Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on November 01-02/2023
As a Christian, how can I empathize with the Palestinian cause after it has been Islamized and embraced by Jihadist countries and organizations?/Elias Bejjani/October 30/2023
Iran's Destructive, Expansionist, Fundamentalist and Jihadist Schemes, and the Spread of its Armed Proxies Threaten Moderate Arab Countries and their Societies./Elias Bejjani/October 29/2023
Etienne Saqr - Abu Arz: Lebanon, "the orphaned country"
Hezbollah Introduces New Missiles Into Conflict With Israel
Lebanon's Hezbollah works to curb hefty losses in Israel clashes, sources say
What’s Hezbollah’s Next Step?
Factbox-Lebanon's Hezbollah: What weapons does it have?
In Lebanon, a Christian village hopes for the best and plans for the worst
Report: Iran's Quds Force chief visits Lebanon
Israel-Hezbollah border skirmishes: Latest developments
'Enough war in Lebanon': Mikati says 'time is of essence' to stop war from spreading
US urges president who can 'guide Lebanon safely' amid current challenges
Berri says no 'a la carte' legislation as US, Qatar back extending Aoun term
How many Israeli troops have been killed in Hezbollah's attacks?
Kirby says US to pay 'close attention' to Nasrallah speech
Map reveals impact of Israeli phosphorus bombs in southern Lebanon: Photo
Lebanese civilians wounded with Israeli white phosphorus shells
Cash-strapped Lebanon unprepared as war threat looms
Syrian operatives arrested for ISIS links in Lebanon
Public Health Ministry establishes hotline to assist displaced individuals from border areas
Lebanon welcomes UN resolution on Gaza humanitarian relief
Sami Gemayel: Nasrallah is responsible for what is happening in Lebanon
Lebanon's Council of Muftis calls for ceasefire in Gaza, urges humanitarian aid and border openings
Tenenti: Lebanese Army asked for UNIFIL's assistance to evacuate two injured individuals near Blue Line, search resumes tomorrow morning after...
Presidency Crisis in Lebanon: Exploring Options

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 01-02/2023
Biden’s Israel Balancing Act Gets Harder as Gaza Offensive Grows
Israeli Defense Minister says Hamas has two choices: "Either death or unconditional surrender"
Settler violence has been forcing Palestinians out of the West Bank and turning the area into a 'Wild West,' rights group says
Dozens of severely wounded, and dual nationals, allowed to flee Gaza as war rages on
Iran warns of 'harsh consequences' if Gaza attacks continue
Iran urges Islamic governments to stop oil and food exports to Israel
Israel's missile ships are joining US combat power in the Red Sea as more Iran-backed militants fire weapons its way
Blinken says US, others exploring options for future of Gaza after Hamas
Turkey, Iran FMs warn over Israel's expansion of Gaza war, disagree on oil boycott
US deploys B-1B bombers to Turkey for 'long-planned' exercise amid Gaza war
Hamas says seven hostages killed in Gaza camp bombing
11 Israeli soldiers killed in ground battles, Gaza cut off from world again
First foreigners, Gaza wounded leave for Egypt through Rafah crossing
Has Israel invaded Gaza? The military has been vague, even if its objectives are clear
At least 4 killed in West Bank, Palestinians call general strike
Israeli airstrikes hit Jabalia refugee camp for second day
Bolivia severs diplomatic ties with Israel as Chile and Colombia recall their ambassadors
White House to develop anti-Islamophobia strategy amid skepticism from Muslim Americans
China keeps up military pressure on Taiwan, sending 43 planes and 7 ships

Titles For The Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on November 01-02/2023
After Years of Vowing to Destroy Israel, Iran Faces a Dilemma/Farnaz Fassihi/The New York Times/November 01/2023
Islamism is a failed ideology. Muslims must embrace the West ...Those who came here to escape tyranny are now cheering the tyrants they left behind/Hussain Abdul-Hussain/The Telegraph/November 01/2023
How Biden Should Handle Missiles from Yemen/Jonathan Schanzer/Commentary/November 01/2023
France and the European Union Are No Friends of Israel/Alain Destexhe/Gatestone Institute/November 01, 2023
Israel’s Campaign Against Hamas in Gaza: War Aims and Operational Challenges/Michael Eisenstadt/The Washington Institute/November 01/2023

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on November 01-02/2023
As a Christian, how can I empathize with the Palestinian cause after it has been Islamized and embraced by Jihadist countries and organizations?
Elias Bejjani/October 30/2023
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/123750/123750/
As a Lebanese Christian, and even Palestinian Christianو how can I empathize with and support those who call for the liberation of Palestine, including the throwing of Jews into the sea and the eradication of the state of Israel, especially when most countries, groups, and organizations that pursue this mission are Islamic Jihadists?
For example, Hezbollah’s name is the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon, and Hamas is known as the Islamic Resistance Movement, and all the organizations claiming to be part of the resistance and aiming to liberate Palestine adhere to Jihadist concepts, cultures, and practices, as do states like the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The most dangerous curse that hit the Palestinian cause is its Islamization and the transformation of the conflict into a Jihadist war against Jews and the throwing of Israel into the sea.
Amid the current political and ideological debate about the Palestinian issue, and the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as the destructive war and devastation in Gaza, important questions are raised: How can a Lebanese Christian, or anyone who is Christian, including Palestinian Christians, sympathize with and support those who call for the liberation of Palestine through Jihadist means, including actions such as throwing Jews into the sea, and the elimination of the state of Israel? Especially when most countries, led by Iran, and all groups and organizations opposing Israel embrace Islamic Jihadist concepts and goals?
Answers depend on personal values and beliefs, and may vary from one person to another. However, it is essential to carefully consider the deadly and destructive consequences that have arisen due to the transformation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into a Jihadist war against Jews.
The Islamization of the Palestinian cause, and its transformation into a Jihadist Islamic war has largely been rejected by the majority of countries and people worldwide, causing it to lose sympathy and support from those who are not Jihadists, whether they are states or organizations.
To correct the course of the Palestinian dilemma and return it to a national cause, rather than a religious one, the following steps are required:
First, we must recognize that there is a significant difference between supporting the rights of Palestinians and working towards a peaceful and just solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, and promoting violence and Jihad against Jews. Aligning with groups that embrace Jihad can be dangerous for the people of the Middle East and regional security. In this context, we need to acknowledge the facts and understand that movements and states like Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Boko Haram, ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and all their likes have brought destruction, chaos, and conflicts to many countries, (Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Nigeria etc), exacerbating the problem rather than reaching a permanent and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue.
Second, everyone, particularly the Palestinian people, must contemplate the positive effects of mutual cooperation and constructive dialogue among religions and cultures, rather than supporting Jihad and violence. Christians, Muslims, Jews, and people of other faiths can work together to achieve peace, tolerance, and coexistence in the Middle East and specifically, address the Arab-Israeli conflict.
In conclusion, the Palestinian cause includes legitimate rights for the Palestinians, and there are peaceful, civilized, and national ways to reach a permanent solution. Islamizing it as it stands today will not lead to solutions, neither today nor any other day.
Cooperation, dialogue, and accepting others are the keys to its success and finding peaceful solutions, which is why local, regional, and international stakeholders must earnestly seek ways to support efforts aimed at peace and justice in the region, rather than endorsing Islamic and jihadist violence, destruction, death, and devastation.

Iran's Destructive, Expansionist, Fundamentalist and Jihadist Schemes, and the Spread of its Armed Proxies Threaten Moderate Arab Countries and their Societies.
Elias Bejjani/October 29/2023
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/123688/123688/
In the turbulent landscape of the Middle East, a sinister and destructive force has stealthily crept into the region, posing a severe threat to the very fabric of Arab moderation and stability. Iran, with its sponsorship of various Jihadist terrorist groups and proxy entities, has skillfully woven a web of influence that now stretches across several Arab nations, and its strategy bears serious implications for the entire region.
The Iranian Global Jihadist Agenda
Iran's nefarious influence in the region hinges on its persistent promotion of its Shiites' Jihadist expansionism and ideology of a satanic agenda. Through its sponsorship of extremist groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and various militia factions, Iran actively fuels radicalism and terrorism. These Jihadist organizations, driven by an extremist ideology, undermine the stability of Arab nations, pushing them farther away from the path of moderation.
The Occupation of Lebanon
One of the most glaring examples of Iran's predatory agenda is its occupation of Lebanon through its terrorist and criminal proxy, Hezbollah that was once camouflaged as a resistance movement against Israeli occupation, has now exposed its deeply rooted affiliation to the Iranian scheme of expansionism and Jihadist  destructive strategy. Hezbollah, the most powerful Iranian terrorist and Jihadist proxy, has openly and boldly evolved into a well-armed and highly destabilizing force, acting as Iran's long arm in the region. Hezbollah's actions have plunged Lebanon into political turmoil, eroding its sovereignty, and sowing discord among its diverse communities. It is worth mentioning that, Hezbollah is designated as a terrorist organization by several countries and international bodies, including the United States, Canada, the European Union, Israel, the Gulf Cooperation Council, and the Arab League, among others. It is considered a Shiite militant group based in Lebanon with close ties to Iran.
Iranian Schemes of Terrorism
Iran's involvement in orchestrating acts of terrorism across the Middle East, especially in Lebanon, Gaza, Syria, Iraq and Yemen is well understated by analysts and reputable thinking tanks' entities. From supporting Houthi rebels in Yemen, Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Popular Mobilization Militias in Iraq,  to militarily supporting the Syrian dictator, Al-Assad regime, Iran has consistently employed terror as a means to achieve its geopolitical goals. This reckless approach only deepens the chaos and insecurity plaguing the region.
The Gaza Strip and Iran's Role
The ongoing war in the Gaza Strip serves as another distressing chapter in Iran's Jihadist-expansionism playbook. While the Palestinian issue is a legitimate and crucial concern for many in the Arab world, Iran's support for its proxy, the Jihadist Hamas, has exacerbated the conflict. Iran's provision of weaponry and financial support to Hamas fuels the flames of war, putting civilian lives at risk and exacerbating the suffering of the people of Gaza.
The Urgent Need for Resistance
To counter Iran's destructive strategy and the proliferation of its evil Jihadist ideologies, Arab nations must unite and strengthen their resolve. Cooperation is essential in facing the multifaceted threat that Iran represents, that not only endangers the Arab countries' stability. In this regard, initiatives should be taken to counter extremist narratives, promote moderation, and dismantle the support networks that prop up these Jihadist entities.
Conclusion:
Iran's destructive strategy, fueled by a Jihadist agenda and a web of proxy entities, has plunged the Middle East into a state of turmoil and instability. The Arab world must stand together to combat this threat, preserve their cultural heritage, and uphold the values of moderation, tolerance, and peace that have been at the core of their rich history. Only through unity and a resolute commitment to these principles can they hope to emerge from the shadow of Iran's destructive influence and secure a brighter, more stable future for their nations.

Etienne Saqr - Abu Arz: Lebanon, "the orphaned country"
Statement issued by the Guardians of the Cedar Party - Lebanese National Movement
November 01/2023
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/123808/123808/
Etienne Saqr - Abu Arz: Lebanon "the orphaned country"
"In the midst of Lebanon's countless existential crises, with more displaced people than residents, and its social, economic, and financial situation approaching the famine of 1915-1918, which claimed half of the mountain's population, the Iranian Hezbollah intends to destroy it by involving it in a devastating war in which it has no stake.
In the midst of these terrifying and gloomy circumstances, Lebanon's 'leaders' rush to declare their solidarity with the 'Palestinian cause' and denounce the Israeli war raging in Gaza. This is akin to a foolish man leaving his own house on fire to put out a fire in his neighbor's house, knowing that this neighbor is the one who set his own house on fire.
Therefore, amid this ongoing political prostitution, based on our humble experience in the field of Lebanese politics, we are convinced that Lebanon is an orphaned country. Its rulers and enemies are in collusion against it, and its friends have abandoned it due to the disgust of its political corruption. Thus, we in the 'Guardians of the Cedar' party have decided to adopt this orphan, to be its father and mother, and to continue defending its entity, its people, and its eternal truth until the end, with the promise that we will not forgive anyone who has wronged it, whether from within or outside, and we will not forgive those who killed our people in Damour, al-aychia, Sakah, Beit Mellat, and elsewhere, where they were slaughtered like sheep at the hands of Palestinian organizations and their allies. We will not forget the blood of our righteous martyrs who died defending the uniqueness of this great nation.
Finally, we remind those who hypocritically support the Palestinian cause, especially among Lebanon's 'Christians,' of the fifth truth from the 'Guardians of the Cedar' statement issued on 29 September 1975, which says: 'When Lebanon is in danger, no Lebanese will know anything except Lebanon.'
*Long Live Lebanon,
Etienne Saqr - Abu Arz"
*(Free Translation from Arabic by: Elias Bejjani)

Hezbollah Introduces New Missiles Into Conflict With Israel
FDD/November 01/2023
Latest Developments
Hezbollah changed its military tactics on October 29 by reportedly firing a surface-to-air missile for the first time in this conflict. The change is likely intended to counter Israeli drones that have been able to identify Hezbollah fighters approaching the Israeli border. To maintain pressure on the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Hezbollah has been carrying out frequent attacks — using rockets, mortars, and guided missiles — on Israeli targets in the area. Although Hezbollah’s attacks have killed six Israeli soldiers and caused damage to military bases, the proximity of Hezbollah members to the Lebanon-Israel border has exposed them to constant surveillance by Israeli military drones and lethal IDF retaliation.
Expert Analysis
“The Biden administration has rushed additional U.S. forces to the Middle East to deter aggression by Hezbollah on Israel’s northern border and make Tehran’s other terror puppets think twice about attacking U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria. Unfortunately, Tehran’s proxies seem too busy attacking Israel and targeting American troops to notice all the additional U.S. forces in the region.” — Bradley Bowman, Senior Director of FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power
“Hezbollah has lost scores of fighters while launching relatively limited attacks on IDF positions in the north. If Hezbollah steps up attacks, the IDF will inflict hundreds, if not thousands, of casualties, as well as savage Hezbollah rocket and missile sites.” — Bill Roggio, FDD Senior Fellow
“For the last three weeks, Hassan Nasrallah has chosen to keep attacks on Israeli targets below the threshold of all-out war with Israel. Yet Hezbollah’s constant attempts to strike are testing Israel’s endurance and could trigger a wide-ranging response.” — Joe Truzman, Research Analyst at FDD’s Long War Journal
A Multi-Front Threat
Iran-backed Hezbollah is estimated to possesses more than 150,000 missiles and rockets. If a large portion of these were fired at Israel, it could overwhelm the Israeli air defense system. A growing portion of Hezbollah’s arsenal is precision-guided munitions, enabling Hezbollah to potentially strike targets in Israel more accurately and creating additional challenges for Israel and its Iron Dome system.
The Biden administration has bolstered the U.S. military presence in the region to deter additional aggression. It remains to be seen if those efforts will be successful. A senior defense official confirmed on October 30 that “from October 17 to October 30, U.S. and coalition forces have been attacked at least 14 separate times in Iraq and nine separate times in Syria, through a mix of one-way attack drones and rockets, for a total of 23 attacks to date.”
Hezbollah’s Use of ATGMs Against Israel
During the Second Lebanon War in 2006, Hezbollah utilized anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) in a series of coordinated ambushes against Israeli armored vehicles and bases. The use of these weapons resulted in many of the losses sustained by Israeli ground forces. The IDF encountered difficulty in identifying and targeting Hezbollah’s hidden ATGM positions, which were firing from a distance.
Following Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, Hezbollah has conducted ATGM attacks on Israeli troops and positions near the Israel-Lebanon border. On October 20, a Hezbollah attack killed an Israeli American dual citizen. In response, Israel has launched airstrikes aimed at Hezbollah targets. In anticipation of further escalation from Hezbollah, Israeli authorities have ordered civilians residing in towns near the border to evacuate.

Lebanon's Hezbollah works to curb hefty losses in Israel clashes, sources say
BEIRUT/Reuters/November 1, 2023
-With dozens of Hezbollah fighters killed in three weeks of border clashes with Israel, the Lebanese group is working to stem its losses as it prepares for the possibility of a drawn-out conflict, three sources familiar with its thinking said.
The Iran-backed group has lost 47 fighters to Israeli strikes at Lebanon's frontier since its Palestinian ally Hamas and Israel went to war on Oct. 7 - about a fifth of the number killed in a full-scale war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.
With most of its fighters killed in Israeli drone strikes, Hezbollah has unveiled its surface-to-air missile capability for the first time, declaring on Sunday it downed an Israeli drone. The missiles are part of an increasingly potent arsenal. The Israeli military has not commented on Sunday's reported drone incident. But Israel said on Saturday it had stopped a surface-to-air missile fired from Lebanon at one of its drones and that it responded by striking the launch site. One of the sources familiar with Hezbollah's thinking told Reuters that the use of anti-aircraft missiles was one of several steps taken by the Shi'ite Muslim group to curb its losses and counter Israeli drones, which have picked off its fighters in the rocky terrain and olive groves along the border.
Hezbollah had made "arrangements to reduce the number of martyrs", the source said, without offering further details. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is due to deliver a speech on Friday, in what will be his first address since the Israel-Hamas war erupted. Since the Gaza conflict flared, Hezbollah's attacks have been calibrated to contain clashes to the border zone, even as it has indicated a readiness for all-out war if necessary, sources familiar with its thinking say. Israel, which is waging a war in the Gaza Strip that it says aims to destroy Hamas, has said it has no interest in a conflict on its northern frontier with Lebanon, where it has said so far that seven of its soldiers have been killed. "I hope we will be able to keep the quiet on this front," Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told a briefing, adding that he believed Israel's strong defence forces and their actions in Gaza had deterred Hezbollah till now. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel would unleash devastation on Lebanon if a war did start.
FORMIDABLE FORCE
Hezbollah, the most formidable Iranian ally in Tehran's "Axis of Resistance", has long said it has expanded its arsenal since 2006 and warned Israel that its forces pose a more potent threat than before. It says its armoury now includes drones and rockets that can hit all parts of Israel. In border clashes since Oct. 7, Hamas, which also has operatives in Lebanon, and a Lebanese Sunni Islamist faction Jama'a Islamiya have both fired rockets from southern Lebanon into Israel. Hezbollah itself has refrained from firing rockets, such as unguided Katyushas and others that can fly deep into Israeli territory, a step that could prompt an escalation. Instead, its fighters have been firing at visible targets across the frontier with Israel, using weapons such as guided anti-tank Kornet missiles, a weapon the group used extensively in 2006, the three sources said. Hezbollah's television channel, Al-Manar, has regularly replayed footage from the latest clashes showing what it says are strikes on Israeli military installations and positions visible across the border. While Hezbollah's tactics so far have helped contain the conflict, the attacks mean its fighters need to be close to the frontier, which makes them more vulnerable to Israel's military. The sources said some fighters had also underestimated the drone threat after years of combat in Syria where they had fought insurgent groups with nothing like the Israeli military's hardware. Hezbollah played a decisive role in helping President Bashar al-Assad beat back Syrian insurgents. "The technical superiority of the Israeli drones is making Hezbollah pay the price of this number of fighters," Nabil Boumonsef, deputy editor-in-chief at Lebanon's Annahar newspaper, said, in reference to Hezbollah's hefty death toll.
CONFLICT CONTAINED SO FAR
Clashes between Israel and Hezbollah have broadly stayed contained in a narrow band of land that runs along the border, generally staying within three to four kms of the frontier. However, Israeli shelling has expanded in recent days, according to security sources in Lebanon. They said this included a strike on Saturday on Jabal Safi, a mountainous area that lies about 25 km (15 miles) from the border. The Israeli army did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the Jabal Safi strike. Hezbollah has not commented on the reports of that strike either. The Israeli army has said it has been responding to sources of fire in Lebanon. Hezbollah lost 263 fighters in the 2006 war, when Israel hit sites all over Lebanon during a more than month-long conflict. The war erupted after Hezbollah launched a raid into Israel and kidnapped two Israeli soldiers. The Hezbollah death toll of 47 this time, in such a relatively contained conflict, has shocked the group's supporters. The group's al-Manar television has broadcast daily funerals of fallen fighters being buried with military honours, their coffins covered in the group's yellow and green flag. Hezbollah released a handwritten letter from its leader Nasrallah to media last week, saying the fallen fighters should be called "martyrs on the road to Jerusalem".

What’s Hezbollah’s Next Step?
Editor OilPrice.com/November 1, 2023
The ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas is currently viewed by oil and gas markets as a contained regional issue. However, concerns persist regarding the potential for escalation, particularly if other parties like Hezbollah in Lebanon or Iran become directly involved. Recent missile and drone attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen, believed to be backed by Iran, have placed regional armed forces on high alert. Simultaneously, Iranian-supported militias in Iraq and Syria have been targeting American forces, adding to the regional security concerns.
Under the radar of international media, analysts are growing increasingly concerned about the role of Hezbollah leader Nasrallah in the Gaza crisis. Nasrallah has maintained an unusually low profile, leaving many to speculate about his true intentions, likely to avoid triggering a Western response prematurely. Without any clear indications, Nasrallah, known for his aggressive speeches and strategies, remains an enigmatic decision-maker concerning the conflict's future. As reported in recent days by Arab, Israeli, and Western military sources, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) leaders have been observed moving toward the Israeli border in Syria and Lebanon. Key IRGC military figures are currently engaged in discussions with Hezbollah and other proxies, preparing a military strategy if the situation demands. As Iran intensifies its pressure on American forces in the Middle East, Iranian proxies have officially aligned with Hamas, as evidenced by the Houthi rebels and others, heightening the anticipation of an imminent threat. The main cliffhanger of all is the whereabouts and intentions of Sheikh Nasrallah.
In the coming days, the path to potential escalation will become clearer. According to the pro-Hezbollah news site Al Mayadeen, Sheikh Nasrallah is expected to deliver a speech on Friday at 3 PM Israeli time, officially during a ceremony honoring the "martyrs who died on the road to Jerusalem." The fact that Nasrallah has refrained from addressing his militia since the beginning of the Gaza conflict suggests that a significant decision has likely been made. The increased presence of IRGC personnel and leadership in Lebanon is a matter of concern for Israeli and U.S. authorities. Simultaneously, there are substantial military movements occurring on Syrian territory toward the Israeli border and the Golan Heights. U.S. intelligence has also warned about growing activities and significant movements between Iraq and Syria-Lebanon involving militias and IRGC operators.
Thus far, the situation along the Lebanon-Israel border has been heating up, with border clashes increasing in scale. While it has not escalated into a full-scale war with Hezbollah, the level of engagement is intensifying. Recent actions by both sides have extended beyond the 2-4 kilometer border regions on both sides. Reports from Al Jazeera indicate that Israel has targeted locations up to 16 kilometers inside Lebanon, while Hezbollah has been active up to 14 kilometers inside Israel. Both sides have primarily employed a restrained approach, with Hezbollah using drones and anti-tank guided missiles. However, in recent days, Hezbollah and its proxies have escalated by utilizing surface-to-air missiles. Lebanese government officials are deeply concerned about the country becoming embroiled in a conflict with Israel. While most Lebanese citizens do not support Hezbollah, Iran, or even Syria, the Shiite group holds greater military power than the Lebanese armed forces and all other militias combined.
Disturbing signs on the horizon include meetings between Hamas leaders, other Palestinian groups, and Hezbollah, held to discuss "an all-out victory" over Israel. The current silence of Hezbollah is not a sign of weakness, but rather an indication that the extremist group has been taken aback by Hamas's actions and is now considering how to regain its leadership in the anti-Israel coalition. Recent online videos featuring Nasrallah seem to suggest that something significant is unfolding. Hezbollah cannot afford to remain passive, as its position as the primary adversary to Israel is eroding, a development that Iran is unlikely to tolerate.
It is highly probable that Hezbollah will increase its attacks on Israel in the next 48 hours. However, the decision to escalate into a full-scale conflict will ultimately rest with Nasrallah. This decision should not be underestimated, as it could involve opening a major third front and mobilizing Hezbollah's proxies and the existing Hezbollah-IRGC international network throughout the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. Iran's involvement is almost certain if Hezbollah, which serves as Iran's main power base in Lebanon and Syria, comes under fire. Given Israel's ongoing operations in Gaza, the timing could be tempting for anti-Israel extremists. These parties must demonstrate their power, particularly since Hamas has already questioned their resolve. Arab sources have even claimed that Ahmed Abdel Hadi, Hamas's representative in Lebanon, recently stated, "Iran betrayed the Palestinians and Hamas." This has added pressure on Tehran to consider further actions. As noted in a recent analysis by Benjamin Allison of the University of Texas in The Lawfare Institute, "the most dangerous regional militant group is the Lebanese Hezbollah." The group possesses an extensive arsenal of rockets, missiles, drones, and some highly accurate systems, unlike most of Hezbollah

Factbox-Lebanon's Hezbollah: What weapons does it have?
Reuters/November 1, 2023
Israeli forces and Lebanon's Hezbollah have engaged in increasingly heavy exchanges of cross-border fire since early October, in the biggest escalation on the frontier since the Iran-backed group and Israel fought a war in 2006.
Hezbollah, one of the most heavily-armed, non-state groups in the world, is the most formidable of Iran's allies in its "Axis of Resistance", which includes Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, Iraqi militias and others. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has said the group has 100,000 fighters. Here is an overview of some of Hezbollah's most significant weapons, based on Hezbollah statements, security sources, weapons experts and academic reports.
THE OVERALL ARSENAL AND HOW IT HAS GROWN
Hezbollah's military strength is underpinned by a vast arsenal of rockets. Experts believe the Shi'ite Islamist group may possess more than 100,000 rockets today. Hezbollah says it has rockets that can hit all areas of Israel. Many of the rockets are unguided, but it also has precision missiles, drones and anti-tank, anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles. Hezbollah's main supporter and weapons supplier is Iran. Experts say the Islamic Republic sends arms to the group by land via Iraq and Syria, both Middle East countries where Iran has close ties and influence. Many of the group's weapons are Iranian, Russian or Chinese models.
LAND-ATTACK ROCKETS AND MISSILES
Unguided rockets comprised the bulk of Hezbollah's missile arsenal in the last war with Israel in 2006, when the group fired about 4,000 of them into Israel - mostly Russian-made Katyusha-style missiles with a range of up to 30 km (19 miles). Hezbollah has Iranian models, such as Raad (Arabic for Thunder), Fajr (Dawn) and Zilzal (Earthquake) rockets, which have a more powerful payload and longer range than Katyushas. Nasrallah has said the biggest change in the group's arsenal since 2006 is the expansion of its precision guidance systems. Last year, he said Hezbollah had the ability within Lebanon to retrofit thousands of rockets with guidance systems to make them precision missiles. This puts more Israeli territory in Hezbollah's range, and experts say it could enable the group to strike more specific targets such as critical infrastructure and military sites. Hinting at the damage it could now do, Nasrallah in 2016 made a veiled threat that Hezbollah could hit ammonia storage tanks in the northern Israeli port city of Haifa, saying the result would be "like a nuclear bomb".
ANTI-TANK MISSILES
Hezbollah used guided anti-tank missiles extensively in the 2006 war. It has deployed guided rockets again in the latest round of fighting, hitting Israeli positions at the border.
Israel has said during that the latest flare-up that it has responded to anti-tank missiles.
Hezbollah has posted videos of what it says are direct hits on Israeli tanks and other military vehicles since Oct. 7. Videos also show guided strikes on military installations on the Israeli side of the country's northern border with Lebanon.
ANTI-AIRCRAFT MISSILES
Hezbollah said on Oct. 29 it had shot down an Israeli drone over south Lebanon with a surface-to-air missile, the first time it has announced such an incident. There was no comment from Israel about that claim, but a day earlier the Israeli military said it had thwarted a surface-to-air missile fired towards an Israeli unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and that the military had responded by striking where the missile was fired from. It did not give a location.
Experts have previously said Hezbollah has shoulder-held anti-air missiles in its arsenal.
ANTI-SHIP MISSILES
Hezbollah first proved it had anti-ship missiles in 2006, when it hit an Israeli warship 16 km (10 miles) off the coast, killing four Israeli personnel and damaging the vessel.
Hezbollah has since broadcast videos that it says show more of the same weapons that were used in 2006. It has said future targets could include Israel's offshore gas infrastructure.
DRONES
Hezbollah's drones, including what it says are the locally-assembled Ayoub and Mersad models, are mostly used for reconnaissance, although they can carry a small ordnance payload. Experts say the drones, which can be produced cheaply and in large quantities, could be aimed at draining Israel's Iron Dome air defence system. Israel accused Iran in September of building an airstrip in south Lebanon that could be used to launch attacks. A non-Israeli source with knowledge of the site said it could accommodate large, potentially weaponised drones, based on an Iranian design.

In Lebanon, a Christian village hopes for the best and plans for the worst
Riham Alkousaa and Abdelaziz Boumzar/Reuters/November 1, 2023
Lebanese village sets up impromptu security amid Israeli-Hezbollah border clashes in Rmeish
RMEICH, Lebanon: At Lebanon's border with Israel, residents of a Christian village are hoping war can be avoided even as they prepare for the possibility of worsening hostilities between the Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah and Israel.
Located just a couple of kilometres (miles) from the frontier, the village of Rmeich has already suffered fallout from three weeks of clashes along the border between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, the dominant force in south Lebanon.
Half of its residents have fled north since shells began crashing into hills nearby. With the olive harvest disrupted, their livelihoods have also been affected by south Lebanon's worst violence since Hezbollah and Israel went to war in 2006.
The village, along with the rest of Lebanon, is feeling the turbulence unleashed by the conflict raging some 200 km away between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, an ally of the heavily armed Hezbollah. Those who remain in Rmeich appear reluctant to discuss the politics of the crisis that has brought conflict to their doorstep, trying to preserve some normalcy in the village whose 18th century church still holds a mass three times a day. "I won't say we're feeling safe but the situation is stable," the village priest Toni Elias, 40, said as a military drone buzzed overhead. "If we don't hear the drone, we think something odd is going on. We're used to it everyday, 24/7," Elias said. Rmeich is one of around a dozen or more Christian villages near the border with Israel in predominantly Shi'ite Muslim south Lebanon. During the 2006 war, some 25,000 people from surrounding towns sought shelter in Rmeich. Memories of the 2006 conflict loom large. Rmeich locals and charities have set up a makeshift hospital at a school, in case the clashes between Hezbollah and Israel - so far largely contained to areas at the border - get worse. "We won't use it unless there is a war and roads get closed, and inshalla (God willing) this won't happen," said Georges Madi, a doctor from the village.
WAR AND PEACE
The tensions are weighing on the local economy, compounding hardship for people still suffering the effects of Lebanon's devastating financial collapse four years ago.
"If the war is prolonged, we can't stay here. There is no work or money," said Charbel Al Alam, 58, who makes his living from farming tobacco, historically an important industry for south Lebanon. "In the 2006 war, tobacco plants dried out in the fields and no one was able to harvest it. No one compensated us," he said. While farmers had been able to gather this year's crop, they worry whether they will be able plant next year's. Business in Rmeich has generally come to a halt, several local said. Unlike the surrounding areas, there is no sign of the yellow and green Hezbollah flag in Rmeich. While avoiding any criticism of Hezbollah, Rmeich mayor Milad Al Alam said the Lebanese army should be the sole military force in Lebanon - a view voiced by Hezbollah's opponents who say its arsenal has undermined the state. "We wish the decision of war and peace were in our hands. If it were, the situation would have been different," he said. The town has no shelter or official evacuation plan for its 4,500 remaining residents if war intensifies, he added. "People were stuck in the village for 17 days in 2006," he said. Elias, the priest, said he was confident Rmeich would not be hit: "As long we're here, living in the village. We don't want war, we're a peaceful village ... so the village remains safe if others flee to it."
(Writing by Riham Alkousaa; Editing by Tom Perry and Gareth Jones)

Report: Iran's Quds Force chief visits Lebanon
Naharnet/November 01/2023
Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, the head of the elite Quds Force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, arrived in Beirut on Tuesday on a visit that is not his first since the eruption of the Gaza war, Lebanon’s Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported on Wednesday.
The visit comes a few days ahead of a key speech by Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. Qaani’s presence in Lebanon also coincides with the arrival in the country of U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf and French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu.

Israel-Hezbollah border skirmishes: Latest developments
Naharnet/November 01/2023
Hezbollah targeted Wednesday the al-Malkiyeh and al-Bayyad Israeli posts opposite to the Lebanese towns of Aitaroun and Blida.Israeli artillery shelled in response the outskirts of the towns of Blida, Meis al-Jabal and Aitaroun with phosphorus and fragmentation bombs. Meanwhile, Israeli media reported a guided missile launched from Lebanon at the Yiftah settlement and a security incident on the Ramim mountains on Lebanon's border.

'Enough war in Lebanon': Mikati says 'time is of essence' to stop war from spreading
Associated Press/November 01/2023
After visiting Qatar, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati will continue a tour of other Arab countries, as he works to ensure Lebanon does not enter the Hamas-Israel war. Mikati said Wednesday that time is of the essence in stopping the Hamas-Israel war from “going out of control” and affecting Lebanon and the wider region. The PM has been scrambling with international governments to keep Lebanon away from the war, as militants from Hezbollah and Israeli troops have been clashing along the tense Lebanon-Israel border since the onset of the war on Oct. 7. The clashes so far have mostly been limited to areas along the border. His comments come days before Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is scheduled to give his first speech since the start of the war. Lebanon is experiencing political paralysis and economic turmoil, leaving many worried of the consequences of a fully fledged war in the crisis-hit country. Mikati condemned both Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon and attacks in the blockaded Palestinian Gaza Strip. “A humanitarian cease-fire for five days is necessary, where there can be active international talks to secure prisoner swaps and reach a permanent truce in order to reach an agreement on the conditions for regional peace,” Mikati said before a government meeting. He condmened the silence of the international community over Israel's crimes in Gaza and over its aggression against Lebanon.
"The Israeli aggression against the south affects the nation as a whole," Mikati said, calling for national solidarity and dialogue. "Our duty is to meet, to talk, and to think together in order to reach a unified national solution," he said. Mikati had said Monday that he is doing his best to ensure the state, with its "humble means", would be able to respond in case of war, although he is also working to ensure his country does not join the fray. “Enough war in Lebanon, for we are with the choice of peace,” Mikati said, adding that the decision of war today is in the hands of Israel. Since Hamas carried out an unprecedented attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7, Israel has exchanged cross-border fire with Hezbollah and allied Palestinian factions in Lebanon's south, stoking fears of a regional spillover. Nearly 29,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon due to the clashes, and more than 62 people have been killed. 48 of them are Hezbollah fighters, the others are members of the Resistance Brigades and Palestinian factions, and four civilians, including Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah. After an Oct. 16 Israeli strike in the town of Dhayra, houses and cars caught fire and nine civilians were rushed to the hospital with breathing problems from the fumes. The human rights group Amnesty International said it had verified photos that showed that Israel had dropped white phosphorus shells. The organization said it verified three other instances of Israel's military dropping white phosphorus on Lebanese border areas in the past month, but did not document any harm to civilians in those cases. The shelling caused wildfires near the border, an area of trees and olive groves. Human rights advocates say the use of white phosphorus is illegal under international law when the white-hot chemical substance is fired into populated areas. It can set buildings on fire and burn human flesh down to the bone. Survivors are at risk of infections and organ or respiratory failure, even if their burns are small.

US urges president who can 'guide Lebanon safely' amid current challenges
Naharnet/November 01/2023
The U.S. State Department has called on Lebanon to elect a president who can “guide Lebanon safely through the current challenges.” “Exactly one year after the end of former President (Michel) Aoun’s term, Lebanon remains without a president or an empowered government. Lebanon’s divided parliamentarians have failed to elect a successor to President Aoun, putting their personal ambitions ahead of the interests of their country,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement. “Even as rising tensions along Lebanon’s southern border threaten the country’s stability and the economic crisis deepens, the Lebanese people are deprived of leadership when they need it most,” Miller lamented. Warning that Lebanon’s political paralysis does not benefit the Lebanese people, Miller called on the country’s parliamentarians to “do their duty and elect a president who will put the country and all its people first, commit to forming a government free of corruption, and implement critical economic reforms – chief among them those needed to secure an IMF program, the country’s only viable path out of the current economic crisis. ”“The Lebanese people deserve a president who can unite the nation and guide Lebanon safely through the current challenges,” the spokesperson added.

Berri says no 'a la carte' legislation as US, Qatar back extending Aoun term
Naharnet/November 01/2023
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has commented on the draft law submitted by the Lebanese Forces bloc with the aim of extending the term of Army chief General Joseph Aoun. “I do not legislate ‘a la carte’ or according to their mood. When they want, they support legislation, and when then don’t want they boycott parliament! I know what I have to do and no one can impose anything on me, neither the session’s date nor its agenda,” Berri said when asked about the LF’s draft law, according to al-Akhbar newspaper. U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea and Qatari Ambassador to Lebanon Saud bin Abdul Rahman Al-Thani are meanwhile urging the Lebanese parties to extend Aoun’s term, the daily added. ”Shea has asked all those she met with to go to the choice of extension, so that the presidential vacuum does not spread to the army command, especially that there is no agreement on naming a chief of staff,” al-Akhbar said. “Qatar is not distant from this endeavor and according to informed sources, the Qatari ambassador to Beirut discuss this matter with caretaker PM Najib Mikati some time ago,” the daily added.

How many Israeli troops have been killed in Hezbollah's attacks?
Naharnet/November 01/2023
Hezbollah announced overnight that it has carried out 105 attacks against Israeli posts on Lebanon’s border since October 8. The attacks killed and wounded 120 soldiers and destroyed nine tanks, two personnel carriers and two Humvees, Hezbollah said in an infographic. And while one Israeli drone was shot down, the attacks also destroyed 69 communication systems, 140 cameras, 17 jamming systems, 33 radars and 27 intelligence systems, Hezbollah added. It also noted that its attacks from south Lebanon have forced the evacuation of 65,000 Israeli residents and 28 Israeli settlements in northern Israel. Around 50 Hezbollah fighters have meanwhile been killed since the start of confrontations, according to previous Hezbollah statements. Israel for its part has only acknowledged the death of three soldiers and one civilian in attacks on its north from southern Lebanon.

Kirby says US to pay 'close attention' to Nasrallah speech
Naharnet/November 01/2023
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby has said that the U.S. is monitoring the situation on the Lebanese-Israeli border “very, very closely.” “One of the reasons why the President sent an extra carrier strike group into the region and parked one in the Eastern Med is to make sure we send a strong message to any actor, including Hezbollah, who may want to widen the conflict: They ought not to do it. We take seriously, as I said earlier, our national security interests in the region,” Kirby added in response to a reporter’s question during a daily press briefing. As for Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s expected speech on Friday and whether he might “declare war on Israel,” Kirby answered: “Now, Nasrallah can say what he wants to say. And we’ll certainly be paying close attention to it. But our message is the same to him, to them, to any other actor in the region.”

Map reveals impact of Israeli phosphorus bombs in southern Lebanon: Photo
LBCI/November 01/2023
The media office of the Minister of Agriculture in the caretaker government distributed the map presented by Minister Abbas Al Hajj Hassan in Wednesday's cabinet meeting. The media office pointed out that this is "the map of the fires in southern Lebanon on October 26, 2023, and it is being updated daily, and the Israeli army caused it through the use of internationally prohibited phosphorus bombs."

Lebanese civilians wounded with Israeli white phosphorus shells
Associated Press/November 01/2023
The human rights group Amnesty International has said that civilians in southern Lebanon were injured this month when Israeli forces hit a border village with shells containing white phosphorus, a controversial incendiary munition. The organization said it verified three other instances of Israel's military dropping white phosphorus on Lebanese border areas in the past month, but Amnesty said it did not document any harm to civilians in those cases. Human rights advocates say the use of white phosphorus is illegal under international law when the white-hot chemical substance is fired into populated areas. It can set buildings on fire and burn human flesh down to the bone. Survivors are at risk of infections and organ or respiratory failure, even if their burns are small. After an Oct. 16 Israeli strike in the town of Dhayra, houses and cars caught fire and nine civilians were rushed to the hospital with breathing problems from the fumes, Amnesty said. The group said it had verified photos that showed white phosphorus shells lined up next to Israeli artillery near the tense Lebanon-Israel border. The organization described the incident as an "indiscriminate attack" that harmed civilians and should be "investigated as a war crime."
A paramedic shared photos with the The Associated Press of first responders in oxygen masks and helping an elderly man, his face covered with a shirt, out of a burning house and into an ambulance. "This is the first time we've seen white phosphorus used on areas with civilians in such large amounts," Ali Noureddine, a paramedic who was among the responding emergency workers, said. "Even our guys needed oxygen masks after saving them."The Amnesty report is the latest in a series of allegations by human rights groups that Israeli forces have dropped shells containing white phosphorus on densely populated residential areas in Gaza and Lebanon during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Israel maintains it uses the incendiaries only as a smokescreen and not to target civilians.
The Israeli military said in a statement to the AP earlier this month that the main type of smokescreen shells it uses "do not contain white phosphorous." But it did not rule out its use in some situations. The military did not immediately respond to inquiries about Tuesday's Amnesty statement. The rights group said it also verified cases of white phosphorus shelling on the border town of Aita al Shaab and over open land close to the village of al-Mari. It said the shelling caused wildfires. The United Nations' peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, UNIFI, was called in to help with firefighting efforts as local firefighters couldn't go near the front lines, a spokesperson for the mission told the AP. Amnesty and Human Rights Watch have also reported an alleged case of white phosphorus shelling in a populated area of the Gaza Strip during the current Israel-Hamas war but have not verified civilian injuries from it. Doctors working in hospitals in the besieged Palestinian territory told the AP they saw patients with burn wounds they thought were caused by white phosphorus but they did not have the capacity to test for it. In 2013, the Israeli military said it would stop using white phosphorus in populated areas in Gaza, except in narrow circumstances that it did not reveal publicly. The decision came in response to an Israeli High Court of Justice petition about use of the munitions. The military disclosed the two exceptions only to the court, and did not mark an official change in policy.

Cash-strapped Lebanon unprepared as war threat looms
Agence France Presse/November 01/2023
Lebanese emergency crews rush to the scene of Israeli bombardments in aging vehicles and without protective gear as the crisis-hit country struggles to prepare for a possible war. A grueling, four-year-long economic collapse, widely blamed on the governing elite, has left Lebanon ill-prepared for another disaster, and volunteers and local authorities are scrambling to fill the gap with limited means. Anis Abla, who heads the civil defense in south Lebanon's Marjayoun area, said his fire and rescue service cannot afford flak jackets or helmets for his 37-strong team, most of them volunteers. "We are the first line of defense, yet we have no equipment to protect ourselves," Abla told AFP from his office, a container located less than 10 kilometers (six miles) from the Israeli border. "If war erupts, we might not be able to secure enough water for our trucks or other basics like food," he added. Since Hamas carried out an unprecedented attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7, Israel has exchanged cross-border fire with Hezbollah and allied Palestinian factions in Lebanon's south, stoking fears of a regional spillover. Israeli bombings have caused fires near the border, an area of trees and olive groves. Hussein Fakih, head of civil defense for the southern Nabatiyeh region including Marjayoun, said his personnel had limited access even to water for fire trucks, as Lebanon's chronic power cuts cripple pumping systems. The newest vehicle is about 30 years old, said Fakih, who is responsible for 21 emergency centers. He said fire trucks regularly break down and that "even if we get a puncture, we can't get another tire.""If the situation worsens... We will not be able to carry out all our tasks."
'Unprepared' for calamity -
Since hostilities began, cross-border skirmishes have killed at least 62 people in Lebanon, according to an AFP tally, mostly Hezbollah combatants but also four civilians, including a Reuters journalist. Most of Lebanon's population now lives in poverty, but those who can are stocking up on food, medicine and fuel, or seeking alternate accommodation away from potential conflict areas. Nearly 29,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon, according to figures from the International Organization for Migration. Hasbaya mayor Labib al-Hamra said hundreds had fled to his town near Marjayoun from border villages, with at least 150 staying in an unfinished tourist hotel. The municipality has had to rely on remittances from Lebanese abroad and charities for everything from rehabilitating the building to securing mattresses, food and medicine, Hamra told AFP. The border tensions have revived memories of Hezbollah's 2006 war with Israel that killed more than 1,200 in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 160 in Israel, largely soldiers. "My biggest fear is seeing a repeat of the 2006 scenario, but it will be even worse," Hamra said. He described municipalities' finances as "very, very bad" and said "the Lebanese state... is unprepared to face this sort of calamity."
- 'Our state is dead' -
Lebanon is facing the prospect of a new escalation while virtually leaderless, with the government operating in caretaker capacity and the presidency vacant for a year as bickering politicians have failed to reach a consensus. Authorities have scrambled to develop an emergency plan, and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Monday he was doing his best to ensure the state, with its "humble means," would be able to respond in case of war. But caretaker Health Minister Firass Abiad warned Lebanon was facing unprecedented obstacles, including a lack of medical equipment and personnel. "In 2006, we did not have drugs and medical supply problems," Abiad told AFP. "We didn't have a brain drain of medical professionals or a stifling economic crisis." He said his ministry needed between $30 million and $40 million for its own emergency response, mostly funded by repurposed World Bank loans but also $11 million in government credit lines. "Lebanon is doing its utmost to increase its level of preparedness," despite the difficulties, he added. But many Lebanese have already lost faith in their government's ability to shield them from tragedy, in a country still reeling from a catastrophic blast at Beirut's port in 2020 that was widely blamed on negligence from officials. Ali Khalil Awada, 74, was sheltering at the unfinished Hasbaya hotel with his wife in a narrow, meagerly furnished room. He was displaced from his border village of Khiam several times during Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war, as well as during Israel's 22-year occupation of the south and once more during the 2006 war. But this time is "the worst" he said, adding "we can't even afford bread." "Our state is dead... and our economy is gone."

Syrian operatives arrested for ISIS links in Lebanon
LBCI/November 01/2023
The Army Command - Directorate of Orientation announced that the Intelligence Directorate had arrested the Syrians (M.H.) and (G.H.) for their affiliation with the terrorist organization ISIS. During their interrogation, the first one confessed to entering Lebanon clandestinely and was tasked with recruiting followers for the organization, monitoring the movements of the Lebanese Army, identifying locations of a Lebanese political party, and recording the coordinates of Roumieh Prison. The second one admitted to carrying out several missions for the organization, and both detainees were referred to the competent judiciary. In addition, the Intelligence Directorate in the city of Tripoli arrested the Lebanese (A.H.), (A.R.), and the Syrian (M.F.) for following the publications of the aforementioned organization.

Public Health Ministry establishes hotline to assist displaced individuals from border areas
LBCI/November 01/2023
The Ministry of Public Health has announced the launch of its center to receive calls from citizens who have been displaced from the border areas due to the Israeli attacks. In a statement, the ministry emphasized that the call center is dedicated to assisting displaced individuals in meeting their healthcare needs, addressing all their questions, and directing them to the nearest primary healthcare centers. In addition, they will guide them to the relevant authorities to ensure the continuity of their healthcare services. The Ministry of Public Health expressed its solidarity with the displaced citizens, and this step complements previous efforts that have been undertaken in collaboration with partner civil society organizations. These efforts include the establishment of mobile medical units equipped with a significant supply of medicines for chronic diseases and medical necessities, which are provided free of charge to the displaced population. All displaced citizens are encouraged not to hesitate to call the hotline at 1787, which is designated to assist them with their healthcare needs. The hotline operators are available every day from 8:00 AM to 12:00 AM.

Lebanon welcomes UN resolution on Gaza humanitarian relief
LBCI/November 01/2023
The Acting Charge d'Affaires, Hadi Hashem, welcomed the adoption of the resolution titled "protection of civilians and upholding legal and humanitarian obligations," presented by the Arab Group, during the Tenth Emergency Special Session of the General Assembly. The Lebanese delegation applauded this resolution as the first significant step issued by the United Nations to halt the humanitarian suffering on the ground in Gaza.

Sami Gemayel: Nasrallah is responsible for what is happening in Lebanon
LBCI/November 01/2023
Kataeb Party leader MP Sami Gemayel, believed on Wednesday that "Hezbollah's Secretary-General, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, is responsible for what is happening in Lebanon. "I hold Hezbollah responsible for the defamation and death threats we are facing, and this matter is not simple but serious," he said. In an interview on LBCI, Gemayel noted that "Lebanon is on the brink of war," adding that he does not want Lebanon to experience what is happening in Gaza." "I am keen on the lives of all Lebanese," he stressed. He also noted that the people of the south have suffered enough.
"We do not want to give Israel an excuse to do to us what it did to Gaza," he continued. Where are the Sunnis who call for war and engagement in it? How many are they? Why don't they go to the south? We cannot say that the Sunnis are with the war," Gemayel asked. Gemayel said that in light of all the sympathy we witness from the Lebanese towards the people of Gaza, "we do not see that the Lebanese people want Lebanon to be dragged into this war," asking: "Which party in Lebanon called for entering into war?"
He stressed that parties have rejected this so far, despite the sympathy with Gaza, and treason is caused by our refusal to let Hezbollah monopolize the decision and drag us into war. He renewed his rejection that "Hezbollah dominates the decision of the state and the parliament. "But unfortunately, it has been confirmed that Lebanon is kidnapped," he stressed. Gemayel revealed that they "noticed in the past two weeks the extent of Hezbollah's influence on the Lebanese decision, as the people are waiting for Nasrallah's appearance, not the Prime Minister, to determine Lebanon's stance on the war." He said: "We believe in the state and legitimate institutions, and we refuse that any party other than the legitimate authorities defends Lebanon. Our position has been clear for 80 years, and we are keen on Lebanon's sovereignty, and military defense should be limited to the Lebanese army only."He considered that Hezbollah wants to make its military strength part of the unity of arenas and regional powers unrelated to Lebanon," pointing out that "Hezbollah is the one who linked Lebanon's fate to Iraq, Palestine, Syria, and others. It is the one who declared the unity of arenas, and why should we give Israel an excuse to open war on us?"He emphasized that "no one wants the conflict to extend to Lebanon, and the major powers are working to stop the escalation in the region."Gemayel wished Nasrallah not to involve the country in the war and said: "I do not ask him to surrender his weapons, but let him keep the deterrent force, but I ask him not to give Israel an excuse to attack us and let the army spread with UNIFIL on the borders."

Lebanon's Council of Muftis calls for ceasefire in Gaza, urges humanitarian aid and border openings
LBCI/November 01/2023
The Council of Muftis in Lebanon has condemned what it described as the “horrifying terrorist massacres” committed by Israel in Gaza on a daily basis, including the recent events in the Jabalia refugee camp. The Council views these actions as “indicative of the aggressiveness and brutality of the occupation,” necessitating a unified Arab and Islamic stance to confront this aggression and the oppressive occupation of Palestinian land. Additionally, the Council issued a statement following their regular meeting chaired by the Grand Mufti of Lebanon, Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian. In the statement, the Council called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the opening of border crossings to facilitate the delivery of essential food and medical aid to the population. The Council of Muftis endorsed a statement issued by the Supreme Islamic Sharia Council, urging for unified national and Islamic action against the Zionist military aggression carried out by the Israeli army in the besieged Gaza Strip, which also poses a threat to Lebanon. Moreover, the Council highlighted the repeated attacks on villages and towns in southern Lebanon and expressed concern about the negative political, economic, and social repercussions of the prolonged presidential vacuum. Despite a full year passing since the presidency remained vacant, the Council expressed its astonishment and disapproval of the failure to elect a President. The Council voiced its concern regarding the adverse political, economic, and social impacts of the presidential vacuum on other constitutional institutions and, consequently, on the credibility of the Lebanese state and civil peace.

Tenenti: Lebanese Army asked for UNIFIL's assistance to evacuate two injured individuals near Blue Line, search resumes tomorrow morning after...
NNA/November 01/2023
UNIFIL spokesperson, Andrea Tenenti said, “This evening, the Lebanese Armed Forces asked for UNIFIL's assistance to evacuate two individuals who had been injured near the Blue Line in the Wazzani area.”He added, “The IDF suspended fire to allow the LAF and UNIFIL to search for the individuals.”“Unfortunately, they could not be found. Due to the darkness and presence of land mines in the area, the search will have to resume in the morning,” said Tenenti.

Presidency Crisis in Lebanon: Exploring Options
LBCI/November 01/2023
Presidency Crisis in Lebanon: Exploring Options
On January 10, the army commander will be retired, and thus, we face the danger of a vacuum in this position, especially since there is no Chief of Staff to assume the responsibilities of the army commander under the Defense Law.
- Question: What are the proposed solutions?
Extension is an option, but it is a choice not favored by the Cabinet. The Free Patriotic Movement claims that extension attempts have political motives related to the presidency. As for Hezbollah, it argues that if the extension was not applied to the Director-General of General Security, Major General Abbas Ibrahim, it should not be applied to the army commander.
- Question: If the extension for the army commander does not pass in the Cabinet, could it pass in Parliament?
There are forces supportive of the extension, such as the Lebanese Forces, which proposed a law to raise the retirement age from 60 to 61 on the condition that this proposal be the only item on the agenda of any session.
- Question: Will Berri accept that?
Berri favors maintaining the military institution but will not accept the condition set by the Lebanese Forces, which was a promise from Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati that the matter is on the path to resolution.
- Question: What if the proposed options are not accepted?
There is an option to postpone the retirement, which Caretaker Prime Minister Mikati is considering, and if possible, it could be decided in the Cabinet. However, this matter is difficult as some consider it an extension and will not accept it.
The third option is to appoint a Chief of Staff. Everyone wants the appointment, but, for example, the Free Patriotic Movement demands that the appointment not be limited to the Druze Chief of Staff but also includes the Shiite Director of Army Intelligence and the Orthodox Inspector General. The decisive word in this process should belong to Caretaker Minister of Defense Maurice Slim.
MP Wael Abou Faour discussed all these scenarios with Caretaker Prime Minister Mikati.
- Question: What could happen if all these options fail?
Caretaker Minister of Defense Maurice Slim would have the authority to assign the highest-ranking and most senior officer to lead the army, a member of the Military Council, Major General Pierre Saab, based on Article 39 of the Defense Law related to the right of command for officers. However, some believe that this article pertains to the right of command in the field and does not authorize him to lead the army.

Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 01-02/2023
Biden’s Israel Balancing Act Gets Harder as Gaza Offensive Grows
Bloomberg/November 01/2023
After internet and mobile phone service abruptly disappeared in the Gaza Strip on Friday, US officials gave Israel a quiet but clear message: Get the networks up and running again. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government quickly obliged, even as Israeli tanks and troops pushed into the enclave in the opening assaults of its ground invasion. For the US administration, the episode was the latest example of how combining full-on public support of Israel with softer but still insistent signals on protecting civilians and limiting the spread of the conflict is getting results.
“That close public embrace gives you the ability to whisper the more challenging aspects of your advice quietly, and also gives the other side a greater capacity to hear what you’re saying,” said Mara Rudman, a former White House adviser on the Middle East who is now a senior counselor at the Center for American Progress think-tank. But the balancing act is getting harder as Israel steps up its attacks, worsening the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and fighting spreads on Israel’s northern borders with Lebanon and Syria, fueling fears of a wider war.
On Tuesday, Israel struck a refugee camp in the north of Gaza, with Palestinian officials in the Hamas-run territory saying hundreds of people were killed or wounded. Arab governments strongly condemned the strike on the Jabaliya camp, which Israel said Hamas was using as a training center.
The rising civilian death toll — Palestinian authorities say thousands of people have been killed by Israeli airstrikes — raises fresh questions about whether the US’s relatively unconditional public support is the right approach and whether President Joe Biden is doing enough to prevent the conflict spinning out of control. Meanwhile, the administration is running into growing congressional opposition to its push for more aid to Israel. “We have leverage — the question is are we using it?” said Daniel Kurtzer, a former US ambassador to Egypt and Israel. “If there has been a message about the bombing, that apparently has not had an impact, because you would have seen some reduction in the scope and scale of what’s going on.” US officials argue that the situation could have been even worse, given Israel’s shock and anger in the days after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that left more than 1,400 dead, many of them children. So far, Washington’s track record on influencing Netanyahu has been mixed. The US pushed Israel to delay the ground operation to give time for talks to get more of the 230 hostages abducted by Hamas and other militants on Oct. 7 released. But Hamas, designated a terrorist group by the US and European Union, has let only a handful go. Since launching the ground operation over the weekend, Israel has said the group is using the talks as a delaying tactic. Israel’s battle plan has changed, in part under US pressure, according to officials on both sides, with initial ideas of an even more devastating assault put aside in favor of the current more targeted approach. The Israeli military has described it as a “slow, meticulous” strategy mostly concentrated on northern Gaza, with civilians urged to evacuate to the south. But as the civilian death toll in Gaza mounts, that may not be enough. Washington’s efforts to get Israel to let more humanitarian aid into Gaza via Egypt have borne limited fruit so far, though officials are hopeful that will begin to change in the coming days.
‘Do a Better Job’
The US has little direct leverage over the only non-Israeli route, the Rafah border crossing. Egypt, Israel and Hamas each blame the other for holding up deliveries. Israel has restored some water and other supplies, however. On Wednesday, some foreigners and injured Palestinians were allowed to begin leaving Gaza for Egypt for the first time since the Israel-Hamas war began. But the numbers so far are small. “Israel has to do a much better job than it has been doing of making sure humanitarian assistance is coming in and people have somewhere to go,” said Dennis Ross, who served as the White House Middle East envoy under President Bill Clinton and is now a senior advisor at WestExec Advisors. “All of this needs to be part of Israeli strategy if they’re going to have the time and space to do what’s necessary, and have us help them.”The US has recently talked more openly about the need for pauses in the fighting to allow aid in, although Israel has been cool to those ideas. The White House also warned that fuel in Gaza may run out imminently. Israel has refused to allow fuel in, saying that it be used by Hamas for military operations.
The Biden administration’s attempts to get Israel to think through options for how to run Gaza after the operation also so far have yielded limited results, according to US officials. While those discussions have begun around possible international involvement in running the enclave, they are still at a very early stage, officials said. The White House is beginning discreet conversations with Gulf partners about mapping out what happens next, according to two people familiar with the discussions.
US and Israel Weigh Peacekeepers for Gaza Strip After Hamas
The war has already led to attacks on US military bases in the Middle East — Iraq and Syria — that the Pentagon has blamed on Iranian proxies. The attacks have prompted the US, which has sent two aircraft carriers to the eastern Mediterranean, to authorize attacks on targets in Syria that are linked to Iran.
The conflict’s also prompted rising anger across the Arab world, including violent protests, that could unwind longstanding, US-led diplomatic efforts to integrate Israel more with its Arab neighbors. The main thrust of those efforts was to try to ensure Israel and Saudi Arabia formalized diplomatic relations.
One key US concern has been that an unrestrained retaliation in Gaza could ruin Israel’s nascent security relationships in the region, making it harder for the country to share intelligence with Arab countries and the likes of Turkey.
--With assistance from Fiona MacDonald, Jennifer Jacobs and Sylvia Westall.

Israeli Defense Minister says Hamas has two choices: "Either death or unconditional surrender"
AFP/November 01/2023
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant stated on Wednesday that Hamas has two choices: "either death or unconditional surrender," on the twenty-sixth day of the war against the Palestinian movement Hamas. Galant made the statement during a press conference held in Tel Aviv, saying, "The enemy has two choices, death or unconditional surrender, there is no third option."

Blinken to visit Jordan to discuss the war between Israel and Hamas: US State Department
AFP/November 01/2023
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return to Jordan, whose relations with Israel have significantly deteriorated amid the Gaza war, to discuss the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel, according to an announcement from Washington on Wednesday. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated that the minister would head to Jordan after previously announcing talks to be held in Israel on Friday.

Settler violence has been forcing Palestinians out of the West Bank and turning the area into a 'Wild West,' rights group says
Natalie Musumeci/Business Insider/November 1, 2023
Over 1 million in Gaza forced to evacuate in 24 hours after Israel issues orderScroll back up to restore default view. Violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank has been soaring, the UN and rights groups said. Attacks by Israeli forces and settlers have been pushing Palestinians out of their homes, the groups said. Violence has turned the West Bank into the "Wild West," a non-profit told The Washington Post. Violence against Palestinians in the West Bank has been soaring amid the Israel-Hamas war — and the attacks by Israeli forces and settlers have been pushing Palestinians out of their homes in the occupied territory, according to human rights groups and the United Nations. B'Tselem, a Jerusalem-based non-profit organization, told The Washington Post in a report published this week that settlers in the West Bank have ramped up violence and intimidation against Palestinians in recent weeks to force them out. "The scale has expanded and not just the scale but also the severity of the attacks," B'Tselem spokesperson Dror Sadot told the news outlet. "Now it's like a Wild West."Sadot added that a sense of "impunity" is prevalent among many settlers as Israel continues its deadly bombardment of Gaza in retaliation for the deadly October 7 terrorist attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on the Jewish state. Tariq Mustafa, a local who recently fled his home in the West Bank village of Wadi al-Siq with his family, told The Washington Post, "The war in Gaza gave the settlers the green light.""Before, they would yell at us to go to Ramallah. Now they are telling us to go all the way to Jordan," Mustafa, who went to the neighboring village of Taybeh, told the news outlet. According to Mustafa, on a near daily basis since the October 7 surprise assault on Israel, armed settlers have paraded around the tiny Bedouin community of Wadi al-Siq, threatening Palestinians with violence if they did not leave.
"Get out of here; go to Jordan," Mustafa said the settlers yelled in Arabic during a recent incident before they wrecked tents and one stole Mustafa's car, according to the report. When he tried to report the incident to Israeli police, Mustafa said an officer hung up the phone. According to a Tuesday assessment from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank has surged from an "already high average" of three incidents per day so far in 2023 to a current average of seven per day since the October 7 attacks on Israel.
"In this period, OCHA has recorded 171 settler attacks against Palestinians, resulting in Palestinian casualties (26 incidents), damage to Palestinian properties (115 incidents), or both (30 incidents)," the UN office said. Since October 7, more than 120 Palestinians, including more than 30 children, have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers, the UN office said in a Monday update. Additionally, nearly 1,000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced from their homes in the West Bank amid "intensified settler violence" and increased movement restrictions since the outbreak of the war, according to the UN office. Last week, US President Joe Biden condemned the violence, saying he was "alarmed about extremist settlers attacking Palestinians in the West Bank," and described the issue as "pouring gasoline on fire." "They're attacking Palestinians in places that they're entitled to be, and it has to stop," Biden said. "They have to be held accountable. And it has to stop now."

Dozens of severely wounded, and dual nationals, allowed to flee Gaza as war rages on
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP)/November 1, 2023
Hundreds of dual passport holders and dozens of seriously injured Palestinians were allowed to leave Gaza on Wednesday after more than three weeks under siege, while Israeli airstrikes destroyed apartments in a densely populated area for the second straight day. The group were the first people to leave Gaza -- other than four hostages released by Hamas and another rescued by Israeli forces -- even as bombings have driven hundreds of thousands from their homes, and food, water and fuel run low. It remained unclear whether more people would be allowed to leave Gaza in coming days. Al-Jazeera television, one of the few media outlets still reporting from northern Gaza, aired footage of leveled apartments in the densely populated Jabaliya refugee camp near Gaza City, and of several wounded people, including children, being brought to a nearby hospital. The Hamas-run government said airstrikes killed and wounded many people, but the exact toll was not yet known. The Al-Jazeera footage showed nearly identical scenes as the day before; dozens of men dug through the gray rubble of demolished multistory buildings in search of survivors. The toll from Tuesday's strikes was also unknown, though the director of a nearby hospital said hundreds were killed or wounded. Israel said those strikes killed dozens of militants, including a senior Hamas commander who was involved in the militants' bloody Oct. 7 rampage that ignited the war, and destroyed militant tunnels beneath the buildings. In a sign of increasing alarm over the war among Arab countries, Jordan on Wednesday recalled its ambassador from Israel and told Israel's ambassador to remain out of the country. Jordan, a key U.S. ally, signed a peace deal with Israel in 1994, the second Arab country after Egypt to do so. Jordan’s Deputy Prime Minister, Ayman al-Safadi, said the return of the ambassadors is linked to Israel “stopping its war on Gaza … and the humanitarian catastrophe it is causing.” He warned of the potential of the conflict to spread, threatening “the security of the entire region.”
ISRAELI ARMY ADVANCES DEEPER INTO GAZA
Israeli ground forces pushed to the outskirts of Gaza City, days after launching a new phase of the war that Israel's leaders say will be long and difficult. Internet and phone service was cut for several hours Wednesday, a replay of the temporary communications blackout when Israeli ground troops first advanced in large numbers into Gaza over the weekend. Over half of Gaza's 2.3 million people have fled their homes, and supplies of food, medicine, water and fuel are running low. A territory-wide blackout has left hospitals reliant on generators that could soon be forced to shut down.
The strikes in Jabaliya underline the anticipated surge in casualties on both sides as Israeli troops advance toward the outskirts of Gaza City and its dense residential neighborhoods. Israeli officials say Hamas’ military infrastructure, including hundreds of kilometers (miles) of underground tunnels, is concentrated in the city, which was home to some 650,000 people before the war.
BORDER OPENS TO ALLOW SOME PEOPLE OUT
Six buses carrying 335 foreign passport holders left Gaza through the Rafah crossing into Egypt as of mid-afternoon Wednesday, according to Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority. The authority said the plan was for more than 400 foreign passport holders to leave for Egypt. Egypt has said it will not accept an influx of Palestinian refugees because of fears Israel will not allow them to return to Gaza after the war. Dozens of people could be seen entering the Rafah crossing — the only one currently operating — and ambulances carrying wounded Palestinians exited on the Egyptian side. Egypt had earlier said that more than 80 Palestinians — out of many thousands wounded in the war — would also be brought in for treatment. But Dr. Mohamed Zaqout, a Health Ministry official in Gaza, told The Associated Press that 10 of the patients died before they could be evacuated to Egypt. The criteria for medical evacuation were not immediately clear.
LACK OF POWER, COMMUNICATIONS CAUSES HARM
Those who remain behind are contending with multiple crises, made worse Wednesday by the communications blackout. The Palestinian telecoms company Paltel said internet and mobile phone services were gradually being restored in Gaza following a “complete disruption" that lasted several hours. The International Committee of the Red Cross said such blackouts make it harder for civilians to seek safety. “Even the potentially life-saving act of calling an ambulance becomes impossible,” said Jessica Moussan, an ICRC spokesperson. The Palestinian Health Ministry, meanwhile, said that the Turkish-Palestinian Hospital, Gaza’s only facility offering specialized treatment for cancer patients, was forced to shut down because of lack of fuel, leaving 70 cancer patients in a critical situation.
DEATH TOLL KEEPS RISING
More than 8,700 Palestinians have been killed in the war, mostly women and minors, and more than 22,000 people have been wounded, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Wednesday, without providing a breakdown between civilians and fighters. The figure is without precedent in decades of Israeli-Palestinian violence.Over 1,400 people have died on the Israeli side, mainly civilians killed during Hamas’ initial attack, also an unprecedented figure. Palestinian militants also abducted around 240 people during their incursion and have continued firing rockets into Israel. Fifteen Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the start of the ground operation. Israel has been vague about its operations in Gaza, but residents and spokesmen for militant groups say troops appear to be trying to take control of the two main north-south roads. An estimated 800,000 Palestinians have fled south from Gaza City and other northern areas following Israeli orders to evacuate, but hundreds of thousands remain in the north.Israel has allowed international aid groups to send more than 200 trucks carrying food and medicine to enter from Egypt over the past 10 days, but aid workers say it's not nearly enough.
AFTER WAR IN GAZA, THEN WHAT?
Israel has vowed to crush Hamas’ ability to govern Gaza or threaten it, while also saying it does not plan to reoccupy the territory, from which it withdrew soldiers and settlers in 2005. But it has said little about who would govern Gaza afterwards. In congressional testimony on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested that “at some point, what would make the most sense is for an effective and revitalized Palestinian Authority to have governance and ultimately security responsibility for Gaza."Hamas drove the authority's forces out of Gaza in a week of heavy fighting in 2007, leaving it with limited control over parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Palestinian support for the President Mahmoud Abbas has plunged since then, with many Palestinians dismissing the PA as little more than Israel's police force because it helps suppress Hamas and other militant groups.
In other developments:
— In the West Bank, Israeli forces raided the Jenin refugee camp Wednesday morning, killing three Palestinians, local health officials said. The Israeli military said it carried out a drone strike in the camp, hitting several militants. Since the war began, 130 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, either by Israeli forces or by Jewish settlers.
— In northern Israel, mortars and anti-tank rockets were fired from Lebanon toward several Israeli communities, causing no injuries and prompting Israeli strikes on the launch sites, the military said. Hezbollah and Palestinian militants in Lebanon have exchanged fire with Israeli forces on a daily basis over the border.

Iran warns of 'harsh consequences' if Gaza attacks continue
DUBAI (Reuters)/Wed, November 1, 2023
Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian warned on Wednesday of "harsh consequences" if attacks continue on the Gaza Strip, the latest in a series of warnings from the country, which backs Hamas in Gaza and militias elsewhere in the region. "If an immediate ceasefire doesn't take place in Gaza Strip and the rapid attacks by U.S. and Zionist Regime continue then the consequences would be harsh," he said in Ankara. The United States and Israel have struck Iranian-backed militias in the wider region in response to what they said were unprovoked attacks over the past few weeks that have fuelled fears the Gaza conflict could ignite a wider war. Speaking during a news conference with his Turkish counterpart, Amirabdollahian gave no details of Iran's plans. The country says it supports Hamas but did not play any role in the militants' attack on Israel last month. Both it and Turkey have condemned Israel's subsequent bombardment of Gaza. Amirabdollahian added that an imminent trip to Turkey by Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi is on the agenda.
(Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Philippa Fletcher)

Iran urges Islamic governments to stop oil and food exports to Israel
The Telegraph/November 1, 2023
Iran’s supreme leader has called on Islamic governments to cease oil and food exports to Israel, demanding an end to its bombardment of the Gaza Strip, state media reported.
“The bombings on Gaza must stop immediately ... the path of oil and food exports to the Zionist regime should be stopped,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was quoted as telling a group of students in Tehran. “Islamic governments must insist on quickly ending the crimes.” Israel has vowed to wipe out Hamas, the Iran-backed terror group that rules the Gaza Strip, in retaliation for the Oct 7 attack that killed 1,400 people and captured hundreds of hostages. Israel has launched an unprecedented bombardment of Gaza and imposed a siege of the territory. The Hamas-run health ministry says more than 8,000 people have been killed in retaliatory strikes. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said ‘Islamic governments must insist on quickly ending the crimes’ - Office of the Iranian supreme leader/Shutterstock
Iran’s clerical rulers have warned Israel of an escalation unless it halts its military response, with authorities indicating that Tehran-backed proxies in the Middle East were ready to act. Backing the Palestinian cause has been a political pillar of the Islamic Republic since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and a way in which its Shia Muslim theocracy has fashioned itself as a leader in the Muslim world. Khamenei also accused the United States of complicity in Israel’s “recent crimes against Palestinians”.“The Islamic world should not forget that in the crucial issue of Gaza, those standing against the oppressed Palestinian nation were the United States, France and Britain,” Khamenei said to chants of “Death to Israel” and “Death to America”. Israel, which Tehran refuses to recognise, has long accused Iran’s clerical rulers of stoking violence by supplying arms to Hamas. Tehran says it only gives moral and financial support to the group. “One of the shameless acts of the West is accusing Palestinian fighters of terrorism,” Khamenei said. The White House has accused Iran of “actively facilitating” attacks on US forces in the Middle East. On Friday, Washington announced a new round of sanctions targeting Hamas’s funding networks and sources of support in Iran.

Israel's missile ships are joining US combat power in the Red Sea as more Iran-backed militants fire weapons its way
Jake Epstein/Business Insider/November 1, 2023
Israel said it deployed missile ships to the Red Sea, where they'll join US Navy vessels in the area. The force posture change comes after Houthi rebels in Yemen fired missiles and drones at Israel. Iran-backed militant groups have increased attacks on Israel and US troops in the Middle East. After a series of attacks from Iran-backed militants, Israel has deployed several ships capable of launching missiles to the Red Sea, where they will join US Navy vessels already there. "In accordance with the situational assessment and as part of defensive efforts in the area, yesterday, Israeli Navy missile boats arrived in the area of the Red Sea," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Wednesday. It was not immediately clear how many ships were dispatched to the area. The US currently has several ships in the Red Sea — including guided-missile destroyers, an amphibious assault ship, and a dock landing ship — that were sent there in October to offer support to Israel and prevent its war with Hamas from widening into a regional conflict. The Israeli force posture change comes after Yemen's Houthi militants, a group that like Hamas is backed by Iran, claimed responsibility for firing long-range missiles and drones at Israel on Tuesday. The IDF said "all aerial threats were intercepted outside of Israeli territory," with some of them downed by Israeli fighter jets around the Red Sea to the south. Early on Wednesday morning, another threat was reportedly intercepted near Israel's southern coastal city of Eilat.
Israel also said on Tuesday that it used the Arrow air-defense system to intercept at least one surface-to-surface missile for the first time since the was with Hamas started in early October. The Arrow systems make up the top layer of Israel's sophisticated air-defense network and are designed to engage threats like short- and medium-range ballistic missiles in the upper atmosphere.
"IAF detection systems tracked the trajectory of the missile, which was successfully intercepted by the 'Arrow' Aerial Defense System at the optimal operational moment and location," the IDF said in a statement. The use of the Arrow system for the intercept suggests the Houthis fired a ballistic missile. This would be an escalation over the previous attack that the militant group carried out last month, when it fired several land-attack cruise missiles and drones that were shot down by the USS Carney, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer and one of the US naval assets in the Red Sea.
Although it's unclear exactly what missile was intercepted by the Arrow system, a Pentagon spokesperson confirmed the Houthi attack and that the militants do have projectiles that are capable of reaching Israel.
"This is something that we will continue to monitor. As we've said before, we want to prevent a broader regional conflict," Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters on Tuesday. "We will continue to stay in close contact with our partners in the region to make sure that we continue to do that."
The Houthis, which have fought a civil war against Yemen's internationally recognized and Saudi-backed government, are one of several proxy groups across the Middle East that are supported by Iran and opposed to Israel. While the Houthis have not yet managed to actually strike Israel with their missiles and drones, another Tehran-backed group — Lebanon's Hezbollah — has regularly exchanged fire with the IDF since the war with Hamas started. Meanwhile, since October 17, other Iran-backed groups in Iraq and Syria have collectively launched over two dozen attacks on US forces based in those two countries. Last week, the Pentagon said its forces conducted "self-defense strikes" on facilities in Syria that are used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and associated groups in retaliation for the ongoing strikes. "These Iranian-backed attacks against US forces are unacceptable and must stop," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement at the time. "Iran wants to hide its hand and deny its role in these attacks against our forces. We will not let them. If attacks by Iran's proxies against U.S. forces continue, we will not hesitate to take further necessary measures to protect our people."

Blinken says US, others exploring options for future of Gaza after Hamas
WASHINGTON (Reuters)/November 1, 2023
The United States and other countries are looking at "a variety of possible permutations" for the future of the Gaza Strip if Hamas militants are removed from control, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday.
Blinken told a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing the status quo of Palestinian Islamist group Hamas being in charge of the densely populated enclave could not continue, but Israel did not want to run Gaza either. Between those two positions were "a variety of possible permutations that we're looking at very closely now, as are other countries," Blinken said. What would make most sense at some point, Blinken said, was an "effective and revitalized Palestinian Authority" to have governance over Gaza, but it was a question whether that can be achieved. "And if you can't, then there are other temporary arrangements that may involve a number of other countries in the region. It may involve international agencies that would help provide for both security and governance," Blinken said. In retaliation to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that killed more than 1,400 people in Israel, the worst assault on Jews since the Holocaust, Israel has vowed to wipe out Hamas in a relentless onslaught in the Gaza Strip. However it does not appear to have an obvious endgame in sight. On Tuesday, Palestinian health officials said at least 50 Palestinians were killed when Israeli air strikes hit a densely populated refugee camp in north Gaza.
U.N. and other aid officials said civilians in the besieged Palestinian enclave were engulfed by a public health catastrophe, with hospitals struggling to treat casualties as electricity supplies petered out. Washington has been speaking with Israel, as well as other countries in the region, on how to govern the Palestinian enclave if Israel triumphed on the battlefield, but a clear plan was yet to emerge. Among the options that are being explored by the United States and Israel was the possibility of a multinational force that may involve U.S. troops, or Gaza be placed under United Nations oversight temporarily, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. In response to the report, the White House said sending U.S. troops to Gaza as part of a peacekeeping force is not something being considered or under discussion. Some of U.S. President Joe Biden's aides are concerned that while Israel may craft an effective plan to inflict lasting damage to Hamas, it has yet to formulate an exit strategy. "We have had very preliminary talks about what the future of Gaza might look like," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a briefing. "I expect that it will be the subject of a good bit of diplomatic engagement moving forward," he added.

Turkey, Iran FMs warn over Israel's expansion of Gaza war, disagree on oil boycott
Ezgi Akin//Al Monitor/November 1, 2023
ANKARA — The top diplomats of Turkey and Iran on Wednesday aired a joint warning against the expansion of the Israel-Hamas war, but the duo appeared to differ on oil exports to Israel. “Now, as a region, we share concerns over the spread of the conflict,” said Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. He added that his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, “also conveyed that there are strong indications that other armed elements in the region may be involved in the conflict if the current conditions do not change. Now, in the face of such a reality, ceasefire and peace have become more essential than ever.”His remarks came a day after Israel intercepted a missile attack on its southern city of Eilat on Tuesday launched by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels. Fidan went on, “We call on all actors in and outside the region to promote lasting and just peace.” He also slammed Western capitals for their failure to issue a clear-cut call for a cease-fire amid growing humanitarian toll in Gaza, saying, “At this point, the West has completely lost its moral superiority.” Amir-Abdollahian repeated his country’s threats against Israel and the United States. “The region was very close to making a monumental and decisive decision if genocide and war crimes are not stopped,” he said. Iran has been providing financial, political and military support to Hamas for years, but denies involvement in the militant group's Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed over 1,400. Israel has launched numerous airstrikes and ground operations in Gaza since the attack, and on Wednesday the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said 8,796 people have been killed in Israeli strikes, including 3,648 children. The Iranian diplomat added that the United States would “be responsible if the situation gets out of control.” In addition to increasing clashes between Israeli forces and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, a major actor in the Iranian-led Shiite "resistance axis" in the region, US troops in Iraq and Syria have also come under attack by Iranian-backed militias over the past weeks. Echoing Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s call on Muslim countries to halt trade with Israel, including oil exports, Amir-Abdollahian also called for cutting diplomatic ties with the Jewish state. “We need to stop sending fuel to Israel, and we need to cut off our political and diplomatic relations,” he said in an apparent jab at Azerbaijan, the largest Muslim-majority oil exporter to Israel as well as Turkey’s closest ally in the region. Bloomberg reported last month that a tanker carrying roughly a million barrels of Azerbaijani oil from Ceyhan terminal in Turkey was en route to Israel’s port of Eilat. While Turkey and Israel backed Azerbaijan in the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh war, Iran backed Armenia. Leaving his Iranian counterpart’s call hanging in the air, Fidan stressed the need for a two-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and reiterated that his country was ready to "take responsibility and be guarantor" in a potential peace agreement between the two sides. Amir-Abdollahian visited Ankara following his meetings with Qatari leaders and the leadership of Hamas’ Qatar-based political bureau, and also met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

US deploys B-1B bombers to Turkey for 'long-planned' exercise amid Gaza war
Jared Szuba/Al Monitor/November 1, 2023
WASHINGTON — The United States deployed a pair of B-1B Lancer bombers to Turkey’s Incirlik air base on Tuesday for excercises as Israel’s war in Gaza threatens to reshape the Middle East’s geopolitical landscape. The bombers, launched from the Royal Air Force base at Fairford in the United Kingdom, are assigned to the US Air Force’s 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron. The Lancers took part in a “hot-pitting” refueling exercise while on the runway in Turkey, US European Command stated. The practice enables ground crews to refuel the bombers without pilots disabling the engines for rapid further deployment during wartime missions. EUCOM said the B-1B deployment was “long-planned” to “demonstrate the US’ readiness” and “showcase the nation’s ability to project US airpower around the globe.” The B-1Bs also trained with Turkish Joint Terminal Attack Controllers, KC-135R refueling tankers and conducted a close air support exercise with Turkish F-16s before departing. "The refueling of aircraft from Icirlik base has nothing to do with the conflicts in the region," Turkey's government said in a statement. Why it matters: The Pentagon's rare deployment of long-range B1 bombers to Incirlik comes as Washington seeks to shore up strategic ties with Turkey. The bombers arrived just a day before Iran’s top diplomat Hossein Amir-Abdollahian visited Ankara to discuss bilateral ties amid Israel’s war against Palestinian militants in Gaza. Turkey has called for a cease-fire in the conflict and sought to position itself as a potential mediator after the war. Ankara backs the prospect of a future two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, a model for which the Biden administration has issued renewed statements of support as the war has dragged on. The United States has vowed unconditional support in the form of military hardware for Israel’s campaign to depose Hamas while warning Iran and the broad front of militias Tehran backs across the Middle East to stay out of the conflict. Pentagon officials have grown increasingly concerned that Israel's conduct in the campaign could trigger Iran and its proxies to launch increasingly bolder attacks that could develop into a regional war. Iran’s government has repeatedly threatened a regional conflagration if Israel does not halt its mounting war effort in Gaza that has killed more than 8,000 Palestinians. "Everybody loses in a regional war, which is why we're working through partners with allies — working the phone lines [and] increasing pressure to make clear our desire to prevent regional conflict," a senior US defense official told reporters Monday on the condition of anonymity.
Allied diplomacy: Following his meeting with Abdollahian, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan reiterated that Ankara does not want the conflict to spread into a wider regional war, but slammed the United States and European Union's lack of calls for a cease-fire in Gaza. Amir-Abdollahian reiterated Iran's threats while in Ankara on Wednesday and was quoted by Turkey's state-run Daily Sabah newspaper as saying Israel and the United States "will be responsible if the situation gets out of control as long as the war is not prevented."Iran’s proxies have launched more than two dozen rocket and drone attacks on US military positions in Iraq and Syria since Oct. 17. President Joe Biden authorized US airstrikes against facilities used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and associated militias in eastern Syria on Oct. 26 in a bid to deter the attacks. Biden administration officials have said they will hold Iran accountable for attacks by its proxies, but Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin balked yesterday when pressed by US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) as to whether that meant the US military would be willing to target Iran or Iranian personnel. “If this doesn’t stop, we will respond,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. “We will respond at a time and place of our choosing.”
On Tuesday, Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched a barrage of land attack cruise missiles and drones which Israel’s military shot down. It was at least the second such attempted long-range attack targeting Israel by the Iran-armed Yemeni faction since the Gaza war began, but the first its leaders have claimed publicly.
What’s next: US leaders have repeatedly warned Iran and the militias it backs throughout the region not to exploit the Gaza war to launch their own attacks.  By far the most well-equipped and lethal proxy force armed by Iran, Lebanese Hezbollah on Israel’s northern border, has thus far largely stayed out of the conflict. Its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, is expected to give a speech on Friday. Know more: The B-1B Lancers’ deployment to Incirlik comes just a week after Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan advanced a bill approving Sweden’s bid to join the NATO alliance to parliament for ratification. Key lawmakers in the US Congress have signaled they would sign off on Ankara’s bid to overhaul its aging fleet of F-16s if Erdogan’s government clears Stockholm’s admission into the alliance and curtails its aggressive moves in the Aegean Sea and northeast Syria.
Read more on the Pentagon’s role in the Biden administration’s bid at rapprochement with Ankara, which possesses NATO’s second-largest standing army, after years of frosty ties over Erdogan’s dealings with Russia. The Turkish president repeatedly threatened to close Incirlik, a key forward base for US forces, amid a nadir in ties with Washington in 2019. Once a key part of Washington's nuclear weapons triad, B-1 bombers' ability to carry nuclear-armed payloads was disabled in 1995.

Hamas says seven hostages killed in Gaza camp bombing
Agence France Presse/November 01/2023
Hamas said Wednesday that seven hostages, including three foreign passport holders, were killed in Israel's bombing of Gaza's largest refugee camp. Dozens of bodies were seen on Tuesday at the Jabalia camp where Israel said it killed a Hamas military commander in a strike on a tunnel complex. "Seven detainees were killed in the Jabalia massacre yesterday, including three holders of foreign passports," said a statement from the Hamas military wing.

11 Israeli soldiers killed in ground battles, Gaza cut off from world again
Associated Press/November 01/2023
Palestinians reported another widespread outage of internet and phone service in Gaza early Wednesday, hours after Israeli airstrikes leveled apartment buildings near Gaza City and as ground troops battled Hamas militants inside the besieged territory.
Humanitarian aid agencies have warned that such blackouts severely disrupt their work in an already dire situation in Gaza, where more than half of the population of 2.3 million Palestinians has been displaced and basic supplies are running low more than three weeks into the war triggered by Hamas' bloody Oct. 7 rampage into southern Israel. Dozens of people could be seen entering the Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt on Wednesday. It appeared to be the first time foreign passport holders have been allowed to leave the besieged territory since the start of the war.
Hundreds have gathered at the crossing at different times in recent weeks, but have not been allowed out due to disagreements among Egypt, Israel and Hamas. No one has been allowed to leave Gaza, except for four hostages released by Hamas. Another captive was rescued by Israeli forces earlier this week.
Egyptian state-run media reported that more than 80 wounded Palestinians would be brought from Gaza to Egypt on Wednesday for medical treatment. Ambulances were seen entering the Rafah crossing from the Egyptian side, and a field hospital has been set up in the nearby town of Sheikh Zuweid.
The Palestinian crossing authority said more than 400 foreign passport holders would be permitted to leave Gaza on Wednesday. Egypt has said it will not accept an influx of Palestinian refugees because of fears Israel will not allow them to return to Gaza after the war. The Palestinian telecoms company Paltel reported a "complete disruption" of internet and mobile phone services in Gaza, marking the second time residents were largely cut off from the world. Communications also went down over the weekend, as Israeli troops pushed into Gaza in larger numbers.
Attempts to reach Gaza residents by phone were unsuccessful early Wednesday. Internet-access advocacy group NetBlocks.org confirmed that Gaza "is in the midst of a total or near-total telecoms blackout consistent with" the weekend blackout.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said the communication blackout would disrupt the work of first responders and make it harder for civilians to seek safety. "Even the potentially life-saving act of calling an ambulance becomes impossible," said Jessica Moussan, an ICRC spokesperson.
On Tuesday, a barrage of airstrikes leveled apartment buildings in a refugee camp near Gaza City. Rescuers frantically dug through the destruction to pull men, women and children from the rubble. The director of a nearby hospital where casualties were taken, Dr. Atef Al-Kahlot, said hundreds of people were wounded or killed, but the exact toll was not yet known. Israel said the strike, which targeted senior Hamas military leader Ibrahim Biari, destroyed a militant command center and an underground tunnel network, and killed dozens of other fighters. Military spokesman Jonathan Conricus said Biari had also been a key planner of the Oct. 7 attack, and that the apartment buildings collapsed only because the underground Hamas complex had been destroyed.
Neither side's account could be independently confirmed.
In recent days, Israeli troops have advanced toward the outskirts of Gaza City from the north and east. Israeli officials say Hamas' military infrastructure, including hundreds of kilometers of tunnels, is concentrated in the city, which was home to some 650,000 people before the war. Israel has been vague about its operations in Gaza, but residents and spokesmen for militant groups say troops appear to be trying to take control of the two main north-south roads. An estimated 800,000 Palestinians have fled south from Gaza City and other northern areas following Israeli orders to evacuate, but hundreds of thousands remain in the north, including many who left and later returned because Israel is also carrying out airstrikes in the south. Gaza has been sealed off since the start of the war, causing shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel. Israel has allowed international aid groups to send more than 200 trucks carrying food and medicine to enter from Egypt over the past 10 days, but aid workers say it's not nearly enough. Israel has barred fuel imports, leading to a territory-wide blackout and warnings from hospitals that their emergency generators may soon shut down, putting patients on life support at risk. Israel says it won't allow fuel to enter because Hamas would confiscate it to use for military purposes. The strike in Jabaliya underlined the anticipated surge in casualties on both sides as Israeli troops advance toward dense residential neighborhoods. The military confirmed Wednesday that eleven soldiers were killed in fighting in northern Gaza, bringing the total of military casualties since the start of the ground operation to 13. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Wednesday to continue Israel's war on Hamas despite suffering "painful losses" in ground fighting inside the Gaza Strip. “We have so many important achievements, but also painful losses. We know that every soldier of ours is an entire world,” Netanyahu said in a televised address after the army confirmed at least 11 soldiers killed in ground fighting on Tuesday.
"We will continue until victory."
Israel has vowed to crush Hamas' ability to govern Gaza or threaten it, while also saying it does not plan to reoccupy the territory, from which it withdrew soldiers and settlers in 2005. But it has said little about who would govern Gaza afterwards.
In congressional testimony on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested that "at some point, what would make the most sense is for an effective and revitalized Palestinian Authority to have governance and ultimately security responsibility for Gaza." Hamas drove PA forces out of Gaza in a week of heavy fighting in 2007, leaving it with limited authority over parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Palestinian support for the President Mahmoud Abbas has plunged since then, with many Palestinians dismissing the PA as little more than a security subcontractor for Israel, because it helps suppress Hamas and other militant groups. Returning to Gaza "on the back of an Israeli tank," as Palestinians routinely phrase it, would be a fatal blow to the PA's legitimacy. The Palestinians have not held national elections in 17 years, and the U.S. and Israel are unlikely to support any vote in which Hamas could gain power, as it did in 2006. More than 8,500 Palestinians have been killed in the war, mostly women and minors, the Gaza Health Ministry said Tuesday, without providing a breakdown between civilians and fighters. The figure is without precedent in decades of Israeli-Palestinian violence. Over 1,400 people have died on the Israeli side during Hamas' initial attack, also an unprecedented figure. Palestinian militants also abducted around 240 people during their incursion and have continued firing rockets into Israel. The war has also threatened to ignite fighting on other fronts. Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group have traded fire daily along the border, and Israel and the U.S. have struck targets in Syria linked to Iran, which supports Hamas, Hezbollah and other armed groups in the region. The military said it shot down what appeared to be a drone near the southernmost city of Eilat and intercepted a missile over the Red Sea on Tuesday, neither of which entered Israeli airspace. Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen later claimed they fired ballistic missiles and drones at Israel, saying it was their third such operation and threatening more. Israel said Wednesday that it had dispatched navy missile boats to the Red Sea.

First foreigners, Gaza wounded leave for Egypt through Rafah crossing
Agence France Presse/November 01/2023
Scores of foreign passport holders trapped in Gaza started leaving the war-torn territory on Wednesday as the Rafah crossing to Egypt opened for the first time since the October 7 Hamas attacks, AFP correspondents reported. Convoys of desperately needed aid have passed between Egypt and Gaza but no people have been allowed to cross. Some 400 foreigners and dual nationals along with some 90 sick and wounded were expected to leave on Wednesday. The first ambulances carrying wounded Palestinians entered Egypt via the Rafah crossing on Wednesday, an Egyptian official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Live footage shown on television stations close to Egyptian intelligence had shown the ambulances entering the Egyptian side of the Rafah terminal to bring back what officials said would be around 90 of the most seriously sick and wounded Palestinians for treatment in Egyptian hospitals.

Has Israel invaded Gaza? The military has been vague, even if its objectives are clear
Associated Press/November 01/2023
Over the past five days, Israeli ground troops have pushed deeper and deeper into Gaza in their war against Hamas, launched in response to a bloody Oct. 7 cross-border raid by the Islamic militant group. A growing array of units, including naval, air and ground forces, have joined the effort. The army says it has killed scores of militants and damaged Hamas' strategic tunnel network. Soldiers have taken over abandoned Palestinian homes to stake out positions. Yet even as the operation expands each day, the army refuses to call it an invasion.
Its vague choice of words is more than an issue of semantics. It appears to be a deliberate strategy aimed at keeping its enemy off balance and preserving its options as a lengthy war unfolds. Here is a closer look at what Israel is doing inside Gaza.
IS IT AN INVASION?
In the classic sense of the word, an Israeli invasion appears to be underway.
Ground forces have moved into enemy territory and operated continuously since last Friday. While the army has given few specifics about the operations, it has acknowledged that tanks, artillery, infantry, bulldozers and special forces have taken part, all backed by aerial support. The army has been vague about the location or size of its forces. But its announcements indicate that thousands of troops have joined the effort, with those numbers seeming to grow by the day. The Palestinians have used far stronger language, referring to Israel's ongoing bombing with terms like "massacre" and "genocide." The ongoing offensive has killed over 8,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, and reduced thousands of buildings to rubble.
WHAT DOES THE ARMY CALL IT?
The army refuses to say it has invaded Gaza, referring to its activities as "raids" and "operations."This reflects what is a fluid situation, as the number of troops fluctuates and, for the time being at least, Israel avoids trying to overwhelm Hamas with an overpowering number of ground troops. These tactics appear to be aimed at confusing Hamas and leaving options for further action open. Still, Israel has made clear it will maintain a presence inside Gaza for a long time to come. Over the weekend, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that operation had moved into a new phase. "We have reached a new stage in the war," Gallant said. "The ground in Gaza is shaking. The operation will continue until a new order."While visiting troops on Tuesday, Gallant added: "We are deploying forces on a large scale in the depths of Gaza."
WHAT IS THE PLAN?
Israel has set two objectives: the return of all hostages and the destruction of Hamas, a militant group armed with thousands of fighters, rockets, bombs, anti-tank missiles and significant public support. Israel's chief military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, routinely refers to a methodical plan to achieve these goals, even if he does not call it an invasion. "Our offensive operations will continue and intensify according to plan," he said Tuesday. Amir Avivi, a retired general and former deputy commander of the military's Gaza division, says the vague terminology is intentional. "They don't want the enemy to know what they are doing," he said. But Avivi, who now heads the Israel Defense and Security Forum, a group of hawkish former military commanders, said it is clear what will be needed to achieve the objectives. "There is only one way to do this. They will have to conquer the whole Gaza Strip and spend months and months and months dismantling all the capabilities," he said. "What does it matter what the army is saying?"

At least 4 killed in West Bank, Palestinians call general strike
Agence France Presse/November 01/2023
At least four Palestinians were killed during Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health officials said Wednesday, as violence there continued in tandem with the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Three people were killed during a raid in the northern city of Jenin, while another was shot dead in Tulkarem, also in the north, the Ramallah-based health ministry said. The Israeli military said the incident took place in Jenin refugee camp during a raid targeting an "operative" and militant "infrastructure" in the area. The latest incident came as Palestinians declared a general strike across the territory, with shops shuttered in Ramallah. "The most important thing we demand is to stop injustice and tyranny, to stop killing innocent people, and refrain from arbitrary revenge," 26-year-old Ramallah resident Fakhri Muhammad Shreiteh told AFP. Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and its forces regularly carry out incursions into Palestinian communities there. Violence in the West Bank has been on the rise since early last year, marked by frequent army raids, attacks by Israeli settlers and Palestinian attacks on Israeli forces and settlers. More than 120 West Bank Palestinians have been killed since the Gaza war began on October 7 after Hamas militants stormed over the border killing more than 1,400 people, according to Israeli authorities. Since then, the health ministry in Gaza says more than 8,500 people have been killed in Israel's bombardment, two-thirds of them women and children.

Israeli airstrikes hit Jabalia refugee camp for second day
Associated Press/November 01/2023
The Hamas-run government in Gaza says Israeli airstrikes have hit apartment blocks in a refugee camp near Gaza City for a second day in a row, causing many deaths and injuries. The toll from Wednesday’s strikes on Jabalia was not immediately known. Al-Jazeera television, which is still reporting from northern Gaza, aired videos of devastation and of several wounded people, including children, being brought to a nearby hospital.

Bolivia severs diplomatic ties with Israel as Chile and Colombia recall their ambassadors
Associated Press/November 01/2023
Bolivia's government severed diplomatic relations with Israel on Tuesday, accusing it of carrying out "crimes against humanity" in Gaza, and Chile and Colombia recalled their ambassadors to Israel as they criticized the Israeli military offensive against Hamas militants. Bolivian officials cited the number of Palestinian casualties in Gaza that have resulted from the latest Israel-Hamas war, but made no mention of the Hamas attack on Israel at the start of the conflict. "Bolivia decided to break diplomatic relations with the state of Israel in repudiation and condemnation of the aggressive and disproportionate Israeli military offensive taking place in the Gaza Strip," Freddy Mamani, Bolivia's deputy foreign minister, said at a news conference. Chile decided to recall its ambassador "in the face of the unacceptable violations of international humanitarian law committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip," the South American country's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Colombia's president, Gustavo Petro, also announced he was recalling his country's ambassador to Israel. "If Israel does not stop the massacre of the Palestinian people, we cannot remain there," Petro wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Bolivia, Chile and Colombia all have leftist governments. María Nela Prada, Bolivia's minister of the presidency who is acting foreign minister, accused Israel of "committing crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip against the Palestinian people."She went on to call on Israel to "cease attacks in the Gaza Strip that have already resulted in thousands of civilian casualties and the forced displacement of Palestinians." Chile also called for "an immediate end to hostilities." It condemned Israel's operations, saying they "constitute collective punishment against the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza." Like Bolivia, Chile made no mention of the Hamas attack on Israel. Bolivia also said that it "rejects the Israeli hostile treatment of international actors providing humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip," Prada said, adding that Bolivia will send aid to the Gaza Strip, although she did not detail what that could entail. Neither Prada nor Mamani mentioned the Hamas attack on Israel, continuing with a pattern for the Bolivian government that never condemned the Oct. 7 assault in which more than 1,400 people were killed in Israel. On Oct. 7, Bolivia's Foreign Ministry said only that it had "deep concern over the violent events that occurred in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Palestine." On Oct. 18, the Foreign Ministry condemned Israeli attacks and emphasized "our solidarity and unwavering support for the Palestinian people." The Gaza Health Ministry says more than 8,500 Palestinians have been killed in the war. The government of this Andean nation of 12 million, now led by leftist President Luis Arce, has long been critical of Israel, and it previously severed diplomatic ties in 2009 over fighting involving Gaza. Diplomatic relations were reestablished in 2020. Arce expressed his solidarity with the Palestinian people following a Monday meeting with Palestinian Ambassador to Bolivia Mahmoud Elalwani. "We cannot remain silent and continue to allow the suffering of the Palestinian people, especially of the children, who have the right to live in peace. We condemn the war crimes being committed in Gaza," Arce wrote on social media following the meeting. Bolivia's influential former president, Evo Morales, who was once allied with Arce but has turned against him, celebrated the government's decision to break off relations, although said it did not go far enough. "Bolivia must declare the state of Israel as a terrorist state and file a complaint with the International Criminal Court," Morales wrote on social media.

White House to develop anti-Islamophobia strategy amid skepticism from Muslim Americans
Associated Press/November 01/2023
President Joe Biden's administration is preparing to announce that it will develop a national strategy to combat Islamophobia, according to people briefed on the matter, as it faces skepticism from many in the Muslim American community for its staunch support of Israel's military assault on Hamas in Gaza.
The White House announcement had originally been expected to come last week when Biden held a meeting with Muslim leaders, but was delayed, three people said. Two of them said the delay was due in part to concerns from the Muslim American community that the administration lacked credibility on the issue given its robust support for Israel's military, whose strikes against Hamas militants have also killed thousands of civilians in Gaza. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the White House plans.
The launch of the anti-Islamophobia strategy has been anticipated for months, after the administration in May released a national strategy to combat antisemitism that also made passing reference to countering hatred against Muslims. The formal strategy is expected to take many months to formalize, following a similar process as the plan to counter antisemitism involving various government agencies. Incidences of anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim hate have skyrocketed in the U.S. and abroad since the surprise Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants on Israel that killed over 1,400 and saw hundreds taken hostage, and Israel's response in Gaza, where it has pledged to use force to "destroy" Hamas. One of the most prominent attacks was the killing of 6-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume and the wounding of his mother in an attack prosecutors allege was driven by Islamophobia. "This horrific act of hate has no place in America and stands against our fundamental values: freedom from fear for how we pray, what we believe, and who we are," Biden said in the aftermath of the attack. There had been widespread agreement among the Muslim American community on the need for a national strategy to counter Islamophobia, according to a fourth person familiar with the matter, who added that the Israel-Hamas war has made the timing of the White House announcement more complicated. The person, who was also not authorized to speak publicly, said the Biden administration wants to keep the two issues separate, while some prominent Muslim American groups see them as interrelated. Biden administration officials, during a meeting with a small group of faith leaders last week, indicated that things were "in the works" for an anti-Islamophobia strategy, said Rami Nashashibi, the founder of the Inner City Muslim Action Network in Chicago and a participant in the meeting. The officials indicated that they would be meeting with additional stakeholders from the community in coming days and weeks.
Nashashibi said he believed such an effort would be "dead on arrival" with the Muslim community until the president and administration officials forcefully condemn members of the far-right government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who have openly called for the eradication of Palestinians from Gaza and until the administration more aggressively calls out hate crimes targeting Muslims and Arab Americans. He and other leaders also want the president to apologize, or at least publicly clarify, his recent comments in which he said he had "no confidence" in the Palestinian death count from Israel's retaliatory strikes, because the data comes from the Hamas-run Health Ministry. The United Nations and other international institutions and experts, as well as Palestinian authorities in the West Bank — rivals of Hamas — say the Gaza ministry has long made a good-faith effort to account for the dead under the most difficult conditions. In previous wars, the ministry's counts have held up to U.N. scrutiny, independent investigations and even Israel's tallies. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday the Biden administration is "not taking the Ministry of Health at face value" but acknowledged that have been "many thousands of civilian deaths in Gaza" in the conflict. Nashashibi also said that the White House strategy could land flat at a moment when many in the community feel that advocacy for Palestinian self-determination is being unfairly lumped in with those espousing antisemitism and backing of extremists.
"That conflating is in great part contributing to an atmosphere where we could see even more deadly results and more targeting," he said. Nashashibi added, "The White House does not have the credibility to roll out an Islamophobia strategy at this moment without publicly addressing the points we explicitly raised with the president during our meeting."

China keeps up military pressure on Taiwan, sending 43 planes and 7 ships
Associated Press/November 01/2023
Taiwan said Wednesday that China sent 43 military aircraft and seven ships near the self-ruled island, the latest sign that Beijing plans no let-up in its campaign of harassment, threats and intimidation. Taiwan's Defense Ministry said the figure was current for the 24 hours up to 6:00 a.m. Wednesday and that 37 of the aircraft had crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait, which China no longer recognizes as an informal divider between the sides. It said Taiwan had monitored the situation, scrambled jet fighters, dispatched ships and activated land-based missile systems, all standard responses to Chinese military activities, which include crossing into Taiwan's air defense identification zone but not into its actual airspace. Such Chinese maneuvers have become frequent and aggressive since then- U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022. China suspended military communication with the U.S. to show its displeasure over her trip to Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of its territory to be brought under under its control by force if necessary. China's military maneuvers are seen as intended to break down Taiwanese morale, exhausting its pilots and other personnel and wearing down its equipment. Despite that, the present status of de-facto independence remains widely popular among the island's voters and the defense budget has been increased to purchase new equipment from the U.S., its chief ally, and to produce some items locally, including submarines. At an international defense forum in Beijing on Monday, China's second-ranking military official Gen. Zhang Youxia reiterated threats by the Chinese government to retaliate against moves toward establishing Taiwan's formal independence, saying that "no matter who tries to split Taiwan from China in any form, China and the Chinese military will never allow that to happen."Zhang, who is also vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, which oversees the world's largest standing military, opened the three-day event in the absence of former Defense Minister Gen. Li Shangfu, who would have normally hosted the event. Li was removed from his position last week after a two-month absence from public view. The government has not provided any reason for his removal. The Beijing event, attended by military representatives from dozens of countries, was an occasion for China to project regional leadership and boost military cooperation. That comes despite frictions with the U.S., with Japan over an uninhabited East China Sea island group, with its Southeast Asian neighbors over China's claim to virtually the entire South China and with India along their disputed border. But in a sign that Washington and Beijing were considering a possible resumption of military dialogue, the U.S. was represented at the forum by a delegation led by Cynthia Carras, the Defense Department's leading official on China. As of Wednesday, it appeared she had departed without holding any formal meetings with Chinese officials or speaking to the media.

Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on November 01-02/2023
After Years of Vowing to Destroy Israel, Iran Faces a Dilemma
Farnaz Fassihi/The New York Times/November 01/2023
For more than four decades, Iran’s rulers have pledged to destroy Israel. The supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, rarely appears in public without wearing a black-and-white checkered Palestinian kaffiyeh. Iranian military commanders gloat over training and arming groups across the region that are enemies of Israel, including Hezbollah and Hamas. And when Hamas conducted the Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel that killed 1,400 people, Iranian officials praised it as a momentous achievement, shattering the Jewish state’s sense of security.
Now Iran faces a dilemma, weighing how it and its proxy militias — known as the axis of resistance — should respond to Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip and the killing of thousands of Palestinians, and whether to bolster its revolutionary credentials at the risk of igniting a broader regional war.
“There is no need for Iran to directly get involved in the war and attack Israel itself because it has the resistance axis militia who follow Iran’s policies and strategies and act on its behalf,” said Nasser Imani, an analyst close to the government, in a telephone interview from Tehran, Iran. “Right now Iran is in control mode — it is telling all of them, including Hezbollah, to keep things boiling but have restraint.”
For the time being, Iranian officials are publicly signaling they do not want a full-scale war. “I want to reiterate that we are not pursuing the spreading of this war,” Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, said in a recent interview at Iran’s mission to the United Nations. He was in New York to attend U.N. meetings related to the war. But, he added, “The region is at a boiling point and any moment it may explode and this may be unavoidable. If this happens, all sides will lose control.”
He warned that regional militias in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Syria could open multiple fronts against Israel, with a high potential “that the result will be that things will not go the way that Israel’s regime wants.” He did not elaborate on what would prompt the groups, which he said act independently.
Still, Iran does not want regional war, which carries risks for the nation and its religious rulers, according to three Iranians connected to the government who are familiar with internal deliberations and insisted on anonymity to discuss sensitive security matters. The military capabilities of its allies could be significantly diminished by a protracted battle with Israel, and even more so if the U.S. military enters the fray.
The Islamic Republic views the militias as its extended arms of influence, able to strike while affording Iran a measure of deniability. They give Iran leverage in international negotiations and a means of tilting the balance of power in the Middle East away from archenemies such as Israel and the United States, and rivals like Saudi Arabia.
But if Iran does nothing, its fiery leaders risk losing credibility among constituents and allies. Some Iranian hard-line conservatives have questioned why Iran’s actions are not matching its rhetoric to “free Al-Quds,” or Jerusalem, from Israel’s rule. Many supporters of Iran’s government have even symbolically signed up as volunteers to be deployed to Gaza and fight Israel.
“In the first scenario Iran risks losing an arm; in the second scenario, Iran risks losing face,” said Ali Vaez, the Iran director of the International Crisis Group, a conflict prevention research and advocacy group. “Iran might try to square this circle by allowing its allies to escalate their attacks against Israel and the U.S. in a calibrated manner."
Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi militia in Yemen have launched recent attacks on Israel, but they have been limited in scope. The goal, for now, is not all-out war but to keep Israel’s military under pressure, possibly limiting its ability to wage war against Hamas, the people familiar with Iran’s strategy said.
Hezbollah, one of Iran’s closest and most powerful allies, and Israel have traded artillery and small-arms fire many times since Oct. 7, but they have kept their attacks to the border areas. Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader, is expected to deliver his first public remarks since the war began Friday, which observers anticipate will set the tone for what the group does next. “We have said from the beginning that we are present in this war,” Hashem Safieddine, head of Hezbollah’s executive council, said to Iranian media Tuesday. Hezbollah will not discuss its plans, he added, because “we will act when necessary, we don’t talk.”The Houthis have signaled their involvement, too, launching missiles and drones — including a barrage Tuesday — that U.S. and Israeli forces have shot down. “There is total coordination at every level among all the heads of the resistance axis,” Houthi spokesperson Mohammed al-Bukhaiti told Iranian media Tuesday.
Mehdi Mohammadi, an adviser to Gen. Mohammad Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament and a commander of the Revolutionary Guard, said in a Telegram post that regional militants were deliberately being calculated. “In practice, other fronts have already been opened but the scope of the attacks is being controlled,” Mohammadi said.
Iranian-backed militant groups in Iraq and Syria have ratcheted up attacks on U.S. military bases in both countries after a period of quiet. Iran wants to apply pressure on the Biden administration to rein in Israel, or at least appear to make the United States pay a price for its staunch support of Israel. In retaliation, U.S. forces bombed facilities in Syria last Thursday that the Pentagon said were outposts of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. Amirabdollahian called the U.S. strikes “for show.”
Imani, the analyst in Tehran, said there was no dispute that Iran had helped fund, train and arm the militants, and had supplied technological know-how to build their own arsenal of drones and rockets — especially in Gaza and Yemen, where blockades make it all but impossible to deliver heavy weaponry.
The Iranians familiar with government deliberations say Iran and Hezbollah are watching whether Hamas faces a serious existential threat from Israel, which would prompt them to accelerate attacks on Israel. Senior commanders of Iran’s Quds Force and Hezbollah think if Israel succeeds in wiping out Hamas, it will then come for them, the Iranians said. The Quds Force commander Gen. Esmail Ghaani has been in Beirut for most of the past three weeks, the Iranians said.
The deputy commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, Brig. Gen. Ali Fadavi, said in a speech at a ceremony supporting Gaza on Oct. 22 that “if necessary, Iran will fire missiles toward Haifa,” according to Iranian media. He said Iran had helped transform Palestinian groups’ military capabilities from “rocks and arrows” to “drones and missiles.”
The risk of the war spreading has alarmed the United States and Israel. The Biden administration publicly warned Iran and its proxies not to widen the conflict, signaling that it does not seek war with Iran and urging Iran to restrain its allies.
Amirabdollahian confirmed that Iran and the United States were exchanging messages. “We told the Americans clearly that when you stand full force with the Zionist regime during a war, America is not in a position to tell others to have restraint,” he said.
But for all sides, the risk remains high of miscalculations that could make the conflict spiral out of control.
“Besides what Tehran can control, there is also the perilous possibility that some of its regional partners with looser ties, or a track record of ignoring Iranian advice, engage in uncoordinated action that puts Tehran in face of a fait accompli,” Vaez said. “For nearly four decades, Iran’s forward defense policy has protected its own soil against foreign attacks. The conflict in Gaza is testing the limits of that policy in an unprecedented fashion.”
c.2023 The New York Times Company

Islamism is a failed ideology. Muslims must embrace the West ...Those who came here to escape tyranny are now cheering the tyrants they left behind
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/The Telegraph/November 01/2023
Growing up in Iraq and Lebanon, we looked at the West with awe. The West was ahead of the Arabs world on many levels, including government, urban planning, social welfare, science, literature, technology and military strength. In Lebanon, almost every child at school was taught three languages, learning English and French, in addition to our native Arabic. Parents talked to their children in these languages.
We generally associated success and wealth with speaking Western languages. Those who spoke fluent English or French, the upper and middle classes, tried to mimic native American, British, or French accents. The better your Western language and accent, the higher social status you signalled.
During my years in the old homeland, the Arabs were in consensus over the need to emulate the West, but there was an obstacle: The West was Christian and we were Muslim. The Arabs therefore reasoned that they would copy everything from the West except for social norms. We Muslims did not eat pork or drink alcohol. Inter-gender relations were strictly limited and monitored. The collective tribal opinion always trumped independent personal thinking.
Our Westernized life copied consumerism but left out values such as liberty, freedom, and equality. The result was a society that was Western on the outside but backward and tribal on the inside. Our societies produced states that were in our image: Sovereign on the outside but failing on the inside.
State failure gave rise to nativist Islamism. Islam the religion we already practised. The new brand was Islamism, in which Islam decided – not only our spiritual and social lives – but all other aspects of our lives, including government, politics, economics and military. In Islamism, the West stopped being a model worth emulating and became a punching bag on which Islamist movements blamed our failure.
Islamism argued that our countries were not backward because we didn’t emulate the West enough, but because we imitated the West too much. We had abandoned our orthodox Islamic creed, under pressure from the imperial West, whose plan was to make us abandon our religion and spread its own – materialism and Christianity. To fix our countries and beat the West, Islamism said that we had to revive Islam the exact same way it was practiced in the seventh century, when our civilisation had enjoyed a golden age that endured until Napoleon invaded Egypt in 1798.
Eradicating Western influences and replacing them with “authentic” nativist Islamism was exactly where our Middle Eastern backwardness met Western academic fantasies. Leading the Left, Western academia called for breaking the establishment everywhere and replacing it with native, even if rudimentary, social and political systems.
The Left saw Islamism as authentic and unadulterated by White European colonialism. To push for progress, the Middle East had to decolonized and Islamism restored. Western Progressives were, in effect, promoting conservative ideologies, an irony that most of them seem to have missed.
A Muslim-born anti-traditionalist Arab, like me, is considered Left and Progressive in any Muslim country. Breaking with Islamic tradition and calling for the endorsement of Enlightenment ideas, such as liberty and equality, mean that I am pushing for change. But in America, it is people like Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who – with her hijab – celebrates a conservative Islamic code and is labeled Progressive. For disagreeing with her hijab, Progressives in the West call me Conservative.
This brings us to Arab and Muslim immigrants in the West. While growing up in the Middle East, we looked up to these immigrants, saw them successful and Westernized. Today, under the influence of Islamism, they appear to have become ashamed of their Westernisation, especially when they visit home. They often try to prove that they have not forgotten their roots, their customs, or social traditions, which include political beliefs.
This is why Arab and Muslim immigrants in the West now endorse the most radical and conservative of Islamist ideologies. The same Arab and Muslim immigrants, who left their homeland to flee tyranny and failing government, are now cheering for the same tyrants that they left behind seeking better lives.
Given praise they receive from Progressives, standing against democracy becomes a double prize for many Arabs and Muslims in the West: Loved in the old homeland, and acting like the poster children for authenticity and diversity in their new countries. What Arab or Muslim would not take such a win-win, support-Hamas, deal?
**Hussain Abdul-Hussain is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). He tweets at @hahussain

How Biden Should Handle Missiles from Yemen
Jonathan Schanzer/Commentary/November 01/2023
The Israeli Air Force this morning announced that it had intercepted a surface-to-surface missile in the Red Sea. The sounds of explosions were reported in Israel’s southernmost town of Eilat. The Israelis soon confirmed an interception by Israel’s Arrow, which marks the first time the long-range missile-defense system (developed jointly with the United States) has been activated during this war. The Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen claimed responsibility.
According to a report on Israel’s Channel 11, this was the third attempt to strike Israel from the landmass of Yemen. The Islamic Republic in Iran continues to widen its proxy war against Israel. The regime has already activated its proxies in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq. Indeed, the regime is still trying to orchestrate a regional war, while Israel and the United States endeavor to contain the fight to Israel’s ground operations in the Gaza Strip—at least for now.
The timing of the Houthi attack out of Yemen adds a touch of diplomatic drama to the current visit by a senior Saudi delegation to Washington. The Saudi delegation, which includes Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s brother, Khaled bin Salman, flew in for sensitive consultations with the White House about the war in Gaza. The Saudis have been somewhat careful about their messaging during this conflict thus far. They had reportedly been on the cusp of a U.S.-brokered normalization agreement with Israel when the war broke out (indeed, some believe Iran launched this war when it did to disrupt the agreement).
The Biden White House has an opportunity here. The administration infuriated the Saudis back in 2021 when it de-listed the Houthis from the sanctions list against terrorist groups, reversing a designation by the Trump administration made at the eleventh hour as Trump was leaving office. The Biden administration’s reversal was completely disconnected from the question of whether the Houthis met the criteria for a terror designation. As I wrote in the Wall Street Journal last year with my FDD colleague Matthew Zweig, the Houthis met and meet this criteria in spades. It is an Iran-funded group that is armed and trained by the regime, even though it didn’t get assistance from the Islamic Republic at its inception. The group has launched more than 1,000 attacks against Saudi Arabia in recent years, and the Saudis have expressed frustration that the Biden White House has been seemingly indifferent to this.
The decision to de-list was a political one. It was driven by a desire to treat Saudi Arabia like a “pariah” in the early days of the Biden administration. It was further fueled by a desire to appease the regime in Iran in an attempt to return to nuclear diplomacy, and perhaps also to keep the Houthis engaged in a delicate U.S.-led political process to reach an enduring quiet in the war-torn country, led by special envoy Tim Lenderking.
The re-listing of the Houthis, ideally done publicly alongside Saudi officials, would send an unequivocal message to the Iranians and the wider Middle East. The message: the U.S.-Saudi relationship is back on track, and a revitalized U.S.-led regional alliance—one that includes both Israel and the Saudis—is taking shape. Such a move might be exactly what is needed to get those normalization discussions back on track between Riyadh and Jerusalem, whenever this war ends.
Critics of such a move might warn that it would needlessly provoke the Houthis. My response: They appear to be needlessly provoked already by the regime. Critics might also argue that re-listing the Houthis would prevent aid from entering Yemen. This is simply not true. Look at how much aid is pouring into Gaza, where a U.S. sanctioned terrorist group has (until now, anyway) maintained control.
A separate but interesting development to track is whether Hamas or Hezbollah operatives were involved in the recent launches out of Yemen. Saudi and Israeli officials in recent years have noted in closed-door meetings that they have observed foreign fighters from the Levant on the ground in Yemen. The Iranian regime was reportedly unsuccessful until now in getting their Yemeni clients to join the regime-engineered “ring of fire” strategy against Israel. But with more urgent efforts by the regime to spark a wider regional war against Israel, we could be watching a joint operation of Houthis, along with Hamas and/or Hezbollah operatives.
The Israelis are not likely to respond directly to this. Their goal is to focus on the dismantling of Hamas before turning their sights on other foes. But don’t discount Israeli actions in Yemen at a later date. And don’t discount Saudi actions sooner than that, particularly if the White House begins to signal a long-overdue shift in policy.
*Jonathan Schanzer is senior vice president for research at Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, D.C. Follow him on X @JSchanzer.

France and the European Union Are No Friends of Israel
Alain Destexhe/Gatestone Institute/November 01, 2023
At the recent European Summit in Brussels, the heads of state and government did not make the call for "humanitarian pauses" conditional on the release of the Israeli and foreign hostages held in Gaza by Hamas.
Thirty-five French citizens were murdered by Hamas on October 7, and nine others are being held hostage (among approximately 230 hostages), but France wants to provide aid to those who are holding them?
Unsurprisingly, according to reports, Hamas has been hoarding the food and medicine intended for the suffering people of Gaza... Cement for "rebuilding Gaza" has instead been diverted to building attack tunnels, and water pipes from the European Union are made into rockets. Hamas has also reportedly hoarded food, water, medicine and fuel, with the fuel being used in their rockets.
Central, however are the hostages. Their release will not be facilitated by a ceasefire or humanitarian corridors; quite the contrary. France and the European Union should have made their aid to Gaza conditional on the hostages' release, and stated that no "humanitarian" aid will be provided until Hamas releases them. Hamas has created this situation, not Israel.
Thirty-five French citizens were murdered by Hamas on October 7, and nine others are being held hostage (among approximately 230 hostages), but France wants to provide aid to those who are holding them? Pictured: Baby strollers with pictures of child hostages held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, at Champ de Mars in Paris, France on October 26, 2023. (Photo by Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images)
Last week, with 120 votes in favor, 15 against and 45 abstentions, the United Nations General Assembly passed a shameful resolution calling for a ceasefire and humanitarian corridors in Gaza -- without condemning the crimes of Hamas. While four European countries voted against and fifteen abstained (including Germany), France approved a UN General Assembly resolution that makes not even mention of Hamas's crimes. At the recent European Summit in Brussels, the heads of state and government did not make the call for "humanitarian pauses" conditional on the release of the Israeli and foreign hostages held in Gaza by Hamas.
France and the European Union do not count in the Middle East, but tend to forget it. The last time European countries played an important political role in the region was in 1956, during the Suez crisis, when the French and British were humiliated and kicked out of the region. Since then, the European Economic Community (founded in 1957), and then the European Union, along with France, Great Britain and Germany, to maintain a semblance of balance in the region, have stuck to a declamatory policy of affirming principles such as the "two-state solution," even though it has long since become obsolete, as well as to providing "humanitarian aid" to the Palestinians, even though that means resupplying the corrupt Fatah and the terrorist Hamas. When you do not count politically, you should start by keeping quiet. Primum non nocere ("first, do no harm"), as medical students are taught.
Last week's European Summit was a chance to show clear and unambiguous support for Israel. Instead, barely three weeks after the murder, rape and torture of Jews, including babies burned alive and beheaded, the EU has begun to attack Israel, calling for "humanitarian pauses" -- a victory for Hamas, whose genocidal intent, as set out in Hamas's 1988 charter, is perfectly clear.
Israel has taken pains not to deliberately target civilians in Gaza. European countries unreservedly support Ukraine, a country less democratic than Israel, in retaking its territory, but the Jewish state will not be entitled to the same indulgence in its just fight, on behalf of the rest of us in the West, against Islamist terrorism. Arab and Muslim countries are hypocritically supportive of the Palestinians, whom they do not wish to welcome into their homes, but to whom they feel culturally or religiously aligned.
The European Union and France are afraid to choose between our civilizational ally Israel and... Islam, which is now terrifying them because of the massive presence of Muslim populations in European neighborhoods, and who need to be "appeased" by a "balanced foreign policy". Instead of issuing a weak and neutral statement at the end of last week's summit, the EU should have declared: "We unreservedly support Israel, because it is a democracy that has fallen victim to terrorism, just as we have in Paris, Brussels, Berlin, Barcelona, Nice, etc." Instead, the very next day, the Europeans were divided at the United Nations, with France, along with six other countries of the 27, voting in favor of a resolution that Israel rightly described as shameful. The UN refused to condemn Hamas because 55 countries blocked the resolution; Hamas applauded.
French President Emmanuel Macron is calling for "a truce to organize the protection of civilian populations". What does he mean by this, and how does he intend to go about it? Thirty-five French citizens were murdered by Hamas on October 7, and nine others are being held hostage (among approximately 230 hostages), but France wants to provide aid to those who are holding them? Isn't this insulting to the French people, to the families of the French dead and the hostages?
Excuse me, Macron might reply, we are talking about helping the civilian population, not Hamas. Shouldn't he explain how the food is going to be distributed to the population without benefiting Hamas? Unsurprisingly, according to reports, Hamas has been hoarding the food and medicine intended for the suffering people of Gaza. Hamas's military infrastructure and headquarters are located under schools and hospitals. How much of the fuel brought in by international aid will be used for Hamas's war to kill Israelis? Are terrorist fighters being smuggled in the trucks? The trucks themselves can be used as weapons. Cement for "rebuilding Gaza" has instead been diverted to building attack tunnels, and water pipes from the European Union are made into rockets. Hamas has also reportedly hoarded food, water, medicine and fuel, with the fuel being used in their rockets.
Central, however are the hostages. Their release will not be facilitated by a ceasefire or humanitarian corridors; quite the contrary. France and the European Union should have made their aid to Gaza conditional on the hostages' release, and stated that no "humanitarian" aid will be provided until Hamas releases them. Hamas has created this situation, not Israel.
*Alain Destexhe, Medical Doctor (MD), a Gatestone Institute distinguished senior fellow, is an Honorary Senator in Belgium, former secretary general of Médecins sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders) and former president of the International Crisis Group. Author of Rwanda and Genocide in the Twentieth Century.
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Israel’s Campaign Against Hamas in Gaza: War Aims and Operational Challenges
Michael Eisenstadt/The Washington Institute/November 01/2023
https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/israels-campaign-against-hamas-gaza-war-aims-and-operational-challenges
The goal of destroying Hamas will require a prolonged military effort, but the longer the fighting drags on, the less likely Israel will be to retain the freedom of action needed to achieve its war aims.
In response to the massive Hamas terrorist attack of October 7, Israel initiated Operation Swords of Iron, a sustained air, sea, and land campaign to destroy the group’s military capacity, end its rule in Gaza, and obtain the safe return of the 229 or more Israeli and foreign hostages taken during the attack. The air and sea campaign, now in its twenty-fifth day, has targeted, inter alia, Hamas’s Gaza-based political leadership, its military commanders, and fighters from its land, sea, and air forces, along with command centers, training facilities, rocket launch sites, the tunnel network under Gaza, and military workshops. And following a number of limited incursions, Israeli ground forces entered the northern part of the Gaza Strip in force last Friday, October 27, and are reported to be gradually expanding operations there.
Meanwhile, Israel has been fending off attacks from Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Hezbollah and other pro-Iran militias in Syria, which are seeking to tie down forces on the country’s northern border. They are also likely testing Israel’s risk and response thresholds there, perhaps with an eye toward further escalating operations on this second front. In expanding the ground war in pursuit of their war aims, Israeli policymakers and military planners will have to balance a number of considerations.
Achieving a Decisive Outcome?
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will undoubtedly inflict heavy losses on its enemy’s military formations, though Hamas may try to disperse and hide at least some of these assets in the hope of facilitating their postwar reconstitution. Hamas’s military force, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, consists largely of lightly armed fighters equipped with small arms, rocket-propelled grenades, and antitank missiles—and a massive rocket array. (Much the same can be said of Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s al-Quds Brigades.) Though there are no large armored formations to be eliminated, these fighters and rocket forces are protected by extensive prepared defenses that are woven into Gaza’s dense urban landscape and will be difficult to root out.
Moreover, Hamas’s military workshops, which now produce nearly all its arms, will need to be destroyed. This could take many months—though their reliance on low-tech, dual-use equipment, components, and systems could facilitate their reconstitution after the war. Furthermore, many arms workshops and weapons caches buried under the rubble will likely remain unknown or inaccessible without a major, prolonged Israeli effort. If not recovered by Israel, these military assets may be recovered by the remnants of Hamas or an eventual possible successor.
The relatively low-tech nature of the Hamas force, its reliance on arms workshops that employ dual-use equipment, and the retention by Hamas members of the know-how gained while building this infrastructure will greatly complicate Israel’s efforts to eliminate these capabilities on a lasting basis.
Challenges of Urban Warfare
Urban combat is the most difficult form of warfare. An Israeli ground campaign, therefore, could be prolonged and bloody, involving fighting in the streets and alleyways of Gaza as well as the subterranean tunnel complexes beneath them. Much of Hamas’s street-level defenses in parts of Gaza City have probably been damaged by airstrikes, though the rubble created may yet provide cover and concealment for its fighters. Moreover, Israeli operations may be complicated by a desire not to harm hostages when intelligence indicates they may be present. Beyond this, longstanding questions regarding the readiness of Israel’s ground forces for such a complex and challenging mission were reinforced by the IDF’s poor response on October 7 and problems outfitting mobilized reservists thereafter. However, the long wait before the start of major ground operations has provided time to refine plans, close intelligence gaps, resolve issues identified during mobilization, and conduct refresher training for troops.
Beyond Gaza City
While Hamas’s military center of gravity may be located in Gaza City, Israel will have to eventually expand ground operations to other built-up areas in the Strip—Nuseirat, Bureij, Maghazi, Deir al-Balah, Khan Yunis, and Rafah—if it wants to destroy the group. Many Hamas fighters and leaders live in these areas, and others may have fled there since the start of the conflict to shelter among the masses of the displaced and near facilities operated by the United Nations and international organizations. Such an expansion could require the further movement of internally displaced persons who previously went south at the urging of the Israeli military, creating additional humanitarian challenges. As a result, Israel is likely to come under pressure to avoid follow-on operations in these other parts of the Strip.
Humanitarian Challenges and Obligations
It is not possible to wage war against an enemy ensconced in a city without causing grievous harm to the civilians who remain. Yet Israel has an interest and obligation to do what it can to avoid harm to civilians by ensuring that its use of force is in accordance with military necessity, discriminate (focused on legitimate targets), and proportionate to the anticipated military gains. Israel needs to do so as a matter of principle, and to preserve its military and diplomatic freedom of action, even if it gets little credit for its efforts. Yet in a fight against a murderous enemy that seeks its annihilation, Israel will likely claim significant leeway in implementing these principles. Moreover, given that allies of Hamas have bragged about how Iran previously used humanitarian shipments as a cover for arms shipments to Gaza, Israel will likely continue to demand strict safeguards at the Rafah border crossing to ensure this can never happen again, even if it hinders the import of humanitarian goods to the Gaza Strip.
Israel faces a major dilemma in fighting an enemy that hides among civilians, as mass civilian casualties feed into Hamas’s strategy of inculcating in its supporters a hatred of Jews—whom its leaders, committed to violent jihad, regularly refer to as “sons of apes and pigs,” “murderers of prophets,” filth, and human garbage. For those Palestinians who do not support Hamas or buy into its ideology, Hamas seeks to ensure, by using them as human shields, that they suffer heavy losses in order to foster hatred of the enemy while garnering sympathy abroad. For Israel, there is no easy solution to this dilemma.
Dueling Narratives
Emotive images can have a significant impact on publics and policymakers. Thus, Israeli operations in Lebanon in 1996 and 2006 were curtailed as a result of the international outcry raised by media reports of Israeli artillery strikes that targeted Hezbollah fighters and inadvertently killed civilians in the town of Qana. Conversely, images from bodycams worn by Hamas fighters during the October 7 massacre of Israeli civilians have gained Israel sympathy and legitimacy for its actions.
But Israel generally faces significant structural disadvantages in the informational domain. First, the images coming from the battlefield were terrible because combat against an enemy embedded among civilians is terrible and inevitably exacts a heavy toll from noncombatants there. Second, Israel labors under several other disadvantages, in that journalists tend to: (1) give equal weight to the claims of the two sides and accept uncritically even the most tendentious explanations for the events of October 7 in order to demonstrate their impartiality—e.g., that Hamas’s violence is born of desperation, rather than indoctrination and an ideological commitment to jihad; and (2) avoid addressing Hamas’s central role in creating the tragedy of the Gaza Strip—dictated perhaps by the politics of these journalists or the NGOs they rely on for information, and the need to preserve their access in Gaza. As a result, Hamas, the de facto governing authority in Gaza, is almost completely invisible in reporting from there. It is too early to say, however, how these factors will ultimately affect the course of the current war.
Preserving Freedom of Action
Finally, it is unclear how long Israel will be free to act in Gaza; the longer the war drags on, the greater the potential for the expansion of Jewish-Arab violence in the West Bank and Israel, escalation with Hezbollah—even if a war with Hezbollah seems unlikely, at least for now—political instability in the Arab world, and perhaps growing U.S. pressure to end the operation due to rising civilian casualties or a horrific Qana-like event. At any rate, if past is prelude, the longer the war, the more likely that political and perhaps military constraints may hinder Israel’s ability to achieve its war aims. Managing these tensions will likely prove increasingly difficult, but will be necessary if Israel is to achieve its goal of eradicating Hamas as a military actor and political entity.
*Michael Eisenstadt is the Kahn Fellow and director of the Military and Security Studies Program at The Washington Institute.