English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For October 18/2024
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few;
therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke
10/01-07/:”After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead
of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said
to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the
Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. Go on your way. See,
I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no
bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first
say, “Peace to this house!” And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your
peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the
same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the labourer deserves
to be paid. Do not move about from house to house.”
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on October 17-18/2024
Elias Bejjani / Text and Video: A Spiritual Summit of Hypocrisy, Lacking
Lebanon’s Spirit, and Its Statement a Replica of Hezbollah’s Declarations
Elias Bejjani/Text & Video: The Epic Failure of Maarab Conference No. 2—Maronite
Misery Defined by Geagea and Aoun
Sinwar Holds Symbolic Importance for the Israelis, but Only Nasrallah’s
Assassination Has Struck a Fatal Blow to the Iranian Axis/Marwan El-Amin/October
17/2024
Netanyahu: ‘State-of-the-Art’ Russian Weapons Found in Lebanon
Hezbollah Says Israel Hasn’t Captured Any Villages in Southern Lebanon
Italy: UNIFIL Has Vital Role, Mission Must be Strengthened
Hezbollah's Fadlallah says Israeli army not in full control of 'any village' in
south
Hezbollah destroys more Israeli tanks near Lebanon border
Israel strikes east and south Lebanon
Lebanon's death toll in Israeli attacks surpasses 2,400
US announces 'immigration reprieve' due to Lebanon conflict
German UNIFIL warship intercepts drone off Lebanon
Beirut building housing Al Jazeera, Norway Embassy evacuated after threats
Netanyahu says civil war in Lebanon not Israel's aim
Berri says truce before president, voices fear over Hezbollah MPs' participation
in vote
Lebanon’s Relief Commission Warehouses Filled with Saudi Aid for Distribution
On ‘The Defense of Lebanon/Hazem Saghiehr/Asharq Al Awsat/October 17/2024
US targets sanctions evasion network tied to Hezbollah
Argentina Arrests Hezbollah Crypto Financing Suspects/Toby Dershowitz, Will
Erens & Ari Ben Am/FDD Policy Brief/October 17/2024
IDF eliminates Hezbollah battalion commander in southern Lebanon, continues Gaza
operations
A letter to Lebanon: Could Northern Arrows free Lebanon from Hezbollah?/Gil
Troy/Jerusalem Post/October 17/2024
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on October 16-17/2024
Officials to 'Post': Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar killed in Rafah, Gaza Strip
Middle East latest: Israel says Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is dead
345,000 Gazans face ‘catastrophic’ hunger this winter: UN
U.S. Deploys THAAD Battery to Israel
UN Agency: Gaza Unemployment Surges to 80% as Economy Collapses
Iranian Commander Repeats Threats to Israel
Biden humanitarian envoy says Israel is too close an ally to suspend arms -
report
U.S., Canada Designate Samidoun a Sham Charity Front for the PFLP Terrorist
Group
Saudi FM receives phone call from Secretary Blinken
Egypt's Sisi meets with Iran's foreign minister
Iran Guards chief warns will hit Israel ‘painfully’ if attacks Iranian targets
Houthis say US will ‘pay the price’ for airstrikes on Yemen
UN Report: 1.1 Billion People in Acute Poverty
Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources
on October 16-17/2024
One Day in October/Clifford D. May/The Washington Times/October 17/2024
Iran Should Stay on the Global Terror Finance and Money Laundering
Blacklist/Toby Dershowitz & Saeed Ghasseminejad/Real Clear World/October 17/2024
How Israel Got Its Mojo Back/Jonathan Schanzer/Commentary/October 17/2024
Islamic Militias in the Central African Republic/Uzay Bulut/Gatestone Institute/Gatestone
Institute/October 17, 2024
If Western Laws Were Actually Enforced, the Koran Would Be Banned/Raymond
Ibrahim/The Stream/October 17, 2024
Syria at risk of being dragged into regional war/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab
News/October 17, 2024
The Iran Front is Being Tamed Preemptively/Nabil Amr/Asharq Al Awsat/October
17/2024
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News &
Editorials published
on October 16-17/2024
Elias Bejjani / Text and Video: A Spiritual
Summit of Hypocrisy, Lacking Lebanon’s Spirit, and Its Statement a Replica of
Hezbollah’s Declarations; All It Lacked Was Praise for the Shameless Slogan of
"Army, People, and Resistance"
A Time of Decay, Misery, and Dwarfs Alienated from Lebanon's Identity, Mission,
and History
Elias Bejjani/ctober 16/ 2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/10/135763/
To start, anyone who cannot speak the truth in this critical moment—while the
war between Israel and Hezbollah rages, leaving behind casualties, destruction,
and displacement—anyone who lacks the courage to call things by their true
names, to testify without distortion, cowardice, or selfish motives, no matter
their position, be it clergyman, politician, party leader, media personality, or
even an ordinary citizen—it is a thousand times better for them to remain
silent! They should tie their tongues and cease their hollow, useless talk. They
should stay at home and stop burdening the Lebanese with their nonsense and
lies. Silence is far more merciful than the deceitful drivel of those who pander
and speak out of cowardice. Especially if all they are going to offer is the
pinnacle of hypocrisy, deceit, and denial of reality, hiding behind misleading
words that deceive themselves and others.
In this context, Patriarch Al-Rahi has utterly failed in his ecclesiastical and
pastoral duties. He has become estranged from the suffering of Lebanon and
indifferent to the injustices, oppression, violations of rights,
marginalization, and division his community and country have endured since he
was installed as Patriarch by agents of occupation. It would have been better if
he had shut the doors of Bkerke, locked himself in with his civilian and
ecclesiastical team, who are immersed in worldly, material pursuits, and
retreated in prayer, humbly seeking forgiveness and repentance for the mistakes
and sins they have committed. Only after sincere repentance could they begin to
atone.
Many of us, both in Lebanon and abroad, ask: What did this so-called spiritual
summit achieve? It was nothing more than a summit of hypocrisy, blindness, and
deceit, ignoring the root causes of the war, and failing to hold accountable
those who dragged Lebanon into this conflict against the will of its people.
There is no doubt—the culprit is Hezbollah, the Iranian jihadist and criminal
entity.
Anyone who reads the summit’s final statement (attached below in both Arabic and
English) will immediately realize that it might as well have been written by
Hezbollah’s propaganda machine. The only thing missing was the forced mention of
the worn-out slogan, “Army, People, Resistance.”
The statement deliberately ignored Hezbollah’s heinous crimes and the group’s
declaration of war on Israel. It was filled with meaningless, outdated phrases
that no longer fool anyone, all aimed solely at attacking the State of Israel
while conveniently bypassing the core issue: Hezbollah’s destructive occupation
of Lebanon.
If the participants of this spiritual summit had truly wanted to help Lebanon—to
liberate it, to restore its sovereignty, independence, and free will, to end the
war, and to rid the country of Hezbollah’s Iranian-backed terrorist
occupation—they would have acted boldly. By now, they should have packed their
bags, headed straight to the United Nations Security Council, and demanded that
Lebanon be placed under Chapter VII of the UN Charter as a failed and rogue
state, needing international protection and intervention.
In short, this so-called spiritual summit was nothing but a gathering of
hypocrisy and deceit, completely detached from Lebanon’s mission and sanctity,
and utterly incapable of bearing witness to the truth and justice. It was doomed
to fail before it even began and will have no impact whatsoever on the course of
the war.
Elias
Bejjani/Text & Video: The Epic Failure of Maarab Conference No. 2—Maronite
Misery Defined by Geagea and Aoun
Elias Bejjani, October 14, 2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/10/135690/
Let’s cut to the chase: the second Maarab Conference held
last Saturday was a colossal failure, just like the first. It was a disgrace to
the alienated Christian leadership, disconnected from the realities unfolding in
Lebanon and across the Middle East. The sole purpose of the conference was not
to address the concerns of Lebanon, its people, or the Christian presence under
Iranian occupation. Nor did it focus on the ongoing war between Hezbollah and
Israel, or the disasters plaguing the nation. What Geagea sought, and will never
achieve, is the fulfillment of his grandiose delusion of being the "one and only
Christian leader." This delusion has blinded him for years, and because of it,
untold catastrophes have befallen the Christians. Let us not forget that he
seized the leadership of the Lebanese Forces Party (LF) through violence,
without ever being elected to that position.
It is evident that this so-called conference achieved nothing but exposing
Geagea's illusions. There will be no presidency, no first lady, and it’s time to
wake up from these delusional daydreams. His obsessive hallucinations will
likely lead him to call for a third Maarab Conference soon, driven by the same
baseless fantasy of being the "sole Christian leader." Those who fail to learn
from their mistakes are doomed to repeat them.
On the other side, Aoun, his son-in-law, and their opportunistic herd held
prayers for the martyrs of October 13, 1990—the very martyrs they betrayed. It
was Aoun and his cronies who jumped over their blood, forming alliances with
those who killed them. Aoun and his son-in-law and their herd of puppets, just
like Geagea, live in a distorted reality and stuck in a 1990 déjà vu, as if they
were still in the presidential palace.
A Brief on Samir Geagea’s Failures
Geagea lacks any vision, and in every pivotal moment, his decisions have been
blind and destructive for the Christians. Some examples include: the execution
of two men he falsely accused of trying to assassinate him, his participation in
the killing of Tony Frangieh, his surrender of the Lebanese Forces’ weapons, his
drowning in the Taif Agreement, his idiotic alliance of mutual personal interest
with Aoun, his election of Aoun for presidency, and his failure to flee during
the Syrian occupation and stupidly go willingly to prison (even Christ
fled multiple times). He even extended condolences in Qardaha over Basil
al-Assad’s death, abandoned the South Lebanon Army members, and showed cowardice
in defending them. His hypocrisy knows no bounds, claiming Hezbollah’s martyrs
are like those of the Lebanese Forces, while also falsely stating that Hezbollah
liberated the South when he knows Israel withdrew by internal decision. His
shameless flattery of Hezbollah's MPs, calling them Lebanese representatives of
the Shiites, while in reality, Hezbollah holds the Shiite population hostage and
imposes its MPs by force. He opposed the Orthodox electoral law and sidelined
every intellectual in his circle. All this, coupled with his narcissistic
delusion of being the "sole Christian leader," leads to a total lack of
leadership and vision.
In conclusion, All Maronites' Failures, Disasters, and Downfalls since 1986 are
the Direct Products of Aoun & Geagea's Narcissistic and Blind Agendas"
Sinwar Holds Symbolic Importance for
the Israelis, but Only Nasrallah’s Assassination Has Struck a Fatal Blow to the
Iranian Axis.
Marwan El-Amin/October 17/2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/10/135824/
(Translated and freely quoted from Arabic by: Elias Bejjani, LCCC Publisher &
Editor)
In a statement he shared on Facebook today addressing the killing of Sinwar,
Journalist Marwan El-Amin highlighted the significance of Yahya Sinwar to the
Israelis, but emphasized that the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader
of Hezbollah, would be the fatal blow to the so-called Iranian Resistance Axis.
He explained that after several months of the October 7 operation, both Iran and
Hezbollah have come to realize that the Hamas card has fallen. El-Amin pointed
out that the leaders of Hamas in Gaza, including Sinwar, would not survive this
war.
“The end of Hamas and the elimination of Sinwar represent a significant loss for
the Iranian Axis, but they do not deliver a crushing blow like the assassination
of Nasrallah would,” he said.
El-Amin elaborated that since the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, Nasrallah
has been the principal leader of the Iranian Axis, stretching from Yemen to
Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine. He added that Nasrallah has been a key
player in shaping the policies and decisions of the Iranian Revolutionary
Guard’s command center, underscoring that he was the architect of Iran’s
influence beyond its borders.
“The assassination of Nasrallah would mean the destruction of the backbone of
the Iranian Axis,” El-Amin pointed out. He continued, saying that while Sinwar
was merely a commander of the Gaza “division” within this axis, his
assassination held symbolic importance to the Israelis due to his involvement in
the October 7 operation. However, El-Amin concluded, “Only the assassination of
Nasrallah has struck the Iranian Axis at its core.”
Netanyahu: ‘State-of-the-Art’ Russian
Weapons Found in Lebanon
Asharq Al Awsat/October 17/2024
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a French newspaper that Israeli
forces had found “state-of-the-art” Russian weapons in searches of Hezbollah
bases in south Lebanon. Netanyahu highlighted to Le Figaro newspaper, in an
interview released Wednesday, that under a 2006 UN Security Council resolution
only the Lebanese army was allowed to have weapons south of the country’s key
Litani river. “However, in this area, Hezbollah has dug hundreds of tunnels and
caches, where we have just found a quantity of state-of-the-art Russian
weapons,” the French article quoted Netanyahu as saying. The Washington Post,
quoting Israeli officials, has reported that Russian and Chinese anti-tank
weapons had been found in Israel’s raids inside Lebanon since it escalated its
conflict with the Iran-backed Hezbollah last month. The Israeli army did not
immediately respond to an AFP question about the prime minister’s comments.
Israel says the aim of its military campaign against Hezbollah is to make the
region safe so that about 60,000 evacuated residents of northern Israel can
return to their homes. Many left their homes because of cross-border shelling
between Israel and Hezbollah after the launch of the Gaza war on October 7 last
year. “A new civil war in Lebanon would be a tragedy. It is certainly not our
aim to provoke one. Israel does not intend to interfere in Lebanon’s internal
affairs,” Netanyahu told Le Figaro. “Our only aim is to allow our citizens
living along the Lebanon frontier to go home and feel safe,” he added.
Hezbollah Says Israel Hasn’t Captured Any Villages in Southern Lebanon
Beirut: Asharq Al Awsat/October 17/2024
A Hezbollah lawmaker said on Thursday the Israeli military had not so far
captured any villages in southern Lebanon. "They thought that by assassinating
our leader and committing crimes against our people they would achieve what they
want, and some rushed to reap the results, but the resistance has begun a new
phase of resisting the aggression," MP Hassan Fadlallah said. "The choice of the
resistance leadership is to continue fighting with all means to prevent the
enemy from achieving its goals and force it to stop its aggression," he added.
Fadlallah also told reporters that Hezbollah's leadership was carefully
coordinating with Speaker Nabih Berri in efforts to secure a ceasefire in the
fighting with Israeli forces. Hezbollah said Thursday it has destroyed two
Israeli tanks near the Lebanese border with "guided missiles", after close
combat with Israeli troops staging incursions in the area. The group targeted
two Merkava tanks in Labbouneh near the coastal border town of al-Naqoura, as
attacks escalated after Israel intensified bombing of the country last month.
The attacks burned the tanks and caused casualties, Hezbollah said. Hezbollah
later targeted a group of soldiers between Kfarkila and Adaisseh. The group also
targeted Thursday Kfar Vradim and Misgav Am in northern Israel. The Israeli
military said it has killed a local Hezbollah commander in a southern Lebanese
town near the border. The military said Thursday that an airstrike on Bint Jbeil
killed Hussein Awada, who it said was in charge of firing projectiles into
Israel from areas near the town. Israel bombed several towns in south Lebanon,
including Houla, Zawtar, Arnoun, Aita al-Shaab, Anqoun, al-Rihan, Arab Salim,
Kounine, Hanine, Ramia, Kfarkila, Kfarshouba, Shebaa and Siddiqine. The Israeli
army also ordered residents of al-Hawsh, al-Abbasiyeh, Tayr Dibba and Bourj el-Shemali
in the Tyre district to evacuate and later struck the area. In the eastern Bekaa
valley, Israel's army raided the towns of Tamnnine, Saraaine and Sefri. Military
spokesman Avichay Adraee had ordered residents of the towns to leave, warning
that the area would again be targeted by Israeli forces.
Italy: UNIFIL Has Vital Role, Mission Must be Strengthened
Asharq Al Awsat/October 17/2024
The UN peacekeeping mission to Lebanon is vital to ending war in the region and
needs to be strengthened, not withdrawn from combat zones as Israel has
demanded, Italy's defense minister said on Thursday. The UN mission known as
UNIFIL is stationed in southern Lebanon to monitor hostilities along the
demarcation line with Israel -- an area that has seen fierce clashes this month
between Israeli troops and Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters. Israel has said the
UN forces are providing a human shield for Hezbollah and has fired at the UNIFIL
bases repeatedly over the past week, injuring several peacekeepers. Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says UNIFIL should temporarily "get out of harm's
way". Italy has long been a major contributor to the multi-national operation
and has denounced Israel for its actions, straining relations between two
nations, which have been very close under Italian Prime Minister Giorgia
Meloni's leadership. "Israel needs to understand that these (UN) soldiers are
not working for any one side. They are there to help maintain peace and promote
regional stability," Defense Minister Guido Crosetto told parliament on
Thursday. He said the resolution establishing the UNIFIL mandate was last
revised in 2006 and needed updating. "UNIFIL is a complex mission with a mandate
that is difficult to implement, has inadequate rules of engagement and forces
that are not equipped for the current conflict," he said. Crosetto has called on
the United Nations to update its operational capacity, including creating a
rapid deployment force to enhance UNIFIL's freedom of movement and giving them
more fire power. UNIFIL is meant to ensure peace in southern Lebanon and
guarantee that only the regular Lebanese army is present in the area. However,
it has proved incapable of preventing Hezbollah from building up its forces or
preventing Israeli incursions. "The practical disconnect between the assigned
mission and the capacity to implement it makes it more necessary than ever to
rethink and strengthen UNIFIL," Crosetto said. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel
Katz said on Wednesday that Israel saw UNIFIL as playing a key role in the "day
after" war on Hezbollah. Meloni is due to travel to Beirut on Friday to discuss
the situation with Lebanese officials -- the first Western leader to visit the
country since the latest surge of violence. Crosetto said he would also go to
Beirut and Tel Aviv next week.
"I believe that Lebanon is a key piece for the stability of the entire Middle
East," he said. "If we cannot even find the strength to have a strong, unified
international action in a place like this, we probably won't succeed anywhere."
Hezbollah's Fadlallah says Israeli
army not in full control of 'any village' in south
Agence France Presse/October 17/2024
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said Thursday that the Israeli army was not
fully in control of any south Lebanon village. "Until now, the enemy has been
unable to take full control of any village," Fadlallah told a press conference
at the parliament, adding that Israel was applying "a scorched earth policy
through the systematic destruction of villages... seeking to impose a buffer
zone with no people, buildings, fields or trees"."They thought that by
assassinating our leader and committing crimes against our people they would
achieve what they want, and some rushed to reap the results, but the resistance
has begun a new phase of resisting the aggression," Fadlallah said.
"The choice of the resistance leadership is to continue
fighting with all means to prevent the enemy from achieving its goals and force
it to stop its aggression," he added. Fadlallah said the aim of his group now is
to stop the war but he refused to go into details saying that parliament speaker
Nabih Berri and caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati are leading the efforts.
"Our goal today is to end the aggression. We will not go into any detail related
to the mechanism or solutions," he said when asked whether Hezbollah still
insists that it will only stop fighting once Israel’s offensive on Gaza stops.
Fadlallah said that Israel has not been able to push deeper into Lebanon, stop
Hezbollah rocket fire or create the conditions for its citizens to return to
communities in the north near the border, which Israel says is its main war aim.
Hezbollah destroys more Israeli tanks near Lebanon border
Agence France Presse/October 17/2024
Hezbollah said Thursday it has destroyed two Israeli tanks near the Lebanese
border with "guided missiles", after close combat with Israeli troops staging
incursions in the area. The group targeted two Merkava tanks in Labbouneh near
the coastal border town of al-Naqoura, as attacks escalated after Israel
intensified bombing of the country last month. The attacks burned the tanks and
caused casualties, Hezbollah said. Hezbollah later targeted a group of soldiers
between Kfarkila and Odaisseh. The group also targeted Thursday Kfar Vradim and
Misgav Am in northern Israel. On Wednesday, Hezbollah fired "a salvo of rockets"
at the northern Israeli town of Safed, in "defense of Lebanon and its people."
It was the third such attack in 24 hours. The Israeli
military said it has killed a local Hezbollah commander in a southern Lebanese
town near the border.The military said Thursday that an airstrike on Bint Jbeil
killed Hussein Awada, who it said was in charge of firing projectiles into
Israel from areas near the town.
Israel strikes east and south Lebanon
Agence France Presse/October 17/2024
Israel's army raided Thursday the towns of Tamnnine, Saraaine and Sefri in the
Bekaa region.Military spokesman Avichay Adraee had ordered residents of the
Bekaa towns to leave, warning that the area would again be targeted by Israeli
forces. "Urgent warning to the residents of the Bekaa region, specifically those
located in the building marked on the map," Adraee said on X. "You are located
near facilities and interests that belong to Hezbollah, which will be targeted
by the Defense Forces (army) in the near future."In south Lebanon, Israel bombed
several towns including Houla, Zawtar, Arnoun, Aita al-Shaab, Anqoun, al-Rihan,
Arab Salim, Kounine, Hanine, Ramia, Kfarkila, Kfarshouba, Shebaa and Siddiqine.
The Israeli army also ordered residents of al-Hawsh, al-Abbasiyeh, Tayr Dibba
and Bourj el-Shemali in the Tyre district to evacuate and later struck the area.
Lebanon's death toll in Israeli attacks surpasses 2,400
Associated Press/October 17/2024 Lebanon’s crisis response unit said 45 people
were killed and 179 wounded in the past 24 hours. The
new numbers announced Thursday raises the total toll over the past year of
conflict between Israel and Hezbollah to 2,412 killed and 11,285 wounded,
according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. The crisis response unit report also
recorded 96 airstrikes and incidents of shelling in the past day, mostly
concentrated in southern Lebanon and the Nabatiyeh province.
Some 1,096 centers — including educational complexes,
vocational institutes, universities, and other institutions — are currently
sheltering 190,882 people, including 44,121 families, displaced by the Israeli
offensive in Lebanon, the report says. Among these shelters, 900 are full. The
fighting in Lebanon has driven 1.2 million people from their homes, including
more than 400,000 children, according to the U.N. children’s agency. The
Lebanese Ministry of Education has reported that 77% of public schools are out
of service, either due to their use as shelters or their location in areas
directly affected by the war. People continue to flow across the Lebanon-Syria
border. Between Sept. 23 and Oct. 17, Lebanese General Security has recorded
333,893 Syrian citizens and 132,074 Lebanese citizens who have crossed into
Syria, the report said.
US announces 'immigration reprieve' due to Lebanon conflict
Agence France Presse/October 17/2024
Washington will allow some Lebanese nationals to temporarily remain in the
United States and apply for work authorization due to unsafe conditions in their
home country, the Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday. The
so-called Temporary Protected Status designation will provide an "immigration
reprieve" to eligible Lebanese due to the "ongoing armed conflict and
extraordinary and temporary conditions in Lebanon," the department said in a
statement. Those who are approved "will be able to
remain in the country while the United States is in discussions to achieve a
diplomatic resolution for lasting stability and security across the
Israel-Lebanon border," it added. Hezbollah began low-intensity attacks on
Israeli troops a day after its Palestinian ally Hamas staged an unprecedented
attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which triggered war in the Gaza Strip. The
Lebanon conflict has rapidly escalated in recent weeks, with Israel carrying out
extensive strikes at both the border and further inside the country and
launching ground operations inside its neighbor to the north. The United Nations
recently said one quarter of Lebanese territory was under Israeli military
displacement orders, while the International Organization for Migration has said
at least 690,000 people have been displaced by the conflict.
German UNIFIL warship intercepts drone off Lebanon
Agence France Presse/October 17/2024
A German warship deployed as part of the UNIFIL peacekeeping force in Lebanon
has shot down a drone off the Lebanese coast, the German army said Thursday. "An
unidentifiable unmanned aerial vehicle was detected in the vicinity" of the "Ludwigshafen
am Rhein" corvette and was "brought down in a controlled manner", an army
spokesman said. The drone’s explosive load detonated in the process. The
military said it did not know where the drone came from. The military didn’t
specify the location of the ship at the time of the incident. The Ludwigshafen
am Rhein is currently participating in the UNIFIL mission in Lebanon. Germany
also has soldiers at the mission’s headquarters in Naqoura.
Beirut building housing Al Jazeera, Norway Embassy
evacuated after threats
Agence France Presse/October 17/2024
Norway evacuated its embassy in Beirut on Thursday after the building housing it
and also housing offices of the Al Jazeera news network received a bomb threat.
"We can confirm that the building where the Norwegian embassy in Beirut is
located has received a bomb threat today," Norway's foreign ministry spokeswoman
Ragnhild Haland Simenstad told AFP in a written statement. The small number of
staff still working there had been evacuated. "The acts of war in Lebanon make
the security situation very unpredictable and tense. This threat is another
example of that," Simenstad said. "The Foreign Ministry is continuously
assessing the situation, including the safety of our colleagues who work in
Beirut. The embassy has already implemented measures, as we have routines for in
situations like this." Mazen Ibrahim, Al Jazeera's Lebanon bureau chief, said
the building’s administration received three calls telling everyone to leave the
building, which he said houses the embassies of Norway and Azerbaijan, as well
as dozens of offices. He said it was unclear who called in the warning. Israel
has ordered the evacuation of several buildings, as well as entire cities, towns
and villages, as it strikes what it says are targets linked to Hezbollah.
There have also been several instances of evacuation warning calls and text
messages that turned out to be bogus, which Lebanese security agencies say they
are investigating.
Israel has struck central Beirut on four occasions and all came without
warnings.
Netanyahu says civil war in Lebanon not Israel's aim
Agence France Presse/October 17/2024
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a French newspaper that Israeli
forces had found "state-of-the-art" Russian weapons in searches of Hezbollah
bases in south Lebanon. Netanyahu highlighted to Le
Figaro newspaper, in an interview released Wednesday, that under a 2006 U.N.
Security Council resolution only the Lebanese army was allowed to have weapons
south of the country's key Litani river. "However, in this area, Hezbollah has
dug hundreds of tunnels and caches, where we have just found a quantity of
state-of-the-art Russian weapons," the French article quoted Netanyahu as
saying. The Washington Post, quoting Israeli officials, has reported that
Russian and Chinese anti-tank weapons had been found in Israel's raids inside
Lebanon since it escalated its conflict with Hezbollah last month. The Israeli
army did not immediately respond to an AFP question about the prime minister's
comments. Israel says the aim of its military campaign is to make the region
safe so that about 60,000 evacuated residents of northern Israel can return to
their homes. Many left their homes because of cross-border shelling between
Israel and Hezbollah after the launch of the Gaza war on October 7 last year. "A
new civil war in Lebanon would be a tragedy. It is certainly not our aim to
provoke one. Israel does not intend to interfere in Lebanon's internal affairs,"
Netanyahu told Le Figaro. "Our only aim is to allow our citizens living along
the Lebanon frontier to go home and feel safe," he added. Hezbollah and Israel
fought a gradually mounting artillery duel after the Hamas attacks on Israel set
off the Gaza war. Since Israel started raids on Lebanon, at least 2,000 people
have died in Lebanon, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry
figures. The real toll is likely higher.
Berri says truce before president, voices fear over
Hezbollah MPs' participation in vote
Naharnet/October 17/2024
U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert stressed to
Speaker Nabih Berri days ago "the need to call for" a presidential election
session in parliament as soon as possible, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on
Thursday. "Though Berri was clear in his response that the time is inappropriate
to elect a president now because Lebanon is under an Israeli aggression and the
priority is for a ceasefire, Plasschaert insisted on her demand, saying a
president's election could be the solution's key and could lead to a ceasefire,"
the daily said. This prompted Berri to tell the U.N. official that he has
concerns over the safety of the Hezbollah MPs who would take part in the vote,
seeing as Israel might try to "assassinate" them, al-Akhbar added.
Plasschaert whether there are any security guarantees in that
regard, prompting her to say that "no one can guarantee that that wouldn't
happen," the newspaper said.
Lebanon’s Relief Commission Warehouses Filled with Saudi
Aid for Distribution
Beirut: Asharq Al Awsat/October 17/2024
Lebanon’s High Relief Commission has received hundreds of tons of Saudi relief
aid at Rafic Hariri International Airport, delivered through an air bridge set
up by Saudi Arabia to help over a million refugees displaced by the Israeli war.
The Commission deployed its staff and hundreds of volunteers to distribute the
aid to more than 1.2 million refugees. Convoys have started transporting the
supplies from the Commission’s warehouses in Beirut to shelters in the capital,
Mount Lebanon, Bekaa, and northern regions. Lebanon’s Environment Minister
Nasser Yassin, Coordinator of the National Disaster and Crisis Response
Committee, thanked Saudi King Salman, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and the
Saudi people for setting up the air bridge to deliver urgent aid to Lebanon. He
noted that 1.2 million people have been displaced from their homes due to the
crisis. Yassin highlighted Saudi Arabia’s long-standing support for Lebanon,
from the civil war and the Taif Agreement to its key role during the 2006 war.
“Once again, Saudi Arabia is standing by Lebanon in these difficult times,” he
said. Maj. Gen. Mohammad Khair, head of the High Relief Commission, called Saudi
Arabia’s quick response a testament to the strong bond between the two
countries. He told Asharq Al-Awsat that Saudi aid is the largest and most
significant so far, boosting Arab and international support for Lebanon. Four
out of ten aid planes have already arrived, with the last one expected next
Tuesday. Saudi Arabia's support for Lebanon extends beyond the air bridge and
aid shipments. Khair announced that a Saudi delegation, sent by Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman, has arrived to help distribute aid and assess the urgent
needs of refugees. The Saudi aid includes medical supplies delivered to the
Ministry of Health, large quantities of food and shelter items, and 110,000
packs of baby formula, which have been greatly welcomed by displaced families.
Suleiman Shahrour, Secretary-General of the High Relief Commission, praised
Saudi Arabia’s solidarity with Lebanon and thanked the Kingdom for its support.
He called on other countries to continue providing aid, as thousands of people
are still in desperate need of food and shelter.
On ‘The Defense of Lebanon’!
Hazem Saghiehr/Asharq Al Awsat/October 17/2024
It might be apt to characterize the contention between two popular schools of
thought as one that stems from a divergence in how each identifies causes and
interprets causality. One school understands causality through particular events
and occurrences, without disregarding psychological, economic, or other
backgrounds. Japan, for example, had expansionist and military ambitions in the
1940s, but it is the attack on Pearl Harbor that explains the war between Japan
and the United States. As for the other school of thought, its list of reasons
is drawn from inalienable, fundamental essences. Given that Japan was an
expansionist power, this school asserts, war was always inevitable, and it would
have broken out whether Japan attacked Pearl Harbor or not. If it had not been
sparked by Pearl Harbor, some other occurrence would have led to the same
outcome. The fact is that the second school, even when its ideas are formulated
in secular or even atheistic terms, is captive to interpretations that are
ultimately religious. Indeed, everything that happens in this world is the
result of unstoppable wills, be they virtuous wills that God stands behind or
wicked wills that Satan stands behind. On the other hand, the first school
emphasizes the role of human initiative and its capacity for altering outcomes,
thereby allocating a more prominent role to politics, diplomacy, and stances,
and, by extension, human beings’ responsibility for their actions. Those
following the two sides of the argument regarding the "defense of Lebanon" can
identify the influence of these two schools of thought on these two sides and
the approaches of their respective proponents. The claims of those who defend
the idea that the resistance protects Lebanon are grounded on the premise that
Israel is an expansionist belligerent state that will inevitably launch on
Lebanon, if not today, then tomorrow. While Israel's propensity for aggression
should not be underestimated, this interpretation dismisses tangible events and
episodes in favor of assumed essences, like that suggested by Iran’s theory of
"absolute evil." And so, there is never any reference to the Rhodes Armistice of
1949, which introduced a period of calm that continued until the late 1960s, nor
is there any mention of the fact that the Palestinian militants’ operations from
the Lebanese border- especially those launched after the Cairo Agreement in
1969- are what led to the limited Israeli incursion of 1978 and the subsequent
fully-fledged invasion of 1982. The fact that the kidnapping of two Israeli
soldiers (six years after the Lebanese territory that had previously been
occupied by Israel was liberated), is what led to the 2006 war and the
destruction it left, is not addressed either, nor is how the current "support
and distraction war" has caused and continues to cause the disasters that are
currently unfolding.
In other words, eventual reasons for why things happen in the world do not
exist; only intentions and ambitions that cannot be intervened upon, influenced,
or altered exist. The only interventions available to us, in dealing with this
inescapable destiny, are self-annihilation or the annihilation of the other.
Just two days ago, we saw a microcosm of how this mindset works. An Israeli air
raid on the Maronite village of Ayto (northern Lebanon) killed 22 people, but
media outlets affiliated with the Resistance Axis have refused to acknowledge
that the calamity in Ayto occurred because a Hezbollah operative, Ahmad Faqih,
had sought refuge in the village. The reason for this is that the village was
bound to be targeted by Israel’s evil, with or without Ahmad Faqih. Like events,
reflecting on consequences, which should be the basis upon which actions are
judged, is also dismissed- from the death and destruction, the exacerbation of
communal schisms, to Lebanon losing its influential friends, both politically
and economically and in both the Arab world and globally, to Iran’s growing
influence, which increasing numbers of assessments suggest that this influence
has become a replacement for Hezbollah’s leadership. Here too, instead of
discussing outcomes, we find the emergence of another mantra about the
inevitable costs we have to bear for national liberation. Mind you, the
extremely high costs currently being borne by the Lebanese pave the way for a
world that is significantly less free, less prosperous, and less internally
united.
Comparisons, all comparisons, are dismissed. It is never said, for example, that
the agreement of May 17, 1983 (a treaty that had always been and continues to
be, demonized and labeled treacherous) would have protected the country far more
than Hezbollah's resistance is currently supposedly protecting it. Nor is it
said that Egypt and Jordan, which have signed peace treaties with Israel, have
not had their territory occupied nor been attacked by Israel, or that they are
doing incomparably better than Lebanon and Syria, which have rejected
reconciliation and peace. Nor is anything ever said about Israel handing Taba
(in the Sinai Peninsula) over to Egypt in compliance with the 1988 decision of
an international arbitration panel. When people die for theories that do not
explain the world through events, do not judge actions based on outcomes, and do
not compare between cases in which contrasting impulses were pursued, leading to
contrasting results, it is a moment in which fallacy meets death and
destruction. This fallacy might reflect a dysfunctional and decrepit state of
mind, but it undoubtedly ends in blatant lies that demean the mind and serve to
protect only the misinformation and infantilization of citizens.
US targets sanctions evasion network tied to Hezbollah
Reuters/October 17/2024
The United States imposed sanctions on Tuesday on what it described as a
Lebanon-based sanctions evasion network that funnels millions of dollars to
Hezbollah. The action targeted three individuals linked to Hezbollah's finance
arm and four Lebanon-based companies registered to conceal ties to the militant
group, according to a Treasury Department statement. The U.S. also sanctioned
three individuals involved in the production and sale of the amphetamine known
as captagon, who it said have funded the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
and its allies, including Hezbollah. "Today's action underscores (Hezbollah's)
destabilizing influence within Lebanon and on the wider region, as the group,
its affiliates, and its supporters continue to finance their operations through
covert involvement in commercial trade and the illicit trafficking of captagon,”
Bradley T. Smith, acting undersecretary of Treasury for terrorism and financial
intelligence, said in the statement. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter
provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here.
Argentina Arrests Hezbollah Crypto Financing Suspects
Toby Dershowitz, Will Erens & Ari Ben Am/FDD Policy Brief/October 17/2024
Argentine authorities arrested four individuals last month suspected of
financing Hezbollah using a cryptocurrency wallet. As Hezbollah has increased
its military action against Israel, these arrests signal Argentina’s
determination to deny the group vital funds for terror. The arrests resulted
from several raids that federal police carried out in two different provinces.
In addition to the wallet connected to Hezbollah, police also seized weapons,
electronic devices, and additional virtual wallets in the suspects’ possession.
In June 2023, Israel’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF)
identified the virtual wallet that led Argentine police to their targets. The
wallet’s operator was Tawfiq Muhammad Sa’id al-Law, a suspected Hezbollah
financier. Israeli authorities also identified 39 additional cryptocurrency
wallets suspected of funneling money to Hezbollah and Iran’s Quds Force and
seized the equivalent of $1.7 million.
Al-Law worked with senior Hezbollah figures under U.S. sanctions to operate
Hezbollah’s crypto funding infrastructure, according to Chainalysis, a company
that identifies cryptocurrency threats and vulnerabilities. In March, OFAC
sanctioned al-Law for terrorism financing and publicly identified the virtual
wallet he was using. The Argentine Financial Information Unit (UIF) then
identified a Colombian citizen living in Argentina suspected of using that
wallet to transfer funds to Hezbollah. The UIF is a governmental agency that
monitors compliance with Argentina’s Anti-Money Laundering Law.
Argentine authorities believe 34 transactions worth $1.8 million involving the
sanctioned wallet were made between March and June of this year. Hezbollah,
financed and armed by the Islamic Republic of Iran, has a history of terrorist
activities in Argentina and South America’s Tri-Border Area, where Argentina’s
border meets those of Brazil and Paraguay. In 1992, Islamic Jihad, which
operates under the Hezbollah umbrella, bombed the Israeli Embassy in Buenos
Aires, killing 29 people. In 1994, Hezbollah operatives bombed the AMIA Jewish
Community Center in Buenos Aires, killing 85 people. A 2016 estimate valued the
group’s annual proceeds from narcotics trafficking in the region at $400
million.
In 2019, Argentina became the first country in Latin America to designate
Hezbollah as a terrorist entity. It was followed by Colombia, Guatemala,
Honduras, and Paraguay. In November 2023, Brazilian authorities arrested two
suspected Hezbollah operatives for allegedly planning attacks against Jewish
targets in the country. In January this year, Argentine police arrested three
individuals for allegedly plotting similar terrorist attacks in Argentina. Other
U.S.-designated terror proxy groups backed by the Islamic Republic of Iran have
also used virtual currencies to evade sanctions and fund terror. In October
2023, Israeli law enforcement closed over 100 wallets on the crypto exchange
Binance connected with Hamas and requested information on 200 more accounts.
U.S. authorities said that Hamas has leveraged cryptocurrency to finance
terrorism since at least 2019. Since 2021, the NBCTF has ordered the seizure of
over $41 million in cryptocurrency from Hamas’s virtual wallets and $93 million
from accounts linked with Palestinian Islamic Jihad. U.S. officials should
encourage Latin American countries to designate Hezbollah and other Iran-backed
proxy groups as terrorist organizations to help choke off their ability to
finance terrorism. The Biden administration should also encourage the European
Union to designate Hezbollah in its entirety. The European Union currently only
considers Hezbollah’s so-called military wing to be a terrorist entity.
Washington should also underscore Hezbollah and Hamas’s abuse of virtual
currencies to fund terrorism in discussions with the Financial Action Task Force
(FATF), the global watchdog for anti-money laundering and countering terrorist
financing. FATF should ensure its members close gaps in their cryptocurrency
regulations that may enable Iran-backed proxies to fund their operations. These
gaps may include inadequate legal instruments for seizing suspected wallets that
national governments have sanctioned. *Toby Dershowitz is managing director at
FDD Action, where Will Erens is a congressional relations intern. Ari Ben Am is
an adjunct fellow at FDD’s Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation. His
research focuses on emerging threats, influence and information operations,
cyber operations, and hybrid warfare. FDD Action, a sister organization of FDD,
is a non-partisan 501(c)(4) organization established to advocate for effective
policies to promote U.S. national security and defend free nations. Follow
Dershowitz on X @tobydersh and Ben Am @ari_ben_am.
IDF eliminates Hezbollah battalion commander in southern Lebanon, continues Gaza
operations
Jerusalem Post/October 17/2024
Hussein Muhammed Awada was responsible for rocket fire from a number of villages
in the Bint Jbeil area to Israeli territory. A Hezbollah battalion commander,
Hussein Muhammed Awada, was eliminated in Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon by the
IDF, the military announced on Thursday morning. Israel Air Force (IAF) fighter
jets, together with the 7338th Brigade, operating under the 91st Division,
attacked and killed the Awada, who was responsible for terrorist attacks and
rocket fire from a number of villages in the Bint Jbeil area to Israeli
territory. Over 150 terrorist targets were destroyed, and dozens of terrorists
were eliminated in southern Lebanon. Over the past day, IDF soldiers and the IAF
eliminated over 45 terrorists and destroyed over 150 targets belonging to
Hezbollah, the military stated. Among those targets include weapons warehouses,
rocket launchers, and buildings used for military purposes by Hezbollah.
Continuing Gaza battles
Additionally, on the southern front, the Nahal Brigade eliminated armed
terrorists and destroyed terror infrastructure in Rafah in the Gaza Strip, the
IDF reported. In one operation in the northern Gaza Strip, soldiers of the 401st
Brigade eliminated a terrorist squad and located many weapons, including
grenades, Kalashnikov weapons, explosives, and mortars. In central Gaza,
Division 252 exposed and destroyed terrorist infrastructure, while the 179th
Brigade operated in Nuseirat and Al Bureij.
A letter to Lebanon: Could Northern Arrows
free Lebanon from Hezbollah? - opinion
Gil Troy/Jerusalem Post/October 17/2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/10/135808/
Center Field: A breakthrough in Beirut could lead to a regional turnaround with
Tehran, something in everyone's best interest.
To our Lebanese neighbors, Israeli troops finally entered southern Lebanon
following some 12,500 projectiles – missiles, rockets, and drones – launched at
the Jewish state from your country since last October. About 60,000 Israelis
from the North have been displaced and dozens killed, including 12 Druze kids
just enjoying soccer on a Saturday afternoon. This incursion followed a two-week
campaign humiliating Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed terrorist organization that
ruined your state and made your lives miserable. Let me be clear: Israelis are
fighting most reluctantly. We tried avoiding this conflagration for 18 years –
and have nothing against the Lebanese people. But ask yourselves: What would you
do in our shoes? In that spirit of friendship, as a historian, I propose
renaming Israel’s northern clashes. The IDF codenamed the 1982 war “Operation
Peace for Galilee”; it became known as “The Lebanon War.” That made the
operation in 2006 “The Second Lebanon War,” and this, alas, “The Third Lebanon
War.” Instead, 1982’s conflict should be “The War with the PLO’s State within a
State” or just “The PLO War,” to be catchy. The 2006 conflict should be “The
First Hezbollah War,” which Hezbollah began by murdering three Israeli soldiers
and kidnapping two reservists. That makes this conflict “The Second Hezbollah
War,” or most accurately, “The First Iranian War.”
Technically, these were “military operations” because war means violent conflict
between two states. That helps explain our sympathy for you. In 1982, the
Palestine Liberation Organization dominated southern Lebanon, brutalizing you,
and undermining Lebanese stability. I need not tell you how many Lebanese
suffered when the Palestinians took over and devastated parts of your homeland.
Subsequently, the Hezbollah cancer spread so deep in your country that it’s made
Lebanese sovereignty a joke.
'We're not at war with you. We're at war with Hezbollah'
That’s why Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu keeps telling the Lebanese people,
as he said at the UN, “We’re not at war with you. We’re at war with Hezbollah,
which has hijacked your country and threatens to destroy ours.” And that’s why I
hope that if Israel wins decisively, the international community backs you up
boldly and creatively, empowering new Lebanese leaders to restore your country’s
sovereignty, dignity, and prosperity. The international community can finally
justify itself here. Instead of yapping “ceasefire, ceasefire” whenever Israel
defends itself, the French and Americans should use their deep ties in Lebanon
to muscle out the terrorists and gangsters draining your country. With moral
clarity and courage worldwide, most Lebanese could soon be thanking us for
liberating you from Hezbollah’s grip. This Beirut Breakthrough could be the
formula for a Tehran Turnaround, too. Israel is poised to counterattack Iran.
Even though I, as an American historian, think America should be taking the
initiative to show “you don’t mess with America or its allies,” maybe America
and the world can follow-up effectively. The mullahs know they’re weak. Since
the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-1988, they expanded their influence via proxies while
trying to keep conflict from Iranian soil. If Israel humiliates them, the
international community should stir internal Iranian dissidents to try to
collapse the regime from within. Admittedly, while hoping for peace everywhere,
I couldn’t write a similar letter to my Palestinian neighbors – nor could most
Israelis. We know that hundreds of Gazans also rampaged on October 7, following
the better-trained Hamas terrorists, including Palestinians who had worked on
the kibbutzim they pillaged.
We have long seen Palestinians delightedly distribute candy whenever Palestinian
terrorists murder Israeli children, women, and men. We read the polls showing
the high percentage of Palestinians in Gaza, the disputed territories, and
worldwide who approved of October 7’s sadism. And we hear the Palestinians’
blood-curdling cry justifying the mass murder of Jews on campus in downtown
districts: “Globalize the Intifada!” and “From the River to the Sea!”
Like your parents and grandparents, older Israelis once called Lebanon “the
Switzerland of the Middle East” and Beirut “the Paris of the Middle East.”
Lebanon never loomed large in Israeli demonology. In the mid-1970s, most would
have bet on Israel making peace with Lebanon long before it made peace with
Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco – or negotiated with Saudi
Arabia. Tragically, first, the PLO, then Hezbollah, trashed your country. Even
after the Second Lebanon War, er, the First Hezbollah War, Hezbollah treated the
international community as contemptuously as it treated the Lebanese people. In
2006, a UN Security Council Resolution required Hezbollah to redeploy away from
Israel’s border. Instead, those terrorists spent 18 years fortifying themselves
along the border – and under it, in tunnels – while amassing over 150,000
rockets, all purchased to kill Israelis.
In the American TV series The Sopranos, Tony Soprano, a crime boss, lets an old
friend, Davey, who owns a prosperous sporting goods store, amass a serious
gambling debt. Mobsters quickly overrun Davey’s business, stealing what they can
and using this once-legitimate business as a front for nefarious schemes. With
his business folding, Davey asks Tony, “Why did you let me do it?” Tony’s reply
laces his folksiness with menace: “Well, I knew you had this business here,
Davey. It’s in my nature. The frog and the scorpion ya know. This is how a guy
like me makes a living; this is my bread and butter!” Similarly, Hezbollah
terrorists Sopranoed your country, hiding behind Lebanon’s legitimacy and its
parliamentary system, to wreak havoc. It’s in their nature, too. That’s why we
need your help explaining to the world that the first step in our shared road to
liberation from these psychopaths begins with the international community
guaranteeing a sweeping Hezbollah – and Iranian – defeat. It’s for our sake,
certainly. But for your sake, too.
*The writer, a senior fellow in Zionist thought at the Jewish People Policy
Institute, is an American presidential historian. His latest book, 'To Resist
the Academic Intifada: Letters to My Students on Defending the Zionist Dream',
was published recently.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on October 17-18/2024
Officials to 'Post': Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar killed in
Rafah, Gaza Strip
Jerusalem Post/October 17/2024
Sinwar orchestrated the October 7 Massacre, which led to the deaths of over
1,200 people and the taking of over 250 hostages.
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed by the IDF in Rafah on Wednesday in an
unplanned operation, sources close to the matter confirmed to The Jerusalem Post
Thursday evening, several hours after rumors arose that he had been killed
earlier Thursday. Shortly after, around 7:45 p.m.,
confirmations came out from the IDF, Shin Bet, Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz,
and others, that Sinwar was in fact dead.
Evidence that Sinwar is dead included matching both his dental records and
fingerprint records which Israel had from the period when he was in Israeli
prisons until 2011.
So far all indications were that no hostages were killed during the unplanned
operation.
The IDF and Shin Bet (ISA) put out a joint statement earlier Thursday saying,
"Initial report - During IDF operations in the Gaza Strip, three terrorists were
eliminated. The IDF and Shin Bet are checking the possibility that one of the
terrorists was Yahya Sinwar. At this stage, the identity of the terrorists
cannot be confirmed," the IDF said. "In the building where the terrorists were
eliminated, there were no signs of the presence of hostages in the area. The
forces that are operating in the area are continuing to operate with the
required caution."
Later, it emerged that Division 162, including the 828 Bislach Brigade,
including a tank from Battalion 195 and infantry from Battalion 450, killed and
identified Sinwar. There are reports that one of his fingers was cut off and
raced into Israel for quicker identification.
IDF forces suspected there were Hamas terrorists in the building area which they
eventually fired on. Afterward, they found Sinwar’s body inside.
One of the terrorists targeted in the IDF strike in Gaza was Hamas's Khan Yunis
division commander, who has been in close proximity to Sinwar since the start of
the war. The IDF also believes that Sinwar stayed in the tunnel with the six
slain hostages, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat, Almog Sarusi,
Alexander Lobanov, and Ori Danino, who were being held in Rafah. According to
the IDF, after the hostages were executed, he started to move without other
hostages as human shields.
Israel Police gave the following statement a few hours after the report: "In
response to recent reports concerning the identification of Yahya Sinwar's
assassination, the Israel Police, IDF, and Shin Bet are actively working to
establish a definitive identification."
"As of now, one of the multiple necessary assessments has been completed for
absolute confirmation. Dental images have been submitted to the police forensics
lab, and DNA testing is currently in progress." "Upon completion of these
processes, we will be able to confirm the assassination. Further information
will be released when available."Sinwar orchestrated the October 7 Massacre,
which led to the deaths of over 1,200 people, including Israelis and other
nationalities alike, and the taking of over 250 hostages, of which 101 remain in
Gaza.
Of the 101 hostages, the IDF confirmed that 48 were killed in captivity.
Human shields
Sinwar was widely believed to be hiding in Hamas tunnels throughout the Gaza
Strip, never staying in one location for too long and avoiding communications
technologies, relying on messengers. The Hamas terror
chief was believed to be surrounded by the remaining hostages as a human shield,
which has reportedly prevented the IDF from striking and killing him. Again, the
IDF reiterated in their statement that no signs of hostages were present at the
site of the strike. Conflicting reports emerged of
whether Sinwar had left the tunnels over the course of the Israel-Hamas War, and
the IDF obtained footage of the Hamas chief walking through the tunnels in
February of this year. Several Hamas leaders have been
eliminated by Israel, including Hamas political head Ismail Haniyeh, who was
killed in Tehran in July, and Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif, who was
killed in the Gaza Strip also in July.
Middle East
latest: Israel says Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is dead
The Associated Press/October 17, 2024
Israel says it has killed Hamas’ top leader Yahya Sinwar in a battle with
Israeli forces in Gaza. Foreign Minister Katz called Sinwar’s killing Thursday a
“military and moral achievement for the Israeli army.”Palestinian officials
reported at least 28 dead, including four children, in an Israeli strike on a
school being used as a shelter in Gaza on Thursday. Nearly 100 people were
wounded in the strike in Jabaliya, according to the Gaza Health Ministry’s
emergency unit in the north.Syria’s military said an Israeli strike early
Thursday wounded two civilians and damaged a military post. Israel regularly
targets military sites in Syria linked to Iran and to Lebanon’s militant
Hezbollah group and has escalated its campaign against Hezbollah in recent
weeks, after a year of near-daily exchanges of cross-border fire. Lebanon says
more than 2,300 people have been killed in the past year and 77% of public
schools are out of service, either due to their use as shelters or their
location in areas directly affected by the war. On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led
militants blew holes in Israel’s security fence and stormed in, killing some
1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. Israel’s offensive in
Gaza has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities,
who do not distinguish combatants from civilians. The war has destroyed large
areas of Gaza and displaced about 90% of its population of 2.3 million people.
Israel’s military says it has allowed 50 trucks of humanitarian aid into
northern Gaza on Wednesday, after the United States warned it to boost aid
efforts or risk losing weapons funding. The region has suffered heavy
destruction and has been completely encircled by Israeli forces for nearly a
year.
345,000 Gazans
face ‘catastrophic’ hunger this winter: UN
AFP/October 17, 2024
ROME: Some 345,000 Gazans face “catastrophic” levels of hunger this winter after
aid deliveries fell, a UN-backed assessment said Thursday, warning of the
persistent risk of famine across the Palestinian territory. This is up from the
133,000 people currently categorized as experiencing “catastrophic food
insecurity,” according to a classification compiled by UN agencies and NGOs.
A surge in humanitarian assistance this summer had brought some relief to
Gazans, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report said, but
September saw the lowest volume of commercial and humanitarian supplies entering
Gaza since March. As a result, it projected that the
number of people experiencing catastrophic food insecurity — IPC Phase 5 —
between November 2024 and April 2025 to reach 345,000, or 16 percent of the
population. The recent “sharp decline” in aid “will profoundly limit the ability
of families to feed themselves and access essential goods and services in the
coming months, unless reversed,” the report said. The United States warned
Israel on Tuesday that it could withhold some of its billions of dollars in
military assistance unless it improves aid delivery to the Gaza Strip within 30
days. The head of the UN agency for Palestinian
refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, also warned Wednesday of the risk of famine in the
territory, where vast areas have been devastated by Israel’s retaliatory assault
launched after the October 7 attack last year by Hamas.
“The risk of famine between November 2024 and April 2025 persists as long
as conflict continues, and humanitarian access is restricted,” the IPC report
said.
“The extreme concentration of population in an ever-shrinking area, living in
improvised shelters with intermittent access to humanitarian supplies and
services, elevates the risk of epidemic outbreaks and deterioration into a
catastrophe of unprecedented magnitude.
Intensified Israeli attacks and fresh evacuation orders were “already increasing
the likelihood of this worst-case scenario occurring,” the report added.
An estimated 60,000 cases of acute malnutrition among children aged
between six months and four years old are expected between November and April.
“To curb acute hunger and malnutrition, we must act now,” said Beth
Bechdol, deputy director-general of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.
She said it was necessary to “immediately cease hostilities, restore
humanitarian access to deliver critical and essential food aid and agricultural
inputs in time for the upcoming winter crop planting season... to allow them to
grow food.” Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny
Danon, had said Wednesday that a lack of aid was not the problem, blaming Hamas
for hijacking and stealing deliveries.
U.S. Deploys THAAD Battery to Israel
Bradley Bowman, Cameron McMillan & Lydia LaFavor/FDD Policy Brief/October
17/2024
An advance team of U.S. military personnel and equipment arrived in Israel on
Monday as part of the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense
(THAAD) battery as Israel considers its response to the October 1 Iranian
ballistic missile attack. The THAAD deployment will increase the capacity to
intercept Iranian ballistic missiles fired at Israel and demonstrates the need
to expedite and expand efforts to increase Israel’s Arrow missile defense
capacity.
The U.S. announced the deployment of a THAAD battery and its crew on October 13.
Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said the deployment “underscores
the United States’ ironclad commitment to the defense of Israel” and will “help
bolster Israel’s air defenses following Iran’s unprecedented attacks against
Israel on April 13 and again on October 1.” The system will be fully operational
“in the near future” as American personnel and equipment continue to arrive in
Israel in “the coming days,” Ryder said on October 15.
The THAAD system provides a globally and rapidly transportable, land-based
defense against short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. The
system can destroy missiles inside and outside the atmosphere in their terminal
phase using a hit-to-kill interceptor that provides regional ballistic missile
defense by engaging targets out to 150-200 kilometers.
A typical THAAD battery consists of 95 soldiers and four major components. They
include six truck-mounted launchers with eight interceptors per launcher (for a
total of 48), a tactical fire control/communication system component, and an
AN/TPY-2 radar.
The United States first demonstrated the ability to rapidly deploy the THAAD
system to Israel in a 2019 bilateral exercise. The battery integrated with
Israel’s own layered air and missile defense system, which includes the Iron
Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow capabilities.
In the current deployment, the THAAD battery will integrate with the U.S. Navy
ships already operating in the Eastern Mediterranean.
A review of Iran’s two direct ballistic missile attacks on Israel this year
helps explain why a THAAD battery is being deployed to Israel. On April 13, Iran
and its proxies in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen launched over 110 medium-range
ballistic missiles, 30 land-attack cruise missiles, and 150 drones toward
Israel. The attack was largely unsuccessful thanks to Israel’s advanced air and
missile defense system, as well as the assistance of the U.S. military and
others.
On October 1, in an attempt to overwhelm Israel’s defenses, Iran launched a
massive barrage of more than 200 ballistic missiles, roughly twice as many
ballistic missiles as the April attack. Israel destroyed many of the missiles,
and two U.S. destroyers in the Eastern Mediterranean fired a dozen interceptors
at the incoming missiles, according to the Pentagon.
Iran has almost certainly seen publicly available reports from commercial
imagery analysis suggesting that more than 30 ballistic missiles may have landed
on or near Israel’s Nevatim Airbase. According to the same reports, no aircraft
were damaged, but the missiles apparently caused damage to some buildings,
taxiways, and at least one runway.
Prudence requires Americans and Israelis to prepare for the possibility that
future Iranian attacks could include even more ballistic missiles. That is why
the THAAD deployment is so significant, but Washington and Jerusalem should not
stop there. They should also work together without delay to further enhance
Israel’s ballistic missile detection capabilities and strengthen its ability to
cope with large-scale ballistic missile attacks. That means expediting and
expanding Arrow launcher and interceptor production. Israel needs a much larger
Arrow missile defense system capacity. Admittedly, that will take time, but
there is no time to waste, as Iran will likely redouble efforts to replenish and
expand its ballistic missile arsenal.
**Bradley Bowman is senior director of the Center on Military and Political
Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where Cameron McMillan is a
research analyst and Lydia LaFavor is a research fellow. For more analysis from
Brad and CMPP, please subscribe HERE. Follow Brad on Twitter @Brad_L_Bowman.
Follow FDD on Twitter @FDD and @FDD_CMPP. FDD is a Washington, DC-based,
nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.
UN Agency: Gaza
Unemployment Surges to 80% as Economy Collapses
Asharq Al Awsat/October 17/2024
Unemployment in Gaza has soared to nearly 80% since the Israel-Hamas war
erupted, with the devastated enclave's economy in almost total collapse, the
International Labor Organization said on Thursday. Economic output has shrunk by
85% since the conflict with Israel began a year ago, plunging almost the entire
2.3 million population into poverty, the United Nations agency said.
The conflict has caused "unprecedented and wide-ranging devastation on
the labor market and the wider economy across the Occupied Palestinian
Territory", the ILO said, referring to Gaza and the West Bank. In the West Bank,
the unemployment rate averaged 34.9% between October 2023 and the end of
September 2024, while its economy has contracted by 21.7% compared with the
previous 12 months, the ILO said. Before the crisis, the unemployment rate in
Gaza was 45.3% and 14% in the West Bank, according to the Geneva-based
organization. Gazans either lost their jobs entirely or picked up informal and
irregular work "primarily centered on the provision of essential goods and
services," the ILO said. Israel launched its offensive after Hamas-led gunmen
attacked on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostage,
according to Israeli tallies. Israel's campaign in response has killed more than
42,000 people, according to Gaza's health authorities. Two-thirds of Gaza's
pre-war structures - over 163,000 buildings - have been damaged or flattened,
according to UN satellite data. Israel says its operations are aimed at rooting
out Hamas militants hiding in tunnels and among Gaza's civilian population. The
crisis has spilled into the West Bank, where Israeli barriers to movement of
persons and goods, coupled with broader trade restrictions and supply-chain
disruptions, have severely impacted the economy, the ILO said.
Israel says its actions in the West Bank have been necessary to counter
Iranian-backed militant groups and to prevent harm to Israeli civilians,
reported Reuters.
"The impact of the war in the Gaza Strip has taken a toll far beyond loss of
life, desperate humanitarian conditions and physical destruction," said ILO
regional director for Arab states Ruba Jaradat. "It has fundamentally altered
the socio-economic landscape of Gaza, while also severely impacting the West
Bank’s economy and labor market. The impact will be felt for generations to
come."
Iranian
Commander Repeats Threats to Israel
Asharq Al Awsat/October 17/2024
The chief of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened Israel on
Thursday with more missile barrages if it strikes Iran. “Do not repeat your
mistake — if you misbehave, if you strike anything of ours either in the region
or in Iran, we will again hit you painfully,” said Gen. Hossein Salami in a
funeral ceremony for Iranian Guard commander Abbas Nilforoushan, who was killed
alongside the head of the Hezbollah militant group in Beirut in September.
Salami said a missile barrage by Iran on Israel earlier in October in
retaliation for killing Nasrallah and Nilforoushan was the “tiniest” action by
Iran. He said an air defense battery deployed to Israel by the US will not
prevent Iranian retaliation, The Associated Press said.
“We do know about your weakness, and you know too,” said Salami.
Earlier this month, Iran launched some 180 missiles at Israel in
retaliation for the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, killed in Iran in
July, as well as Nilforoushan and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who were
killed in Israel strikes on Beirut in September. Iran
is the main backer of Hezbollah and supports militant groups opposed to Israel
across the region including Hamas.
Biden humanitarian envoy says Israel is too close an ally to suspend arms -
report
Jerusalem Post/October 17/2024
Attendees say that the official stressed that Israel is a member of a tight
circle of allies that the administration won't contest.
A top Biden administration official told humanitarian aid groups that
Israel is too close of an ally for the US to suspend arms over blocking food and
medicine entering Gaza, POLITICO reported on Wednesday. Lise Grande, the
administration’s special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues, reportedly
told leaders of over a dozen aid organizations at an August 29 meeting that the
US would resort to other tactics to make Israel allow aid into the
Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, such as international pressure through the UN. She
repeatedly stressed that the Biden administration's support for Israel was
unchanged and that the administration would not halt weapons shipments.
According to detailed notes from the meeting and three anonymous attendees
interviewed by POLITICO, Israel is part of a “tight circle of very few allies”
that the administration won't object to, nor will it “hold anything back that
they want.”“She was saying that the rules don’t apply to Israel,” one anonymous
person who attended said. Another attendee said that they got the sense that the
US can't play "bad cop" with Israel.
Arms embargo letter
POLITICO's report comes after top US government officials sent a letter to
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron
Dermer urging them to address the humanitarian aid situation in Gaza, which the
US said had declined by as much as 50% over the past few months. The US gave
Israel 30 days to revise the situation before it will begin to restrict military
aid. However, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Wednesday that
the government had seen immediate improvements after the letter was sent earlier
this week. For example, the Jordanian military delivered 50 aid trucks on
Tuesday after the IDF reopened the aid route to north Gaza on Sunday. Miller
noted that some changes would take longer to implement. "Our hope is that Israel
will take the steps that we outlined," he said, adding that the government hoped
that the threat would remain hypothetical and that there would be no further
implications. According to POLITICO, Grande told
attendees that the administration believes Israeli intelligence reports that
detailed Hamas's frequent theft of humanitarian aid from civilians.
U.S., Canada
Designate Samidoun a Sham Charity Front for the PFLP Terrorist Group
David May & Pavak Patel/FDD Policy Brief/October 17/2024
The U.S. Department of the Treasury, in a joint action with the Canadian
government, designated the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network and
Khaled Barakat on October 15 for raising funds on behalf of the Popular Front
for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a U.S.-designated terrorist group. The
move begins to address the serious concern of Palestinian terrorist groups using
nonprofit organizations to advance their agenda, to include promoting
anti-Israel protests on American campuses.
Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence
Bradley Smith explained, “Organizations like Samidoun masquerade as charitable
actors that claim to provide humanitarian support to those in need, yet in
reality divert funds for much-needed assistance to support terrorist groups.”The
joint action came five days after the Dutch Parliament voted to designate
Samidoun as a terrorist organization. Israel designated Samidoun in 2021, and
Germany did the same in 2023.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser banned Samidoun because it “endorses the
use of violence as a means for achieving its political objectives and incites
such violence” and “supports organizations which initiate, endorse or threaten
attacks on individuals or property.” Faeser called Samidoun “inhumane” and
“disgusting” after it publicly praised Hamas and organized celebratory
demonstrations in German cities following Hamas’s October 7 massacre. Samidoun’s
branches in Spain and Seattle similarly praised the massacre.
Samidoun registered as a nonprofit corporation in Canada in March 2021. In April
2024, Barakat’s wife, Charlotte Kates, who holds the position of Samidoun
International Coordinator, called Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel “heroic and
brave.” After those remarks, Canadian police arrested her as part of a hate
crime investigation. A post on Samidoun’s website decrying the Canadian
government’s actions openly refers to the October 7 massacre as a “heroic
operation” and features a graphic that says, “Long Live October 7th,” written in
Arabic and English.
Barakat, described in the Treasury announcement as “a member of the PFLP’s
leadership,” is a frequent featured speaker at Samidoun’s events but has no
officially acknowledged role within the organization, which typically describes
him as a “Palestinian writer and activist.” Palestinian outlets refer to other
Samidoun leaders, including Samidoun’s Europe coordinator, Mohammad al-Khatib,
as PFLP members. Israel arrested Belgian Samidoun activist Mustapha Awad in
2018, accusing him of receiving training from Hezbollah and wiring money to
Barakat from Lebanon and Syria at the PFLP’s direction.
Samidoun has cosponsored and helped organize campus protests and events
throughout the United States and abroad. In March 2024, Samidoun and Columbia
University’s branch of Students for Justice in Palestine hosted a webinar titled
“Resistance 101.” During the webinar, Kates and Barakat repeatedly praised
“resistance” and referred to their “friends and brothers in Hamas, Islamic
Jihad, and the PFLP.”In May, Samidoun’s Mohammad al-Khatib helped lead protests
against Israel at the University of Amsterdam. At the Samidoun-endorsed protest,
activists hurled gas tanks and beat a person with wooden planks.
Samidoun is a fiscally sponsored project of the Alliance for Global
Justice (AGJ), an “anti-capitalist” 501(c)(3) charity based in Arizona. Through
this arrangement, AGJ collects tax-exempt donations on Samidoun’s behalf and
transfers them to Samidoun. In 2023, AGJ came under congressional scrutiny and
legal pressure for its ties to the PFLP. Because of AGJ’s affiliations, payment
processing companies PayPal, Stripe, Salsa Labs, and Deluxe stopped working with
AGJ out of fear they would be providing “material support” to terrorism. AGJ
blamed the “Zionist media” for the actions against Samidoun.
The PFLP and other terrorist organizations use the nonprofit space to
raise funds and achieve their objectives. These organizations also attempt to
influence students and spread extremist ideologies under the guise of activism,
potentially sowing seeds of radicalization within educational institutions. The
United States, Canada, and other countries should collaborate and develop
comprehensive strategies that not only target the financial underpinnings of
these organizations but also address their broader influence within society.
**David May is a research manager and senior research analyst at the Foundation
for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research
institute focusing on national security and foreign policy, where Pavak Patel is
a senior network mapping and data analyst. Follow David on X @DavidSamuelMay.
Follow Pavak on X @PavakPatel. Follow FDD on X @FDD.
Saudi FM receives phone call from Secretary Blinken
ARAB NEWS/October 17, 2024
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan received a
phone call from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday. During the
phone call, developments in the region and efforts made with regard to them were
discussed, Saudi Press Agency reported.
Egypt's Sisi meets with Iran's foreign minister
Reuters/October 17, 2024
CAIRO/DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met with Egyptian
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Thursday, Egypt's presidency said in a
statement. The meeting focused on regional
developments, with al-Sisi reiterating Egypt's call to avoid the expansion of
conflict and the need to halt escalation to prevent a full-scale regional war.
Araqchi emphasized the importance of continuing efforts to explore
prospects for mutual development of relations between the two countries, the
statement added. Araqchi landed in Cairo late on
Wednesday for talks with Egyptian officials, the first such visit in years as
part of a Middle Eastern tour amid concerns of a wider confrontation in the
region with Israel. Tensions are high in anticipation of an Israeli attack on
Iran in retaliation for Iran's missile attack on Oct. 1. That followed a rapidly
spiralling conflict between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Araqchi arrived for "important talks with Egypt's high ranking officials that
will be held tomorrow [Thursday]," Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil
Baghaei said in a post on X on Wednesday, after stops in countries including
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq and Lebanon. Relations
between Egypt and Iran have generally been fraught in recent decades but the two
countries have stepped up high-level diplomatic contacts since the eruption of
the Gaza crisis last year as Egypt tried to play a mediating role. Egyptian
Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty traveled to Tehran in July to attend the
country's presidential inauguration.
Iran Guards chief warns will hit Israel ‘painfully’ if
attacks Iranian targets
REUTERS/October 17, 2024
DUBAI/BEIRUT: The commander of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards warned Israel
on Thursday against attacking the Islamic Republic in retaliation for a missile
barrage as its arch-foe stepped up its offensive in Lebanon against
Tehran-backed Hezbollah. Fears of a wider Middle East conflict have grown as
Israel plans its response to the Oct. 1 missile attack carried out by Iran after
Israeli airstrikes on Iranian-allied militants. “We tell you (Israel) that if
you commit any aggression against any point we will painfully attack the same
point of yours,” Hossein Salami said in a televised speech, adding that Iran can
penetrate Israel’s defenses. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to Israeli
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Wednesday about Israel’s operations in Lebanon
and Gaza, aiming to avert a regional war. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi
landed in Cairo for talks with Egyptian officials as part of a Middle Eastern
tour as tension builds. The European Union held its
first summit with Gulf states and issued a statement calling for calm: “We
underscore the importance of diplomatic engagement with Iran –– to pursue
regional de-escalation,” it said. Israel shows no signs of easing its military
campaigns against Hezbollah in Lebanon after assassinating several of its
leaders, and Hamas in Gaza and it has vowed to punish Iran for its Oct. 1
attack. Qatar, which has mediated in talks aimed at securing a ceasefire in
Gaza, said there had been no engagement with any parties for the last three to
four weeks on the issue. Israeli airstrikes killed 11
Palestinians in Gaza City on Thursday, medics said, while Israeli forces sent
tanks into Jabalia in the north, where Palestinians and United Nations officials
expressed alarm over shortages of food and medicine. Residents of Jabalia said
Israeli forces blew up clusters of houses from air, by tank shells and by
placing bombs in buildings before blowing them up remotely.
On its northern front in Lebanon, Israel has said it will not stop
fighting a now weakened Hezbollah before it can safely return its citizens to
their homes near the Lebanese border and said any ceasefire negotiations will be
held “under fire.”The Israeli military said on Thursday that over the past 24
hours it had killed 45 Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon, including a
battalion commander, and seized many weapons.
Attack on municipal headquarters
The mayor of a major town in south Lebanon was among 16 people killed on
Wednesday when an Israeli airstrike destroyed its municipal headquarters in the
biggest attack on an official Lebanese state building since the Israeli air
campaign began. Lebanese officials denounced the incident, which also wounded
more than 50 people in Nabatieh, a provincial capital, saying it was proof that
Israel’s campaign against the Hezbollah armed group was now shifting to target
the Lebanese state. The Israelis “intentionally
targeted a meeting of the municipal council to discuss the city’s service and
relief situation” to aid people displaced by the Israeli campaign, caretaker
Prime Minister Najib Mikati said. Israel and Hezbollah have been fighting since
the militant group began firing missiles at its arch-foe a year ago in support
of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza and the conflict has sharply
escalated in recent weeks. Israeli operations in
Lebanon have killed at least 2,350 people over the last year, according to the
health ministry, and more than 1.2 million people have been displaced. The death
toll does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but includes hundreds
of women and children. Around 50 Israelis, both
soldiers and civilians, have been killed in the same period, according to
Israel. Abdelnaser, a man displaced from Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah
stronghold, which Israel has repeatedly bombed, was on the waterfront early on
Thursday morning. “War has become normal for us. We
know that every 10 years Lebanon gets built, and every 10 years it gets
destroyed again,” he said.
Houthis say US
will ‘pay the price’ for airstrikes on Yemen
SAEED AL-BATATI./Arab News/October 17, 2024
AL-MUKALLA: Yemen’s Houthi militia on Thursday threatened to punish the US for
launching a series of airstrikes on areas under their control in Yemen and vowed
to continue attacking ships in international shipping lanes in support of the
Palestinian people.
Nasruddin Amer, a Houthi media official, said that the US would “pay the price”
for attacking their areas in Yemen and that the US was trying to put pressure on
them to stop their attacks on ships as well as lift their ban on US ships
passing through the Red and Arabian seas.
“We confirm that our position on Gaza and Lebanon will remain unchanged and that
they will pay the price for their continued aggression against our country,”
Amer said in a post on X. The threat came as US
Central Command said on Thursday that its forces carried out a series of
airstrikes on hardened underground storage facilities in Yemen where the Houthis
conceal missiles and other weapons that are used to strike ships in
international shipping lanes. The US military said the
airstrikes, which used the B-2 Spirit long-range stealth bombers for the first
time, were intended to weaken Houthi military power and push them to stop
threatening US and international naval forces as well as commercial vessels.
“These actions were taken to degrade the Houthis’ capability to continue
their reckless and unlawful attacks on international commercial shipping and on
US, coalition, and merchant personnel and vessels in the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandeb
Strait, and the Gulf of Aden, and to degrade their ability to threaten regional
partners,” the US Central Command said, adding there had been no reported human
casualties as a result of their airstrikes. Residents
in Sanaa reported large explosions in various areas on Thursday morning, with
amateur videos showing large fireballs and thick smoke billowing from the
targeted locations. The Houthis’ Political Bureau
strongly condemned the US airstrikes in their areas, describing them as
“cowardly aggression” that would not “go unpunished.”
Since November, the Houthis have launched hundreds of ballistic missiles, drones
and drone boats at international naval and commercial ships in the Red Sea and
other seas off Yemen, sinking two ships and forcing international shipping
companies to avoid the Red Sea in favor of the longer and more expensive route
round South Africa. The Houthis claim that they target
only ships with links to Israel and those sailing to Israel as a means to
pressure Israel to end its war in the Palestinian Gaza Strip.
The US responded to the Houthi ship attacks by designating the Yemeni militia a
terrorist organization, forming marine task forces to protect ships and
launching waves of strikes on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. At the same
time, Abdulrahman Barman, a Yemeni human rights advocate and director of the
American Center for Justice, told Arab News on Thursday that the Houthis are
preparing to try six abducted Yemenis who work for the US and US-funded
organizations after their investigations are completed. The Houthis have
referred to the criminal prosecution of Abdul Kader Al-Saqqaf, a retired Yemeni
worker, as well as five other current and former Yemeni employees of the US
Embassy in Sanaa, the US Agency for International Development, and an American
English language institute who were abducted by the Houthis in 2021, Barman
said. The abducted individuals appeared in a video released by the Houthis in
which they confessed to spying for the US, confessions Yemeni activists say were
taken at gunpoint.
“After years in prison, the Houthis turned them over to the prosecution to
legalize their arrest, torture and violation of the law,” Barman said.
UN Report: 1.1 Billion People in Acute Poverty
Asharq Al Awsat/October 17/2024
More than one billion people are living in acute poverty across the globe, a UN
Development Program report said Thursday, with children accounting for over half
of those affected. The paper published with the Oxford
Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) highlighted that poverty rates
were three times higher in countries at war, as 2023 saw the most conflicts
around the world since the Second World War. The UNDP and the OPHI have
published their Multidimensional Poverty Index annually since 2010, harvesting
data from 112 countries with a combined population of 6.3 billion people, AFP
reported. It uses indicators such as a lack of adequate housing, sanitation,
electricity, cooking fuel, nutrition and school attendance. "The 2024 MPI paints
a sobering picture: 1.1 billion people endure multidimensional poverty, of which
455 million live in the shadow of conflict," said Yanchun Zhang, chief
statistician at the UNDP. "For the poor in conflict-affected countries, the
struggle for basic needs is a far harsher and more desperate battle," Zhang told
AFP. The report echoed last year's findings that 1.1
billion out of 6.1 billion people across 110 countries were facing extreme
multidimensional poverty. Thursday's paper showed that some 584 million people
under 18 were experiencing extreme poverty, accounting for 27.9 percent of
children worldwide, compared with 13.5 percent of adults. It also showed that
83.2 percent of the world's poorest people live in Sub-Saharan Africa and South
Asia. Sabina Alkire, director of the OPHI, told AFP that conflicts were
hindering efforts for poverty reduction. "At some level, these findings are
intuitive. But what shocked us was the sheer magnitude of people who are
struggling to live a decent life and at the same time fearing for their safety
-- 455 million," she said. "This points to a stark but
unavoidable challenge to the international community to both zero in on poverty
reduction and foster peace, so that any ensuing peace actually endures," Alkire
added. India was the country with the largest number
of people in extreme poverty, which impacts 234 million of its 1.4 billion
population. It was followed by Pakistan, Ethiopia, Nigeria and the Democratic
Republic of the Congo. The five countries accounted for nearly half of the 1.1
billion poor people.
The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources
on October 17-18/2024
One Day in October
Clifford D. May/The Washington Times/October 17/2024
Last week, decent people mourned the 1,200 victims of the pogrom waged by Hamas
terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023 – the largest mass murder of Jews since the
Holocaust. Last week, decent people remembered the 254 men, women and children –
Americans among them – dragged by Hamas terrorists into the tunnels of Gaza.
Sixty-four are believed to remain alive despite the torture inflicted upon them.
But I want to spend a few minutes talking about the indecent people – the
anti-Zionists who last week celebrated the mass murders, rapes, and abductions.
On city streets and university campuses, they chanted “Globalize the intifada!”
and “Hey hey, ho ho! Israel has got to go!”
They cheered for Hamas (now decimated but not yet defeated), Hezbollah (which
has fired thousands of missiles into northern Israel since Oct. 8, 2023), and
the Houthi rebels of Yemen (whose slogan is “Death to America, Death to Israel,
A Curse Upon the Jews, Victory to Islam!”).
These and other terrorists are guided, armed, and funded by Iran’s rulers.
If you’re familiar with their ideology – their theology, really – you understand
why they have no interest in “peace processes,” or “two-state solutions.”They
may agree to “deals” that benefit them, but words scribbled on paper by
determinedly naïve diplomats don’t bind them.
The war they’re waging is not intended to change Israeli policies. It is
intended to exterminate Israelis.On Oct. 7, the terrorists proudly recorded
their atrocities – e.g., stabbing pregnant women, burning parents and their
children alive – on their GoPro cameras. They did so to provide a preview of
coming attractions, the Holocaust 2.0 they envision.
“It’s time for the nation of Jihad!” shouted one such terrorist, featured in the
new documentary film, “One Day in October.” “We’ll slaughter them!…I wanna
livestream this! We’ve got to show the folks back home!”
Not all anti-Zionists are so outspokenly genocidal. Many simply “question”
whether Israel should exist. By what means they foresee the Jewish state being
disestablished they leave unclear.
Perhaps they’d propose that Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank be granted
Israeli citizenship, after which Hamas candidates could run for the Knesset,
competing with those from such traditional Israeli political parties as Likud,
Yesh Atid, and the United Arab List.
Or maybe they hope that Tehran and its proxies would permit Israelis to quietly
board boats and planes bound for Berlin and Boca Raton. Are they even aware that
half of Israel’s population comes from families who were either expelled from or
fled from what we’ve come to call the Islamic world, countries where minorities
enjoy no freedoms or human rights?
Anti-Zionists have been baying “We don’t want two states! We want 48!” I doubt
most of them know what transpired in 1948. I’ll summarize. The British
imperialists who had replaced the Turkish imperialists following World War I
withdrew from Palestine. The UN recommended partitioning the territory into two
states, one for the Jews and one for the Arabs.
The Jews agreed. What choice did they have? They had suffered years of attacks
by their Arab neighbors whose most prominent leader was Haj Amin al-Husseini.
He’d spent World War II in Berlin, assisting Hitler. When the Arabs – who didn’t
yet self-identify as Palestinians – violently rejected this two-state solution,
the Jews declared their independence on a sliver of their ancient homeland.
Within hours, armies from the surrounding Arab states launched a war to drive
them into the sea – the same sea alluded to in the anti-Zionist chant: “From the
river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”Against the odds, the tiny Jewish
state survived. Palestinian Arabs not opposed to Israel became citizens of
Israel. They and their progeny today constitute roughly 20% of the population.
That campus anti-Zionists don’t know much about history is unsurprising. But
Members of Congress should not be so ignorant. Take Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Last week, he repeated the truism that Israelis have a right to defend
themselves while attempting to block shipments of American weapons that Israelis
need to defend themselves.
He echoed Hamas propaganda. One example: He claimed that 60% of the Gazans
killed since Oct. 7 were women and children. Does he not know that such
institutions as the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School have established
that Hamas’s numbers are “probably outright faked,” and that the majority of
those killed are likely “Hamas fighters”?
And why does he fail to mention – much less condemn – the fact that Hamas uses
women and children as human shields?
How is he unaware of such military experts as West Point’s John Spencer who has
concluded that, “Israel has implemented more precautions to prevent civilian
harm than any military in history and beyond what international law requires”?
And why doesn’t he call on Hamas to release its hostages and cease firing at
Israelis? I could cite multiple other examples of disinformation from
anti-Zionists in Congress, the media, and the UN.But I prefer to end with a few
words from someone who knows what she’s talking about.
Assita Adoua Kanko, an African-born Belgian Member of the European Parliament,
last week commemorated the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7 and the Hezbollah attacks
that began on Oct. 8 by telling a plenary session of that body: “The truth is
that this was never about love for the Palestinians but hatred for the Jews.
This was not about a two-state solution but about erasing the Jews and
destroying the West.
“Radical Islam and its terror groups have no borders. The intention of the
Muslim Brotherhood and affiliated criminal organizations like Hamas and
Hezbollah is to establish a caliphate on earth. Only justice and the courage to
stand for our values can stop them.
“I will always stand by the victims.”
**Clifford D. May is founder and president of the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies (FDD) and a columnist for the Washington Times.
Iran Should Stay on the Global Terror Finance and Money
Laundering Blacklist
Toby Dershowitz & Saeed Ghasseminejad/Real Clear World/October 17/2024
On October 21, the plenary of the Financial Action Task Force, or FATF, will
convene in Paris. Should the organization that sets global standards for
countering money laundering and terror finance consider removing the Islamic
Republic of Iran from its blacklist, as Tehran hopes, the answer should be a
resounding and unequivocal “no.”
FATF has previously told Tehran it needs to address technical issues like weak
customer due diligence mechanisms; processes for identifying and sanctioning
unlicensed money transfer service providers; and ensuring that financial
institutions verify originator and beneficiary information. But Iran has yet to
comply with the full action plan FATF has identified. FATF should not remove the
Islamic Republic from the blacklist until it ceases the actions that have made
Tehran the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism and terrorism finance.
One of the bloodiest terrorist attacks associated with the regime occurred on
October 7, 2023, when Iran-backed Hamas massacred or kidnapped nearly 1,500
people from southern Israel, including Israeli civilians, at least 40 Americans,
and citizens of 45 countries. The terrorist group recently executed six of the
hostages in cold blood, including an American citizen.
But Iran’s malign role in the Middle East hardly started there.
In the last 12 months, Iran has provided funds and weapons to the Houthis, a
Yemen-based terrorist organization. The Houthis, a proxy and willing partner of
Tehran, have launched scores of deadly missiles and drones targeting
international tankers and ships. This has disrupted billions of dollars in
global trade in the Red Sea, including food, oil and gas, and consumer goods,
impacting all FATF member countries.
In the last 12 months, Hezbollah has fired more than 8,000 missiles and rockets
into Israel’s population centers, killing at least 41 Israelis, including 12
Druze kids playing soccer. Iran provides weapons and hundreds of millions of
dollars annually that Hezbollah uses for terrorism. October 2024 will mark 41
years since Hezbollah killed 241 U.S. servicemembers and 58 French paratroopers
sent to Beirut to keep the peace.
In the last 12 months, al Qaeda, designated by the United Nations as a terrorist
entity, has called on foreigners to join the organization and receive training
for terrorist activity in Afghanistan. Iran is providing safe haven to Sayf
al-Adl, believed to be al Qaeda’s head emir.
FATF placed Iran on its blacklist in 2007. The events of the past year are
reminders of why it should remain there. The blacklist sends a message to the
market that it’s just not safe to do business with Iran.
Masoud Pezeshkian, the new president of the Islamic Republic, has made Iran’s
removal from the FATF blacklist a priority because he knows it’s a prerequisite
for reintegrating the country into the global financial network and bolstering
its economy.
However, an editorial in Kayhan, a publication regarded as the supreme leader’s
mouthpiece, reminded him and the public, days before his September 24 address to
the UN General Assembly, that “matters of state like FATF compliance are not for
lower levels of the political hierarchy to decide.” The piece emphasized that
such critical issues remain firmly in the hands of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
There has long been a debate in Iran about complying with FATF’s requirements.
If Tehran complies with and really enforces FATF’s action plan, it would be more
difficult for the Islamic Republic to evade sanctions, launder money, and
finance terrorism. Consequently, the hardliners are against compliance with
FATF’s requirements.
The pragmatists argue that the cost of being on FATF’s blacklist is too high a
price for Iran’s economy and advocate carving out exceptions in how its laws
define terrorism. They want it both ways. They argue that Iran can keep secret
what information its authorities reveal about their illicit financing.
Included in FATF’s requirements is that the Islamic Republic enact legislation
that would compel the country to become a party to two UN conventions: the
International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and
the Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime. The Iranian parliament
introduced the bills in 2018.
Tehran drafted the bills to define terrorism in a way that excludes
organizations it says “struggle against colonial dominance and foreign
occupation.” In so doing, the Islamic Republic seeks its removal from the
blacklist while simultaneously continuing to finance its “axis of resistance,”
including the Houthis, Hezbollah, Al Qaeda, and Hamas. FATF, however, does not
permit such deceptive carve outs.
In 2018, Iran’s parliament approved the FATF-related bills, but its Guardian
Council, a 12-member body that screens all legislation to ensure it conforms
with the regime’s Islamist ideology, chose not to ratify them. Six years later,
the decision remains pending before the Expediency Discernment Council, which
intervenes in cases of disagreement between the parliament and the Guardian
Council.
Earlier this month, Pezeshkian told the media, “I will certainly write a letter
to the Expediency Council to reactivate the FATF discussions so that we can find
a solution” to Iran’s economic troubles. Even if the council ultimately passes
the legislation, FATF should not remove Tehran from its blacklist. Iran’s
leaders have made clear they do not intend to stop financing terrorism,
laundering money, or evading international sanctions. Pezeshkian’s post-election
dialogue with and expressions of support for Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis
reflect this policy.
To protect the global financial system, FATF should keep the Islamic Republic of
Iran right where it belongs.
**Saeed Ghasseminejad is a senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies (FDD). Toby Dershowitz is managing director at FDD Action. Follow
them on Twitter @tobydersh and @SGhasseminejad.
How Israel Got Its Mojo Back
Jonathan Schanzer/Commentary/October 17/2024
In the spring of 2024, Israel began to strike back on multiple fronts with
precision and lethality against the enemy alliance that had attacked it on
October 7, 2023. After a months-long break in its siege of Gaza, Israel
redoubled its efforts to destroy Hamas. In the summer, assassinations of senior
Iranian and Hamas leaders in Beirut and Tehran were startling in ambition and
dazzling in execution. And by the middle of September, when the pagers of
Hezbollah fighters and leaders exploded simultaneously and Israeli air strikes
were eliminating the majority of the Lebanese terrorist group’s senior ranks,
the results were unmistakable and stunning.
The hour-by-hour details of Hezbollah’s degradation and destruction were
accompanied by the evidence that Israel’s grinding military efforts against
Hamas had begun to yield fruit—even as Israel batted down the second set of
ballistic-missile strikes launched against it from Iran, marking the first
direct hostilities between the two countries in Israel’s 76-year history.
After a bruising yearlong war, amid a shocking spike in global anti-Zionism, the
nation that had endured the darkest assault on Jews in nearly 80 years has
seemingly regained its swagger. But to borrow from the rapper LL Cool J: Don’t
call it a comeback. The capabilities Israel has demonstrated have been
developing, secretly and ever more efficiently, for nearly two decades. This is
not a return to form but the culmination of a painstaking intelligence and
counterterrorist effort without parallel in world history.
The attacks of October 7 had left Israelis with the sense that their nation’s
strength and security had both been illusory. That despair gripped Israel again
in late September when six hostages in the tunnels under Rafah were killed as
Israeli special forces were closing in on their rescue. After their recent
string of tactical victories, the Israelis now view battles ahead with renewed
self-confidence. That alone is an inestimable psychic and spiritual achievement.
But this war is still fraught with danger.
To understand what has happened, one must first grasp the disadvantages that
Israel faced during the first phase of the war that began on October 7, 2023.
Without question, Israeli hubris enabled the catastrophic Hamas attack on
southern Israel. The intelligence services believed that Israel had achieved
deterrence against Hamas, so much so that they ignored and belittled signs that
Hamas was not only undeterred but ready to strike. The military didn’t fare much
better, as it struggled to mount a response to the Hamas attack that day while
citizens in safe rooms in the south and in hiding holes near the Nova
music-festival grounds waited in vain for the calvary to arrive.
But these were not the obstacles Israel was forced to overcome. During the first
wartime visit of an American president to Israel in the wake of October 7, when
Joseph R. Biden arrived to show solidarity in a gesture deeply appreciated by
Israel’s shocked and suffering populace, the Israelis privately let America know
that they believed they had an opportunity to strike Hezbollah in Lebanon.
To some, this idea may even now seem like a non sequitur, as it did to Biden and
his people; the attack had come from the south, not the north, and the force
that had struck Israel was Hamas, not Hezbollah. But it did not seem like a non
sequitur to the Israelis who were proposing an attack on Hezbollah. For reasons
that are unclear, Hezbollah had decided not to invade northern Israel, which it
certainly could have, when Hamas raided the south. Hezbollah, too, possessed a
tunnel system and access to multiple points at which it could have entered the
Jewish state. But, without question, the Iran-backed terror group in Lebanon had
joined the war. It started firing rockets from its stash, hundreds of thousands
of warheads strong, on Israel on October 8, and it had no plans of stopping.
There was still a chance that Hezbollah’s highly trained Radwan Forces could try
to attack Israel on the ground. And, of course, both Hamas and Hezbollah
answered to the same state sponsor in Iran, which had clearly at least blessed
the outbreak of war if it had not directed it.
According to several people familiar with the conversation that ensued, Biden
warned, “Don’t start a war you can’t finish.” And so, Israel forbore in the
north. Thus began the first phase of the war: Gaza. The Israelis turned their
sights on the terror group that had perpetrated the massacre of October 7, even
as rockets and missiles hurtled into Israel from Lebanon.
The Israelis had been in direct combat against Hamas in Gaza multiple times—in
2008, 2012, 2014, and 2021, and there had been multiple flare-ups in between
these clashes. So, on the one hand, this was a familiar foe. But the Israelis
had burned many of their capabilities while fighting the group in the
intervening years. There are only so many surprises in strategy and tactics, let
alone newly developed weaponry, one can deploy against well-known adversaries
before they learn to respond effectively. One Israeli-American analyst I spoke
with likened the situation to inter-divisional rivalries in sports, like when
the Yankees play the Red Sox.
But there was another reason that Israel lacked the ready-made tools for victory
in Gaza. The security apparatus in Israel had agreed more than a decade earlier
to focus the lion’s share of its attention on countering Hezbollah and Iran,
given the strategic and even existential threat these actors posed. The Israelis
invested billions of dollars and untold man-hours into developing the tools that
were needed to defeat their mortal enemies. Hamas got short shrift.
The clash in Gaza was thus slated to be a tactical battle, and one that would
require the IDF to fight an uncharacteristically long, gritty, urban war right
on its border. This is not to say that Israel didn’t innovate or impress in
Gaza. The Israeli leadership pulled together a battle plan over the course of
just three weeks, called up its reservists, and deployed them into a complex
urban and underground war. The Israel Defense Forces then performed beyond all
expectations. Many predicted that they would get stuck in the Gaza mud, so to
speak. This never happened.
In fact, during my visits to Israel over the past year, the one thing I observed
consistently among older generations of Israelis was their beaming pride for the
new generation of Israeli war fighters who had deployed to Gaza. There was a
fear that these young men and women would not live up to the storied martial
reputation of previous generations. But the generation of screen-addicted youth
proved everyone wrong. They advanced rapidly in enemy territory in an extremely
challenging environment.
The very fact that the Israelis were fighting on three fronts—in the air, on the
ground, and in the tunnels—was challenging enough. But Hamas was also hiding
behind Palestinian human shields and holding hostages whom soldiers wanted to
save at all costs. These were conditions that forced Israel to slow its advance
from northern Gaza to the south. But the greatest challenges Israel faced may
not have been on the battlefield. Rather, they stemmed from the complex
political battlefield here in America.
While President Biden came out in full support for Israel in the wake of October
7, he was soon hammered for doing so by the left flank of his own party—with an
election year coming. By March 2024, Biden warned Israel not to complete its
sweep southward into Rafah during the entire month of Ramadan. After the holy
month was over, the White House then began to warn of possible Israeli war
crimes, which proved to have a chilling effect on Israel’s military progress. It
also gave a green light to Israel’s litigious enemies, who promptly wielded the
International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice to level
outrageously false war-crimes charges.
Meanwhile, an internecine battle raged inside Israel. The hostage families and
the Israeli left joined together in common cause, excoriating Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu for failing to broker a hostage deal with Hamas, even as the
terrorist group repeatedly eschewed any such arrangement. Hamas’s repeated
refusal to cut a deal, while it occasionally released signs of life of the
hostages, was a brutally effective psychological-warfare campaign against the
already traumatized Israeli people.
But even with this cocktail of challenges, the Israelis were still able to
demonstrate why they are the most advanced and agile military in the Middle
East. The IDF adopted a “sukkah” or canopy system to prevent Hamas drones from
dropping explosives on their tanks. They developed methods to breach the tunnel
entrances that had been booby-trapped by Hamas. They mapped an estimated 1,000
kilometers of Hamas’s three-tiered underground tunnel system, some reaching
depths Israel had not realized. The IDF developed a system of deploying drones,
robots, dogs, and fighters to clear the tunnels before destroying them. Faster
progress has been hindered only by the fear of harming hostages being held in
these tunnels.
The Israelis also executed a series of intelligence-driven air strikes that
neutralized Hamas’s top leaders in Gaza. With deadly care, they eliminated
Mohammed Deif and Marwan Issa, the group’s top military commanders, and a slew
of other mid-level military types.
By early summer, the tide had clearly turned. That was when Israel, defying the
shrill warnings of the White House and the tantrums of the Abdel Fatah al-Sisi
regime in Egypt, advanced on the last bastions of organized Hamas fighters in
southern Gaza. This, they realized, was the only way to defeat Hamas. The army
carefully moved on the town of Rafah. In the process, the Israelis conquered
Hamas’s last remaining tunnels and supply lines—some of which clearly snaked
into Egypt. Since then, the Israelis have announced the defeat of 23 out of 24
Hamas brigades. By autumn, the Israelis declared the hard fighting in Gaza
complete. And the breathless American warnings of a humanitarian crisis in
southern Gaza—a crisis that soon-to-be Democratic nominee Kamala Harris was sure
would happen since, she said, she had studied “the maps”—failed to materialize.
Winding down that tough, tactical battle in the south meant that Israel could
begin to use some of its more impressive capabilities in other theaters. In late
July, the Israelis took out Fouad Shukr, a top Hezbollah commander, with a
surgical air strike in the Hezbollah stronghold of Dahieh in Beirut. Later that
day, the Mossad detonated a pre-placed explosive that killed Hamas political
chief Ismael Haniyeh in the heart of Tehran. With that startling double whammy,
the Israelis finally appeared to go on the offensive, sowing fear in the hearts
of their enemies.
Then, in the middle of September, came “Operation Grim Beeper,” the jaw-dropping
mass detonation of thousands of Hezbollah pagers that killed or maimed
Hezbollah’s middle ranks. This was followed a day later by the detonation of
walkie-talkies. The Mossad, as it turns out, had penetrated Hezbollah’s supply
chain. Years earlier, it had placed small amounts of explosives and listening
devices in communications equipment before the gear was sold to Hezbollah. The
plan was to collect intelligence over time and detonate the devices only when
war was imminent. But, as fate would have it, the Israelis were forced to act
sooner. While the specifics are still unclear, it appears this capability was in
danger of being discovered.
The war against Hezbollah was not launched by design but rather by necessity.
And even then, there was fierce debate within Israel’s security cabinet. Fear of
being viewed by the world as the aggressor, and fear of angering the Biden
administration during an election cycle, forced Israeli leaders to think twice.
For several days after the Mossad operation, with Hezbollah in disarray, the
government of Israel found itself at a strategic crossroads. And it did not know
quite know what to do.
Former military and security brass soon began to criticize the Benjamin
Netanyahu government for failing to follow up on this remarkable turn of events.
Those critics included even some Bibi loyalists. Domestic considerations
consequently began to influence Israeli leaders. But in the end, the government
understood that, after absorbing more than 8,000 Hezbollah rockets over the
course of the year and watching helplessly as an estimated 150,000 residents of
northern communities had either fled or been evacuated from their homes by
government diktat, a response was long overdue.
Thus began the series of audacious, targeted strikes against Hezbollah leaders,
culminating in the breathtaking operation that killed Hezbollah
secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah. The Israelis followed up with similar
strikes against scores of other Hezbollah leaders, including Nasrallah’s
successor, Hashem Safieddine.
These operations, during which the Israeli air force dropped dozens of
2,000-pound bombs in rapid succession to penetrate Hezbollah’s bunkers 90 feet
below ground, required an air force and intelligence capability that had taken
more than a decade to develop. The source of the intelligence that made it
possible for Israel to know where the Hezbollah leaders were at any given moment
will likely never be revealed. But when the Israelis understood that their
information was accurate and only getting better, they began to train the air
force—this goes as far back as 2012—to prepare for rapid and lethal strikes
against Hezbollah assets. They developed new tactics and procedures tailored to
their objectives. One former official said the innovation was nothing short of
an “industrial revolution” for Israel’s air force.
The tight coordination between Aman (Israeli military intelligence) and the
Israeli Air Force only grew tighter in the intervening years, as Israel targeted
Iranian weapons transfers to Hezbollah from Syria. This was live-fire practice.
In this way, the Israelis were able to improve on the innovative approach first
developed through the “Campaign Between the Wars”—a gray-zone campaign designed
to stymie Hezbollah’s military build-up and that of other enemies. And as one
former Israeli official told me, “Had the Israelis not taken out these
transfers, the fighting in Lebanon would be much more difficult today.”
The string of impressive Israeli strikes and operations against Iranian-regime
proxies in August and September gave way to a direct confrontation with Tehran
in October. The long-awaited showdown between an increasingly frustrated Islamic
Republic and the embattled Jewish state had finally arrived.
Of course, Israel had already sustained an Iranian attack in April, during which
the regime lobbed some 300 missiles and drones at Israel. The Israelis, with
help from the United States military and partners in the region, shot 99 percent
of them down. During the attack in October, however, the Iranian regime fired an
unprecedented 181 ballistic missiles at Israel. Iran had learned from the spring
attack that the drones and other projectiles had simply proved too easy for
Israel to shoot down. Israel’s Arrow missile-defense system intercepted the
massive projectiles that appeared destined to strike meaningful targets. But
given the staggering cost of each interceptor (an estimated $1 million apiece),
the Israelis let some of the projectiles through. Again, the Israelis got
assistance from regional partners, and the overall impact of the Iranian assault
was negligible.
There was another silver lining to the Iranian attack: It yielded from the Biden
White House a clear green light for Israel to respond. Israel was granted the
opportunity, yet again, to brandish some of its previously secret weapons and
capabilities. According to one former Israeli official, the Israelis have been
developing these capabilities since the 1990s.
After months of watching Israel struggle to gain the upper hand, supporters of
the Jewish state became euphoric, heartened by Israel’s stunning achievements.
But this is not a time to celebrate. Wars are not linear. Isolated victories in
battle do not lead inexorably to winning in a wider war.
Israel remains small and vulnerable to attack. The Iranian regime still arms and
directs proxies across the Middle East. Its “ring of fire” still surrounds
Israel and continues to darken its skies with drones, missiles, and rockets.
Israeli ground forces are now fighting another tactical battle, this time in
Lebanon, against a Hezbollah terrorist army that is better trained and equipped
than perhaps any other foe they have encountered since the founding of the
state. Terror attacks launched against Israel inside its borders and on the West
Bank continue to be carried out by Iran’s Palestinian proxies. These battles
will claim lives, erode morale, and sap the country’s resources. In other words,
a brutal war continues.
Then again, Iran’s proxies are weakening. The soldiers of the IDF understand the
stakes, and they are fighting accordingly. The Islamic Republic, meanwhile,
lacks a competent air force, and it has not seen a war on its on soil since the
Iran-Iraq War, which was fought from 1980 to 1988 and concluded only when that
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini chose to “drink from the poison chalice” and end a
war he knew he could not win.
The Israelis, through capabilities and innovations developed with painstaking
patience and mastery over decades in anticipation of this moment, now aim to
neutralize the Iranian regime’s long war launched on October 7. Some in Israel
merely seek to get Supreme Leader Ali Khameini to drink from Khomeini’s chalice.
Others seek nothing less than the downfall of the Islamic Republic. Whatever
surprises the Israelis have in store to achieve that ambitious end are
unknowable to us. But one thing we do know: Israel has gotten its mojo back.
Islamic Militias in the Central African Republic
Uzay Bulut/Gatestone Institute/Gatestone Institute/October 17, 2024
The Central African Republic is a tragic case of what happens when Islamic
radicals take over a nation.
The UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African
Republic (MINUSCA) and government security forces have also not been able to
exert effective control beyond the capital city.
This devastating war and its consequences need more media coverage. Why are
activists and human rights groups concerned only with the Middle East? The
horrific situation in CAR and elsewhere should also serve as an urgent warning
about what happens to nations when Islamic radicals are not vetted or held
accountable.
The Central African Republic is a tragic case of what happens when Islamic
radicals take over a nation. Pictured: A boy rides a loaded donkey through a
rural village in the Vakaga Prefecture, near Birao on August 11, 2024. (Photo by
Amaury Falt-Brown/AFP via Getty Images)
The Central African Republic is a tragic case of what happens when Islamic
radicals take over a nation.
Much of the international community, human rights groups and media have ignored
it, but the Central African Republic (CAR) has been struggling with an ongoing
war launched by Seleka, an alliance of Islamic militias fighting against the
country's Christian and officially secular government.
Most of the country is today occupied by armed groups (both from within the
country and foreign fighters), all of whom appear responsible for human rights
abuses.
Russian mercenaries from The Wagner Group also arrived in the CAR after
President Faustin-Archange Touadéra asked for help to tackle rebel groups in
2018. Wagner has since been fighting on the side of the CAR military against the
Islamic militias and, while "protecting" the gold mines, has, at least for the
time being, delivered "peace." However, according to the BBC:
"Ms [Nathalia] Dukhan [a senior investigator at The Sentry investigative group]
says the mercenaries are waging a 'campaign of terror' and are responsible for
widespread human rights abuses including extrajudicial killings, torture and
rape.... Wagner has taken advantage of weak institutions and a weak army to
perfect 'a blueprint for state capture.'"
The war has resulted in the displacement of thousands of Christians who have
lost their livelihoods, been forced out of their homes and now to live in camps.
Murders and the destruction of property and churches have become common.
Enrica Picco, the Central Africa Project Director of Crisis Group, explains:
"Ten years ago, a predominantly Muslim rebel coalition from the north east,
Seleka, marched on CAR's capital Bangui, supported by thousands of Chadian and
Sudanese mercenaries, without encountering any resistance. It overthrew
President François Bozizé [a Christian] and launched a transition phase but
failed to keep its fighters under control."
The US Department of State notes:
"Thousands of Central Africans have been displaced over the past eight years, as
militias organized, in part, along religious lines, target entire communities
for violence and persecution based on their religious beliefs."
Seleka leader Michel Djotodia was the nation's president from March 2013 until
his resignation in January 2014.
CAR's current president, Faustin-Archange Touadera (elected in 2016 and
re-elected in December 2020) has not, regrettably, been able to extend
government control over the whole of the country's territory. The CAR government
is currently only in control of the capital city, Bangui. Most of the rest of
the country is controlled by Islamic militias. In these Muslim-dominated areas,
Christians are often persecuted, especially where Sharia law is more or less
officially implemented.
The Central African Republic is a majority-Christian country. The Christian
population is around 3,807,000 (74.4% of the whole population). The Muslim
population is 711,000 (13.9%) and people who practice African indigenous
religions are 548,000 (10.7%).
Since Touadéra was elected in 2016, he has made reconciliation a priority.
Although in 2019, "The Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in the
Central African Republic" was signed between the government and 14 armed groups,
it collapsed in the run-up to the December 2020 elections, and the fighting has
not yet ended.
The UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African
Republic (MINUSCA) and government security forces have also not been able to
exert effective control beyond the capital city.
As a result, Christians face immense violence from occupying militia groups.
Open Doors, which monitors Christian persecution on a global scale, reports:
"Currently, the breakdown of law and order has reached such a level that
impunity and anarchy reign, leaving no space for Christians to practice their
faith in safety. Armed militias, which occupy large swaths of the country, have
been responsible for an extensive list of human rights abuses, including the
burning and ransacking of church buildings."
Since the civil war started, Open Doors reports, many Christians in the CAR have
been killed by Islamic militias because of their faith, as well as physically
and mentally abused. Christian women and girls have been raped and sexually
assaulted. Christian women and girls risk being abducted and forcibly married to
Muslim men. Christian private property has been damaged or confiscated, and
churches and Christian buildings attacked and closed.
"Christian leaders brave enough to speak out against this violence have faced
threats to their lives, compelling many in the Christian community to flee to
neighboring countries like Cameroon for safety.
"The lack of governance and the rule of law have resulted in thousands of
Christians becoming internally displaced, often forcing them into makeshift
camps where they lose their homes and means of livelihood....
"There are also difficulties for Christians in the eastern part of the country,
bordering Sudan."
According to Open Doors, some of the abuses Christians face at the hands of
Islamic members include:
Muslim community members usually do not want to share community resources (such
as healthcare) with converts to Christianity, especially in the remote northern
part of the country.
Muslim militia attack churches in the Muslim-dominated areas of the country and
especially target churches that are more involved in openly integrating converts
from the Muslim community.
In areas controlled by militants, all transportation facilities are under Muslim
control, making movement for Christians difficult. When violence flares up,
pastors are particularly vulnerable when traveling between churches to carry out
their work.
In regions where rebel groups hold power, Christians are discriminated against
and sometimes attacked, forcing them to flee home and country.
In the Muslim-dominated north, where Seleka splinter groups operate, converts
risk their lives if they own Christian materials. When Islamic fighters come
into a house and find someone reading a Bible, they have been known to kill them
immediately.
In areas controlled by rebel groups, where children's parents have been killed
or have been forced to flee, any children left behind remain at the mercy of the
attackers. Some have been killed brutally.
In Muslim-dominated areas, women are pressured to follow an Islamic dress code,
and converts face house arrest and forced marriage to older Muslims.
Many churches have been damaged. On January 22, 2022, the Union of Evangelical
Churches of the Brothers (UEEF) was the target of an armed attack from elements
of the rebel group of 3R.
Years of violence and political instability in the civil war have left Christian
women and young girls particularly vulnerable to rape, trafficking, abduction,
and forced marriage as forms of religious persecution. Widespread sexual
violence discourages parents from sending girls to school.
Christian men also face abuse or death almost daily. They are often killed or
detained for their faith by radical Islamic militias:
"Pastors are especially targeted, falsely accused and even attacked during
church services. Men are also discriminated against in jobs, as Islamic leaders
occupy all marketplaces, control trade, impose large taxes on Christian
businessmen, and even loot Christian-owned shops which can keep them in poverty.
Christians are forcibly recruited into rebel militant groups, discriminated
against in national military service, and targeted for torture and assault.
Abduction, killing, threats and the tactical impoverishment of men greatly
affects Christian families....
"There are reports indicating that there are foreign Islamic fighters in the
country supporting the Ex-Séléka [Islamic] groups. As long as Ex-Séléka militia
are armed and operating in the country, violent oppression will continue and the
chances of peace in CAR are very unlikely," adds the Open Doors.
"The Central African Republic (CAR) is a very dangerous country for Christians
(74 percent of the population)," said Ryan Brown, Open Doors US representative,
in an interview with Gatestone.
"It ranks 28th on the Open Doors 2024 World Watch List, an annual ranking of the
50 most dangerous countries to follow Jesus, due to high levels of Islamic
oppression, and organized crime. Anti-government militias have forced countless
people from their homes, including thousands of Christians.
"There is constant instability in the CAR and in the surrounding countries. One
major way the international community can help is by preventing impunity and
ensuring accountability against violence in the CAR. We recommend strengthening
the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the
Central African Republic's (MINUSCA) capacity by equipping their troops for
efficient identification and response to emerging threats and to ensure
accountability of their operations.
"We would also like to see MINUSCA utilize transparent, independent resources
such as the Office for Peacekeeping Strategic Partnership. The MINUSCA is the
only UN led overseer in CAR and their presence is extremely important for the
purposes of security and stability in the country.
"Impunity can also be fought by urging the CAR government to restore a formal
justice system and to support local, grassroots legal training to deliver
justice across all levels of society. Additionally, given the contributions made
by Local Faith Actors in endeavoring to bring peace and social cohesion in the
community, the International Community should integrate flexible funding
opportunities into their programming to allow well-coordinated and non-partisan
Local Faith Actors and Community Based Organizations in CAR to carry out their
work including providing access to food, safe drinking water and essential
medical supplies, locally appropriate psychological and social care,
reconciliation and community-building projects amongst the internally
displaced."
This devastating war and its consequences need more media coverage. Why are
activists and human rights groups concerned only with the Middle East? The
horrific situation in CAR and elsewhere (for instance here, here, here and here)
should also serve as an urgent warning about what happens to nations when
Islamic radicals are not vetted or held accountable.
*Uzay Bulut, a Turkish journalist, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone
Institute.
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If Western Laws Were Actually Enforced, the Koran Would
Be Banned
Raymond Ibrahim/The Stream/October 17, 2024
We recently saw how certain Western nations — first Denmark, then Sweden — have
gone from being bastions of free speech and expression to banning any “hate”
speech or expression against Islam (for example, burning the Koran).
At one point, I wrote, “rather than ban the burning of the Koran, it seems that
Scandinavia might have served itself better had it banned the Koran altogether.”
Such an assertion is not as whimsical as it might seem. In fact, if the West
followed its very own laws, that would be the inevitable outcome: the Koran
would have to be banned for overflowing with hate speech against the “other.”
The UN Defines Hate Speech
Consider how the UN Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech defines the term:
Any kind of communication in speech, writing or behaviour, that attacks or uses
pejorative or discriminatory language with reference to a person or a group on
the basis of who they are, in other words, based on their religion, ethnicity,
nationality, race, colour, descent, gender or other identity factor.
That is precisely what the Koran does: Islam’s holy book repeatedly “attacks” —
including by using “pejorative and discriminatory language” — people “based on
their religion.”
Consider just these passages about Christianity:
“[T]he Christians say the Christ is the son of God … may Allah’s curse be upon
them!” (Koran 9:30)
“Infidels are they who say God is one of three” (a reference to the Christian
Trinity; Koran 5:73)
“Infidels are they who say God is the Christ, [Jesus] son of Mary” (Koran 5:72)
It is impossible to understand how much animosity for Christians is being
expressed in these verses without first understanding the Arabic word kafir
(often translated as “infidel” or merely “non-Muslim”). The Koran refers to
kuffar (plural form of kafir) as inherently “guilty” and “unjust” (10:17, 45:31,
68:35); terror is to be cast into their hearts (3:151); they are the “vilest of
beasts” (8:55, 98:6), comparable to “cattle” and “devoid of understanding”
(47:12, 8:65); they are natural “enemies” to Muslims (4:101), “disliked” and
“accursed” by Allah (2:89, 3:32, 33:64), who further declares himself their
implacable “enemy” (2:98).
This is how the Koran describes all who believe Jesus is the Son of God, even if
they have never once spoken against or harmed Islam. This also is why Islam
commands Muslims to hate every non-Muslim — even if they are related or married
to them.
A Double Standard
Now imagine if a core Christian text — or just a cartoon editorial — declared:
“Infidels [kuffar] are they who say Muhammad is the prophet of God — may God’s
curse be upon them.”
If Muslims considered that to be hate speech — and they would, with all the
attendant rioting, violence, murders, etc. — then by the same standard, it must
be admitted that the Koran contains hate speech against Christians and
Christianity.
Christians are, of course, not the only peoples specifically named and targeted
with hate speech in the Koran; so are the Jews. According to the Koran, Jews are
accursed (4:47), perverse (9:30), and eager to accept and pass on lies (5:41);
they are obstinate, rebellious, and blasphemous, and Allah has cursed them with
enmity and hatred for spreading mischief (5:64). As punishment, Allah literally
transformed some of them into apes (2:65).
Incidentally, we haven’t even begun to look at the many verses that are not just
hate-filled but actually call for violence and killing people on the basis of
their religion. Koran 9:5 calls on Muslims to “kill the polytheists wherever you
find them — capture them, besiege them, and lie in wait for them on every way.”
(Is it any wonder that Muslims have slaughtered some 400 million Hindus?)
Koran 9:29 calls for nonstop war against Christians and Jews (collectively known
as the “people of the book”) until they convert or pay tribute (jizya) and
accept living as second-class, regularly humiliated and oppressed subjects of
the Islamic state.
The Grand Irony
The grandest irony of all is that the “hate” Muslims claim to experience — and
to which they respond with great violence and bloodshed around the world —
revolves around silly things like cartoons or the burning of a book, which are
performed by individuals who represent only themselves. On the other hand, Islam
itself, through its holiest and most authoritative book, hates on and calls for
violence against all non-Muslims.
It is this issue, Islam’s perceived “divine” right, not only to hate on but
violently attack and kill others, that the international community and UN should
be addressing. Instead, they are outlawing the desecration of the very book that
canonizes such hate and violence — leaving us to cry with the prophet: “Woe unto
them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light
for darkness!”
*Raymond Ibrahim, author of Defenders of the West and Sword and Scimitar, is the
Distinguished Senior Shillman Fellow at the Gatestone Institute and the Judith
Rosen Friedman Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
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Syria at risk of being dragged into regional war
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/October 17, 2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/10/135812/
The ongoing Israeli war on Hezbollah in Lebanon poses a critical question: Will
Syria be drawn into this conflict as it escalates? As the violence intensifies,
the geographical proximity of Syria to Lebanon makes it almost inevitable that
events in the latter will affect the former. Historically, Lebanon and Syria
appear to have had intertwined fates, politically, economically and socially,
due to their shared border and cultural ties. This raises concerns that the
current conflict in Lebanon could spread across the border, especially given the
complex alliances and rivalries in the region, which involve not just local
actors but also global powers like Iran, the US and Russia.
Conflicts in Syria and Lebanon have often spilled over from one to the
other, especially during times of civil strife. The Syrian civil war, for
instance, had devastating effects on Lebanon, causing severe economic strain and
altering the social fabric.
Over the past decade, Lebanon has absorbed nearly 1.5 million Syrian refugees,
placing enormous strain on its infrastructure and public services. Now, as
violence erupts in Lebanon, the reverse could happen, with refugees flooding
into Syria, further destabilizing this already fragile country. The social,
economic and political ramifications of this are vast and Syria is unlikely to
escape the fallout if this conflict worsens.Israel’s war against Hezbollah is
already having a significant impact on Syria, though it has not yet drawn the
country into direct conflict. One of the first effects is an influx of refugees,
with more than 250,000 Lebanese civilians reportedly fleeing to Syria. For a
country still recovering from a brutal civil war, this influx exacerbates
Syria’s already dire humanitarian crisis.
Continued Israeli military operations in Syrian airspace could eventually
provoke a stronger reaction
In addition to this, Israel has launched multiple airstrikes into Syrian
territory, targeting locations said to be linked to Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps. So far, the Damascus government has limited its
response to condemning these strikes verbally, avoiding military retaliation.
However, continued Israeli military operations in Syrian airspace could
eventually provoke a stronger reaction, pushing Syria closer to open involvement
in the conflict. From the perspective of the Syrian
leadership, directly entering the conflict in Lebanon would not serve its
strategic interests. The Syrian state is still grappling with its own internal
challenges, including the fact that its authority remains contested in some
areas. The government appears to be focused on consolidating its power
internally and engaging in a war with Israel could unravel the fragile gains it
has made since the end of large-scale civil war. Furthermore, Syria is not yet
fully stable, with much of the country still under reconstruction and grappling
with international sanctions, making any involvement in a regional war a
potentially catastrophic miscalculation. There are
several other reasons why Syria is likely to avoid entering a direct military
confrontation with Israel. From an economic perspective, Syria is struggling to
rebuild after years of war and another military conflict could crush what little
recovery is underway. Militarily, Syria is no match for Israel’s sophisticated
and well-funded defense forces. While Syria does maintain a military presence
and it has some alliances with Hezbollah and Iran, its capabilities are nowhere
near those of Israel. Moreover, the Syrian government
is aware that a war could lead to renewed insurgencies within its own borders.
Some groups could use the chaos of war as an opportunity to regroup and
challenge the government’s rule once again, risking a return to civil war
conditions. In addition, history has shown that Syria
tends to avoid direct involvement in conflicts between Israel and Hezbollah. In
the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, Syria refrained from entering the
fray, even though it supported Hezbollah diplomatically and logistically. This
strategic neutrality allowed Syria to avoid the devastating consequences of
direct warfare with Israel. It is likely that the same approach will be followed
now.
The Syrian government is aware that a war could lead to renewed insurgencies
within its own borders
However, the influx of refugees from Lebanon is already taking a toll on Syria’s
fragile stability. With more than 250,000 Lebanese refugees entering Syrian
territory, the already stretched resources of the country are being tested. In a
country that has not yet fully recovered from its own refugee crisis during the
civil war, this new wave of displaced people could further destabilize Syria’s
economy, weaken public services and strain social cohesion. The country’s
infrastructure is still fragile and the addition of a large refugee population
could exacerbate existing vulnerabilities, potentially leading to unrest. It is
also important to point out that wars are inherently unpredictable and, while
Syria may not be directly involved in the conflict with Israel at the moment,
there is always the possibility that the war in Lebanon could fully spill over
into Syrian territory. Moreover, Syria could become a
battleground for proxy conflicts between Israel and Iran. Instead of engaging in
direct warfare with Israel, Iran may opt to use Syrian territory as a staging
ground for attacks against Israeli targets, further entangling Syria in the
conflict. Such a scenario could inadvertently draw Damascus deeper into the war,
even if the government tries to avoid it. In
conclusion, while Israel’s war on Hezbollah will most likely have a negative
impact on Syria, it is expected to continue avoiding direct military
involvement. Engaging in a war with Israel does not serve Syria’s interests at
this time. The country is still recovering from its civil war and its military
and economic capabilities are too weak to handle a full-scale regional conflict.
However, the ongoing war in Lebanon and the influx of refugees could create
spillover effects that Syria cannot ignore, potentially drawing the country into
a wider conflict against its will.The region remains volatile and the situation
could rapidly change depending on how the war evolves and how external actors
like Iran and Israel choose to maneuver within this complex geopolitical
landscape.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian American political scientist.
X: @Dr_Rafizadeh
The Iran Front is Being Tamed
Preemptively
Nabil Amr/Asharq Al Awsat/October 17/2024
As the momentum of the war on two fronts shifts from Gaza to Lebanon, the world
is keeping a close eye on development on the Iranian front.
The question asked most frequently in this regard: how will Israel retaliate to
Iran’s recent missile barrage, to which the painful Binyamina incident has been
added? In this context, talk of striking Iranian nuclear facilities has taken
center stage, along with discussions about targeting Iran’s oil facilities.
Indeed, some are speculating that the goal could approach toppling the Iranian
regime! It is election season in the US, so everything is up for grabs. There is
a contrast between the rhetoric of Democrats and Republicans, which has led to
an understanding between Israel and the Biden administration regarding the
targets of the strike. Nuclear and energy facilities have been put off the
table. When it comes to Iran, the issue is not merely breaking its links to
proxies, the most significant of which is Hezbollah. The goal is to tame this
major regional actor by developing a sensible policy that does not threaten to
undermine the stability of the region and the world. Although Europe’s role is
secondary to that of the US, President Macron has offered to work with Iran to
deescalate regional flare-ups. His proposal entails an ambitious vision to make
Iran a mediator in the global effort to put out the flames in the region rather
than a party in its conflicts.
The proposed Israeli strike on its nuclear facilities has been excluded, a point
in favor of Iran that it should seek to safeguard. Netanyahu’s efforts to drag
the US into this and push in this direction with him have failed. The same is
true for his desire to neutralize Iran’s oil facilities. Iran is aware of the
decisive role the US has played in shaping these two critical decisions. The
question is: do domestic political conditions in Iran allow for paying the bill
demanded for this by the US? Is Iran ready for a radical strategic shift? This
shift would demand scaling back its support for proxies, establishing normal
relations with the countries of the region, and doing everything necessary to
end the suffocating sanctions that it continues to suffer from and that have
left its economy on the edge of collapse.
We have seen some positive signs that point in this direction from the new
"moderate" Iranian administration. While there is no consensus on its position
domestically, it is under immense pressure. The blockade has been suffocating
Iran, as have the costs of propping up its proxies. Thus, there is reason to
believe that it will press forward in its effort to moderate Iran’s policies. We
must keep an eye on two things during this critical period for the region,
especially Iran. One is a fixed question, the Israel factor. It will not stop
trying to drag America into its ongoing war on Iran. The other is the domestic
obstacles posed by Iranian hardliners opposed to moderation. Indeed, the shifts
that are sought entail dismantling domestic and regional bodies established to
realize imperial dreams that had been policy priorities in Iran.
The American-Israeli understanding regarding the Iranian front will be tested.
We will see how serious and effective these efforts have been, and the extent to
which Israel adheres to its commitments, after the strike.
After the strike, which Israel insists is inevitable, the picture will become
clearer, and we will have a better idea of how far the preemptive taming of Iran
will go.