Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on June 04-05/2024
Fires ignited by Hezbollah attacks in northern Israel mostly contained, officials say
Escalation in Northern Israel Could Develop into Third Lebanon War
Tensions rise in Lebanon and Israel amid escalation in use of incendiary bombs
UNIFIL: Mandate Renewal Under Sharp Wrangling
Israeli Army Chief of Staff says: We are close to making a decision on launching attack on Lebanon border
Israeli minister calls for Lebanon 'invasion' but is that possible?
Report: UK warns Lebanon of Israeli strike in mid-June
France's Macron urges restraint on Lebanese-Israeli border as he calls for implementing Resolution 1701
Forest fires blaze in north Israel after rockets launched from Lebanon
Southern Front’s Latest Developments: Violent Clashes, Fires, and Phosphorus Bombs
Two army personnel suffocate from phosphorus inhalation: National News Agency reports
Tensions boil as ablaze Israel strikes new targets, including in West Bekaa
Iran acting FM discusses Gaza war with Hezbollah Nasrallah
Northern Israel in flames: Hezbollah rockets spark chaos in northern Israel
Touring the region: Acting Iranian Foreign Minister's meetings in Lebanon and Syria
PM Mikati denies validity of Israeli attack rumors: Media office
PSP envoys discuss presidential crisis with Berri, Geagea, Hezbollah
Bassil calls for 'broad consensus' over new president
Hajjar Plans ‘Punitive Measures’ Against Ghada Aoun
The Samir Kassir Press Freedom Awards Ceremony
Presidential Elections: Could the PSP Succeed Where the Moderation Failed?
All Eyes on Iran
Dialogue or Consultations… Presidential Election Is Yet to Materialize

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 04-05/2024
House passes proposal sanctioning top war-crimes court after it sought Netanyahu arrest warrant
Israeli ground forces launch new incursion into a central Gaza refugee camp
Biden Adviser to Travel to Middle East This Week to Push for Hostage Deal
Biden Says Netanyahu Could Be Prolonging Gaza War for Political Aims
Netanyahu's ultra-Orthodox coalition partners back Gaza hostage deal
Pressure intensifies on Israel for a truce after confirmation 43 of 124 hostages are dead
Biden: ‘Every reason’ for people to think Netanyahu is prolonging war for political reasons
Netanyahu's ultra-Orthodox coalition partners back Gaza hostage deal
Israeli forces launch new ground and air assault on central Gaza, killing at least 6 Palestinians
Hamas wants Israel to commit to permanent ceasefire, full withdrawal from Gaza
Blinken discusses Gaza ceasefire proposal with Saudi counterpart: US State Department
Exclusive-Europeans' draft IAEA resolution presses Iran on particles, inspectors
Iran’s Acting FM Meets Assad, Discusses Gaza with Officials in Syria
Iranian military adviser killed in Israeli airstrikes on Syrian city, according to Iranian media
Iran's allies in Iraq are firing at Israel. What if they draw blood?
Ukraine sent special forces to Syria to attack Russians there, revealing a new front to the war: report
Kremlin welcomes Turkey's reported desire to join BRICS
Syria says no dialogue with Turkey before Ankara announces plans to withdraw its troops
Houthi Red Sea attacks decline in last week as navies act, Greece says

Titles For The Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on June 04-05/2024
Who Is Funding the Pro-Hamas Protests; Are They Aiming to Take Down America?/Robert Williams/Gatestone Institute/June 04/2024
Trumpism Is Stronger Than Judicial Verdicts and Democratic Norms/Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al Awsat/June 04/2024
What Medical Stories Do We Trust?/Ross Douthat/The New York Times/June 05/2024
Caution a must when setting down red lines/Kerry Boyd Anderson/Arab News/June 04, 2024

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on June 04-05/2024
Fires ignited by Hezbollah attacks in northern Israel mostly contained, officials say
Darryl Coote/UPI/June 4, 2024
Firefighters had blazes ignited by Hezbollah rocket fire in northern Israel mostly under control Tuesday morning, officials said. More than a dozen wildfires were sparked Monday in northern Israel and Galilee by attacks from the Iran-backed militia amid extreme weather conditions, forcing the firefighters to work overnight, during which the Israel Fire and Rescue Authority posted pictures, videos and updates of the situation online. Officials said a fire in the Amiad region had burned nearly 990 acres but was under their control Tuesday morning after 18 firefighting teams battled it for more than nine hours overnight. "The teams worked throughout the night with high intensity and determination," Boris Eisenberg, Tiberias station commander and event commander, said in a statement. In Kfar Giladi, firefighters stopped a blaze from spreading to houses in the city, while other responders were still working to contain an open area fire in Batzet and another in Keren Naftali. The Israel Defense Forces on Telegram said it was aiding the fire authority in the effort, resulting in six reservist soldiers being "lightly injured" from smoke inhalation, and were transferred to a hospital for treatment. The fires were ignited amid an increase in cross-border attacks by Hezbollah from Lebanon and hot and dry weather in Israel. The Israel Nature and Parks Authority said that some 300 acres had burned in Upper Galilee and nearly 3,000 had burned in Golan Heights due to blazes ignited by recent attacks. Hezbollah has been attacking Israel since the Middle Eastern country's war began with Hamas, another Iran proxy militia, on Oct. 7, initially sparking fears that the war would spread -- fears that seem to be reigniting. The Times of Israel reports that 10 Israelis and 14 IDF soldiers have been killed in the cross-border fighting, which has also claimed the lives of 328 militants mostly in Lebanon but also Syria.

Escalation in Northern Israel Could Develop into Third Lebanon War
Tel Aviv: Asharq Al Awsat/June 04/2024
With the severe escalation in the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in recent days, Israeli authorities are once again talking about the inevitability of a third Lebanon war and are preparing the public for such a possibility. On Monday, the Israeli army announced a new exercise to “examine the effectiveness of coordination between military commands in the event of a widescale war with Lebanon,” with the participation of Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, the head of the Military Intelligence Division, Aharon Haliva, Air Force Commander Tomer Bar, and the commander of the northern region, Uri Gordin. The army spokesman also announced that the 146th Division and the 205th Reserve Armored Brigade had carried out drills over the past few weeks simulating combat scenarios on the northern front and the rapid deployment of forces in the field. Military sources said Israel is awaiting a major development that would leave behind a large number of Israeli casualties to use as a pretext to launch a long comprehensive war on Lebanon. Yedioth Ahronoth’s military correspondent, Yoav Zeitoun, revealed that the Israeli army expects the scope of the war with Lebanon to expand to include the Houthis in Yemen and Iranian militias in Iraq and Syria. He noted that the recent exercises took into account the possibility that Iran would enter the battle directly this time. Air drills were carried out over Greece during which the army trained to supply 130 combat aircraft with fuel. The exercises saw the participation of “friendly” armies, the correspondent said without giving further details. On Sunday, the Alma Research Center, which specializes in monitoring Israel’s northern front, issued a report saying May witnessed a peak in combat escalation. The report said Hezbollah launched 325 attacks on northern Israel during this period, with an average of 10 attacks per day, compared to 238 in April.

Tensions rise in Lebanon and Israel amid escalation in use of incendiary bombs
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/June 04, 2024
BEIRUT: The Israeli army on Tuesday targeted parts of Lebanon along the border with incendiary white phosphorus bombs, as government officials threatened to “burn all of Lebanon” and “send it back to the Stone Age.”Hezbollah has been engaged in a war of “distraction and support for Hamas” for nearly eight months, following the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel. More than 450 people have been killed in the fighting between the Lebanese militant group and the Israeli army, including 328 members of Hezbollah. The Israeli army reportedly used bombs containing white phosphorous, a controversial incendiary munition, to target forest areas on the outskirts of the towns of Naqoura, Jabal Labouneh, Alma Al-Shaab and Boustane, causing severe damage to crops and olive, pine and oak trees. Civil defense teams battled to extinguish the fires. An area between the towns of Markaba and Hula, near a Lebanese army site, was also hit with phosphorous shells, causing fires in the forest. There is no outright ban on white phosphorous weapons under international law, but human rights campaigners say it is illegal to use them in populated areas. According to security reports, the Israeli army also used diesel fuel to ignite fires in forests when it shelled areas on the outskirts of the towns of Naqoura and Jabal Labouneh close to the western sector of the Blue Line, the line of demarcation between Israel and Lebanon established in June 2000 by the UN.
Areas near the town of Deir Mimas and neighboring villages were reportedly hit by Israeli cluster shells with the aim of starting fires, and locations between the towns of Markaba and Hula were struck by phosphorus shells. Israeli artillery targeted the border town of Odaisseh, as well as the outskirts of the towns of Alma Al-Shaab, Tayr Harfa and Wadi Zebqin, and directed heavy artillery fire toward the outskirts of Aita Al-Shaab and Dhayra. A resident of Kfar Sir, a village in the Nabatieh district, told Arab News: “The shelling on the town of Odaisseh was like an earthquake that shook Kfar Sir and the town of Harouf. We felt the house move. The types of shells and missiles used by the Israeli enemy are terrifying.”Meanwhile, Hezbollah said it targeted several Israeli military sites, including “positions and bases of enemy officers and soldiers in the Maaleh Golani barracks in the occupied Syrian Golan” and “the Ramim barracks with artillery shells.”
Tensions continued to mount along the border on Tuesday as fires raged in northern Israel, including at Safed, which Israeli media sources said were caused by rockets launched from Lebanon. Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported that “volleys of dozens of rockets and drone launches toward the Galilee and the Golan Heights on Monday resulted in a significant number of fires.”The Israeli military said its forces were helping efforts to extinguish fires in the north. Firefighter crews from the coastal and central regions were also called in to assist; 13 teams were said to be working in Kiryat Shmona, as well as 10 in Ami’ad and five in Naftali in the Upper Galilee. The Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported that the country’s War Council convened, at the request of minister Benny Gantz’s Israel Resilience Party, to discuss the escalating conflict on the Lebanese front. Opposition leader Yair Lapid posted a message on social media platform X about the fires, stating, “the north is burning, and with it, Israeli deterrence.”Amid the rising tensions, Israeli officials issued stern warnings to Lebanon. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir described Hezbollah’s attacks and the resultant fires in the north of the country as “bankruptcy,” adding: “It is time for all of Lebanon to burn.”Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich vowed to “return Lebanon to the Stone Age” and said: “The situation in the north is deteriorating and the security zone should extend from Israel to southern Lebanon.” In response to the Israeli threats, Hezbollah’s deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Qassem, said during a television interview with Al Jazeera on Tuesday: “If Israel wants to wage a full-scale war, we are ready. “Any Israeli expansion of the war on Lebanon will be met with destruction, devastation, and displacement in Israel. We have used only a fraction of our capabilities, suited to the nature of the battle.”He also denied there had been any “withdrawal of Radwan forces from the southern Lebanese border.”

UNIFIL: Mandate Renewal Under Sharp Wrangling
This Is Beirut/June 04/2024
The annual renewal of the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force in South Lebanon (UNIFIL) at the end of August is expected to be a cause of sharp wrangling between the permanent members of the UN Security Council. Based on information obtained by This is Beirut, certain UNSC members will be asking for the implementation of Resolution 1701 under chapter seven of the UN charter, arguing that the resolution has not been properly applied since it was adopted 18 years ago. According to a diplomatic source, France, which is in charge of the tricky task of putting into words UNIFIL’s mandate renewal decision, will be consulting with international as well as regional powers about the text’s formulation in order to avoid the use of veto power by any of the Security Council’s five permanent members. The mandate’s renewal for another year will be obviously in consistence with the new phase of regional developments, and tightly knit with whatever regional solutions that might come up. However, certain observers do not rule out the possibility of implementing 1701 under chapter seven of the UN charter to compel the belligerents, notably Hezbollah, to abide by its terms, and to prevent Israel from engaging in a military adventure in South Lebanon following a potential ceasefire in Gaza.

Israeli Army Chief of Staff says: We are close to making a decision on launching attack on Lebanon border
Reuters/June 04/2024
Israeli Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said on Tuesday that Israel is ready to launch a military attack along the northern border with Lebanon, and that it is close to making a decision. He added in a recorded statement, "We are ready, after extensive training, to launch an attack in the north [...] We are approaching the decisive point."

Israeli minister calls for Lebanon 'invasion' but is that possible?
Agence France Presse/June 04/2024
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said the Israeli military should invade Lebanon and push "hundreds of thousands of Lebanese" away from the border area. Hezbollah has traded regular cross-border fire with Israel since the Gaza war began almost eight months ago, but clashes have intensified in recent days. Smotrich said Monday that Israel must establish a "security strip" in southern Lebanon -- as it had maintained for 15 years before withdrawing troops in 2000. He said Israel must launch "a ground invasion", occupy territory, and distance Hezbollah "and hundreds of thousands of Lebanese among whom Hezbollah hides to the other side of the Litani river", some 30 kilometres away from the U.N.-patrolled border. Simmering tensions with Iran-backed Hezbollah along Israel's northern border with Lebanon also have analysts wondering if a full-scale war could be imminent. Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi told troops stationed on the northern border last month that the military was preparing for an "offensive" there. Shlomo Brom, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv, said: "It's a possibility that ground troops will enter Lebanon and try to create a kind of security zone that at least will push away the Hezbollah fighters." Israel's army has carried out nearly 4,900 attacks in southern Lebanon since October 7, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project. ACLED said Hezbollah has launched about 1,100 attacks on Israeli positions in north Israel and in Israeli-occupied Lebanese and Syrian territories.

Report: UK warns Lebanon of Israeli strike in mid-June
Naharnet/June 04/2024 
Over the past days, Lebanon has received diplomatic messages carrying a threat of an imminent Israeli strike, a media report said. “Most international envoys carried their concerns over the seriousness of the Israeli threat, but the most notable message came from the British side, which specified a mid-June date for the Israeli strike,” al-Akhbar newspaper quoted “prominent sources” as saying. Lebnaon received “advices on the need to carry out the necessary measures to stock up supplies for the war, whose geographic expansion and duration will not be known,” the sources added. “During his latest trip to Doha, ex-minister Walid Jumblat had heard Qatari concerns over the Israeli intentions towards Lebanon, with the Qatari officials expressing to him their belief that Israel does not want a ceasefire in Gaza despite the U.S. attempts to reach an agreement,” al-Akhbar said. Almost eight months of regular cross-border clashes between Hezbollah and Israel have intensified in recent days. The violence since early October has killed at least 453 people in Lebanon, mostly fighters but including 88 civilians, according to an AFP tally. On the Israeli side, at least 14 soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed, according to the army. The fighting has also displaced tens of thousands of residents on both sides of the border and Israel has repeatedly threatened a military campaign to secure the border area amid U.S.-led efforts to reach a diplomatic solution.

France's Macron urges restraint on Lebanese-Israeli border as he calls for implementing Resolution 1701
LBCI/June 04/2024
In a statement regarding the risks of regional escalation, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his concern about the growing tensions on the Lebanese-Israeli border.
He urged for restraint and the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 by all parties. "France remains fully committed to preventing any risk of escalation on the Blue Line and promoting a diplomatic solution," the Elysée Palace mentioned in its statement.

Forest fires blaze in north Israel after rockets launched from Lebanon
Agence France Presse/June 04/2024
Israeli authorities were on alert for new brush fires Tuesday, after munitions fired from Lebanon by Hezbollah the previous evening ignited several across northern Israel. The Israel Fire and Rescue Service said that dozens of firefighting teams worked through the night along with teams from the Nature and Park Service, army, police and other agencies before gaining control over the largest fires in the morning, an AFP journalist reported. "As of this time there are three active sites" near the border with Lebanon, the fire service posted on X Tuesday. An AFP journalist said firefighters were still handling smaller fires. The blazes encroached on Kiryat Shmona, a town near the Lebanese border that has been largely evacuated in the face of near-daily exchanges of fire between the army and Hezbollah since Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel triggered war in Gaza. Extreme heat that has gripped the region in recent days has raised the risk of brush fires. The daily barrages of rockets and drone strikes have rained down incendiary material. An AFP photographer in the northern town saw intense blazes engulfing parts of the border area. On Sunday, a brush fire in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights burned around 10 square kilometers (nearly four square miles) of land after a rocket fired from Lebanon struck near the town of Katzrin. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency also reported fires in Alma al-Shaab and Dhayra, two villages near the Israeli border. It said the fires were caused by "Israeli phosphorus incendiary shells". The Israeli army said it had deployed reinforcements to support firefighters overwhelmed by the scale of the blazes. "Six... reservist soldiers were lightly injured as a result of smoke inhalation and transferred to a hospital to receive medical treatment," the army said. "The forces gained control over the locations of fire, and at this stage, no human life is at risk," it added. Officers of the army's Northern Command had arrived in Kiryat Shmona during the night and the army was "conducting a situational assessment" in the sector. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was closely monitoring the fires. In retaliation, the Israeli army announced it had carried out air strikes against what it said were Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon. NNA reported that Israeli incendiary shells had sparked a forest fire that was approaching houses in the southern village of Alma al-Shaab on Tuesday.

Southern Front’s Latest Developments: Violent Clashes, Fires, and Phosphorus Bombs
This Is Beirut/June 04/2024
High-intensity clashes continued throughout Tuesday afternoon and late into the evening in southern Lebanon. A drone targeted Naqoura, killing one person and wounding another, while heavy artillery fire targeted Alma el-Shaab in the western sector as well as Tayr Harfa and Wadi Zebqin.
A Lebanese Army post suffered material damage late on Tuesday, following a bombardment in the Kfarchouba region, but no casualties were reported. Phosphorous shells rained down on the area between Markaba and Hula, setting off fires in the wooded area. Two Lebanese soldiers suffered from suffocation due to phosphorus inhalation and were taken to Mays el-Jabal hospital for treatment. Phosphorus shells were also fired at Deir Mimas, Kfar Hamam, and Halta, causing fires. The Israeli Army announced that it had attacked Hezbollah infrastructures in Aita al-Shaab and Odaisseh. An air raid was also carried out on the town of Odeisseh, while planes broke the sound barrier and launched thermal balloons over Tyre and Bint Jbeil.
Hezbollah Statements
In the afternoon, Hezbollah announced the death of one of its fighters from Tyre. He was killed earlier in the day in an airstrike that targeted his motorcycle in Naqoura. Hezbollah also claimed to have fired rockets into the Netua forest and wounded Israeli soldiers there. It also issued a series of statements announcing that it had targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers in Baram, Tayhat, and Ramtha in the Kfarchouba hills, in addition to bombing the Zebdine post in the occupied Shebaa Farms. Later in the evening, the pro-Iranian group claimed to have hit the headquarters of the Liman battalion in retaliation for the Naqoura attack that killed a Hezb member. Meanwhile, Hezbollah’s deputy secretary general, Naim Kassem, asserted that the Iran-backed group was ready for a global war, should Israel provoke it. In an interview with the Qatari al-Jazeera TV, Kassem said that any extension of the war by Israel would be met “with devastation, destruction, and displacement.” He warned that Hezbollah had only used a small proportion of its capabilities so far, commensurate with the nature of the war. Kassem denied rumors of a Radwan Forces withdrawal from the Lebanese border, insisting that the Lebanese front is linked to the Gaza front. On the Israeli side, sirens sounded in the Ras Naqoura locality on the border with Lebanon, as well as in the Hanita region in the western Galilee. The Israeli Army announced on Tuesday that 4,800 projectiles had been fired from Lebanon into Israel since the start of the war. Israel’s Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, called for starting the fires in Lebanon “instead of putting them out in the north (of Israel).” Also on Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said during a tour of the northern border, “the work here (on the front with Lebanon) will be finished by September, diplomatically or by escalation,” stressing that Israel could not “waste another year” in the North. He added that the greatest operational challenge for his country lay on the northern front, while the greatest moral challenge lay in Gaza.

Two army personnel suffocate from phosphorus inhalation: National News Agency reports
LBCI/June 04/2024
Two Lebanese army personnel suffered from suffocation due to inhaling phosphorus, after the village of Markaba was hit with phosphorus shells near an army center in the area, the National News Agency reported on Tuesday. The agency added that they were transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Tensions boil as ablaze Israel strikes new targets, including in West Bekaa
Agence France Presse/June 04/2024
Two Israeli drone strikes targeted Tuesday a car on the road between Libbaya and Yohmor in West Bekaa, deep inside Lebanon, and a motorbike in the coastal border town of Naqoura, killing one person, the latest in a slew of targeted drone attacks on vehicles in recent days. "The strike targeting a motorcycle in Naqoura killed one person and wounded another," the National News Agency (NNA) said after earlier reporting an "enemy drone strike" in the area. It did not say whether the casualties were civilians or fighters. Two Hezbollah fighters were killed by Israeli fire Monday, after Lebanese official media reported fatalities in Israeli strikes on a car near the southern village of Zrariyeh and a motorcycle also in Naqoura in the country's south. Hezbollah carried out Tuesday an aerial attack with an array of suicide drones on a barracks in the occupied Golan Heights, in response to Monday's strike on Naqoura.
The group also targeted the Ramim barracks in north Israel, while Israeli artillery shelled the outskirts of Tayrharfa, Wadi Zebqin, and Alma al-Shaab. Almost eight months of regular cross-border clashes between the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, a Hamas ally, and Israel have intensified in recent days. The group launched Monday "a squadron of explosive-laden drones" at northern Israeli army positions "in response to the assassination carried out by the Israeli enemy this afternoon in the Zrariyeh area". Israeli authorities were meanwhile battling Tuesday intense forest fires in Kiryat Shmona that broke out shortly after rocket fire and the fall of drones launched from Lebanon, forcing the partial evacuation of the town. The border clashes began after Palestinian militant group Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel sparked war in the Gaza Strip. Israel has previously targeted Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon as well as allied Palestinian and Lebanese militants in cars and on motorcycles. The latest violence came as Iran's acting foreign minister Ali Bagheri was visiting Lebanon, where he met Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. Iran supports a number of armed groups in the region including Hezbollah and Hamas.The violence since early October has killed at least 453 people in Lebanon, mostly fighters but including 88 civilians, according to an AFP tally. On the Israeli side, at least 14 soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed, according to the army.

Iran acting FM discusses Gaza war with Hezbollah Nasrallah
Agence France Presse/June 04/2024
Iran's acting foreign minister Ali Bagheri Kani met Tuesday with Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, a day after he arrived in Lebanon on his first official diplomatic visit since his predecessor died last month. Bagheri discussed with Nasrallah "proposed solutions" for ending the war, the Iran-backed Lebanese group said. The two men "reviewed the latest regional political and security developments, especially on the Gaza and Lebanon fronts, and the proposed solutions," a Hezbollah statement said. U.S. President Joe Biden outlined a three-stage roadmap towards a full ceasefire on Friday that he said was a new offer from Israel that he urged Hamas to accept. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took issue with Biden's presentation of what was on the table, stressing that the war would continue until all of Israel's "goals are achieved". Netanyahu said that included the destruction of Hamas's capacity to govern Gaza or pose a military threat to Israel. Bagheri arrived in Lebanon Monday on his first foreign trip since being named caretaker minister following the death of his predecessor Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a helicopter crash last month that also killed president Ebrahim Raisi. He met Monday with Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bouhabib as well as Lebanese Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati. He also met with Palestinian factions and others. At a press conference on Monday, Bagheri said the United States should halt all aid to Israel rather than propose a ceasefire. He said he had chosen Lebanon for his first official visit "because Lebanon is the cradle of resistance" against Israel. Bagheri is set to visit neighboring Syria later Tuesday, where an apparent Israeli airstrike on an Iranian diplomatic building in Damascus in April put the Middle East on a knife edge, unleashing series of escalatory attacks that threatened to set off a wider regional war. He is due to hold talks in Damascus with his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad and President Bashar al-Assad. Iran's Tasnim news agency said Bagheri "talked with the leaders of the Palestinian resistance groups in Syria" at the Iranian embassy in Damascus.

Northern Israel in flames: Hezbollah rockets spark chaos in northern Israel
LBCI/June 04/2024
The northern region of Israel has entered a new phase of escalation since the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation, with widespread fires ignited by drones and rockets launched by Hezbollah. The fires reached as far as Afula, over 80 kilometers from the border, injuring dozens, including soldiers, and causing extensive property damage. The scale of the fires has overwhelmed the Home Front Command, emergency services, and the military. Despite significant reinforcements, these agencies have been unable to contain the blazes, which burned continuously for 20 hours. Israelis awoke to the sound of sirens and the sight of raging flames. Most northern entrances have been closed, and the military has refrained from using specialized firefighting aircraft for fear of them being targeted by Hezbollah. Remaining residents considered that "Israel has handed the keys to Hezbollah, and the north no longer stands," while Israeli media reports claim, "The state is falling apart before our eyes."The lack of control over the situation on the Lebanese border coincides with rising tensions on the southern front with Gaza. Meanwhile, several reserve soldiers have refused to report to their bases. The situation in Gaza and the ongoing assessments of the border with Lebanon highlight the inability of Israel's anti-missile and anti-aircraft systems to intercept all of Hezbollah's attacks. This has fueled protests in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Haifa, exacerbated by the revelation of the deaths of four hostages held by Hamas, who had previously appealed to the government to negotiate a deal to save their lives. Israeli officials have yet to finalize their stance on a prisoner exchange deal despite President Joe Biden's remarks. However, mediators remain optimistic about resuming negotiations soon.

Touring the region: Acting Iranian Foreign Minister's meetings in Lebanon and Syria
LBCI/June 04/2024
In his first visit since assuming the position of acting Iranian Foreign Minister, Ali Bagheri Kani moved from Lebanon to Syria, after concluding his first stop by meeting with Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. In Syria, the most prominent topic in the talks between the Iranian minister and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories and the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip. According to what was reported by the official SANA agency, al-Assad stressed that resistance against the occupation in all its forms will remain a fundamental principle and a strategic choice, especially since leniency with Israel will increase its brutality. Bagheri stressed the depth of the strategic relationship with Syria, and Iran's efforts to develop it and its relations with the countries of the region. The Iranian-Syrian relations, sanctions and pressures on the two countries, and the hot file in the region, the war on the Gaza Strip are present on the agenda of the talks between Bagheri and his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad. In this context, the two sides reaffirmed their continued support for the Palestinian resistance, stressing that their countries are considered two basic pillars of stability in the region. The Iranian minister's visit to Damascus was an opportunity, according to both parties, to rectify the questions surrounding Syrian-Iranian relations about the nature of the differences between the two sides. The Arab World Press reported that upon his arrival in the Syrian capital, Bagheri met with the leaders of the Palestinian factions in Syria, without mentioning details about the meeting.

PM Mikati denies validity of Israeli attack rumors: Media office
LBCI/June 04/2024
The media office of caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced that there have been reports and leaks about warnings received by PM Mikati that the Israeli side may launch a wide-scale attack on Lebanon. The office emphasized that PM Mikati denies the validity of these rumors and reports, considering them as some kind of "pressure" exerted on Lebanon. The office stated: "It is important for his Excellency to confirm that there is a wide range of diplomatic contacts underway to stop the ongoing Israeli aggression on southern Lebanon, hence the clarification."

PSP envoys discuss presidential crisis with Berri, Geagea, Hezbollah
Naharnet/June 04/2024 
The Progressive Socialist Party kicked off Tuesday a series of meetings with the Lebanese political parties to discuss the ongoing presidential crisis. In Maarab, a PSP delegation comprising MPs Taymour Jumblat, Marwan Hamadeh, Akram Shehayyeb and Wael Abou Faour met with Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, in the presence of MPs Ghassan Hasbani and Nazih Matta. “Our visit today is not aimed at creating a new initiative or proposing new names and the country’s interest requires constant action in order to put an end to the deadlock, seeing as the country is under major pressure,” Shehayyeb said. “It is necessary to seriously discuss the common denominators among the political forces in order to reach a president who would unite rather than divide,” Shehayyeb added. LF sources meanwhile told al-Jadeed television that the party would not accept “any dialogue or consultations that would become the norm prior to any election, because that would violate the constitution.” However, the LF would accept “consultations in the vein of what happened before and during the session that extended the army chief’s term,” the sources added. Former minister Ghazi Aridi of the PSP meanwhile held meetings with Speaker Nabih Berri and Hussein Khalil, the political aide of Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, a PSP statement said.The meetings are part of “the PSP’s initiative towards the political forces, to encourage them to engage in dialogue and consultations in order to finalize the constitutional junctures, topped by the presidential vote.”

Bassil calls for 'broad consensus' over new president
Naharnet/June 04/2024 
Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil has called for “a dialogue tackling issued related to economy and the political system alongside the discussions over the presidency.”“Doesn’t dialogue over a president necessitate that we carry out a dialogue over three main issues, which are structural reforms in the Lebanese economy and model; the defense strategy and the meaning of neutralizing Lebanon; and the Lebanese system in terms of continuing the implementation of the Taif Accord and fixing its gaps through consensus among all Lebanese,” Bassil said in an interview on LBCI television.
He added: “Through the current parliamentary balance of power, we cannot elect a president without broad consensus on him, seeing as if he gets elected without consensus he will be fought and he will fail.”“I support securing consensus over the president, but should there not be consensus, I will support election, because it is better than vacuum,” Bassil explained. Asked about Speaker Nabih Berri’s call for pre-election consultations, Bassil said: “We must declare that should this matter happen this time, it will not be turned into a norm in the future.”As for Marada Movement chief Suleiman Franjieh’s suggestion that the president be directly elected in a popular vote, Bassil said: “If he can convince the Shiite Duo with this proposal that will be excellent.”“We’re the ones who proposed a constitutional amendment in this regard in 2014-2015, saying the election should take place over two rounds -- the first among Christians and the second on the national level, so that the president enjoys national representation as well as Christian representation,” Bassil added. As for Hezbollah’s confrontation against Israel, the FPM chief reiterated that “this front does not benefit Lebanon and might drag the country into a war.”

Hajjar Plans ‘Punitive Measures’ Against Ghada Aoun
This Is Beirut/June 04/2024
Judge Jamal Hajjar, Acting Attorney General at the Court of Cassation, is considering punitive measures against Ghada Aoun, Attorney General at the Court of Appeal, who was dismissed from her post in May 2023, following damaging behavior that tarnished the Lebanese judiciary. This was due to Aoun’s refusal to comply with Hajjar’s decisions and the instructions he had given her concerning cases she had blocked, resulting in a cascade of appeals of which she refused to be duly notified. According to judicial sources quoted by sister company, Houna Loubnan, Judge Hajjar had sent a note to Aoun, in accordance with the procedures in force, requesting her to take note of certain files on the basis of which complaints had been lodged against her. However, Aoun refused to comply, responding to Hajjar in a disrespectful tone, the sources said. She also allegedly made disrespectful remarks about some of her colleagues, including the public prosecutor at the South Lebanon Court of Appeal, magistrate Rahif Ramadan. The dismissed judge had been referred by the Supreme Judicial Council to the Judicial Inspectorate because of her refusal to comply with the decisions of her superiors and because she undermined the integrity of her colleagues.

The Samir Kassir Press Freedom Awards Ceremony
This Is Beirut/June 04/2024
The awards ceremony for the Samir Kassir press freedom competition took place late on Tuesday.
The winners of the 19th edition are:
Aseel Saraih, Yemen: Best audiovisual news report
Abdelrahman El Gendy, Egypt: Best opinion piece
Hadel Arja, Syria: Best investigative article
The prize, awarded since 2006 by the European Union and one of the most prestigious in the region, pays tribute to Lebanese journalist and writer Samir Kassir, assassinated in 2005, a few weeks after the Syrian Army withdrew from Lebanon.
The prize is awarded exclusively to journalists from Arab countries. Since its inception, it has attracted just over 3,000 entries from the Middle East, the Gulf, and North Africa.
Entries must focus on one or more of the following themes: the rule of law, human rights, good governance, the fight against corruption, freedom of expression, democratic development, and citizen participation. The winner in each of the three categories receives a prize of €10,000. “The picture is bleak for journalists in the region. A record number of journalists and media professionals have been killed in the line of duty. Violence continues to be used on a daily basis to silence them,” declared the European Union’s ambassador to Lebanon, Sandra de Waele, at the launch of the prize.
For the first time, the award ceremony is taking place without the presence of the founder of the Samir Kassir Foundation, Gisèle Khoury, who died in October 2023.Khoury, Samir Kassir’s widow, was an emblematic figure of Lebanese journalism and a fervent defender of press freedom.

Presidential Elections: Could the PSP Succeed Where the Moderation Failed?
Natasha Metni Torbey/This Is Beirut/June 04/2024
The “initiatives” for the election of a new President of the Republic are multiplying. Following the “unsuccessful” venture of the National Moderation bloc, the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) starts their own today. The party’s leader, Taymour Joumblatt, is due to hold talks in a while with the leader of the Lebanese Forces (FL), Samir Geagea, followed at 2pm by talks with the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), Gebran Bassil. To understand the PSP’s approach, This Is Beirut spoke to PSP MP Wael Bou Faour. What is the PSP initiative, and how does it differ from those of other parties?
First of all, it’s important to understand that we’re not launching an initiative, in the sense that we don’t have any new political elements. We’re rather trying to find a way out of a problem that has been going on for over a year and a half. How can we do this? Simply by building on both the French initiative and that of the Quintet. We need to move the process forward by proposing a new formula for a dialogue or concertations on which everyone can agree on, in order to break the political deadlock.
Could your approach succeed where others have failed? We cannot guarantee the success of our project. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. What we do know is that most leaders recognize the need for some semblance of dialogue or consultation before the elections. The difference of opinion lies, however, in the formula to be adopted. And that’s where we’ve decided to step in: to put forward ideas for implementing the modalities that could lead to dialogue or concertation. We can’t tell you more at the moment. The Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berry, wants to be at the head of any consultations, at a time when certain political parties consider that this is a practice to which he has no right under the law. It is the right of the Speaker to preside over consultations. We cannot disregard these prerogatives granted to him, and no one can prevent him from carrying out his role. As far as we, the PSP, are concerned, our approach is not to exclude him from these consultations.

All Eyes on Iran
Johnny Kortbawi/This Is Beirut/June 04/2024
No matter which formula is adopted, there will be no solution to the presidential deadlock in Lebanon without Iran’s involvement. This is the message that Tehran conveyed to whom it may concern, despite all the vain initiatives taken to give an impression of progress. Internally, after the botched initiative taken by the National Moderation Bloc whose aim was to unite all Lebanese, a new initiative was born from the Progressive Socialist Party. This one, too, will prove ineffective. Before all of this, France had its own plans, through its envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian whose comings on goings were nothing more than protocol visits, to the point that the Lebanese officials were surprised to hear him asking to meet them – as if Le Drian now had a new strategy. In the end, it turned out to be a rehashing of the same themes. The problem also applies to the Quintet, which tried to unearth some solutions, only to reach a dead end, especially since some of its members are enemies of Hezbollah and cannot possibly solve the issue. Simultaneously, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri still insists on dialogue, provided that such an initiative can be the first of many parliamentary sessions to elect a President – at a time when the opposite side, notably the Lebanese Forces, maintains that this situation should not become a custom. In other terms, the presidential elections should not depend solely on a call for dialogue made by the Speaker of Parliament to that end.
Amidst all the constitutional dilly-dallying and the news covering meaningless events, it has become ever clearer that Iran is in control, as it reduces every initiative taken to failure. Tehran still uses Lebanon as leverage in its negotiations, even more so given the current regional turmoil.
Another factor to be added to the equation is the political change in Iran that was brought about by the death of its president. In Lebanon, Hezbollah uses the logic of political supremacy, the last event of this nature being the approval of indemnities to be paid to the families of victims from the war in the south – whereas the State itself could not provide compensation to the victims of the Beirut port explosion. Although the Sate cannot pay these indemnities – although it does not shy away from siphoning this money right out of depositors’ accounts, and some of it from the taxes paid by the Lebanese citizens –, it did not hold Hezbollah accountable for the war which the pro-Iranian formation is waging with no regard for the country’s sovereign decision. The group did what it wanted to do, imposing this compensation on the State, leaving it with no other choice. Going to war or not, and electing a President, is Iran’s decision to make. So far, nothing indicates that the deadlock in Lebanon will be broken any time soon because the US, one of the major players, is preparing its elections to be held in November. Furthermore, neither President Joe Biden nor his rival Donald Trump will cut Iran any slack, before or after the elections in question. In the meantime, Lebanon will enjoy summer and a semblance of joy, while denying its State any authority. The summer will be spent on the beach, and as for the presidency, it will be consumed by the fires of Hell.

Dialogue or Consultations… Presidential Election Is Yet to Materialize
Philippe Abi-Akl/This Is Beirut/June 04/2024
Jean-Yves Le Drian’s warnings fell on deaf ears among Lebanese officials. Neither his 2020 visit following the Beirut port explosion, when he warned of Lebanon’s demise, nor the recent statement he made during his last visit to Lebanon, succeeded to instigate any changes amongst the obstructive political forces towards reviewing their positions regarding the presidential dossier. Towards the end of his visit, the French President’s Special Envoy to Lebanon warned, “Political Lebanon will cease to exist, if the country fails to elect a President, and what will remain is geographical Lebanon.”
Le Drian referred to the deep-seated divisions among political forces, and the unwillingness to compromise or find common ground to elect a president. One who “will not challenge any party, will bridge these divisions, establish foreign relations, commit to the New York tripartite statement (US, France and Saudi Arabia), adhere to the Taif Agreement, comply with international resolutions and implement the needed reforms.” Upon his return to France, the French diplomat will submit to President Emmanuel Macron a report mentioning the “recklessness” of Lebanon’s political leaders amid a potential threat of national collapse. The report will be a key item on the agenda at the US-French summit between Joe Biden and Macron on June 9 at the Élysée Palace. Ahead of Le Drian’s arrival in Lebanon, House Speaker Nabih Berri reiterated his proposal for a seven-day national dialogue followed by presidential election sessions. Meanwhile, Hezbollah reaffirmed its support for Sleiman Frangieh as its ultimate candidate. In this context, a diplomat made a swift comment, “As long as the Shiite party is adamant on supporting Frangieh, what is the point of a dialogue and what will it focus on exactly?”
In addition, the Shiite duo Amal-Hezbollah wanted to convey a message, via Le Drian, to France and the Quintet’s members (US, France, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar) that “the presidential election is tied to a broader regional resolution, and therefore, no discussions on any issue will occur before a ceasefire in Gaza.” Amid the duo’s unwavering position, all initiatives, including that of the National Moderation Bloc, are futile. The goal of Le Drian’s visit was to assess the situation, warn political parties about how serious it is, and explore an overall mechanism for electing a president which could be acceptable to all parties. Furthermore, the French envoy explained that his visit aligned with the Quintet’s efforts. Despite the anti-Hezbollah camp’s objections, Le Drian insisted on the need for consultations that could resolve the presidential deadlock. But the opposition insists on following the election process as clearly outlined by the constitution. They argue that the “Moumanaa axis” (Hezbollah and its allies) is blocking the presidential election to serve external and regional agendas. The axis hopes to use the persisting presidential vacancy to reclaim what it lost in the Taif Agreement by capitalizing on the new balance of power. In other words, this faction seeks to alter the system, structure and composition of the country to secure additional powers (perceived as advantages) while disregarding the resulting deterioration that could lead to the state’s collapse.
Furthermore, Le Drian’s visit came as a final warning before Lebanon’s potential total collapse. Berri’s call for dialogue had been a major point of contention, but the French diplomat noted a newfound flexibility when Berri spoke of consultations rather than dialogue, effectively embracing the National Moderation Bloc’s initiative. In response, the opposition urged Le Drian to ensure that Berri’s words translate into actions. Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea expressed “caution” regarding Berri’s shift of position, noting that he had previously agreed to the consultation-based initiative suggested by the National Moderation Bloc but swiftly reversed his position once the opposition endorsed it. The opposition contends that any progress towards election should begin with dropping Frangieh’s candidacy, rejecting the dialogue as a pre-condition for the presidential election, and electing a suitable president from a restricted list of candidates. By claiming a so-called victory in Gaza, the Hezbollah-led camp would seek to capitalize on this locally and regionally, on the grounds that it “defeated” a major regional power and a seemingly invincible army.
Nonetheless, political circles close to Hezbollah reveal that the party’s position hinges on the outcome of the US elections. A potential election of Donald Trump would prompt Hezbollah to drop Frangieh’s candidature and agree to a settlement on American terms. But if Joe Biden is to be re-elected, the Iran-backed party would continue its confrontations, toughen its positions and postpone the presidential election.

Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 04-05/2024
House passes proposal sanctioning top war-crimes court after it sought Netanyahu arrest warrant
Farnoush Amiri/The Associated Press/June 04/2024
The House passed legislation Tuesday that would sanction the International Criminal Court for requesting arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials. The 247-155 vote amounts to Congress’ first legislative rebuke of the war crimes court since its stunning decision last month to seek arrest warrants for the leaders of Israel and Hamas. The move was widely denounced in Washington, creating a rare moment of unity on Israel even as partisan divisions over the war with Hamas intensified. While the House bill was expected to pass Tuesday, it managed to attract only modest Democratic support, despite an outpouring of outrage at the court's decision, dulling its chances in the Senate. The White House opposes the legislation, calling it overreach. Both the Republican and Democratic leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee acknowledged the bill in question is unlikely to become law and left the door open to further negotiation with the White House. They said it would be better for Congress to be united against the Hague-based court. “We’re always strongest, particularly on this committee, when we speak with one voice as one nation, in this case to the ICC and to the judges,” GOP Rep. Mike McCaul, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said during House debate. "A partisan messaging bill was not my intention here but that is where we are.”State Department spokesperson Matt Miller reiterated the administration's opposition to the sanctions bill. “We have made clear that while we oppose the decision taken by the prosecutor of the ICC, we don’t think it is appropriate, especially while there are ongoing investigations inside Israel looking at somebody’s very same questions, and we were willing to work with Congress on what a response might look like but we don’t support sanctions," Miller said. The House bill would apply sweeping economic sanctions and visa restrictions to individuals and judges associated with the ICC, including their family members. Democrats labeled the approach as “overly broad,” warning it could ensnare Americans and U.S. companies that do important work with the court. “This bill would have a chilling effect on the ICC as an institution which could hamper the court’s efforts to prosecute the dubious atrocities that have been perpetrated in many places around the world, from Ukraine to Uganda," said Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee. The legislation reprimanding the ICC was just the latest show of support from House Republicans for Israel since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that ignited the war. Republicans have held several votes related to Israel in recent months, highlighting divisions among Democrats over support for the U.S. ally. Congressional leaders have invited Netanyahu to address a joint meeting of Congress this summer, which is likely to further inflame tensions over Israel's handling of the war. Many Democrats are expected to boycott the speech. Both the ICC and the United Nations’ highest court, the International Court of Justice, have begun to investigate allegations that both Israel and Hamas have committed genocide during the seven-month war. Last month, ICC's prosecutor, Karim Khan, accused Netanyahu, his defense minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders — Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh — of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel. Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders condemned the ICC's move as disgraceful and antisemitic. President Joe Biden and members of Congress also lambasted the prosecutor and supported Israel’s right to defend itself. Israel is not a member of the court, so even if the arrest warrants are issued, Netanyahu and Gallant do not face any immediate risk of prosecution. But the threat of arrest could make it difficult for Israeli leaders to travel abroad. “Failing to act here in the Congress would make us complicit with the ICC’s illegitimate actions and we must not stay silent,” McCaul said. “We must stand with our allies.”

Israeli ground forces launch new incursion into a central Gaza refugee camp
AP/June 04, 2024
GAZA STRIP: The Israeli military says ground troops backed by airstrikes have launched an operation in central Gaza’s Bureij refugee camp. Local hospital officials say a strike in the camp killed 11 Palestinians, including three children and a woman. The extent of the Israeli incursion into the urban refugee camp Tuesday was not immediately known. The military statement said it was conducting “a precision operation” targeting Hamas positions. The Israeli airstrikes and ground offensives across the Gaza Strip come as international mediators wait for Israel and Hamas to respond to a new ceasefire and hostage release proposal, according to Qatar, which has played a key role in negotiations alongside Egypt and the United States. A senior Hamas official said Tuesday the group will not accept a deal with Israel that does not clearly lay out a permanent ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Announcing the proposal last week, US President Joe Biden said the three-phase plan was Israeli, however Israeli leaders have since appeared to distance themselves from the proposal and vowed to keep fighting Hamas until the group is destroyed. Israeli bombardments and ground operations in Gaza have killed more than 36,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. Israel’s expanding offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah has largely cut off the flow of food, medicine and other supplies to Palestinians who are facing widespread hunger. Israel launched the war in Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250. Around 80 hostages captured on Oct. 7 are believed to still be alive in Gaza, alongside the remains of 43 others.

Biden Adviser to Travel to Middle East This Week to Push for Hostage Deal
Asharq Al Awsat/June 04/2024
US President Joe Biden is dispatching a senior adviser, Brett McGurk, back to Mideast this week for talks on the hostage for truce negotiations between Israel and Hamas as well as to discuss about the situation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, according to a US administration official. The official requested anonymity to discuss the yet to be publicly announced travels for McGurk, the White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa. McGurk has been shuttling between Washington and Mideast capitals throughout the nearly eight-month Israel-Hamas war for talks with key regional stakeholders. This visit comes after a new ceasefire proposal was transmitted to Hamas last week. The Israeli plan could immediately bring home dozens of Israeli hostages, free Palestinian prisoners and perhaps even lead to an endgame in the war. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday that Hamas has yet to offer its formal response to the proposal. McGurk is also expected to discuss Israel’s ongoing military operations in Rafah with regional leaders. Israel launched its ground assault into the city on May 6, triggering an exodus of around 1 million Palestinians out of the city and throwing UN humanitarian operations based in the area into turmoil. Still, in the eyes of the Biden administration, it has yet to amount to a “major operation.” The UN humanitarian office reported Monday that only about 100,000 Palestinians are still in the city of Rafah.

Biden Says Netanyahu Could Be Prolonging Gaza War for Political Aims
Asharq Al Awsat/June 04/2024
US President Joe Biden said Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu may be stalling on ending the war in Gaza for political reasons, according to an interview with Time magazine released on Tuesday. The comments in the May 28 interview were made a few days before Biden detailed a proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, and as the Israeli prime minister struggles with deep political divisions at home. Asked whether he thought Netanyahu was prolonging the war for his own political reasons, Biden said: "There is every reason for people to draw that conclusion."Biden, who has been pushing for an end to the nearly eight-month war, also said it was "uncertain" whether Israeli forces have committed war crimes in Gaza. He rejected allegations that Israel is using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, but said: "I think they've engaged in activity that is inappropriate."Biden said he warned Israel not to make the same mistake the US did after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks that led to "endless wars." "And they're making that mistake," he said. Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer, asked about the interview, said it was "outside the diplomatic norms of every right-thinking country" for Biden to make such comments about Netanyahu. Last month, the International Criminal Court's prosecutor in The Hague requested arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his defense chief, as well as three Hamas leaders, over alleged war crimes. Israel launched an air and ground offensive in Gaza last October vowing to destroy the Palestinian group Hamas after it attacked inside Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 250 people hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Around 120 hostages remain in Gaza. The Israeli assault has killed more than 36,000 people in Gaza, according to health authorities there, who say thousands more bodies are buried under rubble. Opinion polls show most Israelis support the war but blame Netanyahu for the security failures when Hamas gunmen rampaged through Israeli communities near Gaza on Oct. 7 and would vote him out if there were an election. Mass street protests have become weekly events, drawing tens of thousands demanding the government do more to bring home hostages seized by Hamas on Oct. 7 and calling for Netanyahu to go.

Netanyahu's ultra-Orthodox coalition partners back Gaza hostage deal
Dan Williams/JERUSALEM (Reuters)/June 4, 2024
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's biggest coalition partner said on Tuesday it would support a prospective deal to free hostages from Hamas captivity even if it entails an overhaul of Israel's Gaza war strategy. The statement by Shas, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish party that holds 11 of parliament's 120 seats, followed similar remarks on Monday by Yitzhak Goldknopf, leader of the second such party in the coalition, United Torah Judaism, which has seven seats. "Our position is that there is nothing greater than the value of life and the commandment to redeem captives, because their lives face a real and present danger," Goldknopf, Israel's housing minister, said in a statement. Similarly citing a religious obligation, Shas pledged "full support" to the proposal. It encouraged Netanyahu and his war cabinet to "withstand all pressures for the end of returning the hostages".The combined support of the two parties - which hold 18 of the 72 seats controlled by Netanyahu's expanded emergency government - could help offset opposition by far-right partners to a U.S.-backed proposal for winding down the Gaza war.The deal's opponents - the Jewish Power party of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and the Religious Zionism party of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich - control 13 seats and have threatened to quit the government over the deal. They worry that the proposal would halt efforts to defeat the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. Netanyahu has said Israel would not stop the war without toppling and disarming Hamas - while Hamas insists that any deal must end the Israeli offensive against it in Gaza. Though the Israeli public has rallied around the war triggered by a Hamas cross-border killing and kidnapping spree on Oct. 7, support has eroded amid worry for the 120 remaining hostages, more than a third of whom are believed to have died. According to a poll aired by public broadcaster Kan on Sunday, 40% of Israelis support the ceasefire proposal, which was unveiled by U.S. President Joe Biden last week, while 27% are opposed and 33% undecided. Forty percent of respondents said they believe that if Israel enters the deal that would spell an end to the war, while 34% predicted a resumption of fighting and 26% were undecided. Asked if Israel would succeed in toppling Hamas, 32% said yes, 42% said no and 26% were undecided, Kan found.

Pressure intensifies on Israel for a truce after confirmation 43 of 124 hostages are dead
John Bacon, USA TODAY/June 4, 2024
The pressure was intensifying Tuesday for Israel to make a cease-fire deal and gain freedom for scores of hostages after the government confirmed the deaths of four more captives, fueling more protests and angst among family members of those still held in Gaza.
The government says more than a third of hostages − 43 of the 124 − are now confirmed dead. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition partners Shas and United Torah Judaism said on Tuesday they would support a hostage deal even if it involves a major change in war strategy. At least two farther-right coalition partners, however, have warned they could dissolve the coaltion if a deal is reached that does not include destruction of Hamas. The four men most recently confirmed dead were among more than 250 people seized during the Hamas-led attack on Israeli border communities that killed almost 1,200. Military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said new intelligence led to the latest confirmations, saying they died together in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis months ago while Israel was conduction military operations there. It was not yet clear whether they were executed or died in the assault. The International Red Cross warned Tuesday that time was of the essence. "With every day that passes, more and more hostages die in captivity," the agency said on social media. "This loss of human life is not inevitable. All hostages must be released immediately and unconditionally." Netanyahu doubles down: IDF tells 4 hostage families loved ones are dead
Developments:
∎ Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri blasted Washington and the West for pressuring the militant group to accept an Israeli proposal unveiled by President Joe Biden last week "as if it is Hamas who is hampering the deal." Abu Zuhri told Hamas media that Israel is not serious about reaching a deal and is using the U.S. as "cover."
∎ Five Americans hostages are still believed to be alive; three are confirmed dead. National security adviser Jake Sullivan was set to meet Tuesday morning with families of the Americans, NBC reported.
∎ A few arrests were made and hundreds of anti-government protesters were dispersed early Tuesday after blocking a highway and lighting a bonfire outside Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv. The protesters were demanding a deal for the release of remaining hostages.
Iranian general reportedly killed in Israeli airstrike in Syria
Iranian government media reported that a Revolutionary Guard adviser stationed in Syria, Gen. Saeed Abyar, was killed in an Israeli airstrike near the city of Aleppo. Several other people also were killed in the attack Monday, Syria’s defense ministry said. The attack comes two months after two senior Revolutionary Guard generals and five other officers were killed and a building was destroyed in an airstrike on an Iranian diplomatic compound in Damascus. That strike led to retaliatory strikes by both sides that put the two nations on the brink of war.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a USA TODAY request for confirmation or comment on the report.
Israel targets UN school, says it was a base for Hamas
Israeli drones struck Hamas militants overnight in a compound with a U.N. school in the Al Buriz area of Central Gaza, the Israeli military said in a social media post. The site included headquarter buildings, weapon depots, rocket launch positions, observation posts and other infrastructure, the military said. Israel has drawn global outrage for multiple strikes on U.N. buildings and equipment the military said was being used by the militants, including an attack two months ago that inadvertently killed seven World Food Kitchen aid workers. After Tuesday's strike, the military published photos of weapons it said were seized at the site. "The attack was carefully planned and carried out using precise weaponry and avoiding as much as possible harm to those not involved," the military statement said.

Biden: ‘Every reason’ for people to think Netanyahu is prolonging war for political reasons
Brett Samuels/The Hill/June 4, 2024
President Biden in a new interview said it was reasonable for people to conclude that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is prolonging the war in Gaza for his own political benefit. “I’m not going to comment on that,” Biden told Time Magazine in an interview conducted May 28 and published Tuesday. “There is every reason for people to draw that conclusion.” Biden noted that before Israel’s war with Hamas began last October, Netanyahu was facing criticism for pushing judicial reforms that would reduce checks and balances. “And so it’s an internal domestic debate that seems to have no consequence,” Biden said. “And whether he would change his position or not, it’s hard to say, but it has not been helpful.”Biden said his major disagreement with Netanyahu over the war is about what would happen when it ends. Biden has supported a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, but Netanyahu has opposed such an idea. While Netanyahu has said Israeli occupation is not the solution, he has not proposed an alternate vision for the “day after” the war. Israel has faced international criticism for its handling of the war against Hamas, which began last October after the terrorist group killed more than 1,000 Israelis. Subsequent Israeli military strikes in Gaza have killed thousands of Palestinians, and those in Gaza have been without adequate access to food, water and medicine. Netanyahu has faced mounting criticism from the U.S. and other countries over its handling of the war as the humanitarian crisis worsens in Gaza and as civilian deaths mount. Biden has said U.S. support for Israel is “ironclad,” but he has voiced frustration with Netanyahu over his handling of the war, particularly over the deaths of civilians and plans to invade Rafah in southern Gaza.
The president earlier this week laid out a three-phase peace plan that would wind down fighting between Israel and Hamas and allow for the rebuilding of Gaza. Biden argued Hamas has been degraded to the point that it cannot carry out an attack similar to last October. But Netanyahu has said the war should continue until Hamas is completely destroyed. Biden told Time it was “uncertain” if Israeli forces had committed war crimes in Gaza. He has previously criticized an International Criminal Court (ICC) request for arrest warrants against Netanyahu and his defense minister, and said the U.S. doesn’t recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction over Israel or Gaza. “But one thing is certain, the people in Gaza, the Palestinians have suffered greatly, for lack of food, water, medicine, etc. And a lot of innocent people have been killed,” Biden told Time. “But it is—and a lot of it has to do not just with Israelis, but what Hamas is doing in Israel as we speak.”Biden also told Time he does not think Israel is intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, but that the Israelis have “engaged in activity that is inappropriate.”“When I went over immediately after the — Hamas’ brutal attack, I said then, and it became public, I said, don’t make the same mistake we did going after bin Laden,” Biden said. “Don’t try— the idea of occupying Afghanistan, the idea that you had nuclear arsenals in Iran, that were being, I mean, in Iraq, that were being generated, simply not true. And it led to endless wars. They were not true. Don’t make the mistakes we made. And they’re making that mistake, I think.”

Netanyahu's ultra-Orthodox coalition partners back Gaza hostage deal
Dan Williams/JERUSALEM (Reuters)/June 4, 2024
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's biggest coalition partner said on Tuesday it would support a prospective deal to free hostages from Hamas captivity even if it entails an overhaul of Israel's Gaza war strategy. The statement by Shas, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish party that holds 11 of parliament's 120 seats, followed similar remarks on Monday by Yitzhak Goldknopf, leader of the second such party in the coalition, United Torah Judaism, which has seven seats. "Our position is that there is nothing greater than the value of life and the commandment to redeem captives, because their lives face a real and present danger," Goldknopf, Israel's housing minister, said in a statement. Similarly citing a religious obligation, Shas pledged "full support" to the proposal. It encouraged Netanyahu and his war cabinet to "withstand all pressures for the end of returning the hostages".
The combined support of the two parties - which hold 18 of the 72 seats controlled by Netanyahu's expanded emergency government - could help offset opposition by far-right partners to a U.S.-backed proposal for winding down the Gaza war. The deal's opponents - the Jewish Power party of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and the Religious Zionism party of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich - control 13 seats and have threatened to quit the government over the deal. They worry that the proposal would halt efforts to defeat the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. Netanyahu has said Israel would not stop the war without toppling and disarming Hamas - while Hamas insists that any deal must end the Israeli offensive against it in Gaza. Though the Israeli public has rallied around the war triggered by a Hamas cross-border killing and kidnapping spree on Oct. 7, support has eroded amid worry for the 120 remaining hostages, more than a third of whom are believed to have died. According to a poll aired by public broadcaster Kan on Sunday, 40% of Israelis support the ceasefire proposal, which was unveiled by U.S. President Joe Biden last week, while 27% are opposed and 33% undecided. Forty percent of respondents said they believe that if Israel enters the deal that would spell an end to the war, while 34% predicted a resumption of fighting and 26% were undecided. Asked if Israel would succeed in toppling Hamas, 32% said yes, 42% said no and 26% were undecided, Kan found.

Israeli forces launch new ground and air assault on central Gaza, killing at least 6 Palestinians
Mohammad Al Sawalhi and Kareem Khadder, CNN/ June 4, 2024
The Israeli military launched a new ground and air assault in central Gaza on Tuesday, as its forces ramp up attacks amid a deepening humanitarian crisis. The IDF claimed Tuesday afternoon local time that fighter jets were attacking Hamas targets in the Bureij neighborhood “at the same time as ground forces that are operating in a targeted manner and with intelligence guidance,” in the same area. CNN cannot independently verify the IDF’s statement. A CNN producer in the area said that at least six bodies had been brought to the local Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, along with more than 30 injured people.
Among those killed were a father and his 12-year old son, when an artillery shell hit an apartment building east of Al Bureij, according to the CNN producer, as well as a boy and a girl. A woman in her 20s was also killed. Witnesses say civilians started to leave the Bureij area – heading towards the coast - after military activity there intensified. Another CNN producer reported tank-fire in recent days from the east-west Netzarim corridor that the IDF has carved through central Gaza towards neighborhoods south of Gaza city. He said there had been a limited ground incursion in the same neighborhoods over the past three days. Israel launched its military offensive in Gaza on October 7 after the militant group Hamas, which governs Gaza, killed at least 1,200 people and abducted more than 250 others. Israeli attacks in Gaza have since killed at least 36,550 Palestinians and injured another 82,959 people, according to the Ministry of Health there. CNN cannot independently confirm the figures. Khader Al-Za’anoun of Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, contributed reporting.

Hamas wants Israel to commit to permanent ceasefire, full withdrawal from Gaza
Reuters/June 4, 2024
CAIRO (Reuters) - Hamas cannot agree to any deal unless Israel makes a "clear" commitment to a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, a senior official from the Palestinian militant group said on Tuesday. Qatar, which alongside the United States and Egypt has been mediating talks between Hamas and Israel, has also urged Israel to provide a clear position that has the backing of its entire government to reach a deal. "We cannot agree to an agreement that doesn't secure, guarantee, and ensure a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and completing a real serious swap deal accordingly," Osama Hamdan, a Hamas official, told a televised press conference. A three-phase proposal presented by U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday involved in its first phase a six-week ceasefire when Israeli forces would withdraw from "all populated areas" of Gaza and some hostages - including the elderly and women - would be freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Under that plan, Hamas and Israel would negotiate in the same phase a permanent ceasefire that Biden said would last "as long as Hamas lives up to its commitments."In the second phase, Biden said there would be an exchange for all remaining living hostages, including male soldiers, Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza and the permanent ceasefire would begin. Hamdan said: "Israel only wants one phase where it takes all its hostages, then it resumes its aggression and war on our people." "We ask mediators to get a clear position from the Israeli occupation to commit to a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal," he added. Hamas has previously said it viewed the contents of the proposal positively. The United States said on Sunday that if Hamas accepted the proposed plan it expected Israel to follow suit. The third phase in the proposal would include a major reconstruction plan for the enclave, which has been devastated by eight months of war, and the return of the remains of dead hostages to their families.

Blinken discusses Gaza ceasefire proposal with Saudi counterpart: US State Department
Reuters/June 4, 2024
The US State Department said that Secretary Antony Blinken discussed with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, today, Tuesday, a ceasefire proposal and the release of hostages in Gaza. The ministry added in a statement, "The Secretary reiterated that it is Hamas that is standing in the way of a ceasefire and that they should take the deal without further delay."

Exclusive-Europeans' draft IAEA resolution presses Iran on particles, inspectors
Francois Murphy/VIENNA (Reuters)/June 4, 2024
A draft resolution European powers submitted to the U.N. nuclear watchdog's Board of Governors on Monday for a vote this week presses Iran again to explain uranium traces found at undeclared sites and also covers issues such as its barring of inspectors.
The text seen by Reuters follows a resolution passed 18 months ago ordering Tehran to urgently comply with a years-long International Atomic Energy Agency investigation into those traces. The new text calls on Iran to cooperate without delay, including by letting the IAEA take samples if the agency needs to. It also goes further, addressing problems that have arisen more recently, such as Iran's barring of many of the IAEA's top uranium-enrichment experts on the inspection team. It calls on Iran to reverse that step and implement a March 2023 joint statement that the IAEA saw as a sweeping pledge of cooperation. "(The Board) Calls on Iran to provide sufficient cooperation with the Agency and take the essential and urgent actions as decided by the Board in its November 2022 resolution, to resolve safeguards issues which remain outstanding despite numerous interactions with the Agency since 2019," the text said. Iran will react if the Board of Governors passes a resolution against Tehran, the semi-official Fars news agency quoted the country's nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami as saying. The 35-nation Board of Governors meets quarterly and is one of the IAEA's two top policy-making bodies. The other meets only once a year. Since that 2022 resolution the number of sites being investigated over the traces has been narrowed to two from three but Iran still has not explained how the traces got there. The IAEA refers to that as "outstanding safeguards issues". Britain, France and Germany, known as the E3, are pushing for the resolution despite U.S. concerns the move could lead Iran to respond by escalating its nuclear activities, since Tehran has bristled at such resolutions in the past and taken such steps in response. The E3 argue that Iran's continued lack of cooperation with the IAEA and its advancing nuclear programme make such a step necessary, diplomats say. The E3 would not have submitted the text had they not been confident it would pass. Only Russia and China opposed the last resolution against Iran. Iran is enriching uranium to up to 60% purity, close to the 90% of weapons grade, and has amassed enough material enriched to that level, if enriched further, for three nuclear bombs, according to an IAEA yardstick. Western powers say there is no credible civilian justification for enriching to that level, and the IAEA says no other country has done so without producing nuclear weapons. Iran says its aims are entirely peaceful. The text said if Iran failed to cooperate, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi might draw up a "comprehensive" report, which would raise pressure on Tehran further. "Continued failure by Iran to provide the necessary, full and unambiguous cooperation with the Agency to resolve all outstanding safeguards issues may necessitate the production, by the Director General, of a comprehensive and updated assessment on the possible presence or use of undeclared nuclear material," it said.

Iran’s Acting FM Meets Assad, Discusses Gaza with Officials in Syria
Asharq Al Awsat/June 04/2024
Iran's acting foreign minister Ali Bagheri Kani met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on Tuesday and discussed Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza with his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad. Bagheri Kani travelled to Syria after meetings in Beirut on Monday, his first trip abroad since becoming Iran's acting top diplomat following the deaths of his predecessor and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash last month. He also met Palestinian factions at the Iranian embassy in Damascus, as his predecessor had. Iran backs Palestinian armed groups including Hamas, which launched the Oct. 7 attack on Israeli territory that triggered the Gaza conflict. At a joint press conference alongside Mekdad, Bagheri Kani said the pair had discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the delivery of humanitarian aid without conditions. Bagheri Kani was then received by Assad on Tuesday afternoon to discuss bilateral ties between the two close allies and "developments in the occupied Palestinian territories", according to Assad's office. In his day-long visit to Beirut, Bagheri Kani met his Lebanese counterpart, other Lebanese officials and Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah which is the spearhead of Iran's network in the region. Assad met Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran on May 30 to offer condolences for the death of Raisi.

Iranian military adviser killed in Israeli airstrikes on Syrian city, according to Iranian media
Mostafa Salem, CNN/Tue, June 4, 2024
Tasnim News/Telegram
Israeli airstrikes on the Syrian city of Aleppo early Monday killed an Iranian military adviser, according to Iranian media. CNN has contacted the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment, but it does not regularly acknowledge strikes. Saeed Abiyar, an adviser to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in Syria, died in the attack, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported. Abiyar is believed to be the first IRGC member to be killed by Israel since April, when Israel bombed Iran’s embassy compound in Damascus, killing several commanders. The latest incident occurred around 12.20 a.m. local time on Monday after Israel launched an aerial attack with missiles, targeting “a number of points” in the vicinity of Aleppo city, Syrian state media SANA reported, without giving a total number of fatalities. Iran has deployed military advisers to Syria since civil war broke out there in 2011, in support of President Bashar al-Assad. During its war in Gaza against Hamas, which receives significant backing from Iran, Israel has launched several strikes on targets in Syria. In response to April’s attack, Iran launched its first-ever direct strikes on Israel, firing over 300 airborne weapons, most of which were shot down. In a tit-for-tat exchange, Israel fired back a US official told CNN, targeting a major Iranian military airbase near Isfahan.

Iran's allies in Iraq are firing at Israel. What if they draw blood?
Timour Azhari and Laila Bassam/BAGHDAD (Reuters)/June 4, 2024
- Iran-backed Shi'ite armed groups in Iraq have ramped up rocket and missile attacks on Israel in recent weeks, raising concerns in Washington and among some Iranian allies of potential Israeli retaliation and regional escalation should they draw blood. Though the attacks, often from hundreds of miles (kms) away, are not seen by western officials and Israeli experts as posing the same level of threat to Israel as point-blank strikes by Hamas and Hezbollah, they have increased in number and sophistication. At least two have hit their targets and many have had to be shot down by U.S. and Israeli defences, according to U.S officials and public statements by the Israeli military. New weaponry such as cruise missiles have been regularly used since May and are harder for air defences to destroy. "Overall, the intensity and the types of weapons systems used have steeply escalated," said Mike Knights, a fellow at the U.S.-based Washington institute for Near East Policy, where he tracks the attacks. "It complicates the Israeli task and is an increased financial cost," he said. Reuters spoke to more than a dozen people, including sources in Iraqi armed groups and other factions in Iran's network of regional allies known as the Axis of Resistance, alongside U.S. and other regional officials, most of whom spoke on condition of anonymity to give candid assessments of a sensitive issue. They said the attacks by Iraqi factions, including Kataib Hezbollah and Nujaba, were a cause for rising concern for Washington and also viewed with unease among some in Iran and its powerful Axis ally Hezbollah in Lebanon, which has carefully calibrated its own engagements with Israel to prevent all-out regional conflict. "They could get the Axis involved in something it does not currently want," a senior figure in the Axis of Resistance said, describing the view among pro-Iran groups on condition he not be identified. Iran and Hezbollah, the most organised members of the network, have in the past struggled to rein in Iraqi factions. Hussein al-Mousawi, a spokesperson for Nujaba, one of the main armed Shi'ite factions in Iraq participating in strikes on Israel, told Reuters the strikes were a natural evolution of the role of Iraqi groups and aimed to increase the cost of the war in Gaza. They intend to strike from anywhere, for as long as is necessary. "The operations carried out by the Resistance are not bound by temporal or spatial boundaries," Mousawi said. "We, as a resistance, do not fear the consequences as long as we are in the right and we represent the popular and official will." The Iraqi government, which carefully balances its alliances with both Washington and Tehran, does not officially approve of the strikes but has been unable or unwilling to stop them. Critics say this shows the limits of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's power in a coalition government that includes Iran-backed armed groups, and may undermine efforts to rebrand Iraq as stable and open for business. Iraq does not recognise Israel and a 2022 law punishes those trying to normalise ties with death or life in prison. Israel views Iraq as an Iranian vassal state and main corridor for weapons from Iran to other armed groups including Hezbollah. The Israeli and Iraqi governments did not respond to requests for comment. The U.S. State Department declined to comment.
ESCALATING THREAT
The Iraqi groups trace their roots to the fight against U.S. troops in Iraq after the toppling of dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003. They have since grown their regional reach, mirroring the evolution of other Iranian allies such as the Houthis in Yemen who have launched strikes on shipping in the Red Sea. Iraqi groups joined the Syrian civil war in support of Iran's ally President Bashar al-Assad, gaining a foothold in territory near the border with Israel. A shadowy Iraqi group claimed drone attacks on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in 2021 and 2022. The attacks by Iraqi groups on Israel are launched from areas south of Baghdad and in the Iraqi-Syrian border area where Iran-backed factions hold sway, according to Knights. To get from Iraq to Israel, projectiles must fly over Syria, Jordan or Saudi Arabia. While Iran has been keen to have Iraqi factions contribute to the regional battle against Israel, their propensity to miscalculate was a constant cause for concern, the senior figure in the Axis said. He noted that the Iraqi groups had already unwittingly caused a major regional escalation in January, when they killed three U.S. troops in a drone attack on a U.S. outpost in Jordan. That attack - which crossed multiple U.S. and regional red lines by hitting a neighbouring Arab state and killing Americans - led to a deadly campaign of U.S. airstrikes in Iraq and Syria. So serious was the risk of escalation then, that the commander of Iran's elite Quds Force travelled to Baghdad to tell the factions to dial down their attacks, Iranian and Iraqi sources told Reuters at the time. Attacks on U.S. forces stopped. There was a brief lull. Then, they turned their attention to Israel. A senior Iranian official who asked not to be identified to discuss sensitive matters said this shift in focus was part of a plan to keep the pressure on Israel over the Gaza war. A U.S. defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the attacks on Israel jeopardized the stability of Iraq and the region by increasing the risk of military action, including potentially by the U.S. and Israel. "The sophistication and frequency of these attacks highlight the escalating threat posed by these groups" the official said. "The U.S. military will not hesitate to act to protect our forces and support the defence of our allies."
'FREE HAND'
Iraq has posed a threat to Israel before - notoriously during the 1991 Gulf War when Saddam fired barrages of Scud missiles at Tel Aviv and Haifa. At the time, Washington prevailed upon Israel not to retaliate to avoid an escalation that could undermine a U.S.-led coalition, including Arab armies, which had been pulled together to eject Iraqi forces from Kuwait. After Hamas militants launched their attack on Israel on Oct. 7 last year precipitating the war in Gaza, Iraqi Shi'ite armed factions, like other pro-Iranian groups, pledged to carry out attacks in solidarity with the Palestinians. They initially targeted mainly U.S. forces based in Iraq and Syria. But on Nov. 2 they claimed their first ever attack on Israel. A handful of other claimed attacks on Israel followed in the next few months, including four in February, even after the groups had publicly halted attacks on U.S. forces, according to public claims of responsibility by the Iran-backed groups. The number of claimed attacks shot up to 17 in March, and doubled again in May, averaging more than one a day, though U.S. officials and the source in the pro-Iranian Axis said they are not certain all the claimed attacks were genuine. Reuters was not able to determine exactly how many attacks have been launched nor how many hit their intended target. The attacks are frequently accompanied by video released on social media purporting to show the projectiles being fired from remote Iraqi desert sites as militants shout the names of holy figures revered mainly by Shi'ites. Reuters was not able to verify the date or location of the videos. While Israel rarely comments on its operations in neighbouring states, it is thought to have struck pro-Iran groups in Iraq before, in 2019, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had given the military "a free hand" to act "to thwart Iran's plans". Asked to provide information on launches by Iran-backed factions in Iraq, the Israeli military declined to comment. Israeli authorities have publicly confirmed at least two impacts on the coastal city of Eilat that Israeli media said came from Iraq, on a school in November and a naval base in April. Additionally, the military has announced many interceptions of projectiles coming "from the east", widely seen as a reference to Iraq. No injuries or deaths have been reported as a result of the attacks. Amos Yadlin, a retired Israeli air force general who formerly headed military intelligence, said he would rate the level of threat the attacks pose to Israel as "one step down" from Hezbollah or the Houthis. The U.S. defence official said projectiles fired from Iraq had been intercepted by U.S. forces operating "from various locations in the Middle East, as part of our commitment to Israel's defence and regional security." "The frequency of these actions has increased in response to the rising number of threats," the official said.

Ukraine sent special forces to Syria to attack Russians there, revealing a new front to the war: report
Thibault Spirlet/Business Insider/June 4, 2024
Anti-Putin Russian fighters claim latest attack in southern RussiaScroll back up to restore default view. Ukraine has deployed special forces to Syria to fight Russian mercenaries there, per the Kyiv Post. They are backing Syrian rebels in fighting the Assad regime in the southwest, per the outlet. Ukraine is also fighting Wagner mercenaries in Sudan, the outlet previously reported. Ukraine has deployed special forces units to Syria to combat Russians there, according to the Kyiv Post. Ukrainian special forces are fighting side by side with Syrian rebels against Russian mercenaries and Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime in the Middle Eastern country, the outlet reported. It released a video obtained from sources within the Ukrainian Main Directorate of Intelligence. According to the outlet, the video, dated March 2024, shows Ukrainian special forces targeting Russian checkpoints, strongholds, foot patrols, and convoys of military equipment in southwest Syria. The Ukrainian soldiers used rocket-propelled grenades, improvised "Tarab" mortars, and what looks like command wire or radio-controlled improvised explosive devices in the attacks, the outlet reported. An unnamed Ukrainian intelligence source told the outlet that the troops had backed Syrian rebels in carrying out multiple strikes on Russian military facilities since the start of the year. The Ukrainian Main Directorate of Intelligence didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. Russia has been involved in Syria's civil war since 2015, when it launched a military intervention after the country's president requested support against opposition and the Islamic State. By the end of April 2018, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Russian aerial bombings had directly killed more than 7,700 civilians, a quarter of them children, as well as 4,749 opposition fighters and 4,893 members of ISIS. Ukraine's military presence in Syria, however, has not been reported until now. According to Alexander Libman, a professor of Russian and East European Politics at the Free University of Berlin, their presence in Syria would be "deeply" surprising as Ukraine faces "major" manpower issues on the battlefield back home. "Sending any troops away from the country would be indeed rather strange," he told BI. Even so, this is not the first time Ukrainian special forces have been seen fighting outside Ukraine.Ukrainian special forces were reportedly seen interrogating captured Wagner mercenaries in Sudan in an undated video shared by the Kyiv Post in February. Sergey Sukhankin, a senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation, told BI at the time that the operation may have been part of "some sort of tacit agreement" between Western allies and Ukraine to battle Russian mercenaries in Africa, in exchange for certain military backing for Ukraine in its war against Russia.

Kremlin welcomes Turkey's reported desire to join BRICS
Reuters/June 4, 2024
MOSCOW/ANKARA (Reuters) - Russia welcomes Turkey's reported desire to become part of the BRICS group of nations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday, saying the subject would be on the agenda of the organisation's next summit. Peskov said there was heightened interest in BRICS - a group comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Ethiopia, Iran, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates - from various states, but said it was unlikely the grouping could completely satisfy all interested nations. On Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan began a visit to Beijing, the highest-level visit by a Turkish official to BRICS member China since 2012. Fidan held talks with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and other officials during the visit. Asked whether Turkey would want to join BRICS during a talk at the Center for China and Globalization on Monday, Fidan said "we would like to of course, why would we not?". However, he did not elaborate further. Fidan was cited by Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency as saying Ankara was also eyeing cooperation with BRICS members and that he would attend a planned meeting of the group next week in Russia. It was not immediately clear whether Ankara would take steps to join the BRICS group, as Ankara has not previously stated its desire to formally join. NATO member Turkey had come under fire by its Western allies in recent years over its ties with Russia, with some saying that its "axis" was shifting away from the Western military alliance. Ankara has rejected this, saying it remained a committed member of the alliance and maintained its goal of full membership of the European Union.

Syria says no dialogue with Turkey before Ankara announces plans to withdraw its troops
Albert Aji/DAMASCUS, Syria (AP)/June 4, 2024
Syria’s foreign minister said Tuesday that any dialogue between Syria and Turkey should only take place after Ankara announces that it will withdraw its troops from all Syrian territories it controls. Faisal Mekdad made the comments during a joint news conference with Iran’s acting foreign minister, Ali Bagheri Kani, after Turkey threatened in recent days to act against Kurdish-led authorities in Syria’s northeast as they prepare to hold municipal elections next week. Turkey has launched three major cross-border operations into Syria since 2016 and controls some territories in the north. Ankara was a main backer of Syrian opposition fighters who have been trying to remove Syrian President Bashar Assad from power since the conflict began in March 2011. Attempts at reconciliation between Syria and Turkey have failed to achieve progress since early 2023 despite meetings in Moscow between the countries' foreign ministers and defense ministers. “The main condition to any Syrian-Turkish dialogue is for Ankara to announce its readiness to withdraw from our lands that it occupies,” Mekdad said. “We do not negotiate with those who occupy our land.”Bagheri Kani said Tehran has always supported territorial integrity of all regional countries, particularly Syria. “We have supported and will continue to support Syria in its battle against terrorism,” he said, in reference to Syrian insurgent groups that Damascus and Tehran consider terrorist organizations. Iran and Russia, main backers of Assad who took part in Syria’s conflict that has killed half a million people, have tried to mediate between Turkey and Syria in the past. Over the years, Syrian government forces have taken control of most parts of Syria with their help. On Turkey’s support to Syrian insurgent groups in the north, Mekdad said: “It is not permissible for the Turkish occupation of Syrian lands to continue to support terrorist organizations in northern Syria.”Last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara won’t hesitate to act against Kurdish-led groups in northern Syria that it accuses of links to outlawed Kurdish militants, if they proceed with plans to hold local elections in the region on June 11. Pro-government Syrian media outlets said Bagheri Kani met earlier Tuesday at the Iranian embassy in Damascus with leaders of Syria-based Palestinian factions. They gave no further details. In Lebanon, Hezbollah announced that its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, met with Bagheri Kani and discussed the volatile situation in Gaza and along the Lebanon-Israel border. Bagheri Kani was in Lebanon before heading to Syria. Bagheri Kani told reporters that he was in Syria to discuss “an immediate end to the Zionists’ crimes in (the southern city of) Rafah and delivering urgent, immediate and unconditional aid to the oppressed residents of Gaza.”

Houthi Red Sea attacks decline in last week as navies act, Greece says
Renee Maltezou and Jonathan Saul/ATHENS (Reuters)/June 4, 2024
Closer international cooperation between naval missions in the Red Sea has reduced the number of attacks by Yemen’s Houthis over the past week, Greek Shipping Minister Christos Stylianides told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday. Greece is the home of the headquarters of the European Union's naval operation in the Red Sea, which is dubbed "Aspides" and in Greek means "Shields". "For us, it is a satisfaction that during the past week we see a notable reduction in the number and intensity of attacks. This is the reality," Stylianides said, speaking on the sidelines of the Posidonia shipping week in Athens. "It is another proof that the international community with decisiveness can stop this." Aspides was set up this year to guard vessels against attacks by Iranian-aligned Houthi militants, who have launched repeated drone and missile strikes in the Red Sea region since November and have expanded attacks to other busy waterways. Houthis describe their attacks as acts of solidarity with Palestinians in Israel's war in Gaza. Shipping has not seen such politically motivated attacks since World War Two, said Stylianides, a former EU Commissioner, adding that they have caused "tangible repercussions, geopolitically, commercially, legally, environmentally".The recent reduction, he said, showed that Aspides and the U.S-led Operation Prosperity Guardian complement each other in helping restore freedom of trade in the area. The Houthis have sunk one ship, the Rubymar, and seized another vessel. Three seafarers were killed in a separate attack. Greece, which is leading the shipping sector in terms of tonnage, has also been affected, he said, adding that that was also a reason behind the country's decision to play a more leading role in the EU initiative. The Houthis have launched attacks against at least two Greek operated ships in recent weeks. "There is no reluctance to be in the frontline," he said. "As a country, first in the maritime field, we have to take our responsibilities and our duties".

Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on June 04-05/2024
Who Is Funding the Pro-Hamas Protests; Are They Aiming to Take Down America?
 Robert Williams/Gatestone Institute/June 04/2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/130384/130384/
Rather more jarring is that the Biden administration, and therefore taxpayer money, is also funding the protests, through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
"U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference and Ranking Member of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee... discussed oversight findings from the EPW Committee that revealed a $50 million grant was awarded from the EPA through the Democrats' Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to 'Climate Justice Alliance,' a group that engages in pro-Hamas, anti-Israel, and anti-Semitic activities." — US Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, May 21, 2024.
"[We] went to the website of Climate Justice Alliance. This is what we found on the website that our taxpayer dollars are going to organizations such as this. This, at the bottom, is a picture of the bulldozer that went through the fence when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7." — Senator Shelley Moore Capito, May 21, 2024.
The People's Forum's executive director Manolo De Los Santos called for the complete destruction of the United States at the conference to great applause: "We have to bring down this empire with one million cuts, and those one million cuts have to come from every sector of struggle in this room."
Terrorists and their billionaire, as well as less-affluent supporters, are actively conspiring to destroy the US with the backing of foreign powers -- and very little, if anything, is being done to stop it.
The Biden administration, and therefore taxpayer money, is funding pro-Hamas., anti-Israeli protests on US campuses, through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The answers to the question of who is funding the groups behind the pro-Hamas, anti-Israeli protests on US campuses, continue to grow in complexity. It appears that a multitude of donors are falling over each other to help promote the cause of the officially designated terrorist group, Hamas – whose openly stated aim is the destruction of Israel and the Jews -- to impressionable young students and the public at large.
Politico revealed -- to those who still had doubts -- that many of the people bankrolling the campus protests are the same as Biden's largest donors. They include Democratic mega-donors George Soros, and David Rockefeller Jr. of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Both have donated to anti-Israeli groups through the Tides Foundation, once described as a "charitable money laundering" organization. It sponsors anti-Israeli groups such as Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow, both of which are active in the protests. In addition, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund has given nearly $500,000 directly to Jewish Voice for Peace over the past five years, and donated to the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR).
Hamas-affiliated Professor Hatem Bazian, a founder of Students for Justice in Palestine and chairman of American Muslims for Palestine, calls himself "an ally and partner with Jewish Voice for Peace." Bazian began calling for an intifada in the US at least 20 years ago.
The Libra Foundation, founded by Democratic megadonors Susan and Nick Pritzker, heirs to the Hyatt hotel empire, has also donated money to organizations behind the protests, including Solidaire Network. According to Influence Watch:
[Susan] Pritzker is board treasurer of Solidaire Network, a left-of-center donor group supporting race, gender, and climate based causes. Its 10-year strategy is "a roadmap to liberate wealth for movements to build lasting left power in the United States."
Rather more jarring is that the Biden administration, and therefore taxpayer money, is also funding the protests, through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
"U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference and Ranking Member of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee... discussed oversight findings from the EPW Committee that revealed a $50 million grant was awarded from the EPA through the Democrats' Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to 'Climate Justice Alliance,' a group that engages in pro-Hamas, anti-Israel, and anti-Semitic activities."
According to Moore Capito:
"[We] went to the website of Climate Justice Alliance. This is what we found on the website that our taxpayer dollars are going to organizations such as this. This, at the bottom, is a picture of the bulldozer that went through the fence when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7. They have a rendering on their website, it says 'Decolonize Palestine' and it has a picture of that same bulldozer going through that fence.
"If you dig deeper. They want to defund the police, defund the military, either them or their affiliates, want to have very radical, drastic initiatives that I think are anti-American, and they're certainly anti-Israel and anti-Semitic. So, the Biden administration doesn't seem to care. $50 million dollars in December, who knows how much more in the future and other like groups because there are other associated groups with this group... all they care about is the mission, the climate mission, no matter what the radical ideas that are associated with the groups."
Foreign actors are involved behind the scenes to foment chaos and reap the benefits of a United States in turmoil: China, for instance, is maneuvering by means of an organization named Code Pink, which has been highly active in demonstrations, sit-ins and harassment of members of the pro-Israel camp.
According to the New York Times, American millionaire Neville Roy Singham, "works closely with the Chinese government media machine and is financing its propaganda worldwide." He does so through a web of organizations and in a mix of "progressive advocacy with Chinese government talking points." The Times describes how Code Pink went from criticizing China's human rights violations to defending its reportedly genocidal treatment of Muslim Uyghurs after Singham, in 2017, married Jodie Evans, the co-founder of Code Pink. Singham, a long-time admirer of Mao Zedong, lives in Shanghai, where he helps promote the Chinese Communist Party. His wife ardently defends China. "If the U.S. crushes China," she said in 2021, it "would cut off hope for the human race and life on Earth." Code Pink is currently under investigation by the House Committee on Natural Resources for its ties to the CCP.
Singham is also the primary sponsor of the People's Forum, which has helped organize many anti-Israel walkouts in New York City public schools – telling students to chant the slogan advocating the destruction of Israel: "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free."
Significantly, the People's Forum was behind the recent three-day conference in Detroit, "People's Conference for Palestine". The event featured Wissam Rafidi, a member of the terrorist group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) -- a US designated terrorist entity -- who said that "there is no longer a place for a two-state solution for any Palestinian. The only solution is one democratic Palestinian land which will end the Zionist project in Palestine."
Sana' Daqqa, the wife of late PFLP terrorist Walid Daqqa -- who served a life sentence in prison for kidnapping and murdering an Israeli soldier -- praised the US campus protests, and then said, referring to the October 7 massacre, in Arabic called "Al-Aqsa Flood":
"The only thing that can stop this is a flood.... This is what the resistance intended, that the flood would become floods throughout the entire region."
US Representative Rashida Tlaib was also at the conference, where she called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "murderous war criminal". The People's Forum's executive director Manolo De Los Santos called for the complete destruction of the United States at the conference to great applause:
"We have to bring down this empire with one million cuts, and those one million cuts have to come from every sector of struggle in this room. I know all of you in this movement are exhausted... but it is not about gathering and talking. It is about transforming that work into action."
Terrorists and their billionaire, as well as less-affluent supporters, are actively conspiring to destroy the US with the backing of foreign powers -- and very little, if anything, is being done to stop it.
Meanwhile, at the end of May, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei thanked and praised the pro-Hamas protesters on US campuses.
"Dear university students in the United States of America, you are standing on the right side of history.
"You have now formed a branch of the Resistance Front and have begun an honorable struggle in the face of your government's ruthless pressure - which openly supports Zionists."
Khamenei then added:
"Dear university students in the US, my advice to you is to become familiar with the Quran."
**Robert Williams is a researcher based in the United States.
© 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.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20680/funding-pro-hamas-protests

Trumpism Is Stronger Than Judicial Verdicts and Democratic Norms
Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al Awsat/June 04/2024
It is said that in 1897, the great American satirical writer, Mark Twain, famously remarked that "the reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated," after reading his own obituary in a newspaper.
This applies to Donald Trump today, after the former - and possibly future - US President, was found guilty on 34 counts. The reason is that Trump is no longer just a politician subject to the rule of law in a democratic country with an advanced judicial system, in which the rule of law has been consolidated and the verdicts of institutions that settle disputes are respected without question. Trump is now a personalistic and populist "phenomenon" that has demonstrated a tremendous - and dangerous - capacity for stirring up and mobilizing the masses at will, around whatever issue he chooses.
After eight years in the spotlight, Trump's gamble on a base he has molded in his own image is proving successful. His base no longer values constitutional norms and institutional notions of governance, including the peaceful transfer of power and the separation of powers. His callousness can be seen in his personal vendettas and baseless accusations against any challenger or rival, and goes as far as explicit incitement to chaos and insurgency. Of course, that is precisely what happened after Trump refused to concede defeat after the last presidential election in 2020. As a result, a mob stormed the Capitol, the seat of Congress and the symbol of democracy and electoral legitimacy in the United States. Trump has become convinced not only of his invincibility, but also his infallibility. He sees himself as above making mistakes and, by extension, above accountability.
Did he not say during his successful 2016 presidential campaign that he could shoot someone on a New York street and still get elected?
Trump's prediction has proven accurate. He has won through populist slogans, foremost among them "Make America Great Again," drawing his strength from isolationist anti-immigrant groups, extreme white Christians, fundamentalist evangelicals, conservatives in rural America, and various racist groups. Trump has benefited from two things that have been true throughout the tenure of the current Democratic President Joe Biden:
First, the performance of Biden's administration has been lackluster and its aging leader has lacked charisma. Second, there has been a steady rise of blatant populism that tends to promote racism in many major countries around the world, from Western Europe to Brazil and Argentina in Latin America, not to mention India - the former model of democracy that it had been hoped Asia and Africa would replicate. Following the rise of Trumpian populism - and with it, the Christian right - the American Republican Party stopped being a "big tent" that accommodates both conservatives and moderate classical liberals. The remaining moderate liberal Republicans in Congress, especially in the swing states of the Northeastern United States and the Great Lakes states, are expected to effectively disappear within the next four years. Accordingly, many observers believe that the potential from an internal war between "rival wings" of the Republican Party has effectively vanished. The dynamics of the struggle for leadership within the party, for the foreseeable future, will remain a competition among contenders blatantly seeking to outflank one another in their absolute loyalty to Trump's positions and beliefs.
Moreover, some suggest that the judicial verdict going against Trump might actually "create momentum" for his campaign at a critical juncture, as the countdown to the election campaign is beginning. Legally, nothing prevents the former president from running in the upcoming election in early November. On the contrary, this indictment might bolster the effectiveness of the two most important intertwined tactics Trump has pursued this campaign: claiming "victimhood" and promoting "conspiracy theories."
Trump’s supporters do not need much convincing that "hostile forces in Washington," led by the Democratic Party and liberal and progressive groups, are "conspiring" against the former president to prevent him from making good on his campaign slogans. Indeed, the belief in a "conspiracy" will be reinforced by perceived courtroom "injustice." Moreover, Trump has repeatedly managed to convince his consistently loyal base that he has been "wronged" and a "victim of a conspiracy." This conviction could thwart the emergence of any Republican figure with even a minimal degree of independence from the "Trump line," if, for unforeseen reasons, Trump is unable to run in November himself. Based on all of this, both the American people and the world can expect a feverish few months from now until November. These months could determine the political trajectory of the world's most powerful nation, as well as its engagement with the rest of the globe, for decades to come!

What Medical Stories Do We Trust?
Ross Douthat/The New York Times/June 05/2024
Let me tell you a medical story; you decide what you make of it. A person has a routine medical experience, the kind that all their neighbors have had as well. But afterward they have weird symptoms, odd forms of pain, fatigue that just goes on and on and on.
The medical system can’t help them, so they join online communities that provide validation but not a cure. And they develop a strong sense of betrayal, a belief that the system knew this was possible and just let it happen to them.
Now, let me give you a few more details. The person I’m describing is an overweight 50-something Indiana man who watches Fox News and refused to wear a mask in the fall of 2020. The routine medical experience that preceded his mystery illness was his taking — because his employer required it — the Covid vaccine. Are you suddenly forming a theory of what’s wrong with him? Are you inclined toward psychosomatic explanations, thinking that he’s taking the aches and pains of age and blaming them on the liberals and their vax?
Well, hold on, because I’ve deceived you: Actually the person is a 35-year-old college educated woman living in Brooklyn who works out five days a week, takes anti-anxiety medication and marched, fully masked, in the 2020 George Floyd protests. Her medical experience was getting Covid itself, despite her multiple vaccinations, and thereafter falling into a long-Covid trough she can’t escape. Now if you are, like her, a liberal professional, maybe you’re less likely to default to psychosomatic explanations. On the other hand, if you’re a conservative, her description may be what you expect to hear: Another blue-state long-Covid hypochondriac, obsessing over every twinge the way she obsesses over every passing mood, all to justify her desire to keep everybody in a mask.
Maybe you default to neither stereotype, in which case I apologize for stereotyping you. But you probably recognize the interpretations I’ve just presented, the bipartisan tendency to be dismissive of outlying medical cases when they threaten your side’s narrative of the Covid era.
I’m thinking about this because of my colleague Apoorva Mandavilli’s new story about people who have suffered, or claim to have suffered, life-altering vaccine injuries after getting the Covid shot. These long-haul afflicted naturally feel abandoned by a medical establishment that’s uncomfortable with outlying cases in the best of times, but in this case is especially resistant to conceding anything that might seem to empower anti-vaccine paranoia.
And no doubt vaccine skeptics will seize on my colleague’s story, while many staunch vaccine supporters will be made uncomfortable at the idea of too much attention being paid to these cases. But again, were this a story about the similar kinds of chronic symptoms that cluster around some people after they’ve had Covid itself, the lines of skepticism could easily reverse. (A figure like Alex Berenson, for instance, the one-man band of dissent from every anti-Covid strategy, is full of warnings about unknown long-term effects of the vaccines and full of scorn for people who claim long-term effects from Covid itself.)
As someone who’s suffered from a controversial chronic illness that isn’t Covid-related, a message that I try to bring to this conversation is that you should be able to extend sympathy to people with difficult conditions first, before you worry about how that sympathy might threaten your medical worldview or policy regime. Sometimes these people will vindicate your skepticism: Hypochondria certainly exists, ideology and psychogenic conditions no doubt interact. But often chronic illness falls in patterns that reflect the deep mysteries of the body more than the assumptions of the mind. In my colleague’s story about vaccine side effects, some of the afflicted are exactly the kind of liberal professional people you’d expect to be eager vaccine advocates. Likewise with long Covid: I have personally counseled a couple of young, fit, right-wing men embarrassed to acknowledge their long-haul symptoms within a conservative-leaning peer group. Accepting the credibility of these outliers doesn’t have to overthrow your overall perspective on Covid-era issues. The existence of vaccine side effects, and any incentive there might be to undercount them, doesn’t undermine the evidence that vaccination saved a lot of lives. The risks of long Covid don’t prove that the pandemic emergency should never end. The outliers should, however, shake your certainty that the mysteries of the human body can fit perfectly into any simple “biopolitics,” and give you more sympathy for the desire to to opt out of any given health regime. You won’t be the outlier, don’t worry, and if you are it’s probably in your head is a natural mode of thinking for healthy people.
But once you’ve been the outlier, or had an outlier in your life, you know the real territory is different than any biopolitical map, and there are more ways than most people realize to get lost.

Caution a must when setting down red lines
Kerry Boyd Anderson/Arab News/June 04, 2024
As Israeli ground forces entered central Rafah in the last few days, questions about whether the operation crosses President Joe Biden’s red line have intensified. The situation highlights why leaders should always be careful when setting down red lines.
Since at least March, US officials have expressed concern about a major military operation in Rafah and the high impact on the many civilians who had fled there. They suggested that America would not support such an operation without a credible plan to protect civilians. In late April, shortly before Israel launched its ground operations in and around Rafah, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that Washington still had not seen an Israeli plan that US officials felt would sufficiently protect civilians in the area. “We don’t want to see a major ground operation in Rafah,” he added.
Biden took things up a notch on May 9, in an interview with CNN, when he said that he had made it clear to Israeli leaders that, “if they go into Rafah … I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities.” He clarified that his concern was about Israel going into “the population centers.” His comments were widely seen as setting out a red line — a clear threshold that Israel should not cross and, if it did, the White House would stop sending offensive weapons. The Biden administration backed it up, to some degree, by withholding a shipment of particularly large bombs, expressing concern about the level of destruction such munitions could cause in a densely populated area such as Rafah.
As Israeli ground forces have pushed further into Rafah, the Biden administration has tried to backpedal away from its red line
However, in the last month, as Israeli ground forces have pushed further into Rafah — including areas around eastern and western Rafah and more recently into the city center — the Biden administration has tried to backpedal away from its red line. US officials are arguing that Israel’s operations in Rafah are more precise than earlier operations against cities in Gaza. On May 22, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that operations in Rafah were “more targeted and limited” and had “not involved major military operations into the heart of dense urban areas.”
The administration might have been able to reasonably argue that Israel had not crossed Biden’s red line in Rafah when Israeli soldiers had made only limited advances to the border crossing and areas around the city of Rafah. However, more recently, US officials’ comments look to be splitting hairs.
Last Thursday, State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said that “we have not seen a major operation as it relates to Rafah.” He made this statement several days after an Israeli strike sent shrapnel flying through a camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah and started a horrific fire, and after further strikes, fighting and civilian deaths in Rafah. Furthermore, Patel said there was no major military operation in Rafah one day before the Israeli army acknowledged that its soldiers were in central Rafah.
Faced with the growing unreasonableness of such statements, the administration has tried to blur the red line. On May 22, Sullivan said there was “no mathematical formula” to define it. He noted that US officials would consider “whether there is a lot of death and destruction from this operation or if it is more precise and proportional.” At this point, one must wonder how much destruction officials would need to see before labeling it as “a lot” or disproportionate. Similarly, Patel, when repeatedly pressed by reporters to explain what would constitute a “major military operation” said, “I’m not going to categorize it into one box or another.”
One must wonder how much destruction officials would need to see before labeling it as ‘a lot’ or disproportionate
Beyond the immediate problem for US policy — and the consequences for Palestinian civilians — the situation highlights why leaders should take great care in setting red lines, whether or not they officially use the term itself.
One of the most famous modern red line debates comes from President Barack Obama’s 2012 statement promising serious consequences if the Assad regime in Syria used chemical weapons. After regime forces attacked Ghouta with sarin, Obama was faced with the decision of whether to enforce his red line. While he seriously considered military action, he also delayed. In response, Russia proposed a diplomatic solution, Obama agreed, and large amounts of Syria’s chemical weapons were destroyed under international observation.
However, the Assad regime later used chemical weapons again, prompting questions about the effectiveness of the 2013 deal. More than a decade later, there is still a debate about whether the incident is an example of a terrible failure to enforce a red line that undermined US credibility or a successful case of coercive diplomacy. Either way, at least it serves as an example of the need to be prepared before setting down a red line and think through how to enforce it if the adversary crosses the line.
There are other historical examples of leaders drawing red lines, including the frequently changing boundaries that were designed to contain Adolf Hitler’s regime in the run-up to the Second World War and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s literal red line in 2012 regarding Iran’s nuclear program. Some were successful, some failed and the outcome of others remains debated. At a minimum, leaders should be cautious. They should not throw out red line demands without careful forethought, which should include considering the potential consequences of enforcing a red line — and whether leaders are willing to bear those costs — before ever establishing one.
**Kerry Boyd Anderson is a professional analyst of international security issues and Middle East political and business risk. X: @KBAresearch