Aletho News

Israeli attacks ravage South Lebanon, UNIFIL base near Kfar Chouba hit

Al Mayadeen | October 8, 2026

Israeli occupation forces carried out airstrikes and artillery shelling across southern Lebanon on Wednesday, while a UNIFIL position near Kfar Chouba came under small-arms fire, according to Al Mayadeen’s correspondent and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.

Two Israeli airstrikes targeted the outskirts of Baraachit and the town of Kfar Tebnit, while artillery fire struck Wadi Zebqin and Al-Mansouri. A large-scale demolition operation also took place in Kounine.

Israeli artillery further shelled Kfar Tebnit, Wadi Slouqi, and the outskirts of Kfar Chouba, as well as the area between the Majidiyah Farms and Wadi Khansa. … Full article

Syria May Send Troops to Saudi Arabia Amid War with Ansar Allah

By Kyle Anzalone | The Libertarian Institute | October 8, 2026

A US and Syrian official said Syria is considering sending troops to Saudi Arabia as the kingdom battles Ansar Allah in Yemen.

Reuters reported on Thursday that a US official and a Syrian defense official said that Damascus may send Syrian forces to Saudi Arabia. Riyadh has reached out to several allies for support in its war against Ansar Allah. … continue

Yemeni Armed Forces Warn Saudi Oil Facility Workers to Avoid Targeted Sites

Al-Manar | October 8, 2026

Yemeni Armed Forces Spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree on Thursday warned workers at Saudi oil facilities, against being present at sites considered targets by the Yemeni forces.

“Yemeni Armed Forces warn employees, including experts, engineers, and workers at Saudi oil facilities, against being present at sites considered targets by the Yemeni Armed Forces, urging them to avoid endangering their lives,” the Yemeni military spokesman said in a statement.

He said the warning applies to facilities previously targeted as well as other sites, and renewed earlier warnings to aviation companies operating at designated fields and airports, as well as travelers and workers at those locations. … Full article

Houthis strike Saudi airports after ‘final warning’

The country’s airspace is now “a theater for military operations,” the Yemeni militants have warned

RT | October 8, 2026

Yemen’s Houthi forces have reportedly struck King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with missiles for the second time in a day, hours after issuing a “final warning” to airlines against operating in Saudi airspace.

The Houthis hit the airport with two cruise missiles on Thursday evening, the group’s military spokesman, Yahya Saree announced in a statement. Houthi forces also hit Abha Airport and King Khalid Air Base with ballistic missiles, Saree added.

“The strikes were precise and direct, resulting in the disruption of air traffic at the two airports and causing damage to them and the air base,” Saree said. The Saudi government has not acknowledged the strikes. The head of the Saudi military coalition against the Houthis in Yemen, Turki al-Maliki, has claimed that two missiles were intercepted before they reached Riyadh, and one was intercepted before it reached King Khalid Air Base.

Earlier on Thursday, Houthi forces hit King Khalid International Airport with a ballistic missile, which Saree said “struck its target with precision and caused the disruption of airport operations.”

Video footage shared by the Houthis showed a thick plume of smoke rising from the apron of the airport, while footage shared on social media suggested that the missile landed directly on a parked aircraft belonging to the Saudia airline. … Full article

Pakistan secures $1.2 billion IMF bailout deal at key stage

Al Mayadeen | October 8, 2026

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reached a staff-level agreement with Pakistani authorities that would provide Islamabad with access to about $1.2 billion under its bailout program, the lender said Wednesday.

The agreement still requires approval from the IMF Executive Board before the funds can be released, making the staff-level deal a key step toward securing the financing. … Full article

Pakistan rejects NYT report on military action against Yemen as ‘fake’

Al Mayadeen | October 8, 2026

Pakistan rejected The New York Times‘ report on the alleged use of Pakistani Air Force fighter jets against the Armed Forces in Yemen, with the Information Ministry calling the report “fake and fabricated.”

The New York Times, citing a senior Pakistani official, had reported that Pakistan’s Air Force fighter jets are being used in Saudi military strikes against the Yemeni Armed Forces, while thousands of Pakistani troops have reportedly been deployed to the kingdom, citing Pakistani military and US defense officials.

The disclosure comes alongside reports that around 8,000 Pakistani troops have been deployed to Saudi Arabia, including personnel from the Pakistan Air Force and Army Air Defense.

Col. David O. Smith, a former US Army attaché in Pakistan and former top analyst for the Defense Intelligence Agency, said analysts estimate that about 8,000 Pakistani troops have been deployed to Saudi Arabia.

He claimed their presence is expected to focus on securing Saudi oil infrastructure rather than direct aggression against Ansar Allah.

Smith said Pakistani soldiers are unlikely to engage in direct combat with Ansar Allah, as Islamabad seeks to preserve its relationship with Iran. … Full article

Turkey rules out sending troops abroad to attack under Mecca Pact

Al Mayadeen | October 8, 2026

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan confirmed Thursday that Ankara will not send troops to another country to launch an offensive under the Mecca defense agreement, stressing that the pact is designed to protect its members and not to wage attacks.

“When a state party to the Mecca pact comes under attack, the others stand by it and defend it. This is not an agreement for attack,” Fidan said.

Fidan also said the preparations required to refer the agreement to the Turkish parliament have been completed. … Full article

Sanaa forces advance in Taiz as Saudi-backed brigades surrender

Al Mayadeen | October 8, 2026

The Yemeni Armed Forces are continuing their advance in Taiz Governorate, according to Al Mayadeen’s Yemen bureau, as reports emerge that entire Saudi-backed brigades have surrendered their weapons to Sanaa.

The developments come as fighting continues across several areas of Yemen following a renewed escalation that began Sunday. Saudi-backed forces had announced a counteroffensive aimed at retaking territory recently captured by Ansar Allah.

According to Al Mayadeen’s correspondent, the latest battlefield developments point to continued pressure on Saudi-backed formations as fighting expands around key areas of Yemen’s western coastline. […]

Reports of entire brigades surrendering their weapons, if confirmed, would represent a significant development in the ongoing fighting and could affect the balance of forces across Taiz and other western areas. – Full article

Baghaei to Rubio: Distorted narratives cannot erase US record of broken commitments

Press TV – October 7, 2026

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has dismissed claims by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Tehran has repeatedly squandered chances for an agreement, saying the inversion of historical facts cannot erase Washington’s pattern of treaty-breaking from public memory.

Baghaei, responding to an IRNA question on Rubio’s assertion that “Iran has missed opportunities for an agreement multiple times,” stated on Wednesday, “The inversion of historical truths cannot remove the reality of America’s repeated breaches of commitment from the mind of public opinion.”

He pointed to Washington’s successive acts of bad faith, including its unilateral withdrawal from the nuclear deal on May 8, 2018, the sabotage of diplomatic tracks, military aggression against Iran while negotiations were underway, and the subsequent violation of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding Iran reached on June 18.

Baghaei held the United States responsible for the insecurity prevailing in the region and for the economic consequences felt in America and worldwide.

“Blame-shifting and contradictory statements cannot overshadow the demand of American and global public opinion that those responsible for the illegal war and the crimes committed be held to account,” he said. … continue

UK whines about losing billions to ‘Putin tax’

By Drago Bosnic | October 8, 2026

London insists that “the growing economic toll reflected the central role of cyber attacks in Russian and other states’ efforts to inflict damage while remaining below the threshold of conventional conflict”. Once again, the UK’s almost unimaginable level of hypocrisy becomes all the more apparent with such claims. As previously mentioned, what should Moscow do when UK-sourced missiles and drones hit Russian oil refineries, natural gas facilities, civilian infrastructure and civilians themselves? … continue

Biden Pressured FBI to Prosecute Parents Who Opposed COVID Vaccine and Mask Mandates at Schools

By Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D. | The Defender | October 7, 2026

The Biden administration directed the FBI to investigate parents who spoke out at school board meetings against vaccine and mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic for possible “domestic terrorism,” according to a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) report released Monday.

The report, by the DOJ’s Weaponization Working Group, focused on an October 2021 memorandum from then-U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to the FBI director and key federal prosecutors, calling for a federal response to “harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence” against school officials.

The memo said Garland’s office would use its “authority and resources” to “discourage these threats” and pursue federal charges against parents.

According to the DOJ, Garland issued the directive “despite being presented with very little evidence of actual violence or violent threats against school administrators and at school board meetings.”

The report described Garland’s actions as an attempt to “interfere with parental rights and speech.”

“To many Americans, Attorney General Garland’s memo embodied the misuse and weaponization of government power,” the DOJ stated.

According to the report, Garland sent the memo only five days after the National School Boards Association (NSBA) urged then-President Joe Biden to take action against parents, writing in a September 2021 letter: “Classification of these heinous actions could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes.”

A month later, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a threat assessment targeting parents who opposed school mandates:

“Violent individuals who oppose mask mandates, vaccine requirements, and CRT [critical race theory] as a topic of classroom learning, will increasingly pose a threat to school personnel over the next six months due to the expected approval of a COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11, continued misinformation and disinformation related to CRT curriculum, and upcoming school board elections.”

Garland’s memo led to the establishment of a federal task force to investigate parents and resulted in the FBI opening 25 “Guardian assessments” — preliminary reviews of whether someone may pose a criminal or terrorism-related threat — against parents, the DOJ said. … Full article

The Plague Panic & Vaccines Were Ready Before the Diagnosis

Headlines brought back the Black Death, vaccine stocks jumped and the outbreak had already been rehearsed, all before anyone confirmed a single case of plague

By Sayer Ji | October 7, 2026

… Fear has a price, and on Monday, October 5, it was paid in the stock market.

Stocktwits reported that Novavax rose 20%, Emergent BioSolutions 14%, Arcturus 13% and Moderna 7% after the death, along with protective-equipment makers Lakeland Industries (15%) and Alpha Pro Tech (13%). It noted that “no plague case has been confirmed, and no government orders have been announced,” and that the commercial vaccines of Novavax, Arcturus and Moderna do not target plague. (Stocktwits) Its own headline described retail traders eyeing “contract awards.” (Stocktwits)

The next day, after WHO said testing of contacts had found no plague, Novavax fell 12% and gave back most of the gain. One market analysis described the move bluntly: “The company has no plague vaccine at all,” and “Monday’s spike was a scare trade.” (TIKR)

This is not evidence that any company or official orchestrated the coverage. It does show how quickly fear turns into money. Investors bet that an unconfirmed foreign case would produce emergency procurement, and they did it before a diagnosis existed. When a scare trade is that predictable, the people who would benefit from escalation are exactly the people whose claims need the most scrutiny.

A second fact went almost unmentioned in the coverage: new plague vaccines were already being developed, funded and promoted well before the Irkutsk worker became ill. … Read full article

Russia says no epidemic risk after reported plague death

Al Mayadeen | October 7, 2026

Russia’s health watchdog said Wednesday that there were no epidemic risks following the reported death of a laboratory technician in Siberia last week, as calls for greater transparency over the case continued.

Russian news outlet People of Baikal claimed Friday that a 28-year-old woman working at a plague research institute in the Irkutsk region had died from a disease, possibly after contracting it from a broken test tube. Russian authorities have rejected the report, saying she died of pneumonia and that the cause of death was “undetermined”.

Authorities also said that testing has found no indication that her illness was linked to pathogens handled as part of her work.

Rospotrebnadzor said the sanitary and epidemiological situation in the Irkutsk region was “calm”, adding that “there are no epidemic risks for the population”.

The health watchdog said intensive investigations had detected “no emergencies” and that the laboratory had followed “proper control when working with pathogenic microorganisms”.

“More than 90 percent of contacts have completed medical observation,” Rospotrebnadzor said, adding that “no health disorders associated with infectious pathology were detected.” … Full article

Armed Israeli settlers beat and rob AFP photographer – media

RT | October 7, 2026

Armed Israeli settlers have beaten and robbed an AFP photographer marked as press in the occupied West Bank, according to media reports. Around a dozen IDF soldiers were present and did not intervene.

Veteran Palestinian photographer Jaafar Ashtiyeh was hospitalized after being repeatedly struck with rifle butts. The assault is the latest in a growing series of attacks on journalists in the West Bank.

The attack took place near the village of Aqraba on Tuesday as Ashtiyeh, 58, and fellow AFP photographer John Wessels were documenting Palestinians harvesting olives. The journalists saw an Israeli soldier detaining a Palestinian before a man on a quad bike approached and opened fire, according to AFP.

A Palestinian was shot in the foot and hospitalized, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said. … Full article

IOF, settlers attack Burqa olive harvesters, killing one Palestinian

Al Mayadeen | October 7, 2026

Israeli settlers, backed by Israeli occupation forces (IOF), attacked Palestinian olive harvesters from the town of Burqa, northwest of Nablus, on Wednesday. One man was martyred, and 16 people were wounded, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The ministry identified the martyr as Ali Hassan Yusr al-Bazari, 44. Nine people were wounded in the attack on Burqa residents, one of them seriously, while seven others were beaten by the IOF in Nablus.

Eyewitnesses told the Palestinian news agency WAFA that a large group of settlers, escorted by IOF soldiers, attacked Burqa farmers as they picked olives on their own land in the Ramin plain, east of Tulkarm. The settlers shot at the farmers and beat them.

Local sources said the wounded, including a woman, were taken to Thabet Thabet Government Hospital in Tulkarm and Rafidia Hospital in Nablus, where one of them was pronounced dead.

The IOF also assaulted ambulance crews near the Burqa plain as they tried to reach the wounded and evacuate them from the Ramin plain. Soldiers detained three paramedics and a volunteer from the town and confiscated the keys to their ambulances. They later released the group and forced them to leave the area. … Full article

MOE: Nearly 22,000 Students and Education Workers Killed

IMEMC | October 7, 2026

Nearly 22,000 Palestinian students and education workers were killed during three years of Israeli attacks, according to a statistical report released Wednesday by the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education. The report documents Israeli violations against the education sector from October 7, 2023, through October 7, 2026.

Issued under the slogan, “Three Years After the Genocide: Education Is a Will That Cannot Be Broken,” the report said Israeli forces killed more than 19,189 school students and 1,386 university students in the Gaza Strip. Another 28,586 school students and 3,082 university students suffered injuries of varying severity.

In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces killed 134 school students and 39 university students and injured 871 school students and 283 university students. The forces also abducted 416 school students and 481 university students.

Among educational and administrative personnel in Gaza, Israeli forces killed 805 school employees and 246 university lecturers and staff members. … continue

Civil Defense Rescuer Among Two Killed in Israeli Attacks on Gaza

IMEMC | October 7, 2026

Israeli forces killed Palestinian Civil Defense volunteer Mohammad Tammous and injured several others early Wednesday during airstrikes, artillery shelling, and live fire across the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said Tammous was fatally wounded in an Israeli airstrike near the destroyed Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip.

He had reached the area to evacuate Palestinians wounded in an earlier attack. Tammous later died at Al-Shifa Hospital, while several other Palestinians were taken for treatment.

Local sources reported that two Palestinians were wounded near the hospital’s northern gate after Israeli drones dropped sound bombs in the area.

In Gaza City, medical sources said a child was injured when Israeli forces bombed the Shuhada’ az-Zeitoun School in the southeastern part of the city.

Israeli forces also detonated buildings east of the Tuffah neighborhood and in other eastern areas, while artillery fire and live rounds struck the Zeitoun, Tuffah, and Shuja’iyya neighborhoods.

In central Gaza, an Israeli drone opened fire northeast of the Maghazi refugee camp. Israeli artillery also shelled eastern Deir al-Balah, while military vehicles operating in the area fired live rounds. Local sources reported that Israeli forces also demolished a structure southeast of the city.

In Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, Israeli soldiers shot and injured a child in the Al-Mawasi area. Israeli tanks and military vehicles fired toward tents sheltering displaced families near the Al-Amal neighborhood pond, along Street 5, and around the desalination plant and Bani Suheila roundabout.

A Palestinian, identified as Ziad Zo’rob, was killed in an Israeli bombing of Qizan Rashwan area, south of Khan Younis.

The Israeli army also detonated buildings east and northeast of Khan Younis. Farther south, Israeli naval vessels and military vehicles opened fire toward tents housing displaced Palestinians in the Al-Mawasi area of Rafah. … Full article

Three years of genocide: How America’s Israel-First media filtered out the truth

By Jamal Kanj | MEMO | October 7, 2026

… In that same week, 1st October, an Israeli Jewish mob with government issued guns, shot and murdered Mashour Yassin, a 51-year-old man, on the steps of his own home on the outskirts of Yasuf village near Ramallah. On the following day, another Jewish mob killed 19-year-old Bahaa Sami Amin al-Natsheh in Kobar village. Israeli bulldozers demolished Palestinian homes and uprooted olive trees, Israeli Jewish mobs and soldiers attacking farmers during the annual harvest season, an act of economic strangulation repeated every season it barely registers as news anymore.

In the West Bank, during September alone, Israeli Jewish mobs, the very settlers Netanyahu has dismissed as “juvenile delinquents” and their violence as a “hoax” carried out 647 attacks, killing three Palestinian civilians, injuring 88 others, and damaging or uprooting 14,600 trees, including 9,334 olive trees.

Not one of these Jewish murderers has been charged. Israel, a nation of Jewish “law and order,” prosecutes Palestinians by the thousands while shielding the Jews who murder them. This is the practice of institutional Israeli Jewish apartheid on the ground. … Full article

Israeli Artillery Shells Southern Lebanese Villages

Al-Manar | October 7, 2026

Israeli enemy forces target multiple towns across southern Lebanon, with machine-gun sweeps reported near Kafr Shuba.

Al-Manar correspondent reported artillery shelling this morning targeting the southern Lebanese villages of Kafr Tibnit, Al-Nabatieh Al-Fawqa, and the outskirts of Arnoun.

Earlier this morning, enemy artillery shelled the towns of Al-Mansouri and Hadatha.

The enemy also conducted a sweep using machine-gun fire from the hostile Ruwaisat al-Alam position toward the town of Kafr Shuba.

Flavio Bolsonaro’s first-round lead in Brazil alarms Palestine supporters

By Eman Abusidu | MEMO | October 7, 2026

… At this stage, there is no clear evidence that a change of government would directly affect the legal or civil rights of Palestinians or Brazilians of Palestinian origin.

The concern is more about the wider political atmosphere, and whether a government that is more closely aligned with Washington and Israel could make the environment less comfortable for Palestine solidarity groups, as well as for Arab and Muslim communities.

Bosco points out that Brazil’s Arab community is large and that Arab countries are important trading partners for Brazil, factors that could limit how far any government would be willing to shift foreign policy. Still, he worries that closer alignment with Trump could give more space to anti-Muslim rhetoric and political currents inside the country.

He also points to the Tri-Border Area between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, home to a sizeable Arab-origin business community. The region has repeatedly come under international scrutiny over security allegations, and Bosco fears that a more hardline political climate could bring renewed pressure and suspicion towards traders and local Arab communities there.

In his assessment, a stronger pro-Israel orientation in Brasilia could intensify political and security pressure on some merchants and organisations in the region. He also argues that groups advocating closer ties with Israel are gaining influence in Brazilian conservative politics.

Bosco goes further, expressing concern that figures strongly aligned with Israel could gain positions in a future Bolsonaro administration and that this could create a more difficult political environment for anti-Zionist activists. … Full article

Guterres in Islamabad: Genocide, cowardice, and the cage of Imran Khan

By Junaid S. Ahmad | MEMO | October 7, 2026

There are careers that end in triumph, careers that end in scandal, and careers that achieve the rarer distinction of staging their own final indictment. António Guterres has found his in Islamabad.

After nearly a decade as Secretary-General of the United Nations, he arrives in Pakistan in the twilight of his tenure and performs the ritual that has come to define him: smile warmly, praise generously, deplore abstractly, and avoid saying anything that might seriously inconvenience the powerful men standing beside him. His record is littered with eloquent concern, grave warnings and solemn appeals. What it has lacked, again and again, is the one quality that gives moral language meaning: courage when courage carries a cost.

In Islamabad, the performance is almost indecent. Guterres praises Pakistan as a source of “solidarity and solutions,” commends the “resilience” of its people, and assures them that the United Nations stands with them. Meanwhile, former prime minister Imran Khan remains imprisoned after the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared his detention arbitrary.

UN experts have raised concerns about his treatment, prolonged isolation and conditions of confinement; the UN Committee Against Torture has separately highlighted broader allegations of politically motivated detention, torture, intimidation and repression.

Guterres does not need opposition politicians or troublesome journalists to brief him. He could simply read his own institution’s reports. But that would ruin the choreography. … continue

False flags won’t save aggressors, Iran FM spokesman says

Press TV – October 7, 2026

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei says the United States and the Israeli regime have a history of manufacturing false-flag incidents only to clean up their messes around the world.

In a Wednesday post on his X account, the Iranian official said such scenarios would not save them from the quagmire of the aggression against Iran.

Baghaei said telling lies about Iran and accusing it of having a role in security incidents would fail to justify the US-Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic.

“In a world where the American and international public is weary of an unlawful war of aggression against Iran, and where the aggressors have no honest way to justify a war of choice, even a raft made of lies can look like salvation to those who are drowning,” he said in the post. … continue

Johnson, Marandi say Yemen holds upper hand over Saudi Arabia

Al Mayadeen | October 7, 2026

Former CIA analyst Larry Johnson and Professor Mohammad Marandi said that Yemen holds the upper hand in its war with Saudi Arabia, and that neither Turkey nor Pakistan is likely to change that by sending forces to the kingdom’s aid.

Speaking on Al Mayadeen’s The Grand Standoff: Iran and the World on Tuesday, both guests also noted that Tehran is working on the assumption that the US will restart its war on Iran, while Johnson argued that Washington has less capacity to carry one out than its rhetoric suggests. … continue

Saudi forces made no progress in al-Jawf amid Yemeni operations: Saree

Al Mayadeen | October 7, 2026

The Yemeni Armed Forces have thwarted an attempt by Saudi-backed forces to advance toward their positions in the eastern al-Jawf Governorate, spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree announced on Wednesday.

In a statement, Saree said the Yemeni Armed Forces targeted Saudi forces with a number of ballistic missiles and drones, stressing that the attacking forces made no progress. … Full article

The Makkah Pact Enters Into Force: The End of American Dominance or Its New Form?

By Salman Rafi Sheikh – New Eastern Outlook – October 7, 2026

On October 5, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan activated the Makkah Pact, taking their new alliance to war for the first time, and potentially revealing the future of American power in the Middle East: Washington provides the security umbrella while regional partners increasingly do the fighting. […]

Yet therein lies a paradox for Washington. The same burden-sharing that reduces America’s military responsibilities could eventually reduce its leverage. More capable allies are not necessarily more dependent allies.  … Read full article

Turkey Sending Air Defenses to Saudi Arabia Amid War With Ansar Allah

By Kyle Anzalone | The Libertarian Institute | October 7, 2026

Turkey is sending air defenses, drone operators, and other military and technical support to Saudi Arabia.

Two officials told Reuters on Wednesday that Turkey had made the decision to begin sending arms to Saudi Arabia. A US official who was briefed on the matter said that Turkey will limit its aid to technical support and military equipment, suggesting no Turkish troops, other than drone operators, would deploy to the kingdom.

The official explained that the limited deployment was due to the agreement having been signed but not yet ratified by the Turkish parliament. … Full article

US has lost or damaged 81 aircraft in Iran war, CRS says

Al Mayadeen | October 7, 2026

The United States has lost or sustained damage to at least 81 fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft, including drones, during its war on Iran since February 28, according to a new Congressional Research Service (CRS) assessment.

The report, updated October 5, draws on US Defense Department and US Central Command statements, Pentagon inspector general findings, and media reports. It cautions that the tally could change because some information remains classified, combat operations are ongoing, and the attribution of individual incidents can be disputed. Some damaged aircraft have also reportedly returned to service.

The losses span a wide range of US military aviation platforms, highlighting the demands placed on American airpower during the war. […]

The aircraft figures offer another measure of the material cost of the US military war on Iran. While the CRS does not present the 81-aircraft figure as a definitive final tally, the range of platforms affected points to sustained pressure on US aviation assets across combat, surveillance, refueling, and rescue missions.

For Congress, the report frames the issue beyond individual aircraft losses: lawmakers may have to assess whether the conflict is exposing weaknesses in US force availability, replacement capacity, and operational planning while imposing additional costs on an already expensive military campaign. – Full article

US Senator Murphy says Pentagon denied him entry to US base in Qatar

Al Mayadeen | October 6, 2026

Democratic US Senator Chris Murphy said Tuesday that the Pentagon had denied him access to a US military base in Qatar and refused to arrange a briefing on the US-Israeli war on Iran during his regional tour.

Speaking to journalists in Riyadh, Murphy accused the department of deliberately obstructing congressional scrutiny of the war and concealing its consequences from the American public.

“This trip confirmed for me that there is an active, unprecedented, unconstitutional effort underway to hide the costs of this war and the implications of this war from Congress and the American people,” he said, as quoted by Reuters. … continue

NATO’s top generals gather in Kiev

RT | October 7, 2026

The NATO Military Committee, the bloc’s highest military authority, has gathered in Kiev despite Ukraine not being a member.

The visit comes just a day after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Ukraine’s NATO membership “is not on the table as we speak,” noting that accession would require unanimous backing.

Kiev’s potential NATO membership has been one of the central issues of the Ukraine conflict. Moscow has long opposed the US-led military bloc’s eastward expansion and has made Ukrainian neutrality a key condition of any settlement, arguing that NATO’s presence there would pose a direct threat to Russian national security. … continue

EU’s continuing expansion – greater threat to Russia

By Uriel Araujo | October 7, 2026

The European Commission has now declared enlargement a “geopolitical imperative” – with important implications.

The bloc has just presented a package of reforms designed to prepare the Union for new members – with Ukraine and Moldova at the center of the effort, alongside Albania and Montenegro.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that “Europe’s future depends on the choices we make today,” framing expansion as essential to making the bloc “more resilient” and better able to shape its own destiny.

Candidate countries are already advancing: Ukraine and Moldova opened their first negotiating cluster in June 2026, and in July, opened Cluster 6 on external relations, foreign policy, security and, importantly, defense. In the words of Vessela Cherneva: “Currently, EU membership is the only way to integrate Ukraine’s and Europe’s security systems.”

The Commission plans “indicative roadmaps” for these four frontrunners (Ukraine, Moldova, Montenegro, and Albania) in its 2026 Enlargement Package, provided reform momentum continues. Gradual integration into strategic sectors such as energy, transport, digital networks and defense is explicitly on the table

This is no longer presented as a purely technical or economic process. Again, Brussels itself now describes enlargement as a “geopolitical” tool linked to European safety, prosperity and security. One may recall that earlier enlargement rounds were often framed in terms of shared values and market access. … continue

Child killed in Ukrainian strike on Russia’s Belgorod Region – officials

RT | October 7, 2026

A child has been killed and four other civilians wounded in a Ukrainian strike on Russia’s Belgorod Region, regional authorities said on Wednesday.

An 11-year-old girl was killed when the village of Printsevka, located some 30 km from the Ukrainian border, came under missile fire, according to the Belgorod Region Operational Headquarters. Another 11-year-old girl suffered a chest injury, while two women, aged 72 and 47, and a 60-year-old man were hospitalized with shrapnel wounds.

Two private homes and a car were also damaged in the strike, officials said. Belgorod Region, which borders Ukraine, has been subjected to frequent Ukrainian drone and artillery attacks. Governor Aleksandr Shuvaev said earlier on Wednesday that Ukrainian forces had attacked the region 114 times over the previous 24 hours, leaving seven civilians injured. … Full article

Ukrainian MP put on ‘kill list’ over call for peace with Russia

RT | October 6, 2026

Ukrainian lawmaker Alexey Goncharenko has been expelled from the European Solidarity parliamentary group and added to the notorious Mirotvorets website, which publishes personal information on people it considers “enemies” of the country.

The MP came under fire after publicly calling for peace with Russia and arguing that Kiev is losing the conflict. He suggested that Ukraine should consider concessions to secure a lasting settlement, including abandoning its NATO ambitions, easing sanctions on Russia, strengthening the status of the Russian language, and potentially ceding territory. … Full article

Banker who exposed Lutnick’s ties to Epstein warned of ‘retaliation’ and ‘personal consequences’ before suicide

AOL | October 5, 2026

Simon Andriesz reflected on the impact of his speaking out in his final post on X.

“The personal consequences of whistleblowing, and the retaliation I say followed, have been devastating for my family and me,” Andriesz wrote.

The British former banker said he planned to reveal more about his claims involving Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Jeffrey Epstein and the financial firms Cantor Fitzgerald and BGC.

Andriesz, 57, was later reported to have died by suicide, according to reporting cited by The Banker. … Full article

UK Police Arrest 15-Year-Old Over Posts Mocking Politician

By Cam Wakefield | Reclaim The Net | October 6, 2026

… four officers, from the West Midlands force, were dispatched to the home of a 15-year-old, to arrest him. And this was no dawn raid to take in some dangerous terrorist suspect – it was a 15-year-old boy who had been making fun of a local councillor’s attire.

And the police seized his phone and laptop.

The whole thing started when the teenager, a Reform UK party activist, posted on Facebook about Conservative councillor Simon Bennett’s conduct and dress at council meetings in Wolverhampton.

Bennett reported the teenager to the police, saying that the posts were “quite personal about my appearance.”

One of the posts compared Bennett’s appearance to that of a “rent boy.” … Full article

Israel expands “incitement” charge to target Palestinian education and memory

Palestinian Information Center – October 6, 2026

RAMALLAH – The Palestinian Prisoner Society (PPS) has warned that Israel is expanding its use of the charge of “incitement” into a tool for controlling education, expression and collective memory in Palestinian institutions.

The warning followed the recent arrest of a school principal in al-Eizariya and the demolition of a martyrs’ memorial at Birzeit University on Monday. The PPS said both incidents reflect a wider policy targeting spaces where Palestinian awareness is shaped and where the memory of prisoners, martyrs and national symbols is preserved and passed to new generations.

According to the society, prosecutions under the label of “incitement” are no longer limited to social media posts or personal statements. They now extend to educational content and symbols inside institutions, placing schools and universities under direct threat of surveillance and punishment. … continue

How Israel seeks to reshape Arab classrooms

By Freddie Ponton | 21st Century Wire | October 6, 2026

“Muslims will not relinquish Jerusalem.” The sentence appeared in a Saudi schoolbook’s Arabic language exercise, then disappeared from later editions. An Israeli organisation monitoring the books described the removal as deleting a “politically charged reference.” In Jordan, the same organisation recorded another disappearance. Maps bearing the name “Palestine” were replaced with versions leaving the territory unnamed.

These classroom changes open a larger story about who shapes what Arab children learn about their region. A new Arabic Post investigation follows three decades of scrutiny across 17 Arab countries, tracing how assessments of schoolbooks reach Western governments, parliaments and donors with the power to demand changes. … continue

UEFA probes Israeli player for allegedly spitting at Ireland coach

MEMO | October 6, 2026

UEFA opened an investigation Tuesday after an Israeli player was accused of spitting at a member of Ireland’s coaching staff during their Nations League match in Serbia, according to media reports.

Ireland’s head of athletic performance, Damien Doyle, alleged that an Israeli player spat at him as the teams left the pitch at halftime of Sunday’s 1-1 draw at TSC Arena in Backa Topola, according to The Irish Times.

The match was an Ireland home fixture but was moved to a neutral venue in Serbia and played behind closed doors after the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) cited “operational challenges” surrounding the fixture. […]

As they had in the first meeting, Irish players wore black armbands, bowed their heads during Israel’s national anthem and did not shake hands with their opponents before Sunday’s match. – Full article

Ben-Gvir Oversees Jerusalem Demolition, Displacing 70 Palestinians

IMEMC | October 6, 2026

On Tuesday morning, Israeli forces demolished a five-story Palestinian residential building in At-Tur, east of occupied Jerusalem, under the supervision of Israel’s far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, displacing approximately 70 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

Israeli soldiers and police invaded the town with military vehicles and bulldozers, surrounded the building, and forcibly removed the families before the demolition began.

The building, owned by Jerusalemite Mustafa Abu Sbeitan, contained ten apartments across five floors.

Silwanic reported that the forces prevented residents from removing furniture and other belongings from their apartments and assaulted several Palestinians during the forced evacuation.

Israel’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, arrived at the site with reinforced police units and oversaw the demolition, the Jerusalem Governorate and local media reported. Video footage from the scene showed Ben-Gvir riding in a demolition vehicle at the site. … Full article

Three Palestinians injured in settler attack in southern Nablus

Palestinian Information Center – October 6, 2026

NABLUS – Extremist Jewish settlers shot and injured a young Palestinian and savagely assaulted three others in the town of Aqraba, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.

The Red Crescent in Nablus said its paramedics treated a 23-year-old man who was shot in the foot by settlers in Aqraba. He was transferred to a hospital for medical assistance.

Three other Palestinians were also severely beaten, including an Agence France-Presse (AFP) photojournalist Jaafar Shtayyeh.

92 Palestinian prisoners killed in Israeli prisons in three years, nearly half held without charge or trial

Palestinian Information Center – October 6, 2026

GAZA – Palestinian prisoners’ organizations have documented the deaths of 92 identified Palestinian prisoners inside Israeli prisons and detention camps over the past three years, while Israel continues to forcibly disappear detainees from the Gaza Strip, marking one of the deadliest periods in the history of the Palestinian captive movement.

In a documentation report issued Tuesday to mark three years since the beginning of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, the organizations said the 92 identified prisoners who died during this period account for approximately 28 percent of all documented Palestinian prisoner deaths since 1967, which now totals 329.

More than 100 Palestinian prisoners have died over the past three years, but the identities of only 92 have been announced. The fate of dozens of Gaza detainees remains unknown due to their continued enforced disappearance, while Israel continues to withhold the bodies of 100 Palestinian prisoners who died in custody.

More than 26,000 arrests in West Bank

The report documented more than 26,000 arrests across the occupied West Bank and occupied Jerusalem since the beginning of Israel’s genocidal war.

The figure does not include thousands of Palestinians detained in Gaza, where the organizations have been unable to fully document arrests because of continuing Israeli military operations, information restrictions and the blackout surrounding the conditions and whereabouts of detainees.

Israel’s mass arrest campaigns have targeted Palestinians from across society, including women, children, older people, the sick, journalists and human rights workers. … Full article

Israeli Attacks Kill Two Palestinians in Gaza

IMEMC | October 6, 2026

Israeli forces continued attacks across the devastated Gaza Strip on Tuesday, killing two Palestinians and wounding others in airstrikes and gunfire, while another Palestinian succumbed to wounds sustained in an Israeli attack the previous day.

In Gaza City, an Israeli drone strike killed Mo’tasem Salah and wounded another Palestinian near the Gaza Municipality Park on Omar al-Mukhtar Street, according to local sources.

A separate Israeli airstrike on Aydiya Street in Gaza City killed another Palestinian whose identity was not immediately reported.

Furthermore, Ibrahim Mohammad Allam died from wounds sustained Monday when Israeli aircraft struck the Tayba Towers west of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip.

Medical sources also reported that Fathi Hamada Fathi Breika, a resident of Khan Younis, died in Egypt from wounds sustained in an earlier Israeli strike during the war on Gaza.

In addition, Israeli forces shot and wounded a Palestinian in the al-Karama neighborhood, northwest of Gaza City.

Another Palestinian was wounded when Israeli gunfire struck tents sheltering displaced families in the Bir 19 area, south of the al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis.

Israeli helicopters opened fire east of Khan Younis and west of Rafah, while heavy gunfire continued near the displaced families’ tents in the Bir 19 area.

Israeli warplanes also carried out a series of airstrikes on eastern areas of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip.

In northern Gaza, Israeli tanks fired heavily toward several areas, while Israeli artillery and military vehicles targeted the eastern part of the Jabalia refugee camp. Israeli forces also carried out two demolitions in eastern Gaza City. … Full article

By Netanyahu’s Own Math, Gaza Is 3,900 September 11ths

By Larry C. Johnson | SONAR21 | October 5, 2026

Benjamin Netanyahu likes to translate Israel’s grief into American. At the United Nations last month, he took the dead of October 7 and multiplied them by the ratio of America’s population to Israel’s. The 1,200 Israelis killed that day, he said, were “equal to 40,000 innocent Americans slaughtered in less than 24 hours. That’s 16 times 9/11.”

Per-capita comparisons are a perfectly legitimate tool. A small country feels a massacre more than a large one, and Americans should understand what October 7 meant to Israelis. But a method is only honest if you’re willing to apply it to everyone. So let’s apply Netanyahu’s method to the people his army has been killing for three years.

Gaza had about 2.2 million people before the war. The United States has about 341 million, roughly 155 times as many. Take a conservative figure of 75,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza, slightly above the Gaza Health Ministry’s latest count of more than 73,000. Multiply it by Netanyahu’s own logic, and you get about 11.6 million Americans.

Eleven point six million. That is roughly the population of Ohio. It is more than ten times the number of Americans killed in every war the United States has ever fought, from the Revolution to Afghanistan. It is about 15 times America’s deaths in the Civil War, the bloodiest conflict in the nation’s history.

Measured in the unit Netanyahu chose, it is about 3,900 September 11ths.

Run the numbers in Israel’s own terms and the result is the same. Seventy-five thousand dead in a population of 2.2 million is the equivalent of about 340,000 Israelis. Netanyahu built a speech, a war and a foreign policy on 1,200. Imagine what he would say about 340,000. […]

The point of a per-capita comparison is to help outsiders grasp the scale of a loss. Netanyahu wants Americans to imagine 40,000 of their countrymen murdered in a day, and to understand everything Israel has done since as the natural response. Very well. Ask Americans to imagine 11.6 million of their countrymen dead, in a territory sealed off from escape, and to call it self-defense.

No American president would describe 11.6 million American dead as a proportionate response to anything. No American would accept that the dead deserved it because some of them were armed. And no one who has run the numbers can accept the premise of Netanyahu’s arithmetic, which is that Israeli lives scale up and Palestinian lives do not.

The method is Netanyahu’s. So is the answer it produces: by his own measure, the catastrophe in Gaza is about 290 times larger than the one he asks the world to remember. – Full article

Six members of same family killed in Saudi airstrike on house in Yemen’s Hajjah

Press TV – October 6, 2026

Six members of the same family have been killed in a Saudi airstrike targeting a home in Yemen’s northwestern province of Hajjah, as Riyadh expands its aerial bombardment against multiple regions across Yemen.

The al-Masirah television channel, citing local sources, reported that six bodies were recovered on Tuesday from beneath the rubble of a residential building destroyed in the attack in Umm al-Dahi village of the Harad district. The sources identified the victims as a couple and their four young children, aged between 3 and 8 years old. They were survived by a 6-year-old girl who sustained serious injuries in the aerial assault.

Hajjah province has been repeatedly targeted because of its strategic position along northern Yemen’s communication routes.

Spokesperson of the Yemeni Ministry of Public Health and Population, Dr. Anis al-Asbahi, said three civilians, including a child, were also injured when Saudi fighter aircraft bombed Sala district in the southwestern province of Ta’izz.

Meanwhile, the Yemeni Armed Forces have dealt a heavy blow to Saudi-backed mercenary forces in the eastern countryside of the northern Al-Jawf province.

The Yemeni army soldiers struck the positions of the Saudi-sponsored militants, killing dozens of them in the process and setting a number of military vehicles ablaze.

Elsewhere in the central province of Ma’rib, several Saudi-backed mercenary forces were killed and wounded when Yemeni military units targeted their temporary camps in the Raghwan district.

The military units also carried out mop-up operations in the strategic southwestern province of Ta’izz, purging the remaining districts of Saudi-sponsored gunmen. … Full article

In August Hanning Treason Case – All Signs Point To Tel Aviv

By Justin K.P. | The Dissident | October 6, 2026

In a major international espionage story, August Hanning, the former German intelligence chief, who was the head of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) from 1998 to 2005, has been charged with “obtaining classified information from a former employee of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) and using it in connection with his private consultancy work.”

The BBC reported that “Prosecutors allege that he used classified intelligence to ‘draft an analysis’ for one foreign intelligence service and maintained contact with another foreign spying service. Investigators have not disclosed which foreign powers were involved.”

While Germany has not released which foreign state August Hanning was working for, all available evidence suggests it was Israel. … continue

Paris bans pro-Palestinian demonstration planned for Oct. 7 over ‘risks of public disorder’

MEMO | October 6, 2026

Paris police chief Patrice Faure on Tuesday banned a pro-Palestinian demonstration planned for Wednesday, the third anniversary of Oct. 7, 2023 attacks in Israel, over “risks of public disorder,” Anadolu reports.

“At the request of Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, I issued an order banning a demonstration ‘against the genocide in Gaza and for respect for the ceasefire’ in Paris on Wednesday,” Faure said on US social media platform X.

He noted that such a demonstration could pose “significant risks of public disorder,” citing a “high terrorist threat” and antisemitic acts that “remain at historically high levels” across France.

“In light of this, and in view of all the risks identified, it is my responsibility to ensure everyone’s safety. I have therefore decided to ban this demonstration,” Faure added.

France cleared dozens of military sales to Israel between May and September: Report

The Cradle | October 6, 2026

France greenlit 35 military sales to Israel between May and September 2026, according to a joint investigation by the Palestinian Youth Movement and the French collective Urgence Palestine, with all shipments bound for subsidiaries of lead Israeli arms maker Elbit Systems.

The report states that suppliers based in five French regions manufactured the equipment, which includes cooling units used in tanks and missile launchers, visors fitted to the helmets of helicopter and fighter jet pilots, surveillance systems, and assorted electronics.

French arms firm Thales built and shipped control panels used to fire weapons remotely, a technology that rights groups and Gaza-based journalists have repeatedly reported Israel using to shoot civilians in their tents and on the streets, children among them. … continue

France projects nuclear power as Macron pushes arsenal expansion

 Al Mayadeen| October 6, 2026

French President Emmanuel Macron touted France’s nuclear strength on Tuesday following the launch of an upgraded ballistic missile, as Paris seeks to expand its nuclear arsenal and deepen military coordination with European allies amid tensions with Russia.

“Today we are stronger. The message has been sent loud and clear for wherever it must be received,” Macron said in a video posted on X showing him watching the launch, according to Reuters.

His remarks accompanied the firing of an M51.3 missile from the submarine Le Vigilant off Brittany. The missile carried no nuclear warhead.

France’s Defense Ministry described the operation as a certification test following the submarine’s extensive maintenance overhaul. While its announcement did not mention Russia, Macron presented the launch as a broader demonstration of French military power. … continue

Lithuania Takes First Step Toward Lifting Nuclear Weapons Ban

By Kyle Anzalone | The Libertarian Institute | October 6, 2026

The Lithuanian parliament took the first step toward removing the country’s constitutional prohibition on weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, and foreign military bases. The US currently stations nuclear weapons in several NATO states.

On Tuesday, the Lithuanian Seimas voted 106-18, with six abstentions, to repeal the constitutional provision prohibiting weapons of mass destruction and foreign military bases. A second and final vote is expected on January 12.

Russia responded sharply to the vote.

“If the military infrastructure of what is, in effect, ​NATO’s leading country (the US) is moving closer to our borders, then, of course, this cannot be perceived ⁠as anything other than a ⁠step towards escalating tensions.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.  “The same applies ​to the deployment of nuclear weapons on the territory of ​a neighbouring state. Neither of these developments will contribute ‌to stability and predictability on the European continent; on the contrary, they will, much to our regret, mark yet another significant escalation of tensions.” … Full article

What changes with Lula or Flávio?

By Lucas Leiroz | Strategic Culture Foundation | October 6, 2026

Brazil’s presidential elections are approaching. And with them come controversies, debates, and different perspectives on what this event means for Brazil, for the BRICS, and for the future of the multipolar world.

In a recent article, respected Brazilian political analyst Valdir Bezerra argued that the 2026 elections represent a turning point in Brazilian history, potentially determining Brazil’s role in the world. According to Bezerra, the election pits, on the one hand, the “autonomist” tradition, represented by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, against, on the other hand, the “Westernist” one, represented by Flávio Bolsonaro.

With all due respect to Bezerra’s work, as one of the most highly regarded analysts in the Russian-Brazilian political debate, I would like to present a critical view of his position here. My intention is not to “refute” Bezerra’s argument, but merely to explain why I do not consider this opposition between autonomism and Westernism a valid premise for analyzing the current electoral dispute. Furthermore, I would also like to explain why I do not consider the 2026 election a decisive moment in determining Brazil’s international role. … continue

Britain leads Western media’s demise through ‘fear porn’ narrative

By Martin Jay | Strategic Culture Foundation | October 6, 2026

Ian Proud’s arrest by secret police at a London airport marks a new low in how far the deep state can go to control a false narrative. But it also shows a new level of fear. … continue

Ukrainian drones kill two in Moscow Region – officials

RT | October 6, 2026

Two civilians have been killed and nine injured after Ukraine launched 650 drones toward Moscow and the surrounding region overnight, local officials have said.

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said in the early hours of Tuesday that most of the UAVs were destroyed at “distant lines,” while 134 were intercepted on the approaches to Moscow itself.

In Moscow Region, air defenses neutralized 185 drones, Governor Andrey Vorobyov reported. A 20-year-old man was killed in the settlement of Radumlya, northwest of Moscow, while rescuers found a 71-year-old man dead beneath the rubble of a destroyed private home in Barybino, south of the capital, with a woman in the same building receiving injuries.

A man in Pokrovskoye, west of Moscow, was hospitalized with shrapnel wounds, while two residents of the Istra area, also west of the capital, were taken to hospital. Three people in Lyakhovo, south of Moscow, received medical care but declined hospitalization, Vorobyov added.

Vorobyov said a total of 47 private homes were damaged across the region. In Lobanovo, south of the capital, windows and balcony glazing were blown out in four apartments, while a nearby boiler house was also damaged. Three cars were hit, and a small fire at a warehouse in Litvinovo, northwest of Moscow, was extinguished, according to the governor.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, a total of 868 Ukrainian drones were intercepted across the country overnight.

On Tuesday, Rodion Miroshnik, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry mission tracking alleged Ukrainian war crimes, told TASS that 29 civilians, including two children, were killed and 206 injured in Ukrainian attacks on Russian regions over the past week alone. He added that 98% were victims of drone strikes. … Full article