of the country in the 1990s.

Known as “The Beast”, he was arrested in April 1999 when he was trying to rape a minor and entered prison in December 2002, accused of the crimes of violent sexual act, homicide, violent carnal access, simple kidnapping and arson.

The Chief of the General Staff of the Israeli Army, Herzi Halevi, admitted this Thursday that the Security apparatus “made mistakes” after failing to prevent the Hamas offensive and the ground incursion that caused the death of 1,300 people in Israel, in his first intervention public after six days of war.

In a press conference near the dividing line with the Strip, where the strong air attacks against the enclave continue that have already left at least 1,417 Palestinian dead and more than 6,000 injured, the top Army official also promised that “the crimes will be investigated.” failures in the military chain”, but urged the Palestinian militias in the coastal enclave to focus for now on managing the conflict.

“The Israeli Armed Forces are responsible for the security of the country and its citizens, and on Saturday morning in the areas of the Gaza Strip we did not deal with it,” Halevi declared.

“We will learn, we will investigate, but now is the time for war,” he added, in a context in which Israel is accumulating a large number of troops around the Strip, while there is speculation about a ground offensive that could be increasingly imminent.

Halevi said everything possible will be done to rescue hostages taken from communities in southern Israel who are now held captive in Gaza and in the hands of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, who are demanding an exchange with Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails..

Israeli security forces were caught by surprise in Hamas' Saturday morning offensive, which led to the largest massacre and worst military failure in the country's history..

“The killing by the murderous terrorists of Hamas, human animals, of our children, women and our people, is animalistic and inhumane,” stressed Halevi, who also blamed Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahia Sinwar, “for this horrible stroke”.

“He and the entire system under his command are dead men. “We will attack them, dismantle and dismantle their system,” he said.

Since the war broke out, the whereabouts of Sinwar and other senior Hamas officials in the Strip have been unknown, nor did they make public statements or pronouncements during these days.

The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, has once again made the news after having stated on Venezuelan public television (VTV) that “Jesus Christ was a young Palestinian unjustly crucified by the Spanish Empire”. The video has gone viral and has provoked all kinds of reactions on social networks.

In principle, the Venezuelan mandate expressed that Palestine is a historical nation and that when Jesus was born, said territory “was already Palestine.”. He went on to claim that Jesus was “the first known imperialist in modern history,” and that he was born into a Jewish home, but later rebelled against the rule of the Roman Empire.

However, the words he spoke afterwards surprised everyone who came across the video on social networks.. “Jesus was a Palestinian child, a young Palestinian, crucified and unjustly condemned by the Spanish Empire and by the oligarchies that dominated the area.”

Maduro ended his speech by calling on the faithful of the three main religions to together demand compliance with UN resolutions.. “I call on the Christians of the world, on my Muslim brothers, on the Jewish people of the world, to demand compliance with the United Nations resolutions,” the leader concluded.

His words have caused all kinds of reactions on social networks. “I think history was going very badly,” says a social network user.. “Now I understand the disaster of a country that Venezuela is,” says another Internet user.. “The worst thing is that there are people who will hear you and believe you,” says another user.. Some have even joked about it: “Yes, Franco crucified him.”

Madrid, Valencia, Valladolid, Vitoria-Gasteiz and Zaragoza are doing their job well in the fight against climate change. The five Spanish cities have been awarded the EU Mission Seal for Climate Neutral and Smart Cities, one of the Union's Missions in Horizon Europe. This distinction recognizes cities' plans to achieve climate neutrality as early as 2030 and aims to facilitate access to public and private financing towards that goal.. In addition to the Spanish, Sønderborg (Denmark), Mannheim (Germany), Klagenfurt (Austria), Cluj-Napoca (Romania) and Stockholm (Sweden) have also achieved the label.

The EU Mission Seal is a recognition of the success in the development of City Climate Contracts, which outline the global vision of climate neutrality of cities and contain an action plan and investment strategy. Cities develop their City Climate Contracts in collaboration with local stakeholders, including the private sector and citizens. A first group of cities submitted their Contracts in April 2023, which were reviewed by the Commission with the support of experts, including those from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Joint Research Center (JRC).

Following a positive review, cities receive an EU Mission Label, which aims to facilitate access to EU, national and regional funding sources and funds, in particular private investment.

These ten cities are paving the way for others to move more quickly towards a just green and digital transition

“These ten cities are paving the way for others to move more quickly towards a fair ecological and digital transition, and serve as an example for the inclusive co-creation of policies at the local level,” says the European Commission statement.. In total, 100 EU cities participate in the EU Cities Mission, with an additional 12 cities from Horizon Europe partner countries.

The community Executive, together with the Mission Platform, currently managed by the NetZeroCities project, will continue, it says, to support the effective implementation of the Cities for Climate Contracts. Cities that have received the EU Mission Seal can now use it as a sign of confidence in their climate neutrality plans, especially when approaching public and private funders. The Commission, through the Mission Platform, will continue to support cities “with practical advice and financing programmes, such as a €32 million pilot program combined with a twinning programme”.

Another call for pilot cities with a budget of 20 million euros is currently open until November 6. All cities that have submitted their Cities for Climate Contracts, whether or not they have obtained the EU Mission Label, are receiving information on areas that can be further developed, with the support of the Missions Platform.

Cities are responsible for more than 70% of global CO₂ emissions and consume more than 65% of global energy. Urban action is crucial for climate change mitigation and can significantly contribute to accelerating efforts to achieve the legally binding commitment to achieve EU-wide climate neutrality by 2050, as well as the EU's goal of reducing emissions. of greenhouse gases by 55% by 2030 and, more generally, comply with the European Green Deal.

“The objective of the EU Cities Mission is to help European cities achieve climate neutrality, offering their citizens cleaner air, safer transport and less congestion and noise,” concludes Brussels.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly was in southern Israel on an official visit when bombing alarms began to sound.

The politician began to run in search of shelter with the rest of the entourage that accompanied him.

At the time he was with his Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen, visiting a family home in the southern town of Ofakim, which was attacked by Hamas militants.

The United Kingdom, like the United States, has shown strong support for Benjamin Netanyahu's administration in the wake of the incursion by Palestinian militants last weekend.

According to the British public broadcaster BBC, citing an “official source”, seventeen British citizens, including children, are among those “dead or missing” in the Hamas attack.

The White House rectified the statements this Wednesday by President Joe Biden, who said he had seen photos of Hamas militiamen “beheading children” and assured that neither the president nor US officials have seen these images. In a statement to EFE, a spokesperson for the Democratic Administration clarified that the president made these statements based on statements that the Israeli Government has given “publicly.”

According to The Washington Post, which was the first to report on the Biden Government's rectification, the White House noted that “neither the president nor government officials have seen the images or have been able to confirm the reports” of these events. independently”. During a speech to the Jewish community earlier today, Biden said that during his years working in the government he never thought he would “see” or “have confirmed images of terrorists beheading children.”

Various media outlets both in the US. As in Israel, they have echoed statements from the Israeli Defense Forces and the Government of Benjamin Netanyahu stating that they found the bodies of decapitated minors after a Hamas attack on the Kfar Aza kibbutz this Saturday.

Hamas denies Israel's accusations

Hamas, for its part, denied having “killed children, beheaded and attacked civilians” during its attack on Israel and rejected the “fabricated accusations” that have been “propagated by some Western media outlets that adopt the Zionist narrative.”

A spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry explained to EFE this Tuesday that among the bodies found in the kibbutz of 750 inhabitants, there were “around 40 children, including babies.”

Fifth day of bombing and at least 1,200 dead

The surprise attack by Hamas, which began on Saturday a war that today enters its fifth day and continues to register strong exchanges of fire, has already left at least 1,200 dead in Israel and more than 2,900 injured.

On the Gazan side, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported this Wednesday that so far it has recorded 950 deaths from the Israeli retaliatory bombings and at least 5,000 injured.

Added to these figures are 1,000 Palestinian militiamen killed in Israeli territory in clashes with security forces after infiltrating from the Strip, according to the latest Army estimates. Furthermore, the Israeli Government has reported that more than 100 people have been kidnapped by Hamas and taken to Gaza as hostages.

This October 7, Hamas, a group considered terrorist by the European Union and the United States and which controls the Gaza Strip (Palestine), launched an attack on Israel. Through the Maldita.es WhatsApp chatbot (+34 644 229 319) you have asked us about some of the images and videos that have gone viral, which are either decontextualized or old.

One of the contents that has circulated the most during the first days of the conflict has been that it states that Israel has bombed “the third oldest church in the world”, in relation to the Orthodox church of Saint Porphyry, in Gaza.. On October 9, 2023, when this content was disseminated, there was no evidence that this had occurred. The institution itself has published on its official Facebook account that the building is “intact” and “functioning at the service of the community.”

Another of the messages that have been shared the most on social networks has been an alleged video from the British network BBC that claims that an investigation by the investigative journalism portal Bellingcat shows that Ukraine smuggled weapons to Hamas.

“Analysis of secret data showed that Ukraine provided the majority of weapons to the Palestinian Hamas movement,” says an alleged video published by the BBC. However, it is a montage that uses the BBC logo. There is no trace that it has even been broadcast by the public broadcaster in the United Kingdom.. Furthermore, both Bellingcat and its founder, Eliot Higgins, have stated on their Twitter accounts, now called X, that the video is “100% false.”

Another common occurrence in any misinformation crisis is fire videos.. On this occasion, a recording has circulated showing what appears to be alleged building fires in Gaza following the attacks by the Israeli army.. But it is a hoax.

The video, which is now circulating without sound, is of a football celebration and was recorded in Algeria in 2020. In the original, background music is heard that has been removed to make it pass as Gaza.

In addition to decontextualized images, when there is a tense situation it is also common for a WhatsApp chain to go viral that says that images about the event in question will be circulated in order to hack your cell phone.

This case has not been an exception. “Photos of the fighting in Jewish settlements will begin to be uploaded to WhatsApp (.,..) Do not open it, it will hack your phone in 10 seconds and cannot be stopped in any way,” says the viral chain that has circulated on WhatsApp. However, it is a hoax. The message that moves does not provide any evidence and is the same as others that we have already denied at Maldita.es. Furthermore, the National Cybersecurity Institute (INCIBE) has already stated that these types of messages tend to “be a hoax.”

The Israeli soldiers who arrived this Tuesday at the Kfar Aza kibbutz assured the media deployed to the area that they had found hundreds of dead and mutilated bodies, both civilian and military, in and around this rural settlement.. This kibbutz becomes one of the great horrors of the last chapter of the eternal confrontation between Israel and Palestine.

Kfar Aza is one of several kibbutzim that bore the brunt of last Saturday's Hamas ground attack, along with those in Be'eri, Ofakim, Sderot, Yad Mordechai, Yated, Kissufim and Urim.

In Hebrew Kfar Aza means 'Gaza village'. Indeed, it is located just three kilometers east of the Gaza Strip.. It is the south of Israel, between Netivot and Sderot, and depends on the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council.

The kibbutz was founded in August 1951 by Jewish immigrants and refugees from Egypt and the Moroccan city of Tangier.. It was temporarily abandoned in 1955 and recovered two years later.

Kfar Aza was a medium-sized kibbutz. Between 100 and 1,000 people usually live in each of these farms, and in this one there were more than 700. The population was secular Jewish and religious Jews were a minority.

A kibbutz on Airbnb

On December 31, 2014, 693 people resided in the kibbutz. In 2021, the population increased slightly and was 765 inhabitants.

In Israel there is Kibbutz Ulpan, a program for volunteers from all over the world who want to have the experience of living in a kibbutz for a few months.. It would have served to get to know Kfar Aza, but the settlement was also on Airbnb. There, a four-bedroom house was advertised for just over 40 euros per night.. There are also studios in Be'er Sheva and Gedera or apartments in Ashkelon.

Today it's hard to imagine, but inland tourism worked in this area of southern Israel. Travelujah is a tour operator dedicated to it. When referring to Kfar Aza, they speak of a beautiful kibbutz “with impressive nature, panoramic views and a very supportive community.”

In their story they mention Chen Kotler, a resident of the settlement who remembered having maintained friendly relations with the Gazans until the year 2000 (that year the second intifada began).. “He regularly traveled to the area to shop or visit the stunning beaches and, of course, to enjoy the tasty hummus on Shabbat,” reads the Travelujah website.

Hope was alive in Kfar Aza

“In other countries it would be unimaginable to live in a place that can be under fire at a moment. However, despite the deadly rockets; the emotional burden it places on children who are afraid of sleeping alone; the mother who has to decide in an instant which child she is going to run to catch if she only has 10 seconds until a bomb falls; visits to shelters, part of daily life; Despite all this, the community has a huge heart and hope for peace.. They truly believe in a just and equitable solution: that Palestinians and Israelis can live in two independent states, one next to the other,” says the text on Elisa Leopold Moed's tourism website.

“Maybe they dream, maybe they don't. But they believe that where there is a will there is a way. “Hope is very much alive in the Kfar Aza kibbutz,” adds Travelujah in an entry that today brings tears.

What is a kibbutz

From the Hebrew 'group' or 'gathering', a kibbutz is a Jewish agricultural settlement of communal production and consumption.. It is more than just agriculture and economics; It is a political projection of Zionism and as such has played an essential role in the creation of the State of Israel.

In the first years of independence, the kibbutzim played a central role in the development of the country's economy and became a model of Jewish settlement in the new territories (occupations according to Palestine).. They are not only governed by production principles but also by values of social and communal responsibility, equality and cooperation.

About 125,000 people live in some 250 kibbutzim, according to the Jewish Agency for Israel.. Paradoxically, for many they were symbols of good life and security.

Fifth day of the resurgence of the war between the State of Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). The crossfire between both sides has continued throughout the day, to which attacks from Lebanon have also been added.. Israel broke a record by deploying a total of 300,000 reservists and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to create an emergency government and a war cabinet together with the opposition. In addition, the Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah threatened to attack US bases in the Middle East. Meanwhile, in Gaza, the population has been left in the dark and hospitals are overwhelmed, since in addition to the lack of electricity, there is also a shortage of medicines, supplies and doctors.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced this Wednesday the creation of an emergency government and a war management cabinet together with Beny Gantz, opposition leader and former head of the Army.. The Government's political and security cabinet will be made up of five members of the center-right National Unity party, among whom are also: Gideon Saar, former Minister of Justice; Gadi Eisenkot, former Chief of the Army Staff; Gantz himself; and two other deputies. For its part, the war management cabinet will be formed by: Netanyahu, Gantz and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.. During the day, the deployment of 300,000 reservists was also confirmed.

Sadness and joy in Spain

The arrival of the two planes sent by the Ministry of Defense to Torrejón de Ardoz and a commercial plane to Barajas filled both airports with joy.. In total, more than 400 people have been repatriated from Tel Aviv. However, the news was overshadowed by the confirmation of the death of Maya Villalobo, the 19-year-old girl with Spanish and Israeli nationality, who was doing her military service at a base near Gaza at the time Hamas carried out the attack. last Saturday. The whereabouts of Ivan Illarramendi, the other missing Spaniard, and his wife, a Chilean national, are still unknown.

So far, more than 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, while in Palestine the death toll stands at over a thousand.. Regarding those kidnapped by Hamas, the Israeli Government estimates that there would be between 100 and 150 people and has also ruled out starting talks to negotiate their rescue. “This is not the time to negotiate.. We are still at war. We're counting our bodies. We continue to fight against terrorists in our territory,” said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lior Haiat.

Fear of possible escalation

During the day this Wednesday, one of the main fears was the possible escalation of the conflict. Israel was the victim of new attacks with missiles launched from Lebanon, as happened in previous days. However, for the first time the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attacks, which left “a large number of casualties” among Israeli troops.. The Israeli Army counterattacked, according to military sources.

Later, the threat made by the Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah, supported by Iran, to attack American bases located in the Middle East in case the country intervened in Gaza was made public. “Our missiles, drones and special forces will be prepared to direct qualitative blows against the American enemy in its bases and hinder its interests, if it intervenes in this battle,” said the leader of the organization Abu Hasan al Hamidawi.

For its part, the Islamist movement Hamas denied having “killed children, beheaded and attacked civilians” during the attacks carried out since Saturday against Israel. “We firmly affirm the falsity of fabricated accusations that espouse the Zionist narrative, including claims of killing children, beheading and attacking civilians,” Hamas said in a statement.. Specifically, they stated that they had only attacked “the military and security apparatus” of the Israeli State.

Gaza, devastated

Meanwhile in Gaza, chaos continues. The attacks do not stop and among them the bombing of a university in the region stood out. On Tuesday, attacks on two UN schools located in the Palestinian enclave had already been reported and this Wednesday the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) raised the number of workers killed in the bombings to eleven.. Among them are five teachers, a gynecologist, an engineer, three support members and a counselor.

Last Monday, Israel announced the total blockade of the area and this Wednesday the inhabitants have already been left in the dark. The supply company cut off the electricity supply at the beginning of the afternoon, because they only had 300,000 liters of fuel left, enough for 10 ten hours of light.. The remaining amount has been reserved for emergencies and waiting for Israel to agree to Egypt sending them fuel through the Rafah border crossing.. However, so far Egypt has not even confirmed that it will open the border for Palestinians who wish to flee to pass through.

The hospitals in the Strip are also overwhelmed and it is increasingly difficult to provide care to the 5,000 people who have been injured in the Palestinian territory.. The power outage has been compounded by a shortage of supplies, medicines and health personnel. “Our capacity is at the limit and we can only try to maintain the lives of the wounded,” Dr. Medhat Abás, spokesperson for the Al Shifa Medical Complex, the largest hospital center in Gaza City, explained to EFE.