English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For October 28/2024
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested
beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so
that you may be able to endure it
First Letter to the Corinthians 10/01-13/:”I do not want you to
be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud,
and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud
and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same
spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and
the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and
they were struck down in the wilderness. Now these things occurred as examples
for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not become idolaters as
some of them did; as it is written, ‘The people sat down to eat and drink, and
they rose up to play.’ We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them
did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to
the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. And do not
complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. These things
happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct
us, on whom the ends of the ages have come. So if you think you are standing,
watch out that you do not fall. No testing has overtaken you that is not common
to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your
strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may
be able to endure it.
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on October 27-28/2024
A perspective on the Israeli strike on Iran: a victory for all who value
peace and stability/Elias Bejjani/October 26/2024
Intense Israeli Strikes Escalate in South Lebanon and Beqaa
Lebanon says at least 21 killed in Israeli strikes Sunday in south
Hezbollah says fired rockets at military base north of Israel's Haifa
8 dead, 25 hurt in Israeli strike on Haret Saida
Israeli army says 4 soldiers killed in south Lebanon combat
Hezbollah condemns Israel strikes on Iran as 'dangerous escalation'
Israeli airstrikes target Burj al-Barajneh and Hadath overnight
Health Ministry reports 19 killed and 108 injured in Israeli airstrikes on
Lebanon on October 26, total death toll 2,672
Israel breaks sound barrier over Beirut, Mount Lebanon, and Sidon
Doha meeting signals progress on Gaza; senior Qatari security envoy to visit
Beirut: Diplomatic source
Speaker Berri's media office denies statements attributed to him regarding
negotiations
Iran says prioritizing ceasefire in Gaza, Lebanon over Israel retaliation
Saudi and Pakistani Relief Flights Arrive in Lebanon
Patriarch Rai: The Paris Conference has
outlined a roadmap as a diplomatic solution to the war, and we will follow up
with the heads of the sects on the mechanisms for implementing the content of
the statement of the spiritual summit.
Bishop Aoudi: Abandoned Lebanon will rise from its fall thanks to the remaining
sons who place their hope in the Lord, not despairing of their salvation and the
salvation of their country."
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on October 27-28/2024
Netanyahu says strikes on Iran achieved Israel's goals
Over 30 wounded in terror attack north of Tel Aviv
Dozens injured as truck hits bus stop near Tel Aviv
Khamenei says Israel attack 'should neither be exaggerated nor minimized'
Iranian officials to determine how to respond to Israel
Iran president says not seeking war with Israel, vows response to strikes
Iranian officials to determine how to respond to Israel, Supreme Leader says
Iran’s ‘supreme leader’ seriously ill – Report
Iran’s missile program set back, but nuclear threat remains
Israel set to pass bills shutting down UNRWA despite int’l pressure
Burns holds Doha talks on new deal, Egypt pushes mini release
CIA, Mossad chiefs to meet with Qatar PM for Gaza ceasefire and hostage
negotiations: Official
Netanyahu says Israel hit Iran hard; Khamenei says damage should not be
exaggerated
Israeli strikes on Gaza kill 22, officials say, while truck ramming near Tel
Aviv hurts dozens
One killed, dozens injured in truck ramming at Israeli bus stop
Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources
on October 27-28/2024
Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute: Tortured and Raped Multiple Times’…The
Persecution of Christians, September 2024
Analysis: Iran faces tough choices in deciding how to respond to Israeli
strikes/Adam Schreck/AP/October 27, 2024
State College Centre Daily Times/Rick Hughey/College Centre Daily Times/October
27, 2024
Iran’s response to Israel’s response could be a game changer/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab
News/October 27, 2024
Rules not rivalries: adjusting to our multipolar reality/Baria Alamuddin/Arab
News/October 28, 2024
EU, Gulf states pave way for new era of shared prosperity/Zaid M. Belbagi/Arab
News/October 27, 2024
THAAD deployment paved way for Israeli retaliatory airstrikes on Iran/Keren
Setton /The Media Line/Ynetnews/October 28/2024
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News &
Editorials published
on October 27-28/2024
A perspective on the Israeli strike on Iran: a victory for all who value
peace and stability
Elias Bejjani/October 26/2024
Today’ Israeli military operation against Iran exposed a critical truth: the
Iranian regime, despite its grandiose threats and relentless propaganda, is a
paper tiger. Over four hours, 100 advanced Israeli jets—equipped with
state-of-the-art American technology—conducted precision strikes on key Iranian
military sites, achieving their objectives without resistance. Iran, which
claims it can "annihilate Israel" and "drive the Jews into the sea," could not
even down a single Israeli jet, revealing its military weakness for all to see.
Israel’s operation didn’t target civilians; instead, it focused on destroying
missile production facilities, air defense systems, and critical military bases.
This precise strike underscored a reality that every Arab nation should take to
heart: Iran’s power is illusory, based on empty rhetoric rather than real
military capability. For decades, Iran’s leaders have been the loudest opponents
of Israel, but their primary targets are the Arab nations themselves,
destabilizing the region through armed proxies and aggressive meddling in
neighboring countries.
The Iranian regime has always relied on its militia networks and terrorist
proxies like Hezbollah to carry out its agenda. This regime’s tactics have
consistently placed Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen in the line of fire,
sacrificing countless Arab lives. By using these militias, Iran avoids direct
confrontation with Israel while continuing its destabilizing actions against
Arab nations, risking “the last Lebanese, Palestinian, and Arab” in a
never-ending quest for dominance.
It’s baffling, therefore, that some Arab countries condemned Israel’s actions
today. They must realize that their true security lies in a Middle East free
from the influence of Iran’s mullahs, who pose an existential threat to regional
peace. These Arab nations have far more at stake in seeing the mullahs’ power
weakened, if not dismantled, than Israel does alone.
Israel acted fearlessly, proving once more that it won’t hesitate to counter
threats directly. The United States, though influencing certain boundaries,
allowed Israel’s operation to proceed, making it clear that the global community
is unwilling to turn a blind eye to the destructive ambitions of Tehran’s
regime.
Iran will not retaliate directly because it knows it lacks the power to do so.
Instead, it will persist in its hollow threats, leaving real combat to its
proxies. Israel's resolve against Iran should be seen as a beacon of strength,
protecting not only its own citizens but also advancing the cause of peace and
stability in the entire region.
In conclusion, Arabs' actual enemy is not the State Of Israel, but rather the
Iranian Mullahs' terrorist regime. And if the Middle East is to see stability,
the Iranian regime must be dismantled, its militias and proxies neutralized, and
its leaders brought to justice. For the Arab world, the Israeli strikes are a
necessary step toward exposing and weakening a regime that endangers all who
hope for a secure, peaceful future. Israel’s efforts against Iran should be
applauded as a force for regional security.
Intense Israeli Strikes Escalate in South Lebanon and
Beqaa
This Is Beirut/October 28/2024
While calm continued to prevail in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday, Israel
continued targeting southern Lebanon and the Beqaa.
Southern Lebanon
Several towns in Bint Jbeil were subjected to a raid on Sunday afternoon,
including Ainata. It was also reported that an Israeli raid blocked the road
between Ain Ebel and Bint Jbeil. An Israeli drone strike targeted the town of
Burj al-Shamali. Initial reports indicated that civilians were injured. An
Israeli airstrike also targeted and destroyed a house in Arabsalim in the Iqlim
al-Tuffah area. Israeli warplanes carried out a raid on Tal al-Nahas – between
Kafr Kila, Majdel Zoun and Bourj al-Malouk. Warplanes also launched raids
targeting the towns of Haris, Barashit, Majdel Selm, and Deir Aames in the Tyre
district. Israeli artillery shelling was recorded on the outskirts of the towns
of Bastra and Wadi Khansa in southern Lebanon, with phosphorus shells. In
Nabatieh, Israel targeted the Maslakh neighborhood, leading to the destruction
of a house and heavy damage to residential buildings and shops. However, no
casualties were reported. It also targeted the al-Midan neighborhood, with
reports indicating that six people were killed, including a child.
Beqaa
In the Beqaa, an Israeli drone targeted a car in the town of Hosh Barada, west
of Baalbek, with preliminary reports indicating that three people were killed,
including a Lebanese Army soldier.
Hezbollah responds
For its part, Hezbollah announced that it targeted an Israeli infantry force in
Hula, killing and wounding its members. Hezbollah also targeted a gathering of
Israeli soldiers in the Karmiel settlement, as well as the Malkiya and Zvulun
settlements. In addition, they claimed to have targeted a gathering of Israeli
soldiers on the outskirts of the Lebanese town of Aitaroun. As part of its
warning to several northern settlements, Hezbollah fired a rocket at the
Nahariya settlement.
Israeli statements and claims
The Israeli authorities ordered the evacuation of a dozen villages in southern
Lebanon in preparation for new military operations against Hezbollah. On the
other hand, the Israeli Home Front Command announced that sirens sounded in
Margaliot after about 15 rockets were launched from Lebanon towards the Upper
and Western Galilee. It also announced this afternoon that it had detected
approximately 75 rockets fired from Lebanon in the latest barrage on the Galilee
in northern Israel. Israel also announced that it had attacked Hezbollah weapons
production and storage sites in the southern suburbs overnight and carried out
raids on 120 targets across Lebanon in the past 24 hours. Finally, according to
an Israeli media platform, the number of casualties from a Hezbollah drone
hitting a factory near Akka has risen to four.
Lebanon says at least 21 killed in Israeli strikes
Sunday in south
AFP/October 28, 2024
BEIRUT: The Lebanese health ministry said that Israeli strikes on Sunday killed
at least 21 people across southern Lebanon. Nine people were killed and 38
wounded in a strike on Haret Saida, near the port city of Sidon, the ministry
said. At least seven others including a nurse and three rescuers were killed in
the southern village of Ain Baal and five in Burj Al-Shemali. A strike on Haret
Saida, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the Israeli border, completely
destroyed the top floor of a three-story building, according to an AFP
correspondent. Nearby buildings were also damaged. The Lebanese army blocked
access to the sector, which has become crowded with people fleeing other areas
of south Lebanon since Israel launched its offensive against Hezbollah in
September. AFP’s correspondent said that no warning to evacuate the zone was
given before Israel’s strike. In Ain Baal, the dead included three emergency
workers working at a center run by the Al-Riossala Association, a charity linked
to the Shiite political party Amal, which is an ally of Hezbollah.A nurse and
three other people who happened to be nearby were also killed, the health
ministry said. Israel’s deadly drone attack at Burj Al-Shemali struck near a
school run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, according to the municipal
chief, quoted by the ANI news agency. An UNRWA spokesperson said the school was
not directly hit in the strike and suffered no casualties. At least 1,620 people
have been killed in the conflict since September 23, according to an AFP tally
of health ministry figures.
Hezbollah says fired rockets at military base north of
Israel's Haifa
Agence France Presse/October 27/2024
Hezbollah said it fired rockets at a military base in northern Israel on Sunday,
a day after it declared several areas in the region a "legitimate target" due to
the presence of Israeli troops. The Iran-backed group said it targeted a
"military industries base north of Haifa... with a large rocket salvo," after it
issued an evacuation warning on Saturday for large swathes of northern Israel.
8 dead, 25 hurt in Israeli strike on Haret Saida
Agence France Presse/October 27/2024
Lebanon's health ministry said at least eight people were killed and 25 others
wounded Sunday in an Israeli strike near the southern city of Sidon, where an
AFP correspondent said a building was targeted. The strike hit a
densely-populated area in the Sidon suburb of Haret Saida that saw an influx of
families displaced from areas further south. It was the first strike there since
the Israel-Hezbollah war erupted last month. "The Israeli enemy's raid on Haret
Saida resulted in a... toll of eight killed," the health ministry said, revising
an earlier toll of two dead. The official National News Agency said a child was
among the victims. An AFP correspondent said one apartment was destroyed in the
strike on a three-story residential complex. Surrounding shops and buildings
were also damaged, the correspondent said, as paramedics rushed to the site of
the attack to search for survivors. The Israeli army had issued an evacuation
warning for several areas in south Lebanon on Sunday, but Haret Saida was not
listed among the areas to be targeted. Arab TV networks said the strike targeted
Hezbollah security official Hussein Fneish and that most of the victims were
from his family. The war since September 23 has left at least 1,615 people dead
in Lebanon, according to an AFP tally of nationwide health ministry figures,
though the real number is likely to be higher due to gaps in the data. At least
1.3 million people have been displaced, more than 800,000 of them within
Lebanon's borders, according to the U.N.'s migration agency. More than half a
million people have crossed into Syria, according to Lebanese authorities, most
of them Syrians.
Israeli army says 4 soldiers killed in south Lebanon combat
Agence France Presse/October 27, 2024
The Israeli military on Sunday said four soldiers were killed in southern
Lebanon, bringing to 36 the total number of Israeli soldiers killed since the
start of ground operations on September 30.The soldiers "fell during combat in
southern Lebanon," the army said in a statement, adding that they were killed on
Saturday.
Hezbollah condemns Israel strikes on Iran as 'dangerous
escalation'
Agence France Presse/October 27, 2024
Hezbollah has warned of a "dangerous escalation" in the region, saying
Washington bears "full responsibility" for the "treacherous" raids on Iran
launched by its Israeli ally. "Hezbollah strongly condemns the treacherous
Zionist aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran and considers it a
dangerous escalation at the level of the entire region," Hezbollah said in a
statement. The United States "bears full responsibility for the massacres,
tragedies and pain" caused by Israel, it added. The Israeli strikes were also
condemned by Lebanon's foreign ministry, which described them as a "violation of
Iran's sovereignty and a serious threat to regional" security. It called on the
U.N. Security Council and other world bodies to "put an end to Israel's military
escalation" in the region. Israeli warplanes hit military bases and missile
sites in several Iranian provinces Saturday in retaliation for a missile barrage
earlier this month. Iran said two soldiers died in the attacks.
Israeli airstrikes target Burj al-Barajneh and Hadath
overnight
Agence France Presse/October 27, 2024
Lebanon's state news agency on Sunday reported a series of overnight Israeli
airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, after Israel's army issued fresh
evacuation calls. The official National News Agency said shortly after midnight
that Israel had "targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut."
The Israeli army had earlier urged residents of two neighboulrhoods in the
southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital to evacuate their homes. "You are
located near Hezbollah facilities and interests, against which the IDF will
operate in the near future," military spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post on
social media platform X, using an acronym for the Israeli army. The evacuation
call included maps showing buildings that would be targeted in Burj al-Barajneh
and Hadath.
Health Ministry reports 19 killed and 108 injured in
Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon on October 26, total death toll 2,672
LBCI/October 27, 2024
The Public Health Emergency Operations Center of the Health Ministry announced
in a statement on Sunday that the Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon on Saturday,
October 26, 2024, resulted in the following detailed casualties:
-South Lebanon: seven killed and 48 injured
-Nabatieh: ten killed and 55 injured
-Baalbek-Hermel: two killed and five injured
The Emergency Operations Center noted that the total casualties for the day were
19 killed and 108 injured. As a result, the overall death toll since the
beginning of the Israeli aggression has risen to 2,672, with the number of
injured reaching 12,468.
Israel breaks sound barrier over Beirut, Mount Lebanon, and
Sidon
LBCI/October 27, 2024
Israeli warplanes broke the sound barrier on Sunday evening over Beirut, Mount
Lebanon, and Sidon, causing loud sonic booms, according to the National News
Agency (NNA).
Doha meeting signals progress on Gaza; senior Qatari
security envoy to visit Beirut: Diplomatic source
LBCI/October 27, 2024
A diplomatic source told LBCI that the meeting in Doha opened a breach in the
wall of obstruction, indicating some progress on the Gaza file. The source noted
that there is a real desire to conduct a prisoner exchange between Hamas and
Israel. According to the source, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri informed the
Qataris and Egyptians of Hezbollah's approval to separate the fronts and accept
Resolution 1701, on the condition that it be part of an integrated basket. As a
result, the Lebanese file was included in the negotiating round. The source also
revealed that an Egyptian-Qatari meeting will be held with Hamas, while a senior
Qatari security envoy is expected to visit Beirut to discuss Lebanese demands
and concerns.
Speaker Berri's media office denies statements attributed
to him regarding negotiations
LBCI/October 27, 2024
The media office of Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has denied
statements attributed to him concerning negotiations, asserting that the
information is "not accurate."
Iran says prioritizing ceasefire in Gaza, Lebanon over
Israel retaliation
Agence France Presse/October 27, 2024
Iran warned it would defend itself after Israeli air strikes killed at least
four soldiers and further stoked fears of a full-scale war in the Middle East.
Israel warned Iran would "pay a heavy price" if it responded to the strikes, and
the United States, Germany and Britain demanded Tehran not escalate the conflict
further. U.S. President Joe Biden said he hoped "this is the end" after the
pre-dawn Israeli strikes, noting that "it looks like they didn't hit anything
other than military targets."Biden had urged Israel to spare nuclear and oil
facilities in its retaliatory strikes and the International Atomic Energy Agency
confirmed that no nuclear sites were hit. The European Union called for all
parties to exercise utmost restraint to avoid an "uncontrollable
escalation."Other countries, including many of Iran's neighbors, condemned
Israel's strikes and some, such as Russia, urged both sides to show restraint
and avoid what Moscow dubbed a "catastrophic scenario."Iran insisted it had the
"right and the duty" to defend itself. Confirming its own strikes after
explosions and anti-aircraft fire echoed around Tehran, the Israeli military
said it had hit Iranian missile factories and military facilities in several
provinces. The "retaliatory strike has been completed and the mission was
fulfilled,",l and Israeli aircraft "returned safely," a military spokesman said.
Iran confirmed Israel had targeted military sites around the capital and in
other provinces, saying the raids caused "limited damage" but killed four
soldiers. Iran's armed forces general staff said only radar systems were damaged
in the strikes and held back from any threat of immediate retaliation. "While
reserving its legal and legitimate right to respond at the appropriate moment,
Iran is prioritizing the establishment of a lasting ceasefire in Gaza and
Lebanon," it said. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held telephone talks with his
Egyptian, Qatari and Syrian counterparts. Qatar's Sheikh Mohammed bin
Abdulrahman Al-Thani, a key mediator in Gaza truce efforts, voiced "deep concern
over the serious repercussions that may result from this escalation," his
ministry said.
Direct attack
Israel had vowed to retaliate after October 1, when Iran fired around 200
missiles in only the second ever direct attack against its arch-foe. Most of
those missiles were intercepted but one person was killed. The Israeli
retaliation drew condemnation from Iraq, Pakistan, Syria and Saudi Arabia, which
warned against further escalation. Jordan said Israeli jets had not used its
airspace. Turkey was one of the most outspoken critics, calling for an end to
"terror created by Israel". Israel is already engaged in combat on two fronts.
Since last month, it has been fighting a war against Hezbollah in Lebanon,
including strikes that have killed the group's senior leadership and ground
incursions seeking to destroy missile sites. And, for more than a year since
Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack, Israel has been fighting a war in Gaza that has
caused mass civilian casualties in the densely populated Palestinian territory.
The United Nations has warned the "darkest moment" of that conflict was
unfolding, with Palestinians facing a dire humanitarian crisis and daily Israeli
bombing.
'True ally'
A defense official said there was "no U.S. involvement" in the strikes on Iran,
but afterwards Israeli President Isaac Herzog paid tribute to "our great friend
the USA for being a true ally, and for the overt and covert cooperation". He did
not elaborate. U.S. National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said
Israel's response was "an exercise in self-defense."He urged Iran to "cease its
attacks on Israel so that this cycle of fighting can end without further
escalation."The Israeli military has blamed "Iran and its proxies" in the region
for "relentlessly attacking Israel since October 7", when Hamas attacked Israel,
triggering the Gaza war. In April, in its first-ever direct assault against
Israeli territory, Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles. Tehran said
the barrage was retaliation for a strike on Iran's consular annexe in Damascus
that killed commanders of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Explosions
later in April shook Iran's Isfahan province in what U.S. officials, cited by
American media, said was Israeli retaliation. Iran said its October 1 missile
attack on Israel was retaliation for an Israeli air raid that killed Hezbollah
chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, as well as the assassination in Tehran of Hamas
political leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Saudi and Pakistani Relief Flights Arrive in Lebanon
This Is Beirut/October 28/2024
In a continuing show of international support, Beirut’s Rafic Hariri
International Airport received Saudi and Pakistani relief planes loaded with
essential humanitarian supplies on Sunday. The fourteenth Saudi aid plane
carried food, shelter, and medical supplies operated by the King Salman
Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, thus reinforcing Saudi Arabia’s commitment
to aiding Lebanon in times of crisis. A Pakistani relief flight also arrived
with medical and relief supplies, welcomed by Pakistan’s ambassador Salman
Athari, MPs Fadi Alameh and Bilal Abdullah, and Major General Mohammad Khair
from Lebanon's Higher Relief Commission. The Pakistani plane that arrived today
is the second to bring aid to Lebanon in the form of food and basic necessities
for the displaced. To date, two planes carrying 117 tons of aid from Pakistan
have arrived in Lebanon, with a further 500 tons expected in the next few days.
The second plane, the fourteenth of the Saudi humanitarian airlift operated by
the King Salman Center for Humanitarian Aid and Relief, contained basic
necessities, including food, makeshift shelters, and medical supplies.
Patriarch Rai: The Paris Conference has outlined a
roadmap as a diplomatic solution to the war, and we will follow up with the
heads of the sects on the mechanisms for implementing the content of the
statement of the spiritual summit.
NNA/October 27, 2024
Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi presided over Sunday
Mass at Our Lady of Lebanon Church in Bkirki, assisted by Bishops Paul Sayah and
Antoine Awkar, and with the participation of a number of bishops, priests, and
nuns, in the presence of the head of the Maronite League, Ambassador Dr. Khalil
Karam, former deputy Naim Abou Nasr, the Consul of the Republic of Mauritania,
Elie Nassar, and a crowd of dignitaries and believers.
After the Holy Gospel, Patriarch Rai delivered a sermon entitled: "I was hungry
and you gave me food" (Matthew 25:35), in which he said:
"In the midst of the harsh challenges facing Lebanon, we thank God for the
success of the Islamic-Christian spiritual summit that was held in Bkirki before
our departure to Rome. Like its predecessors, it reaffirmed a set of constants
and facts that have been and remain at the foundation of the Lebanese entity,
starting with the deep-rooted unity of the Lebanese people within their state
and within the framework of international legitimacy, and ending with their
humanitarian and fraternal solidarity that transcends all political differences.
There was a consensus among the spiritual leaders that the key to solving our
crises is the election of a president of the republic who will be a protector of
the constitution and a guarantor of the unity of the Lebanese people. In this
context, we will follow up with our brother heads of sects on all the mechanisms
for implementing the content of the statement of this summit, which has been a
beacon of light in the darkness of these days and has been met with internal and
external relief, especially in terms of embodying the true image of Lebanon with
its diversity of sects."
He added: "We salute the Paris Conference, which was held on the 24th of this
month, which outlined a roadmap as a diplomatic solution to the ongoing war
between Israel and Hezbollah, consisting of three points:
First: An immediate ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel.
Second: The implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006),
especially the deployment of the Lebanese army in southern Litani.
Third: The election of a president of the republic as soon as possible.
We thank the countries represented at this conference for collecting one billion
US dollars for Lebanon, with its distribution being detailed and reaching those
who are directed to it."
He continued: "It is unfortunate that the war between Hezbollah and Israel has
gone beyond its international framework, as it has been reaping children, women,
unarmed civilians, and humanitarian institutions. The number of dead from
Lebanon has exceeded 2,500, in addition to the complete destruction of homes and
institutions, tens of thousands of wounded, and the displacement of more than
1,300,000 citizens. We pray and offer our condolences to the families of the
victims, especially the victims of the Lebanese army, and the victims of the
media who fell in Hasbaya while they were sleeping the night before yesterday:
Ghassan Najjar and Muhammad Radhi from Al-Mayadeen TV, and Wissam Qasim from Al-Manar
TV. Let us pray, dear brothers and sisters, to God through the intercession of
the three martyred brothers, the Massabki lay brothers, that He may make us
witnesses to love and peacemakers in Lebanon, Syria, and the Holy Land, to Him
be glory and thanks now and forever, Amen."
Summary of the Sermon:
Patriarch Rai expressed gratitude for the success of the Islamic-Christian
spiritual summit and emphasized the need for unity and dialogue among Lebanese
sects. He welcomed the outcomes of the Paris Conference, which aimed to find a
diplomatic solution to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. The Patriarch
also condemned the loss of civilian lives and called for peace in the region.
Key points from the sermon:
Importance of unity: The Patriarch stressed the significance of unity among
Lebanese people.
Support for the Paris Conference: He welcomed the conference's efforts to find a
diplomatic solution to the conflict.
Call for peace: The Patriarch expressed deep sorrow over the loss of civilian
lives and called for peace in the region.
Would you like me to provide more information about a specific part of the text
or the context of this speech?
Bishop Aoudi: Abandoned Lebanon will rise from its fall
thanks to the remaining sons who place their hope in the Lord, not despairing of
their salvation and the salvation of their country."
NNA/October 27, 2024
Bishop Elias Aoudi, the Metropolitan of Beirut and its Dependencies for the
Greek Orthodox, presided over a Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of Saint George,
attended by a large crowd of the faithful. Following the Gospel reading, he
delivered a sermon in which he stated:
"In conclusion, at the end of the Mass, we will offer prayers with our Greek
brothers for their country, on the anniversary of the 'Ochi' (No) by which
Greece rejected the Italian occupation during World War II, and resisted bravely
until it liberated itself, prompting Winston Churchill, the British Prime
Minister, to say, 'The world will no longer say that the Greeks fight like
heroes, but that heroes fight like the Greeks.' When a person defends a just and
righteous cause, victory is their ally, no matter how long it takes, and no
matter how much the media is silenced or betrayed and accused, the truth will
prevail and the wrongdoers will be exposed. The Lebanese people, who are
committed to their country's independence, sovereignty, and stability, will not
fail. The important thing is for them to believe in their cause and to rely on
the Lord who is capable of all things."
Summary of the Sermon:
Metropolitan Aoudi expressed optimism about Lebanon's future, emphasizing the
importance of faith and hope in overcoming the country's current challenges. He
drew parallels between Lebanon's situation and Greece's resistance against the
Italian occupation, highlighting the significance of perseverance in the face of
adversity. The Metropolitan called upon the Lebanese people to remain steadfast
in their commitment to their country's independence and sovereignty.
Key points from the sermon:
Hope for Lebanon's future: Despite the current challenges, Metropolitan Aoudi
expressed belief in Lebanon's ability to overcome its difficulties.
Importance of faith: He emphasized the role of faith in providing strength and
resilience to the Lebanese people.
Parallel to Greece: The Metropolitan drew a comparison between Lebanon's
situation and Greece's resistance during World War II, highlighting the
importance of perseverance and the ultimate triumph of justice.
Call to action: He urged the Lebanese people to remain committed to their
country's independence and sovereignty.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on October 27-28/2024
Netanyahu says strikes on Iran
achieved Israel's goals
Associated Press/October 27, 2024
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the strikes “severely
harmed” Iran and achieved all of Israel’s goals. “The air force struck
throughout Iran. We severely harmed Iran’s defense capabilities and its ability
to produce missiles that are aimed toward us,” Netanyahu said in his first
public comments on the strikes. Satellite images showed damage to two secretive
Iranian military bases, one linked to work on nuclear weapons that Western
intelligence agencies and nuclear inspectors say was discontinued in 2003 and
another linked to Iran's ballistic missile program. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,
Iran’s 85-year-old supreme leader, said “it is up to the authorities to
determine how to convey the power and will of the Iranian people to the Israeli
regime and to take actions that serve the interests of this nation and
country.”Khamenei would make any final decision on how Iran responds. Later
Sunday, protesters disrupted a speech by Netanyahu at a nationally broadcast
ceremony remembering the victims of Hamas’ attack on southern Israel last year.
People shouted “Shame on you” and made a commotion, forcing Netanyahu to stop
his speech. Many Israelis blame Netanyahu for the failures that led to the’
attack and hold him responsible for not yet bringing home remaining hostages.
Over 30 wounded in terror attack north of Tel Aviv
(JNS)/Israel Today Staff/October 27, 2024
More than 30 people were wounded on Sunday in a terrorist attack near Glilot,
north of Tel Aviv. According to initial reports, a truck rammed into a large
group of people standing at a bus stop. The Magen David Adom emergency service
reported that medical personnel were treating multiple people at the scene, some
of whom were trapped. Thirty-one people were evacuated to Beilinson and Ichilov
hospitals, according to MDA, including six in serious condition, five in
moderate condition and 20 in mild condition. Additionally, four people were
treated for anxiety. There were people still trapped at the scene. Home Front
Command rescue teams were deployed to help free victims trapped under the truck.
MDA personnel received a report at 10:08 a.m. of a truck hitting a bus stop on
Aharon Yariv Boulevard in Ramat Hasharon. A large police force was converging on
the scene, and it was reported that police believe it was a terror attack.
According to initial reports, the driver exited the truck outside a sensitive
security base in Glilot with a knife and was shot by armed bystanders. Police
sources told Channel 12 that the terrorist is an Israeli resident of the Arab
city of Qalansawe in central Israel. Highway 5 westbound was closed to traffic
at the Kfar HaYarok interchange, police said, and drivers were asked to use
alternate routes and to avoid the area. The Glilot area is home to Mossad
headquarters and several IDF intelligence units, including the elite Unit 8200,
which Hezbollah has targeted several times over the past year.
Israel is also holding a national day of mourning for the victims of the Hamas-led
attack of Oct. 7, 2023 and there were reportedly fears that terrorists could
take advantage of the date.
Dozens injured as truck hits bus stop near Tel Aviv
Agence France Presse/Associated Press/October 27, 2024
The Israeli emergency service and police said a truck rammed into a bus stop
north of the commercial hub Tel Aviv on Sunday, injuring dozens of people. In
addition to being near the Mossad headquarters, the bus stop is also close to a
central highway junction, and the incident came as Israelis were returning to
work after a weeklong holiday. Asi Aharoni, an Israeli police spokesperson, told
Israeli public broadcaster Kan that the “attacker was neutralized,” indicating
police were treating the incident as an attack. It wasn’t clear whether the
suspect was stopped or killed. "At 10:08 am (0808 GMT), a report was received...
of a truck hitting a bus stop on Aharon Yariv Boulevard in Ramat Hasharon...
Paramedics are currently providing medical treatment on site to dozens of
casualties," the Magen David Adom service said in a statement. At least 16
people were initially transported to nearby hospitals, the emergency service
said in a later update. Police confirmed multiple injuries. Officers and
ambulances rushed to the scene, where Israeli television channels showed police
cordoning off the area as medics helped the injured. A helicopter hovered above.
The incident comes as Israel marks the Hebrew calendar anniversary of the
unprecedented Hamas attack on October 7 last year that sparked the ongoing wars
in Gaza and Lebanon.
Khamenei says Israel attack 'should neither be
exaggerated nor minimized'
Agence France Presse/October 27, 2024
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday said Israel's attack on
the Islamic republic "should neither be exaggerated nor minimized.""The evil
perpetrated by the Zionist regime (Israel) two nights ago must not be
exaggerated or minimized," he said in a post on X.
Without elaborating, he describing the deadly attack as a "miscalculation."On
Saturday, Israel carried out air strikes against military sites in Iran in
response to Tehran's missile attack on October 1, itself a retaliation for the
killing of Iran-backed militant leaders and a Revolutionary Guards commander.At
least four Iranian soldiers were killed in the attack which Iran said caused
"limited damage" to a few radar systems. The Israeli military has warned Tehran
against responding. Iranian officials and media have since downplayed the
Israeli strikes, highlighting Iran's defensive capabilities but issued no vows
of a direct response.Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian paid tribute to the
killed soldiers, hailing their efforts in "defending their land without fear."
Iranian officials to determine how to respond to Israel
REUTERS/October 27, 2024
TEHRAN: Iranian officials should determine how best to demonstrate Iran’s power
to Israel after the Israeli attack on Iran two nights ago, Iran’s official IRNA
news agency cited the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying
on Sunday. “The evil committed by the Zionist regime (Israel) two nights ago
should neither be downplayed nor exaggerated,” IRNA cited Khamenei as saying.
Meanwhile Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel’s air
attack on Iran was “precise and powerful” and achieved all its goals. “We
promised we would respond to the Iranian attack and on Saturday we struck... The
attack in Iran was precise and powerful, achieving all of its objectives,”
Netanyahu said in a speech marking the Hebrew calendar anniversary of the Hamas
attack on October 7 last year. Israel’s strikes were in retaliation for an
October 1 attack by Iran, which fired about 200 missiles at Israel, though most
were intercepted by the country’s air defenses. “Iran attacked Israel with
hundreds of ballistic missiles and this attack failed,” Netanyahu said. “We kept
our promise. The air force attacked Iran and hit Iran’s defense capabilities and
missile production,” he said. Iran confirmed Israel had targeted military sites
around the capital and in other provinces, saying the raids caused “limited
damage” but killed four soldiers. Iran on Saturday played down Israel’s
overnight air attack against Iranian military targets, saying it caused only
limited damage, as US President Joe Biden called for a halt to escalation that
has raised fears of an all-out conflagration in the Middle East. Scores of
Israeli jets completed three waves of strikes before dawn against missile
factories and other sites near Tehran and in western Iran, Israel’s military
said. Khamenei said Iran’s power should be demonstrated to Israel, adding that
the way to do so should be “determined by the officials and that which is in the
best interest of the people and the country should take place.”
Iran president says not seeking war with Israel, vows
response to strikes
AFP/October 27, 2024
TEHRAN: President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday that Iran did not seek war
with Israel but was ready to deliver “an appropriate response” to strikes this
week on Iranian military sites. “We do not seek war but we will defend the
rights of our nation and country,” Pezeshkian told a cabinet meeting, adding
that Iran “will give an appropriate response to the aggression of the Zionist
regime.”On Saturday, Israel conducted air strikes on military sites in Iran in
response to Tehran’s October 1 attack on Israel, itself retaliation for the
killing of Iran-backed militant leaders and a Revolutionary Guards
commander.Israel has warned Tehran against responding. Pezeshkian blamed the
soaring regional tensions on Israel’s “aggression” and US support for the
country, which Tehran does not recognize. “If the aggressions of the Zionist
regime and its crimes continue, the tensions will spread,” said the Iranian
president. Pezeshkian added that the United States had “promised to end the war
in return for our restraint, but they did not keep their promise,” Pezeshkian
added. Iran has called for an end to the Gaza war, triggered by the October 7
attack on Israel last year, carried out by the Tehran-backed Palestinian
militant group Hamas. Iran also backs other armed groups in the region,
including Lebanon’s Hezbollah which has been fighting an all-out war with
Israeli forces for the past month after a year of largely low-intensity
exchanges.
Iranian officials to determine how to respond to Israel,
Supreme Leader says
Reuters/October 27, 2024
Iranian officials should determine how best to demonstrate Iran's power to
Israel after the Israeli attack on Iran two nights ago, Iran's official IRNA
news agency cited the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying
on Sunday. "The evil committed by the Zionist regime (Israel) two nights ago
should neither be downplayed nor exaggerated", IRNA cited Khamenei as saying.
Iran on Saturday played down Israel's overnight air attack against Iranian
military targets, saying it caused only limited damage, as U.S. President Joe
Biden called for a halt to escalation that has raised fears of an all-out
conflagration in the Middle East. Scores of Israeli jets completed three waves
of strikes before dawn against missile factories and other sites near Tehran and
in western Iran, Israel's military said. Khamenei said Iran's power should be
demonstrated to Israel, adding that the way to do so should be "determined by
the officials and that which is in the best interest of the people and the
country should take place".
Iran’s ‘supreme leader’ seriously ill – Report
(JNS)/Israel Today Staff/October 27, 2024
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s second son is a possible successor.
The 85-year-old supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is gravely ill,
adding to the uncertainty of an Iranian response to Israel’s weekend attack on
their military installations, a report published Saturday in The New York Times
said. According to the report, the most powerful political authority in the
Islamic Republic is seriously ill, and there is internal turmoil over the
possibility that his second son, Mojtaba, 55, might succeed him. The younger
Khamenei served in the Iran–Iraq War from 1987 to 1988, and reportedly took
control of the militia that was used to suppress the protests surrounding the
result of the 2009 elections, which demonstrators said was rigged. His prospects
for the position rose following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a
helicopter crash earlier this year and replacement by President Masoud
Pezeshkian. Khamenei’s father has held the life position for the last 35 years
since his appointment in 1989, following the death of the first supreme leader,
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini with whom he was closely allied, making him the
longest-serving head of state in the Middle East.
Iran’s missile program set back, but nuclear threat remains
Yaakov Lappin/Israel Today/ October 27, 2024
Israel appears to be playing a longer game, seeking to degrade Iran’s immediate
military threat while leaving room for future strikes.
Israel’s airstrikes on military targets in Iran overnight Friday damaged the
Islamic Regime’s missile program and air defenses, while demonstrating the
Israeli Air Force’s advanced long-range capabilities. However, Iran’s nuclear
program was left unscathed, suggesting that Israel’s government factored in U.S.
pressure to keep the attack limited in nature. The question going forward is
whether the damage to Iran’s missile and air defense infrastructure have paved
the way for future strikes. Iranian state media has reported that targets were
hit in three main regions: Tehran, Khuzestan (in southwest Iran) and Ilam
(western Iran). The attack, which Israel named “Operation Days of Repentance,”
saw tens of IAF jets, accompanied by refuelers, travel some 1,600 kilometers
from Israeli territory. The IAF achieved near uncontested aerial supremacy in
Iranian skies. While Iranian state media is playing down the impact, the attack
at the very least demonstrated Israel’s ability to strike deep in Iranian
territory and conduct complex, multi-wave operations without sustaining losses.
Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi commanded the
operation from IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, alongside IAF Commander Maj. Gen.
Tomer Bar. According to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, the mission was successful,
with all aircraft returning safely.
Following the strikes, Reuters cited a senior Biden administration official as
saying that while Washington “was prepared to respond to any Iranian
retaliation, President Joe Biden anticipated that Iran would not escalate the
situation.”This aligns with a broader pattern of U.S. pressure on Israel to
avoid direct attacks against Iran’s nuclear program, especially with U.S.
elections just days away and amid ongoing diplomatic efforts by the U.S. aimed
to avoid direct American involvement in a war against Iran.
As such, the attack was not only a military maneuver by Israel, but also a
diplomatic one. By avoiding a direct confrontation over the nuclear issue, the
Iranian regime was given the opportunity to de-escalate. The immediate tactical
question following the operation is whether Israel’s strikes have sufficiently
degraded Iran’s missile and air defense capabilities to influence future
engagements.
If Iran’s air defense network was significantly weakened, Israel may have an
advantage in any potential follow-up operation. The fact that the operation
spanned several hours, with multiple waves of attacks, suggests a sustained and
methodical effort to diminish Iran’s military response capabilities. The damage
to Iran’s missile production sites is currently unknown, but might also slow
down Tehran’s efforts to replenish and upgrade its ballistic missile arsenal,
degrading a key component of Iran’s military strategy.
The key strategic question now is whether Israel anticipates a “Stage B.” While
the recent strikes achieved tactical gains, Israel’s decision not to engage
Iran’s nuclear facilities suggests that a future attack might hinge on Iran’s
response or any perceived shift by Iran to break out to a nuclear bomb.
If the recent strike has indeed undermined Iran’s air defenses and missile
capabilities, Israel might find a second wave—targeting more sensitive or
strategically crucial sites—logistically simpler.
Yet Iran’s nuclear advancements continue. According to Sima Shine, director of
the Iran and the Shi’ite Axis Research Program at the Tel Aviv-based Institute
for National Security Studies, within two to three weeks, Iran can enrich enough
uranium for three nuclear devices. The parallel effort of creating a nuclear
warhead, she told JNS this month, would take more time, though she noted Iran
could also decide to just create a bomb without a missile warhead. “We’re
talking about roughly six months to a year and a half,” she said. “What is
needed is a political decision” on Tehran’s part.
In light of these developments, the focus on missile production and air defenses
suggests Israel is playing a longer game, seeking to degrade Iran’s immediate
military threat while leaving room for future strikes. “Operation Days of
Repentance” thus stands as a calculated maneuver, but one that leaves open
critical questions about what comes next, and whether Israel has set the stage
for a more decisive confrontation with Iran’s nuclear program.
Israel set to pass bills shutting down UNRWA despite int’l pressure
Jerusalem Post/October 27/2024
Israel moves to shut down the UN Palestinian refugee agency despite warnings
from allies and threats of UN repercussions, with a key vote set for Monday.
The Knesset is set to pass two bills on Monday that would shut down the United
Nations Relief and Works Agency operations in east Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West
Bank within 90 days, despite a massive international pressure campaign against
such a step. A source in the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed to The Jerusalem
Post that the bills were expected to pass. Foreign Ministers from Canada,
Australia, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom issued a
joint statement expressing their “grave concern” over the shutdown, particularly
in light of the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza due to the war. “It is
crucial that UNRWA and other UN organizations and agencies be fully able to
deliver humanitarian aid and their assistance to those who need it most,
fulfilling their mandates effectively,” they said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Israeli officials last week
about the importance of ensuring that UNRWA, which has serviced Palestinian
refugees in east Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West Bank since 1949, remains
operational. The Biden administration mentioned the importance of maintaining
UNRWA operations in a letter it wrote Israel in October, threatening to restrict
military assistance to the IDF as dictated under Memorandum 20 unless Israel
took steps to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. US Ambassador to Israel
Jack Lew is among a group of envoys, including from Germany, Italy, Australia,
and Great Britain, who have also been holding conversations with Israeli
politicians urging them to maintain UNRWA services.
Israel fears that the international community could seek retribution by taking
steps against it at the United Nations. Among the possible political action at
the UN could be a push to strip the Jewish state of voting rights at the General
Assembly, or the credentials of the Israeli mission to the UN could be stripped.
UNRWA services 5.9 million refugees in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, the West Bank,
Gaza, and east Jerusalem. The UN General Assembly approves its mandate to
operate on an annual basis and only the UNGA has the power to close the
organization.
Israel, however, has the power to prevent UNRWA from operating in territory
under its sovereign or military control. Netanyahu and Right-wing politicians
have long called for the UN to eliminate UNRWA. They have not, however, seized
control of the situation locally by using the government and legislative power
they have to close the agency, which is seen as the primary organization
providing humanitarian services to Palestinians. Israel had long argued that the
organization incited against Israel and Jews and helped ensure that there would
be a permanent and ever-expanding group of Palestinian refugees. Print to
October 7, 2023, many security officials had held that UNRWA’s provision of
humanitarian services provided an important element of stabilization in the
region. In the last year, since the Hamas-led invasion of Israel on October 7
and the IDF’s subsequent military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, Israel and the
IDF have come to believe that UNRWA is so intertwined with Hamas that it can not
be a neutral service provider. Worse Israel has charged that a number of UNRWA
employees were involved in the seizure of captives on October 7 and that Hamas
terrorists were employed by the organization.
Some six pieces of legislation have been put forward with regard to closing
UNWRA, which have now been reduced to two private member bills. The two bills
were approved by the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and are now set for
their final second and third readings. Committee chairman MK Yuli Edelstein (Likud)
said that the bills have broad support from the opposition and the coalition and
could garner the support of as many as 100 parliamentarians. The opposition
party Yesh Atid on Sunday evening had not yet decided whether it would support
the bill or abstain, but in any case, it will not oppose the bill, according to
the party's spokesperson.
At least three authors of the bills, MKs Boaz Bismuth (Likud), Yulia Malinovsky
(Yisrael Beytenu), and Dan Illouz (Likud) wrote on X on Sunday that they
believed the bills would indeed be brought forwards on Monday and passed into
law. The first bill states that UNWRA will no longer "operate any institution,
provide any service, or conduct any activity, whether directly or indirectly,"
in Israel. The second bill states that the treaty between Israel and UNWRA,
signed following the Six-Day War in 1967, will expire within seven days of bill
passing its final voting in the Knesset plenum, that no Israeli government
agencies or representatives may contact UNWRA or a representative of it,
beginning three months after the bill passes; that criminal proceedings into
UNWRA employee's involvement in acts of terror will continue; and that Israel's
National Security Council must report to the committee every six months
regarding the bill's implementation. Edelstein told The Jerusalem Post that the
first bill relates just to east Jerusalem, and the second broad one cancels the
invitation to UNRWA to operate in any area under Israeli control and bars
Israeli officials from engaging with it. There is an irreparable difference of
opinion between Israel and the international community, Edelstein said, adding
that “This is a gap we can’t bridge.” The international believes that UNRWA is
“irreplaceable” as a service provider and part of a “solution” for Palestinians,
he said. “Our approach is that we have to legislate something that will
effectively stop UNRWA activities in our area because they are part of the
problem,” he said.
Turning a blind eye
Prior to October 7, everyone turned “a blind eye” to the problem, he said. It’s
“absurd” that a year has passed since the October 7 attack and the government
has not yet taken any action against UNRWA. It’s asking every other country to
stop UNRWA’s operations but has not taken any steps available to it to shut
UNRWA down. “There is no doubt,” he charged, “that UNRWA is part of the Hamas
rule in Gaza. It’s part of raising another generation of terrorists in Gaza and
Judea and Samaria, and we have to put an end to it.”He noted that there is now
wide consensus against UNRWA both in the opposition and the coalition,
estimating that some 100 lawmakers are likely to support the two bills. He noted
that once the bills pass, there would be a three-month period before UNRWA would
have to cease its operations. This would allow time for another alternative to
be found to provide services to Palestinians. A US Embassy spokesperson,
however, hinted that Israel could be responsible for filling that gap. “Pending
legislation would make it impossible for UNRWA to operate and would leave a
vacuum that Israel would then be responsible for filling. Adding to the
humanitarian crisis that already exists would undermine stability and security
for Israel and the region,” the spokesperson told The Jerusalem Post. The
“involvement of UNRWA personnel on Oct 7 was reprehensible and led the US to
halt funding,’ the spokesperson said. “We have called for those involved to be
held accountable and for UNRWA reforms to address serious concerns about its
facilities and personnel being involved in terrorist activities,” the
spokesperson said. “At the same time, UNRWA provides vital services in Gaza, the
West Bank, Lebanon, and Jordan - including humanitarian assistance, health
benefits care and sanitation,” the spokesperson explained. UNRWA called the
pending Knesset vote "outrageous. “Such a move by a UN member state against a UN
General Assembly-mandated organization is unprecedented and dangerous. It
opposes the UN Charter and violates the State of Israel’s obligations under
international law,” a UNRWA spokesperson said. “This is a step against the
multilateral system. It is the latest step in the ongoing, systematic campaign
to discredit UNRWA and delegitimize its role towards providing human-development
assistance and services to Palestine Refugees,” the spokesperson stressed. Such
a step would interrupt the provision of important humanitarian assistance to two
million people in Gaza in the West Bank, “with severe impact on the lives of
people,” the spokesperson said. “Without UNRWA, the delivery of food, shelter,
and health care to most of Gaza’s population would grind to a halt,” the
spokesperson stressed. Social services for Palestinians in the West Bank and
east Jerusalem would collapse, the UNRWA spokesperson added. “This legislation
would set a grave precedent for other conflict situations where governments may
wish to eliminate an inconvenient United Nations presence” and would compromise
humanitarian work worldwide, the spokesperson said.
Burns holds Doha talks on new deal, Egypt pushes mini
release
Jerusalem Post/October 27/2024
Sisi also said that talks should resume within ten days of implementing the
temporary ceasefire in an effort to reach a permanent one.
CIA Director William Burns is holding talks in Doha on the possibility of a new
wide-ranging hostage deal, while Egyptian President Egypt has proposed a
mini-agreement to secure the freedom of four of the 101 captives. “The purpose
is to kickstart wider negotiations,” a source told The Jerusalem Post. On the
table in Doha in the Burns talks with Mossad Chief David Barnea and Qatari Prime
Minister Mohammad Al-Thani is also the issue of an IDF-Hezbollah ceasefire based
on UN Security Council resolution 1701, according to a report in the Lebanese
news outlet, LBCI. CIA Director William Burns is holding talks in Doha on the
possibility of a new wide-ranging hostage deal, while Egyptian President Egypt
has proposed a mini-agreement to secure the freedom of four of the 101 captives.
“The purpose is to kickstart wider negotiations,” a source told The Jerusalem
Post. On the table in Doha in the Burns talks with Mossad Chief David Barnea and
Qatari Prime Minister Mohammad Al-Thani is also the issue of an IDF-Hezbollah
ceasefire based on UN Security Council resolution 1701, according to a report in
the Lebanese news outlet, LBCI. In advance of the Doha parley, US Secretary of
State Antony Blinken met in London on Friday with caretaker Lebanese Prime
Minister Najib Makati after visiting Qatar on Thursday.
The two ceasefire initiatives, however, have remained separate even though they
are under discussion in the same talks. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi
spoke in Cairo on Sunday of an initial two-day ceasefire in Gaza to exchange
four Israeli hostages of Hamas for some Palestinian prisoners. Speaking
alongside Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune during a press conference in
Cairo, Sisi also said that overall hostage talks should resume within 10 days of
implementing the temporary ceasefire in efforts to reach a permanent one. There
was no immediate comment from Israel or Hamas, but a Palestinian official close
to the mediation effort told Reuters: "I expect Hamas would listen to the new
offers, but it remains determined that any agreement must end the war and get
Israeli forces out of Gaza." Continuous negotiations
The US and Israel have been hopeful that in the aftermath of the IDF’s
assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar earlier this month, it is now
possible to make a deal.
A Palestinian source based in Qatar has stated in the aftermath of Sinwar’s
death, there is a sense among Gaza officials that they have "nothing left to
lose.” But Hamas has still stood firm on its principled position that any deal
must include a permanent ceasefire and a complete IDF withdrawal from Gaza.
Israel has insisted that Hamas must be ousted from Gaza before any permanent
ceasefire is in place. Still, Barnea is expected to discuss with Burn and al-Thani
a proposal for a wide-ranging deal to free all the 101 hostages, although it's
unclear if this would happen all at once or in stages. Defense Minister Yoav
Gallant said the time had come for Israel to make painful concessions for a
deal, when he spoke at a state ceremony marking the anniversary, according to
the Hebrew calendar, of the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel during which
the hostages were seized. “In carrying out our moral and ethical duty - to
return the hostages to their homes, painful compromises are required,” Gallant
said.
Gallant has been at odds with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the
concessions needed to make a deal, urging greater flexibility that the Prime
Minister has publicly displayed. Security officials in the last months have said
that Netanyahu’s stances have made it harder to achieve a deal, even as the
United States has stressed that Sinwar had been the stumbling block to a deal.
Gallant said on Sunday “This is the place to point out that not every goal can
be achieved only through military action, force is not a be-all and end-all.”
At the same ceremony, Netanyahu said that returning the hostages to Israel “is a
major goal of the war. It’s a sacred mission.” He stressed that “we will not
rest until all of them, the living and the dead, return to us. We will return
our living hostages to their families. We will return our dead captives to be
buried in Israel.”Sunday’s talks mark the first high-level meeting since Hamas
executed six of the hostages at the end of August, including Israeli-American
citizen Hirsch Goldberg-Polin, 23.
Until his killing, the US had advanced a three-phase deal first unveiled at the
end of May. It has yet to finalize all the details of even the first phase. At
issue has been Hamas’s insistence that Israel must end the war and the IDF must
fully withdraw from all of Gaza, including the Philadelphi Corridor. The May
deal had been designed to allow for a deal to partially get underway without
dealing with some of the irreconcilable differences. There are now growing calls
for the US to scrap the May deal, which always had a protracted timetable for a
hostage release, and to consider a new framework. Blinken himself hinted at this
possibility last week. At Sunday’s meeting Barnea is expected to promote a new
deal he has worked on with the United States, Qatar Egypt, and the Egyptians. If
the initial conversation he holds with Burns and Al-Thani goes well, then Egypt
will join the conversation, and a larger Israeli team will be sent to Doha. In
the aftermath of the IDF’s killing of Sinwar, Israel is under increased pressure
to sign off on a deal that would both end the war and see the hostages released.
CIA, Mossad chiefs to meet with Qatar PM for Gaza
ceasefire and hostage negotiations: Official
REUTERS/October 27, 2024
DOHA: The directors of the CIA and Israel’s Mossad will meet Qatar’s prime
minister in Doha on Sunday to begin negotiations for a new short term Gaza
ceasefire deal and the release of some hostages by Hamas in exchange for
Israel’s release of Palestinian prisoners, an official briefed on the talks told
Reuters. The talks aim to get Israel and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire in Gaza
that would last less than a month, with the hope that it would lead to a more
permanent agreement, the official said. The details of which or how many
hostages and prisoners would be released as part of the deal is not yet clear,
the official said.
Netanyahu says Israel hit Iran hard; Khamenei says
damage should not be exaggerated
Ari Rabinovitch and Adam Makary/Reuters/October 27, 2024
JERUSALEM/CAIRO (Reuters) - Israel's airstrikes "hit hard" Iran's defences and
missile production, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday, but
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the damage from Saturday's
attack should not be exaggerated.
With warfare raging in Gaza and Lebanon, direct confrontation between Israel and
Iran risks spiralling into a regional conflagration. But a day after the
airstrikes, there was no sign they would spark another round of escalation.
However, heavy fighting in Lebanon between Israeli forces and Iran-backed
Hezbollah, which sharply intensified over recent weeks, continued on Sunday with
an Israeli airstrike killing eight people in a residential block in Sidon,
medics said. "The air force attacked throughout Iran. We hit hard Iran's defence
capabilities and its ability to produce missiles that are aimed at us,"
Netanyahu said in a speech, calling the attack "precise and powerful" and saying
it met all its objectives. The Islamic Republic has not signalled how it will
respond to Saturday's long-anticipated strikes, which involved scores of fighter
jets bombing targets near the capital Tehran and in the western provinces of
Ilam and Khuzestan.
The heavily armed arch-enemies have engaged in a cycle of retaliatory moves
against each other for months, with Saturday's strike coming after an Iranian
missile barrage on Oct. 1, much of which Israel said was downed by its air
defences. Khamenei said Israel's calculations "should be disrupted". The attack
on Iran, which killed four soldiers and caused some damage, "should neither be
downplayed nor exaggerated", he said. The Iranian parliament speaker, Mohammad
Baqer Qalibaf, said Iran was entitled to self-defence and its response "will be
definite, in compliance with the requirements".U.S. President Joe Biden called
for a halt to escalation that has raised fears of a wider Middle East war
arising from the year-old Israeli-Hamas conflict in Gaza and Israel's thrust
into south Lebanon to stop Hezbollah rocketing northern Israel. Separately,
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Iran was no longer able to use its
allies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon against Israel. The two groups
"are no longer an effective tool" of Tehran, he said in a speech. Gallant added
that Hamas was no longer functioning as a military network in Gaza and that
Hezbollah's senior command and most of its missile capabilities had been
eliminated. Hamas has repeatedly said it is still able to function militarily,
and Israel has recently conducted major new operations in devastated north Gaza
against what it calls regrouping Hamas militants.Hezbollah has said its command
structure remains intact and that it retains significant missile capabilities.
LEBANON FIGHTING
On Sunday, the Israeli military urged residents of 14 villages in southern
Lebanon to evacuate immediately and move north of the Awali river. An Israeli
strike on Sidon, a city in coastal south Lebanon, killed at least eight people
and wounded 25 on Sunday, the country's health ministry said. Elsewhere in the
south, a strike on Zawtar al-Sharkiya killed three people and a Saturday bombing
of Marjayoun killed five, it said. Israel said four of its soldiers were killed
in south Lebanon fighting. Hezbollah also said it had fired a large missile
salvo at the Zevulon military industries facility north of Haifa in northern
Israel. Hezbollah rockets hit a house and cars and rescue crews responded to put
out the fire. One woman was seriously injured, according to Israel's ambulance
service.
Israeli strikes on Gaza kill 22, officials say, while truck ramming near Tel
Aviv hurts dozens
Ami Bentov, Tia Goldenberg, Samy Magdy And Joseph
Krauss/AP/October 27, 2024
Israeli strikes on northern Gaza have killed at least 22 people, mostly women
and children, Palestinian officials said Sunday, as the Israeli offensive in the
hard-hit and isolated north entered a third week and aid groups described a
humanitarian catastrophe. Israel said it targeted militants.
In a separate development, a truck rammed into a bus stop near the Israeli city
of Tel Aviv, wounding 35 people, according to first responders. Israeli police
described it as an attack and said the assailant was an Arab citizen of Israel.
The ramming occurred near the headquarters of Israel's Mossad spy agency. Iran's
supreme leader, meanwhile, said Israeli strikes on the country over the weekend
“should not be exaggerated nor downplayed,” while stopping short of calling for
retaliation, suggesting Iran is carefully weighing its response to the attack.
On Saturday, Israeli warplanes attacked military targets in Iran in response to
an Iranian ballistic missile attack earlier this month. The exchange of fire has
raised fears of an all-out regional war pitting Israel and the United States
against Iran and its militant proxies, which include Hamas and the Hezbollah
militant group in Lebanon, where Israel launched a ground invasion earlier this
month after nearly a year of lower-level conflict. The Israeli military said
Sunday that four soldiers, including a military rabbi, were killed in fighting
in southern Lebanon, without providing details about the circumstances. It said
five other personnel were severely wounded. An explosive drone and a projectile
fired from Lebanon wounded five people in Israel on Sunday, authorites said.
Netanyahu says strikes on Iran achieved Israel's goals
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the strikes “severely
harmed” Iran and achieved all of Israel’s goals. “The air force struck
throughout Iran. We severely harmed Iran’s defense capabilities and its ability
to produce missiles that are aimed toward us,” Netanyahu said in his first
public comments on the strikes. Satellite images showed damage to two secretive
Iranian military bases, one linked to work on nuclear weapons that Western
intelligence agencies and nuclear inspectors say was discontinued in 2003 and
another linked to Iran's ballistic missile program. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,
Iran’s 85-year-old supreme leader, said “it is up to the authorities to
determine how to convey the power and will of the Iranian people to the Israeli
regime and to take actions that serve the interests of this nation and
country.”Khamenei would make any final decision on how Iran responds.
Apparent truck attack in Israel wounds dozens
In the city of Ramat Hasharon, northeast of Tel Aviv, the truck slammed into a
bus at a stop as Israelis were returning to work after a weeklong holiday,
leaving some people stuck under the vehicles. In addition to being near the
Mossad headquarters and a military base, the bus stop is also close to a central
highway junction. Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said six of the
wounded were in serious condition. Asi Aharoni, an Israeli police spokesperson,
told reporters that the attacker had been “neutralized,” without saying if the
assailant was dead. Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad militant group praised
the suspected attack but did not claim it. Palestinians have carried out scores
of stabbings, shootings and car-ramming attacks over the years. Tensions have
soared since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, as Israel has carried out regular
military raids into the occupied West Bank that have left hundreds dead. Most
appear to have been militants killed during shootouts with Israeli forces, but
Palestinians taking part in violent protests and civilian bystanders have also
been killed. The military said there was another attack near a checkpoint in the
West Bank, in which a suspect tried to ram soldiers with his vehicle and then
tried to stab them before being killed. No soldiers were wounded, it said.
Red Cross describes ‘horrific circumstances’ in northern Gaza
The Gaza Health Ministry’s emergency service said that 11 women and two children
were among the 22 killed in the strikes late Saturday on several homes and
buildings in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya. It said a further 15 people
were wounded and that the death toll could rise. It listed the names of those
killed, who mostly came from three families. The Israeli military said it
carried out a precise strike on militants in a structure in Beit Lahiya and took
steps to avoid harming civilians. It disputed what it said were “numbers
published by the media,” without elaborating or providing evidence for its own
account. Israel has been waging a massive air and ground offensive in northern
Gaza since Oct. 6, saying that Hamas militants have regrouped there. Hundreds of
people have been killed and tens of thousands of Palestinians have fled to Gaza
City in the latest wave of displacement in the yearlong war. Aid groups have
warned of a catastrophic situation in northern Gaza, which was the first target
of Israel's ground offensive and had already suffered the heaviest destruction
of the war. Israel has severely limited the entry of basic humanitarian aid in
recent weeks, and the three remaining hospitals in the north — one of which was
raided over the weekend — say they have been overwhelmed by waves of wounded
people.
The International Committee of the Red Cross on Saturday said that ongoing
Israeli evacuation orders and restrictions on the entry of essential supplies to
the north had left the civilian population in “horrific circumstances.”“Many
civilians are currently unable to move, trapped by fighting, destruction or
physical constraint and now lack access to even basic medical care,” it said.
The war began when Hamas-led militants blew holes in Israel's border wall and
stormed into southern Israel in a surprise attack on Oct. 7, 2023. They killed
around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250. Some 100
hostages are still inside Gaza, around a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 42,000 Palestinians,
according to the local Health Ministry. The ministry does not distinguish
between civilians and combatants in its count but says more than half of those
killed were women and children. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants,
without providing evidence.
The offensive has devastated much of the impoverished coastal territory and
displaced around 90% of its population of 2.3 million, often multiple times.
Hundreds of thousands of people have crowded into squalid tent camps along the
coast, and aid groups say hunger is rampant.
One killed, dozens injured in truck ramming at Israeli bus stop
Reuters/October 27, 2024
One person was killed and dozens were injured on Sunday when a truck struck a
bus stop at a major intersection near Tel Aviv in central Israel in what police
said they suspected was a terrorist attack. Israeli police said about 40 people
were injured to varying degrees, including some seriously, and were taken to
nearby hospitals. Ichilov Medical Center in Tel Aviv said one of the victims
succumbed to his wounds. Nearly Sheba Medical Center said it treated eight
civilians and soldiers. The attack, in which a truck ran into a bus stop close
to a military base, took place around 10 am (0800 GMT), police said, noting the
driver - who had Israeli citizenship - was "neutralised" by gunfire from a
nearby civilian. "All investigative directions are being examined with an
emphasis on the suspicion that this is a terror attack," police said. "Initial
investigations suggest that the truck driver, who was traveling near the Glilot
base (north of Tel Aviv) from north to south, veered off course and hit a bus
and people waiting at the stop with the truck." Israeli media reported that the
attacker was an Israeli Arab from Qalansawe in central Israel.
The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources
on October 27-28/2024
Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone
Institute: Tortured and Raped Multiple Times’…The Persecution of Christians,
September 2024
موقع كايتستون:قائمة بأحداث ووقائع اضطهاد المسيحيين خلال شهر أيلول 2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/10/136238/
"Typically, kidnapped girls in Pakistan, some as young as 10, are
abducted, forced to convert to Islam and raped under cover of Islamic
'marriages' and are then pressured to record false statements in favor of the
kidnappers...." — morningstarnews.org, September 24, 2024, Pakistan.
Headlines of the "pure genocide" of Christians from the month of September
follow.... — Nigeria.
"Muslims who abducted a 17-year-old Christian girl and gang-raped her for 10
days are threatening her family to pressure them to withdraw charges, even as
police have failed to arrest most of the suspects." — morningstarnews.com,
September 30, 2024, Pakistan.
Muslims murdered, hacked to pieces, and dumped the remains of a Christian man
into a Cairo canal.... Mina Musa, 21, had left his family home in Minya for a
new job in Cairo.... He was responding to an advertisement on social media to
assist an elderly person in Cairo. The notice included the offer of a generous
salary, along with broader networking opportunities in the field of physical
therapy..... The authorities managed to track the young man down to a Cairo
apartment. On breaking in, they found parts of Mina's body.... Last reported,
divers were searching in the canal for Mina's head. — copticsolidarity.org,
October 5, 2024, Egypt.
"I WILL BOMB THE POPE. I'M A TERRORIST...JUST BE CAREFUL...WAIT FOR NEWS YEEE."
— posted on social media, morningstarnews.com, September 10, 2024, Indonesia.
"Khosravi said the main goal of detention isn't always punishment or even to
gather information, but to break a prisoner at such a fundamental level that
they are shattered permanently.... Another Christian, forced to listen to the
cries of a woman screaming in a near-by cell, was convinced by guards that it
was his wife being raped repeatedly, he said." — morningstarnews.org, October 1,
2024, Iran.
On September 18, Christian mother of four was sentenced to death on a
"blasphemy" conviction.... The reason she was handed the death sentence has less
to do with actual evidence and everything to do with extremist pressure groups,
Hameed [her lawyer] said... "If you analyze all cases of 295-C, you will see
that all the convictions of the trial court are overturned by the superior
courts." — morningstarnews.org, September 19, 2024, Pakistan.
"Nearly 3,000 persons have been accused of blasphemy in Pakistan since 1987..."
— morningstarnews.org, September 19, 2024, Pakistan.
"These are Christians who are out to convert our people to a wrong religion." —
Sheikh Kalimu, Islamic leader, morningstarnews.com, September 23, 2024, Uganda.
"After 1994 [when the Muslim Brotherhood came to power], the authorities tried
to make Yemen an Islamic state. They wiped out our identity as Christians and
refused to write 'Christian' on documents. Christians had to write either
'Muslim' or leave a blank space.... When I got full marks in Islamic education,
they would reduce my grades, because they told me 'a Christian couldn't be equal
to a Muslim.'... [A]ll the nuns were later killed.... In 2018, the authorities
refused to renew our passports unless we wrote the word 'Islam' in the religion
section of the application form, as we were told: 'There are no Christians in
Yemen.'" — Badr, Yemeni Catholic woman living in Aden, catholicnewsagency.com,
September 25, 2024, Yemen.
On September 12, a Muslim man and two accomplices kidnapped a 16-year-old
Christian girl in Jaranwala, Pakistan, then forced her to convert to Islam and
marry him. Pictured: A Christian district of Jaranwala, on December 25, 2023.
(Photo by Amna Yaseen/AFP via Getty Images)
The following are among the abuses and murders inflicted on Christians by
Muslims throughout the month of September 2024.
Pakistan: Forced Conversion and Rape of Christians
On September 12, a Muslim man and two accomplices kidnapped a 16-year-old
Christian girl, then forced her to convert to Islam and marry him. Her parents
were away at the time, but when they returned, neighbors said they had seen the
gun-wielding suspects bundling their daughter, Diya Iftikhar, into a white
Suzuki van and fleeing the scene. "We were terrified," said the mother, Shaida,
"because Ghazaal and his accomplices were involved in the Aug. 16, 2023 attacks
on churches and homes in Jaranwala. They are notorious for their criminal
activities, including sexual harassment of Christian girls." Four days later a
video was sent to the parents of the underage girl saying she had converted to
Islam and married of her own free will:
"We knew Diya was coerced to record this false statement, because she detested
Ghazaal. She had often complained to us that Ghazaal and his friends used to
harass her when she went to her tuition center."
Although her parents had immediately gone to the police, they refused to
respond. After repeatedly visiting and "pestering" the police station,
authorities briefly detained the kidnapper:
"But this was just to show us that the police were making an effort to find Diya.
They neither investigated him nor put pressure on him to help recover our
daughter from his son's illegal custody."
Joseph, the girl's father, said the investigating officer of the case was being
not being cooperative:
"Despite pleading with the IO for Diya's recovery, he is not taking any action
against Ghazaal and his accomplices. My wife and I work in local textile
factories and do not have the money to pursue the case in court. We also made a
video appeal for support from Christian organizations but so far we haven't
received any legal assistance."
He said the suspects were pressuring them to drop the case,
"but we will not stop until Diya is returned to us. I'm also fearful for the
security of my four younger daughters. If the abductors are not arrested and
punished, it will put them and the other Christian girls of my village at
serious risk of abduction. I beg the police authorities to protect us from these
predators."
Discussing how common such cases are, the report adds,
"Typically, kidnapped girls in Pakistan, some as young as 10, are abducted,
forced to convert to Islam and raped under cover of Islamic "marriages" and are
then pressured to record false statements in favor of the kidnappers... Judges
routinely ignore documentary evidence related to the children's ages, handing
them back to kidnappers as their "legal wives." Recorded cases of abduction and
forced conversion numbered 136 in 2023, the highest annual total ever...
Unofficial sources suggest that forced religious conversions linked to forced
marriages affect as many as 1,000 girls belonging to religious minorities
annually."
Separately, "Muslims who abducted a 17-year-old Christian girl and gang-raped
her for 10 days are," according to a Sept. 30 report, "threatening her family to
pressure them to withdraw charges, even as police have failed to arrest most of
the suspects." The girl's impoverished family repeatedly tried to retrieve the
girl, to no avail. "I'm a poor man and did not have the resources to take a
stand against the influential Muslims on my own," said her father, Taj Masih.
"When the accused were summoned by the village council, they admitted that they
had taken her and assured them that she would be returned to us. However, when
they kept delaying her return on various pretenses, I filed a complaint with the
police... Police on Sept. 5 found the girl, who told them that she had been
gang-raped by Muhammad Yasir and Muhammad Saif... A medical examination [and DNA
testing] proved she was physically tortured and raped multiple times by the
suspects."
The father said that police arrested Saif (Arabic for "sword") even though all
the other suspects, including a Muslim woman who helped in the abduction, are
still free:
"I go to the police station every day hoping for justice but return home
empty-handed... [Now] they are threatening me to drop the case or face the
consequences, but I won't back down."
His poverty and Christian faith have been double obstacles in achieving justice,
he said:
"There are about 25-30 Christian families in our locality, and a majority of us
are laborers. We are often discriminated against due to our religion, but I was
not expecting the police to treat this case with such an indifferent attitude.
My daughter's honor has been violated, and she's been scarred for life, but it
seems there's no justice for poor Christians like us."
In another case, on Sept. 11, a high court ordered the recovery of two Christian
sisters, aged 13 and 18. They were forcibly converted to Islam and married to
their abductors nearly two months earlier in July. According to attorney Sumera
Shafique,
"The family was sleeping in their two-room quarters on July 23 when Zain and Ali
accompanied by some unidentified accomplices entered their home, locked the door
of the parents' room from the outside and abducted the girls."
The parents immediately alerted the police, only to be completely
ignored. According to the girls' mother, Sumera Bibi,
"We kept pleading with police for recovering our daughters, but they did not
act. Whenever we received information from someone about my daughters'
whereabouts, my husband and eldest son would immediately go to those cities to
look for them. We had to take loans to meet the travel expenses, and we are now
under a huge debt."
A few days after the initial kidnapping, forged Islamic conversion certificates
were sent to the parents, falsifying the two girls' ages. Attorney Shafique continues,
"The perpetrators lived in the same neighborhood and ostensibly targeted the
girls because of their poverty and vulnerability due to their Christian faith.
The police's attitude is also regrettable, because they made no effort to find
the girls. The court has now directed the Kasur District Police Officer to
recover the girls, so we are hoping that the local police will now take some
action against the accused."
Last reported, the rapists' Muslim relatives were pressuring the Christian
family to "withdraw the case and forget about the sisters." According to the
girls' mother, they "even attacked my husband with an axe when he confronted
them.... How can we let them destroy the lives of our daughters? Neha is only
13, while her abductor-husband is more than double her age... We haven't seen
our daughters since the time they were taken from our home," she said. "We are
extremely worried about them and want them back at all costs."
Finally, Muslim employers of a teenage Christian boy forcibly converted him to
Islam and are refusing to release him. Samsoon Javed, 17, had taken the new job
at a gas company to help his family financially. Before long, "He began avoiding
us and his siblings and didn't speak much when he was at home," said Samina
Javed, his mother: "We were worried about him, but despite our repeated prodding
he wouldn't tell us anything.... We came to know about Samsoon's conversion in
September, when he didn't come home from work. When my husband and I went to
Umar's shop to inquire about Samsoon, he told us that our son had become a
Muslim and didn't want to live with us anymore. We were shocked to hear this and
pleaded with Umar to let us meet with Samsoon, but he refused and told us to
leave his property."
After a few days, they managed to see the supposed willing convert: "Samsoon
kept silent and avoided eye contact when we asked him about his conversion. It
was quite clear that he was scared and under pressure. He told us to leave,
saying Umar would be angry if he saw us there." They later learned from contacts
that the Muslim employers had been taking their son to an Islamic spiritual
guide (Pir), who pressured the teen to change his Christian faith:
"I'm certain that Samsoon is being held by the two brothers against his will. I
have seen fear in his eyes... [I]t's as if he's being blackmailed or threatened
by them. I know that he'll expose the truth once he's out of their custody....
We are in a very difficult situation – no local Muslim is likely to help us
because of Samsoon's alleged conversion. Even if someone does support us,
there's a chance that my son will be disappeared or harmed."
The Muslim Slaughter of Christians
Nigeria: Headlines of the "pure genocide" of Christians from the month of
September follow:Sept. 2: Fulani Herdsmen Kill Six Christians in Central
Nigeria.
Sept. 3: At least 10 Christians Killed in Simultaneous Attacks.
Sept. 23: Fulani Herdsmen Kill Christians at Church Services in Nigeria: Pastor
and 30 others kidnapped.
Sept. 23: The Hatred at Home: How a Nigerian Christian Escaped his [Muslim]
Family's Attempt to Kill Him.
Sept. 30: Fulanis in Nigeria Kill More Christians than Boko Haram, ISWAP, Report
Says.
Burkina Faso: On Sunday, Sept. 1, Muslims terrorists murdered 26 Christians who
moments earlier were worshipping inside their church. The terrorists first
surrounded the building and ordered the women and children out. Next they tied
up and ritually executed the men. Before leaving, the Muslims plundered and then
torched the church and Christian homes. The report adds that,
"Although this attack in Banwa province was exceptionally brutal, it was not the
first targeting [of] the Christian community during a religious ceremony. On
February 25, a similar attack in Essakana, in the north of the country, left
fifteen dead [Christians] and two injured during a Sunday mass."
Egypt: Muslims murdered, hacked to pieces, and dumped the remains of a Christian
man into a Cairo canal. Days earlier, on Sept. 29, Mina Musa, 21, had left his
family home in Minya for a new job in Cairo. Mina took this distant job to help
-- not exacerbate -- his impoverished family's condition. He was responding to
an advertisement on social media to assist an elderly person in Cairo. The
notice included the offer of a generous salary, along with broader networking
opportunities in the field of physical therapy. His family lost contact with
him, only to receive a call from people—the ones behind the fake job
advertisement, who ended up choosing him due to his overtly Christian name
(Mina)—saying they had kidnapped and were holding Mina for 150,000 (roughly
$3,000) Egyptian pounds in ransom, a sizable sum for poorer Egyptians. Mina had
taken this distant job precisely to help -- not exacerbate -- his impoverished
family's condition. The authorities managed to track the young man down to a
Cairo apartment. On breaking in, they found parts of Mina's body—his torso and
one arm—with no head, legs, or other arm, which had already been hacked off and
thrown into the nearby Ismaila Canal. Three men were arrested; they confessed to
their crime. Last reported, divers were searching in the canal for Mina's head.
Muslim Attacks on Churches and Christian Symbols
England: On Sunday, Sept. 1, a Muslim woman entered a church, screamed "Allahu
Akbar!" ["Allah is the greatest"] and announced that she was "here to kill the
God of the Jews." According to the report,
"Pastor Regan King had been preparing for worship at the evangelical Angel
Church in Islington, North London, with his Jewish wife Rachel and young
children. But the crazed woman entered at about 10am, allegedly shouting Islamic
calls to prayer in Arabic before directly addressing and reaching out to the
youngsters. Mr King then moved his family to safety before demanding that the
woman leave the building, but she was instead said to have became [sic] more
aggressive. Metropolitan Police officers were then called before the woman began
shouting anti-Semitic abuse and screamed: 'I am here to kill the God of the
Jews'. The Muslim woman repeatedly shouts 'Allahu Akbar' through the sound
system at The Angel Church in Islington, North London, on Sunday before the
Metropolitan Police arrived. The woman is said to have became [sic] more
aggressive after she was asked to leave the building. As she was arrested on
suspicion of a religiously-aggravated public order offence, the woman allegedly
tried to appeal to one of the officers who she believed was a Muslim. She was
said to have referred to him as 'brother', spoke in Arabic and repeatedly said
to him: 'Remember Allah.' However, the officer told her that he did not speak
Arabic and that she should speak in English." Discussing this encounter, Pastor
King, said,
"My family and I are deeply concerned and shaken by this incident, especially my
wife who is Jewish. She is traumatised and now fears going outside. Since
October 7 especially, as a family and church, we have experienced multiple
incidents of antisemitism and anti-Christianity. Yet we are undeterred and will
continue to operate as usual albeit with plans for increasing our security."
Switzerland: On Sept. 7, Sanija Ameti, the municipal councilor of Zurich, who is
of Bosnian Muslim origin, published photos of herself on Instagram using a
poster of Mary and Baby Jesus for target practice. The heads of Mary and Jesus
appear riddled with bullet holes. After her post caused an outcry among
Christians in Europe and America, she quickly deleted the image and tried to
apologize. But even her own political partly, the Swiss Green Liberal Party,
have distanced themselves from her, with their president saying that the act was
a "deliberate provocation." The Swiss Conference of Catholic Bishops
also condemned the act: "Even if one disregards the religious representation of
the Mother of God, the use of this image testifies to violence and disrespect
towards the human person."
Germany: A Muslim migrant from Syria, with a history of criminal behavior
stretching back to his arrival in 2017, assaulted a 79-year-old German man in a
religiously inspired crime. According to the Sept. 16 report,
"At around 12 noon, a 27-year-old refugee from Syria approached a German
pensioner and ripped the chain with the Christ cross from his neck.... He then
allegedly punched the 79-year-old victim in the face. The senior citizen
suffered a bleeding wound.... According to the Gera public prosecutor's office,
the motive for the crime is clearly 'religious.'"
Kosovo: A historic church was desecrated and shot up in the 95% Muslim nation.
In a statement, the Serbian Orthodox Church expressed its "deep concern and
regret over the latest desecration of a historic church site in Međugore.... The
destruction of icons and visible bullet damage at this sacred site ... is a
deeply troubling act that further intensifies the pain and uncertainty felt by
our people in Kosovo and Metohija, especially in recent times.... The
desecration of this place sends an overt message of hostility, reinforcing the
feeling that our people, who have lived in Kosovo and Metohija for centuries,
are no longer welcome. We wish to emphasize that this incident, along with other
pressures and intimidation from extremists, as well as from the Kosovo police,
threatens the safety and dignity of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija.
Twenty-five years after the war, it is unacceptable that acts of violence and
desecration continue to go unpunished, indicating the inability of local
authorities to fully ensure the security and protection of our Church and its
faithful. Such actions have a damaging impact ... as they deepen ethnic and
religious divisions..."
Indonesia: Between September 2 and 4, authorities arrested seven Muslims
for plotting to assassinate Pope Francis. During raids on the suspects' homes,
extremist and ISIS literature was found, as well as drones and weapons, drones.
The seven Muslims reportedly did not know each other and were working
independently. Some of the would-be assassins were especially angered because
the pope had visited Istiqlal mosque, southeast Asia's largest Muslim worship
center, and that its Islamic call to prayer was interrupted during a live
televised broadcast of the pope's visit to Jakarta. There were also threats to
set fire to all the locations visited by Francis. One of the suspects
"conveyed provocation on social media to burn down places of worship (churches)
during the pope's visit to Jakarta." Another posted on social media: "I WILL
BOMB THE POPE. I'M A TERRORIST...JUST BE CAREFUL...WAIT FOR NEWS YEEE." Another
simply wrote that he would "shoot" the pope.
Muslim Attacks on Christian Freedom:
Jihad on Apostates, Blasphemers, and Evangelists
Iran: On Sept. 20, Mojdeh Falahi, a 36-year-old Christian woman—a convert from
Islam—who has been held without charges since Sept. 9, "wept uncontrollably
during the five minutes her mother was allowed to visit her." The family said
they were concerned about mistreatment by authorities and the conditions
surrounding her confinement, said Sam Khosravi, the apostate woman's
brother-in-law:
"Mojdeh's mother goes to the court every day to pursue the case and asks the
judge to release her. She went to the court today [Sept. 20], and after a lot of
begging, the judge allowed her to see Mojdeh.... Psychologically, she is in a
very bad condition and only cries... We worry and wonder why they have kept her
for such a long time."
The family believes she is being "intensely interrogated" to reveal other
clandestine converts to Christianity. After saying that "Relatives most fear
that Iranian authorities are brutalizing Falahi in a way that could leave her
psychologically scarred for life," the report cites the experiences of her
brother-in-law, Khosravi, and other relatives who were also arrested in 2019:
"Khosravi said the main goal of detention isn't always punishment or even to
gather information, but to break a prisoner at such a fundamental level that
they are shattered permanently. The intent is to force them to renounce their
faith or to spread said a fellow Christian had been so badly treated that she
refused to enter church sites even years after her release. *** Another
Christian, forced to listen to the cries of a woman screaming in a near-by cell,
was convinced by guards that it was his wife being raped repeatedly, he said."
"It's all about humiliation," Khosravi said. "There will be things in their mind
and heart they will never get over."
Pakistan: On Sept. 18, a Christian mother of four was sentenced to death on a
"blasphemy" conviction. Shagufta Kiran, 40, was arrested in 2021 for allegedly
sharing content deemed offensive to the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, in her
WhatsApp in 2020. Three years after being tried, she was convicted under Section
295-C of Pakistan's penal code, which carries a mandatory death sentence for
anyone who insults Muhammad. According to her attorney Rana Abdul Hameed,
"The complaint against Kiran was registered by a Muslim named Shiraz Ahmed
Farooqi, who alleged that she had shared content disrespectful of Islam's
prophet. However, Kiran has maintained that she has not authored the content and
had forwarded it in the WhatsApp group without reading it."
The reason she was handed the death sentence has less to do with actual evidence
and everything to do with extremist pressure groups, Hameed said:
"If you examine all cases of 295-C, the trial courts tend to convict the accused
even if the cases against them are very weak. This is due to the pressure of the
religious groups and fears of mob violence. If you analyze all cases of 295-C,
you will see that all the convictions of the trial court are overturned by the
superior courts."
The report adds that,
"Nearly 3,000 persons have been accused of blasphemy in Pakistan since 1987... [H]undreds
of accused were incarcerated last year in Pakistan, with 552 detained in prisons
in Punjab Province alone. At least 350 persons remained behind bars as of June
... [and]103 new persons had been accused of blasphemy this year between January
and June.... [A]t least seven persons accused of blasphemy have been killed by
individuals or mobs across Pakistan since January. A total of 94 people accused
of blasphemy were killed in mob attacks between 1994 and 2023."
Uganda: On Friday, Sept. 20, Muslims beat a Christian evangelist, leaving him
with several injuries, including to the head, that required hospitalization.
Robertson Eriot, 41, and fellow evangelist Kefa Mukisa, 25, were visiting homes
and sharing the Gospel. When they entered the home of an Islamic leader, and
began talking to his attendants, "Sheikh Kalimu who was inside the house heard
our conversation—he was angered and came out furiously," said Mukisa: "He
ordered his boys and other Muslims who had come for Islamic fellowship to come
out of the room and to discipline us." After The sheikh cried out in a loud
voice, "These are Christians who are out to convert our people to a wrong
religion." Immediately,
"a number of people came out of the house shouting the jihadist slogan, 'Allah
Akbar [Allah is the greatest].' Since the gate was closed, we decided to jump
over the fence.... Unfortunately, Eriot was caught up before he was able to
escape over the fence."
Later, after Mukisa had rounded other Christians for help,
"We entered the homestead, and we found Eriot half-dead in a pool of blood. We
were able to rush him to the nearby clinic for treatment. Eriot suffered deep
head injuries, a fractured left hand and bruises near the thigh of his right
leg."
Yemen: On Sept. 23, an interview was published surrounding the plight of the
Christians in Yemen. Badr, a Yemeni Catholic woman born in the 1980s and living
in Aden, said how in middle school she "experienced harsh challenges related to
my faith and to the loss of our rights." Things especially worsened after the
Muslim Brotherhood came into power in the 1990s, she added:
"We were forced to wear the hijab. The government officially prohibited us from
celebrating midnight Mass on Christmas and New Year's Eve. Christians accepted
the situation and did not raise their voices. Some emigrated, others changed
their religion, fearing to lose their homes and jobs. Many practiced their faith
behind closed doors at a time when the Church did not support young people or
work on strengthening families... After 1994, the authorities tried to make
Yemen an Islamic state. They wiped out our identity as Christians and refused to
write 'Christian' on documents. Christians had to write either 'Muslim' or leave
a blank space. They accused us of being 'remnants of British colonialism' and
said that 'the United States funds us.' Teachers pressured me to change my
religion and forced me to read the Quran daily. When I got full marks in Islamic
education, they would reduce my grades, because they told me 'a Christian
couldn't be equal to a Muslim.'... After being banned from praying [due to the
closure of all churches in 2015], we started praying secretly in the convent of
the nuns. Unfortunately, all the nuns were later killed. The priest was
kidnapped. The churches were stolen, and some were vandalized.... In 2018, the
authorities refused to renew our passports unless we wrote the word 'Islam' in
the religion section of the application form, as we were told: 'There are no
Christians in Yemen.'"
Raymond Ibrahim, author of Defenders of the West, Sword and
Scimitar, Crucified Again, and The Al Qaeda Reader, is the Distinguished Senior
Shillman Fellow at the Gatestone Institute and the Judith Rosen Friedman Fellow
at the Middle East Forum.
© 2024 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
About this Series
While not all, or even most, Muslims are involved, persecution of Christians by
extremists is growing. The report posits that such persecution is not random but
rather systematic, and takes place irrespective of language, ethnicity, or
location. It includes incidents that take place during, or are reported on, any
given month.
Analysis: Iran faces tough choices in deciding how to
respond to Israeli strikes
Adam Schreck/AP/October 27, 2024
How the Islamic Republic chooses to respond to the unusually public Israeli
aerial assault on its homeland could determine whether the region spirals
further toward all-out war or holds steady at an already devastating and
destabilizing level of violence. In the coldly calculating realm of Middle East
geopolitics, a strike of the kind that Israel delivered before dawn Saturday
would typically be met with a forceful response. Retaliating militarily would
allow Iran's clerical leadership to show strength not only to its own citizens
but also to Hamas in Gaza and Lebanon's Hezbollah, the militant groups battling
Israel that are the vanguard of Tehran's so-called Axis of Resistance. It is too
soon to say whether Iran's leadership will follow that path. Tehran may opt to
hold back from forcefully retaliating directly for now, not least because doing
so might reveal its weaknesses and invite a more potent Israeli response,
analysts say. “Iran will play down the impact of the strikes, which are in fact
quite serious,” said Sanam Vakil, the director of the Middle East and North
Africa program at the London-based think tank Chatham House. She said Iran is
“boxed in" by military and economic constraints, and the uncertainty caused by
the U.S. election and its impact on American policy in the region. Even while
the Mideast wars rage, Iran's reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian has been
signaling his nation wants a new nuclear deal with the U.S. to ease crushing
international sanctions. A carefully worded statement from Iran’s military
issued Saturday night appeared to offer some wiggle room for the Islamic
Republic to back away from further escalation. It suggested that a cease-fire in
the Gaza Strip and Lebanon was more important than any retaliation against
Israel. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's ultimate decision-maker,
was also measured in his first comments on the strike Sunday. He said the attack
“should not be exaggerated nor downplayed,” and he stopped short of calling for
an immediate military response. Saturday's strikes targeted Iranian air defense
missile batteries and missile production facilities, according to the Israeli
military. With that, Israel has exposed vulnerabilities in Iran’s air defenses
and can still step up its attacks, analysts say. Satellite photos analyzed by
The Associated Press indicate Israel's raid damaged facilities at the Parchin
military base southeast of Tehran that experts previously linked to Iran's
onetime nuclear weapons program and another base tied to its ballistic missile
program. Current nuclear facilities were not struck, however. Rafael Mariano
Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, confirmed that on X,
saying “Iran’s nuclear facilities have not been impacted.”Israel has been
aggressively bringing the fight to the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah,
killing its leader and targeting operatives in an audacious exploding pager
attack.
“Any Iranian attempt to retaliate will have to contend with the fact that
Hezbollah, its most important ally against Israel, has been significantly
degraded and its conventional weapons systems have twice been largely repelled,”
said Ali Vaez, the Iran project director at the International Crisis Group, who
expects Iran to hold its fire for now. That's true even if Israel held back, as
appears to be the case. Some prominent figures in Israel, such as opposition
leader Yair Lapid, are already saying the attacks didn't go far enough. Regional
experts suggested that Israel's relatively limited target list was intentionally
calibrated to make it easier for Iran to back away from escalation. As Yoel
Guzansky, who formerly worked for Israel’s National Security Council and is now
a researcher at the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies, put
it: Israel's decision to focus on purely military targets “allows them to save
face.” Israel's target choices may also be a reflection at least in part of its
capabilities. It is unlikely able to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities on its
own and would require help from the United States, Guzansky said. Besides,
Israel still has leverage to go after higher-value targets should Iran retaliate
— particularly now that nodes in its air defenses have been destroyed. “You
preserve for yourself all kinds of contingency plans,” Guzansky said. Thomas
Juneau, a University of Ottawa professor focused on Iran and the wider Middle
East, wrote on X that the fact Iranian media initially downplayed the strikes
suggests Tehran may want to avoid further escalation. Yet it faces a dilemma.
“If it retaliates, it risks an escalation in which its weakness means it loses
more,” he wrote. “If it does not retaliate, it projects a signal of weakness.”
Vakil agreed that Iran's response was likely to be muted and that the strikes
were designed to minimize the potential for escalation. “Israel has yet again
shown its military precision and capabilities are far superior to that of Iran,”
she said. One thing is certain: The Mideast is in uncharted territory.
For decades, leaders and strategists in the Middle East leaders have speculated
about if and how Israel might one day openly strike Iran, just as they wondered
what direct attacks by Iran, rather than by its proxy militant groups, would
look like. Today, it's a reality. Yet the playbook on either side isn't clear,
and may still be being written. “There appears to be a major mismatch both in
terms of the sword each side wields and the shield it can deploy,” Vaez said.
“While both sides have calibrated and calculated how quickly they climb the
escalation ladder, they are in an entirely new territory now, where the new red
lines are nebulous and the old ones have turned pink,” he said.
State College Centre Daily Times
Rick Hughey/College Centre Daily Times/October 27, 2024
As my fellow University of Kansas classmates and I ambled into Fraser Hall and
sat down for our first Political Science 101 class, the professor got our
attention right off the bat: “The best form of government is a benevolent
dictatorship,” said he. Mine were not the only eyes widened or jaw dropped.
After a dramatic pause to let the shock ripple through the room, he continued:
“The problem is, it is a form of government that is unsustainable.”Democracy is
messy. It is cumbersome and slow moving. It is little wonder that citizens might
occasionally yearn for a change in the way they are governed. Turn the levers of
power over to a disrupter or a political outsider. More than a few living under
democratic rule like the idea of a strong, capable, altruistic leader. In the
early days of our republic, plenty of patriots were eager to anoint George
Washington as king. Washington quashed that notion in his farewell address to
the nation. As a result, the United States of America has been the model for
democracies and the envy of nation-states throughout the world for nearly 250
years.
Let’s be clear: Authoritarianism is having its moment. The rise is a boon to
those who wrest power away from democratically elected leaders. Venezuelan
President Nicolas Maduro lost an election July 28, but remained in office while
the winner, Edmundo Gonzalez, took asylum in Spain. Autocrats and their backers
always seem to do well. Their countries and respective subjects? Not so much.
Venezuela’s economy tanked and more than 7 million of its citizens fled the
economic hardship and political repression.
Likewise, Russian President Vladimir Putin eliminated his competition in this
past election. He has amassed untold fortunes while ruling over the world’s
largest national land mass — with a gross domestic product that is less than
that of the state of California’s. Russia’s central bank recently increased its
lending rate to 18% to stem soaring inflation. The country is mired in a war in
Ukraine that has cost 120,000 Russian lives.
Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and journalist, provides clear
evidence that autocracies throughout the world equate to brutal oppression,
higher poverty levels, lower standards of living and fewer rights and liberties
for citizens living under them. Applebaum’s clarion warnings appear in articles
published in The Atlantic and two New York Times best-selling books on
authoritarianism: “Autocracy Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World” and
“Twilight of Democracy.” Her strong voice against autocracy harmonizes with
other voices, such as ultra-conservative Liz Cheney, former Vice President Mike
Pence, other long-standing traditional Republicans and a host of former Cabinet
officials under Donald Trump.
The question being debated in homes, offices and gathering spots: Is America
ready for an autocrat? Trump, with the backing of the Heritage Foundation
(authors of Project 2025), is poised to become “dictator” on “Day 1,” in his own
words.
With all due respect to Ms. Applebaum and others, I have a more sanguine view of
U.S. politics in this moment for several reasons:
First, history is on American democracy’s side. Our nation has endured deep
division and near collapse at least six times since the Revolutionary War: The
violent Shays Rebellion in 1786 that revealed the failings of the Articles of
Confederation and the adoption of a federalist leaning approach in its
replacement, the U.S. Constitution; the War of 1812 (ended in 1815); the
nullification crisis of 1832; the Civil War; the civil rights movement of the
1960s and the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Second,
Americans are not nearly as divided as politicians, pollsters and various media
figures make us out to be. Each of the aforementioned rakes in billions of
dollars by stirring the pot and stoking fears in the electorate. There are stark
differences among candidates for elective office — from local and state races to
national ones, including the most powerful office in the land. Third, the
American economy is pretty good right now, with inflation moving downward and
retirement portfolios at record highs. We are a nation that likes to complain
about our taxes and bureaucratic inefficiencies. That’s a good thing. We have
choice. America will get it right.
*Rick Hughey is a former owner of a marketing communications company, journalism
school graduate and lifelong student of history and politics. He lives in
Leawood, Kansas, in suburban Kansas City.
Iran’s response to Israel’s response could be a game
changer
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/October 27, 2024
The tensions between Iran and Israel have escalated to a point unseen in the
past four decades, marking a critical juncture for the region. Recent strikes by
Israel on military facilities in three Iranian provinces represent an
unprecedented direct attack, further intensifying the hostilities between the
two regional rivals. This escalation does not bode well for regional stability.
If the trend continues, it could spark a wider conflict that would not be
limited to Israel and Iran, but could envelop other regional players and even
global powers.
For several decades, Iran’s primary military strategy has revolved around
asymmetrical warfare, leveraging proxy forces to achieve its objectives without
directly engaging its enemies. This indirect approach has allowed Tehran to
influence conflicts in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen, while avoiding a
full-scale confrontation with Israel. Iran’s government, particularly its
Revolutionary Guards, has relied on Hezbollah in Lebanon, various Shiite
militias in Iraq, and the Houthis in Yemen to counter Israel and its allies
without provoking direct retaliation. This method has proved effective, allowing
Iran to expand its influence without the risks of an all-out war. However,
recent events suggest that there has been a shift away from this established
modus operandi.
The dynamic changed dramatically in April when Israel launched airstrikes on
Iran’s consulate in Damascus, which Tehran regarded as a blatant provocation. In
response, Iran did something it rarely does — it directly attacked Israel with
missiles and drones. This marked a significant departure from Iran’s typical
strategy of using proxies to fight its battles. The launch of hundreds of
missiles and drones into Israel showed that Iran was and is willing to take
greater risks.
Following Israel’s assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Iran’s Supreme
Leader Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in all of Iran’s domestic and foreign
policies, particularly when it comes to matters of national security, wasted no
time in ordering retaliatory strikes. However, despite the immediate strike
orders, Iran chose not to sustain a prolonged attack. This restraint may have
been a calculated decision, allowing Iran to express its discontent without
fully committing to a costly conflict.
The situation intensified even further after the assassination of Hezbollah
leader Hassan Nasrallah, which was followed by an Israeli incursion into
southern Lebanon. In response, Iran launched over 100 missiles into Israeli
territory, a dramatic escalation in hostilities. Israel, in turn, vowed to
retaliate, raising the stakes to an even higher level. The dangerous
unpredictability of these back-and-forth strikes has left both countries on high
alert, where any miscalculation could lead to a full-scale war that neither side
may be able to control.
Tehran may revert to its strategy of asymmetrical warfare.
The escalation reached a new peak with Israel’s attacks on military facilities
within three Iranian provinces. This direct strike on Iranian soil signifies
Israel’s intent to degrade Iran’s military capabilities and serves as a clear
warning to Tehran. This unprecedented move has placed Iran in a position where a
robust response may be unavoidable, escalating the risk of regional conflict.
The international community, including the US and European powers, is closely
watching how Iran will respond, as any retaliatory actions could further
destabilize the Middle East.
The most critical aspect of this conflict is how Iran will respond to Israel’s
latest and most direct strike yet. This moment could be the tipping point that
either leads to a de-escalation of tensions or pushes the two nations toward
full-scale war. Iran’s response will be closely watched by not only Israel, but
also by the broader international community. If Iran chooses to respond
strongly, it could trigger a chain reaction that would engulf the Middle East in
a larger, more devastating conflict. On the other hand, a more measured response
from Tehran could defuse the situation, at least temporarily.
There are several potential scenarios that could unfold in the coming days. One
possibility is that Iran will downplay Israel’s retaliation, choosing to treat
it as insignificant rather than escalating the situation further. This scenario
has precedent; when Israel launched airstrikes in April targeting an Iranian air
defense facility in Isfahan after Iran’s missile attack, Tehran decided not to
escalate the conflict further. Instead, Iranian officials played down the
attack, and the situation cooled down. Such a response is seen as favorable for
Iran, as it avoids the risk of direct war, which Tehran is likely keen to avoid
given the current state of its economy which is under immense pressure due to
sanctions and mismanagement.
Iran may revert to its strategy of asymmetrical warfare, activating all its
proxies across the region, including the Shiite militia groups in Iraq, to
retaliate against Israel.
Another possible scenario is that Iran will vow to retaliate harshly, but will
delay any significant action in an effort to de-escalate tensions. This would
allow Iran to save face while avoiding a costly conflict with Israel. By keeping
Israel uncertain about when or if the retaliation will come, Iran can maintain
psychological pressure on Israeli leaders, who would be forced to remain on high
alert. This tactic has been used before, most notably after the assassination of
Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. At that time, Iran ordered retaliatory strikes, but
did not follow through immediately.
Ultimately, Iran’s response to Israel’s latest move will be critical in
determining the trajectory of this conflict. The tit-for-tat nature of these
retaliations is incredibly dangerous. No matter how carefully planned a
country’s military actions might be, the inherent unpredictability of war means
that things can quickly spiral out of control. A full-scale conflict between
Iran and Israel would not be confined to those two nations. Other countries in
the region, such as Syria and Iraq, could be drawn into the fray, as well as
global powers such as the US and Russia. This could lead to a conflagration that
would engulf the entire Middle East, with devastating consequences for the
region and the world.
• Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian American political
scientist.
X: @Dr_Rafizadeh
Rules not rivalries: adjusting to our multipolar reality
Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/October 28, 2024
As Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine initially floundered in 2022, Western
decision makers predicted that they could break Russia economically and that a
flood of funds and weapons would decisively turn the tide of the war, teaching a
definitive lesson that hostile invasions always ended in disaster.At the BRICS
summit last week, the Russian president was anxious to send a riposte to the
West: not only was he still in power, but he had also gathered a dozen world
leaders around him, demonstrating that efforts at isolation had failed.
For Western policymakers, it was a lesson that should long ago have been
obvious: when rogue actors are allowed to violate international law with
impunity, states such as North Korea, Iran and Russia gradually begin acting as
a bloc to subvert and undermine the global system.
Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, the US and its European allies enjoyed
uncontested supremacy, enabling them to impose their rules and values. But the
American superpower refused to live by its own rules: engaging in illegal
overseas wars, refusing to be accountable before international courts, and
abusing its veto to protect its closest allies as they violated human rights
with impunity.
The result was that as other states such as China, India and Russia sought to
consolidate their superpower status, they felt no compulsion to even pretend to
abide by international norms that had long-since ceased to function.
The latest BRICS summit was a manifestation of a truly multipolar world. In
itself that is no bad thing: it is intuitively preferable to live among a
community of nations, rather than have a single superpower capable of
arbitrarily imposing its writ. The problem is, what kind of community?
A community of equals with a universally respected system of rules is a
peaceful, equitable and sustainable model, facilitating cooperation to confront
global challenges such as climate change.
But our embryonic multilateral world was born in fire: tensions around the
Ukraine conflict, the escalating Middle East crisis, the US-China standoff over
Taiwan. North Korea, Iran and China are all materially contributing to Russia’s
war effort, and there is little the West can do to stop them. The escalatory
cycle of violence between Israel and Iran and its proxies illustrates the
weakness of conflict resolution mechanisms in a divided, multipolar world.
The latest BRICS summit was a manifestation of a truly multipolar world. In
itself that is no bad thing: it is intuitively preferable to live among a
community of nations, rather than have a single superpower capable of
arbitrarily imposing its writ. The problem is, what kind of community?
The biggest achievement of the post-Second World War global system was a
comprehensive rules-based order in which all nations had a stake in playing by
those rules. For 70 years it was relatively rare for powerful states to invade
and occupy weaker neighbors. However, with wars in Syria, Libya, Sudan, Ukraine,
Palestine and Yemen, it has become common to see regional powers engaging in
proxy conflicts. Who remembers the last time the UN Security Council agreed on a
resolution that materially contributed to resolving a conflict?
BRICS was originally welcomed as a sign that a broader swath of emerging powers
were taking their places at the top table, expanding this year to include Egypt,
the UAE, Ethiopia and Iran. At this BRICS summit there was a rare meeting
between China’s Xi Jinping and India’s Narendra Modi after several years of
escalating tensions between these two nuclear powers.
But beyond Putin’s propaganda coup, BRICS continues to be a diverse and
dysfunctional bloc. While some of these countries are drawn together by mutual
hostility toward the US, many of them enjoy far greater trading ties with the
West than with each other.
While BRICS countries account for 35 percent of the world’s GDP, more than the
G7, the organization lacks any sort of institutional apparatus or strategic
agenda for consolidating economic and political alignment, let alone promoting
alternative currencies to rival the dollar. The final “Kazan Declaration” was a
grab-bag of platitudes that served only to emphasize the diverse worldviews of
participants — creating the question of whether BRICS serves any greater purpose
than as a photo opportunity. For the first time since the 1980s we hear threats
to deploy nuclear weapons and expand nuclear arsenals. If any party acted on
these threats, such a conflict could escalate so rapidly that none of us would
be alive to comprehend what had occurred. The current conflict in the Middle
East is highly likely to prompt Iran to accelerate its efforts to reach military
nuclear threshold, making the region infinitely more precarious.
Artificial intelligence, cyberwarfare, intelligent drones and other technologies
will meanwhile revolutionize the face of conflict — multiplying the destructive
effects, while offering a variety of cheap, deadly options for terrorists and
non-state actors, who themselves can thrive amid ever-increasing numbers of
disintegrating states.
NATO has responded to assertive behaviour by China and Russia through closer
alliances with Asian and Pacific states, staging ostentatious military exercises
while expanding munitions industries. The US presidential election, meanwhile,
is a stark choice between multilateralism or unilateralism, with immense
implications for American relations with other world powers.
We all prosper when we trade together, peacefully coexist, and are not spending
high proportions of GDP on armaments. America and Europe must adjust to the
reality that China and Russia are today global powers: but China and Russia must
relearn the lesson that exploiting their growing might to oppress weaker
neighbors, or their own citizens, will end in tears. The planet is crying out
for leaders whose foremost priority is the wellbeing of their citizens, who
comprehend that the only route to peace and prosperity is through a multilateral
rules-based world. Enough of the hypocrisy, double standards and empty rhetoric
— in our new multilateral global reality, if old powers such as America and
Europe want emerging rivals to play by the rules, they themselves must first set
the example in consistently acting according to their own principles. Justice
for all — or justice for nobody.
• Baria Alamuddin is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster in the Middle
East and the UK. She is editor of the Media Services Syndicate and has
interviewed numerous heads of state.
EU, Gulf states pave way for new era of shared prosperity
Zaid M. Belbagi/Arab News/October 27, 2024
The first-ever EU-Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Brussels earlier this month
was a testament to the Gulf region’s growing geopolitical significance on the
global stage. Co-chaired by European Council President Charles Michel and Qatari
Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the summit brought together European and
Gulf leaders to discuss a “strategic partnership for peace and prosperity”
between two regions that share significant economic, security, and energy
interests. The second edition of this biennial summit will take place in Riyadh
in 2026.
The summit is a timely acknowledgement of the growing economic and strategic
cooperation between Europe and the Gulf. The EU is the GCC’s second-largest
trade partner, with the two having exchanged over $180 billion in trade last
year. Following the summit, the two sides issued a joint statement confirming
their intention to revive talks over an EU-GCC free trade agreement that was
suspended in 2008. This comes parallel to the FTA negotiations between the UK
and the GCC, highlighting the Gulf’s growing economic prominence for Western
partners.
The EU-GCC summit also comes at a time when both regions are diversifying their
international partnerships to best reflect the current geopolitical climate.
International sanctions on Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine led to an
energy crisis that forced Europe to seek hydrocarbon sources for its energy
security, and the Gulf emerged as a strong alternative. By turning toward less
explored partnerships, the EU also hopes to garner greater support for the
international isolation of Russia. At the same time, the Gulf states are also
forging new relationships as they reduce their reliance on the US. This is
particularly driven by the region’s economic transformation, which has motivated
the Gulf states to diversify economic and security partners in order to ensure a
seamless transition. The onset of this interregional cooperation may lead the EU
to extend to other GCC members the visa-waiver agreement that it currently has
with the UAE.
Despite being two prominent, populous, and prosperous world regions, Europe and
the Gulf have not entirely explored the potential for collaboration. However,
this has changed in the past two years. By September 2022, there were four EU
representations in the Gulf — in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, and Qatar. In
June 2023, former Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio was appointed as the
first EU Special Representative for the GCC.
The EU-Gulf Cooperation Council summit is a timely acknowledgement of the
growing strategic cooperation between Europe and the Gulf.
This has been a notable year for the institutionalization of this growing
relationship, with the first EU-GCC Regional Security Dialogue having taken
place in Riyadh in January, the EU-GCC High-Level Forum in Luxembourg in April,
and the launch of the EU-GCC Chamber of Commerce in Saudi Arabia in May.
Beyond the economic benefits of cooperation, the growing EU-GCC relationship is
also motivated by a shared vision of regional security in the Middle East. With
the war in Gaza having persisted for a year, and now having expanded to
hostilities between Israel, Lebanon, Iran, and the Houthis in Yemen,
interregional cooperation is critical for negotiating a viable ceasefire in
order to end the conflict. Europe is already bearing significant consequences of
the war and volatility in Ukraine and is thus eager to secure its trade and
energy interests in the Middle East. This includes maritime security cooperation
with the GCC. The growing partnership between the EU and the GCC is
multifaceted, with the potential to boost cooperation in fields such as clean
tech, digital communications, education, and climate change mitigation.
Renewable energy provides a particularly promising avenue for collaboration
between the two regional organizations. During the World Future Energy Summit in
Abu Dhabi in April, the EU launched the EU-GCC Cooperation on Green Transition
project to create a joint platform to exchange best practices and expertise
between stakeholders, the adoption of policies and technologies to aid the GCC’s
green transition, and the creation of a fruitful business environment between EU
and GCC green tech companies.
This mutual interest in cleantech and energy security was emphasized at the
recent EU-GCC summit. With both regions focusing on a rapid transition to green
energy and given the Gulf investments in the field, there is the potential for
established European renewable companies to localize in the Gulf and utilize the
region’s abundant natural resources in a manner beneficial to both sides. Clean
hydrogen was emphasized as being particularly significant for both sides.
Despite numerous avenues of cooperation, the EU-GCC will not be without its
challenges. On the strategic front, the two regions have had differences over
political solutions and military responses in the Middle East. The GCC countries
did not join the EU’s Operation Aspides launched in February to counter Houthi
attacks in the Red Sea. To the chagrin of the GCC states, the EU has not been
able to develop an effective and coordinated stance on Gaza. Additionally, they
are also not keen to emulate Europe’s staunch opposition to Russia.
In the field of renewable energy, the development and export of hydrogen is
expensive, and European cleantech companies’ willingness to localize in the Gulf
has been slow. There is also the emerging challenge of the EU’s tilt to the
right. With right-wing and populist parties making electoral gains across
European countries, it remains to be seen whether their anti-immigrant — often
anti-Arab — domestic policies will hamper their foreign policy toward the Gulf
states. This may not pose a significant challenge as the Gulf states have
previously dealt with populist governments by identifying pragmatic areas of
cooperation.
Regardless of these challenges, the EU-GCC summit highlights the willingness of
these two geopolitical heavyweights to work together and identify the most
effective areas of cooperation. While coordinated political strategies develop
over time, the two regional organizations are keen to prioritize partnerships in
the spheres of trade, energy, technology, and education for a shared and
prosperous future.
*Zaid M. Belbagi is a political commentator and an adviser to private clients
between London and the Gulf Cooperation Council. X: @Moulay_Zaid
THAAD deployment paved way for Israeli retaliatory airstrikes on Iran
Keren Setton /The Media Line/Ynetnews/October 28/2024
Military experts suggest Israel 'broke its fear barrier,' potentially leading to
future strikes on Iranian nuclear sites .
Just days after the US bolstered Israeli air defense by deploying a Terminal
High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery and 100 soldiers, Israel on Saturday
carried out a large retaliatory strike on Iran. An estimated 100 Israeli
aircraft participated in the hourslong operation over Iran's night skies. The
Israeli military stated that it had “conducted targeted and precise strikes on
military targets in Iran—thwarting immediate threats.” Military sites in Tehran,
in the heart of Iranian territory, were among those struck. “This was a game
changer, a transition from the shadow war to a new level of the game which is
now out in the open,” Sharona Shir Zablodovsky, an expert on public policy and
national security at the Dvorah Forum said. “Israel demonstrated the ability to
attack several sites simultaneously, showing it has precise intelligence.”
Israel’s military said the strike targeted missile manufacturing facilities used
by Iran in attacks over the past year. Iranian surface-to-air missiles and
“aerial capabilities that were intended to restrict Israel’s aerial freedom of
operation in Iran” were also targeted. “Israel now has broader aerial freedom of
operation in Iran,” the statement continued.
Danny Citrinowicz, a research fellow at the Tel Aviv-based Institute for
National Security Studies’ Iran Program, said the THAAD deployment signaled US
trust that Israel would not act against American interests. “This was a
meaningful strategic and operative move that was a message to both Iran and
Israel,” Citrinowicz told The Media Line. “It was a fruitful American effort to
coerce Israel into operating only against military targets but also sent a
message to Iran that the US will back Israel, especially in defending it.”
He described the strike as “a historical event that completely changed the
relationship between Iran and Israel.”
“The attack reflected an Israeli will to balance the deterrence equation
vis-à-vis Iran, signaling that massive rocket fire toward Israel cannot go
unanswered, but without leading to a wider escalation, while also taking into
consideration the will of the American administration to not escalate before the
US elections,” he said. For more than a year, Israel has been entangled in a
multifront war with Iranian-backed groups in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, and other
areas. This year marked the first time Iran and Israel exchanged direct blows
after years of engaging in a shadow war.
Prior to Saturday, the latest direct attack occurred last month when Iran fired
at least 180 ballistic missiles toward Israel, most of which were intercepted
before reaching their targets. Last weekend, a drone launched by Hezbollah,
Iran’s Lebanese proxy, targeted the private residence of Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu. That incident escalated Israel’s threats of retaliation
against Iran, which materialized over the weekend.
“Israel had to respond to an attack by a country which shares no border with
Israel and threatens its existence,” Shir Zablodovsky said. “The defense echelon
is well aware of Iran’s ability to take a major toll on Israel.”
Now the region once again awaits Iran’s decision on whether to respond, in what
has become an increasingly violent tit-for-tat.
On Sunday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei posted on the X social media
platform that the damage from the Israeli strike “should neither be exaggerated
nor minimized.” His post did not make clear whether Iran intends to retaliate.
Shir Zablodovsky said that Khamenei would not give up easily on his “40-year-old
project to destroy Israel.”
The full extent of the Israeli strike and the damage exacted remains unclear.
Media reports quoting unnamed Israeli, American, and Iranian officials indicate
that Iran’s ability to manufacture long-range ballistic missiles and drones has
been crippled. Other reports allege that Iranian air defense capabilities have
been significantly hit. Online satellite imagery shows apparent damage to a
suspected nuclear site in Parchin and a missile production facility in Khojir.
Israel’s yearlong war began after Hamas, the armed group ruling the Gaza Strip,
carried out a surprise offensive on Israel’s southern border. The conflict soon
expanded, with Hezbollah in Lebanon firing rockets and drones toward northern
Israel.
The northern front mostly simmered below the surface until this summer, when
Israel pivoted the main focus of the war to Lebanon. After numerous attacks on
Hezbollah, including the assassination of its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, the
terror organization is scrambling to recuperate with the help of Iran. For
decades, Iran has funded and armed Hezbollah as a cornerstone of its regional
strategy. With Iran and Israel more than 1,000 miles apart, the presence of
Hezbollah on Israel’s border helped Iran deter Israel from an attack. That
strategy of deterrence now seems to have failed.
“The Iranians underestimated how much the weakening of Hezbollah gives Israel
freedom to attack on Iranian soil,” Citrinowicz said.
Israel is believed to have previously contemplated a preemptive strike against
Iran’s nuclear program, but such an attack has not been carried out, perhaps due
to numerous logistical challenges. These include the large distance between the
two countries, the need for Israeli jets to fly over and refuel in enemy
territory, and the requirement for sophisticated, heavy bombs capable of
penetrating underground nuclear targets.
Additionally, Israel was deterred by concerns that Hezbollah, one of the world's
strongest terrorist organizations, would unleash its capabilities on Israel at
Tehran's behest.
So far, Hezbollah attacks have not devastated Israel as security experts had
feared. However, the group has not been a paper tiger, continuing to fire dozens
of rockets and drones at Israel daily. Over the weekend, two Israeli citizens
were killed by a rocket fired at an Arab-Israeli village near the border. On
Sunday morning, a Hezbollah drone hit an aviation plant in northern Israel.
Hours later, Hezbollah fired over 75 projectiles in a single barrage toward the
same area, signaling it was still ready to fight.
“Hezbollah should not be eulogized just yet,” Shir Zablodovsky said. “They still
have military power, which they prefer to use incrementally by exhausting Israel
and its society.”
Iran may still call on Hezbollah to strike back at Israel if the Islamic
Republic chooses to respond to Saturday’s attack through a proxy.
Before settling on the military sites targeted in this strike, Israel is
believed to have considered targeting Iranian nuclear sites or oil production
facilities. Netanyahu was under significant American pressure to scale down the
operation to avoid causing a major escalation just days before the US
presidential election.
“There is no doubt that the election had a direct effect on Israel's decision,”
Shir Zablodovsky said. “It did not strike where it wanted to strike. Israel
would have wanted to target major infrastructure but did not. Had it targeted
Iran’s oil depots, prices would have skyrocketed, and this would have had an
effect on the vote in the US, as the economy is the main issue Americans vote
on.”
In Israel, the strike is being portrayed as a success with potentially
widespread implications for the direction of the war.
“If in the past, there was a low probability that Israel would attack nuclear
facilities without American backing, this has now changed,” Citrinowicz said.
“Looking into the future, with Hezbollah now weakened and Israelis’ ability to
operate freely in Iranian airspace, as Iran progresses with its nuclear program,
this option can no longer be ruled out. Israel broke its fear barrier with this
attack.”
Shir Zablodovsky described the ongoing conflict as “a chess game, not a short
war.”
“The difficulty in this game is that there are many players with significant
military power,” she said. “This is a historical era which will redesign the
Middle East.”
The story is written by Keren Setton and reprinted with permission from The
Media Line.