This will not end well. Netanyahu has already said that once Hamas is neutralized Iran will be next.
"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: The Israel-Hamas War
[Re: airforce]
#180226 10/07/202310:02 PM10/07/202310:02 PM
On Sunday, the US military began moving naval assets toward the eastern section of the Mediterranean Sea in a show of support for Israel as well as support for the evacuation of US citizens if needed.
According to MSNBC, US military officials with knowledge of the situation said the move is not a signal that the US is planning to get involved in the conflict, but to show support, and having the assets closer will make it easier to get US civilians out if the conflict grows.
The officials noted that it would take several days to move all of the assets to the region, but that they could begin the process immediately.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN on Sunday, "President Biden's direction was to make sure that we're providing Israel everything it needs in this moment to deal with the attacks from Hamas."
Blinken noted that there are reports that there were Americans killed and kidnapped by Hamas during their attack on Israel which left 250 dead and over 1,000 wounded Saturday.
"We have reports that several Americans may be among the dead," he told NBC, "We are very actively working to verify those reports. Similarly, we’ve seen reports about hostages and they’re, again, we’re very actively trying to verify them, and nail that down.”
Onward and upward, airforce
Re: The Israel-Hamas War
[Re: airforce]
#180231 10/09/202312:15 PM10/09/202312:15 PM
... Theories abound about Hamas's reasons for the assault. Many suggested it was an Iranian-ordered disruption of Israeli-Saudi normalization. Others focused on internal Palestinian politics and suggested Hamas was positioning itself, even at the cost of an inevitable and crushing Israeli retaliation, as the unquestioned leader of the Palestinian struggle after Mahmoud Abbas's death. Still others said the reasons were simpler: The two Hamas leaders in Gaza who prepared and launched the operation were military chief Muhammad Deif and political head Yahye Sinwar. The first lost his family to an Israeli airstrike aimed at him, the second sat for 22 years in an Israeli prison. Neither needed an overwrought geopolitical rationale to piece together such an operation.
There is probably some truth in all these theories. All make sense. But none are how Hamas itself explained the operation in real-time.
Here lies a part of Palestinian thinking and discourse that many of Palestine's Western defenders ignore, both because it's a hard sell to Western audiences and because they don't really understand it themselves. Palestinian "resistance," as conceived by Hamas, is about much more than settlements, occupation or the Green Line. A larger theory of Islamic renewal is at work.
This reclamation of Islamic dignity through the ultimate defeat of the Jews occupies a great deal of Hamas's political thought, permeates its rhetoric and profoundly shapes its thinking about Israeli Jews and its strategy in facing Israel. Israel is more than a mere occupier or oppressor in this narrative, it is a rebellion against God and the divinely ordained trajectory of history. And by showing Israelis in their weakness, the thinking goes, Israelis are somehow actually made weak. Redemption requires only the faith of its believers to be fulfilled, and seeing is believing….
Israelis can handle humiliation; they are less moved by the politics of honor than are their enemies. But these heirs of a collective memory forged in the fires of the 20th century cannot handle the experience of defenselessness Hamas has imposed on them. Hamas seemed to do everything possible to shift Israeli psychology from a comfortable faith in their own strength to a sense of dire vulnerability.
And it will soon learn the scale of that miscalculation. A strong Israel may tolerate a belligerent Hamas on its border; a weaker one cannot. A safe Israel can spend much time and resources worrying about the humanitarian fallout from a Gaza ground war; a more vulnerable Israel cannot.
A wounded, weakened Israel is a fiercer Israel.
Hamas was once a tolerable threat. It just made itself an intolerable one, all while convincing Israelis they are too vulnerable and weak to respond with the old restraint.
Onward and upward, airforce
Re: The Israel-Hamas War
[Re: airforce]
#180234 10/09/202311:17 PM10/09/202311:17 PM
Psalms 83 is being fullfilled. Soon the jihadists will get What they deserve.
"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: The Israel-Hamas War
[Re: airforce]
#180235 10/10/202304:24 PM10/10/202304:24 PM
...What Hamas did, what their leadership did, was apparently they moved off of the normal modern communications links that we take for granted every day, and went back to what you did in the 19th century: face-to-face meetings, they went and used couriers instead of going in and using the telephone or the cell phone...
There's a lesson in there somewhere.
Onward and upward, airforce
Re: The Israel-Hamas War
[Re: airforce]
#180237 10/11/202312:26 PM10/11/202312:26 PM
"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: The Israel-Hamas War
[Re: airforce]
#180239 10/11/202301:19 PM10/11/202301:19 PM
Inbar Lieberman, the security coordinator of Kibbutz Nir Am since December 2022, heard explosions early Saturday, when the terrorists launched their unprecedented attack on the Jewish state, according to Walla News.
She realized that the sounds were different than those heard during the usual rocket attacks on the kibbutz — located near Sderot and a stone’s throw from the Gaza Strip.
So Lieberman rushed to open the armory, distributed guns to the 12-member security team and coordinated their decisive response amid the unfolding attack.
She placed her squad of kibbutzniks in strategic positions across the settlement and set up ambushes that caught the gunmen off guard and turned the tables on them during their mission to inflict mass casualties.
That's good, but I'd recommend everyone already have their weapons so they wouldn't have to waste time opening up the armory.
Onward and upward, airforce
Re: The Israel-Hamas War
[Re: airforce]
#180241 10/12/202309:59 AM10/12/202309:59 AM
First of all, it's been quite a while since I've seen a group of white supremacists be big enough to be called a "rally." Secondly, white supremacists don't typically like Jews. (The best example of that would be, you know, Nazis.)
All these liberals waving Palestinian flags and praising Hamas are finally showing their true colors. They're fascists.
Onward and upward, airforce
Re: The Israel-Hamas War
[Re: airforce]
#180251 10/15/202306:07 PM10/15/202306:07 PM
Egypt Mulls Allowing Refugees Entry As Over 600,000 Gazans Move South; FBI Warns Of Hamas Attacks On US Soil
by Tyler Durden Sunday, Oct 15, 2023 - 01:10 PM
Summary:
After giving the northern Gaza strip an evacuation ultimatum on Friday, Israel has so far withheld from launching a "significant" ground operation, with some speculating that requests from the US to evacuate all US citizens out of Palestine ahead of the invasion is what is holding Israel back. Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign minister on Saturday said that if Israeli “war crimes & genocide” are not stopped, the war might expand to other parts of the Middle East if Hezbollah joins the battle, and that would make Israel suffer “a huge earthquake.” Meanwhile, Axios reported that Tehran has sent Jerusalem a message through the UN that it will intervene if the campaign in Gaza continues, and particularly if it launches a ground offensive.
This was followed by news Sunday morning that the US has been backchanneling with Iran in recent days to warn against escalating the conflict in Israel (after all, Biden can't afford to lose those sanctioned Iranian oil exports whose re-embargo would promptly send the price of oil above $100).
Another reason why Israel may be waiting: the Pentagon confirmed that it has ordered a second carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean Sea after a first carrier strike group, led by the USS Gerald R. Ford, arrived off the coast of Israel last week.
Background:
On Saturday, the Israeli army said it’s making preparations for “significant ground operations” in Gaza, with the Israel Defense Forces saying in a statement that the next phase of the war can include a coordinated land, sea and air assault.
Israel has called up a record 300,000 reservists and has been pounding Gaza after the unprecedented incursion in which more than 1,000 Hamas fighters swept across the border and attacked Israeli military posts, bases and settlements. More than 1,300 Israelis died, mostly civilians, and up to 150 people were abducted and taken into Gaza. More than 1,900 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli bombing campaign as fears mount of major casualties once Israel sends troops into the crowded coastal strip, home to 2.3 million people. Israel on Friday gave 24 hours for more than 1 million Palestinians to evacuate their homes in Gaza.
Separately, Israel confirmed for the first time that there were intelligence indications of something happening in Gaza two hours before the attacks last week. The head of Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, spoke with military personnel about the reports, said Tzachi Hanegbi, head of Israel’s National Security Council. “Both sides assessed that this is something other than it turned out to be,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hamas, which has been designated as a terrorist group by the US and the European Union, said Israeli air strikes killed another nine of its hostages in the past 24 hours, raising the total to 26. Many governments, including the US and European countries, are rushing to evacuate citizens in anticipation of an Israeli incursion into Gaza, though the Rafah border crossing out of Gaza to Egypt was reported to be closed to foreign nationals Saturday.
On the diplomatic front, Joe Biden’s team has voiced anxiety about Israel’s 24-hour evacuation demand, a deadline that the European Union and the United Nations called unrealistic. On Friday, Biden said people shouldn’t “lose sight of the fact that the overwhelming majority of Palestinians had nothing to do with Hamas” something Biden tweeted on Sunday morning.
The US Embassy in Israel said it’s “working on potential options for departure from Gaza.” US citizens living in or visiting Gaza may be allowed to leave on Saturday, according to a US official. The embassy said it’s facilitating more chartered evacuation flights from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport and urged US citizens and immediate family members to use them “while they are available.” The US government also said it is assisting US nationals and their immediate family members with a valid travel document to depart Haifa via sea for Cyprus on Oct. 16, according to a statement on the US Embassy in Israel website.
The State Department in Washington authorized the departure of non-emergency embassy personnel on Friday, citing an “unpredictable security situation.” With commercial flights to Israel disrupted, European countries such as France and Germany also have been providing planes to get their citizens out of the region. Latest Developments:
Israel Says More Than 600,000 Gazans Have Moved South
More than 600,000 Gazans from Gaza City and its surroundings have relocated southward, following instructions from the Israeli Defense Forces, IDF Spokesman Daniel Hagari says.
Bloomberg notes that this is Hagari added this exodus is despite efforts by Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, to keep them in the north to serve as human shields.
Hagari urged those remaining in the north to evacuate for their safety.
* * *
Egypt Weighs Letting in Foreigners and Palestinians From Gaza
Egypt is coming under intense pressure to allow refugees to cross the border and escape an Israeli bombing campaign and expected ground invasion.
But, as WSJ reports, for Cairo, opening the border is a tough call.
Egypt plays a unique role with Hamas, mediating its conflicts with Israel while also helping squeeze the U.S.-designated terrorist group with a blockade on goods and travel out of the Gaza Strip. It has been reluctant to allow the tensions and troubles of Gaza to enter its own country in the form of large numbers of refugees.
The US is confident Egypt’s border with Gaza will be opened to allow in crucial humanitarian aid, Blinken told reporters in Cairo.
“Rafah will be open,” the top US diplomat said after meeting President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.
“We’re putting in place with the United Nations, with Egypt, with Israel a mechanism by which to get assistance in.”
A US envoy, David Satterfield, will be in Israel on Monday to work out practical details.
* * *
FBI Director Warns of possible copy-cat attacks
“Here in the U.S. we cannot and do not discount the possibility that Hamas or other foreign terrorist organizations could exploit the conflict to call on their supporters to conduct attacks on our own soil,” Wray told reporters on Sunday.
The FBI has been sharing intelligence about possible violence with state and local law enforcement, he said, though officials said most of the threats haven’t proved credible.
It's just a good job the US' southern border is so secure!
* * *
Iran’s foreign minister on Saturday called on Israel to stop its attacks on Gaza, warning that the war might expand to other parts of the Middle East if Hezbollah joins the battle, and that would make Israel suffer “a huge earthquake.” Hossein Amirabdollahian told reporters in Beirut that Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group has taken all war scenarios into consideration and Israel should stop its attacks on Gaza as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the Axios news site reported that Tehran has sent Jerusalem a message through the UN that it will intervene if the campaign in Gaza continues, and particularly if it launches a ground offensive. The report cited two diplomatic sources with knowledge of the matter. The report said Amirabdollahian made the comments when he met Saturday with UN Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland in Beirut, a meeting that led to intense criticism from Israel. A short while later, Iran’s mission to the UN warned in a tweet that if Israel’s “war crimes & genocide” are not stopped immediately, this could have “far-reaching consequences” and the situation could “spiral out of control.”
* * *
US Warned Iran in Back-Channel Talks on War: The US has held back-channel talks with Iran in recent days to warn the country against escalating the conflict in Israel, as Israeli forces prepare an expected ground assault in response to last weekend’s surprise attack by Hamas. “We have means of communicating privately with Iran, and we have availed ourselves of those means over the past few days to make clear privately that which we have said publicly,” White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Sunday on CBS News’s Face the Nation. Sullivan said the US couldn’t rule out that Iran might intervene in the conflict, and was monitoring both the possibility of direct involvement by Tehran and proxy activity by Hezbollah across the border with Lebanon.
* * *
Israeli army awaits "political" green light for Gaza invasion: The Israeli army is awaiting a "political decision" on the timing of a major ground offensive on the Gaza Strip, military spokesmen said Sunday as civilians stepped up desperate efforts to flee northern Gaza. Military spokesmen Lt. Col. Richard Hecht and Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told separate briefings on Sunday that "a political decision" will set off any action against Hamas. "We will be holding discussions with our political leadership," Hecht told one briefing.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told troops near the Gaza border on Saturday that "more is coming." But he did not say when any ground operation would start. Military spokesmen have told reporters that any invasion would aim to eradicate Hamas' militant network and leadership so that it cannot stage more attacks. The Israeli military has particularly singled out Yahya Sinwar, the chief of Hamas in Gaza who they blame for the Oct. 7 attacks. "That man is in our sights," Hecht said on Saturday. "He is a dead man walking and we will get to that man."
* * *
Rockets were fired at Tel Aviv and southern Israel overnight, and the Israel Defense Forces attacked targets in and around the northern part of Gaza. It was not immediately clear how much damage, if any, was caused in the rocket attacks. One Israeli died on Sunday in a Hezbollah attack on Israeli army posts near the border with Lebanon. Subsequent reports indicate that more rockets had been fired into northern Israel from Lebanon.
* * *
Moroccans Push to Sever Israel Ties in Mass Protest: Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Rabat, Morocco’s capital, demanding King Mohammed VI to severe ties with Israel which were restored in 2020. The marchers denounced as “barbaric” ongoing military intervention by Israel in Gaza and demanded the closing of its liaison office in the Moroccan capital.
* * *
Blinken Meets With Saudi Crown Prince: Blinken travelled to Riyadh on Sunday for an hour-long talk with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that the top US diplomat deemed “very productive.” MBS highlighted Riyadh’s diplomatic outreach “to calm the situation,” the official Saudi Press Agency reported.
* * *
Blinken Will Return to Israel on Monday: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return to Israel on Monday for further consultations with senior officials there, his spokesman said. The top US diplomat was previously in Israel on Thursday as part of a frenetic tour of the region that included stops in Qatar, Jordan, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates as well as Saudi Arabia, as the Biden administration tries to limit the threat of a spreading conflict in the Middle East.
* * *
Blinken Urges China to Use Its Influence: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Beijing to use its influence to prevent other state or non-state actors from attacking Israel and widening its war with Hamas, the State Department said. Blinken spoke with Foreign Minister Wang Yi before departing from Riyadh, where the top US diplomat was attempting to shore up support for Israel among Arab nations, said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. He met with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the State Department said.
* * *
Israel, Hezbollah exchange fire, heightening fears of a second front opening: Cross-border fire erupted between Israel and Lebanon early Sunday, killing at least one person on the Israeli side of the border. Both the Israeli military and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah acknowledged the fighting. Hezbollah says it fired guided missiles toward an Israel army post in Shtula from Lebanon, according to the militant group’s Al-Manar TV. The Israeli military said earlier it was targeting southern Lebanon after initial report of a shooting near the Lebanese border.
The group said in a statement the attack was in retaliation for Israeli shelling that killed Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah on Friday and two Lebanese civilians on Saturday. Israel has responded by targeting the outskirts of the town of Ait el-Shaab, the Israeli military said. The Israel Defense Forces also banned civilians from going within two-and-a-half miles of the Lebanese border. In addition, the Reuters news service reports, Israel disrupted GPS electronic location services in the northern border area and at the Gaza front, according to Reuters. Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service said a 40-year-old man was killed in the attack from Lebanon, without elaborating or giving his nationality. As Israel wages its war against Hamas over last week's unprecedented attack by the Gaza Strip militant group, there's been concern that Hezbollah could enter the war as well as Israel moves toward launching a ground offensive in Gaza.
* * *
Hezbollah Strikes Israeli Army Posts: Iran-backed Hezbollah attacked two Israeli army posts near the border with Lebanon in response to what the militant group said was the killing of Lebanese nationals in recent days. One of the Middle East’s most powerful militias, Hezbollah said it fired guided missiles against an Israeli army post in Shtula in Upper Galilee. An hour later, it said its members used “live ammunition” to target an army post in Al-Raheb and destroyed a tank.
* * *
Israeli Shares Down 3% As War Enters Second Week: Israel’s TA-35 stock index fell sharply on Sunday as Israel continues to strike back against Hamas targets and tensions rise on the northern border with Hezbollah. The index was down 3.3% in early afternoon, having reached the lowest levels since mid-2021. Banking stocks led the decline. The sector was down 12.3% last week “on account of volatility concerns,” the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange said. Other Middle Eastern markets were narrowly mixed.
* * *
Israel Acknowledges Reports of Gaza Activity: Israel confirmed for the first time that there were intelligence indications of something happening in Gaza two hours before the attacks last week. The head of Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, spoke with military personnel about the reports, said Tzachi Hanegbi, head of Israel’s National Security Council. “Both sides assessed that this is something other than it turned out to be,” he said.
* * *
Abbas Stresses Need for Humanitarian Corridor in Biden Call: In a phone call with US President Joe Biden late Saturday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stressed the urgent need for humanitarian corridors to be opened in the Gaza Strip so that basic materials and medical supplies such as water, electricity and fuel, can be delivered to civilians. Abbas also told Biden he rejected the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza and affirmed his rejection of the killing or abusing of civilians on both sides, calling for the release of civilians, priosners and detainees.
* * *
Pope calls for humanitarian corridors for Gaza residents: Pope Francis called on Sunday for humanitarian corridors to allow the delivery of essentials to the Gaza Strip, which is under heavy Israeli bombardment following a bloody attack on Israel by Gaza's rulers, Hamas. "Humanitarian law must be respected, especially in Gaza, where it is urgent and necessary to guarantee humanitarian corridors and help the population," said the Pope after his traditional Angelus prayer in Rome's Saint Peter's Square.
* * *
U.S. arranges for ship to evacuate Americans from Israel to Cyprus Monday: The United States has organized a ship to take Americans out of Israel to Cyprus on Monday, the U.S. Embassy said. With Israel moving toward an invasion of the Gaza Strip, the ship will leave from the Israeli port of Haifa for Limassol, taking "U.S. nationals and their immediate family members with a valid travel document," the U.S. embassy said in a security alert Sunday. Tens of thousands of U.S. passport holders live in Israel and 29 have been confirmed killed in the Hamas attacks on October 7. Another 15 are missing and believed to be among hostages held by Hamas since the attacks. The U.S. embassy didn't say how many people would fit on the ship but said "boarding will proceed in order of arrival and is on a space limited basis." Each passenger will have to sign a document promising to repay the cost of the trip and will only be allowed to bring one suitcase. The embassy said some chartered flights would be arranged from Cyprus for onward travel.
* * *
UK Foreign Minister Urges Israel to Show Restraint: James Cleverly called on Israel to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza and respect international law in any military operations against Hamas, saying his “strong advice” was being offered from a position of friendship.” It’s in Israel’s interest to avoid civilian casualties because Hamas wants to turn the conflict “into a wider Arab-Israeli war, or indeed a war between the Muslim world and and the wider world,” the UK foreign minister said on Sky News. His comments came hours after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the UK stood unequivocally with Israel, making no mention of the plight facing Palestinian civilians.
* * *
Gaza Death Toll Reaches 2,300: The number of people killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza has reached more than 2,300, local authorities said, with thousands more wounded in the past eight days. This now outnumbers the death toll of the 51-day Israel-Hamas war of 2014, according to Ashraf Al-Qedra, a spokesperson for the Gaza health ministry. The 2014 war killed more than 2,200 Palestinians, according to UN figures. At the time it was the deadliest and most destructive violence since Hamas took over the Gaza Strip.
* * *
Situation in Gaza hospitals getting ever more desperate: Medics in Gaza warned Sunday that thousands could die as hospitals packed with wounded people run desperately low on fuel and basic supplies. Palestinians in the besieged coastal enclave struggled to find food, water and safety ahead of an expected Israeli ground offensive in the war sparked by Hamas' deadly attack. A week of blistering airstrikes have demolished entire Gaza neighborhoods but failed to stem militant rocket fire into Israel. Hospitals are expected to run out of generator fuel within two days, according to the U.N., which said that would endanger the lives of thousands of patients. Gaza's sole power plant shut down for lack of fuel after Israel completely sealed off the 25-mile-long territory following the Hamas attack.
* * *
Israel Says it Killed Hamas Military Leader: The Israeli military said on Sunday its fighter jets killed the Hamas military leader responsible for the attack on one of Israel’s communities last Saturday, Kibbutz Nirim. In a statement, the military said this occurred Saturday night during operations that also took out Hamas rocket launchers. It said the man was commander of the Nukhba forces in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. Nukhba are the elite Hamas military unit that Israel says trained and led the October 7 attack. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist group by the US and the European Union.
Developing
"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: The Israel-Hamas War
[Re: airforce]
#180262 10/18/202312:27 PM10/18/202312:27 PM
"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: The Israel-Hamas War
[Re: airforce]
#180275 10/21/202312:45 PM10/21/202312:45 PM
"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: The Israel-Hamas War
[Re: airforce]
#180279 10/23/202303:15 PM10/23/202303:15 PM
"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: The Israel-Hamas War
[Re: airforce]
#180287 10/26/202311:22 PM10/26/202311:22 PM
There's a lot of odd things about this war, but probably the strangest is the emergence of "Queers for Palestine." Seriously, just what are these folks thinking?
Quote
The Israel-Hamas war has made political allies out of some unusual bedfellows. But the strangest pairing on display thus far is probably "Queers for Palestine," most notably because those protesters would risk summary execution should they take their demonstration to the Gaza Strip.
The movement isn't new. But following the terrorist attacks launched against Israel by Hamas, the Palestinian group that controls Gaza, it has seen a sort of reemergence at various protests. "Queer rights! Trans rights!" protesters are heard chanting in a video taken in New York City. "We say no to genocide!"
That protesters appear to be blaming Israel for those attacks—which have included, among other things, Hamas militants murdering people, filming it, and putting the video on social media for the deceased's family and friends to see—is perverse. But to marry that cause to LGBT rights is simply unhinged from reality.
Indeed, gay and transgender people—both in Gaza and the West Bank—face an extraordinary level of persecution, persecution that may result in a yearslong prison sentence or even death.
In 2016, Hamas militants executed one of their own commanders, Mahmoud Ishtiwi, for allegedly having sex with another man. Ishtiwi's allegiance to the group was clear: Just two years prior, he had overseen 1,000 soldiers and an assortment of attack tunnels. But not even his loyalty could save him after they lodged accusations he had engaged in homosexual activity. Prior to executing him with three bullets to the chest, Hamas reportedly tortured him by whipping him, hanging him from a ceiling for hours, and cranking loud music into his cell in order to deprive him of sleep.
Last year, in the West Bank, 25-year-old Ahmed Abu Marhia's severed head was found on the side of the road after he was murdered for being gay. The killer videoed the execution and shared it on social media.
When it comes to "Queers for Palestine," what's richly ironic is that many LGBT Palestinians seek asylum in Israel—the same country these stateside protesters are rallying against.
At the heart of this contradiction is the tendency in social justice movements to pick a clear protagonist and antagonist, the oppressed and the oppressor, and to proceed from there in one-size-fits-all fashion. Some progressives decided long ago that Palestine is the former and Israel is the latter, which is the seed from which everything must grow. Palestine, then, stands not only for anti-colonialism but also LGBT rights and reproductive rights, despite that those rights, in any meaningful sense of the word, do not actually exist there.
Meanwhile, this orthodoxy requires that Israel symbolize a weed and everything that comes with it. The country, then, must typify genocide, regardless of the fact that it has been the victim of relentless terror attacks this month. And it has to represent a hostility toward minorities, including gay and transgender people, notwithstanding that it is one of the most tolerant societies for those very people.
To be sure, Israel's government isn't perfect. There are aspects of the Israel-Palestine debate, and the territorial disputes, that are more complex than many would probably like to admit. This aspect? Not so much, because "Queers for Palestine" is about as convincing as "minks for fur coats."
Onward and upward, airforce
Re: The Israel-Hamas War
[Re: airforce]
#180296 10/29/202311:13 AM10/29/202311:13 AM
"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: The Israel-Hamas War
[Re: airforce]
#180297 10/29/202312:34 PM10/29/202312:34 PM
it looks like the IDF is using "bunker busters" against tunnels. I thought as much, when I saw a reporter on Fox saying how the ground shook after a bombing. It looks to me like the IDF is going about this as methodically as they can.
Quote
... 'We moved to the next stage in the war,' defence minister Yoav Gallant said as daybreak revealed hundreds of destroyed buildings.
'Last evening the ground shook in Gaza. We attacked above ground and underground. The campaign will continue until further notice.'
...
The 'next stage' saw jets strike targets in northern Gaza on Friday night, including Gaza City suburbs. There were also strikes around the Al-Shifa hospital, which Israel claims hides a Hamas command and control centre underneath, making it a military target.
According to some reports, the Israeli Air Force deployed 'bunker buster' ordnance to destroy Hamas's tunnel network. The first warhead of the missiles creates a hole, then a second penetrates deeper into the earth, destroying underground structures.
At least 100 fighter-bombers attacked around 150 underground targets. Israel Defence Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari again warned civilians in northern Gaza to evacuate without delay. ...
Much more, and lots of photos, at the link.
Onward and upward, airforce
Re: The Israel-Hamas War
[Re: airforce]
#180305 10/31/202312:33 PM10/31/202312:33 PM
"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: The Israel-Hamas War
[Re: airforce]
#180310 11/03/202312:54 PM11/03/202312:54 PM
Dramatic footage released Friday showed Israel Defense Forces soldiers facing off against Hamas terrorists inside a school — as the country’s defense minister vowed that the group’s hold in the Gaza Strip is finally “beginning to break.”
Members of the elite LOTAR Unit, along with the 188th Armored Brigadee’s 74th Battalion, encountered a Hamas cell in the remains of a school building in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood, the Times of Israel reported.
IDF fighters appeared to pursue the terrorists through the building in a tense, bullet-ridden standoff, the IDF clips showed.
“The terrorists tried to draw the forces into an ambush, with gunfire and explosives, and were eliminated by the troops of the LOTAR Unit and tank fire of the 74th Battalion,” the IDF said of the incident.
The troops later searched the school and discovered a tunnel shaft in one of the classrooms, the Times of Israel added, citing the IDF.
The tunnel — which connected to a nearby mosque — was allegedly used by Hamas operatives.
The intense footage was released shortly after Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant attended a Hanukkah candle lighting with troops of the Border Defense Corps’ Caracal Battalion, the Times of Israel added.
After more than two months of war, Israel is seeing “signs that indicate [Hamas] is beginning to break in Gaza,” Gallant said, according to the outlet....
Read the whole thing.
Onward and upward, airforce
Re: The Israel-Hamas War
[Re: airforce]
#180488 01/16/202405:08 PM01/16/202405:08 PM
U.S. Navy Seizes Ship Transporting Lethal Aid From Iran To Houthis
By Hank Berrien • Jan 16, 2024 DailyWire.com
On Tuesday, U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) confirmed that U.S. Navy Forces seized a sailing ship on January 11 that was conducting illegal transport of advanced lethal aid from Iran to resupply the terrorist Houthi forces in Yemen.
“U.S. Navy SEALs operating from USS Lewis B Puller, supported by helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), executed a complex boarding of the dhow near the coast of Somalia in international waters of the Arabian Sea, seizing Iranian-made ballistic missile and cruise missiles components,” USCENTCOM reported. “Seized items include propulsion, guidance, and warheads for Houthi medium range ballistic missiles (MRBMs) and anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCMs), as well as air defense associated components. Initial analysis indicates these same weapons have been employed by the Houthis to threaten and attack innocent mariners on international merchant ships transiting in the Red Sea.”
“The direct or indirect supply, sale, or transfer of weapons to the Houthis in Yemen violates U.N. Security Resolution 2216 and international law,” USCENTCOM added, noting that “two U.S. Navy SEALs previously reported as lost at sea were directly involved in this operation.”
“We are conducting an exhaustive search for our missing teammates,” General Michael Erik Kurilla, USCENTCOM Commander, stated.
The Navy sank the dhow.
“It is clear that Iran continues shipment of advanced lethal aid to the Houthis. This is yet another example of how Iran actively sows instability throughout the region in direct violation of U.N. Security Resolution 2216 and international law,” Kurilla declared. “We will continue to work with regional and international partners to expose and interdict these efforts, and ultimately to reestablish freedom of navigation.”
On Monday, the Islamic Republic of Iran launched ballistic missiles that landed near the U.S. Consulate in Erbil, Iraq.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a wing of Iran’s military and a designated terrorist organization, took responsibility for the attacks, saying that they were the “headquarters of spies” and “anti-Iranian terrorist gatherings in parts of the region”.
Several people were killed in the attacks, according to ABC News. No American casualties were reported. The attacks comes after Iran has activated its proxies throughout the region to launch more than 120 attacks against U.S. forces since October 17.
Ryan Saavedra contributed to this article.
"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: The Israel-Hamas War
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#180496 01/19/202403:22 PM01/19/202403:22 PM
Douglas MacGregor: Turkey will fight in Gaza in April, conflict will escalate into global war
Pentagon insider warns ‘we are on the brink’ of World War 3 after latest Iran attack
Original article here.
A source inside the Pentagon has warned Daily Express US that “we are on the brink of World War 3” amid surging conflict in the Middle East sparked largely by Iran.
The warning comes as Iranian-backed proxies destabilise the Middle East by attacking Israel and US targets, as well as international shipping in the region.
Iran itself has also carried out strikes in neighbouring Iraq and Pakistan as well as Syria sending tensions soaring.
Defence expert Nicholas Drummond echoed concerns that the conflict in the Middle East could potentially escalate but warned that if Tehran directly attacked Israel, the ensuing war would be “the end of Iran”.
Speaking to Daily Express US, he said: “Iran’s agenda in the region, and globally, has been exposed. And Iran is on the back foot.
“The West is saying to Iran ‘behave yourself, or we will attack you directly’.
“I think it’s highly possible that if Iran continues to act through proxies, or to act directly, that threatens Western interests, we could see military action taken against Iran, and that would be a major conflict in the Middle East.”
It’s unclear whether Iran is prepared to engage in such a conflict which, according to Mr Drummond, would spell disaster for the regime in Tehran.
He added: “I think Iran has to be very, very careful. It has been playing a dangerous game. And it’s about to get punished if it doesn’t step back.
“You saw that [Iran] fired a missile into Syria and… it was ostensibly taking out rebel targets but it was [also] demonstrating, it has a missile capable of reaching Israel from Iran that could have with a nuclear warhead – it could target Tel Aviv.
“That’s the message it’s sending. And, of course, if Iran did that, it would be the end of Iran, frankly.”
Mr Drummond branded Iran as “the biggest threat to world peace” at the moment.
The stark assessment of the situation in the Middle East comes as Iranian proxies target the US and Israel in and from Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon and elsewhere.
In addition, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have wrought havoc on international shipping by attacking civilian vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
In the past days, Iran has directly struck targets in neighbouring Iraq and Pakistan as well as in Syria sending fears of a direct confrontation soaring.
The US has responded previously by striking Iranian-backed militants in Syria and Iraq after Washington’s military assets in those countries came under fire.
In addition, the UK and the US have launched strikes in Yemen against Houthi targets in an attempt to stop attacks on international shipping in the area.
Israel and the powerful Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah have been exchanging fire daily since Hamas – also backed by Tehran – launched a massive terrorist attack on October 7 reigniting the conflict Israel-Palestine conflict in a way not seen in decades.
Last edited by ConSigCor; 01/19/202403:24 PM.
"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: The Israel-Hamas War
[Re: airforce]
#180789 04/08/202411:36 AM04/08/202411:36 AM
"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: The Israel-Hamas War
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#180795 04/11/202412:54 PM04/11/202412:54 PM
If the United States helps Israel defend itself against a possible Iranian attack in the coming days, Iran will view American troops and other targets as fair game, The Interceptreported on Wednesday night, citing notes from a Tuesday meeting of the National Security Council.
That news came on the heels of a warning from American officials that an attack by Iran against Israel is imminent. Iran is seeking to retaliate for a strike by Israeli forces earlier this month that hit the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria.
Any additional escalation in the conflict between Israel and Iran would be a worrying step toward an all-out regional war. The possibility that U.S. troops will be targeted by Iran only heightens the risk of a growing conflict.
Despite that, Gen. Erik Kurilla, the top American military commander in the Middle East, is reportedly meeting Thursday with top Israeli military officials.
Onward and upward, airforce
Re: The Israel-Hamas War
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#180799 04/12/202411:14 AM04/12/202411:14 AM
It looks like Israel and Iran are going to war, and the United States might join in. Two weeks ago, Israeli forces bombed the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, and killed seven Iranian military officers, including a general. Iran has vowed to respond, The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. government expects a direct Iranian attack on Israel over the weekend.
On Friday, the State Department issued travel restrictions for staff at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, along with a warning about what to do in the event of rocket or artillery attacks. Iran has a variety of weapons that can reach Israel, from sophisticated ballistic missiles to cheap kamikaze drones.
By all accounts, the United States did not know about the Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate beforehand. (U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin complained to the Israeli military about the lack of warning, The Washington Post reported.) Yet President Joe Biden has promised Israel "ironclad" support all the same.
"We're going to do all we can to protect Israel's security," Biden said on Wednesday. His press secretary added the next day that "we warned Iran not to use this attack as a pretext to escalate further in the region or to attack U.S. facilities or personnel."
Iran has issued its own warning: not to stand in the way. The Biden administration received an Iranian message claiming that U.S. forces will become a target if they stand in the way of Iran's retaliation, according to The Intercept. A small number of U.S. troops are stationed in Israel for air defense and intelligence sharing missions. General Michael E. Kurilla, head of U.S. forces in the Middle East, is currently in Israel with them.
Iranian diplomats have had a flurry of meetings this week with foreign representatives urging Iran not to retaliate. Israel has also said that it will retaliate directly to any Iranian attack. But Iranian leaders are angry enough that they have talked themselves into a corner.
"When they attack the consulate, it is as if they have attacked our soil," Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said in a speech for the holiday of Eid al-Fitr on Wednesday. "The evil regime made a mistake and must be punished and it shall be."
Israel has bombed Iranian troops in Iraq and Syria before, but Iran has written these attacks off as a loss. The difference seems to be that this month's attack targeted a consulate. Attacking diplomatic facilities is considered a major red line in international law. Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari claimed that the Iranian consulate in Damascus was really a military base "disguised as a civilian building."
Although the bombing of the consulate came as a surprise to everyone outside the Israeli leadership, the Israeli-Iranian conflict has been brewing for a long time. Over the past few years, Khamenei has called Israel a cancerous tumor that needs to be excised, and Israeli leaders have in turn said that Iran is an octopus they will behead.
Iran is a longtime supporter of Hamas, the group that rampaged through Israeli towns last October, sparking the current war in Gaza. The New York Times reported this week that Iran is now running guns to other Palestinian rebels in hopes of fomenting unrest across the Palestinian Territories.
And since the war in Gaza began, Israel has also been fighting a border war in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah. Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant wanted to launch a full-scale attack on Lebanon early in the war, only to be talked down by the Biden administration.
So far, the United States has supported Israel's war effort from a distance, providing weapons and intelligence. U.S. troops, with a few exceptions, have not directly been in the line of fire. The Biden administration has repeatedly insisted that it has "no plans or intentions to put U.S. boots on the ground in combat."
But Biden is now letting Israel and Iran make that decision for him. Even though he was blindsided by the consulate attack, he has implied that the United States will absorb some of those consequences. Iran, meanwhile, is being vague about exactly what those consequences will be.
The news site Amwaj.media speculated that Iran could attack the Golan Heights, a territory that Israel captured from Syria in a 1967 war. Although Israel and the United States consider it Israeli territory, other countries consider the Golan to be occupied Syrian land, which might tone down the international reaction to Iran's attack.
Pushing back on the speculation, an Iranian diplomatic source told Amwaj.media that he "doubts if anybody except for a few actually know" Iran's next move. "These are all guesses."
Onward and upward, airforce
Re: The Israel-Hamas War
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#181029 06/21/202405:56 PM06/21/202405:56 PM
"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: The Israel-Hamas War
[Re: airforce]
#181160 07/31/202412:33 PM07/31/202412:33 PM
This week has been especially chaotic for the Middle East. On Saturday, a Lebanese rocket killed 12 children and youth at a soccer game in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. (The victims were Syrian citizens with Israeli residency.) On Tuesday night, Israel took revenge for the rocket by killing Fuad Shukr, a commander in the pro-Iranian militia Hezbollah, along with two children.
A few hours later, a bomb killed Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas' political bureau and the lead negotiator with Israel, while he was visiting Tehran for the Iranian president's inauguration. Israel is widely believed to be the culprit. Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah have both promised to take revenge.
The same night that Shukr and Haniyeh were killed, U.S. warplanes rained down fire on an Iraqi militia base, killing four pro-Iranian fighters. An anonymous U.S. official told reporters that the militiamen were launching an attack drone that "posed a threat" to U.S. and allied forces. It was not clear whether the Iraqi drone was really aimed at U.S. troops—or Israel.
Soon it may not matter. The Biden administration affirmed again on Wednesday that it will help defend Israel in case of a conflict with Lebanon or Iran, as it did during clashes this April. And the administration has hinted before that it will get involved directly if Israel faces military setbacks in Lebanon. Israeli leaders may have been betting on exactly that outcome.
Unnamed "sources in the security establishment" told The Jerusalem Post that they could have assassinated Haniyeh in Qatar, where he usually lives. Instead, those sources explained, "the choice to carry out the assassination in the heart of Tehran was precisely because Haniyeh was under Iranian security responsibility, which placed Iran at the heart of the world's focus as a host, director, and supplier of terrorism."
In other words, killing Haniyeh was possibly meant to turn the Israel-Hamas war into an international crisis involving Iran and Israel's allies.
Months before the October 2023 attacks, Israeli policy makers had gamed out an Israeli strike leading to a U.S.-Iranian war. The Institute for National Security Studies, a think tank close to the Israeli government, ran a simulation in July 2023 that was eerily similar to the current escalation. The scenario began with an Israeli assassination campaign in Tehran, which provoked Hezbollah and Iraqi militias into attacking Israel and ended with direct U.S. attacks on Iran.
"Former top political and military leaders from Israel, the United States and a number of European countries took part in the simulation," reported the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
For years before that, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders had been demanding U.S. support for an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. It's not hard to understand why. Khamenei has called Israel a cancerous tumor that needs to be excised, and Israeli leaders have in turn said that Iran is the head of an evil octopus, which must be cut off.
The attacks on October 7, 2023, by Hamas seemed to confirm the Israeli perception. Whatever role Iran did or didn't have in planning the attacks—the U.S. government believes that Iranian leaders were just as surprised as everyone else—Iran's allies immediately jumped into the fray, attacking Israel in the name of the Palestinian cause.
And plenty of American politicians want conflict for their own reasons. Immediately after the October 7 attacks, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R–S.C.) had called for bombing Iran whether or not there was evidence that Iran was behind the attacks. On Wednesday, he claimed to have intelligence that "Iran will, in the coming weeks or months, possess a nuclear weapon" and introduced a bill calling for war with Iran.
A conflict with Iran also helps Netanyahu alleviate some of the domestic political pressure on him. Before the October 7 attacks, he was facing protests over his proposal to defang the Israeli Supreme Court. And instead of rallying Israelis around Netanyahu, the attacks galvanized opposition, as many Israelis blamed Netanyahu for the security lapse and the failure to rescue hostages.
This week, those tensions exploded into an outright mutiny. After months of international pressure regarding the treatment of inmates at the Sde Teiman prison, Israeli military police began a probe into one of the most egregious cases. Nine soldiers had allegedly raped a Palestinian prisoner so hard that he was sent to the hospital with a ruptured bowel, a severe injury to his anus, lung damage, and broken ribs.
Police detained some of the accused soldiers, and Israeli nationalists accused the government of betraying its troops. Nationalist rioters, including members of parliament, stormed both Sde Teiman and the Beit Lid military courts in support of the accused rapists. The army was forced to pull three battalions away from the Palestinian territories to guard the courthouse.
Killing Shukr and Haniyeh, then, was a good political bet for Netanyahu. At the very least, Netanyahu got to drown out headlines about the Sde Teiman riot with a dashing military victory. And if Iran hits back hard enough, then Israel may be able to get the world's superpower to fight Israel's greatest enemy.
But a full-on U.S.-Iran war would be a disaster for the region and for Americans. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie warned The New Yorker in December 2021 that Iran has missile "overmatch in the theatre—the ability to overwhelm" U.S. air defenses. American troops would face attacks in Iran, Iraq, and Syria, and a few well-placed Iranian strikes on Tel Aviv or Abu Dhabi could do serious damage to the world economy.
It would be a disaster of the Biden administration's own making. Soon after the October 7 attacks, President Joe Biden embraced the "bear hug" theory of diplomacy. By giving Israel public reassurances and unlimited military support, the theory went, Biden would earn enough goodwill from Israelis to keep their war contained and eventually broker an Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire.
Instead, the bear hug has turned out to be a sleepwalk. Netanyahu has taken U.S. support as a license to continue expanding the conflict. And the Biden administration seems to be at a loss for words about the latest escalation. Asked what impact the assassination of one side's chief negotiator would have on ceasefire negotiations, Secretary of State Antony Blinken played dumb.
"Well, I've seen the reports, and what I can tell you is this: First, this is something we were not aware of or involved in," Blinken told Channel News Asia. "It's very hard to speculate, and I've learned never to speculate, on the impact one event may have on something else. So I can't tell you what this means."
Onward and upward, airforce
Re: The Israel-Hamas War
[Re: airforce]
#181174 08/08/202411:54 AM08/08/202411:54 AM
"The Zionist regime [Israel] will soon receive a strong and definite response, and there is no doubt about it," said Abdolrahim Mousavi, the chief commander of Iran's army, on Wednesday. "It is clear that they themselves have realized the speed of their own destruction, and by doing so, they want to save themselves from the quagmire, but they definitely cannot save themselves from annihilation."
Iranian officials said similar things back in April, before Israel and Iran exchanged strikes which did little damage and seemed more symbolic than designed to spiral into war. But right now the entire region—specifically, Iran and its proxies—appears to be on the brink of retaliation directed toward Israel, which took out Fuad Shukr, one of Hezbollah's top military commanders, and Ismail Haniyeh, one of Hamas' top political leaders. Israel claims it assassinated Shukr in retaliation for a rocket attack from Hezbollah that killed 12 kids. (The killing of Haniyeh probably needs no explanation, given the events of October 7, in which Hamas came into Israel and murdered 1,200 in the single most brutal day of carnage Israel has ever seen.)
Airlines will divert some of their routes around both Iranian and Lebanese airspace, with Egypt instructing all of its airlines to avoid Iranian airspace early this morning local time.
Israel's security cabinet plans to convene tonight to prepare for the nation's defense in the event of an attack from Iran and/or its proxies. And, on Friday, the U.S. reported that it had "ordered more combat aircraft and warships capable of shooting down missiles and drones to the Middle East in response to the threats from Iran and its allies," reports The New York Times.
Internally, Hamas has replaced Haniyeh with Yahya Sinwar, one of the chief architects of the horrific October 7 pogrom. Sinwar is believed to be hiding in the tunnels below Gaza and has arguably been more influential in crafting Hamas' strategy than Haniyeh was.
Onward and upward, airforce
Re: The Israel-Hamas War
[Re: airforce]
#181279 09/19/202411:20 AM09/19/202411:20 AM
Will Israel invade Lebanon? They took out a lot of Hezbollah with exploding pagers and radios. It look like it may have been just a precursor to an attack on Hezbollah.
Quote
Hezbollah militants in Lebanon were targeted in a second wave of attacks on Wednesday, as hand-held radios and walkie-talkies detonated. At least 20 were killed and more than 450 were injured, according to The New York Times.
Israel has not claimed credit for the attacks in Lebanon, but the Pentagon is reportedly preparing for a possible Israeli ground invasion of its northern neighbor. Yoav Gallant, Israel's defense minister, seemed to suggest as much on Wednesday. "The center of gravity is moving from Gaza to the north through the diversion of resources and forces," he said. "We are opening a new phase in the war."
"A new phase in the war" sound a little ominous.
Onward and upward, airforce
Re: The Israel-Hamas War
[Re: airforce]
#181282 09/23/202410:33 AM09/23/202410:33 AM
Early this morning, the Israeli military struck over 300 sites across Lebanon, aiming at militants with the terrorist group Hezbollah. The strikes killed at least 100 people and injured more than 400. Lebanese authorities say this is the country's deadliest day since this round of fighting started last October.
Yesterday, Hezbollah launched 150 rockets, drones, and missiles into northern Israel, an especially aggressive show of force that they say was in retaliation for Israel's killing of 61-year-old Ibrahim Akil, a top Hezbollah commander, on Friday along with 10 other affiliated militants.
Prior to his death, the U.S. State Department had put a $7 million bounty on Akil's head, due in part to his role in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. embassy in Beirut and in taking American hostages.
This comes on the heels of an attack last Tuesday, most likely linked to Israel, in which thousands of pagers exploded simultaneously across Lebanon and Syria, killing 12 (mostly members of Hezbollah, though two young children perished as well) and injuring many others.
"A day after these deadly explosions, more detonations triggered in Beirut and parts of Lebanon Wednesday—including several blasts heard at a funeral in Beirut for three Hezbollah members and a child killed by Tuesday's explosions," reports the Associated Press, which notes that at least 25 additional people were killed and more than 600 wounded....
Onward and upward, airforce
Re: The Israel-Hamas War
[Re: airforce]
#181283 09/23/202402:35 PM09/23/202402:35 PM
A large ballistic missile attack from Iran on Israel is occurring now. Arrow interceptors are being launched, but some missiles appear to be striking the ground in Haifa. Being shown life on Fox news.
Onward and upward, airforce
Re: The Israel-Hamas War
[Re: airforce]
#181300 10/03/202412:20 PM10/03/202412:20 PM
Like it or not, and Israeli-Iran war is no longer unthinkable. It used to be a given that Iran's proxies, Hezbollah and Hamas, were a deterrent to any Israeli attack on Iran. But Hamas is on its last legs, and Hezbollah has been decapitated and is, temporarily at least, paralyzed. And Iran's nuclear facilities and oil infrastructure has suddenly become very tempting targets.
This may be Israel's best chance in fifty years to change the balance of power in the Middle East. I don't know what Netanyahu will do, but I'd be tempted to go for it. And Biden's and Kamala's warning "Don't" sure wouldn't stop me.
Onward and upward, airforce
Re: The Israel-Hamas War
[Re: airforce]
#181301 10/03/202404:21 PM10/03/202404:21 PM
It's a story that has happened before in the Middle East: an army with American weapons shot at another army with American weapons. Sometimes it's an intentional ploy; during the war between Iran and Iraq, the Reagan administration armed both sides, leading to the Iran-Contra scandal. And sometimes it's an unintended consequence, like the Syrian rebel infighting that led to the infamous headline, "In Syria, militias armed by the Pentagon fight those armed by the CIA."
The fighting between the U.S.-funded army of Israel and the U.S.-funded army of Lebanon seems to be another such consequence of U.S. policy. When the Lebanese militia Hezbollah and Israel began fighting last year, the Lebanese government tried its best to stay out of the fray. It reportedly even pulled troops away from the border when Israel announced a ground invasion and ordered Lebanese citizens to evacuate north of the Awali River. But on Thursday, the Lebanese army announced that it had, in fact, been sucked into the conflict.
"One of the soldiers was martyred as a result of the Israeli enemy targeting an army center in the area of Bint Jbeil South, and the center's personnel have responded to the source of fire," the army stated on social media. An official in Lebanon told Agence France-Presse that it was the first time the Lebanese army fired on Israeli forces throughout the war.
Two hours before, the Lebanese army had announced that one of its soldiers was killed by Israeli fire while "carrying out an evacuation and rescue mission alongside the Lebanese Red Cross in the town of Taybeh-Marjayoun," down the road from Odaisseh, a town that several Israeli troops were killed trying to enter on Wednesday morning. The Red Cross said that four of its paramedics were injured, and the Israeli army said that it would be investigating the incident.
American taxpayers have helped arm and train both the armies that are now apparently shooting at each other—and the U.S. funding was designed to prevent exactly this outcome. Israel received $124 billion in U.S. aid from 1949 to 2023, and at least $6.5 billion over the past year. The United States has also provided around $3 billion in military aid to Lebanon since 2006, including around $2 billion in weapons. Last year, the Biden administration began paying the salaries of Lebanese soldiers and police directly.
Congress sends Lebanon this aid on the condition that it will be used to "professionalize the [Lebanese Armed Forces] to mitigate internal and external threats from non-state actors, including Hizballah [sic]" and "implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701," which was passed after the past Israeli-Lebanese war in 2006, and calls on Hezbollah to disarm.
However, Hezbollah has refused to lay down its weapons, claiming that Israel still occupies Lebanese land in the disputed Shebaa Farms. After Hamas' October 7 attacks on Israel last year, Hezbollah began firing on the Shebaa Farms, which escalated to Israel and Hezbollah bombarding each other's border cities, forcing tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border to flee. Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the U.N. that he would fight for "total victory" in order to "return our citizens to their home safely."
Biden administration officials have encouraged Israel's strategy of "de-escalation through escalation," and are privately pitching the war as an opportunity to "reshape the Middle East for the better for years to come," according to Politico.
But President Joe Biden is publicly calling for the war to end. "We should have a ceasefire now," he told reporters on Monday. Asked whether he is comfortable with Israel launching a ground invasion of Lebanon, the president said that he is "comfortable with them stopping." If only he had some leverage over the two sides.
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