Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on June 28-29/2024
Link for a Panel Discussion from the Washington Institute Watch an expert conversation exploring the risks and implications of further escalation between Israel and Hezbollah across the Israeli-Lebanese border.
Arab League calls for adherence to UN Resolution 1701 to contain escalation in southern Lebanon
Canada urges dual citizens to leave Lebanon. Lebanese Montrealers say it's not that easy
Israel and Hezbollah Lurch Closer to War
US shifts assault ship to Mediterranean to deter risk of Israel-Lebanon conflict escalating
Israel-Hezbollah border clashes: Latest developments
Report: US intel indicates war between Israel and Hezbollah inching closer
Report: Gallant agreed with US officials that war on Lebanon would be too costly
Hezbollah fires rockets at Israeli base, says four fighters killed
Reports: Nothing unusual on the ground despite Israeli threats, int'l warnings
Nasrallah meets with head of Lebanon's Jamaa Islamiya
Bassil to meet Berri Monday in bid to break presidential impasse

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 28-29/2024
Exclusive-US has sent Israel thousands of 2,000-pound bombs since Oct. 7
Israeli forces push deeper into southern and northern Gaza
Urbicide: ‘Even if Israel stops bombing Gaza tomorrow, it will be impossible to live there'
Palestinian official rejects Israeli minister's move on West Bank settlements
Human rights groups sue Netherlands again over jet parts to Israel
IDF soldiers say repeated warnings of Hamas activity prior to Oct. 7 attacks were ignored
US removes Gaza aid pier due to weather and may not put it back, officials say
Iran votes in snap poll for new president after hard-liner's death, but turnout remains a question
Democrats Question Replacing Biden: Here’s How It Could Work
7 Democrats who could replace Biden if he drops his 2024 reelection bid
Russia is losing 1,000 soldiers a day in its relentless 'meat grinder' tactics against Ukraine: report
Turkey's president expresses willingness to restore diplomatic ties with Syria
5 missiles land near ship in Red Sea in likely Houthi attack

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on June 28-29/2024
The Miraculous Victory: When Outnumbered, Starved Christians Defeated the Hordes of Islam/Raymond Ibrahim/The Stream/June 28, 2024
What I Saw at a Terrorist Rally Outside a Synagogue/Daniel Greenfield/Gatestone Institute/June 28, 2024
Iran Moves Into Somalia/Daniel Greenfield/Gatestone Institute./June 28, 2024
Question: “What are the differences between Catholics and Protestants?”/GotQuestions.org/June 28, 2024
Why the Trump election camp are celebrating/Dr. Amal Mudallali/Arab News/June 28, 2024
Debate refuels concerns over Biden’s health/Dalia Al-Aqidi/Arab News/June 28, 2024
Arab analysts pan US presidential debate for ‘lack of substance’ on Middle East issues/EPHREM KOSSAIFY &RAY HANANIA/Arab News/June 28/2024
Carrier Gap Increases the Red Sea’s Vulnerability to Houthi Attacks/Elizabeth Dent/The Washington Institute/Jun 28, 2024

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on June 28-29/2024
رابط فيديو حلقة نقاش من موقع معهد واشنطن اذيعت اليوم تحت عنوان "مخاطر وتدا يات المزيد من التصعيد بين إسرائيل وحزب الله عبر الحدود الإسرائيلية اللبنانية".
المشاركون حنين غدار/اسف اوريون/ديفيد شنكر/ماثيو لفت/
Link for a Panel Discussion from the Washington Institute Watch an expert conversation exploring the risks and implications of further escalation between Israel and Hezbollah across the Israeli-Lebanese border.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMAdrVGRc0g
https://youtu.be/DMAdrVGRc0g
https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/hezbollah-israel-escalation-prospects-war
Brief Analysis
Watch an expert conversation exploring the risks and implications of further escalation between Israel and Hezbollah across the Israeli-Lebanese border.
As main battle operations in Gaza wind down, rising tensions and heightened rhetoric between Hezbollah and Israel are threatening to escalate into open warfare. To discuss the prospects for major conflict across the Israel-Lebanon border, its implications for regional security, and the potential for a diplomatic off-ramp, The Washington Institute hosted a virtual Policy Forum moderated by Research Director Dana Stroul and including the following speakers:
Hanin Ghaddar, the Institute’s Friedmann Senior Fellow and co-creator of its interactive map tracking clashes along the Israel-Lebanon border
Matthew Levitt, the Institute’s Fromer-Wexler Fellow, director of its Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, and host of its podcast Breaking Hezbollah’s Golden Rule
Brig. Gen. Assaf Orion (IDF, Res.), the Institute’s Rueven International Fellow and former head of the Israel Defense Forces Strategic Planning Division
David Schenker, the Institute’s Taube Senior Fellow and director of its Rubin Program on Arab Politics; former assistant secretary for Near Eastern affairs at the State Department and Levant country director at the Pentagon
The Policy Forum series is made possible through the generosity of the Florence and Robert Kaufman Family.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Hanin Ghaddar
Hanin Ghaddar is the Friedmann Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute's Rubin Family Arab Politics Program, where she focuses on Shia politics throughout the Levant.
Matthew Levitt
Matthew Levitt is the Fromer-Wexler Senior Fellow and director of the Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at The Washington Institute.
Assaf Orion
Assaf Orion, a retired Israeli brigadier general and defense strategist whose broad research scope ranges from relations with China to Israel’s regional political-military strategy and policy, is the Liz and Mony Rueven International Fellow with The Washington Institute.
David Schenker
David Schenker is the Taube Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute and director of the Linda and Tony Rubin Program on Arab Politics. He is the former Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs.

Arab League calls for adherence to UN Resolution 1701 to contain escalation in southern Lebanon
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/June 28, 2024
BEIRUT: The Arab League on Friday warned against “the dangerous challenges that would threaten Lebanon and its stability, as well as the whole region’s stability, in case the war expanded on the southern border.” Speaking in Beirut, Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki stressed the importance of UN Resolution 1701 in containing the current escalation. Zaki met various political figures during his visit to Lebanon, including former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. He said the secretary-general of the Arab League had warned since the outset of the “monstrous” war on Gaza of the risk of its expansion to other countries in the region, including Lebanon. The international community must carry out its responsibilities and stop the war, Zaki said, adding that the only way to contain the escalation in southern Lebanon was a complete ceasefire. Zaki’s most prominent meeting was with Mohammed Raad, the head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc. It was the first meeting between the two sides since 2016, when the Arab League labeled Hezbollah a terrorist group. At the end of his visit, Zaki said he counted on the Lebanese leaders’ “wisdom and their complete awareness of the dangerous threats surrounding Lebanon politically and on the ground.” The Arab League, he said, was “fully ready to help the country with anything that might contribute to overcoming this difficult phase safely” and expressed the organization’s solidarity with Lebanon and its people. He also emphasized the need to end the 19-month presidential vacuum.
Also on Friday, the EU expressed its concern over the “escalating tensions in the region, especially along the Blue Line between Lebanon and Israel.”It called on all parties to “exercise self-restraint and take part in the diplomatic efforts to reduce the escalation.”On Thursday, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its “deep concern over the seriousness of the situation in Lebanon” and called on all parties to exercise maximum self-restraint.
The ministry’s deputy spokesperson, Christophe Lemoine, said hostilities in southern Lebanon had been escalating dramatically. France, which has called for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, “remains fully committed to preventing any risk of escalation along the Blue Line and reaching a diplomatic solution,” he said. Some countries have warned their citizens against traveling to Lebanon due to the worsening security situation in the south of the country. The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs advised its citizens to “avoid traveling to Lebanon during this period, except for urgent necessity.”The border area in southern Lebanon continues to face attacks from Israel, while Hezbollah has been targeting Israeli military sites. In the town of Kfarkela, an Israeli airstrike destroyed a three-story commercial building comprising 10 shops. Mayor Hassan Sheet told Arab News that Israel had destroyed 76 residential buildings in the town, each containing more than 10 apartments. “One could say entire neighborhoods have been leveled to the ground. We are in a state of war,” he said. The current level of destruction was unparalleled, outstripping even the 2006 aggression, and people had abandoned the town to nearby villages, he said. Only civil defense personnel remain in the town to extinguish fires and remove rubble. Israeli artillery also shelled the outskirts of the coastal town of Naqoura, while warplanes attacked the town of Chihine.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, said it had targeted “espionage equipment at the Birkat Risha site with appropriate weapons, achieving direct hits.” Sirens sounded in Kfar Blum and Amir in Upper Galilee. Israeli Channel 12 reported that the Iron Dome intercepted a suspicious aerial target in the Galilee panhandle, triggering the alarm due to fear of falling debris. Also on Friday, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah for the first time received his new Sunni ally in operations in southern Lebanon — the secretary-general of the Islamic Group in Lebanon, Sheikh Mohammed Takkoush. A statement issued by the two sides said: “The latest political and security developments in Lebanon and Palestine were discussed and the importance of cooperation among resistance forces in the battle to support the valiant resistance in Gaza and its steadfast and honorable people was emphasized.”

Canada urges dual citizens to leave Lebanon. Lebanese Montrealers say it's not that easy
CBC/June 28, 2024
For Lamia Charlebois and many other Lebanese Montrealers, travelling to Lebanon is not a luxury but a necessity. "You don't travel to Lebanon like you travel to Tuscany.… It's not a fancy vacation. We have families there," she said.
The public relations consultant has been to her home country twice since October and has been closely following recent developments in the armed conflict between Hezbollah — a militant Lebanese group — and Israel. "But we should not let this stop us from contributing to the economy of Lebanon by trying to continue our normal lives," she said. "Otherwise, it's a defeat." Many members of the Facebook group she founded 13 years ago share that sentiment. Most of Charlebois' family, including her brother pictured here, live in Beirut and the outskirts. The group Libanais de Montréal - Sirop d'arabe, has grown to more than 13,000 members in that time. According to Statistics Canada, Montreal has more people who identify as Lebanese than any other Canadian city. Although Charlebois's family is mostly in Beirut, she fears for people in the south of the country near the border with Israel where tensions keep growing. On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly had a clear warning for anyone planning to visit the country. "It is not the time to travel to Lebanon. And for Canadians currently in Lebanon, it is time to leave, while commercial flights remain available," she said in a statement. The Canadian military is planning for the evacuation of 20,000 people should full-scale fighting erupt between Israel and Hezbollah. But those plans heavily depend on allied support. As the exchange of rockets between Hezbollah and Israel intensifies and as the Canadian government contemplates the possibility of another war, members of Montreal's Lebanese diaspora worry about a repeat of 2006. That year, Canada helped get almost 15,000 people out of the country after war erupted. Charlebois was in Lebanon at the time and remembers it vividly. "I escaped 2006 in a taxi. It scared the hell out of me, but I did it," she said. Today, she feels angry, scared and stressed. She says she's one of many who are angry about "[a] country aggressing another country under the watchful eye of the international community." "I'm always worried about Lebanon, it's always on my mind," she said. "But we're very strong."With the safety of their loved ones weighing heavily on the hearts of Lebanese Montrealers, many share their worry over travelling to the country at this tense moment. Sophia El-Chaar, Charlebois's neighbour and friend, visits Lebanon, where most of her family lives, at least once a year. But this year, her travel plans could be in jeopardy. She's booked to leave in less than a week, to visit her aging parents and attend her cousin's wedding and other important events like first communions and baptisms. "They say safety first, but I also say family first. It's important. Both are important," said El-Chaar. With siblings who live abroad, she says the summer is the perfect occasion to host big family gatherings in her home country. "We lost [a] few members and it's just important to be there," she said. "It's like a need."
'Everyone is on edge in Lebanon'
The Hezbollah-Israel conflict existed long before last October, but the situation at the border between Lebanon and Israel has "deteriorated," according to Marie-Joëlle Zahar, a professor of political science at the Université de Montréal, since then. "There have been a number of military confrontations between Israel and Hezbollah in the past, particularly in 1995 and 2006, none of which have really been settled. There have been ceasefires, but the underlying issues are still there," she said.She described the recent situation at the border as "extremely tense," resulting in the displacement of over 90,000 Lebanese civilians and an order from the Israeli government to evacuate 60,000 of its people from villages near its northern border. The violence has largely consisted of rocket exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah, but in recent months, she said Israel has also used drones "to go deep into Lebanese territory and attack military officials from Hezbollah."But the "reason why everyone is on edge in Lebanon," according to Zahar, is the Israeli reaction to a video released by Hezbollah. The Lebanese militant group — which was formed in 1982 primarily to combat occupying Israeli forces in southern Lebanon — claimed the video was taken by a drone that penetrated deep into Israeli civilian territory and some of the state's most sensitive sites such as its naval base at Haifa. The Israeli decision whether or not to start an all-out war with Hezbollah is imminent and Israeli generals said they signed off plans for an offensive targeting its northern neighbour, as reported by several media outlets. Members of the Montreal Lebanese community like El-Chaar will continue monitoring the situation and will have to make difficult last-minute decisions. "We want to go visit our parents, our grandparents, our brothers and siblings who are there. And at the same time we want to feel that we're safe," said El-Chaar. But for some, getting on that plane is worth the risk. "Certainly if you watch the news, you wouldn't go. But once you're there, you realize that it's worth hugging that uncle, kissing that aunt, visiting the grave — your parent's grave. It's worth it," said Charlebois.

Israel and Hezbollah Lurch Closer to War
Ethan Bronner/Bloomberg/June 28, 2024
North Israel is a series of ghost towns — abandoned houses and scorched forests from Hezbollah missiles. Parts of south Lebanon have been hit so hard by Israeli bombs that they’ve been reduced to rubble. Tens of thousands of residents have been driven from homes on both sides.
A steady, if ugly, tit-for-tat between Israel and Hezbollah since the October outbreak of the Gaza war has been shifting into something more alarming. Record numbers of Hezbollah projectiles — some 900 — have hit Israel this month and its chief says he’s overwhelmed by volunteers ready to fight Israel “without any rules, restraints or ceiling.” Israel, meanwhile, is carrying out deeper and more destructive attacks in Lebanon and its northern military command has just approved a battle plan for the country. While Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel say they do not want a full-blown war, concern is higher than ever they’re stumbling into one — or will deliberately start one. Israelis advocating it believe that such a conflict could be kept short, a matter of weeks. Others are far more pessimistic. The Middle East could be in for “a major regional war, rising oil prices and plunging financial markets,” Aaron David Miller, a Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Senior Fellow and former State Department Arab-Israeli negotiator, told Bloomberg TV. “No one wants to see anything like that.” Senior US and French diplomats have visited Jerusalem and Beirut as part of an intense push to stave off escalation that could draw in Iran, along with its allied militias in Iraq, Syria and Yemen as well as the US. President Joe Biden is especially keen to avoid a new war so close to November’s elections. While Washington doesn’t communicate directly with Hezbollah, it uses Lebanon’s speaker of parliament, Nabih Berri, as a conduit.
The plan to end hostilities hinges on Hezbollah moving its fighters from the border. While UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which was passed in 2006 after the last round of combat between Israel and Hezbollah, requires it to be some 30 km (18 miles), negotiations are starting with 10 km. They would be replaced by international forces and members of the Lebanese army while a panel would address disputes over the shared boundary line. But Hezbollah says the current round of tension has a source — the war in Gaza — and a solution — a Gaza cease-fire. Only once Israel and Hamas put down their arms, Hezbollah says, will it be open to its own border negotiations. Berri told a US envoy, Amos Hochstein, last week that the most he can do is lean on the group to reduce tensions by not firing too deeply into Israeli territory, according to a Lebanese official briefed on the talks. Visiting Washington this week, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, is being urged to give diplomacy a chance and hold off any military expansion.
“One rash move, one miscalculation could trigger a catastrophe that goes far beyond the borders and, frankly, beyond imagination,” warned United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres last week. “Let’s be clear. The people of the region and the people of the world cannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza.”Parallels with Gaza are inevitable and real: Hamas and Hezbollah, viewed as terrorist groups by the US, are heavily backed by Iran. Both consider Israel illegitimate and their conflict with it to be holy and existential. And just as Hamas in Gaza was born in the 1980s as a militant movement challenging Israeli occupation, so too was Hezbollah in Lebanon. But important distinctions mean war with Hezbollah would be even more devastating. The group is much more important to Iran than Hamas. And as traumatic as the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas was for Israel, Hezbollah is a much more powerful military force. Through intense focus and preparation over the past 18 years, it has assembled perhaps 100,000 men while amassing 150,000 rockets and missiles, about half of which can reach major Israeli cities, along with a growing arsenal of attack drones.
Israel’s lauded air defense systems — Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow — would be overwhelmed by a Hezbollah assault expected to amount to 3,000 rockets a day for weeks — especially if it were joined by other militias in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Power stations, offshore gas rigs, military bases, airports and thousands of ordinary citizens would be at risk, as illustrated in a video released by Hezbollah last week showing drone footage of key facilities that it would target. Pressure on the economy would be immense. The chief economist of Israel’s finance ministry estimates GDP growth rate would fall from a current 1.9% to -1.5% because of reserve recruitment and disruptions to infrastructure and education, and that would likely lead to a further credit downgrade for the country. On the other side of the border, the picture would be even more grim, starting from a much more dire place. Neighborhoods in southern Lebanese villages, including Aita Al-Shaab, Aytaroun and Khiyam, have been leveled by Israeli air strikes, prompting thousands of people to flee and straining an economy still reeling from a financial meltdown four years ago that saw the country default on its Eurobonds for the first time in its history and the currency collapse. When the 2006 war ended after 34 days, Arab Gulf countries pledged billions to help Lebanon rebuild infrastructure including airports, ports, telecom towers, power plants and bridges as far as 140 km from the border with Israel.
The Lebanese public isn’t interested in another round of combat, which would bring more death, injury and damage that might never be repaired. It’s a different Middle East today. Saudi Arabia — once a key donor with significant influence in Lebanese politics — has lost interest, leaving Shiite Muslims led by Hezbollah to become the unrivaled power in the country.
“I don’t think any of the potential belligerents actually want to see a war or conflict spread,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week, but like Guterres, he noted that a miscalculation or misunderstanding could set one off.
Apart from its diplomats, Biden’s administration is using its supply chain — slowing weapons deliveries to Israel — to try to avoid a broader conflict. It is assuring Israel of help if war erupts while stopping short of promising all out support.
In truth, Israel wouldn’t want to open a second front until its campaign against Hamas in Gaza is over. That could be weeks or months. Yet Israelis consider Hezbollah’s barrage of rockets and missiles to be acts of pure aggression. So, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would have broad public support for his threats to push Hezbollah away from the border, despite all the risks. “You have a lot of bluster going on between Hezbollah and the Israeli government at the moment, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t spill over into something more serious,” Hagar Chemali, founder of Greenwich Media Strategies, a Connecticut-based geopolitical consultancy, told Bloomberg TV on June 21. “This summer is when we’ll see tensions increase significantly.”

US shifts assault ship to Mediterranean to deter risk of Israel-Lebanon conflict escalating
Associated Press/June 28, 2024
The amphibious assault ship USS Wasp entered the eastern Mediterranean Sea this week as the U.S. positions warships to try to keep fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon from escalating into a wider war in the Middle East.
While the Wasp has the capability to assist in the evacuation of civilians if full-scale war breaks out between Israel and Hezbollah along the Lebanon border, that's not the primary reason it was rotated in, a U.S. official said. "It's about deterrence," the official said. A second U.S. official said the rotation is similar to how the U.S. sent the USS Bataan assault ship into the waters around Israel shortly after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, with the vessel remaining for months in the eastern Mediterranean to help provide options and try to contain the conflict. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive operational details. U.S. European Command, which is responsible for ships operating in the Mediterranean, announced the move this week, saying the Wasp and the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard would sail with the dock landing ship USS Oak Hill, which is used to transport Marines, landing craft, vehicles and cargo. The Oak Hill is already in the Mediterranean. The Wasp also is sailing with the amphibious transport dock ship USS New York, which can deliver troops either by on-deck helicopters or landing vessels. It all comes as the Iranian-backed Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged near-daily cross-border strikes since the Oct. 7 attacks that launched the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, and they have been escalating gradually. The Israeli army said last week that it has "approved and validated" plans for an offensive in Lebanon, although any decision would come from Israel's political leaders.
Gen. CQ Brown, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Sunday that any Israeli military offensive into Lebanon would risk an Iranian response in defense of Hezbollah, triggering a broader war that could put American forces in the region in danger. The U.S. military also has shifted other ships in the region. The Pentagon said the aircraft carrier Eisenhower, based in Norfolk, Virginia, is returning home after a deployment of more than eight months countering strikes from Yemen's Houthi rebels on commercial shipping in the Red Sea that the U.S. Navy says is its most intense mission since World War II. The San Diego-based USS Theodore Roosevelt will take the Eisenhower's place.

Israel-Hezbollah border clashes: Latest developments
Agence France Presse/June 28, 2024
Hezbollah targeted Friday surveillance equipment in Birkat Risha in north Israel, a day after it announced four of its fighters had been killed. Israeli artillery meanwhile shelled the outskirts of the southern coastal town of al-Naqoura, and warplanes raided a home in Shihin in the Tyre district. A drone also struck the southern border town of Kfarkila. Fears have grown the Gaza war could become a regional conflagration if the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, which so far has been largely limited to the border area, expands. France's foreign ministry said Thursday that Paris was "extremely concerned" about the fighting, calling "all sides to exercise the greatest restraint". Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said during a visit to Washington on Wednesday that his country did not want war in Lebanon, but could send it back to the "Stone Age" if diplomacy failed. Amid Western diplomatic efforts to dial down tensions in recent months, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Tuesday visited Beirut and cautioned that "miscalculation" could trigger all-out war, also urging "extreme restraint". The violence has killed 485 people in Lebanon, most of them fighters but also including 94 civilians, according to an AFP tally. On the Israeli side, at least 15 soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed, according to authorities.

Report: US intel indicates war between Israel and Hezbollah inching closer
Naharnet/June 28, 2024 
A large-scale confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah is likely to break out in the next several weeks if Israel and Hamas fail to reach a cease-fire deal in Gaza, U.S. intelligence indicates. The Israeli army and Hezbollah “have drafted battle plans and are in the process of trying to procure additional weapons,” two senior U.S. officials briefed on the intelligence told U.S. news portal Politico. Both sides have publicly said they do not want to go to war, but senior Biden officials “increasingly believe that intense fighting is likely to break out despite efforts to try and prevent it,” Politico said. The risk is higher now than at any other point in recent weeks, according to another senior U.S. official, who, like others in this report, was granted anonymity to speak freely about sensitive intelligence. “The U.S. intelligence offers a slightly more conservative assessment than those coming from parts of Europe. Some European countries calculate that a war between Israel and Hezbollah could happen in days,” Politico added. Two of the senior officials stressed that it was unclear when exactly the war could start but noted that Israel is trying to rebuild its stockpiles and troop capacity quickly. National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the administration is working toward a “diplomatic resolution” that would allow Israeli and Lebanese citizens to return to their homes. “We also continue efforts to secure a deal that would lead to a durable end to the war in Gaza,” she said. “A cease-fire and hostage deal in Gaza will accelerate the possibility of progress, including lasting security and calm along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon,” she added.

Report: Gallant agreed with US officials that war on Lebanon would be too costly
Naharnet/June 28, 2024 
Western diplomatic sources did not sense a serious desire from Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for an all-out war on Lebanon during his latest visit to Washington, a media report said on Friday. “Despite the public threats, the majority of which are for consumption and are targeted at the Israeli interior, there was consensus with the U.S. officials that although the situation is unbearable on the northern front, and although the war’s goals are legitimate from an Israeli viewpoint, there is no ability to achieve them without triggering a regional confrontation, not to mention the strategic damages that will affect Israel,” ad-Diyar newspaper reported. Gallant said Wednesday that Israel does not want war in Lebanon but could send its neighbor "back to the Stone Age.""We do not want war, but we are preparing for every scenario," he told reporters. "Hezbollah understands very well that we can inflict massive damage in Lebanon if a war is launched," he said. Israel's allies, including key defense backer the United States, have been keen to avoid such an eventuality. A U.S. official said Washington was engaged in "fairly intensive conversations" with Israel, Lebanon and other actors, and believed that no side sought a "major escalation."U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told Gallant on Tuesday that another war with Hezbollah could have "terrible consequences for the Middle East," and urged a diplomatic solution. U.S. officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken have voiced hope that a ceasefire in Gaza could lead to a reduction in hostilities on the Lebanese border as well.

Hezbollah fires rockets at Israeli base, says four fighters killed
Agence France Presse/June 28, 2024
Hezbollah said it fired "dozens" of rockets Thursday at a military base in northern Israel in retaliation for Israeli strikes on Lebanon, announcing four of its fighters had been killed. Fears of all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah have risen in recent weeks as threats have intensified between the sides, which have traded regular cross-border fire since Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel sparked war in the Gaza Strip. Hamas ally Hezbollah said that "in response to the enemy attacks that targeted the city of Nabatiyeh and village of Sohmor", its fighters bombed "the main air and missile defense base of the (Israeli) northern area command... with dozens of Katyusha rockets". It said in separate statements that four of its fighters, one from eastern Lebanon's Sohmor, had been killed, and claimed two other attacks on Israeli troops and positions, including one with drones.The Israeli military said in a statement that "approximately 35 launches were identified crossing from Lebanon". Air defenses "successfully intercepted most of the launches. No injuries were reported," it added. It said air strikes "eliminated" three Hezbollah operatives, one in the Sohmor area and two in the country's south. The military also said that "two UAVs (drones) that were identified crossing from Lebanon fell" in northern Israel, reporting no injuries. Lebanon's official National News Agency reported Israeli attacks in several areas of south Lebanon on Thursday, and said a strike a day earlier in Nabatiyeh wounded "more than 20" people when a two-story building was targeted. Fears have grown the Gaza war could become a regional conflagration if the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, which so far has been largely limited to the border area, expands. France's foreign ministry said Thursday that Paris was "extremely concerned" about the fighting, calling "all sides to exercise the greatest restraint". Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said during a visit to Washington on Wednesday that his country did not want war in Lebanon, but could send it back to the "Stone Age" if diplomacy failed. Amid Western diplomatic efforts to dial down tensions in recent months, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Tuesday visited Beirut and cautioned that "miscalculation" could trigger all-out war, also urging "extreme restraint". The violence has killed 485 people in Lebanon, most of them fighters but also including 94 civilians, according to an AFP tally. On the Israeli side, at least 15 soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed, according to authorities.

Reports: Nothing unusual on the ground despite Israeli threats, int'l warnings
Naharnet/June 28, 2024 
The military indications on the Lebanese-Israeli border do not suggest that there is “something unconventional” that is being prepared by Israel, “at least in the foreseeable future,” a media report said. "The intensive (Israeli) exercises are only aimed at upping the preparedness of an exhausted army, after months of fighting in Gaza, and the declared transportation of combat units from the Strip to the border with Lebanon has not yet reached an alarming level,” ad-Diyar newspaper reported on Friday. The Israeli army is also “suffering from a major manpower deficiency and a shortage of some types of ammunition,” the daily added. The current situation on the ground, however, does not negate the possibility of any miscalculation, sources close to Hezbollah told ad-Diyar, noting that “the resistance is fully prepared to confront any scenario and is continuing its deterrent operations to prevent war.”“The exaggerated intimidation by Zionist leaders and some countries and media outlets does not reflect the current situation, which has not changed in a dramatic fashion,” the sources added.

Nasrallah meets with head of Lebanon's Jamaa Islamiya
Naharnet/June 28, 2024
Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has met with Jamaa Islamiya chief Sheikh Mohammad Takkoush, Hezbollah said. The meeting “tackled the latest political and security developments in Lebanon and Palestine,” a Hezbollah statement said. Nasrallah and Takkoush stressed “the importance of cooperation among the resistance forces in the battle of assisting the valiant resistance in Gaza and its resilient and honorable people,” the statement added. Lebanon’s Jamaa Islamiya group has joined Hezbollah in its fight against Israel on Lebanon's border, carrying out a few attacks since October 8 while also being targeted by deadly Israeli airstrikes. Takkoush said in March that the conflict has helped strengthen cooperation between the two groups. Takkoush said his faction decided to join the fighting along the Lebanon-Israel border because of Israel's crushing offensive on the Gaza Strip and its strikes against Lebanese towns and villages killing civilians. Jamaa Islamiya is one of Lebanon's main Sunni factions but has kept a low profile politically over the years. It has one member in Lebanon's 128-seat legislature. Elections within the group in 2022 brought its leadership closer to Hamas. Like Hamas, it is inspired by the ideology of the pan-Arab Islamist political movement The Muslim Brotherhood, founded in Egypt in 1928 by a school teacher-turned-Islamic ideologue Hassan al-Banna. Takkoush said his group makes its own decisions in the field but coordinates closely with Hezbollah, and with the Lebanese branch of the Palestinian militant group Hamas. "Part of (the attacks against Israeli forces) were in coordination with Hamas, which coordinates with Hezbollah," he said adding that direct cooperation with Hezbollah "is on the rise and this is being reflected in the field." He did not elaborate further. While the Lebanese border area is seen as a Hezbollah stronghold and its population is primarily Shiite, it also has Sunni villages, where Jamaa Islamiya primarily operates. Jamaa Islamiya’s use of weapons against Israel is not new. It founded its Fajr Forces in 1982 at the height of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Regarding his group's relations with Hezbollah, Takkoush said it had gone through ups and downs. They had differences regarding the conflicts in Syria and Yemen but put them aside "to resist the Israeli occupation of parts of our Lebanese territories," he said. Takkoush added that all the weapons they use, from bullets to rockets, are from their own arsenal. "We did not get even a bullet from any side," he said.

Bassil to meet Berri Monday in bid to break presidential impasse
Naharnet/June 28, 2024 
Free Patriotic Movement leader Jebran Bassil will visit Speaker Nabih Berri on Monday, a local newspaper and an FPM MP said. Pro-Hezbollah daily al-Akhbar reported Friday that Bassil will present to Berri a suggestion for the presidential consultations and dialogue. "It comes within the FPM efforts to break the presidential impasse," FPM lawmaker Salim Aoun said in an interview. "Jebran is better than the others,” Berri said two weeks ago after he met Bassil, adding that the latter supported consensus and a dialogue chaired by Berri. The remarks provoked Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea who was quoted as saying that "birds of a feather flock together”. Bassil had begun a tour on Lebanese leaders earlier this month in a bid to end the presidential impasse. He met with Berri, Tripoli MP Faisal Karami, and opposition lawmakers including Lebanese Forces and Kataeb MPs. After his meeting with Berri, Bassil called for dialogue or consultations, followed by open electoral sessions. Geagea opposes a dialogue chaired by Berri. Crisis-hit Lebanon has been without a president since Michel Aoun's term ended in October 2022, with neither of the two main blocs -- Hezbollah and its opponents -- having the majority required to elect one. On June 14 last year, lawmakers failed for the 12th time to elect a president as candidates Jihad Azour and Suleiman Franjieh both failed to get across the line in the 128-seat parliament.

Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 28-29/2024
Exclusive-US has sent Israel thousands of 2,000-pound bombs since Oct. 7
Humeyra Pamuk and Mike Stone/WASHINGTON (Reuters)/June 28, 2024
The Biden administration has sent to Israel large numbers of munitions, including more than 10,000 highly destructive 2,000-pound bombs and thousands of Hellfire missiles, since the start of the war in Gaza, said two U.S. officials briefed on an updated list of weapons shipments. Between the war's start last October and recent days, the United States has transferred at least 14,000 of the MK-84 2,000-pound bombs, 6,500 500-pound bombs, 3,000 Hellfire precision-guided air-to-ground missiles, 1,000 bunker-buster bombs, 2,600 air-dropped small-diameter bombs, and other munitions, according to the officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly. While the officials didn't give a timeline for the shipments, the totals suggest there has been no significant drop-off in U.S. military support for its ally, despite international calls to limit weapons supplies and a recent administration decision to pause a shipment of powerful bombs. Experts said the contents of the shipments appear consistent with what Israel would need to replenish supplies used in this eight-month intense military campaign in Gaza, which it launched after the Oct. 7 attack by Palestinian Hamas militants who killed 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage, according to Israeli tallies. "While these numbers could be expended relatively quickly in a major conflict, this list clearly reflects a substantial level of support from the United States for our Israeli allies," said Tom Karako, a weapons expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, adding that the listed munitions were the type Israel would use in its fight against Hamas or in a potential conflict with Hezbollah. The delivery numbers, which have not been previously reported, provide the most up-to-date and extensive tally of munitions shipped to Israel since the Gaza war began. Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since the start of the Gaza war, and concern is rising that an all-out war could break out between the two sides. The White House declined to comment. Israel's Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The shipments are part of a bigger list of weapons sent to Israel since the Gaza conflict began, one of the U.S. officials said. A senior Biden administration official on Wednesday told reporters that Washington has since Oct. 7 sent $6.5 billion worth of weapons to Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent weeks claimed that Washington was withholding weapons, a suggestion U.S. officials have repeatedly denied even though they acknowledged some "bottlenecks". The Biden administration has paused one shipment of the 2,000-pound bomb, citing concern over the impact it could have in densely populated areas in Gaza, but U.S. officials insist that all other arms deliveries continue as normal. One 2,000-pound bomb can rip through thick concrete and metal, creating a wide blast radius.
Reuters reported on Thursday that the United States is discussing with Israel the release of a shipment of large bombs that was suspended in May over worries about the military operation in Rafah. International scrutiny of Israel's military operation in Gaza has intensified as the Palestinian death toll from the war has exceeded 37,000, according to the Gaza health ministry, and has left the coastal enclave in ruins. Washington gives $3.8 billion in annual military assistance to its longtime ally. While Biden has warned that he would place conditions on military aid if Israel fails to protect civilians and allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza, he has not done so beyond delaying the May shipment. Biden's support for Israel in its war against Hamas has emerged as a political liability, particularly among young Democrats, as he runs for re-election this year. It fueled a wave of "uncommitted" protest votes in primaries and has driven pro-Palestinian protests at U.S. universities. While the United States provides detailed descriptions and quantities of military aid sent to Ukraine as it fights a full-scale invasion of Russia, the administration has revealed few details about the full extent of U.S. weapons and munitions sent to Israel. The shipments are also hard to track because some of the weapons are shipped as part of arms sales approved by Congress years ago but only now being fulfilled. One of the U.S. officials said the Pentagon has sufficient quantities of weapons in its own stocks and had been liaising with U.S. industry partners who make the weapons, such as Boeing Co and General Dynamics, as the companies work to manufacture more.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Mike Stone. Editing by Don Durfee and Rod Nickel)

Israeli forces push deeper into southern and northern Gaza
Nidal al-Mughrabi/CAIRO (Reuters) /June 28, 2024
- Israeli forces deepened their incursion into two northern and southern areas of the Gaza Strip on Friday, and Palestinian health officials said tank shelling in Rafah killed at least 11 people. Residents and Hamas media said tanks advanced further west into the Shakoush ‮neighbo‬u‮rhood‬ of Rafah, forcing thousands of displaced people there to leave their tent camps and head northward to the nearby Khan Younis. The Israeli military did not immediately comment. Since May 7, tanks have advanced in several districts of Rafah, and forces remained in control of the entire border line with Egypt and the Rafah crossing, the only gateway for most of Gaza's 2.3 million people with the outside world. One resident, who spoke to Reuters via a chat app, said some bulldozers in the Shakoush area were piling up sand for Israeli tanks to station behind. "Some families live in the area of the raid and are now besieged by the occupation forces," he told Reuters. "The situation there is very dangerous and many families are leaving towards Khan Younis, even from the Mawasi area as things became unsafe for them," said the man, who moved northward overnight. More than eight months into Israel's air and ground war in Gaza triggered by the Hamas-led cross-border attack on Oct. 7, the armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad continue to stage attacks on Israeli forces operating in areas over which the army said it had gained control months ago. The Palestinian groups sometimes still fire rockets into Israeli territory.
CEASEFIRE EFFORTS STALLED
Arab mediators' efforts, backed by the United States, have so far failed to conclude a ceasefire. Hamas says any deal must end the war and bring full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, while Israel says it will accept only temporary pauses in fighting until Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, is eradicated. When Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel last October they killed around 1,200 people and seized more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. The Israeli offensive in retaliation has so far killed more than 37,000 people, according to the Gaza health ministry, and has left the tiny, heavily built-up coastal enclave in ruins. In parallel, Israeli forces continued their new raid into the Shejaia neighbourhood in the northern Gaza Strip, into which tanks advanced on Thursday prompting heavy fighting with Hamas-led militants. Medics said earlier that several Palestinians have been killed and wounded in Israeli bombardment and that medical teams have been unable to reach all casualties because of the military offensive. The Israeli military said forces were conducting "targeted" raids in Shejaia, adding that the air force struck dozens of Hamas military targets in the area.
It said that one Hamas militant, who was operating from a humanitarian-designated area, was killed in a strike it launched in the Deir Al-Balah area in central Gaza. It said measures were taken to ensure no harm to civilians, accusing Hamas of systematically using Palestinian civilians as shields. Hamas denies that.

Urbicide: ‘Even if Israel stops bombing Gaza tomorrow, it will be impossible to live there'
Mahmoud Issa, Reuters/June 28, 2024
Eight months of war have destroyed more than 55% of the structures in Gaza, according to the latest report from the UN Satellite Centre. The enclave's main towns have been devastated by Israeli bombardment, rendering them almost uninhabitable. The destruction has been called an example of “urbicide” – the deliberate, utter destruction of an urban area. "All the houses have been turned into ruins. We're lost, we don't know exactly where our homes are in the midst of this massive destruction," said Mohammad al-Najjar, 33, in an interview with AFP on June 1 in the Jabaliya camp in the north of the Gaza Strip.Eight months of war and intense bombardment by the Israeli military has turned most of Gaza into a heap of ruins, as confirmed by photos and satellite images. "A total of 137,297 structures, or around 55% of structures in Gaza, are affected," noted the United Nations Satellite Centre (Unosat) in a report published on May 31. Unosat, whose mission is to provide satellite image analysis during humanitarian emergencies and armed conflict, publishes monthly images of the Gaza Strip. The satellite images from May 3 this year were compared with those taken on October 7, 2023, the day Hamas staged a deadly attack on southern Israel and the eve of the start of the war. "According to our analysis, we identified 36,591 destroyed structures, 16,513 severely damaged, 47,368 moderately damaged, and 36,825 possibly damaged structures. A total of 137,297 structures, or about 55% of the total in Gaza, are affected,” Unosat noted.

Palestinian official rejects Israeli minister's move on West Bank settlements
Ali Sawafta/Reuters/June 28, 2024
A senior Palestinian official rejected on Friday a move by Israel's finance minister intended to promote new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, saying it was aimed at pursuing a "war of genocide" against Palestinians. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Thursday the Israeli government would also take punitive steps against the Palestinian Authority in response to Palestinian moves against Israel internationally. Asked about Smotrich's statement, which was not confirmed by the government, Wasel Abu Youssef, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said the settlements were "illegal colonies that violate all international resolutions". "The decisions by the occupation government aim to pursue the war of genocide against our Palestinian people," he told Reuters. He said the PLO and the Palestinian Authority would continue to press for Israel to be taken before international courts and punished for "crimes against our people, and in particular in the Gaza Strip."Israel has rejected accusations brought by South Africa at the U.N.'s top court that its military operation in Gaza is a state-led genocide campaign against Palestinians. Israel launched its Gaza offensive in retaliation for the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel last Oct. 7 in which about 1,200 people were killed and over 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. The Gaza health ministry says over 37,000 people have been killed in Israel's offensive. Smotrich, who heads a pro-settler party, said the government supported his proposal. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, which usually announces cabinet-level decisions, issued no statement and could not be reached for immediate comment. Steps which Smotrich said he was advancing included revoking "various approvals and benefits" for senior officials in the Palestinian Authority, approving new settlements and retroactively sanctioning some Jewish settlements. The Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule under 1990s interim peace deals in the West Bank, which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war. Palestinians and most of the international community regard Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as illegal. Israel disputes this, citing the Jewish people's historical, biblical and political links to the area as well as security considerations.

Human rights groups sue Netherlands again over jet parts to Israel
AFP/June 28, 2024
THE HAGUE: A trio of rights groups took the Dutch government back to court on Friday, arguing that a ban on supplying F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel is not being respected in practice. In a landmark verdict in February, an appeals court ordered the Netherlands to stop delivering parts for fighter jets used by Israel in its offensive in the Gaza Strip. The court said at the time there was a “clear risk” the planes would be involved in breaking international humanitarian law. But the rights groups are returning to court, saying that the ban has not prevented the parts ending up in Israeli planes.
“Unfortunately, everything indicates that these parts end up in Israel from the Netherlands via other routes,” said Oxfam Novib, one of the groups involved in the case. The Dutch government “has continued delivering (parts) to other countries, including the United States. And that contravenes the order of the court,” Liesbeth Zegveld, a lawyer representing the rights groups, told the court. “The court order (from February) applies to all F-35 parts with Israel as the final destination and the state must stop all such deliveries in practice,” she argued. The government must “actively prevent” parts reaching Israel, said Zegveld. Citing court documents, public broadcaster NOS said the Dutch government had acknowledged it could not prevent parts shipped to the United States eventually ending up in Israeli F-35s. Government lawyer Reimer Veldhuis said the state did not believe it had to restrict exports of F-35 parts to countries other than Israel. He added that the chances of the parts actually being used in F-35 shipped to Israel were “extremely small” as they are used for production rather than repairs. The Dutch government has said it would fulfil the February verdict but announced it would appeal to the Supreme Court. Government lawyers argued during that case that if the Dutch did not supply the parts from the warehouse based in the Netherlands, Israel could easily procure them elsewhere. International law experts have told AFP that human rights violations are likely being carried out by both parties to the conflict in Gaza. The war started with Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 37,765 people, also mostly civilians, according to data from Gaza’s health ministry.

IDF soldiers say repeated warnings of Hamas activity prior to Oct. 7 attacks were ignored
INES DE LA CUETARA/ABC News/June 28, 2024
It was a sisterhood built around service: there were birthdays away from home, costume parties, TikTok dance videos and lots of laughter. Some of the young soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces’ Unit 414 were there by choice, others completing their mandatory military service after high school. Stationed at the Nahal Oz IDF base, less than half a mile from Gaza, they were known as "the eyes of the military"-- monitoring hundreds of surveillance cameras overlooking the border, 24/7. They were always watching and always on high alert. "It felt like something out of the ordinary was about to happen," said Roni Lifshitz, an observation soldier who was part of Unit 414 but happened to be away at a training on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise terrorist attack on Israel. Lifshitz said she risks serious consequences in speaking to a news organization. "The IDF may react. To tell you the truth, I don’t care. They abandoned my friends, I have no reason to listen to them," she said. "If [my friends] were here, they would be talking for sure."According to Lifshitz, in the days leading up to Oct. 7, her unit was reporting unusual activity in Gaza on a daily basis -- so much so that she says there was apparently a running joke on base: Who would be on duty the day Hamas attacked? Just days before Oct. 7, she said she saw “10 pickup trucks, 300 meters away. It was unusual to see those. They stopped at every Hamas post, looking at our cameras, at the fence, at the gates, pointing," she said. "The other thing was the training that we saw deeper inside Gaza, very much like a military routine, rolling over, shooting."Her account lines up with what Ori Asaf said he heard from his girlfriend, Sgt. Osher Barzilay, a communications officer who was killed inside the Nahal Oz command center. Asaf showed ABC News text messages Barzilay sent him just two weeks before Oct 7. “All the violent disturbances and incendiary balloons are in our sector,” Barzilay wrote. "3 violent disturbances, people armed with weapons and explosives. The fence is destroyed.” Asaf said Barzilay couldn't tell him everything, since much of the information was classified. But he said she repeatedly told him she saw Hamas burying explosives near the border.
Lifshitz said the warning signs were there, but those at the top didn't take them seriously.
"We were completely ignored, they belittled us," she said. "No one really listened to us, mainly because I am not an officer. Because I am just a simple 20-year-old who knows nothing." Last November, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ABC News: “The responsibility of a government is to protect the people. Clearly, that responsibility wasn’t met. And we’ll have a lot of questions, a lot of investigations. But I have now one responsibility. The responsibility is to defeat Hamas." Eyal Eshel heard similar stories from his daughter Roni Eshel, who was also part of Unit 414, and Roni Lifshitz's best friend. She was just 19. "'Dad, the cameras on the fence, in this point, are not working. Dad, there is a problem in the fence here.' Nobody came to fix it," he said. In a chilling phone conversation obtained exclusively by ABC News, Roni Eshel can be heard telling her mother Sharon on Sept. 27 that she's overwhelmed by what she's seeing. "Listen, three days in a row, attempted infiltrations, today there was an attack at Karni, explosive devices," she said. Eyal Eshel took ABC News inside what's left of the Nahal Oz base, and into the command center where his daughter would have watched Hamas' incursion, reporting it in real time — until their cameras were neutralized. When over a hundred Hamas fighters eventually reached the base, they set the command center on fire. Many of the young observation soldiers were trapped inside and burned alive. "They didn’t find dog tags, they didn’t find bodies," said Eshel. "[They found] pieces. You can understand what I’m saying. Pieces." There were only a few combat soldiers stationed at the base that day who tried to fend off the attackers. Lifshitz said observation soldiers are told their cameras are their weapons, so they are always unarmed, even when stationed so close to Gaza.
Lifshitz told us she never had a gun at the base, and that she did feel unsafe.
"They didn’t prepare us much," she said. "I was never told where to go if terrorists infiltrated the base." Eyal Eshel said it's not just that the girls' warnings were ignored -- they were also abandoned, left to fend for themselves on Oct. 7 for six hours. When they called for help, Eshel and Lifshitz said this was the answer: "Good luck Nahal Oz, take care, we don't have enough soldiers to come here and rescue you." Fifteen of the observation soldiers were killed, according to Israeli officials. Seven were taken hostage, as seen in footage released by the hostages' families, handcuffed and bloodied. Five remain in Gaza to this day, according to Israeli officials. “They are the ones who know what’s going on along the border. They are serving all the time,” said IDF Major General (Res.) Noam Tibon, who had to rescue his own family from a kibbutz on Oct. 7. “The commanders ignored what they told them. And this is a terrible mistake, because if they would listen to them, maybe the whole Oct. 7 would look totally different.”“This is why Nahal Oz is a symbol of the failure,” he added. “Everybody that is in charge of this failure needs to go away.”In response to a detailed list of questions about Nahal Oz, the IDF told ABC News in a statement, "the IDF is currently focused on eliminating the threat from the terrorist organization Hamas. Questions of this kind will be looked into at a later stage."In March, the IDF announced it was launching an internal probe into its missteps. Results are expected to be released by the end of August. Eight months after his daughter's death, Eyal Eshel is still waiting for answers. "No explanation. We’re still waiting. Nobody from the army made the explanation," he said. With no end in sight to the war, Lifshitz can't help but reflect on all the lives she believes could have been saved -- if only someone had listened to her unit.
"If someone had given the command to bring more troops, station the troops on the border, prepare all the forces with fire power, more tanks -- really, to bring the additional force to defend the kibbutzim, which is exactly what was supposed to happen, maybe then there would not have been as many people killed, not the damage that was done," she said. IDF soldiers say repeated warnings of Hamas activity prior to Oct. 7 attacks were ignored originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

US removes Gaza aid pier due to weather and may not put it back, officials say
Tara Copp And Lolita C. Baldor/WASHINGTON (AP) /June 28, 2024
The pier built by the U.S. military to bring aid to Gaza has been removed due to weather to protect it, and the U.S. is considering not re-installing it unless the aid begins flowing out into the population again, U.S. officials said Friday. While the military has helped deliver desperately needed food through the pier, the vast majority of it is still sitting in the adjacent storage yard and that area is almost full. Aid agencies have had difficulty moving the food to areas further into Gaza where it is most needed because the humanitarian convoys have come under attack. The U.N., which has the widest reach in delivering aid to starving Palestinians, hasn’t been distributing food and other emergency supplies arriving through the pier since June 9. The pause came after the Israeli military used an area near the pier to fly out hostages after their rescue in a raid that killed more than 270 Palestinians, prompting a U.N. security review over concerns that aid workers’ safety and neutrality may have compromised. U.N. World Food Program spokesman Steve Taravella said Friday that the U.N. participation in the pier project is still on pause pending resolution of the security concerns. While always meant to be temporary and never touted as a complete solution to the problems getting humanitarian aid into Gaza, President Joe Biden’s $230 million project has faced a series of setbacks since aid first rolled ashore May 17 and has been criticized by relief groups and congressional Republicans as a costly distraction. The pier has been used to get more than 19.4 million pounds, or 8.6 million kilograms, of food into Gaza, but has been stymied not only by aid pauses but unpredictable weather. Rough seas damaged the pier just days into its initial operations, forcing the military to remove it temporarily for repairs and then reinstall it. Heavy seas on Friday forced the military to remove it again and take it to the Israeli port at Ashdod.Several U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss military movements, said the military could reinstall the pier once the bad weather passes in the coming days, but the final decision on whether to reinstall it hasn’t been made. Sabrina Singh, a Pentagon spokeswoman, acknowledged that she doesn't know when the pier will be reinstalled. “When the commander decides that it is the right time to reinstall that pier, we’ll keep you updated on that.,” she said. She also said Friday that there is a need for more aid to come into Cyprus and be transported to the pier. She noted that the secure area onshore is “pretty close to full,” but that the intention is still to get aid into Gaza by all means necessary. She said the U.S. is having discussions with the aid agencies about the distribution of the food. But, she added, “Of course, if there’s not enough room in the marshalling yard, then it doesn’t make sense to put our men or women out there when there’s nothing to do.”Palestinians are facing widespread hunger because fighting in the nearly nine-month Israel-Hamas war, Israeli restrictions on border crossings that are far more productive than the sea route and the attacks on the aid convoys have severely limited the flow of food, medicine and other supplies..

Iran votes in snap poll for new president after hard-liner's death, but turnout remains a question
Jon Gambrell And Nasser Karimi/DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP/June 28, 2024
Iranians voted Friday in a snap election to replace the late hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi, with the race's sole reformist candidate vowing to seek “friendly relations” with the West in an effort to boost his campaign. The remarks by heart surgeon Masoud Pezeshkian come after he and his allies were targeted by a veiled warning from the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, over their outreach to the United States. Pezeshkian's comments, made after he cast his ballot, appeared to be aimed at boost turnout as public apathy has grown pervasive in the Islamic Republic after years of economic woes, mass protests and tensions in the Middle East. Voters face a choice between hard-line candidates and the little-known Pezeshkian who belongs to Iran's reformist movement that seeks to change its Shiite theocracy from within. As has been the case since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, women and those calling for radical change have been barred from standing as candidates, while the vote itself will have no oversight from internationally recognized monitors.
The voting comes as wider tensions have gripped the Middle East over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. In April, Iran launched its first-ever direct attack on Israel over the war in Gaza, while militia groups that Tehran arms in the region — such as the Lebanese Hezbollah and Yemen's Houthi rebels — are engaged in the fighting and have escalated their attacks. Meanwhile, Iran continues to enrich uranium at near weapons-grade levels and maintains a stockpile large enough to build — should it choose to do so — several nuclear weapons.While Iran's 85-year-old Khamenei has the final say on all matters of state, presidents can bend the country's policies toward confrontation or negotiation with the West. However, given the record-low turnout in recent elections, it remains unclear just how many Iranians will take part in Friday's poll. Pezeshkian, who voted at a hospital near the capital, Tehran, appeared to have that in mind as he responded to a journalist's question about how Iran would interact with the West if he was president. “God willing, we will try to have friendly relations with all countries except Israel," the 69-year-old candidate said. Israel, long Iran's regional archenemy, faces intense criticism across the Mideast over its grinding war in the Gaza Strip. He also responded to a question about a renewed crackdown on women over the mandatory headscarf, or hijab, less than two years after the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, which sparked nationwide demonstrations and violent security force response.
“No inhuman or invasive behavior should be made against our girls, daughters and mothers,” he said. A higher turnout could boost Pezeshkian’s chances, and the candidate may have been counting on social media to spread his remarks, as all television broadcasters in the country are state-controlled and run by hard-liners. But it remains unclear if he can gain the momentum needed to draw voters to the ballot. There have been calls for a boycott, including from imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi. There's also been criticism that Pezeshkian represents just another government-approved candidate. One woman in a documentary on Pezeshkian aired by state TV said her generation was “moving toward the same level" of animosity with the government that Pezeshkian's generation had in the 1979 revolution.
Analysts broadly describe the race as a three-way contest. There are two hard-liners, former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and the parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf. A Shiite cleric, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, also has remained in the race despite polling poorly.Pezeshkian has aligned himself with figures such as former President Hassan Rouhani under whose administration Tehran struck the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. The voting began just after President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump concluded their first televised debate for the U.S. presidential election, during which Iran came up. Trump described Iran as “broke” under his administration and highlighted his decision to launch a 2020 drone strike that killed Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani. That attack was part of a spiral of escalating tensions between America and Iran since Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. in 2018 from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers. Iranian state media made a point to publish images of voters lined up in the city of Kerman near Soleimani's grave. Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi, who is in charge of overseeing the election, announced all the polls had opened just at 8 a.m. local time. Khamenei cast one of the election's first votes, urging the public to turn out.
“People’s turnout with enthusiasm, and higher number of voters — this is a definite need for the Islamic Republic,” Khamenei said. State television later broadcast images of polling places across the country with modest lines. Onlookers did not see significant lines at many polling centers in Tehran, reminiscent of the low turnout seen in Iran's recent parliamentary election in March. More than 61 million Iranians over the age of 18 are eligible to vote, with about 18 million of them between 18 to 30. Iranian law requires that a winner gets more than 50% of all votes cast. If that doesn't happen, the race's top two candidates will advance to a runoff a week later. There's been only one runoff presidential election in Iran's history, in 2005, when hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad bested former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. The 63-year-old Raisi died in the May 19 helicopter crash that also killed the country's foreign minister and others. He was seen as a protégé of Khamenei and a potential successor as supreme leader. Still, many knew him for his involvement in the mass executions that Iran conducted in 1988, and for his role in the bloody crackdowns on dissent that followed protests over the death of Amini, a young woman detained by police over allegedly improperly wearing the mandatory headscarf, or hijab.

Democrats Question Replacing Biden: Here’s How It Could Work
Gregory Korte/(Bloomberg)/June 28, 2024
President Joe Biden’s debate performance is raising new questions about whether Democrats have any other options in November if the 81-year-old president is no longer willing or able to campaign. Speaking hoarsely and suffering from what aides said was a cold, Biden spoke Thursday in a halting and sometimes disjointed manner, a performance that is only renewing concerns about his ability to serve four more years. Biden told reporters afterward he will stay in the race. “He did get stronger as the debate went on but by that time, I think the panic had set in,” David Axelrod, a former campaign strategist to President Barack Obama, said on CNN. “And I think you’re going to hear discussions — that I don’t know will lead to anything — but there are going to be discussions about whether he should continue.”
Here’s how those discussions could play out.
Is there a precedent?
Yes. Most recently, President Lyndon Johnson decided not to seek re-nomination for a second full term in 1968, as Vietnam War protests mounted. In an Oval Office speech, Johnson made the surprise announcement that “I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president.”But that was at the end of March — extremely late even before the modern nomination calendar became as front-loaded as it is today. Unlike Johnson, Biden has already secured enough delegates for the nomination.
Can Biden be removed from the ticket?
It would be difficult. Biden faced minimal opposition in his party’s primaries and has secured 99% of the pledged delegates to the convention. Those delegates will be chosen in large part for their loyalty to the president. Absent extraordinary circumstances — and a backup plan — it’s unlikely they would remove him from the ticket. Any challenger to Biden would have to announce his or her candidacy before the formal vote, publicly challenging the incumbent in a high-stakes attempted party coup.
How soon must a decision be made?
Soon.
The Democratic National Committee had already planned to move up Biden’s nomination via a phoned-in roll call ahead of the convention to satisfy an Aug. 7 ballot deadline in Ohio. The Republican-led Ohio legislature has extended that deadline, but the Democratic Chairman Jaime Harrison has said the party will go forward with the early roll call anyway, making the convention — which begins August 19 — a mere formality.
What if Biden steps down after the convention?
The decision to replace him would be made by the members of the DNC. But then the party would face another hurdle: Printed ballots with Biden’s name already on them. Laws vary by state about how a vote for Biden would be counted if he’s no longer the nominee, but his votes would likely go to his replacement when the Electoral College meets.
Who are the possible successors?
Vice President Kamala Harris is the most logical heir apparent, but it wouldn’t be automatic. Other candidates waiting in the wings — who deferred to Biden and continue to publicly support him — include California Governor Gavin Newsom, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.None of those candidates have polled any better against Trump than Biden does, according to a Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll of seven battleground states.
What about the money?
Modern presidential campaigns are hugely expensive undertakings, and financial considerations would play no small role. Biden’s campaign and party had $212 million cash on hand at the end of May, and that money would be available to Harris should she take over the top of the ticket. Any other candidate would likely have to start from scratch. Biden’s campaign and the Democratic Party have already spent about $346 million trying to re-elect Biden. Picking another candidate could require spending even more money to introduce a new name to voters.

7 Democrats who could replace Biden if he drops his 2024 reelection bid
John L. Dorman,Brent D. Griffiths/Business Insider/June 28, 2024
President Joe Biden's reelection bid has the strong backing of most elected Democrats.
But Democrats are fuming after Biden's disastrous debate performance. In the unlikely event that Biden left the race, an array of Democrats would be in the mix to lead the party. President Joe Biden's disastrous debate performance has reignited the conversation over whether he should step aside before the November election. David Axelrod, a former Obama White House senior advisor, immediately sounded the alarm after Biden's 90-minute faceoff with Trump ended. "I think there was a sense of shock actually on how he came out at the beginning of this debate," Axelrod said on CNN. Axelrod added, "there are going to be discussions about if he should continue." Technically, there is still time for Democrats to pick another nominee to take on Trump. There are even ways they could wrestle the nomination away from the president ahead of the August Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Still, Biden is unlikely to leave the race. He has repeatedly said it is fair to question his age but has defended his record. As of now, he remains the only Democrat to have defeated Trump. It may be theoretically possible to force him aside, but the drama of such a move could make the chaotic 1968 convention look quaint.But who could be a Biden successor if such a scenario were to occur?
Kamala Harris
Harris, by many measures, would be a natural successor to Biden.
As vice president, she's worked closely with Biden on things as varied as voting rights and foreign policy. She was previously a San Francisco district attorney, California attorney general, and California senator and is a historic figure in her own right as the first Black, Indian American, and female vice president. And she has become the face of the administration's challenge to the raft of GOP-crafted abortion restrictions following the Supreme Court's 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. But Harris previously launched a 2020 presidential bid that seemed promising but fell flat with voters over time. (She eventually ended her campaign before the start of the primaries and caucuses.) As vice president, Harris has been heavily praised by Biden. But her office struggled with turnover and reports of dysfunction earlier in her term. She has also had to contend with less-than-ideal approval ratings, which have raised concerns among some Democrats about her electability as the party also looks to 2028 — when she'd be a potential frontrunner, given her positive marks with Black voters and young voters.
Gov. Gavin Newsom of California
Gov. Gavin Newsom, a former San Francisco mayor who was also California's lieutenant governor, leads the most populated state in the country and, in recent years, has become one of Biden's most prominent Democratic surrogates. In the immediate aftermath of the debate, Newsom questioned Democrats who jettison Biden over a bad night. "You don't turn your back because of one performance," Newsom said on MSNBC where he was representing the Biden campaign. "What kind of party does that?" California is often used as a foil by national Republicans to contrast with the conservative policies of states such as Florida and Texas. But Newsom has been outspoken in not only promoting the Golden State but touting Democratic policy stances and legislative wins — and he's not afraid to take his arguments straight to the GOP. As governor, Newsom has taken on more moderate stances in recent years on issues involving labor and tackling homelessness in his state. Newsom's political trajectory could collide with that of Harris, his fellow Bay Area native, but they've long maintained a strong working relationship, and the governor has been highly complimentary of her work with Biden.
Gretchen Whitmer
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the two-term governor of battleground Michigan, is accustomed to tough political fights. And over the course of her governorship, she has won a lot of those battles: Democrats in recent years have performed strongly in the Wolverine State, holding every top statewide office and flipping control of the state legislature in the 2022 midterm elections. When Whitmer ran for reelection in 2022 against the Republican Tudor Dixon, she won by nearly 11 points, reflective of her broad appeal with the electorate in a state where the margins are often tight. This fall, Michigan is expected to be one of the closest states in the country in the presidential race. And Whitmer, a former state lawmaker and ex-prosecutor, is set to be a critical voice for the Biden campaign across Michigan. The governor has encouraged Biden to speak more forcefully about abortion rights, an issue that has galvanized many voters — but especially women — across the country after Roe was overturned. In a potential field without Biden, Whitmer's Midwestern background, strong alliance with organized labor, and moderate appeal could make her a strong contender. But she would also be a new face in a contest that will probably feature Trump on the GOP side.
Amy Klobuchar
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who's served in the Senate since 2007, ran for president in 2020 and made a surprisingly strong finish in the New Hampshire primary — even outperforming Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts at the time. But her campaign wasn't able to get the sort of momentum it needed in the South Carolina primary for her to continue her bid, and she exited the race. Still, Klobuchar would be a candidate to watch in an open field, as she boosted her national presence in the primary and could point to a long-standing record of bipartisan accomplishments representing Minnesota in the Senate.
Cory Booker
Sen. Cory Booker also ran for president in 2020, ending his campaign in January that year. But the former Newark mayor has been a national figure for years and is seen as a likely 2028 contender. He could easily jump-start a potential 2028 campaign in South Carolina, as he campaigned throughout the state in 2019 and 2020. In the scenario that Democrats would have to choose a candidate other than Biden, he would probably be a part of the conversation.
Roy Cooper
Gov. Roy Cooper isn't a big name among Democratic voters outside North Carolina, at least not yet. The former state lawmaker, onetime North Carolina attorney general, and current two-term governor rose through the ranks of government and, along the way, navigated political divides that would bedevil most politicians. In a GOP-leaning state where Democratic candidates have to compete on tricky terrain, Cooper, a moderate, has come out on top. Democrats have not tapped a Southern governor as their presidential nominee since Bill Clinton in 1992. Looking to the future, probably in 2028, Cooper is someone who's poised to be on the minds of many in the party.
Wes Moore
Gov. Wes Moore, an Army veteran who's also a Rhodes Scholar, was first elected to the governorship in 2022. He has focused heavily on tackling issues such as child poverty and housing affordability, two of the most vexing public-policy challenges for leaders on both the state and federal levels. One of Moore's major pushes is to reshape how patriotism is defined in politics, as he told Business Insider during his first gubernatorial campaign that one party or movement couldn't claim the idea as their own. "I refuse to let anybody try to wrestle that away," Moore told BI in an October 2022 interview, "or claim that they have a higher stake or some higher claim to it than I or my family or people who I served with or my community members."The governor, seen by many as a potential 2028 contender, has been a strong political ally of both Biden and Harris. While Moore may be relatively new to elective politics, his profile only continues to grow within the Democratic Party. Correction: February 23, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misstated one of President Joe Biden's arguments for why he should be reelected. He has touted low national unemployment numbers, not low national employment numbers.

Russia is losing 1,000 soldiers a day in its relentless 'meat grinder' tactics against Ukraine: report
Tom Porter/Business Insider/June 28, 2024
Russia is sustaining high casualties in attacks in Ukraine, The New York Times reported. Around 1,000 Russian troops a day were killed or wounded, officials told the publication.But Russia is able to recruit new troops to replace the casualties, according to the Times. An average of 1,000 Russian troops a day were killed or wounded in Ukraine in May amid waves of head-on attacks on Ukrainian defenses, US, UK, and other Western intelligence agencies said, according to The New York Times. UK military intelligence has put the casualty rate at 1,200 a day in May, which it said was the highest reported since the start of the war. It said Russia's total number of killed or wounded since it launched the invasion in February 2022 now stood at around 500,000. It's unclear how many of these troops were killed and how many were wounded. Business Insider has contacted The Ministry of Defence for comment. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in June put the figure of the total number killed or wounded at around 350,000. The reported casualty increase in May came as Russia intensified its attacks on Ukrainian positions in the Kharkiv region, which borders Russia in northern Ukraine. Russia is sending troops into head-on high-casualty attacks, known as human wave or "meat grinder" attacks. The attacks were used by Russia in brutal battles to seize control of the towns of Avdiikva and Bakhmut last year, but US officials told the Times they are proving less successful now. However, US officials told the Times that Russia has been able to replenish its troop numbers, recruiting around 25,000 to 30,000 soldiers a month, while Ukraine is struggling to find new recruits. Ukraine said in February that it believes 31,000 of its troops have been killed since the start of the war, but Western intelligence officials told The Washington Post the number is likely much higher. Russia has offered relatively lucrative contracts to new recruits, has drafted thousands of prisoners into the military, and has contracted foreign mercenaries to replace its losses. In September 2022, Russia drafted 300,000 civilians into the military, but it's unlikely that the Kremlin will need to launch another draft in the near future, US officials told the Times.

Turkey's president expresses willingness to restore diplomatic ties with Syria
ANKARA, Turkey (AP)/June 28, 2024
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that there is no obstacle preventing Turkey and Syria from restoring diplomatic ties that were cut off at the start of the Syrian civil war more than a decade ago. His comments came just days after Syrian President Bashar Assad made similar remarks, indicating a willingness among the two neighboring countries to end tensions and normalize relations. “There is no reason why (diplomatic ties) should not be established,” Erdogan told reporters. “In the same way that we kept our relations with Syria alive in the past — we had these meetings with Mr Assad that included family meetings — we cannot say that it will not happen again,” Erdogan said. He was referring to a vacation that the Erdogan and Assad families took in southern Turkey in 2008, before their relationship soured. During the Syrian conflict, Turkey supported armed opposition groups in the country’s northwest aiming to oust Assad from power. The Syrian government has repeatedly condemned Ankara's control over a territory that it took hold of through several military incursions since 2016 targeting U.S.-backed Kurdish forces that Turkey regards as terrorists. On Wednesday, Syrian state media reported that in a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy to Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev, Assad “affirmed Syria’s openness to all initiatives related to the relationship between Syria and Turkey, based on the sovereignty of the Syrian state over all its territories on the one hand, and combating all forms of terrorism and its organizations on the other hand.” The Russian envoy, in turn, said that “the current circumstances seem more suitable than ever for the success of mediations, and that Russia is ready to work to push the negotiations forward, and that the goal is to succeed in restoring relations between Syria and Turkey,” Syrian state-run news agency SANA reported. Erdogan told reporters that Turkey respects Syria's sovereignty. “There is no question of us having the aim of interfering in Syria's internal affairs,” Erdogan said. “The people of Syria are our brothers." Turkey has been trying to mend fences with Syria as the government faces increased pressure at home to repatriate millions of Syrian refugees amid a steep economic downturn and rising anti-refugee sentiment. Last year, the Turkish and Syrian foreign ministers met in Moscow alongside counterparts from Russia and Iran, marking the highest-level contact between Ankara and Damascus since the start of the Syrian civil war. But those talks and a previous meeting involving the two countries' defense ministers did not bear fruit. On Friday, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in the opposition-held Syrian city of Idlib and in surrounding areas to protest reports that a key crossing between government-held territory and areas held by Turkish-backed opposition groups in Aleppo province will soon reopen to commercial traffic, for the first time since the beginning of the country’s civil war. The protesters carried banners saying: “Opening the crossings with the regime is a crime and a betrayal of the blood of the martyrs,” and calling for “opening battles, not crossings.”

5 missiles land near ship in Red Sea in likely Houthi attack
Associated Press/June 28, 2024
A ship traveling through the Red Sea came under repeated missile fire Friday in a likely attack launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels, authorities said, the latest targeting the crucial maritime route. Five missiles landed near the vessel as it traveled off the coast of the rebel-held port city of Hodeida in Yemen, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. The missiles landed near the vessel, but caused no damage, the UKTMO added. The Houthis did not immediately claim the attack. However, it can take them hours or even days before they acknowledge an assault.
The rebels have targeted more than 60 vessels by firing missiles and drones in their campaign that has killed a total of four sailors. They seized one vessel and sank two since November. A U.S.-led airstrike campaign has targeted the Houthis since January, with a series of strikes on May 30 killing at least 16 people and wounding 42 others, the rebels say. The Houthis maintain that their attacks target ships linked to Israel, the United States or Britain. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the Israel-Hamas war — including some bound for Iran. Late on Tuesday, Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said the group was responsible for an attack Monday on the Liberian-flagged, Greek-managed container ship MSC Sarah V. On Wednesday, the Houthis claimed they used a new hypersonic ballistic missile in the assault, which targeted a ship farther away than nearly all of the previous assaults they've launched in the Gulf of Aden. The U.S. military's Central Command also said it destroyed a Houthi radar site. Another attack Wednesday in the Gulf of Aden was suspected to have been carried out by the Houthis, though they have yet to claim it. A Houthi attack also happened Thursday in the Red Sea.

Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on June 28-29/2024
The Miraculous Victory: When Outnumbered, Starved Christians Defeated the Hordes of Islam
Raymond Ibrahim/The Stream/June 28, 2024
Today in history, on June 28, 1098, Crusaders won such a victory over the forces of Islam that, for those present, it could only be interpreted as a miracle.
As discussed here, on June 3, the Crusaders managed to liberate from Islamic abuse the ancient Christian city of Antioch — the place where the very word “Christian” was first coined (Acts 11:26).
Before they could celebrate, however (or even recuperate), Kerbogha, the Turkish lord (or atabeg) of Mosul, arrived with a “countless and innumerable throng” of forty thousand fighters consisting of Turks, Arabs, Egyptians, Africans, and Persians. “It is quite obvious that these people are completely mad,” the atabeg observed of the hopelessly outnumbered Crusaders. “They are a presumptuous race…. Doubtless they have every confidence in their courage. But by Muhammad, it was a bad day for them when they entered Syrian territory.”
Kerbogha quickly blockaded Antioch, and the Christians who only the day before had been the besiegers became the besieged. Worse, by the time the Crusaders took Antioch, most of its stores had been depleted by the Turks during their lengthy besiegement, forcing the feral Franks to eat leather shoes and drink horse blood.
Threatening Goliath
Now desperate, the Crusaders “met for deliberation, and it was decided by common consent to send a deputation” to Kerbogha, “proposing that he agree to do one of two things: either let him depart and leave the city to the Christians as a possession forever — the city which had been theirs in the first place and which now, by the will of God, had been restored to them — or let him prepare for battle and submit to the decision of the sword.”
This Just War logic lay at the heart of the message delivered to the Turkish leader by the Christian delegation:
Kerbogha, the Frankish lords send the following message to you. What staggering audacity has possessed you that you should have marched against them with armed forces when in their view you and your king and your people [in a word, Muslims] are guilty of invading Christian lands with unbridled covetousness and insulting and killing them all…. If you had any kind of rule of law and wanted to act fairly towards us, we would negotiate, reserving the rights of honor, and demonstrate to you with incontrovertible arguments what ought to belong to the Christians.
Further underscoring the religious nature of the quarrel, the delegation continued by telling Kerbogha that if he were to embrace Christianity, they would surrender Antioch to him and take him for their lord. But if he still refused, then “fly immediately or prepare your necks for our swords….”
Fasting Before Fighting
As might be expected, Kerbogha “was so transported with anger that he could barely speak,” and finally responded by saying that “we took” Christian lands “by means of our remarkable strength, from a nation [Byzantines] scarcely better than women.” He continued: Moreover, we think that you are mad to come from the ends of the earth, threatening with all your might to drive us from our homes, when you have insufficient supplies, too few arms, and too few men. Not only do we refuse to accept the name of Christians, but we spit upon it in disgust. To respond briefly to the message you have brought: return, you who form this delegation, to your leaders swiftly and tell them that if they are willing to become [Muslims] like us and renounce the Christ upon whom you seem to rely, we shall give them not only this land, but land of greater wealth and size.
Should the Crusaders refuse this offer, however, “they will undoubtedly die horribly,” continued the atabeg, “or endure the exile of eternal imprisonment, as slaves to us and our descendants … [and] I shall save all those who are in the flower of youth of either sex, for the service of my master.”
The Christian delegation returned to Antioch. After hearing Kerbogha’s retort, the famished, exhausted, and vastly outnumbered men concluded that there was nothing left but to sally forth and meet the hordes besieging them head on.
A three-day fast was ordered; the little food available was given to the horses. Then everyone in Antioch, both lord and commoner, “marched through the city squares, stopping at churches and calling on God’s aid, barefoot and crying, beating their breasts, so grief-stricken that father would not greet son, brother would not look at brother,” to quote Raymond of Aguilers, who was present.
Finally, on the morning of June 28, 1098, “everyone received the Eucharist and offered themselves to die for … God, if he should wish.” Then some twenty thousand Crusaders — the entire army minus two hundred left to defend the city — issued out of the Gates of Antioch to the sound of blaring horns.
Ferocious Franks
Never expecting the vastly outnumbered and weakened Franks to sally forth and meet their much larger and well rested army, the Muslims were shocked — doubly so, as the desperate Christians fought with a feral fury. Contemporary accounts speak of half-starved “knights bristling like porcupines with arrows, darts, and javelins, but still moving forward and fighting ferociously.”The Crusaders’ tight formations eventually caused the Muslim horsemen — used as they were to overwhelming their enemies with arrows — to panic and retreat. “To pursue them more effectively,” the relentless Christians “mounted the horses of those [Muslims] who were dying and left their horses — gaunt and suffering from hunger — on the battlefield.” The Franks’ berserker-like determination eventually won the day; the Battle of Antioch became one of the First Crusade’s most astounding victories against the forces of Islam. All medieval chroniclers portrayed it as a miracle, citing angelic hosts, whom many Crusaders insisted on seeing, fighting alongside the knights. However one wishes to interpret such claims, the fact remains: “Modern military historians have attempted to come up with a more rational explanation for the Franks’ success, but the task is difficult,” observes Crusades historian Jay Rubenstein. “How did a force as spent and starved as the crusaders manage to overcome a superior, well-fed, and well-rested adversary?”Even Islamic chroniclers marveled: “The Muslims were completely routed without striking a single blow or firing a single arrow,” disgustedly wrote Ibn al-Athir. “The only Muslims to stand firm were a detachment of warriors from the Holy Land, who fought to acquire merit in Allah’s eyes and to seek martyrdom. The Franks killed them by the thousand and stripped their camp of food and possessions, equipment, horses and arms, with which they re-equipped themselves.”In this manner, the Battle of Antioch came to take pride of place in Crusading lore for generations.

What I Saw at a Terrorist Rally Outside a Synagogue
Daniel Greenfield/Gatestone Institute/June 28, 2024
Despite knowing that a terrorist rally was planned outside a synagogue, the LAPD had allowed the terrorist supporters to take over the entire sidewalk, leaving only a thin lane for attendees to walk through to get inside. The LAPD did little to interfere with the terrorist supporters, but did block Jewish counterprotesters from reaching their own synagogue.
Media accounts, especially from the Los Angeles Times, CNN and the JTA, falsely characterize the violence as coming from the Jewish counterprotesters rather than the terrorist supporters.
[T]he LAPD brings out the riot gear, allows the radicals free rein and waits as long as possible before taking any action.
Why is this happening? ... Mayor Karen Bass is a close political ally of BLM LA boss Melina Abdullah, who has backed the pro-terrorist campaign against Jews. When Jews were attacked at UCLA, Democrat members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a motion to fund legal support for the terrorist supporters. The resolution to use taxpayer money to fund legal defenses for antisemites was put forward by Supervisor Lindsey Horvath who 'represents' Council District 3 where the synagogue hate riot was taking place. After all the antisemitic violence at UCLA, the only one facing serious charges is a Jewish student.
The Democrat leadership of Los Angeles does not stand with the Jewish communities being targeted by hate, but with the antisemitic mobs surrounding synagogues.
Behind the masks, keffiyehs and the terrorist flags is the new Democratic Party.
 And the Los Angeles police did nothing. Not until an hour into the terrorist rally did the LAPD finally step in.
Thirty minutes after Hamas supporters first set up their operation outside a Los Angeles synagogue, they maced their first Jew. And the Los Angeles police did nothing.
Not until an hour into the terrorist rally outside a synagogue, did the LAPD finally step in, pushing back masked Jihad supporters in keffiyeh terror scarves from the entrance of Congregation Adas Torah (Congregation of the Bible) which they had occupied.
And then the mob, chanting calls for "intifada" and the destruction of Israel, moved outward to target two smaller synagogues attended by Persian Jewish refugees from Islamic terror in Iran.
"Billions of us will come and kill you," a heavily accented Middle Eastern man in a keffiyeh unprompted rasped at me as I walked up. Only dozens had actually shown up, but they made up for it with bullhorns, robotic chants, and assaults in the middle of a Jewish neighborhood.
The Jewish counterprotesters had come waving American and Israeli flags, while the other side was a sea of terrorist flags. A man wore an Antifa cap, another had come in ski goggles during 90-degree heat, while others toted bear spray, metal bottles, and other implements of violence.
The Jewish community members included older men and women, as well as families, while the Hamas contingent was mostly young and many were masked. A pair of rabbis led a melodic song that could hardly be heard over the harsh clatter of the hateful terror chants.
Despite knowing that a terrorist rally was planned outside a synagogue, the LAPD had allowed the terrorist supporters to take over the entire sidewalk leaving only a thin lane for synagogue attendees to walk through to get inside. The LAPD did little to interfere with the terrorist supporters, but did block Jewish counterprotesters from reaching their own synagogue. The police also did nothing as clumps of masked Hamas supporters broke away from the synagogue and began confronting, threatening, and attacking Jewish community members on the street.
LAPD officers did not stir as confrontations escalated into assaults, shoving into mace and bear spray. Jewish community members rushed to provide water bottles to the affected. Only after several such incidents did the LAPD finally bring in reinforcements and push the Hamas supporters away from the synagogue entrance (dispersing them to harass and threaten two other synagogues) while also clearing Jewish families away from the other side of the street who had been peacefully waving flags near a children's school.
The terrorist hate rally spread outside three synagogues, Congregation Adas Torah, Chabad Persian Youth, and Congregation Ateret Israel (Glory of Israel), and the confrontations in the center of the street continued. There were running battles along the large commercial street, with violent assaults outside a kosher luncheonette and running battles down a residential street in the Jewish neighborhood.
The terrorist hate rally was not an aberration, It's become the new normal.
On Thursday, Hamas supporters showed up at Congregation Shaarey Zedek (Gates of Righteousness) in the San Fernando Valley, formerly attended by Ben Shapiro, yelling abuse at parents taking their children to school. Other Jewish schools have been similarly targeted.
Beginning with the assault on the Museum of Tolerance when it was screening a documentary on the October 7 massacre, to the violence at UCLA, it has played out this way for 8 months.
The LAPD has consistently failed to secure protest zones, to separate different groups of protesters and to prevent violence, and only steps in when it escalates past a set point. That point usually comes when the Jewish counterprotesters start fighting back. And then the LAPD begins arresting both sides while politicians, including Mayor Bass, deplore the violence.
Media accounts, especially from the Los Angeles Times, CNN and the JTA, falsely characterize the violence as coming from the Jewish counterprotesters rather than the terrorist supporters.
I had previously heard first-person accounts from people who were assaulted while the police and security at UCLA did nothing, but now I saw it for myself. And after 8 months of the same thing, it's hard to believe that it's simple incompetence or that a major urban police force has no idea how to handle the same kind of protests and is incapable of figuring out how to do so.
Especially when it's been standard procedure by other urban police forces.
The LAPD is clearly aware of the potential for violence because it sends out officers in riot gear. But rather than engaging in proactive policing to prevent violence, they stand passively and wait for orders from higher up before taking any action. This is not normal policing during protests and counterprotests, when the standard doctrine is for police to set up barriers and stand between groups of protesters before they bring out the riot gear. But the LAPD brings out the riot gear, allows the radicals free rein, and waits as long as possible before taking any action.
Why is this happening? I previously reported that Mayor Karen Bass is a close political ally of BLM LA boss Melina Abdullah, who has backed the pro-terrorist campaign against Jews. When Jews were attacked at UCLA, Democrat members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a motion to fund legal support for the terrorist supporters. The resolution to use taxpayer money to fund legal defenses for antisemites was put forward by Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who 'represents' Council District 3 where the synagogue hate riot was taking place. After all the antisemitic violence at UCLA, the only one facing serious charges is a Jewish student. The Democrat leadership of Los Angeles does not stand with the Jewish communities being targeted by hate, but with the antisemitic mobs surrounding synagogues.
Behind the masks, keffiyehs and the terrorist flags is the new Democratic Party. *Daniel Greenfield is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center. This article previously appeared at the Center's Front Page Magazine.
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Iran Moves Into Somalia
Daniel Greenfield/Gatestone Institute./June 28, 2024
Current reports suggest that the Houthis, an Iranian Shiite terror group, is negotiating to provide weapons to Yemen's Al-Shabaab, a Sunni Jihadist group allied with Al Qaeda, to expand Iran's control over shipping. While Al-Shabaab has operated using the conventional Al Qaeda playbook of rifles and IEDs, the Houthis can offer upgraded drones and missile technology. Pictured: Houthi soldiers in Sanaa, Yemen on January 19, 2024 (Photo by Mohammed Huwais/AFP via Getty Images
After six months of Iran using its Houthi Jihadis to impose a blockade near Yemen while defying Biden to do anything about it, the Islamic global terror state is moving on to a Somali blockade.
Current reports suggest that the Houthis, an Iranian Shiite terror group, is negotiating to provide weapons to Yemen's Al-Shabaab, a Sunni Jihadist group allied with Al Qaeda, to expand Iran's control over shipping. While Al-Shabaab has operated using the conventional Al Qaeda playbook of rifles and IEDs, the Houthis can offer upgraded drones and missile technology.
And best of all, the Houthis can claim that the weapons were battle-tested on the US Navy.
When the Houthis began their naval blockade, the Biden administration had the opportunity to shut it down. Instead, a US Navy carrier group has been tied up for months with no results. The AP headlined its recent coverage as "US Navy faces its most intense combat since World War II against Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels". But as Front Page Magazine already reported, the only reason the war keeps dragging on is that Biden has restricted the US Navy to responding to incoming attacks and only the occasional light bombing raids against the sources of the attacks.
The Houthis, whose motto, like that of their Iranian backers, includes, "Death to America", have been able to claim that they held off the world's greatest military for half a year, while imposing control over regional shipping and international trade. And now Iran is moving into Somalia.
One of the side-effects of Biden's refusal to go on the offensive against the Houthis was that the Somali pirates, who had been lying low during the Trump administration, decided to make a comeback. With Western naval operations diverted to the Yemeni blockade, it has fallen to the Indian Navy to protect shipping against the Somali pirates. But if the Yemen-Somali deal goes through, Al-Shabaab may displace the pirate gangs and impose its own naval blockade.
And with hundreds of US troops deployed in Somalia, the Al Qaeda affiliate armed by Iran would also have the opportunity to directly attack Americans with their new firepower. Previous local reports had already described a flow of weapons from Yemen to Somalia and pirates deploying anti-aircraft weapons aboard a hijacked vessel. So the arrangement may already be here.
When two US Navy SEALs died trying to intercept Iranian weapons shipments to the Houthis in the waters near Somalia, the terror pipeline was very briefly in the headlines. But the Biden administration, pro-terror think tanks and the media quickly diverted our attention away.
Some of the credit for this ought to go to Rep. Ilhan Omar who spent her time in Congress spreading the lie that attacks on the Houthis had caused a famine in Yemen. The campaign to end the Saudi embargo that blocked Iran from shipping in weapons allowed the Houthis to impose their own embargo. And Rep. Omar, a Somali nationalist with ties to the current regime, has also been a vocal critic of U.S. air strikes on the Al-Shabaab rebels fighting the government.
Under Trump, Rep. Omar accused the U.S. military of covering up 'civilian' casualties during air strikes against Al Qaeda, and next year argued that, "we are not going to simply drone the Al-Shabaab problem to death." She also complained that the United States had not made payments to 'civilians' killed in the air strikes including some possibly unrelated 'Omars' who had died in Somalia. Last year, Rep. Omar vigorously supported Rep. Gaetz's resolution to withdraw U.S. forces from Somalia. Now it looks like Iran will be providing military support in Somalia.
Last year, the Soros 'International Crisis Group', which has been accused of ties to the Iranian regime, had issued a report arguing that the threat from Al-Shabaab was overblown and urged that the Al Qaeda affiliate "cannot be defeated militarily is that, at some point, a settlement with the group may offer the best hope of stabilizing the country."
How better to stabilize a country than by cutting a deal with Al Qaeda?
The same dishonest rhetoric that had been previously used to bolster Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis was deployed to prop up Al-Shabaab. And it appears to be having the same results.
While a formal alliance between the Houthis and Al-Shabaab might be a new arrangement, Iran has been trying to court the Al Qaeda group for some time. The Iranians lost their base of operations in Somalia when the government shut down Shiite 'aid groups' linked to the regime in Tehran. But Somalia has too few Shiites to pose any real threat. Instead, Iran was building up its relationship with Al-Shabaab. Years ago there were reports that Iran was paying bounties for the Al Qaeda group to attack American targets and to smuggle weapons to the Houthis.
A relationship between Al-Shabaab and the Houthis is more troubling because Iran's MO is to carry out larger terror attacks through proxies, such as the Shiite PMUs attacking Americans in Iraq and Syria, and then build up relationships between its terror proxies for larger attacks. That is why Hezbollah was set up as the focal actor to back up Hamas against Israel.
A public relationship between the Houthis and Al-Shabaab prepares the way for more intense attacks on Americans in and around Somalia while Iran pretends that it was the Houthis acting unilaterally. The Iranian regime agents within the Biden administration and the intelligence community who spread these false claims about Hamas and Hezbollah acting independently of Iran have been spreading the same lies about the Houthis and eventually Al-Shabaab.
If the Biden administration follows the same failed strategy in Somalia as it is in Yemen, we will be enmeshed in another prolonged war with Islamic terrorists with our hands tied behind our backs. And Iran will expand its control of international trade while American prestige drops. Prices will continue going up and ransom payments will feed more terrorism against America.
After a brutal civil war in Syria, Iran appears to be succeeding in its efforts to integrate Sunni Islamists into its terror camp. While the idea of Iran and an Al Qaeda affiliate working together may appear unlikely, Iran had been courting Al Qaeda for some time and there are reports that it had provided some of the training that was used for the 9/11 attacks. We know that the 9/11 hijackers were able to pass through Iran and the IRGC was at best complicit in the operation.
Saif Al-Adel, the current Egyptian leader of Al Qaeda, is living in Iran under IRGC protection.
Al-Adel had gotten his early start in Somalia where he participated in the Battle of Mogadishu. The Islamist perpetrators who shot down three Black Hawk choppers had reportedly been trained by Adel. He went on to collaborate with Hezbollah and then on to Yemen. It may be no coincidence at all that these are the current theaters of the war we're in.
Americans associate Al Qaeda with Osama bin Laden, Afghanistan and Iraq, but its true origins lie in Egypt with the Egyptian Islamic Jihad. EIJ was a splinter group of the Muslim Brotherhood. Those are the bonds that unite Hamas, another Brotherhood arm, and Iran, as well as the Brotherhood Islamists in America that have been vocally campaigning for Al Qaeda and Iran.
The various strands of the Jihadist movement have been knitting together. The most obvious signs of this can be seen on our own streets and campuses where the Shiite flags of Hezbollah and the Houthis fly alongside the Sunni flags of Hamas at events overseen by Sunni Islamists. The Houthis could not have survived without the support of Sunni Islamists in the U.S.. Now they'll repay the favor by helping Al-Shabaab, formerly the Islamic Courts Union, in Somalia.
Al Qaeda first waged war on America in Africa. And Iran has been building up its presence there. Africa is the next frontier of Islamic colonialism, where tens of thousands of Christians have already been murdered with the complicity of the Obama and Biden administrations.
The Biden administration has allowed Iran to expand its terror territories, and that's not just bad news for Israel, it's also bad news for America and for the world. Two centuries after the United States Marines got their start fighting Islamic naval piracy, they're back and worse than ever.
*Daniel Greenfield is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center. This article previously appeared at the Center's Front Page Magazine.
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Question: “What are the differences between Catholics and Protestants?”
GotQuestions.org?/./June 28, 2024
Answer: There are several important differences between Catholics and Protestants. While there have been many attempts in recent years to find common ground between the two groups, the fact is that the differences remain, and they are just as important today as they were at the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. The following is brief summary of some of the more important differences:
One of the major differences between Catholicism and Protestantism is the issue of the sufficiency and authority of Scripture. Protestants believe that the Bible alone is the source of God’s special revelation to mankind and teaches us all that is necessary for our salvation from sin. Protestants view the Bible as the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured. This belief is commonly referred to as “sola scriptura” and is one of the “five solas” (sola is Latin for “alone”) that came out of the Protestant Reformation.
There are many verses in the Bible that establish its authority and claim it to be sufficient for all matters of faith and practice. One of the clearest is 2 Timothy 3:16, where we see that “all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
Catholics reject the doctrine of sola scriptura and do not believe that the Bible alone is sufficient. They believe that both the Bible and sacred Roman Catholic tradition are equally binding upon the Christian. Many Roman Catholics doctrines, such as purgatory, praying to the saints, worship or veneration of Mary, etc., have little or no basis in Scripture but are based solely on Roman Catholic traditions. The Roman Catholic Church’s insistence that the Bible and tradition are equal in authority undermines the sufficiency, authority, and completeness of the Bible. The view of Scripture is at the root of many, if not all, of the differences between Catholics and Protestants.
Another disagreement between Catholicism and Protestantism is over the office and authority of the Pope. According to Catholicism the Pope is the “Vicar of Christ” (a vicar is a substitute) and represents Jesus as the head of the Church. As such, the Pope has the ability to speak ex cathedra (literally, “from the chair,” that is, with authority on matters of faith and practice). His pronouncements made from the seat of authority are infallible and binding upon all Christians. On the other hand, Protestants believe that no human being is infallible and that Christ alone is the Head of the Church. Catholics rely on apostolic succession as a way of establishing the Pope’s authority. Protestants believe that the church’s authority comes not from apostolic succession but from the Word of God. Catholicism teaches that only the Catholic Church can properly interpret the Bible, but Protestants believe that the Bible teaches God sent the Holy Spirit to indwell all born-again believers, enabling all believers to understand the message of the Bible (John 14:16–17, 26; 1 John 2:27).
A third major difference between Catholicism and Protestantism is how one is saved. Another of the five solas of the Reformation is sola fide (“faith alone”), which affirms the biblical doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8–10). However, Catholics teach that the Christian must rely on faith plus “meritorious works” in order to be saved. Essential to the Roman Catholic doctrine of salvation are the Seven Sacraments, which are baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, penance, anointing of the sick, holy orders, and matrimony. Protestants believe that, on the basis of faith in Christ alone, believers are justified by God, as all their sins are paid for by Christ on the cross and His righteousness is imputed to them. Catholics, on the other hand, believe that Christ’s righteousness is imparted to the believer by “grace through faith,” but that in itself is not sufficient to justify the believer. The believer must supplement the righteousness of Christ imparted to him with meritorious works.
Catholics and Protestants also disagree on what it means to be justified before God. To the Catholic, justification involves being made righteous and holy. He believes that faith in Christ is only the beginning of salvation and that the individual must build upon that with good works because God’s grace of eternal salvation must be merited. This view of justification contradicts the clear teaching of Scripture in passages such as Romans 4:1–12 and Titus 3:3–7. Protestants distinguish between the one-time act of justification (when we are declared righteous by God based on our faith in Christ’s atonement on the cross) and the process of sanctification (the development of righteousness that continues throughout our lives on earth). Protestants recognize that works are important, but they believe the works are the result or fruit of salvation—never the means to it. Catholics blend justification and sanctification into one ongoing process, which leads to confusion about how one is saved.
A fourth major difference between Catholics and Protestants has to do with what happens after death. Both groups teach that unbelievers will spend eternity in hell, but there are significant differences about what happens to believers. From their church traditions and their reliance on non-canonical books, the Catholics have developed the doctrine of purgatory. Purgatory, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, is a “place or condition of temporal punishment for those who, departing this life in God’s grace, are not entirely free from venial faults, or have not fully paid the satisfaction due to their transgressions” (Hanna, E., “Purgatory,” The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 12. Robert Appleton Company, 1911). On the other hand, Protestants believe that we are justified by faith in Christ alone and that Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us; therefore, when we die, we will go straight to heaven to be in the presence of the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:6–10 and Philippians 1:23).
One disturbing aspect about the Catholic doctrine of purgatory is the belief that man can and must pay for his own sins. This results in a low view of the sufficiency and efficiency of Christ’s atonement on the cross. Simply put, the Roman Catholic view of salvation implies that Christ’s atonement on the cross was insufficient payment for the sins of those who believe in Him and that even a believer must pay for his own sins, either through acts of penance or time in purgatory. Yet the Bible teaches that it is Christ’s death alone that can satisfy or propitiate God’s wrath against sinners (Romans 3:25; Hebrews 2:17; 1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:10). Our works of righteousness cannot add to what Christ has already accomplished.
The differences between Catholicism and evangelical Protestants are important and significant. Paul wrote Galatians to combat the Judaizers (Jews who said that Gentile Christians had to obey the Old Testament Law to be saved). Like the Judaizers, Catholics make human works necessary for one to be justified by God, and they end up with a completely different gospel.
It is our prayer that God will open the eyes of those who are putting their faith in the teachings of the Catholic Church. It is our hope that everyone will understand that “works of righteousness” cannot justify or sanctify a person (Isaiah 64:6). We pray that all will put their faith solely in Christ and the fact that we are “justified freely by [God’s] grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith” (Romans 3:24–25). God saves us, “not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of  eternal life” (Titus 3:5–7).

Why the Trump election camp are celebrating
Dr. Amal Mudallali/Arab News/June 28, 2024
The Democratic Party in the US wanted the first debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump to be a historic event in which they contrasted their candidate with his opponent, showing that his age was not an issue and that Trump was not fit to be a president. Hillary Clinton said beforehand that this was a choice between chaos and competence.
The debate on Thursday night was historic indeed. First, it reinforced the perception that Americans have about the president’s age. It reminded everybody of Special Counsel Robert Hurr describing him as an “elderly man with a poor memory.”
Second, it sent the Democrats panicking and wondering what to do. Some privately told journalists that they should find another candidate. The Republicans, meanwhile, were celebrating. Their candidate was on message, ignored most of the questions, said what he wanted to say instead, and sent them looking for a tape to measure the White House for drapes. The debate will go down in the history of debates as the one that may seal the fate of the Democratic candidate. American media headlines said it all. The New York Times and the Washington Post used the same word to describe the president’s performance — they said he “struggled.” Politico was even more dramatic. “Biden is toast,” it said.
The Democrats said it was only one night and they still had five months to recover. Vice President Kamala Harris said Biden had a “slow start but a strong finish,” but in fact the president also struggled in his closing remarks. Polls before the debate carried a warning to the Democrats. They show the two candidates virtually neck and neck, but in the races that matter — the battleground states that will determine the outcome of the election — Trump is ahead.
The debate will go down in the history of debates as the one that may seal the fate of the Democratic candidate. Nate Silver, the doyen of polling data analysts, gives Trump a 65.7 percent chance of winning. He also believes Biden could win the popular vote but lose the election, a repeat of what happened to Hillary Clinton in 2016.
The problem the Democrats now have is, where will the campaign go from here? There are calls for the party to choose a different candidate before the convention, or on the convention floor. Others are calling on Biden to withdraw. What will Biden campaign donors do? Will they stick with the president or abandon him before the election? These are questions that the Democratic party has to deal with, but it is hard to change a candidate at this stage. There are also those in the party who believe that Biden will do better in the second debate, which is closer to the elections.
The judge in the Trump “hush money” case set July 11 for sentencing, just four days before the Republican convention, and Democrats hope that will change people’s minds.
Trump was declared the winner of the debate by his supporters and some early polling, but we need to wait to know the real effect on voters, especially the undecided. The divisions in the country mean each party will circle the wagons now and support their candidate regardless of what happened, but the undecided are the ones who will determine the fate of the 2024 elections.
Other issues are at stake. In Congress, especially among those who are running for election, all eyes were on the performance of their candidates: both Republicans and Democrats in congressional elections need a presidential candidate who is an asset and not a liability with the electorate.
The Republicans want to regain the Senate and keep the House, and Trump’s performance will affect their chances of doing so. The Democratic candidates, on the other hand, have to decide whether the president’s debate performance could hurt them — and if so, keep their distance.
**Dr. Amal Mudallali is a consultant on global issues, and former Lebanese ambassador to the UN.

Debate refuels concerns over Biden’s health
Dalia Al-Aqidi/Arab News/June 28, 2024
The presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump has left an indelible mark on the political landscape, stirring a mix of disappointment, shock, and concern. It was disheartening to witness the leader of the US struggling to articulate his thoughts clearly.
The debate’s agenda was broad, encompassing critical issues such as abortion rights, immigration policies, and international relations with Ukraine and the Middle East.
From the outset, Biden’s performance was uneven. At 81, his halting speech and occasional raspy voice, attributed by his campaign to a cold, did little to inspire confidence and refueled existing concerns about his age and his ability to serve another term. Trump himself is 78, and the debate brought to the forefront the age and health of both candidates. Never before have two contenders for the White House been so old, which did not go unnoticed by the public.
Biden’s struggle to deliver his points coherently contrasted sharply with Trump’s more aggressive and clear-cut approach, which was a focal point for viewers and pundits alike. Vice President Kamala Harris tried to mitigate the fallout by defending Biden’s performance. She acknowledged that her boss had a slow start but emphasized his strong finish, arguing that he demonstrated a clear commitment to substantive issues over stylistic concerns. Harris pointed to the president’s broader record in office as evidence of his capability and dedication to the American people.
However, the public’s reaction was swift and telling. A snap poll suggested that 67 percent of viewers believed Trump outperformed Biden, a significant shift from pre-debate expectations when only 55 percent believed Trump would do better, and 57 percent expressed a lack of confidence in Biden’s ability to lead the country compared with 44 percent for Trump. These numbers reflect a stark reality: the debate shifted the focus from policy issues to concerns about Biden’s personal fitness for office.
The implications for the Democratic Party are profound. The debate has exacerbated internal tensions and brought to the surface the challenges of its candidate. There is no straightforward mechanism within the Democratic National Committee’s rules to replace an incumbent president on the ticket. Any move to replace Biden would require opening the nominating process at the convention, a scenario fraught with political risks and complexities.
Trump himself is 78, and the debate brought to the forefront the age and health of both candidates. Prominent Democrats are already feeling the pressure. Reports have emerged of top Democrats urging Biden to reconsider his re-election bid; and many House Democrats are privately expressing the need for a new nominee. This internal discord is a testament to the deepening concerns about his ability to secure a second term.As the most obvious successor, Kamala Harris faces her own challenges. Her current approval rating of 38 percent raises questions about her viability as a candidate against Trump. This adds another layer of complexity to the Democrat dilemma. The party must navigate these turbulent waters carefully to avoid further detachment from its base and to present a unified front in the election.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has publicly dismissed speculation about replacing his leader, emphasizing party unity and support for the president. Other names have been circulating, such as those of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The urgent need for a decisive strategy is palpable behind the scenes. The Democrats must act swiftly and judiciously to address these growing concerns and prepare for all possible scenarios.
The debate’s impact extends beyond the Democratic Party. It has also galvanized Republican supporters and reinforced their confidence in Trump. Republicans seized on Biden's faltering performance as a rallying point, further complicating the Democratic Party's path forward.
Furthermore, it exposed a broader issue within American politics: the increasing emphasis on the age and health of candidates. This is not confined to Biden and Trump, but reflects a growing trend in which voters scrutinize their leaders’ physical and mental fitness. This shift in focus from policy to personal capability is a significant departure from traditional political evaluations and indicates a new era in voter expectations.
Additionally, the role of the media in shaping public perception cannot be overlooked. Liberal-leaning media outlets have been critical of Biden’s performance, which has contributed to the growing unease within the Democrats. The media’s portrayal of the debate and its aftermath plays a crucial role in influencing public opinion and, ultimately, voter behavior. In light of these developments, the Democrats face a daunting task. Replacing Biden would involve complex logistical and political challenges. Opening the nominating process at the convention would be unprecedented and could lead to a fractious and divisive outcome. The party must carefully weigh the risks and benefits to avoid destabilizing its electoral prospects. Moving forward, the party’s strategy must be clear and compelling to reassure both its base and the broader electorate. The election is fast approaching, and the Democrats’ ability to present a robust and unified front will be crucial in determining the outcome. Convincing Biden to step aside would be daunting, but ensuring the party’s strength and unity heading into the election is necessary. By preparing thoroughly for a smooth transition and rallying behind a new candidate, the Democrats can bolster their already slim chance of maintaining control of the White House. The time for strategic action is now, and the stakes could not be higher.
**Dalia Al-Aqidi is executive director at the American Center for Counter Extremism.

Arab analysts pan US presidential debate for ‘lack of substance’ on Middle East issues
EPHREM KOSSAIFY &RAY HANANIA/Arab News/June 28/2024
ATLANTA, Georgia: Prominent US-based Arab commentators have reacted to Thursday night’s debate between President Joe Biden and challenger Donald Trump with a mixture of disapproval and disappointment, saying that the first head to head of the election campaign “lacked substance.”Biden and Trump took part in a debate hosted by CNN at the network’s Atlanta headquarters without a studio audience present and in a format that cut microphones when candidates exceeded their speaking time or interrupted one another. Amal Mudallali, a former Lebanese journalist and diplomat serving as the permanent representative of Lebanon to the UN, was disappointed by the performance of both candidates, calling it “the saddest debate I’ve ever seen in my life in America. “It was not really a debate,” Mudallali told Arab News. “It was just name calling, and it was personal attacks.”
Amal Mudallali. (Supplied)
She added: “Even when you had questions about very important issues, the answers were either the candidate stumbling or the other one changing the subject or not answering the question.”Indeed, many of the few exchanges on Middle East issues appeared to be personal attacks, lacking in depth and genuine policy discussion.
During the debate, Trump criticized Biden’s border policy, claiming it allowed terrorists into the US. “We have the largest number of terrorists coming into our country right now,” he said. “All terrorists all over the world, not just in South America, all over the world. They come from the Middle East, everywhere, all over the world. They’re pouring in. And this guy just left it open.”Trump also highlighted the people his administration had killed while he was president, including Daesh leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi and Iran’s Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani.
Biden fired back at Trump, saying: “Iran attacked American troops, and he didn’t do a thing.” Trump also claimed Hamas would never have mounted the Oct. 7 attack on Israel had he been president because the Palestinian militant group’s Iranian backers would not have had the means under his strict sanctions regime. “Israel would have never been invaded in a million years by Hamas. You know why? Because Iran was broke with me,” he said. “I wouldn’t let anybody do business with them. They ran out of money. They were broke. They had no money for Hamas. They had no money for anything. No money for terror.” The approach to US policy on Iran does appear to be an area in which Biden and Trump differ, with the former preferring to try and contain Tehran’s nuclear ambitions through the Obama-era deal he helped broker and the latter favoring a “maximum pressure” campaign. “The point of greatest difference between a President Trump versus a President Biden is certainly Iran,” Firas Maksad, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, told Arab News. “One favors more pressure and containment, while the other prefers diplomacy and attempting to accommodate Tehran’s regional ambitions.”Given the tone of the debate, Mudallali felt that neither contender won.
“There is no winner in this debate,” she said. “There’s only one loser, and it’s the United States of America that does not have a better candidate or better candidates that rise to its role in the world, to its importance, to its capability.”Mudallali said that what “little was discussed” about the conflict in Ukraine and violence in the Middle East, including the war in Gaza and the armed exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah along the Lebanese border, was “the most disappointing part” of the debate. “At a time when you have two major conflicts in the world, in Europe and in the Middle East, where you have thousands of people dying in Gaza, 37,000, and thousands and thousands of people in Ukraine, you see that a foreign policy debate in this debate was shallow. It was nonexistent,” she said. “There was no debate, no vision for America’s role for peace, for how we’re going to end these wars, how we’re going to finish this tragedy that’s going on. It was really, very, very sad to see that, to see that there is no real foreign policy debate. “There is no attempt to present a vision for the day after or the next day in the world, and how America and its role can contribute to ending these two conflicts.”Rana Abtar, a Washington D.C.-based talk show host for Asharq News, echoed the view of many commentators, saying that the debate had, above all, shone a spotlight on Biden’s limitations as a candidate. “It was obvious during this debate that President Biden was struggling with his speech and his performance,” Abtar told Arab News. “This will definitely not help him with the voters who have serious doubts and questions about his age.”
Rana Abtar. (Supplied)
However, Abtar said that Trump’s performance also had its shortcomings. “Trump, as usual, had a better performance. But he misstated a lot of facts,” she said. “This will not help him with independent voters. He needs their votes in order to win this election cycle.”Abtar said that the debate was heavily focused on domestic issues. “As expected, we heard a lot about the economy,” she said. “This is the number one topic that the American voter cares about. “We heard a lot of talk about immigration, a lot of attacks from President Trump on Biden, on the Biden administration’s performance when it comes to immigration, and we heard a lot of talk about abortion. This is mainly to attract the female vote. Both Trump and Biden are trying to win the female vote in order to also win the election in November. “What was interesting also was a focus on the vote of African Americans, and this is also a very important vote for both candidates to win the election in November.”As a result of the focus on domestic issues, Abtar said that neither candidate delved substantively into foreign affairs.
“Both candidates were asked a lot of questions regarding foreign policy,” she said. “We heard a lot of talk about Russia and Ukraine. “Trump, as expected, attacked President Biden when it comes to his policy toward Russia. He claimed the war in Ukraine wouldn’t have happened on his watch. In return, Biden attacked back, and he talked about the threats of Trump leaving NATO during his presidency. “But the main issue that was presented was obviously the Gaza war, and Trump wasn’t very clear on his stance regarding a Palestinian state.” Abtar said that Biden was likewise vague on his Middle East stance, leaving regional watchers none the wiser about the likely direction the administration will take should the incumbent be returned to office.
“When it comes to Biden, he talked about his plan of a ceasefire, of the release of the hostages, but also his plan wasn’t clear in his statements,” said Abtar. “So, in reality, we heard two very vague statements from the candidates, from the current president and the ex-president, without having anything substantial, any policy.” Referring to the Biden administration’s Gaza peace plan, first presented in May but yet to be accepted by Israel and Hamas, Abtar said that little clue was given about potential next steps.
“Although Biden presented this plan, and this proposal, it seems that it has reached a dead end,” she said. “The answers were not clear in that regard.”Highlighting his peace plan during the debate, Biden said “the first stage is to treat the hostages for a ceasefire” and the “second phase is a ceasefire with additional conditions.” He went on to say that he was supplying Israel with everything they needed, minus a 2000-pound bomb, because “they don’t work very well in populated areas. They kill a lot of innocent people. We are providing Israel with all the weapons they need and when they need them.”Joyce Karam, a veteran journalist and senior news editor at Al-Monitor, was likewise struck by the lackluster performance from Biden. “This was a very bad debate for President Joe Biden,” she told Arab News. “I can tell you as someone who had interviewed Biden when he was vice president and covered him in previous races, and had seen him in multiple debates, this was definitely his worst.
Joyce Karam. (Supplied)
“The decline in his performance was just obvious — the voice, the style, the delivery. The American president, he looked frail and he just looked weak.”Karam believes that Trump came out on top in part due to the weakness of Biden’s performance. “There is a consensus among observers that Donald Trump won this debate, and won it handily, not because he offered popular policies or visionary ideas, but because Biden was incoherent,” she said. “You just couldn’t understand sometimes what he (Biden) was saying, and he just couldn’t finish a sentence.”The question among many commentators now is whether the Democratic Party will rally behind Biden’s candidacy or seek a last-minute change to their nominee to run for the presidency in November. “I’m not sure that these two men (Biden and Trump) will debate again, or that Biden will ultimately be the Democratic nominee,” said Karam.
“The chatter has already started on Biden perhaps forgoing a second term and announcing that he has changed his mind and will not run for reelection. And then we may see an open Democratic convention in Chicago.”
A child holds up Palestinian flags as protesters, mainly Houthi supporters, take part in a demonstration in Sanaa, Yemen in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, June 28, 2024. (Reuters)
Returning to the theme of Thursday night’s clash, Karam said that the 90-minute debate lacked “much substance” on many issues, including the Middle East and the conflict in Gaza. “Most of the discussion was around the economy, social issues, healthcare, Medicare, the deficit, which is typical on these occasions,” she said. “What we saw, however, especially from Trump, was plenty of cliche statements, and from both candidates we didn’t see much, actually, of substance, when it came to the Middle East.
In one of the more memorable moments of the debate, Trump said Biden “has become like a Palestinian. But they don’t like him because he is a very bad Palestinian. He is a weak one.”Reacting to the comment, Karam said: “Trump accusing Biden of being a ‘bad Palestinian’ is just another level, and Biden did not exactly have convincing responses when he was asked about ending the war in Gaza and supporting Israel. It was the same talking points from the candidates that we heard in the last few months on the campaign trail.”Karam said there was “little actual debate on the big issues around US foreign policy” and on issues like how Trump would achieve his stated aim of ending the war in Ukraine. Instead there was a lot of “lofty talk, a lot of cliche statements, very little substance.”There was also “little on the global power competition between the US and China. There was almost nothing on the future of the US presence and influence in the Middle East, and absolutely nothing that I heard on Iran’s nuclear program.”
No matter who ultimately secures the keys to the White House in November, Maksad of the Middle East Institute believes some kind of normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia will be a priority for any incoming administration.
“There are few things that enjoy bipartisan consensus in America these days, but for the importance of encouraging greater regional integration in the Middle East, with potential Saudi-Israeli normalization as its centerpiece,” he said.

Carrier Gap Increases the Red Sea’s Vulnerability to Houthi Attacks
Elizabeth Dent/The Washington Institute/Jun 28, 2024
To fill the capabilities gap between carrier groups and prepare for potential Houthi escalation in the next few weeks, the United States and its partners need to implement stopgap measures and, ideally, surge more military assets into the region temporarily.
On June 22, the Defense Department announced that the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group (IKE CSG) had departed the Red Sea after a nearly eight-month deployment—a decision carried out despite the fact that Houthi forces in Yemen continue to attack international shipping. Before returning home, the IKE CSG is briefly visiting the East Mediterranean to reassure Israel, deter Hezbollah, and prevent further escalation on the Lebanon border. Its replacement, the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group (TR CSG), does not depart the Indo-Pacific for the Middle East until next week, after conducting the trilateral Freedom Edge exercise with Japan and South Korea.
The absence of a carrier strike group in the Red Sea for two to three weeks (accounting for transit time) sends a worrisome signal at a time when the Houthis are increasing the tempo and severity of their attacks on commercial and naval vessels. Although destroyers assigned to the IKE CSG might stay behind to provide temporary drone and missile defense capabilities, the gap before the TR CSG arrives will require heavy reliance on limited assets—destroyers, ground-based aircraft, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities—to defend a critical shipping lane. This raises the need for a temporary surge of partner forces or, failing that, a combination of urgent stopgap measures and heightened diplomatic coordination.
Departing Capabilities, Growing Threats
The Red Sea has lost several formidable capabilities with the departure of the IKE CSG: the carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and its air squadrons; the guided missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea, which can launch cruise missiles or long-range air-defense missiles; and at least part of a destroyer squadron that provides a defensive umbrella against air, surface, undersea, and ballistic missile attacks. Beginning in November, the IKE CSG played a crucial role in countering the Houthi antishipping threat, which first emerged that month in response to the Gaza war. It defended against several attacks by Houthi ballistic missiles, drones, and surface vessels, conducted rescue and lifesaving measures for vessels and mariners in distress, and launched strikes in Yemen to disrupt and degrade Houthi capabilities used in such attacks. Most recently, the IKE CSG assisted the crews of two targeted vessels: the Tutor, a Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned cargo ship that sank after it was attacked by the Houthis multiple times on June 12, and the Verbena, a Palauan-flagged, Ukrainian-owned, Polish-operated cargo ship struck on June 13.
Such attacks have worsened despite two separate defensive coalitions operating in the Red Sea—the U.S.-led Operation Prosperity Guardian and the European Union Naval Force Aspides—and several rounds of U.S. and British-led counterstrikes against the Houthis, often with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. In all, the Houthis have launched about 190 attacks since November 19 (see The Washington Institute’s maritime incident tracker for full details on these attacks).
More to the point, the risk of successful attacks may increase now that the IKE CSG is no longer there to intercept them. During the strike group’s deployment, the United States, Britain, and various coalition partners downed over 200 missiles and drones aimed at a wide variety of targets, including the CSG itself. For their part, the four frigates and one maritime surveillance aircraft operated by Aspides shot down over a dozen drones and ballistic missiles and provided assistance to over 160 ships.
Recommendations
Because the Houthis are unlikely to ignore the vulnerabilities created by IKE’s departure, U.S. and coalition assets in the region will need to implement stopgap measures until the TR CSG arrives. In particular, Washington should focus on steps that maintain pressure against the Houthis while balancing deterrence measures in the East Mediterranean.
The assets most needed to cover this gap are frigates, destroyers, and other maritime or air units capable of intercepting Houthi missiles and drones. They must also be able to assist vessels and mariners in distress in the event of successful attacks. And whatever forces are present in the area, the United States should be prepared to provide them with intelligence, early warning, and targeting support.
Washington should also strongly encourage international partners to deepen their cooperation and protect the global shipping industry by surging their own assets into the region. To be sure, the United States should be clear-eyed about partners’ potential willingness to commit substantial assets—or any assets at all. Pressuring them to act is still important, however, especially in the case of European and Arab partners who are most affected by the transit delays, ship damage, and other costs inflicted by the Houthis.
The commander of Aspides has publicly argued for surging EU assets, but European capitals may be reticent to do so without further assurances that the United States is committed to prioritizing the counter-Houthi mission. They also face domestic constraints on resourcing and prioritization as well as political sensitivities surrounding the Gaza war, making them wary of backlash at home.
Hence, Washington should reassure its coalition partners in private while publicly warning the Houthis that it remains focused on maintaining freedom of navigation in the Red Sea—by force if necessary. Simultaneously, partners need to recalibrate and reinforce their public messaging with strong, clear, united statements that the international community will not tolerate these illegal attacks. And they must be prepared to follow up these statements with action.
Private messaging to Tehran via diplomatic channels could also help dissuade Iranian and Houthi elements from exploiting the gap in coverage. Relatedly, U.S. officials should downgrade additional intelligence about Houthi-Iran coordination on weapons supply and maritime targeting, enabling partners to seed this information into their own public and private messaging.
The uptick in ship attacks is partly attributable to the waning of international support for the coalition in recent weeks. To protect international commerce and hold the Houthis accountable for their illegal acts, Washington will need to reinvigorate the coalition and expand international participation. The carrier gap also comes at a sensitive time in the Gaza war, with Israel’s Rafah campaign continuing to make headlines, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu scheduled to visit Washington next month, and tensions hitting new highs on the Lebanon border. To manage that problem set while simultaneously maintaining pressure against the Houthis, Washington will need to demonstrate new levels of commitment and capacity in the region.
*Elizabeth Dent recently joined The Washington Institute as a senior fellow after serving as director for the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.