English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For August 18/2024
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
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Bible Quotations For today
Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 10/38-42: “Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on August 17-18/2024
Hezbollah attacks Israeli settlement in response to Nabatieh massacre
WATCH: IAF eliminates Hezbollah Radwan Commander Hussein Ibrahim
Israeli strike kills 10 in southern Lebanon in one of the deadliest incidents since October 7
A woman and her 2 children are among 10 killed in an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon
WATCH: IAF strikes Hezbollah facilities in southern Lebanon, terror group denies journalists access
'Not interested in a broad war': Former Hezbollah official says response may be limited
UN: 110,000 People Displaced from South Lebanon
At Least Ten Dead in Israeli Morning Strike in Nabatieh
South Lebanon: More Dead in Israeli Attacks, Including a Hezbollah Member
Hezbollah reveals military muscle in clashes with Israel
Lebanon Is Officially in the Dark
Open War in Lebanon Hinges on Gaza and Tel Aviv
Emergency… A Plan Needed !
Nidaa Abou Mrad: Lebanese Sparks Illuminate the Sorbonne

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 17-18/2024
Hamas official dismisses ‘illusion’ that Gaze truce nearer
Hamas rejects ‘new’ Gaza truce conditions as Biden says deal closer than ever
An Israeli airstrike kills 18 members of a family in Gaza as mediators hope for a cease-fire
Israel kills two Hamas militants in West Bank air strike
Report: Biden eyes Gaza deal next week, tries to deter Iran, Hezbollah
US warns Iran faces 'cataclysmic' consequences if it strikes Israel
Gaza records first polio case in 25 years as UN urges vaccinations
Residents of West Bank town say deadly settler attack was ‘most vicious’ yet

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on August 17-18/2024
Iran's Mullahs and Their Deadly Serious Plan: The Total Annihilation of Israel and the US/Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute./August 17, 2024
Four big challenges from Turkiye’s aging population/Sinem Cengiz/Arab News/August 17/2024
Countering Iran in East Syria Means Moderating the SDF/Andrew J. Tabler/The Washington Institute/Aug 17, 2024
A Year of Suwayda Protests Show That Assad Is No Partner/Erik Yavorsky/The Washington Institute/Aug 17, 2024
Why averting a regional war in the Middle East is top priority for both US presidential candidates/ANAN TELLO/Arab News/August 17, 2024
Tensions in the Middle East fuel growing global ‘polycrisis’/Andrew Hammond/Arab News/August 17, 2024
World leaders must recommit to pandemic preparedness/Gro Harlem Brundtland/Arab News/August 17, 2024
Virtue Signaling or Saving Lives?/Dr. Walid Phares and Gazelle Sharmahd/American Mideast Coalition for Democracy/August 17/2024

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on August 17-18/2024
Hezbollah attacks Israeli settlement in response to Nabatieh massacre
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/August 17, 2024
Southern Lebanon suffers from growing displacement and food shortages amid fighting
Woman and two children among those killed
BEIRUT: Hezbollah said on Saturday that it struck the Ayelet Hashahar kibbutz in northern Israel in retaliation for a new massacre in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military said that two soldiers were wounded in a rocket attack from Lebanon, adding that a total of 55 rockets had been fired in the latest strikes. Hezbollah said that its attack came in response to “the Israeli army’s assaults on the Kfour village in Nabatieh, north of the Litani Line, earlier on Saturday, killing 10 people, including Syrian children and their mother, and injuring others, including Sudanese workers.”Hezbollah said that it added Ayelet HaShahar to its firing schedule and struck the settlement with Katyusha rockets for the first time.According to Hezbollah’s military media, the settlement “is located northeast Safad in the upper Galilee and some 10 km from the Lebanese southern border.”In another statement, Hezbollah announced “targeting a gathering of Israeli soldiers in the Al-Burj site with two attack drones, hitting it directly.”Israeli media outlets said that “the barrage of rockets fired from Lebanon toward the north landed in areas that weren’t evacuated, causing fires to erupt.”They added that “violent explosions were heard in Safad and its surroundings, in addition to heavy shelling with dozens of rockets launched from Lebanon toward the upper Galilee, causing casualties.“Ambulances headed to the perimeter of the Mahanayim intersection, while the Hatzor HaGlilit area experienced a power outage following the bombing.”Israeli Army Radio said that “around 40 rockets were launched from Lebanon toward the upper Galilee.”
The Israeli media reported that “a drone exploded in Margaliot, the upper Galilee,” adding that “settlers of areas located in the Hula valley in the upper Galilee were instructed to stay near shelters.”Tension escalated on the Lebanese southern border on Friday night and Saturday morning, as 10 people died in Kfour, Nabatieh, as a result of an Israeli raid that targeted a building in the village. The raid hit a cement stone factory in the industrial zone of Toul-Kfour. It is the second Israeli attack on the village, hundreds of meters from a previous raid that destroyed a house last week. The raid killed an entire Syrian family, comprised of the factory’s janitor, the mother, and their children, and injured others, including Syrian and Sudanese workers. Rescuers worked on lifting the rubble until the morning. The Ministry of Health’s emergency operations center said that the raid killed 10 people, including a woman and her two children, and injured five others, including two critical injuries.”Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee claimed that the forces “raided a Hezbollah weapons storage.”Adraee said that several raids targeted “Hezbollah military buildings in Hanine and Maroun Al-Ras” on Friday night and Saturday morning.
The Israeli army immediately responded to the attack that targeted the new settlement, as a military drone struck a motorcycle northeast of Tyre, killing one person, according to the emergency operations center. According to the center, the Israeli shelling of border villages caused injuries to a citizen in Khiam. It resulted in the death of one person and the injury of another in an Israeli airstrike in Aitaroun. Hezbollah’s release of a video on Friday showing tunnels it uses for military purposes in the mountains sparked criticism from Lebanese people on social media, including opposition politicians and activists. The head of the Lebanese Forces Party, Samir Geagea, said: “Hezbollah has no right, even if it has one or more underground facilities, to single-handedly decide the fate of the Lebanese people.” Fares Souaid, the head of the “Lady of the Mountain” Gathering, described the tunnel video as “fake.”Political analyst Khaled Mumtaz stated that the video was an unjustified revelation. He believes it reflects a desperate attempt to regain prestige against the Israelis. He said the Israelis struck the party in its stronghold and killed its general commander. So far, Mumtaz said the party had been unable to respond or boost the morale of its community and fighters. University academic Makram Rabah addressed Hezbollah, saying: “If you can build such tunnels, why didn’t you build shelters in the south? It is an unethical act.”Also on Saturday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, reported that the number of displaced people from the southern border area had risen to more than 110,000 as the exchange of fire continued between the Israeli army and Hezbollah. Lebanese government statistics indicated 97,000 people were displaced from the south as of last month.
In its latest update, OCHA stated that “35 percent of the displaced are children,” adding that estimates suggest that about 150,000 people remained in the border areas of southern Lebanon. “According to the World Health Organization, 16 attacks on health care have been reported since October last year, and 21 paramedics have been killed in hostilities. Severe damage to water, electricity, telecoms infrastructure, and roads in southern Lebanon have been recorded.”OCHA said food insecurity had worsened, with 23 percent of the population now affected, up from 19 percent in March. “The UN and partners continue to scale up relief efforts to support the government-led response. But additional funding is urgently needed. Humanitarian partners need $110 million for ongoing response for conflict-affected people until the end of the year,” OCHA said.

WATCH: IAF eliminates Hezbollah Radwan Commander Hussein Ibrahim
Jerusalem Post/August 17/2024
The IDF also announced that, earlier in the day, two soldiers were wounded as a result of projectiles launched from Lebanon that landed in the area of Misgav Am. An Israel Air Force drone hit the motorcycle of Hezbollah Commander Hussein Ibrahim in the Tzur area in southern Lebanon on Saturday shortly after Hezbollah fired 55 rockets into northern Israel, the IDF confirmed. Ibrahim was a commander in Hezbollah's Radwan Force - a force which has the main goal of infiltrating northern Israel. The IDF confirmed on Saturday afternoon that shortly after sirens sounded in the area of Ayelet HaShahar in northern Israel, approximately 55 projectiles crossed from Lebanon. Some of the barrages fell into open areas in northern Israel. While initial reports indicated that there were no injuries, the military later confirmed that two people were receiving treatments for wounds incurred during the barrage at Rambam Medical Center. Two men were hit by shrapnel and were transferred to hospital by helicopter. Their conditions were described as mild and moderate. The wounded man in moderate condition is undergoing surgery. While the barrage did not lead to any fatalities, the IDF noted that the rockets ignited multiple fires, which the Israel Fire and Rescue Services are currently tackling. The IDF confirmation came shortly after a correspondent for the Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese news agency Al-Mayadeen reported the terror group fired over 40 rockets in two successive salvos toward the Galilee. Hezbollah later said in a statement that it had struck the Ayelet Hashahar Kibbutz in northern Israel in retaliation for the Nabatieh strike. Soldiers wounded by Hezbollah fire. The IDF also announced that earlier in the day, two soldiers were wounded as a result of projectiles launched from Lebanon, which landed in the area of Misgav Am. One soldier's condition was categorized as severe while the other was assessed to be lightly wounded.The soldiers were evacuated to a hospital for medical treatment, and their families have been notified.
Reuters contributed to this report.

Israeli strike kills 10 in southern Lebanon in one of the deadliest incidents since October 7
Tamara Qiblawi, Kareem El Damanhoury and Eugenia Yosef, CNN/August 17, 2024
An Israeli strike has killed at least ten people in Nabatiyeh, southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said, prompting Hezbollah to launch a barrage of retaliatory rockets at Israel. All of those killed in Lebanon were Syrian nationals. A woman and her two children are among the dead, according to the ministry. The strike also wounded at least five, two of which are in critical conditions. They include three Syrians, one Sudanese and one Lebanese, the ministry said. Two of the Syrians are in critical condition and undergoing surgery at a nearby hospital. The Israeli military said it struck a Hezbollah weapons storage facility in the area of Nabatieh overnight. The death toll from the strike is one of the largest in southern Lebanon since Israel launched its war on Gaza following the Hamas attacks of October 7 that killed around 1,200 people. Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon launched a volley of rockets towards Ayelet Hashahar in northern Israel in response to the strike, the group said in a statement. Israel’s military confirmed that sirens had sounded in Ayelet Hashahar after “approximately 55 projectiles” had crossed from Lebanon. “No injuries were reported,” the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said. In a separate incident, the IDF said one of its soldiers was severely injured and another lightly wounded after a projectile from Lebanon fell in Misgav Am.
Also on Saturday, a drone struck and killed a person on a motorcycle in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre, according to Lebanon’s state-owned National News Agency (NNA). Hezbollah and Israeli forces have been exchanging almost daily cross-border fire since Israel launched its war on the enclave, which has killed over 40,000 Palestinians in ten months. Tensions between Lebanon and Israel deepened further late last month when an Israeli strike on Lebanese capital Beirut killed the top military commander for Hezbollah, Fu’ad Shukr. The next day, Israel is widely believed to have assassinated Hamas’ political leader in Tehran. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement in that incident. This has prompted speculation of looming retaliatory attacks from Hezbollah and Iran on Israel. Two sources familiar with the intelligence told CNN earlier this month that Hezbollah looks increasingly like it may strike Israel independent of whatever Iran may intend to do. Given Lebanon’s proximity to Israel as its direct neighbor to the north, Hezbollah could act with little to no notice, one of the sources said — which is not true of Iran.
15 members of same family killed in Gaza
On the ground in Gaza, an Israeli strike killed at least 15 people from the same family, in al-Zawayda, central Gaza, a spokesperson for the civil defense in the strip said in Saturday. Nine children were among the dead.
When asked by CNN to comment on the incident, the Israeli military said, “The reports that civilians were injured as a result of the strike is under review.”In a later statement released on Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it killed several militants in central Gaza, including one who launched rockets toward Israeli troops. Fighting in Gaza has reduced much of the territory to rubble and displaced almost the entire population. Israel issued new evacuation orders in central Gaza on Saturday, the ninth across Gaza in August alone. The UN has warned such orders severely impact the local population’s access to essential services and shelter. On Friday hostage and truce talks ended and are due to resume next week. International mediators presented a new proposal intended close the remaining gaps of disagreement between Israel and Gaza.

A woman and her 2 children are among 10 killed in an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon
KAREEM CHEHAYEB and MOHAMMAD ZAATARI/NABATIEH, Lebanon (AP)/August 17, 2024
An Israeli strike in southern Lebanon early Saturday killed at least 10 Syrian nationals, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. The strike on Wadi al-Kfour in Nabatieh province is among the deadliest in Lebanon since the Hezbollah militant group and Israeli military started trading strikes on Oct. 8, a day after Hamas attacked southern Israel and sparked the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Hezbollah maintains that it will stop its attacks once a cease-fire is reached in the Gaza Strip. Among the dead were a woman and her two children, the ministry said. Five others were wounded, two of whom in critical condition. An Arabic-language spokesperson for the Israeli military, Avichay Adraee, said the strike in the southern province targeted a weapons depot belonging to Hezbollah.
Mohammad Shoaib, who runs a slaughterhouse in Wadi al-Kfour, said the area struck was an “industrial and civilian area” that contained factories producing bricks, metal, and aluminum, as well as a dairy farm. The uncle of three of the people killed in the strike said they were factory workers who were in their housing accomodation when they were hit. He denied that there were weapons at the facility. “There was nothing at all like that,” Hussein Shahoud said. “There was metal for construction, for building, for all kinds of purposes.”Hezbollah later announced it had fired a volley of rockets at the community of Ayelet HaShahar, near Safad in northern Israel in retaliation for the strike. The statement said that all 10 victims in Lebanon were civilians. Hezbollah typically issues death notices when its members are killed. The Israeli army said 55 projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon, some of which fell in open areas. No injuries were reported, but the strikes ignited multiple fires, it said. Earlier Saturday, two Israeli soldiers were injured, one seriously, by a strike coming from Lebanon that hit the area of Misgav Am.
The Israeli military also said it had killed a Hezbollah commander Saturday in a separate strike in the area of the coastal city of Tyre. Lebanese state media reported that one person was killed in a strike on a motorcyclist near Tyre. Hezbollah did not immediately give any statement on the person's identity.
The Lebanese government and international governments have scrambled for weeks to put an end to the monthslong clashes, with the region on a knife edge since July.
An Israeli strike last month in southern Beirut killed Hezbollah’s top commander, whom Israel accused of leading a rocket attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that killed 12 youths. Hours later, an explosion widely blamed on Israel killed Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital. Both Tehran and Hezbollah vowed to retaliate, but have not yet launched strikes as diplomatic endeavors and Gaza cease-fire talks continue in Qatar. Hezbollah and Israel fought a six-week war in the summer of 2006 that ended in a draw. Hezbollah’s military capabilities have developed significantly since then. More than 500 people have been killed by Israeli strikes since Oct. 8, most of them fighters with Hezbollah and other armed groups but also including around 100 civilians and noncombatants. In norther Israel, 22 soldiers and 24 civilians have been killed by strikes from Lebanon. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced on both sides of tense frontier. Also Saturday, Lebanon’s state utility Electricité du Liban announced that its power plants had exhausted their supply of fuel oil and would stop producing electricity until more supply is secured.
Lebanon has struggled with severe electricity shortages for years, particularly since the country fell into a protracted financial crisis in 2019. Homes and businesses rely largely on generators and, increasingly, solar panels for power as the state typically supplies electricity only a few hours a day. The meagre state electricity supply relies on fuel oil provided by Iraq, but issues have arisen between the two countries due to Lebanon not having paid for the supply.

WATCH: IAF strikes Hezbollah facilities in southern Lebanon, terror group denies journalists access
Jerusalem Post/August 17/2024
Lebanese sources claimed 10 Syrian nationals were killed during the strikes.
The IDF revealed on Saturday morning that Israeli air force fighter jets had struck a Hezbollah weapons warehouse and a military building belonging to the terror group in southern Lebanon overnight.
The IDF said the fighter jets attacked Hezbollah's military buildings in the areas of Hanin and Marun al-Ras in southern Lebanon and a weapons warehouse in the Nebatia area.
The IDF also said it fired artillery fire in the areas of Ramish, Lavona, Kfar Shoba and Aita al-Sha'ab in southern Lebanon.
The IDF confirmed that an explosive drone struck the area near Margalit.
Lebanese reports on the strikes
An Israeli airstrike early Saturday had allegedly killed six people and wounded three others in the Nabatieh region in south Lebanon of the country, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. The number was later updated to ten killed and four wounded by Lebanon's state NNA news agency. The victims were all Syrian citizens, NNA said, adding that a final toll of the strike would be announced after DNA tests were conducted to determine the identity of the victims. The strike allegedly hit the home of a family of 12, Ynet published, citing local reports. The local report claimed that some of those killed in the strike were children.  The claim has not been verified, and Israel has not claimed or denied responsibility for the strike. Lebanon's MTV complained that Hezbollah forces were preventing journalists from accessing the sites of the strike.

'Not interested in a broad war': Former Hezbollah official says response may be limited
Maariv/Jerusalem Post/August 17/2024
The former official estimated that in his upcoming speech, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah will "console the people." A former senior Hezbollah official told the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Anbaa on Saturday that he expects a measured response from the organization following the assassination of senior official Fuad Shukr Abu Mohsen, as "the organization is not interested in a broad war."According to the report, Hezbollah did not place much hope in the talks held by the American envoy Amos Hochstein and French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné, as they claimed that Israel did not commit to reducing tensions and even continued actions against the organization's senior members. The former official estimated that in his upcoming speech, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah will "console the people" and that the speech is expected to come after the organization's response to Shukr's assassination. He added that "no one has accurate information about the nature of the response, and the decision comes directly from the top leadership." A turning point. A parliamentary source in Lebanon told the newspaper that "the situation has reached a turning point after all the waiting and diplomatic efforts" and that "a correct decision must be made at the end of the grace period."They noted that Hochstein's visit was to ensure that Lebanon would not be left out of the negotiations and that "the decision should be to remove the threat that everyone fears."The parliamentary source added that Hochstein also met with representatives of the opposition in Lebanon, likely to convey the message that "no side can be absent from consultations at these critical moments."

UN: 110,000 People Displaced from South Lebanon
This is Beirut/ 17 August/2024
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that more than 110,000 people have been displaced from southern Lebanon since October due to the ongoing exchange of fire and mounting violence between the Israeli army and Hezbollah. In its latest update released on Friday evening, the office explained that 35 percent of the displaced are children. It added that estimates indicate that around 150,000 people remain in the border areas of southern Lebanon.

At Least Ten Dead in Israeli Morning Strike in Nabatieh
This is Beirut/ 17 August/2024
The Lebanese Ministry of Health announced on Saturday that an Israeli strike in Al-Kfour industrial zone in the Nabatieh region, in the south of the country, caused the deaths of at least ten people, including a woman and her two children. According to the ministry’s updated toll, the number of dead has risen to ten, all of Syrian nationality, including a woman and her two children. Five other people were also injured, including three Syrians, two of whom are in critical condition, a Lebanese citizen and a Sudanese national. Saturday’s strike is considered one of the deadliest in over ten months of violence at the Israeli-Lebanese border between Hezbollah and the Israeli army. Efforts to clear the rubble around the town of Al-Kfour are ongoing in search of missing persons. The Israeli army, for its part, stated that it struck “overnight, a Hezbollah weapons depot” in the Nabatieh region, as well as “military structures” of the pro-Iranian group in the Hanine and Maroun al-Ras areas near the border. With this new strike, these hostilities have resulted in at least 579 deaths in Lebanon, mostly Hezbollah fighters but also at least 121 civilians, according to an AFP coun

South Lebanon: More Dead in Israeli Attacks, Including a Hezbollah Member
This is Beirut/17 August/2024
In recent field developments on Saturday, an Israeli drone targeted a motorcycle in the Qadmous area east of Tyre, resulting in the death of one person according to the Public Health Emergency Operations Center of the Ministry of Public Health. Initial reports indicated that the deceased is a Hezbollah member. It was also reported that another person succumbed to injuries that he had sustained earlier in an Israeli strike on Abbassiyeh, a town in the area of Tyre. Moreover, the Israeli army bombarded the outskirts of the towns of Naqoura and Jabal al-Labbouneh. Israeli warplanes carried out mock air raids over the city of Tyre and its villages, breaking the sound barrier twice, resulting in a loud explosion. In the city of Saida, Israeli aircraft broke the sound barrier at a low altitude, causing two loud explosions. Flares were dropped on the town of Khiam, igniting a fire in the area. Hezbollah claimed two attacks at the Marj site and the Eilit settlement. From the Israeli side, two Israeli soldiers were injured as a result of a rocket-propelled grenade launched from Lebanon. Their injuries ranged from serious to minor. The Israeli media also reported that more than 10 fires broke out in open and agricultural areas due to Hezbollah rockets. Additionally, power outages occurred in parts of Safed following the fall of rockets launched from Lebanon. On Saturday morning, the Lebanese Ministry of Health announced that an Israeli strike in al-Kfour industrial zone in the Nabatiyeh region, in the south of the country, caused the deaths of at least 10 people, including a woman and her two children. According to the ministry’s updated toll, the dead were all of Syrian nationality.

Hezbollah reveals military muscle in clashes with Israel
Agence France Presset/17 August/2024
Hezbollah has gradually revealed its military capabilities in 10 months of cross-border clashes with Israel, analysts say, including footage of underground missile facilities released Friday amid fears of all-out war. The Lebanese group, armed and financed by Iran, has traded near-daily fire with Israeli forces in support of its ally Hamas since the Palestinian militant group's October 7 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war. Fears of a major escalation skyrocketed after an Israeli strike last month on Beirut's southern suburbs killed Fouad Shukur, one of Hezbollah's top commanders, hours before an attack in Tehran, blamed on Israel, killed Hamas' political leader Ismail Haniyeh. Since Israel and Hezbollah last went to war in 2006, the pro-Iran group has increased its military strength, according to analysts. On Friday it released a polished video appearing to show its fighters trucking large missiles through tunnels at an underground facility. Riad Kahwaji, head of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis, a security consultancy, said it was "the most explicit video Hezbollah has ever released showing the size of its tunnels." It also showed "for the first time what appeared to be missiles big enough to be ballistic missiles," he told AFP. Hezbollah likely released the video to "deter" Israel from a major operation against it, he said.
'Blind spots' -
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel is "prepared both defensively and offensively" and "determined" to defend itself after the killings of Shukur and Haniyeh. Pressure has been mounting on Israel to secure a truce that could avert a wider war, in parallel with intensified diplomatic efforts in Lebanon to avoid an escalation. Kahwaji said that since October, "Hezbollah has been testing its tactics and weapons arsenal, and also looking for holes and vulnerabilities in the Israeli defense systems." The group has used surveillance drones to locate Israel's Iron Dome air defense systems, with a view to overwhelming or destroying them, he said. Hezbollah has made extensive use of inexpensive, sometimes locally produced drones to put pressure on Israeli air defenses, analysts note. The group has released three videos purportedly showing drone footage over military and other facilities in northern Israel including the port city of Haifa, and the annexed Golan Heights. "The drones help Hezbollah detect blind spots in the Israeli radars and sensors. The group exploits the mountainous terrain and low flying of drones to evade Israeli early warning sensors," said Kahwaji. "Repeated attacks enable Hezbollah to establish a better idea of Israeli defenses and map potential entry points," he added. Military analyst and retired Lebanese army general Khalil Helou said the drones are harder to detect because they are small and "have a very small radar print."
Hezbollah also exploits the fact that the Israeli army has little reaction time, he added. "Hezbollah began firing Katyusha rockets, drones and guided missiles at the same time to overwhelm the Iron Dome," Helou said. Hezbollah's anti-tank missiles can also cause significant damage because the Iron Dome system aims to intercept "indirect fire such as rockets or missiles, but is useless against direct fire," he added.
'Double-edged sword' -
Aram Nerguizian, a senior associate at the U.S.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, described Hezbollah's military "probing actions" as "a double-edged sword.""They expose gaps in Israeli defenses and are learning opportunities for Hezbollah operators," he said. But "they also expose Hezbollah capabilities to Israeli countermeasures... and generate data points for an interconnected Israeli missile defense and counter-strike system," he added. "It is very difficult to respond proportionately, in kind" to Shukur's killing without triggering a wider war against an Israeli army that "has significantly tightened up its security posture," he added. Hezbollah has repeatedly said only a Gaza ceasefire deal will stop its attacks. The violence since October has killed some 570 people in Lebanon, most of them Hezbollah fighters but including at least 118 civilians, according to an AFP tally. On the Israeli side, including in the annexed Golan Heights, 22 soldiers and 26 civilians have been killed, according to army figures.Kahwaji also said that Hezbollah wants to "avoid provoking Israel into an all-out war."The group is unable to "assassinate Israeli leaders and military commanders," he added. "Its only strategy is to fire more missiles and increase the war rhetoric to show defiance."

Lebanon Is Officially in the Dark
This is Beirut/ 17 August/2024
Despite the preventive measures taken since July 27 and repeated warnings from Lebanon’s electricity company, Electricité du Liban (EDL), the Zahrani power plant is now out of service, following the shutdown of the Deir Ammar plant on August 7. As a result, Lebanon is now in total darkness. Despite every possible precaution taken by EDL to extend energy production for as long as possible, the Zahrani and Deir Ammar power plants are now out of service. They will remain inactive until the concerned authorities resolve the issue of diesel supply to EDL, whether through the Iraqi exchange agreement or other sources. In a statement, EDL announced that the last functioning unit at the Zahrani power plant was shut down on Saturday afternoon due to the complete depletion of its diesel fuel reserves. This has led to a nationwide power outage, affecting critical infrastructure across Lebanon, including the airport, port, water pumps, sewage systems, prisons and other vital facilities. The public electricity provider states that the units will be back in operation once the diesel fuel is delivered.
Walid Fayad Is Taking Action
Caretaker Energy Minister Walid Fayad is working to find solutions, with the first shipment of diesel not expected until the first week of September. Fayad has urged the Lebanese to be patient, stating that he is seeking alternatives to address the situation. He highlighted that the ongoing political disputes are hindering the resolution. As for Iraq’s commitment to fuel shipments, he confirmed that it remains in effect, but the Lebanese Parliament’s failure to act has stalled the shipment. Meanwhile, the country is in total darkness. Electricity production in Lebanon currently relies on the Zahrani and Deir Ammar power plants, while the Jiyeh and Zouk plants are undergoing maintenance. Zahrani and Deir Ammar receive monthly diesel shipments supplied to EDL by the Ministry of Energy under the exchange agreement between Iraq and Lebanon signed on July 23, 2021. This agreement, which came into effect in September 2021, stipulates that Iraq provides fuel to Lebanese power plants under profitable terms, with a monthly allocation set at 100,000 tons. However, due to its high sulfur content, Iraqi fuel cannot be used directly in Lebanese power plants. Consequently, Lebanon buys a compatible type of fuel from other suppliers, who then receive the Iraqi fuel in exchange.

Open War in Lebanon Hinges on Gaza and Tel Aviv
Bassam Abou Zeid/This is Beirut/ 17 August/2024
During closed-door discussions with international envoys, notably American and French officials, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati clearly conveyed his inability to stop the conflict in the south or de-escalate the mounting tensions. He emphasized that his efforts are limited to relaying messages to Hezbollah and urging restraint. However, the only reply he continues to receive is that the war in Lebanon will continue as long as the conflict in Gaza persists. In this regard, the Lebanese government, entrusted with safeguarding national stability, has not declared war on Israel. However, it has also refrained from explicitly asking Hezbollah to halt its attacks. Mikati is well aware that such a request would provoke a fierce backlash from the so-called “resistance” groups and could lead to the collapse of his government due to a potential boycott by Amal and Hezbollah ministers.
Mikati’s position does not imply that he expects to avoid criticism from Hezbollah’s opponents. Instead, he seems prepared to endure this criticism, as it remains largely rhetorical and does not pose an immediate threat of action from the Shiite group against him and his government if he were to request a ceasefire.
Furthermore, a diplomat involved in talks with Mikati stated that Lebanon’s current crisis surpasses Hezbollah’s influence. As it stands, the decision to end the conflict is not primarily tied to Hezbollah but rather to the actions of Hamas and its chief, Yehya Sinwar. Thus, the resolution of the conflict depends on Sinwar, whose influence now stretches from Gaza to Beirut, Damascus, Baghdad, Sana’a, and Tehran. The diplomat also pointed out that, aside from Sinwar’s influence, the situation in Lebanon is closely tied to Israel’s position. Lebanese officials have been informed by international envoys that resolving the Gaza conflict does not guarantee peace in southern Lebanon. Israel is determined to prevent the situation in southern Lebanon from reverting to its pre-October 8 status. The only guarantee for ending the conflict in this region is a clear Lebanese commitment to implementing UN Resolution 1701 through a political agreement. Without such a commitment, the envoys warned that Israel may resort to military action to alter the current dynamics.The central issue is that the Lebanese authorities lack control over the situation for two main reasons: fear and the fact that key decision-making lies outside Lebanon. Driven by this fear, these authorities are leading Lebanon and its people into an undesirable situation, simply to evade the personal and political repercussions of a historic and honorable decision they could make.

Emergency… A Plan Needed !
Marc Saikali/This is Beirut/ 17 August/2024
Not a day passes without the Lebanese government unveiling new contingency plans for various sectors—education, communications, health, refugee assistance. It almost feels like we’re living in a real country, where leaders pretend to care about the people. But in truth, it’s all talk and no action. This isn’t surprising, given that the government doesn’t even control the country for which it’s crafting these grand plans. For caretaker Prime Minister Mikati, the strategy is “silence, patience, and prayer,” highlighting the utter impotence of Lebanon’s “authority.”
This is a state in tatters, incapable of even deciding matters of war or peace. Real power lies elsewhere—in Tehran, in Gaza… Some are beginning to speak out, albeit hesitantly, about the possibility of opening additional airports to provide multiple points of entry into the country. But of course, that’s absolutely out of the question. Hezbollah’s veto is final: only one entryway for the whole country. The Saydet el-Jabal Gathering even called for Beirut International Airport and its access road to be placed under international protection—a futile move. At best, those advocating for such ideas are accused of treason and attempting to divide the country! For example, Corsica, a region in France almost the size of Lebanon, has four airports, all lucrative. Crete has two. Sardinia has three. But in Lebanon? Why should arriving or departing passengers miss out on the slogans and pictures of Lebanese or Iranian “martyrs”? A concentrated dose of Middle Eastern geopolitics crammed into just a few kilometers. Annoyed by this political culture? That’s just the typical reaction of traitors and dissenters! In short, Lebanon is doomed to live at the pace set by its real masters. So, in case of emergency, we shouldn’t really rely on the airport.
Let’s talk about health care. We witnessed the state’s “efficiency” during the Beirut port explosion in 2020—it amounted to nothing. Instead, it was doctors, nurses, first responders, and volunteers from the private sector who truly stepped up to assist the thousands of injured.
Security, which should be the primary role of any state, is now considered a “sensitive” topic. The country is under the influence of the “axis of resistance,” which dictates the lives of the Lebanese. Addressing the insecurity should be the bare minimum for those in power. Fortunately, the Lebanese army is working to address the damage inflicted on the country since October 8. However, it is treading carefully, navigating a minefield laid by foreign powers and their local representatives. Meanwhile, to save face, foreign diplomats—Americans, French, British, and others—tour the country, stopping by for coffee with local leaders. Diplomacy requires politeness, which is why it’s often considered a virtue. They visit, listen, repeat the same points, get the same answers, and then leave. Their patience is truly commendable. On their tour, they avoid the presidential palace because, well, it’s… empty. The Lebanese aren’t exactly eager to see it welcome a new president. After all, it’s not like the country is on the brink of collapse. No sense of urgency there either. And so the land of the Cedars continues: martyred, impoverished, crushed under the weight of its geographic situation, political negligence, and endless wars.
And what about the people? Their future? Well, the restaurants are still packed, after all. Everything’s just fine, right? Anyone care to disagree?

Nidaa Abou Mrad: Lebanese Sparks Illuminate the Sorbonne
Alain E. Andrea/This is Beirut/ 17 August/2024
Nidaa Abou Mrad continues to uphold the torch of scientific excellence through pioneering research and prestigious collaboration between Antonine University and Sorbonne University. The history of Lebanon has been shaped by visionaries who dared to dream beyond conventional paths and imposed borders. By climbing the ladders of success, they proudly lifted this tormented country to the heights of regional and international prominence. As this brilliance now seems a distant memory, we mourn a country whose grandeur seems to elude us, a country we feel we did not deserve. Lebanon of Henri Goraïeb, the Rahbani brothers, Fayrouz, Elie Choueiri and Bassam Saba; Lebanon of Mikhail Naimy, Gibran Khalil Gibran and Ghassan Tueni; Lebanon of Michael DeBakey, Peter Medawar and many others. As the country appears to be on the brink, some continue to fight, against all odds, to awaken it from its lethargy and prove to the world that Lebanon is not dead. Nidaa Abou Mrad is a perfect example of this.
Multidisciplinary research
Professor of Musicology, Medical Doctor and Dean of the Faculty of Music and Musicology at Antonine University (UA), Nidaa Abou Mrad has been appointed for two years to the Senior Professor Chair in Musicology, Neuropsychology of Music and Neuro-Music Therapy at Sorbonne University (SU) to carry out an innovative project focused on the theme “Music, Neuroscience and Therapy.” He was appointed to this role because of his research on the generative musical grammar of modal monodies and its relations to cognitive neuropsychology of music, but also thanks to his expertise in implementing music therapy teaching at UA. This expertise will be leveraged to establish a “Music and Therapy” master’s program at SU. “I am delighted and honored by this appointment, which crowns my career while allowing me to continue my duties at the Faculty of Music and Musicology at UA,” says the musicologist to This Is Beirut. His work has led to the development of modal semiotic theory, which earned him the 2017 Scientific Excellence Award from the Lebanese National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS-L). This theory proposes a limited number of rules to describe and predict the development of musical compositions and meanings in various modal musical traditions. It has led to two hypotheses regarding the neurocognitive processing of modal music: the first links the overall emotion of a composition to its melodic scale structure and tempo, while the second connects the meaning of musical phrases to their deep structuring, which generates states of tension and relaxation, presumably perceived as such.
Therapeutic application
These hypotheses have been validated through experimental studies conducted with Lebanese and French children and youth, conducted under the direction of Nidaa Abou Mrad by researchers (Hayaf Yassine, Nathalie Abou Jaoudé, Carmen Saadé and Rawan Dimachki) from the Center for Research on Musical Traditions at UA, in collaboration with prominent researchers (Frédéric Billiet and Jean-Marc Chouvel) from the Institute for Research in Musicology (IReMus, SU and CNRS-F) and with support from CNRS-L. “Our teams have set up several protocols on the therapeutic application of these results in the areas of stress and pain reduction and rehabilitation, which are currently being carried out by our doctoral students, and which feed into the music therapy training provided by the Faculty of Music and Musicology at UA at both undergraduate and master’s levels,” emphasizes the researcher.
Furthermore, Nidaa Abou Mrad has developed the hypothesis of a generative musical grammar that is common in its deep structures across the three melodic systems (modal, pentatonic and tonal) and would produce meanings according to convergent patterns. He wishes to explore, with music neuropsychologists, the cognitive and emotional brain processing of the perception of these meanings, ensuring that the results of this research are implemented in therapeutic processes. “This is essentially the research project underlying my appointment at SU,” he clarifies.
North-South expertise
Nidaa Abou Mrad expresses his gratitude to the President of SU, Prof. Nathalie Drach-Temam, who created this Senior Professor Chair this year, and to the Director of the Music and Musicology Department, Prof. Frédéric Billiet, who supported his application. It was also endorsed by Dr. Théodora Psychoyou, Director of IReMus and Collegium Musicae, and by eminent emeritus professors Nicolas Meeùs and Jean During who recommended his candidacy. “I would particularly like to thank the Rector of UA, Father Michel Saghbiny, and the Secretary-General of UA, Father Ziad Maatouk, for their generous support,” he continues, “and express my gratitude to Viviane, my wife, for her crucial support.”Professor Abou Mrad concludes, “What is notable in this cooperative process is that, unlike the usual North-South expertise model between France and Lebanon, this represents university expertise forged at UA, which will contribute to the development of a new path of interdisciplinary research and training at the Sorbonne. As a Lebanese academic, I can only be delighted.”

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 17-18/2024
Hamas official dismisses ‘illusion’ that Gaze truce nearer
AFP/August 17, 2024
CAIRO: A senior Hamas official on Saturday dismissed optimistic talk by US President Joe Biden that a Gaza truce is nearer after negotiations in the Gulf emirate of Qatar. “To say that we are getting close to a deal is an illusion,” Hamas political bureau member Sami Abu Zuhri told AFP. “We are not facing a deal or real negotiations, but rather the imposing of American diktats.”He was responding to Biden’s comment on Friday that, “We are closer than we have ever been.”Biden spoke after two days of talks in Qatar where Washington tried to bridge differences between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants. The two sides have been at war for more than 10 months in the Gaza Strip. Previous optimism during months of on-off truce talks has so far proven futile. But the stakes have significantly risen since the killings in quick succession in late July of Fuad Shukr, a top operations chief of Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, and Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh. Their deaths led to vows of vengeance from Hezbollah, Iran and other Tehran-backed groups in the region which blamed Israel. In an effort to avert a broader conflict, Western and Arab diplomats have been shuttling around the Middle East to push for a Gaza deal which they say could help avert a wider regional conflagration. Biden’s secretary of state, Antony Blinken, was to head on Saturday to Israel in a bid to finalize an agreement. As efforts toward a truce continued, so did the killing on Saturday in Gaza and Lebanon. Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon killed 10 people including a Syrian woman and her two children. The strike was among the deadliest in southern Lebanon since the onset of near-daily exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah following the start of the Gaza war in October.
Israel’s military said it struck a Hezbollah weapons storage facility. In Hamas-run Gaza, civil defense rescuers said an Israeli air strike killed 15 people from a single Palestinian family. The fatalities in Al-Zawaida helped push the Gaza health ministry’s war death toll to 40,074. “We are in the morgue seeing indescribable scenes of limbs and severed heads and children who are dismembered,” said Omar Al-Dreemli, a relative. The Gaza war has displaced most of the territory’s population, destroyed much of the housing and other infrastructure, and left diseases spreading.
The United Nations on Friday appealed for seven-day pauses in the fighting so it could vaccinate children against polio, after the Palestinian health ministry reported Gaza’s first polio case in 25 years. Israel claimed the killing of Shukr, in a strike on south Beirut, but has not commented directly on the killing of Haniyeh while he visited Tehran. On Friday Hezbollah released a polished video appearing to show its fighters trucking large missiles through tunnels at an underground facility. Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,198 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Militants also seized 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 39 the military says are dead. More than 100 were freed during a one-week truce in November. On his visit to Israel, Blinken will seek to “conclude the agreement for a ceasefire and release of hostages and detainees,” the State Department said. Egyptian, Qatari and US mediators are working to finalize details of a framework agreement initially outlined by Biden in May. He said Israel had proposed it. In a joint statement after two days of talks in Qatar, the mediators said they presented both sides with a proposal that “bridges remaining gaps.” Talks aiming to secure a deal are to resume in Cairo “before the end of next week,” they said. Hamas did not attend the Doha talks. An official of the Islamist movement, Osama Hamdan, had told AFP the group would join if the meeting set a timetable for implementing what Hamas had already agreed to. On Friday, officials told AFP that Hamas will not accept “new conditions” from Israel. A prospective cessation of hostilities has centered around a phased deal beginning with an initial truce. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Tuesday had detailed its conditions for a truce, including “a veto on certain prisoners” being released from its jails. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, who met French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne in Cairo on Saturday, emphasized the need “to seize the opportunity” offered by the ongoing talks and “spare the region from the consequences of further escalation,” Egypt’s presidency said. Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi of Jordan blamed Netanyahu for “impeding attempts to finalize” a deal and urged pressure on him. Netanyahu has denied being the obstacle to a deal, blaming Hamas. As truce talks took place, thousands of civilians were on the move again after the Israeli military issued fresh evacuation orders ahead of imminent military action in central-southern Gaza. “During each round of negotiations, they exert pressure by forcing evacuations and committing massacres,” said Issa Murad, a Palestinian displaced to Deir el-Balah. Over the past day troops expanded their operations in the Khan Yunis area of Gaza’s south, including by “eliminating” militants who had fired munitions toward Nirim, just outside Gaza, Israel’s military said on Saturday.

Hamas rejects ‘new’ Gaza truce conditions as Biden says deal closer than ever
AFP/August 17, 2024
DOHA: Hamas said Friday it rejected “new conditions” in a Gaza ceasefire proposal that US-led mediators presented during two days of talks in Qatar. Diplomatic efforts have so far failed to alleviate the suffering endured over more than 10 months of war, but US President Joe Biden insisted after the latest round of talks that “we are closer than we have ever been.”He is sending US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Israel this weekend to push the latest proposal, the State Department said. Egyptian, Qatari and US mediators have been seeking to finalize details of a framework initially outlined by Biden in May, which he said Israel had proposed. In a joint statement, the mediators said they had presented both sides with a proposal that “bridges remaining gaps” and will continue working in the coming days to hash out the specifics on humanitarian provisions and the hostage-prisoners swap.
Talks aiming to secure a rapid deal are set to resume in Cairo “before the end of next week.”Hamas, which did not attend the Doha talks, swiftly announced its opposition to what it called “new conditions” from Israel in the latest plan. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on mediators to “pressure” Hamas to accept Biden’s framework. Threats by Iran and its proxies to attack Israel have added renewed urgency to the efforts to hammer out a Gaza ceasefire, with mediators seeking a deal in the hopes of dousing a wider regional conflict. “No one in the region should take actions to undermine this process,” Biden warned, later telling reporters, “There’s just a couple more issues, I think we’ve got a shot.”
International pressure
An informed source told AFP Hamas had objected to conditions about keeping Israeli troops on Gaza’s border with Egypt and terms related to the release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Israeli hostages. Western ally Jordan, however, put the blame squarely on Netanyahu for blocking a deal, with Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi urging pressure “by everyone who wishes to see this through to completion.”British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and his French counterpart Stephane Sejourne held talks in Israel on Friday to press the deal. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz told his visiting counterparts he expects foreign support if Iran seeks to avenge the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Sejourne replied that it would be “inappropriate” to discuss responding to any attack while diplomacy to stop it from happening is in high gear. A senior US official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, said Iran would face “cataclysmic” consequences if it strikes Israel. A deadly attack by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank late Thursday drew international condemnation and calls for sanctions, including against government ministers, over the surge in settler violence against Palestinians since the Gaza war began. The Israeli military said “dozens of Israeli civilians, some of them masked,” entered the village of Jit and “set fire to vehicles and structures in the area, hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails.” A Palestinian man was shot dead. The West Bank-based Palestinian foreign ministry described the attack as “organized state terrorism.”The European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said he would propose sanctions against Israeli government “enablers” of Jewish settler violence. Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a proponent of West Bank settlements, was quick to join other Israeli leaders in condemning Thursday’s attack by “criminals.”
Ongoing fighting
Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,198 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures. Militants also seized 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 39 the military says are dead. More than 100 were freed during a one-week truce in November. On Thursday, the toll from Israel’s retaliatory military campaign topped 40,000, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, which does not provide a breakdown of civilian and militant casualties. The war has devastated the besieged territory’s health care infrastructure, prompting repeated warnings from the World Health Organization about the risk of preventable diseases. On Friday, the Palestinian health ministry reported an unvaccinated 10-month-old child in Gaza had been diagnosed with polio, the territory’s first case in 25 years, according to the WHO.
The announcement came hours after UN chief Antonio Guterres called for two seven-day breaks in the Gaza war to vaccinate more than 640,000 children against type 2 poliovirus, which was first detected in the territory’s wastewater in June.
As truce talks were underway, thousands of civilians were on the move again inside the Palestinian territory after the Israeli military issued fresh evacuation orders ahead of imminent military action. The UN estimated the orders affect more than 170,000 people, forcing them to pack into the shrinking remnants of an area declared a humanitarian safe zone. The area where people have been told to relocate to makes up just 11 percent of Gaza, according to the UN. “During each round of negotiations, they exert pressure by forcing evacuations and committing massacres,” Issa Murad, a Palestinian displaced to Deir Al-Balah, said of the Israeli forces.

An Israeli airstrike kills 18 members of a family in Gaza as mediators hope for a cease-fire
Wafaa Shurafa And Samy Magdy/DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP)/ August 17, 2024
As mediators expressed optimism for an imminent cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas, violence raged on Saturday in the Gaza Strip, where an Israeli airstrike killed at least 18 people, all from the same family.
The attack came days after the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza announced the death toll surpassed 40,000 in the 10-month-old war, and hours after officials from the United States, Egypt and Qatar ended two days of cease-fire talks with a message of hope that a deal could be reached. A joint statement from the mediators said a proposal to bridge the gaps between Israel and Hamas was presented and they expected to work out the details of how to implement the possible deal next week in Cairo.
The mediation efforts are aimed not just at securing the release of scores of Israeli hostages and stopping the fighting that has devastated Gaza, where aid and health workers fear a possible polio outbreak. They are also aimed at calming regional tensions that have threatened to explode into a broader war if Iran and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon attack Israel in retaliation for the recent killings of top militant leaders. Saturday's airstrike in Gaza hit a house and adjacent warehouse sheltering displaced people at the entrance to Zawaida town, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, where casualties were taken. An Associated Press reporter there counted the dead. Among those killed was Sami Jawad al-Ejlah, a wholesaler who coordinated with the Israeli military to bring meat and fish to Gaza. The dead also included his two wives, 11 of their children ages 2 to 22, the children’s grandmother and three other relatives, according to a list provided by the hospital.
“He was a peaceful man,” said Abu Ahmed, a neighbor who was slightly wounded. More than 40 civilians were sheltering in the house and warehouse at the time, he said.
AP footage showed bulldozers removing rubble from the heavily damaged warehouse.
The Israeli military, which rarely comments on individual strikes, said it was checking the report. It said Saturday it was continuing attacks on militants in central Gaza, including one seen launching rockets at troops. Meanwhile, another mass evacuation was ordered for parts of central Gaza. In a post on X, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said Palestinians in areas in and around the urban Maghazi refugee camp should leave. He said Israeli forces will operate in them in response to Palestinian rocket fire.
The vast majority of Gaza’s population has been displaced by the fighting, often multiple times, and around 84% of the territory has been placed under evacuation orders by the Israeli military, according to the United Nations.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed across the border on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 250 to Gaza. More than 100 were released in a November cease-fire. Around 110 are believed to be in Gaza, though Israeli authorities believe around a third are dead. Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 Hamas militants, without providing evidence.
Gaza's Health Ministry said Saturday at least 40,074 Palestinians have been killed in the war. The ministry does not distinguish between fighters and civilians.
Mediators have spent months pursuing a three-phase plan in which Hamas would release the hostages in exchange for a lasting cease-fire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Efforts took on new urgency in recent weeks as diplomats hoped a deal would persuade Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah to hold off on retaliating for the killing of a top Hezbollah commander in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut and of Hamas’ top political leader in an explosion in Tehran that was widely blamed on Israel.
Israel and Hezbollah have traded fire since the war started, and an Israeli strike Saturday killed at least 10 Syrians, including a woman and her two children, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said. Israel said it targeted a Hezbollah weapons depot.
In what appeared to be a sign of confidence, mediators were beginning preparations for implementing the cease-fire proposal even before it was approved, said an American official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with rules set by the White House. The official said an “implementation cell” was being established in Cairo to focus on logistics — including freeing hostages, providing humanitarian aid for Gaza and ensuring the deal's terms are met. But Hamas cast doubt on whether an agreement was near, saying the latest proposal diverged significantly from a previous iteration they had accepted in principle.
Both sides agreed in principle to a plan announced on May 31 by U.S. President Joe Biden. But Hamas has proposed amendments, and Israel has suggested clarifications, leading each side to accuse the other of trying to block a deal.
The U.S. official said the latest proposal is the same as Biden’s, with some clarifications based on ongoing talks. The way it’s structured poses no risk to Israel’s security but enhances it, he added. Hamas has rejected Israel’s demands, which include a lasting military presence along the border with Egypt and a line bisecting Gaza where it would search Palestinians returning to their homes to root out militants. But Israel showed flexibility during the talks on retreating from the border corridor, and a meeting between Egyptian and Israeli military officials was scheduled for the following week to agree on a withdrawal mechanism, according to two Egyptian officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the private negotiations. Israel insisted on keeping control of the road bisecting Gaza, but U.S. mediators vowed to return to the talks next week with a compromise on that demand, the officials said. As part of diplomacy aimed at securing the deal, French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty in Cairo on Saturday. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken planned to travel to Israel over the weekend and was expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.

Israel kills two Hamas militants in West Bank air strike
Reuters/August 18, 2024
RAMALLAH, West Bank: Israel said it killed two senior Hamas militants in an airstrike on their car in Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, claiming they were involved in the killing of an Israeli. A joint statement from the Israel Security Agency and the Israel Defense Forces identified the militants as Ahmed Abu Ara and Rafet Dawasi, both from the West Bank’s northern district around Jenin. In a statement, Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades military wing said it was mourning the deaths of two fighters in an Israeli air strike on their vehicle in Jenin. The Israeli statement said the two militants were involved in planning a shooting attack last week in the West Bank’s Jordan Valley where an Israeli man, Yonatan Deutsch, was killed. Israeli authorities said then that Palestinian gunmen opened fire on a main road in the occupied West Bank on Aug. 11, killing one and wounding another. Later that day, the Al-Qassam Brigades said its West Bank-based fighters killed an Israeli soldier at point-blank range near the settlement of Mehola in the Jordan Valley and “returned to their bases safely.”Hamas said the operation came in retaliation for Israel’s strike on a school where displaced Palestinians were sheltering in Gaza City which the civil defense service said had killed at least 90 people. Violence in the West Bank has escalated since the war in Gaza between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas broke out in October, with more Israeli raids, Jewish settler violence and Palestinian street attacks. In a move condemned by the United States, the United Kingdom and France, Israeli settlers killed at least one Palestinian on Thursday in an attack on a village near the West Bank city of Qalqilya. The latest West Bank violence comes as a new round of talks in Doha aimed at ending 10 months of fighting in Gaza are due to resume next week. The Gaza war and escalating West Bank violence threaten to spill into a wider regional conflict involving Iran and its proxies in the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.

Report: Biden eyes Gaza deal next week, tries to deter Iran, Hezbollah
Naharnet/August 17, 2024 
U.S. President Joe Biden is aiming to get a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal by the end of next week while also trying to deter Iran and Hezbollah from conducting an attack on Israel that could undermine this effort, U.S. officials have told U.S. news portal Axios. "I'm optimistic. It's far from over. Just a couple more issues. I think we've got a shot," Biden told reporters on Friday. On Friday at the end of a two-day summit in Doha, the U.S. presented a new proposal to Israel and Hamas in an effort to close the remaining gaps and reach a deal. A U.S. official told Axios the proposal bridges nearly all of the remaining gaps that have been under discussion for the past six weeks. Among other outstanding issues, the new proposal tries to address the disagreement about the list of hostages to be released, the sequence in which they would be released and the list of Palestinian prisoners who will be released for every hostage. An Israeli official told Axios Israel agreed to decrease the number of Palestinian prisoners whose release they can veto in return for increasing the number of hostages who will be released every week during the first phase of the deal, which would last six weeks. "We think the package is basically there ready to be implemented," a U.S. official said. Shortly after the summit in Doha wrapped up on Friday, Biden called the Emir of Qatar and the President of Egypt to discuss the proposal and the plan for the coming days, the White House said. "There was a consensus between all three leaders that this process is now in the end game," a senior U.S. official said. The U.S. official admitted the deal is not perfect, but said it is the best deal possible at the moment that will get the hostages out, bring relief to the people of Gaza and decrease the risk of regional war. "If you continue negotiating for months and months and try to get a perfect deal, or every last drop of blood from the stone, you risk having no hostages left to save," the U.S. official said. Both U.S. and Israeli officials told Axios there was significant progress made during the negotiations in Doha on all of the remaining issues. But a senior Israeli official said most of this progress was done between Israel and the U.S., Qatari and Egyptian mediators and it is unclear if Hamas agrees. Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who is hiding in Gaza, still hasn't received a full readout and given an answer, the Israeli official said. Hamas official Ghazi Hamad, who is close to Sinwar, told Al-Mayadeen television on Friday that none of the remaining gaps were closed during the talks in Doha. Hamad claimed Netanyahu is trying to buy time and called on the U.S. and the other mediators to press Israel. A U.S. official said the positions Hamas representatives presented to the Egyptian and Qatari mediators over the two-day talks were more constructive than their public comments. "Hamas is under tremendous pressure," the U.S. official said. "The Iranians claimed during their talks with the Qataris that they want to see a ceasefire in Gaza and a de-escalation of tensions. Now is an opportunity to put their money where their mouth is and to basically work towards the conclusion of this over the coming week," a U.S. official said. The coming days are going to involve intense diplomacy to try to hammer out the final details. Experts from the U.S., Egypt, Qatar and Israel stayed in Qatar and will continue to work on the hostage and prisoner exchange implementation and other issues, U.S. and Israeli officials said. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will land in Israel on Sunday. He will meet Netanyahu on Monday and discuss some of the remaining issues.
On Sunday, experts from Israel, the U.S. and Egypt will meet in Cairo to try to conclude a deal on the security arrangements along the Philadelphi corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border and the re-opening of the Rafah crossing — two issues that are critical for the implementation of the deal. Another negotiations summit is expected to convene in Cairo on Wednesday with the aim of finishing it with a deal.

US warns Iran faces 'cataclysmic' consequences if it strikes Israel
Agence France Presse/August 17, 2024 
A U.S. official warned that Iran would face "cataclysmic" consequences and derail momentum toward a Gaza truce if it strikes Israel in response to the killing of a top Hamas official. The United States "would encourage the Iranians -- and I know many are -- not to move down that road, because the consequences could be quite cataclysmic, particularly for Iran," a senior U.S. official told reporters on customary condition of anonymity. President Joe Biden earlier Friday said that a ceasefire in the 10-month Gaza war was closer than ever after two days of talks in Qatar at which U.S. mediators presented a proposal to narrow gaps. "It was Hamas, a proxy of Iran, that started this war on October 7, and it would be ironic if Iran was do something to basically derail what we think is the best opportunity at a very comprehensive ceasefire and hostage release deal that we have had in many months," the U.S. official said. Iran has warned Israel of a response to the July 31 strike in Tehran that killed Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, for which Israel is widely suspected but has not claimed responsibility. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said earlier Friday in a joint meeting with his British and French counterparts that he expected support in "attacking significant targets" inside Iran if the Islamic republic strikes Israel. Asked about Katz's comments, the U.S. official said only that the United States, with Britain and France, was preparing for "every possible contingency."
"We are going to do everything that is needed to defend Israel against any attacks from Iran," he said.

Gaza records first polio case in 25 years as UN urges vaccinations
Agence France Presse/August 17, 2024 
Gaza has recorded its first polio case in 25 years, the Palestinian health ministry said, after U.N. chief Antonio Guterres called for pauses in the Israel-Hamas war to vaccinate hundreds of thousands of children. Tests in Jordan confirmed the disease in an unvaccinated 10-month-old from the central Gaza Strip, the health ministry in Ramallah said. According to the United Nations, Gaza, now in its 11th month of war, has not registered a polio case for 25 years, although type 2 poliovirus was detected in samples collected from the territory's wastewater in June. "Doctors suspected the presence of symptoms consistent with polio," the health ministry said. "After conducting the necessary tests in the Jordanian capital, Amman, the infection was confirmed." The case emerged shortly after Guterres called for two seven-day breaks in the Gaza war to vaccinate more than 640,000 children. Poliovirus, most often spread through sewage and contaminated water, is highly infectious. It can cause deformities and paralysis, and is potentially fatal. It mainly affects children under the age of five. The U.N. health and children's agencies said they had made detailed plans to reach children across the besieged Palestinian territory and could start this month.
But that would require pauses in the 10-month old war between Israel and Hamas, they said. "Preventing and containing the spread of polio will take a massive, coordinated and urgent effort," Guterres told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York.
"I am appealing to all parties to provide concrete assurances right away guaranteeing humanitarian pauses for the campaign."The World Health Organization and U.N. children's fund UNICEF said they were planning two seven-day vaccination drives across the Gaza Strip, starting in late August, against type 2 poliovirus (cVDPV2). Last month, it was announced that type 2 poliovirus had been detected in samples collected in Gaza on June 23. "These pauses in fighting would allow children and families to safely reach health facilities and community outreach workers to get to children who cannot access health facilities for polio vaccination," the agencies said in a statement said.
Regional public health issue -
After 25 years without polio, its re-emergence in the Gaza Strip would threaten neighboring countries, it added. "A ceasefire is the only way to ensure public health security in the Gaza Strip and the region."During each round of the campaign, the health ministry in Gaza, alongside U.N. agencies, would provide "two drops of novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) to more than 640,000 children under 10 years of age". More than 1.6 million doses of nOPV2 were expected to transit through Israel's Ben Gurion Airport "by the end of August," the statement added. The war was triggered by Hamas' unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel which allegedly resulted in the deaths of 1,198 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures. On Thursday, the toll from Israel's retaliatory military campaign in Gaza passed 40,000, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

Residents of West Bank town say deadly settler attack was ‘most vicious’ yet
Nadeen Ebrahim, Kareem Khadder, Nic Robertson and Sebastian Shukla, CNN/ August 17, 2024
When Moawya Ali saw a wave of Israeli settlers storm towards his house in the West Bank town of Jit, he grabbed his five children and rushed to his car, where he dropped them off at a nearby house for safety. When he returned to the house, Ali said, he saw some 30 settlers – armed, masked and dressed in black – jumping over the fence, breaking windows and throwing Molotov cocktails inside the house. CNN visited Ali’s house, where the majority of the ground floor was burnt down. Little was left of the chairs and sofas, which were completely hollowed from the flames and black with soot. A smell of smoke filled the air. “We are (Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir) Ben Gvir’s gang, we are here to kill you, here to kill Arabs,” the settlers shouted in both Arabic and Hebrew, according to Ali. “They told us to leave, to go to Sinai, to Jordan, to Syria,” Ali told CNN, recounting Thursday’s attack. “(They said) we will come back for you and kill you.”CNN has reached out to Ben Gvir’s office for comment. Ali’s home is one of several houses and cars damaged by what residents of Jit say was an assault by dozens of settlers on Thursday night, which drew scathing condemnation from top Israeli officials. The armed settlers stormed into the village from three different fronts at around 7:00 PM local time, residents told CNN. They fired bullets, tear gas and set homes and cars on fire, they said. Another resident, Mohamed Arman, was injured as he tried to confront the settlers, one of whom threw a rock at his face, he told CNN, cutting his lips open. A bandage covered the corner of his swollen mouth. The attackers also torched his car, he said. CCTV footage shared with CNN shows Arman confronting at least five settlers. In the footage, the settlers appear to be uniformly dressed in black, chasing Arman as he tries to drive them away. “They were prepared with weapons,” Arman said, adding that they had silencer firearms with live ammunition, knives and M16 rifles. “They came to commit a crime in the town,” he said. The attack has been condemned by top officials across Israel’s government, with a statement issued hours later by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office warning that “those responsible for any offense will be apprehended and tried.”
‘Netanyahu is but a toy’
One resident, Rashid Sedda, was killed in Thursday’s attack. According to the Palestinian Authority’s ministry of health, the 23-year-old died after an “injury to the chest by settlers’ bullets.”Hundreds gathered for his burial on Friday, where residents marched down the narrow streets of the town carrying Sedda’s body, wrapped in a Palestinian flag. Mourners blamed far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Ben Gvir for the attack, saying they have been instigating settler violence, and especially after October 7. “Netanyahu is but a toy in their hands,” said the preacher speaking at Sedda’s burial. In May, Smotrich said that Israel should approve 10,000 settlements in the West Bank, establish a new settlement for every country that recognizes a state of Palestine, and cancel travel permits for Palestinian Authority officials. In June, the minister said the way to prevent a Palestinian state that would endanger the state of Israel is to develop Jewish settlements. Netanyahu has long struggled to appease the far-right side of his coalition, and is currently under pressure to delay a ceasefire deal and press on with the war in Gaza, which today shows few signs of ending. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has recorded at least 1,143 settler attacks against Palestinians from October 7 to August 5 alone. Of those, at least 114 attacks “led to Palestinian fatalities and injuries,” according to OCHA. After Thursday’s attack, some settler leaders were keen to distance themselves from the attackers. Smotrich, who lives in the Kedumim settlement just 10 minutes away, called attackers “criminals” who “are in no way related to the settlements and the settlers.”In a statement, Ben Gvir suggested that the riot would not have happened if the Israeli military were allowed to shoot stone-throwers in the West Bank. Ben Gvir said he “told the [IDF] Chief of the General Staff this evening that the fact that we don’t let soldiers shoot any terrorist who throws stones is leading to events of the type that occurred tonight.”“At the same time, it is unequivocally forbidden to take the law into one’s own hands,” he added. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have also condemned the attack, saying in a statement that Israeli security forces were dispatched to Jit “minutes after receiving the report of this incident” and “used riot dispersal means, fired shots into the air, and removed the Israeli civilians from the town.”
An Israeli civilian involved in the riot has been apprehended for questioning, and a joint investigation by Israeli security forces is looking into the death of the Palestinian resident, it also said.
The world ‘does nothing’
Statements by Israeli officials did little to cool residents’ anger, however.
Murad Eshtewi, spokesman for Fatah in the Qalqilya Province, where the town of Jit is located, said that attacks by settlers are always given a greenlight by settler leaders. Fatah is the leading party in the Palestinian Authority (PA), which governs the West Bank. “We cannot believe in the contradiction Netanyahu is now living. It sends a message to settlers that they can launch their attacks on the people of the town Jit,” he told CNN, adding that this also shows that Netanyahu is not serious about stopping the war. While the prime minister is enjoying the support of his far-right ministers, Eshtewi said, blood is being spilled in Gaza and the West Bank. Residents of Jit said that attacks by settlers have been rampant since Netanyahu’s new government and more so after October 7, but that Thursday’s attack was unprecedented.
They fear it may not be the last.
“Yesterday’s event was not the first and will not be the last,” Jamal Yamin, a resident of Jit and member of the municipally committee, told CNN. “But it was the most vicious.”Yamin said that it is up to the international community to stop the violence, as the Palestinian people have no means of confronting these attacks.“The world sees and hears what happens, and does nothing,” he said.For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com

The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on August 17-18/2024
Iran's Mullahs and Their Deadly Serious Plan: The Total Annihilation of Israel and the US
Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute./August 17, 2024
This conflict is a battle for survival not only for Israel but for the region, and ultimately for Europe and the United States.
Israel understands the stakes: Iran's belligerency requires an unequivocally committed response from the United States. In that part of the world, wishy-washy means a green light, open season. The consequences are assumed to vary from minimal to non-existent – and often even a profit!
Iran has no interest in becoming a sand dune. That is why it has proxies, so that they will do the attacking and take the incoming retaliation, ensuring that their devoted patron, Iran, will not have to. Iran's proxies are its human shields.
"Now, ask yourself, which country ultimately stands in the way of Iran's maniacal plans to impose radical Islam on the world? And the answer is clear: It's America, the guardian of Western civilization and the world's greatest power. That's why Iran sees America as its greatest enemy.... That's why the mobs in Tehran chant 'Death to Israel' before they chant 'Death to America.' For Iran Israel is first, America is next.... When Israel acts to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.... [that] threaten every American city.... we're not only protecting ourselves. We're protecting you." — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Address to US Congress, July 25, 2024.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei... has gone as far as proclaiming to the youth of Iran that they will soon witness the downfall of both Israel and American civilization.
Has anyone noticed how Russian President Vladimir Putin's threat of using nuclear weapons succeeded in intimidating the Biden-Harris administration? Why wasn't the Biden-Harris administration intimidating Putin?
As [General Hossein] Salami [chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] boasted, Iran has empowered its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, to such an extent that it now has the capability to "wipe out Israel" on its own. — timesofisrael.com, January 28, 2019.
The US should make it unequivocally clear that any entity that attacks Israel will face costs it cannot even imagine.
The Iranian regime and its proxies appear to believe they have the perfect opportunity to eradicate Israel. They perceive a weak administration in the United States under President Joe Biden and VP Kamala Harris: the US has released billions of dollars that mainly assist Iran in arming its proxies.
The stakes could not be higher. The United States must prevent Iran's unfathomably dangerous prophecy from becoming a lethal reality.
This conflict is a battle for survival not only for Israel but for the region, and ultimately for Europe and the United States. (Image source: iStock/Getty Images)
The war initiated against Israel on October 7 by the Iranian regime, along with its proxies and terrorist groups — Hamas, the Houthis, Hezbollah, and Iraqi Shia militias — is far more than a minor skirmish or an isolated act of aggression.
The conflict appears to be a meticulously orchestrated campaign aimed at the total annihilation, at this point, of the Jewish state.
The Biden-Harris administration does not yet seem aware of the real gravity of the situation. Although it has recently provided much extremely welcome support to Israel, it has not shown until last week the unwavering support that would have acted as a real deterrent. That is what would have caused the Iranian regime to have second thoughts, stopped them dead in their tracks.
This conflict is a battle for survival not only for Israel but for the region, and ultimately for Europe and the United States.
Israel understands the stakes: Iran's belligerency requires an unequivocally committed response from the United States. In that part of the world, wishy-washy means a green light, open season. The consequences are assumed to vary from minimal to non-existent – and often even a profit!
Apart from extremely generous supply ships and materiel, rhetorically there has been just another unelectrifying "Don't." Where is the message that if Iran or any of its sidekicks goes anywhere near Israel -- or anyone else -- what a shame it would be if a country as magnificent as the Islamic Republic of Iran, along with its distinguished regime, were actually to be returned to the seventh century?
Iran has no interest in becoming a sand dune. That is why it has proxies, so that they will do the attacking and take the incoming retaliation, ensuring that their devoted patron, Iran, will not have to. Iran's proxies are its human shields.
The Gaza war, was, after all, started by Hamas, with the direct support from Iran. Hamas, with funding from Qatar, the consigliere of all Islamic terrorist groups, and orchestrated by Iran, brazenly invaded a sovereign nation. This was not just a military operation, but a brutal campaign of torturing, mutilating, raping, murdering and kidnapping innocent civilians — not only Israelis but people from other countries. The war was initiated by unprovoked, bloodthirsty acts of violence that disregarded the very foundations of international law and human rights. Its aim seemed only to express psychopathic behavior and reap as large a ransom as one could dream up.
The war has since evolved into a dangerous seven-front jihad against Israel, conducted by an array of militias and terrorist organizations, directed and funded by Iran. And this is the hospitality Iran is offering before it has nuclear weapons.
The Iranian regime, since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, has made its goal unmistakably clear: the complete destruction of the State of Israel. The objective is not merely political, but deeply rooted in the Islamist ideology that drives the regime's actions. From the founder of Iran's Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, to the current Supreme Guide Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, there has been a consistent prophecy, demanding first the eradication of Israel, then of the United States. As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, "the Churchill of the Middle East," reminded the US Congress:
"In the Middle East, Iran is virtually behind all the terrorism, all the turmoil, all the chaos, all the killing..... When he founded the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khomeini pledged, 'We will export our revolution to the entire world. We will export the Islamic revolution to the entire world.' Now, ask yourself, which country ultimately stands in the way of Iran's maniacal plans to impose radical Islam on the world? And the answer is clear: It's America, the guardian of Western civilization and the world's greatest power. That's why Iran sees America as its greatest enemy.
Last month, I heard a revealing comment... from the foreign minister of Iran's proxy, Hezbollah, and he said this: 'This is not a war with Israel. Israel,' he said, 'is merely a tool. The main war, the real war, is with America....'
"But Iran understands that to truly challenge America, it must first conquer the Middle East. And for this it uses its many proxies, including the Houthis, Hezbollah and Hamas....
"That's why the mobs in Tehran chant 'Death to Israel' before they chant 'Death to America.' For Iran Israel is first, America is next. So, when Israel fights Hamas, we're fighting Iran. When we fight Hezbollah, we're fighting Iran. When we fight the Houthis, we're fighting Iran. And when we fight Iran, we're fighting the most radical and murderous enemy of the United States of America.
"And one more thing. When Israel acts to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons that could destroy Israel and threaten every American city, every city that you come from, we're not only protecting ourselves. We're protecting you."
The US might scoff, but to Iran's leaders, the plan is a deadly serious one that shapes Iran's foreign policy to this day.
It must have just as easy to think that Hitler could not really have wanted to exterminate the Jews. Does anyone imagine that if Hitler had acquired nuclear weapons, he would not have used them? He would not even have had to use them; he could just have reminded everyone of the threat. Has anyone noticed how Russian President Vladimir Putin's threat of using nuclear weapons succeeded in intimidating the Biden-Harris administration? Why wasn't the Biden-Harris administration intimidating Putin?
General Hossein Salami, the chief of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), openly articulated the regime's aggressive stance. "Our strategy is to erase Israel from the global political map," he declared on Iran's state-controlled Channel 2 TV in 2019. If that was insufficiently convincing, try Khamenei's 416-page roadmap to destroying Israel, Palestine. The book emphasizes the regime's unwavering dedication to its goal in the future where Israel ceases to exist.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds the ultimate authority over all of Iran's domestic and foreign policies, has gone as far as proclaiming to the youth of Iran that they will soon witness the downfall of both Israel and American civilization. His statement is a helpful reminder of the regime's long-term ambitions:
"You young people should be assured that you will witness the demise of the enemies of humanity, meaning the degenerate American civilization, and the demise of Israel."
One of the key objectives of Iran's sponsorship, training, and arming of proxies is the targeting of Israel. As Salami boasted, Iran has empowered its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, to such an extent that it now has the capability to "wipe out Israel" on its own.
The Iranian regime and its proxies appear to believe they have the perfect opportunity to eradicate Israel. They perceive a weak administration in the United States under President Joe Biden and VP Kamala Harris: the US has released billions of dollars that mainly assist Iran in arming its proxies. The Biden administration has been purposefully lax in enforcing sanctions, by allowing Iran to sell oil at record highs, which in turn also funds its terrorist activities. The lack of full military and political support behind Israel, until a few days ago, has only emboldens Iran and its allies, and created a dangerous vacuum that Tehran would be only too happy to exploit.
The Biden-Harris administration has taken action to provide Israel with the ammunition, political backing, and military assistance it needs to defend itself against this existential threat. Israel may need more. The US should make it unequivocally clear that any entity that attacks Israel will face costs it cannot even imagine. Sanctions should be enforced rigorously, and financial lifelines cut off the that enable Iran and its proxies to continue their war efforts. The time for half-measures is over; the U.S. must stand firmly with Israel and the Free World to ensure their survival in the face of what will otherwise be a never-ending onslaught.
The Iranian regime seems to believe that it has found an opportune moment, with the window possibly closing, to fulfill its Islamist and fundamentalist prophecy of first annihilating the low-hanging fruit: "the little Satan," Israel. The stakes could not be higher. The United States must prevent Iran's unfathomably dangerous prophecy from becoming a lethal reality.
**Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He has authored several books on Islam and US Foreign Policy. He can be reached at Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu
© 2024 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Four big challenges from Turkiye’s aging population
Sinem Cengiz/Arab News/August 17/2024
As the global population ages, Turkiye, once proud of its people’s youth, is also facing a significant aging population issue that is gradually undermining its economy.
Population aging is a critical issue for developed countries around the world, many of which are experiencing severe declines in their populations. Developed countries such as China, Japan, Germany and other European nations are addressing this challenge through socio-economic programs, as an aging population profoundly affects both social life and the economy.
Developing countries like Turkiye are also beginning to face this issue. While Turkiye is still categorized as having a young population, its demographic advantage is diminishing day by day, as the country rapidly heads toward the aging crisis experienced by all developed countries. Turkiye was previously reliant on its youthful demographic during its bid for EU membership, with this segment of the population being a key factor in its stability. However, this advantage has started to fade.
According to population projections, the proportion of young people in Turkiye’s population could fall below 10 percent between 2050 and 2100. Currently, with a young population rate of 15.1 percent, Turkiye is slightly below the global average of 15.5 percent. According to 2023 statistics, the fertility rate (number of children per woman) was 1.51, down from 1.63 the previous year. To maintain a stable population, this ratio must be above 2.1. Since 2001, when the fertility rate was 2.38, there has been a sharp decline. The current rate of 1.51 is even lower than the US rate of 1.61. So, why and how did Turkiye, which had a youth advantage, reach this point?
While Turkiye is still categorized as having a young population, its demographic advantage is diminishing day by day
Several factors contribute to this trend. First, economic conditions play a major role in declining fertility rate as young people avoid having children due to financial uncertainty and the high cost of living, including education and child-rearing. Almost one-third of Turkiye’s population is at risk of poverty or social exclusion, according to a recent report published by the Turkish Statistical Institute.
Second, brain drain, which also is related to economic issues, exacerbates the situation. Turkiye, unfortunately, has failed to fully capitalize on its youthful demographic. Economic instability, limited job opportunities and political uncertainties have driven many young, qualified individuals to seek better opportunities abroad, which negatively affects the local labor market, contributing to a decrease in the youth population.
Third, changing societal attitudes toward family life are also a factor. Modern society’s shift toward individualism, higher costs and lifestyle changes have led to smaller family sizes. There are also problems such as living costs, but the main issue concerns personal preferences of individuals delaying having children for career or personal reasons, leading to a shrinking youth population.
Fourth, some families are reluctant to have children in a society experiencing high levels of immigration, which is believed to create an insecure environment for raising children. The sensitivity of Turkish society toward immigration issues has become increasingly apparent in recent years.
Since the 2000s, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly urged Turkish families to have at least three children, highlighting that a nation’s strength lies in its families and their size. While many leaders view this as a serious issue, such calls must be supported by effective programs to have a real impact, or else will fall on deaf ears. Promoting family-friendly policies, such as extended parental leave, childcare support and housing benefits, is crucial. In 2015, the Turkish government initiated the Program on Protection of Family and Dynamic Population Structure to provide further incentives for working women to have children. The program was launched as part of labor law reforms. This year, the Ministry of Family and Social Services, in collaboration with the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, has begun work on proposals to extend maternity leave, provide financial aid for childcare and offer housing support, among other benefits.
Modern society’s shift toward individualism, higher costs and lifestyle changes have led to smaller family sizes
Supporting youth employment is also essential to encourage young people to stay in Turkiye and start families. Brain drain will continue to affect fertility rates and human capital formation in Turkiye. Furthermore, the approach to working women should be reassessed. There is a stigma in Turkiye that childless women are “deficient” or “incomplete.” Instead, policies that help women that want to be mothers balance work and family life could yield positive results.
On existing trends, Turkiye may face challenges similar to those experienced by Europe in the coming decades. According to the main scenario, Turkiye’s young population is expected to number about 9.1 million by 2050. The proportion of young people among the total population is anticipated to decrease to 9.66 percent during this period.
There are several challenges for Turkiye in the future that are likely to impact various aspects of society and the economy. The first is the decline in economic growth and productivity due to the shrinking working-age population. The second is demographic imbalance; the decreasing fertility rate could potentially lead to Turks becoming a minority in their own country within the next generation. The demographic imbalance is also related to the balance between the old and young population. Third, a smaller population will impact military power, as military service relies on a young population. Last, the decline in population will contribute to an increase in loneliness and produce adverse psychological effects within society. The aging population presents challenges and potential consequences. Addressing this issue should be a top priority, with effective strategies.
• Sinem Cengiz is a Turkish political analyst who specializes in Turkiye’s relations with the Middle East. X: @SinemCngz

Countering Iran in East Syria Means Moderating the SDF
Andrew J. Tabler/The Washington Institute/Aug 17, 2024
Groups supported by Iran and the Assad regime have found some local traction due in part to grievances against the Kurdish-led SDF’s governance strategy in Arab tribal areas.
On August 6, armed groups crossed the Euphrates River and attacked several villages controlled by the U.S.-supported, Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Located near U.S. military positions at the Conoco and al-Omar oil facilities in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, the villages were swarmed by fighters aligned with Bashar al-Assad’s regime and Iran.
Over the past year, Washington has blunted Tehran’s efforts to push U.S. forces out of Syria and Iraq, in part by helping the SDF repel attacks similar to last week’s. Yet despite suppressing various militia provocations and local uprisings, the SDF now faces growing pressure in Arab areas under its control—particularly from the so-called “Tribal Forces for the Liberation of al-Jazira and the Euphrates,” a rebranded Iran-backed proxy that seems bent on making the challenge far more difficult in the months ahead. At the same time, Iranian militia attacks on U.S. forces have spiked since July, feeding concerns that Washington will withdraw its troops. Rather than simply assuaging these concerns, however, Washington may find that they provide leverage—on partners and adversaries alike—to change the worsening dynamics in eastern Syria, regardless of whether a withdrawal happens in the coming year or not.
The Attacks, the Response, and the U.S. Presence
The groups that launched last week’s attack included the National Defense Forces, a paramilitary supported by the Assad regime and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC); the Arab Tribal and Clan Forces, led by Ibrahim al-Hifl, a pro-regime sheikh from the Ougaidat tribe; and the aforementioned “Liberation of al-Jazira” group led by Hashim al-Sattam (aka Abu Bassam), another Ougaidat leader who has sided with Assad and Iran. In each case, fighters used mortars and artillery to briefly take the villages of Diban, al-Latwa, and Abu Hamam, leaving six SDF soldiers dead and nine injured. The SDF quickly retook the villages with U.S. assistance, including attack helicopters.
Hifl—who led an uprising against the SDF in August 2023—declared that the assault was the beginning of a war to “cleanse” the area of “terrorist Qandil gangs,” referring to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leadership that largely controls the SDF from bases in Iraq’s Qandil Mountains. His remarks were particularly significant given recent clashes in northern Syria between the SDF and militias supported by Turkey, which has fought the terrorist-designated PKK at home and abroad for decades. These northern clashes followed reports of talks between Syrian and Turkish officials with the apparent aim of arranging a meeting between Assad and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in line with the growing regional normalization of relations with Damascus.
Meanwhile, next month marks the ten-year anniversary of the U.S.-led war against the Islamic State (IS), which saw American forces deployed to Syria in 2015 to support the SDF. Since the territorial defeat of IS in 2019, and in lieu of a viable settlement to the Syria war, around 900 U.S. personnel have remained in the east to help prevent IS from reconstituting. This U.S.-monitored zone—dubbed the Eastern Syria Security Area (ESSA)—is home to a number of Sunni Arab tribes that have longstanding grievances against the SDF, ranging from sectarian issues with the group’s Kurdish leadership to criticisms that SDF officials favor certain Arab tribes and clans to the detriment of others.
Some of these tribal factions have steadily escalated their grievances into armed action against the SDF—particularly elements of the Ougaidat tribe. Notably, many Ougaidat also hold longstanding grievances against the United States, dating back to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. (The tribe is prevalent in both countries and harbored numerous Baath officers after Saddam Hussein’s fall.)
When the SDF arrested Abu Khawla al-Dayri—the head of the “Deir al-Zour Military Council”—on corruption charges in August 2023, it set off a tribal uprising that took ten days to suppress. Locals briefly rebelled again in late September, beginning with a river assault by Hifl’s Arab Tribal and Clan Forces against SDF positions on the eastern bank of the Euphrates. Hifl originally hails from Diban but now operates from Assad-controlled areas directly across the river, including the Iranian stronghold of Mayadin. Throughout autumn 2023 and spring 2024, he continued to launch attacks from these areas, causing the SDF to return fire.
Besides cracking down on local officials, the SDF also reportedly took over school buildings throughout Deir al-Zour province, disrupting local education and driving up tensions with Arab residents. The group apparently took this step following reports that Iran and Russia were trying to exacerbate SDF-tribal friction in order to pressure the United States to leave Syria. These tensions have only worsened amid the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza, during which Iranian militias have attacked U.S. targets in Syria over 100 times, spurring periodic U.S. counterstrikes.
How Iran Exacerbates Arab Tribal Tensions
According to local sources, Hifl’s position has eroded over the past three months due to his openly pro-regime position and cross-river attacks against the SDF. In late 2023 and early 2024, the Assad regime supported him by providing assistance and giving him freedom of movement throughout the western part of Deir al-Zour province, which straddles both sides of the Euphrates. But this came at a cost. Many of Hifl’s followers seemed uncomfortable with his pro-Assad stance, especially those from the SDF-controlled Jazira region east of the Euphrates, leading many to desert or return home under SDF amnesties.
When Hifl’s attacks intensified earlier this year, the SDF answered by stepping up its shelling along the river’s western bank—not just against Hifl’s position, but also against populated areas. In response, angry local residents demanded that the Assad regime stop Hifl’s attacks. Soon thereafter, Syrian intelligence chief Husam Luqa issued an order—reportedly at Russia’s urging—to stop all anti-SDF attacks and avoid further escalation, leading to a period of calm in May-June.
Yet other disruptive Iran-backed forces soon came to the fore. The most prominent was Hashim al-Sattam’s “Lions of the Ougaidat Brigade”—later renamed the “Tribal Forces for the Liberation of al-Jazira and the Euphrates”—which began recruiting fighters for renewed attacks against the SDF. His connections to Iran are extensive; he serves as an official in the IRGC’s office in Mayadin and recruits locals in Diban (his hometown, much like Hifl). With funding from the IRGC and its smuggling and narcotics networks, Sattam’s group was able to lure members away from Hifl’s militia and is now estimated to number as many as 800 fighters in four units.
Leading up to last week’s attacks, Sattam reportedly organized the river assault and contacted his relatives in Diban to launch an uprising against the SDF when his forces entered the village. Although Hifl’s forces may have captured all the headlines following the attacks, Sattam and his Iran-backed group appear to have played a much larger role in actually conducting the operation.
Policy Recommendations
In light of these events, Iran’s efforts to exacerbate tensions in eastern Syria appear to be expanding in lockstep with its efforts to expel U.S. forces. As Washington contemplates a potential withdrawal down the road, it should take measures now to avoid a scenario in which the SDF suffers an Afghanistan-like collapse while pro-Assad and pro-Iran forces triumphantly return to the east. This includes sustaining both diplomatic support for the anti-IS mission in Syria and military support for the SDF in repelling attacks from Assad/Iran-controlled areas across the Euphrates.
U.S. officials must also acknowledge that local friction has spiked in part because the SDF often takes a heavy hand when suppressing tribal uprisings or otherwise dealing with local Arab communities. Tensions related to the Gaza war have only exacerbated these problems. Although Washington cannot do much about the latter factor at the moment, it can change how it deals with the SDF.
To be sure, after a decade of fighting IS “by, with, and through” the SDF, the United States still relies heavily on the group’s administration of eastern Syria. Yet the SDF’s Kurdish-dominated leadership has alienated Arab tribes, and Washington’s past entreaties have failed to liberalize the group’s approach. The current dynamic is unsustainable—to change it, Washington could leverage the specter of a U.S. withdrawal to compel the SDF to be more accommodating toward Arab tribal communities. U.S. officials should also urge the group to identify and engage with more moderate tribal leaders (i.e., those more favorable toward the United States and not prone to the Salafist strains of thought at the core of IS ideology). These leaders could in turn serve as the backbone of new Sunni local forces allied with the SDF. This would likely take some time (and arm twisting), but the potential long-term benefits are considerable.
Such efforts would be even more effective if combined with U.S. and European support for projects related to drinking water, irrigation, and farming. These initiatives could help young Syrians build better livelihoods than what they are currently being offered by Iran and the Assad regime.
One practical place to start is by encouraging the SDF to withdraw from schools in Deir al-Zour, which may help decrease tensions and make local residents less likely to fall under the sway of Iran-backed figures like Sattam. Allowing instruction to resume would have the added benefit of producing better-educated youths who may be less likely to join IS or other extremist groups in the future.
Whatever approach Washington takes toward the latest clashes, it should realize that withdrawing from Syria now—with IS resurgent, the threat of broader regional war increasing, and Iran’s so-called “axis of resistance” emboldened—would be a mistake. To sustain America’s presence and the viability of its local partner forces, U.S. officials need to moderate the SDF’s problematic approach to governance.
**Andrew Tabler is the Martin J. Gross Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute and former director for Syria on the National Security Council.

A Year of Suwayda Protests Show That Assad Is No Partner
Erik Yavorsky/The Washington Institute/Aug 17, 2024
The regime’s increasing violence against a once-loyal Druze minority is yet another reminder that “normalizing” relations with Assad will never yield the stability neighboring states crave.
On August 16, Syria’s southwestern province of Suwayda will mark one year of continuous protests against Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Led by the Druze community—which constitutes 90 percent of Suwayda’s population and around 3 percent of the country as a whole—the movement has poked holes in both the regime’s sectarian mosaic and Assad’s narrative that he is the sole protector of Syrian minorities.
Thus far, the regime has opted against a full-scale crackdown on the province, instead employing intimidation, targeted assassinations, military checkpoints, and kidnappings in a bid to snuff out the movement. Although the protests are unlikely to spur Assad’s ouster, their persistence highlights two glaring facts: the regime is still struggling to exert control over the territory it supposedly holds (approximately 70 percent of the country), and the underlying factors that first spurred the protests (a poor economy, lack of political freedoms, and the proliferation of armed gangs) are all worse a year later.
In that sense, the protests serve as a warning sign to the many regional states that are working to bring Assad back into the regional fold. Given the regime’s failure to meet the needs of its majority and minority populations or even stabilize its areas of control, Assad will likely be unable to deliver on his promises to these neighbors, including their demand that he curb Syria’s massive cross-border trafficking of Captagon, weapons, and other illicit goods.
Protest Origins and Slow-Motion Escalation
When demonstrations first erupted in Suwayda in August 2023, they largely focused on addressing local economic problems and political repression. Two days before the protests began, the Presidential Palace announced that it was doubling public wages and pensions, partly in response to worsening economic conditions (e.g., the Syrian pound lost 80 percent of its value in the previous three months). Yet the regime simultaneously slashed gas subsidies, causing diesel prices to skyrocket 180 percent.
The economic indicators have remained abysmal in 2024: the Syrian pound sits at SYP 14,800 to the U.S. dollar (compared to SYP 46 before the civil war), real GDP is expected to contract by 1.5 percent, and inflation is set to rise to 99.7 percent. Taken together, these problems have kept even basic items out of reach for the average Syrian.
Not long after the Suwayda movement formed, its demands shifted to calling for Assad’s ouster—partly due to the worsening economic outlook, but also because of the violent response from Damascus. In keeping with the regime’s old playbook for maintaining order, security personnel began using live fire to suppress the protests early on and continued this approach well into 2024.
By early summer, Damascus was using a broad range of suppression tactics. Some of these methods signaled the regime’s realization that Suwayda is a minority-dominated area whose residents were traditionally loyal to Assad but could be permanently flipped to the opposition if he orders a full-scale crackdown; others reflected the regime’s desire to keep the protests out of the headlines amid widening regional normalization efforts:
New military governor. On May 12, the regime announced the appointment of Maj. Gen. Akram Ali Muhammad as Suwayda’s new governor—a move that many locals viewed as a threat to the protest movement. Although past governors had security backgrounds as well, General Muhammad was deeply involved in the violent repression of civilians throughout the war. His selection mirrored the August 2023 appointment of Firas Ahmed al-Hamid, another prominent intelligence official who was named governor of Tartus after protests began to increase in that province and Latakia. Notably, Latakia is the home province of the Assad family’s core Alawite community, another key Syrian minority.
Checkpoint clashes. In June, local groups engaged in armed clashes with regime forces after an intrusive military checkpoint was erected in Suwayda’s capital city. The confrontation lasted for hours and resulted in numerous injuries to both sides. After mediation by local notables, the regime agreed to keep the checkpoint in place but avoid using it to stop and question civilians. At the time, analysts noted that the clashes were Suwayda’s first incident of this magnitude “in years.”
Kidnappings. Tit-for-tat security detentions and kidnappings have been on the rise and could spur escalation in the near future. One of the most prominent cases emerged on June 21 after security forces seized Raed al-Matni, a senior protest figure. In response, his associates kidnapped four regime security officers. Matni was released a day later, and the security personnel soon thereafter. Although Suwayda has a long history of kidnappings, this incident highlighted how quickly events could escalate if the regime continues targeting local notables.
Divide and conquer. Earlier this month, a new faction with links to Syrian military intelligence was formed in Mafaleh and declared its loyalty to Assad. Protesters reportedly aimed to stage a demonstration in opposition to the group, but other townspeople apparently assembled between the two factions for fear of escalation. The regime has also tried to divide Druze religious leaders in Suwayda, where its top ally remains Yusuf Jarbou—a sheikh who pledged that the province “will not deviate from the decision of the Syrian state” during an anti-protest speech trumpeted by regime-aligned media in August 2023.
Election violence. When Syria’s July 15 parliamentary elections were first announced, local protests served as a central meeting place for Suwayda activists to organize a boycott. Once voting commenced, some protesters burned ballot boxes while security personnel fired into the crowd. That same month, many locals participated in a separate vote to select eleven members for a new protest body called the “Political Committee of the Popular Movement of Suwayda.”
Assassinations. On July 18, protest leader Murhaj al-Jaramani was killed while sleeping in his home, allegedly with a silenced firearm. The hit had all the hallmarks of regime involvement, and locals viewed it as an attempt to stoke fear within the movement. Jaramani led Liwa al-Jabal, a prominent militia involved in countering the rampant drug smuggling operations supported and run by the regime and its local allies, including highly publicized armed clashes in June. The day after his funeral, protesters invoked his memory by chanting, “The bullets of treachery will not frighten us.” Three weeks later, protest leader Rawad Sadiq escaped another alleged assassination attempt by unidentified gunmen.
Policy Implications
All of these trends indicate that protests are likely to continue in Suwayda. Local armed groups have shown they are willing to fight back against regime forces when they feel a red line has been crossed. Continued kidnappings, especially against high-profile individuals with broad followings, will only heighten the possibility of escalating clashes. Far from killing the movement, regime repression has stoked further anti-Assad sentiment. Damascus likely calculates that it is still too risky to launch a broader crackdown on the Druze. As a result, its policy toward Suwayda increasingly resembles its approach to neighboring Deraa, where kidnappings and assassinations are even more frequent.
Ultimately, these protests hold little chance of toppling the regime, since Damascus has proven its willingness to use whatever brutal means are required to maintain control. Yet they still merit close American attention, in part because the United States and its allies have a keen interest in halting the flow of Captagon and weapons from southern Syria into Jordan and beyond.
One way Washington could help is by amplifying its messaging about the regime’s violent tactics, using both English and Arabic media to emphasize that such actions make a final settlement to the war ever more distant. These messages should be reinforced with sanctions against regime officials and individuals involved in suppressing the protests, with the goal of deterring a wider crackdown or, failing that, holding specific perpetrators accountable. In line with the Biden administration’s emphasis on human rights violations in Syria, this approach would also serve as a stark reminder to those states pushing for normalization—namely, that Assad’s rule is still based on extreme violence and repression, and that he is unable to stabilize Syrian territory and deliver on key asks such as curbing the Captagon trade. Ideally, these states should withhold further engagement until the regime begins making visible changes in its domestic and regional behavior.
*Erik Yavorsky is a former research assistant in The Washington Institute’s Rubin Program on Arab Politics.

Why averting a regional war in the Middle East is top priority for both US presidential candidates
ANAN TELLO/Arab News/August 17, 2024
LONDON: Domestic issues like the cost of living tend to dominate the minds of US voters ahead of election season. However, few can have ignored the gathering clouds of war in the Middle East and what this might mean for US allies in the region.
Indeed, events in Israel, Iran, and the Arab countries that have been dragged into their regional rivalry have already become a key feature of debate in November’s race for the White House, with the contenders setting out opposing positions.
Characteristically, Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee and former president, has said an escalating crisis in the Middle East could trigger a third world war — a catastrophe that only he could avert if he is returned to office.
During an interview on Aug. 12 with Elon Musk on the tech entrepreneur’s social media platform X, Trump said neither the war in Ukraine nor the conflict in Gaza would have happened had he occupied the White House instead of the incumbent Joe Biden.
“If I were in office, the (Hamas-led) attack on Israel would never have happened, Russia would never have invaded Ukraine, we wouldn’t have inflation in our country, and the disaster in Afghanistan wouldn’t have occurred,” he said.
Promising he would contain the threats emanating from Tehran, he added: “All this stuff that you’re seeing now, all the horror that you look at. Israel, they’re all waiting for an attack from Iran. Iran would not be attacking, believe me.”
On the day Trump’s interview aired, the Israeli military said it was at “peak readiness” for a retaliatory attack for its killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Aug. 3 and senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut on July 30.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby, meanwhile, said that while “it is difficult to ascertain at this particular time, if there is an attack by Iran and or its proxies, what that could look like,” Israel and the US had to be “prepared for what could be a significant set of attacks.”
President Biden has sought out the support of his counterparts in the UK, France, Germany and Italy to help de-escalate tensions in the region and also broker a ceasefire deal between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.
The conflict in Gaza, which followed the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, has spilled over into neighboring countries, with Israeli rockets and drones striking targets across Syria and Lebanon, and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia trading fire with Israel on the Lebanese border.
In a joint statement, the European leaders called on Iran to “stand down its ongoing threats of a military attack against Israel,” and highlighted “the serious consequences for regional security should such an attack take place.”
Trump’s pledge to prevent an Iranian counterattack is couched in his full-blooded support for Israel. During his interview with Musk, Trump accused his opponent, the Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, of being “so anti-Israel” and having chosen “an anti-Israel radical left person” as her running mate, referring to Harris’s vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz.
Trump’s support for Israel is widely recognized. In July, the leader of the Republican Jewish Coalition, Matt Brooks, said he believes Trump will give Israel a “blank check” to eliminate Hamas in Gaza should be return to office. During the first presidential debate with Biden in June when he was still the Democratic Party’s nominee, Trump had called the outgoing president “a very bad Palestinian” who does not want to help Israel “finish the job” against Hamas. “He doesn’t want to do it. He’s become like a Palestinian — but they don’t like him because he’s a very bad Palestinian, he’s a weak one,” Trump said. This came despite Biden reiterating his strong support for Israel in its war against Hamas.
INNUMBERS
• $20 billion US weapons package sale to Israel approved on Aug. 13, including fighter jets and advanced air-to-air missiles.
• $674 million US contribution to humanitarian aid for Palestinians since Oct. 7, 2023.
Harris was chosen to replace Biden as the Democratic nominee after his poor performance in June’s debate raised concerns about his cognitive abilities. Although she is keen to reduce tensions in the Middle East, Harris has been critical of Israel’s conduct in Gaza.
While incessantly reaffirming her “unwavering commitment” to the existence and security of Israel, she stressed in her Arizona campaign speech on Aug. 9 that “now is the time” to secure a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, adding that she and Biden are working “around the clock every day” to achieve this.
Harris also expressed her “serious concern about the scale of human suffering in Gaza, including the death of far too many innocent civilians” during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on June 25.
US Vice President Kamala Harris meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington last month. (AFP/File)
“I made clear my serious concern about the dire humanitarian situation there, with over 2 million people facing high levels of food insecurity and half a million people facing catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity,” she said following the meeting.
“What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating — the images of dead children and desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second, third, or fourth time.
“We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering. And I will not be silent.”
In addition to killing more than 40,000 people in Gaza, at least 15,000 of them children, Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza has brought health and sanitation services to their knees, wounded tens of thousands, and displaced some 1.9 million of the enclave’s 2.1 million population.
Humanitarian aid agencies and human rights organizations have accused the Israeli government of committing war crimes against Palestinians, including the deliberate starvation of civilians in Gaza. However, as far as the US election is concerned, debates and disagreements over the conflict appear somewhat superficial.
Ray Hanania, an award-winning former Chicago City Hall political reporter and columnist, believes “the two major party candidates are focused on addressing the politics of a potential widening regional war in the Middle East, but not in its causes.”
He told Arab News: “Both Harris and Trump are addressing the conflict in a limited way by expressing concerns for the unprecedented humanitarian crisis facing Gaza’s population, careful to only define that population in generic terms not as suffering civilians, women and children. “Both Harris and Trump are instead more focused on the politics of the potential conflict, blaming Iran, for example, and urging Arab states to refrain from engaging in the Gaza conflict.” The two candidates, he said, “conspicuously avoid the cause of the conflict, which is Israel’s excessive and unbridled military violence in Gaza fueled by funding from the US government, including $20 billion given to Israel’s government by Congress this week.
“They don’t want to anger the political constituencies that support Israel, and then lose that vote in the upcoming presidential election, but they want to appear to be sympathetic to human suffering.”He added: “This is all about politics, preserving their voter support — not about achieving real peace.”
Lebanese economist Nadim Shehadi also believes that “everything is now linked to the campaign circus and not about allies, interests, and there is certainly no strategy,” adding that it is unlikely “anyone in the region will listen to the US” until well after the election.
“This is too far ahead now,” he told Arab News. “Whoever wins the election in November will be inaugurated in January, and it will take around six months before they have a functioning administration — and who knows how much longer to have a policy strategy to implement.”However, in a bid to stave off a full-fledged war in the Middle East, Shehadi expects that a victorious Harris administration would “engage with Iran” while a new Trump administration would more likely “engage with the Gulf countries.”
He said: “President Biden should have gone to the Gulf states in early October for help.”Dania Koleilat Khatib, an expert in US-Arab relations and co-founder of the Lebanon-based Research Center for Cooperation and Peace Building, believes Arab and Muslim communities in the US are “becoming more vocal and active,” thereby gaining greater influence in elections and in public affairs. “Those two factors make it imperative for both Harris and Trump to tackle the issue,” she said.
Addressing the Palestinian issue will require the next US president, regardless of who wins, to pressure Israel into reaching a fair solution, said Koleilat Khatib. To achieve this, they will have “no other choice” but to cooperate with regional allies like Saudi Arabia. “First of all, the US should pressure Israel to accept a two-state solution — to accept at least an irreversible step,” she said. “So here, there will be a trade-off: regional recognition of Israel in return for a Palestinian state, which is not a new idea.
“This is what came in the Arab Peace Initiative. While this is not new, now I think the Americans will push for it and will take it more seriously — and, of course, they need to cooperate with Saudi Arabia.” The Arab Peace Initiative was proposed by Saudi Arabia’s late King Abdullah in 2002 to end the Arab–Israeli conflict. The Arab League endorsed the plan at the Beirut Summit that same year. It was re-endorsed at the 2007 and 2017 Arab League summits.
The peace plan offers Israel normalization with all Arab states in return for its withdrawal from all territories occupied in 1967, the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state, and a just solution for Palestinian refugees.
Koleilat Khatib believes the US will also need to cooperate with regional allies like Saudi Arabia for the reconstruction of Gaza as well as peacekeeping.
“Israel has not yet agreed to make any concession because it enjoys unconditional support from the US,” she said. “The question is whether the US will be willing to pressure Israel. So far, the pressure has been minimal and mostly rhetorical, while in reality, arms transfers have continued smoothly, and Israel has been receiving the bombs it needs. “As we head into the election season, the question is whether we’ll see members of Congress willing to stand against Israel.”

Tensions in the Middle East fuel growing global ‘polycrisis’
Andrew Hammond/Arab News/August 17, 2024
Geopolitics was not widely viewed as a key trigger for the turmoil in international financial markets this month. However, several potential political fissures might yet emerge in 2024, including in the Middle East, bringing greater economic disequilibrium in their wake. Take, for example, the conflict in Gaza, which could yet descend into a full-scale regional war involving Israel and Iran. The most immediate context to this is Tehran’s pondering of a response to the recent assassinations of Hamas political chief in Tehran and a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut. US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said this week that Iran might carry out imminent retaliatory military operations against Israel. He warned that “we have to be prepared for what could be a significant set of attacks” potentially greater than the assault in April in which Iran targeted Israel with 300 missiles and armed drones. As the US builds up its military assets in the region, there are not only growing doubts about the possibility of securing a long sought ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, despite continuing peace talks in Qatar, there is certainly a growing, real possibility of a wider regional war. With Iran’s religious leadership under heavy internal pressure to respond with force, traditional assumptions long made about Tehran’s military posture might have become more fragile. One of these assumptions is that Iran prefers to fight its wars via proxies. However, the regime might now be positioning itself for a confrontation that is more hands-on and does not only rely on proxy forces such as Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad or the Houthis to carry out its strategic aims.
As Tehran contemplates its next step, a key risk for all sides is miscalculation. This in a region in which geopolitics have been upended since Hamas perpetrated a major terrorist attack in October last year that was Israel’s worst intelligence failure for decades. Despite recent rises in crude oil prices, there has still not been any extensive discussion of the possibility of an oil shock of the kind experienced in 1973-1974, in which prices nearly quadrupled in less than a year after Arab oil-producing nations imposed an embargo in response to US support for Israel during the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. The risks in the Middle East are only one ingredient in a larger cocktail of potential global fissures. The macro context for this is that for decades there has been a long cycle of globalization and geopolitical stability, but now a new, riskier era appears to have dawned — so much so that experts increasingly predict a broader “polycrisis” emerging as a result of the growing number of overlapping challenges.
Such an assessment suggests we are living in an era of successive, interconnected disruptions in which a permanent sense of crisis is the new normal. This has implications not only for politics but for financial markets as well. Further significant volatility could be on the horizon.We are living in an era of successive, interconnected disruptions in which a permanent sense of crisis is the new normal. The global fractures right now include health risks in the post-pandemic landscape, technological challenges such as the global information technology meltdown last month, the climate crisis, and economic inequality. Security challenges include the ongoing war in Ukraine, the continuing threat from international terrorism, and North Korea having acquired nuclear weapons.
While some in the financial markets appear not to have geopolitical risks foremost in their minds right now, such international turbulence has been a recurrent feature for a number of years. Several market commentators have been asserting for some time, at least since about 2016, that geopolitical risks are at a post-Cold War high. That was, of course, the year in which anti-establishment populism, fueled by an anti-globalization mood, might have reached its apotheosis, so far, with the election of Donald Trump as US president, and the UK voting to leave the EU. What was so striking about both of those events was that the actions of two countries previously known for political stability, and as traditional rule makers in the international order, caused the world to become more uncertain. In this landscape, there might not be any easy answers to efforts to address the present array of crises. But it is sometimes forgotten that there have been some successes. One example is the global climate change deal in Paris in 2015. While the agreement was far from perfect, it nonetheless represented a welcome shot in the arm for efforts to tackle global warming and, crucially, a new, post-Kyoto treaty framework was put in place. Moreover, the review framework of the agreement means that countries can toughen their responses to climate change, especially if the political and public will to tackle the problem increases.
So Paris was a potentially very important stepping stone and what is now needed is for well-informed lawmakers from across the political spectrum to help ensure effective implementation of the agreement and hold governments to account so that it truly delivers. In terms of potential solutions to the emerging polycrisis, there is inevitably much focus on whether or not the US will step up to the plate. However, China, one of the countries that is a bystander to several current crises, could also have a big bearing on whether things get better or worse. Beijing’s rise to power has the potential to be either a growing source of tension with Washington and the wider West or, just possibly, the start of a more fruitful partnership. A growing bilateral rivalry is certainly the most likely scenario for future relations, rather than an increasingly cooperative relationship. However, there remains an outside chance that a different future might be possible in which there is more cooperation on softer issues, such as climate change, and less tension generated by harder issues, such as security.The trajectory of this bilateral relationship will therefore perhaps be the single most important uncertainty in the late-2020s. While the prospect of greater Western collaboration with China is widely dismissed, the outside chance of a more cooperative relationship might yet offer the prospect for a different global future.
*Andrew Hammond/ is an associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics.

World leaders must recommit to pandemic preparedness
Gro Harlem Brundtland/Arab News/August 17, 2024
Four years ago, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments were scrambling to protect their populations and prevent an economic meltdown. No one would dispute that addressing that existential threat was the top political priority at the time. As a former prime minister and director general of the World Health Organization, I was impressed by the coordinated international response to COVID-19. To be sure, there were large inequalities within and between countries, resulting in the most vulnerable in societies paying too high a price, especially when it came to vaccine access. But I saw reason to hope that the devastating effects of the pandemic would prompt a political sea change and lead to a greater commitment to future preparedness, prevention, and response. I was wrong. It is depressingly obvious that the lessons of COVID-19 are being forgotten. The world remains stuck in the familiar cycle of panic and neglect that characterized the pandemic. Political leaders are largely ignoring current threats, including COVID-19 itself (which has not been consigned to the history books, despite no longer being a public health emergency), H5N1 bird flu, and dengue fever. And new pandemics with potentially catastrophic outcomes will almost surely occur, especially as climate change and environmental degradation worsen. These are not hypothetical risks. On Wednesday, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the latest outbreak of mpox in East Africa a “public health emergency of international concern.” Not only must the international community now rally behind affected African countries and those at highest risk, it must also prepare itself for the potential spread of the disease to more countries around the globe.
Even before COVID-19 hit, I was warning that our failure to break this vicious cycle was putting us at grave risk. In September 2019, the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board, which I co-chair, issued a report highlighting the acute risk of a devastating global epidemic or pandemic. Little did we know how prescient our warnings were. And now we find ourselves in a new phase of neglect, which can only be understood as a failure of political will. For all the pious words uttered during the COVID-19 era, heads of state and governments are failing to address the inequalities that stymied recovery efforts. It is unacceptable that rich countries have done so little to ensure the next pandemic response is more equitable, and therefore more effective.
WHO-led processes alone are not enough to tackle the existential threat of pandemics.
In June, for example, the 77th World Health Assembly failed to finalize a new pandemic accord, even though the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body had been working for two years on a global pact that aimed to prevent a repeat of COVID-19. Member states have extended talks for up to 12 months but, crucially, they still seem unwilling to provide negotiators with the political support needed to agree on measures that could address inequities in pandemic readiness, response, and recovery. The failure to reach a consensus on substantive matters is symptomatic of the growing trust deficit between advanced and emerging economies, and of the ineffectiveness of the multilateral system in an era of deepening geopolitical tensions. But this cannot be an excuse to delay action on one of the biggest threats of our time. The Intergovernmental Negotiating Body needs a new approach that enables maximum engagement from independent experts and civil society organizations, while ensuring that member states remain focused on improving global equity instead of simply paying lip service to it. Moreover, if the past four years have taught us anything, it is that WHO-led processes alone are not enough to tackle the existential threat of pandemics. Other multilateral institutions should take up the cause of improving levels of preparedness. The UN’s Summit of the Future in September, as well as upcoming meetings of the G7 and the G20, must highlight the urgent nature of this challenge and encourage world leaders to act. More visible advocacy within these forums for global health security could prove crucial in securing the political leadership and financing needed to bring about meaningful change.
To that end, the group of former political leaders known as The Elders supports the adoption during the Summit of the Future of an emergency platform, a set of protocols that would allow UN leaders to respond quickly to global shocks.
World Trade Organization members should also agree to review, as proposed by Colombia, the implementation of the agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. This agreement governs patent protections for vaccines and treatments, and so plays a key role in pandemic response efforts.
Recommitting to pandemic preparedness is essential. But it should be part of a broader revival of multilateralism. Only through compromise and collaboration can we confront humanity’s gravest challenges.
*Gro Harlem Brundtland, a former prime minister of Norway and director general of the World Health Organization, is a co-chair of the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board and a member of The Elders. ©Project Syndicate

Virtue Signaling or Saving Lives?
The New Poster-Child for Compassion Instead Incites Hate
Dr. Walid Phares and Gazelle Sharmahd/American Mideast Coalition for Democracy/August 17/2024
There is a disturbing trend in the West and on social media that ignores facts and speaks directly to the unfettered emotions of the youth and those who have no sense of history nor understanding of age-old tensions. The cries of genocide, the protests for a “free Palestine,” and the defacing of property, have been justified by the momentum gained from posting pictures of dead children to shore up a cause designed to protect and support terrorism.
The continued circulation of pictures of civilians harmed in Gaza is, unfortunately, nothing more than emotional manipulation. For all the emphasis on “humanitarian purposes,” evidence suggests the opposite.
If someone is posting pictures of dead children – without proposing an actionable solution to the problem of civilian harm amidst the conflict, there can be no humanitarian purpose for the pictures. The actual purpose must then be to fuel the division and stoke hatred, and the end result is ensuring more harm and more deaths of innocents.
Advocating for saving lives may not be as fun or as trendy as committing violence.
Although understanding why this is so takes time and effort, let’s take a closer look at the case for this assessment:
Emotional triggers only serve the purpose of public outrage. While it’s important at times to get the public outraged against human rights atrocities that are underreported by media or completely ignored (#Bangladesh, #Sudan, #IranMassExecution), once the public and media attention is gained, the continued posting of such material for emotional manipulation is nothing but propaganda unless it’s used to gain support for practical solutions.
What should follow the “Look how horrific” phase are interventions which provide a solution to the problem. And such interventions require rational thinking – not strong emotions, fear, hate, or scapegoating. The negative emotional response, with no constructive outlet for solving the problem we were confronted with in pictures, serves a destructive, rather than constructive, end.
Those sharing all these horrific pictures and stories have taken no action themselves to actually save civilians. They haven’t even done anything to put pressure on any responsible party with the power to help save civilians. These pictures are being used as clickbait – and to create hate and false blame, exacerbating the problem. Clickbait, hate, and false blame do not help save civilians.
If those claiming advocacy for the Gaza civilian cause truly wanted to demonstrate compassion for the human beings whose images they are exploiting, they would have instead done one of the following:
Advocate at the UN level for the establishment of an internationally managed Safe Zone for civilians only (no combatants, no Hamas, no IDF).
We proposed this solution earlier this year and have yet to see any NGOs or “Pro-civilian” organizations following through. We also have not seen any mass protesters chanting “SAFE ZONE NOW!”
Advocate for a temporary safe refuge space in Egypt through the Rafa crossing.
As a corollary, ask the UN to stop all funding for Hamas-affiliated UNWRA and instead funnel the money to President Sisi of Egypt for the sole purpose of creating an emergency temporary refuge and providing humanitarian aid to that area, where Hamas cannot steal it.
Pro-Palestinian demonstration in Berlin
We have not seen any slogans like “EGYPT SAFE SPACE!” Perhaps it isn’t as fun to chant as “From the river to the sea Palestine will be free!” (Even though this catchy phrase is uttered by many protestors who have no idea what that phrase is actually demanding/implying.)
Advocate for mass evacuation by air, sea, or road, involving international organizations responsible for monitoring and ensuring no Hamas terrorists or weapons slip out.
There don’t appear to be any banners in these rallies demanding “MASS EVACUATION” for civilians. But the outrage-inducing phrases of “Genocide” and “Apartheid” are clearly seen on posters.
Advocating for saving lives may not be as fun or as trendy as committing violence in protest of violence, but it seems reasonable to believe that fewer false accusations and more advocating for life-saving measures might actually help save the very lives these new “social warriors” are so outraged about.
Now, perhaps there were some among these death-picture-posting social media warriors who did briefly think about saving civilians from Gaza through evacuation, but they must have quickly abandoned the idea – perhaps because they were told there were “Israeli blockages preventing civilians from leaving.” Even if that was/is the case, if these keyboard warriors truly cared about saving lives, they would not have given up on the idea so easily. They don’t get tired of blocking freeways and burning flags that quickly. So why abandon reason without a fight and simply join the emotionally laden picture-posting brigade before giving any real thought to getting civilians out of harm’s way?
In the end, it is evident that the “Evacuate Gaza Now” messaging that would indicate an interest in saving human life doesn’t fit the approved narrative of Hamas as a resistance force and Israel as the evil occupier.
The UN and the Red Cross have reported that civilians in Gaza have sought to leave the area and then quickly blame Israel for blocking the exodus. If these reports are true, where are the statistics and concrete evidence of such claims? Where are the numbers from the UN and Red Cross? Media and humanitarian organizations never tire from releasing Hamas-created civilian death numbers, but none of these organizations have released the number of civilians attempting evacuation since October along with the number of those seeking refuge who were turned down.
Hamas has created (and/or released) numbers for every casualty of the conflict, from how many dead, how many wounded, to how many babies and how many journalists, all in a blink of an eye, but nowhere is there a report (Hamas-generated or otherwise) of how many civilians have attempted to get out of Gaza but were turned away.
Any casual observer might think that in an active war zone where a civilian is either killed or escapes, there would be tens, if not hundreds, of thousands at the various passages every day begging to get out.
There are no videos of the masses asking to be evacuated, no footage of civilians jumping on ships, or anything similar to Afghanistan where we saw people trying to hold on with bare hands to an airplane to get out. There is no evidence of anything like that that happening in Gaza, nor do we see any promotion or emphasis on the right or need for evacuation from an active war zone anywhere in the ever more prolific international rallies, encampments, lobby groups or media.
Hamas has no desire to protect civilians. If civilians could be saved from Hamas’s war, Hamas would have very few moves left. They use local civilians as pawns in the war, as human shields, and yes, as clickbait to provoke outrage, knowing their enemy has more compassion for these lives than they do.
This is further evidence that no one claiming to care about “genocide” or “the children” or “Palestinians” actually cares about the innocent human beings themselves.
It seems the common sentiment among the dead-child-post-promoters is to use the emotion provoked to demand “Ceasefire Now,” which actually means: “Stop going after Hamas.”There is no urgent message to “Do whatever it takes to get the innocents out of the way so you can take down the terrorists.”
In the end, it is evident that the “Evacuate Gaza Now” messaging that would indicate an interest in saving human life doesn’t fit the approved narrative of Hamas as a resistance force and Israel as the evil occupier.
It is, at this point, important to note that the outrage produced is focused on painting Hamas as “the good guys,” but neither Hamas nor their “humanitarian” allies have publicly requested the establishment of a safe zone in Gaza for civilians.
Hamas has no desire to protect civilians. If civilians could be saved from Hamas’s war, Hamas would have very few moves left. They use local civilians as pawns in the war, as human shields, and yes, as clickbait to provoke outrage, knowing their enemy has more compassion for these lives than they do.
In fact, Israel has proposed Rafa and Al Mawasi as potential safe zones, but their proposal never received the support needed to finalize the establishment of these safe areas. And further, one can look to Israel’s model to see what occurs when people really do care to save civilians:
Not only are there Israel’s widely reported warnings and precautions to move civilians within Gaza before airstrikes, but Israel has evacuated 200,000 of their own civilians in the war zones.
The evacuations have been conducted in response to the significant threat posed by rocket attacks from Hamas in the south and Hezbollah in the north. And these are residents of cities like Sderot, Kiryat Shmona, regardless of ethnicity or religion. This means that not only Jewish Israelis, but also Arab Israelis, Druze, and other minorities were evacuated if they were living in danger zones.
Even with this stark difference between parties in the conflict, internationally, Israel is the pariah and made responsible for civilian deaths. And they are held solely responsible, not just without any consideration of the role Hamas plays in putting civilians in harm’s way, but without any consideration for the role of Egypt, who controls the south passage.
Demonstration in Paris | Credit: EPA-EFE – CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON
There are no mass demonstrations, no rallies and slogans demanding, “Egypt, let our people go!”
But it is also estimated that around 7,000 foreign nationals and dual nationals have been evacuated from Gaza through the Rafah crossing under Egyptian control. These individuals include citizens from the United States, the European Union, Canada, and other countries. So evacuation is possible, at least when Egypt doesn’t feel that among the civilians are terrorists—and when foreign nations push for it.
This is what is important to understand: The lack of visible mass gatherings at the Gaza crossings does not necessarily mean that civilians do not want to leave. We saw briefly, at the end of October, examples of families waiting at the border as well as families who got out and cursed Hamas for ruining their lives. But then the evacuations stopped.
Gaza is still ruled and occupied by Hamas, a terror group that views mass attempts to leave as a sign of weakness or as undermining their control. Civilians might fear reprisals from Hamas or other militant factions if they are seen as trying to flee or abandon Gaza, especially during a conflict where the terrorists are emphasizing the “resistance” narrative and placing themselves in the role of victim.
Hamas would most likely also oppose the establishment of a safe zone that is not under its own control. Such a zone might be seen as undermining its authority in Gaza or creating a space where international or opposing forces have influence, which Hamas would likely reject. It is thus puzzling, then, that when it comes to Gaza, the international organizations are not interested in evacuation.
As mentioned above, Hamas has been widely accused of using civilian areas as shields for their military activities. A safe zone could complicate Hamas’s strategy, as it would require them to avoid these areas, limiting their ability to operate at will.
When someone understands that civilians want to leave Gaza but cannot publicly demonstrate that desire under Hamas rule, and when it is further understood that Israel has evacuated civilians but does not have the means to establish safe zones inside of Gaza on its own, if that someone is a caring individual who truly desires to save lives, such a person would not use photos of dead children as propaganda.
Instead, such photos and all other efforts would be better served to put pressure on the one global organization that could establish safe zones or evacuate civilians.
The UN Security Council (UNSC) has the authority to establish safe zones or humanitarian corridors under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which allows for the use of force to maintain or restore international peace and security. However, for such measures to be implemented, a resolution must be passed by the UNSC.
Yet that is not the message or solution being pushed for by all those supposedly outraged at the death of civilians. (Nor has the UNSC taken this action on its own.)
Let’s look at some historic examples of mass evacuations of civilians from war zones:
Approximately 7,000 people were evacuated by helicopter from Saigon in a single day during the Vietnam war.
Operation Solomon was a covert Israeli military operation to airlift over 14,000 Ethiopian Jews from Sudan to Israel during the Ethiopian Civil War.
Hundreds of thousands of Kosovars were evacuated to neighboring countries (Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro) during the Kosovo War, facilitated by international organizations such as NATO and the UN.
Tens of thousands of civilians have been evacuated from cities like Aleppo, Eastern Ghouta, and Homs, during the ongoing Syrian war and moved to safer areas, either within Syria or to neighboring countries as refugees.
It is thus puzzling, then, that when it comes to Gaza, the international organizations are not interested in evacuation.
For over 10 months, there have been no documented formal proposals from international organizations, like the UN or NATO, specifically aimed at airlifting Palestinian civilians out of Gaza. This is a crucial point because, without such proposals, it is not accurate to claim that Israel is solely to blame for the state of civilians in Gaza. (Although it is likely that those who do wish to keep Israel solely to blame might argue – even though it has not actually ever happened – that Israel controls the airspace and is thus blocking all evacuation attempts by air as well.)
The situation is further complicated by the presence of Hamas, a group designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, the U.S., the EU, and others.
Nor is there any international consensus or mandate from the UN for military intervention in Gaza. The presence of NATO or any other international military force would require an agreement among major powers and regional stakeholders.
Thus, arguments against military intervention might include how difficult it is to reach consensus in the region.
But again, we can look at history to see how valid such an argument might be.
NATO’s presence in Kosovo was part of a broader international effort to stabilize the region, supported by a significant number of countries despite the initial lack of a UN mandate for military action.
For those who counter that NATO cannot operate outside of Europe, following the 9/11 attacks, NATO invoked Article 5 for the first time in its history. NATO forces, under the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), were deployed to Afghanistan to combat the Taliban and Al-Qaeda and to stabilize the country. This mission lasted for nearly two decades, illustrating NATO’s willingness to operate well beyond Europe when the security of its members is perceived to be at risk. They also got involved in Libya, Africa, and Iraq when it served their interests.
This must mean, then, that NATO doesn’t see involvement in the Hamas-Israel war as in its interest.
The answer to saving lives, then, is not antisemitism and a photo campaign of dead children. The answer might well be, however, effectively demonstrating to the EU, Canada, and the US (and others), the direct threat the Gaza conflict places on their national security—and thus the need to save civilians without stopping the takedown of Hamas.
Campaigns showing the threat of the global intifada and unchecked terrorism and how it is infecting European cities could be much more effective at saving lives in Gaza – and shoring up security around the world.
Instead of posting about the corrupt lawsuit of South Africa against Israel, misquoting the ICC opinion regarding settlements in the West Bank – and instead of all those embarrassing notions of genocide and apartheid failure and of a blood liable, why not come together and form effective campaigns for safe zones and evacuations of civilians—solutions that actually would save people’s lives?
The reason is simple and obvious. Because it was never about saving lives. None of this international and social media outrage has anything to do with the human death toll of civilians in Gaza. It was instead about inciting hate. And because such life-saving campaigns don’t involve hating Jews and don’t glorify jihadists, they will never be supported by regime money – and no one will be paid to promote actionable compassionate measures.
It truly does seem that, just like the terror regimes themselves, these posts and protests are simply being used to promote or advance the “virtue signaler” who is intent on stirring up hate (not compassion).
Civilian harm is not an excuse for promoting hate. It should, however, be the reason to come together to implement actionable measures that have been demonstrated in the past to prevent further casualties and save innocent life.
**Dr Walid Phares is former foreign policy advisor to Donald Trump, Newsmax contributor, and co-host of “War & Freedom” Podcast and co-President of #EducateAmerica platform.
**Gazelle Sharmahd, daughter of German-American hostage in Iran, Jimmy Sharmahd, co-host of “War & Freedom” Podcast and co-President #EducateAmerica platform.