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Massive Israeli air raid on residential area in Beirut’s Suburb

Al Mayadeen | October 4, 2024

Dozens of loud explosions were heard in the Mrayjeh area in the southern suburb of Lebanon’s capital Beirut, just past midnight on Friday, due to an Israeli air raid.

Residents of Sidon and Tyre in southern Lebanon heard the loud explosions, which speaks to the magnitude of the strikes launched by Israeli warplanes, Al Mayadeen’s correspondent reported.

The targeted site is in close proximity to the Beirut International Airport, which can be seen in the background of circulating footage of the strikes.

It is worth noting that the targeted area is a heavily populated residential area in Lebanon. Al Mayadeen’s correspondent said that residential areas suffered extensive damage as a result of the Israeli strikes.

Several other strikes targeted different neighborhoods in the suburb, including a residential area near a school in the Hadath area.

Nearing 3:00 am (local time), Al Mayadeen’s correspondent reported that the site of the massive Israeli airstrikes remains ablaze, as Israeli drones fly overhead.

A few hours after the strikes occurred, our correspondent said that the targeted area hosted health facilities, emergency services facilities, and schools, adding that this has been one of the most destructive strikes since the beginning of the aggression.

Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon have intensified in recent days, as nearly 20 were launched only a day earlier. In particular, the Israeli Air Force has concentrated its strikes after midnight, terrorizing civilians throughout the nighttime.

These strikes and air raids have also been paired with multiple attempts of incursions into Lebanese border towns. However, the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon has been able to ambush and eliminate invading forces, including 17 on Thursday alone. On Wednesday the Israeli military command admitted that nine of its officers and soldiers were killed in battles with Hezbollah Resistance fighters, most of whom are part of the special forces Egoz Unit.

October 4, 2024 Posted by | War Crimes | , , | Leave a comment

Hezbollah death traps, attacks on supply lines deal heavy blows to Israeli army

The Cradle | October 4, 2024

Heavy fighting continued in southern Lebanon on 3 October, as Hezbollah fighters fiercely confronted the Israeli army’s incursions into the country’s territory and inflicted casualties among its ranks.

Israeli forces were struck with rockets on the outskirts of the Lebanese town of Odaisseh on Thursday afternoon, one of the towns where troops fell into a bloody ambush just a day earlier.

A Hezbollah guided-missile attack also hit a Merkava tank in the Natoa settlement not long before.

“When an Israeli enemy infantry force attempted to infiltrate towards the cemetery of the town of Yaroun, the Mujahideen of the Islamic Resistance detonated a Sejil explosive device at the advancing force at 12:00 noon on Thursday 10-3-2024, killing and wounding them,” Hezbollah said earlier, marking its 21st statement on 3 October.

Hezbollah announced shortly before that its fighters “detonated an explosive device at 12:00 noon on Thursday 10-3-2024 with a force from the Golani Brigade in the Tartira area in the town of Maroun al-Ras, which was trying to bypass the western side of the town.”

The members of the Golani Brigade force were killed or wounded, the Hezbollah statement added.

“Since dawn on Thursday, the Islamic Resistance fighters have been confronting all attempts by the elite forces of the Israeli enemy army to advance on more than one axis in southern Lebanon with various types of weapons and explosive devices, inflicting heavy losses on them in terms of equipment and personnel,” Hezbollah field sources told Al Manar on 3 October.

The sources added that the fighters continue to prevent any Israeli advance in southern Lebanon with pre-prepared ambushes. They also explained that Hezbollah also continued targeting supply lines and troop gatherings in several Israeli bases and sites along the border.

“The Islamic Resistance fighters targeted on Thursday 10-3-2024 a gathering of Israeli enemy forces in the Avivim settlement with a rocket salvo,” the Lebanese resistance announced.

It also fired rockets at troops in the Al-Bassa settlement and launched a Falaq rocket at Israeli positions in the Shomera settlement, as well as at the Sasa settlement.

Earlier on Thursday, Hezbollah detonated two explosive devices near an infantry force trying to enter the town of Maroun al-Ras.

Tel Aviv has so far admitted to the deaths of eight of its soldiers in southern Lebanon. It claims to have killed dozens of Hezbollah operatives.

A Hezbollah field source told Al Mayadeen on 2 October that more than 80 Israeli soldiers and officers are between dead and wounded, adding that the Lebanese resistance has destroyed five Merkava tanks.

“What is coming is more painful for the enemy,” the field source said.

An Israeli M113 remote control army vehicle was abandoned inside the border village Kfar Kila on Thursday. Hezbollah has forced troops to retreat several times during the incursions that the Israeli army has been attempting to carry out since Wednesday morning.

Israel has meanwhile continued to bombard south Lebanon heavily and issued evacuation orders to residents in over two dozen villages.

Two Lebanese army soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon on 3 October, including one who was helping coordinate an evacuation of civilians with the Red Cross.

October 4, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Militarism | , , , | Leave a comment

General Qassem Soleimani wins: Israel falls into the trap of the Axis of Resistance

The strategy of prolonged war against the Zionist regime is generating positive fruits for the Resistance

By Lucas Leiroz | Strategic Culture Foundation | October 4, 2024

In 2020, the U.S. military assassinated Iranian General Qassem Solemani in a terrorist attack with drones in Iraq. The purpose of the operation was simply to eliminate one of the greatest military thinkers in history – the man largely responsible for creating the trap that Israel has just fallen into, four years after his death.

Much more than a mere military officer, Soleimani was a strategist and negotiator – perhaps it would not be an exaggeration to even call him a “war diplomat”. An expert in clandestine operations, intelligence and special forces’ tactics, Soleimani was responsible for enabling the network of anti-Zionist organizations known as the “Axis of Resistance”.

Overcoming religious, ethnic and ideological differences between the various Islamic and anti-Zionist movements, Soleimani united different factions in a joint strategy against Israel. Obviously, this strategy was centered on Iran and gave the Islamic Republic the leading role in the fight against the Israeli occupation and its regional proxies. However, one of the keys to the success of the Axis is precisely its largely decentralized nature, guaranteeing autonomy of action for its members, without tight Iranian control over all the acts of the coalition.

The Axis of Resistance was victorious in Syria, where several militias, with the support of Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), defeated ISIS and other Israeli proxies. At the time, Soleimani’s military diplomatic success was so great that even a dialogue with the Kurdish militias (historically supported by the West) was possible at a time of confrontation against more dangerous groups – such as ISIS itself.

Soleimani’s survival was perceived as an existential threat by Israel, encouraging the Zionist lobby in the U.S. to push for a targeted assassination operation. The main problem, however, is that targeted assassinations are rarely effective against highly ideological groups and countries with well-defined war strategies. Soleimani’s death did not dismantle the Axis, but rather further united the militias around Iran – including the Palestinian Sunni militias, which have historically suffered a struggle for influence between Shiites and Wahhabis.

Today, no one can deny Iran’s great influence over the Palestinian Resistance. What few people know, however, is that this process is precisely the result of the diplomatic alliances achieved by Soleimani. By killing Ismail Hannyeh, the Hamas leader closest to Iran in the entire history of the Palestinian party and responsible for the peace between the Palestinian jihadists and the Syrian government, Israel also hoped to destabilize the Axis – reducing Iranian influence and expanding the pro-Wahhabi lobby in Palestine, which, as we know, did not happen.

In the same vein, by killing Hassan Nasrallah, then head of Hezbollah, Israel planned to once again destabilize the Axis, liquidating the leadership of the main Shiite paramilitary organization and thus possibly fomenting an institutional crisis within the group. Contrary to Zionist expectations, Hezbollah did not show any shock from the assassination of its leader, except to become even more organized and confident in its engagement against the occupation.

Tel Aviv will not stop carrying out targeted assassinations. It is quite possible that the response to Iran’s recent attack will be through assassination attempts against other Iranian public figures. This Israeli method is due to a specific characteristic of the regime that was acutely perceived by General Soleimani: Israel’s inability to go to all-out war.

Contrary to the myth of “Israeli invincibility” commonly propagated in the West, Tel Aviv has a natural weakness due to its own geographical limitations. The policy of targeted killings was developed by Israel to try to destabilize its enemies psychologically and institutionally, avoiding prolonged military engagements. Without the capacity for continuous replenishment of troops and resources and having a very small territory with very exposed targets, Israel fears a large-scale war – and this was precisely Soleimani’s assessment.

By creating the Axis of Resistance, the Iranian general has condemned Israel to perpetual war. There will be no peace at any time. If Israel defeats Hamas and the other Palestinian militias, there will still be Hezbollah and the Syrian militias in the north. On the naval front, Yemen will continue to capture ships and strike on strategic targets throughout occupied Palestine. In Iraq, the Resistance will not stop its operations at any time. And in the end, even if it defeats all these enemies, Tel Aviv will still have to face Iran itself – the largest military power in the Middle East, which, unlike Israel, has a large population and a gigantic territory, rich in resources and protected by a complex mountainous geography.

In other words, the existence of the Axis of Resistance is Israel’s death sentence. Soleimani’s strategy was focused on creating a prolonged war, wearing down the Zionist regime to the point of no return of its own state structure. The time will come when Israel becomes unviable as a country and will have to accept negotiating terms to create a demilitarized and non-ethnic state (joint between Jews and Palestinians), putting an end to apartheid. Otherwise, years of war will destroy all the country’s resources and create an irreversible migration crisis, leading millions of citizens to flee the Middle East forever.

Realizing that targeted assassinations had not worked and that the Resistance organizations were politically mature enough to overcome any impact generated by these crimes, Israel, after the humiliation suffered by the Iranian attack, took the decision to finally invade Lebanon by land – just as Hezbollah wanted. The first reports show a true strategic disaster, with Shiite militiamen ambushing and killing dozens of invaders. In parallel, attacks by Yemenis, Palestinians and other resistance groups continue, and Netanyahu keeps being pressured about Iran, knowing that if he responds, Israel will suffer an even more incisive attack, the consequences of which could lead to the collapse of the regime.

Israel has fallen into the Soleimani’s trap. The Zionist regime has entered into perpetual war, from which it can only escape by ceasing to exist as a state.

October 4, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Timeless or most popular | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Collapsing Empire: Iran Throws Down Gauntlet

By Kit Klarenberg | Global Delinquents | October 4, 2024

On October 1st, Iran launched scores of missiles at the Zionist entity, in response to the murder of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, among many brazen provocations and escalations targeting the Resistance in recent months. Voluminous footage of key Israeli infrastructure, including military and intelligence sites, being comprehensively flattened by the Islamic Republic’s inexorable onslaught has circulated widely, amply contradicting predictable claims emanating from Tel Aviv and Washington that the blitzkrieg was successfully repelled by Western air defence systems.

It is the largest, most devastating attack on the Zionist entity in its 76-year history. The full impact is not yet apparent. While US officials worriedly warned hours in advance they possessed “indications” Iran was preparing to attack Israel, the incursion’s timing, scale, and severity caught all concerned by surprise. Washington dispatching thousands more troops across West Asia in the days prior, explicitly in Israel’s defence, was evidently no deterrent to Tehran.

That deployment came replete with a supposedly rock-solid Pentagon pledge to come to the rescue should the Islamic Republic seek to repeat the historic, wide-ranging drone and rocket barrage to which it subjected the Zionist entity in April. Department of Defense apparatchiks boldly declared they and Tel Aviv alike were “even better prepared for a new Iranian attack” than last time round. The ease with which Israel’s purportedly impregnable Iron Dome was bested exposes this braggadocio as hopeless hubris at best, dangerous delusion at worst.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is ever-cautious, and has acted with extraordinary restraint since the 21st century Holocaust erupted in Gaza. Some analysts have interpreted this implacable self-control, and Tehran’s lack of immediate backlash against acts such as the audacious assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Iranian soil, as not merely rigid reluctance to escalate into all-out war with Israel and its Western backers, but an inability to respond at all. Tel Aviv’s unprecedented October 1st battering should dispel any such inference.

Senior Israeli politician Yair Golan, who returned to Israeli Occupation Force (IOF) service following October 7th, has branded Iran’s latest assault a “declaration of war” against the Zionist entity. Notorious Benny Gantz boasts Tel Aviv “has capabilities that were developed for years to strike Iran, and the government has [our] full backing to act with force and determination.” Meanwhile, IOF spokesperson Daniel Hagari declares, “there was a serious attack on us and there will be serious consequences.”

The IRGC appears to have calculated such threats and pronouncements will be as empty and meaningless as the Pentagon’s pledge to be “better prepared” for a future Iranian strike. At the very least, the Islamic Republic fears no Anglo-Israeli retaliation to its latest broadside. That may mean Tehran has grounds to believe the balance of power in the region, and in any future large-scale conflict with the Zionist entity and West, has irrevocably tipped in favour of the Resistance.

Eerily, a little-noticed report published September 19th by the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), a powerful and shadowy Zionist lobby organisation, inadvertently reached this same conclusion. It laid out in forensic detail how the Empire will be on the defence, and at grave disadvantage, in all-out hot war with Iran. Along the way, a blueprint for Resistance victory was plainly sketched. With Tehran having thrown down a gauntlet on October 1st, we could now be seeing that plan being put into action.

‘Gaining Overmatch’

Titled U.S. Bases in the Middle East: Overcoming the Tyranny of Geography, JINSA’s report was authored by former CENTCOM commander Frank McKenzie, who oversaw the Empire’s disastrous retreat from Afghanistan. It appraises the viability, value, and force projection capabilities of current US military installations throughout West Asia, focusing on Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE. The findings are stark, calling for an immediate overhaul of American basing across the region:

“Our current basing structure, inherited from years of haphazard decision-making, and driven by divergent operational and political principles, has yielded installations that are not optimally situated for the most likely threats of today and the future in the region.”

Despite mentioning “threats” in plural, JINSA’s sole focus is the Islamic Republic. While a myriad of issues with the Empire’s modern day positioning throughout West Asia are identified, the “most important” conclusion drawn is that Washington’s “current basing array detracts from our ability to deter Iran and fight them effectively in a high-intensity scenario.” McKenzie is nonetheless at pains to portray Tehran as somewhat feeble and vulnerable:

“The Iranians have no army that can be deployed as an invading force. They have a small and ineffective navy, and in practical terms, no air force. Their missile and drone force, though, is capable of gaining overmatch against many of its neighbors… they can deploy more attacking missiles and drones than can be defended against.”

As such, JINSA notes, “a theater-level war with Iran would be a war of missiles and drones,” and Tehran’s April 13th attack on Israel was a “comprehensive demonstration of Iranian operational design.” The IRGC sought to overwhelm the Zionist entity’s air defences and radar systems with waves of low-cost drones and cruise missiles, to “make it difficult for Iron Dome or Patriot to engage the ballistic missiles that followed.”

McKenzie correctly forecast that the April strike would “probably remain the basic template for large-scale Iranian attacks.” He appraised the effort – “at least conceptually” – as “a sound one,” from which “there are lessons for all to learn.” The most pressing and “obvious” takeout was, “for the defenders of the Gulf, it will be a war of strike aircraft, tankers, and air and missile defense… and here is the problem”:

“These aircraft are largely based at locations along the southern coast of the Arabian Gulf… an artifact of planning against Russian incursions in the 1970s, and the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns of the early decades of this century. They are close to Iran, which means they have a short trip to the fight… but that is also their great vulnerability. They are so close to Iran that it takes but five minutes or less for missiles launched from Iran to reach their bases.”

The “thousands of short-range missiles” Iran possesses are also a key negative “factor”, offering “no strategic depth.” While an F-35 fighter jet “is very hard to hit in the air… on the ground it is nothing more than a very expensive and vulnerable chunk of metal sitting in the sun.” Refuelling and rearming facilities on US bases in West Asia “are also vulnerable, and they cannot be moved.” Most damagingly of all:

“These bases are all defended by Patriot and other defensive systems. Unfortunately, at such close range to Iran, the ability of the attacker to mass fires and overwhelm the defense is very real.”

In closing his roadmap to Tehran’s victory, McKenzie bitterly laments, “it is hard to escape the conclusion that our current basing structure is poorly postured for the most likely fight that will emerge.” The Empire “will not be able to maintain these bases in a full-throated conflict, because they will be rendered unusable by sustained Iranian attack.” Imperial overreach in West Asia has now fallen victim to “the simple tyranny of geography.” And all along, the Islamic Republic has been taking rigorous notes:

“The Iranians can see this problem just as clearly as we do, and that is one of the reasons why they have created their large and highly capable missile and drone force.”

‘Nothing But Force’

For all the JINSA report’s doom and gloom, McKenzie does express some optimism – of the most fantastical, self-deceived kind. For one, he suggests Iran cannot threaten the Empire’s “carrier-based aviation” capabilities. Still, he concedes “there aren’t enough carriers, and therefore naval aviation will probably not be the central weapon in a fires war with Iran.” The former CENTCOM chief also conveniently overlooks AnsarAllah’s recent crushing defeat of the US Navy during Operation Prosperity Guardian, which unambiguously exposed the redundancy of US aircraft carriers altogether.

Elsewhere, McKenzie declares that the Empire “needs to move aggressively to develop basing alternatives that demonstrate that it is prepared to fight and prevail in a sustained high-intensity war” with Tehran, and therefore “overcome unfavorable basing geography.” One radical solution proposed by the JINSA report is to “consider basing in Israel”. US military presence in Tel Aviv has already been slowly growing over recent years. While largely unacknowledged and downplayed, it has proven incredibly controversial every step of the way.

In September 2017, the IOF announced the arrival of America’s first permanent military installation in the Zionist entity. Such was the backlash domestically and regionally, officials in Washington raced to deny this was the case, prompting a major cleanup of IOF websites referencing the site. Any move to create a fully-fledged US base in Israel, explicitly for war-fighting purposes, would inevitably spark even greater outcry, and be considered as a major escalation by the Resistance, demanding a drastic response.

Such an eventuality undoubtedly didn’t occur to the former CENTCOM chief. His analysis is hazardously unsound and fallacious in other areas too. On top of Israel’s “geographic advantages”, he praises Tel Aviv’s “powerful, proven air and missile defense capability.” It was this “competence”, combined with “US and allied assistance, and the cooperation and assistance of Arab neighbors”, that ensured Iran’s April strike on the Zionist entity was a “failure”, McKenzie muses.

He appraises this group effort, which supposedly prevented Iran from delivering decapitation strikes against the Zionist entity’s military and intelligence structure, as “in every measurable way… a remarkable success story.” If McKenzie’s view was shared by the Pentagon, this may explain why the US was so caught off guard by, and ill-prepared for, Tehran’s recent bludgeoning of Israel. Far from an embarrassing cataclysm, the April effort was a spectacular success, which exposed Israel’s fatal weaknesses, and reshaped West Asia forever.

Far from wanting to deliver a death blow, the Islamic Republic sought to deliver a measured, well-advertised show of strength, while avoiding further escalation, and a wider response. In the process, the IRGC demonstrated that if it wished, in future its missiles could successfully bypass the Iron Dome, and would wreak immense destruction. Then, a “new equation” was spelled out by a Corps Commander:

“If from now on the Zionist regime attacks our interests, assets, personalities, and citizens, at any point we will attack against them.”

That message was evidently not received in corridors of power in Brussels, London, Tel Aviv, and Washington. This is apparent from JINSA’s report, which states “events of the past two months clearly show that Iran can be deterred from undertaking irresponsible and deadly attacks in the region,” in reference to a lack of retaliation to the Zionist entity’s provocations during this time. It seems the finest Western military minds fell into the trap of believing no response was forthcoming from Tehran, because there couldn’t and wouldn’t be.

Fast forward today, and the question of whether the battlefield primacy of the Resistance in West Asia will finally be comprehended by their adversaries, in light of October 1st, remains an open one. As Russian military strategist Igor Korotchenko once observed, “this Anglo-Saxon breed understands nothing but force.”

October 4, 2024 Posted by | Militarism, Wars for Israel | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Russia urges its citizens to leave Israel

RT | October 3, 2024

Moscow’s ambassador to Israel has urged Russian citizens to leave the country, after Iran fired nearly 200 missiles at the Jewish state in response to Israeli strikes on Lebanon.

Speaking to TASS news agency on Thursday, Anatoly Viktorov expressed alarm over the “heightened escalation” in the Middle East.

“We are advising those who are currently in Israel to think about leaving while there are still regular flights” operated by airlines including Israeli national carrier El Al, the diplomat told TASS.

Viktorov urged Russian nationals to consider “risks to their lives and health” before making decisions about traveling to Israel. “The situation in Israel and the neighboring countries is highly intense,” he stressed.

Multiple Russian airlines canceled flights over Israel, Iran and Iraq earlier this week in line with recommendations from Russia’s civil aviation agency. Iran’s missile barrage prompted a Doha-bound plane carrying a Russian deputy prime minister to turn around mid-flight and return to Russia on Wednesday.

Moscow advised its citizens to avoid traveling to Israel shortly after the war with Hamas broke out in October 2023.

October 4, 2024 Posted by | Militarism | , , | Leave a comment

Iran’s oil production nears pre-sanctions levels: Report

The Cradle | October 4, 2024

Iran’s oil production is running at almost full capacity despite US sanctions, amid Israeli threats to target Tehran’s oil infrastructure in an expanded regional war, Bloomberg reported on 4 October.

The Islamic Republic’s oil output has reached 3.4 million barrels per day, just a few hundred thousand barrels below a previous high of 3.9 million.

After US President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the JCPOA nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran, Tehran’s production dropped as low as two million barrels per day.

Iran now sells much of its oil to China at reduced prices, as Beijing has been willing to ignore US sanctions seeking to block the sales.

“Iran is having success exporting thanks to a willing customer in China, the increased sophistication of illicit transportation channels, and the relatively low interest in the US to take action,” said Henning Gloystein and Greg Brew, analysts at Eurasia Group. “There’s a risk that Israel strikes Iranian oil facilities.”

According to Bloomberg, Tehran’s increased sales to China have taken place with the “tacit approval” of the White House, as US President Joe Biden and his advisors have eased sanctions enforcement to keep gasoline prices low.

In August 2023, before the wars in Gaza and Lebanon began, Bloomberg reported that “months of secretive diplomacy” between the US and Iran “have yielded progress on prisoner exchanges, the unblocking of frozen assets, and possibly even Iran’s enrichment of uranium. They also seem to have produced an informal arrangement on oil flows.”

Israel reportedly threatened to bomb Iran’s nuclear or oil facilities following Tehran’s large-scale missile attack on Israel.

Iran fired as many as 400 ballistic missiles at Israel on 1 October in retaliation for its killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut on 27 September.

In an off-the-cuff remark to a reporter, Biden said that his administration has been “discussing” possible Israeli plans to attack Iran’s oil industry in retaliation for the Iranian attack.

Bloomberg added that world oil prices jumped five percent on Thursday after Biden’s comment.

October 4, 2024 Posted by | Economics, Wars for Israel | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tehran Will Strike Israeli Refineries, Gas Fields If Israel Attacks Iran – IRGC

Sputnik – 04.10.2024

TEHRAN – Tehran will strike Israeli refineries, gas fields if Israel attack Iran, deputy commander in the Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Ali Fadavi, said on Friday.

“If the occupiers [Israel] make a mistake [by attacking Iran], we will strike at all their energy sources … all oil refineries and gas fields,” Fadavi was quoted as saying by the Mehr news agency.

Iran is a large country with many economic centers, while Israel has only three power plants and several refineries that Iran can hit at the same time, Fadavi added.

Tehran does not intend to continue to strike Tel Aviv, but if Israel takes any action against Iran, the response will be tougher, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday.

“We do not intend to continue the attacks. If Israel takes any more steps against Iran, our actions will be tougher, and we will definitely respond. Our response will be proportionate and absolutely calculated,” Araghchi told a press conference in Lebanon, as quoted by the Tasnim news agency.

October 4, 2024 Posted by | Economics, Militarism | , , | Leave a comment

With 100 flights, Starmer pursues Sunak’s policy of spying on Gaza

Al Mayadeen | October 3, 2024

The British Labour administration has ordered 100 surveillance flights over Gaza to help “Israel’, Declassified UK reported. Since Keir Starmer took over on July 5, there has been an average of more than one daily flight.

Despite halting 30 arms export licenses for “Israel” last month, alleging “a clear risk” that the weapons would be used in a “serious violation” of international law, the espionage flights have continued unabated.

Although the Ministry of Defense (MoD) declined to provide information, Declassified independently discovered planes departing from Akrotiri, Britain’s massive airbase on Cyprus, to fly over Gaza under Starmer’s supervision.

In August, the Labour Party’s first month in power, the Royal Air Force (RAF) performed 42 missions over Gaza.

Pro-Palestine and anti-war demonstrators took to the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force Akrotiri Airbase in Cyprus to denounce the UK’s implicit backing of the Israeli violations and aggression in Gaza and Lebanon.

On Monday evening, Starmer dispatched a massive A400M military cargo jet from Akrotiri to Tel Aviv. The jet can transport 116 fully equipped soldiers and 81,600-pounds of cargo.

Again on Tuesday evening, the UK sent Typhoon fighters from Cyprus to defend “Israel” from Iranian rockets.

Surveillance alleged to be for captive rescue ops

The UK planes are thought to have captured up to 500 hours of film of Gaza, carried out by the Shadow R1, an intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) aircraft.

Earlier this month, Liberal Democrat MP Mike Martin, a former British army officer who fought in Afghanistan, questioned the military if “UK intelligence is passed to Israel for the purposes of military targeting.”

Labour’s armed forces minister, Luke Pollard, reacted, stating the surveillance planes were “solely tasked to support hostage rescue.”

In addition, an Israeli insider told The New York Times that a covert British espionage team was sent to “Israel” early in its operation on Gaza.

The UK team “adds value” to its intelligence activities, he said, adding that Britain provides intelligence that “Israel can collect on its own.” There is no proof that the new Labour administration brought this surveillance crew back from “Israel”.

The surveillance flights began immediately after Labour gained control, with 11 flights in its first week in power.

Despite no flights taking off between September 10 to 17 following Labour’s suspension of some weaponry transfers to”Israel”, they quickly continued.

Over the last week, more than one plane has flown over Gaza for almost five hours every day from Cyprus.

After Labour seized control in July, 23 British planes flew over Gaza, followed by 42 in August and 33 in September. An additional two flights took off on Tuesday, October 1.

According to a representative for the Ministry of Defense, the UK’s focus is to release captives only.

“Our mandate is narrowly defined to focus on securing the release of the hostages only, including British nationals, with the RAF routinely conducting unarmed flights since December 2023 for this sole purpose.”

In a discussion immediately following the announcement, five different MPs questioned Conservative defense secretary Grant Shapps if he would share footage from the planes with the ICC if it revealed evidence of war crimes. He always delivered evasive answers.

Nevertheless, the Ministry of Defense stated last week that “in line with our international obligations, we would consider any formal request from the International Criminal Court to provide information relating to investigations into war crimes.”

October 3, 2024 Posted by | Deception, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Wars for Israel | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Russia sends 33 tons of humanitarian aid to Lebanon amid exodus from south

MEMO | October 3, 2024

Russia has delivered dozens of tons of humanitarian aid to Lebanon, amid the growing series of crises afflicting the country and its population amid Israel’s bombardment of some areas in recent weeks.

According to a statement by Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry, Moscow this week sent a special Il-76 aircraft to Beirut under the direction of President Vladimir Putin and Emergency Situations Minister, Alexander Kurenkov.

The plane reportedly carried 33 tons of humanitarian aid, which included food, essential goods, medicines and portable power stations, all of which are intended to assist the Lebanese population, especially those who have been fleeing the destruction in the south of the country over the past few weeks and who have been heading further north.

That destruction is the direct result of Israel’s ongoing air strikes on areas throughout Lebanon, particularly in the south where the Hezbollah group is largely based.

October 3, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Solidarity and Activism | , , , , | Leave a comment

Explainer: Why did Israeli air defense systems again fail to intercept Iranian missiles?

By Ivan Kesic | Press TV | October 3, 2024

The successful military operation launched by the Iranian armed forces on Tuesday against the Israeli-occupied territories again demonstrated the inefficacy of Israeli air defense systems.

Iranian military officials did not specify the number of ballistic missiles that were fired directly at the Zionist entity, however, media reports put the number of missiles at more than 400.

According to a statement released by the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), almost 90 percent of missiles managed to penetrate through air defenses to hit the intended target.

Israeli regime sources claimed that Iran launched 180 ballistic missiles and that “a large number” or “the majority” were intercepted by air defense systems.

Some Israeli and Western media reports also claimed that 99 percent of missiles were intercepted.

Evidence in the form of verified videos circulating on social media showed that the interception was very little as missiles successfully landed on the ground, hitting the targets.

There was smoke and fire all around as sirens blared loudly across the occupied territories.

In Iran, private footage shared on social media platforms showed one salvo of missiles near Kermanshah, another salvo near Tabriz, and another salvo near Shiraz.

Hundreds of direct strikes were reported in the Israeli-occupied territories, many of them hitting the Nevatim Airbase, Tel Nof Airbase, Hatzerim Airbase and the Mossad headquarters in Tel Aviv.

Overall, the data of hundreds of ballistic missiles and 80-90 percent success rates almost perfectly match the IRGC sources and confirm that the Israeli regime is once again resorting to disinformation.

As with the April case, more than a hundred widely visible intercept explosion traces over the skies of Jordan, Syria and Iraq would be recorded in the early evening hours, while there is again virtually none.

To shoot down medium-range ballistic missiles, used in the Iranian strike, the Israeli regime uses long-range anti-ballistic systems such as Arrow and David’s Sling that operate at a range of tens or hundreds of kilometers and very high altitudes.

Both systems proved extremely ineffective during Iran’s retaliatory strike with missile salvos in April, as well as Yemen’s single hypersonic missile attack on Tel Aviv in mid-September.

The case related to Nevatim Airbase is particularly intriguing, where nearly 30 warheads hit the target simultaneously within a matter of seconds, without any visible attempt of intercepting.

Some sources suggest that one of the direct hits on Tel Nof Airbase with visible secondary explosions was actually the Arrow battery with radar.

The US-Israeli joint development of the Arrow systems over the past 25 years cost billions of dollars and was previously touted as “99 effective,” which seems bizarre today.

Based on these pompous and obviously fabricated claims, Israel secured a $3.5 billion export contract with Germany last year, marking the largest military sale in its history.

All reliable data in the past year show that these air defense systems were developed to intercept outdated ballistic missiles and are not capable of dealing with salvoes of maneuvering missiles or even single hypersonic types.

In reporting the Iranian attack, the Israeli regime also used other propaganda tools, such as emphasizing the claims that there were no deaths, although the Iranian targets were obviously military installations, not civilians.

Israeli military sources also are yet to publish any foolproof technical evidence of Iranian ballistic missiles being intercepted, basing their claims on rhetoric.

Importantly, last year Press TV website exposed the fallacy of the so-called “over 90 percent success rate” of Israel’s air defense systems, establishing why such claims were trumpeted for lucrative exports and psychological calming of its own settler population.

October 3, 2024 Posted by | Deception | , , , , | Leave a comment

Lebanese soldier killed after Israel bombs Red Cross convoy

Israeli attack on Sohor, Lebanon – September 24, 2024
The Cradle | October 3, 2024

At least one member of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) was killed and four paramedics were injured on 3 October when the Israeli air force bombed a Red Cross convoy traveling near the village of Taybeh in south Lebanon as they were evacuating wounded people from the region.

The Lebanese Red Cross announced that the humanitarian convoy was targeted despite coordinating its movements with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

The LAF said a second soldier was injured in the attack.

“One soldier was killed and another injured in an attack by Israeli forces while conducting an evacuation and rescue mission in collaboration with the Lebanese Red Cross in the town of Taybeh, Marjaayoun,” the LAf said in their statement.

The indiscriminate Israeli attack came just hours after an Islamic Health Authority team was hit by an airstrike in central Beirut, killing seven paramedics, rescue workers, and volunteers.

Israel reportedly used internationally-banned white phosphorus munitions in the attack, leaving behind a foul, acidic smell across Beirut.

Nearly 2,000 have been killed by Israel in Lebanon since the start of cross-border clashes last year. About half of the toll has been recorded over recent weeks after Tel Aviv significantly expanded its war against the Levantine nation.

About one million people have been displaced inside the small country, with hundreds of thousands fleeing to neighboring Syria.

Last month, reports in western media showed that Israeli airstrikes have become the leading cause of death for humanitarian workers across the world since 7 October, as the Israeli army is responsible for more than 75 percent of the deaths of aid workers over the past year.

In Gaza, Israeli strikes on humanitarian convoys have become commonplace over the past year, as the army has intentionally targeted aid groups that share their coordinates with authorities regularly.

Later on Thursday, the LAF confirmed another soldier was killed in an Israeli attack on a military post in the Bint Jbeil area of southern Lebanon.

October 3, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , | Leave a comment

Iran slams G7’s ‘irresponsible’ statement on ‘necessary response’ to Israel

Press TV – October 3, 2024

Iran has condemned the Group of Seven (G7)’s “biased and irresponsible” approach toward the developments in West Asia, including Tehran’s “necessary response” to Israel’s acts of aggression.

G7 leaders in a statement on Wednesday condemned Tehran’s launch of more than 180 missiles at Tel Aviv in retaliation for Israel’s assassination of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders and an Iranian military commander.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaee on Thursday “pointed to the definite responsibility of G7 countries, especially the US, in aggravating insecurity and instability in West Asia due to their armament, financial and political support of the aggressor”.

He warned about the serious consequences of this approach on the peace and stability of the region and beyond.

“The recent missile operation by the Islamic Republic of Iran against a combination of military-intelligence targets of the Zionist regime was a necessary response to the acts of aggression by the occupying regime,” Baqaee said.

The operation was “within the framework of the inherent right of legitimate self-defense”, the spokesman said, condemning the use of threats and sanctions to put pressure on the Iranian nation.

Baqaee emphasized Iran’s determination to protect the national security and the vital interests of the Iranian people in the region.

He also criticized the “irresponsible interventions of extra-regional actors, including the US, especially through continuing their all-out support for the Israeli occupation regime” which he described as the “main cause of instability in the West Asia region”.

“If the Group of Seven is really concerned about the peace and security of the region, it should use its leverage to immediately end the Palestinian genocide and stop the aggression of the Zionist regime against Lebanon, Syria and other countries in the region,” he said.

The Foreign Ministry on Thursday said it had summoned the German and Austrian ambassadors after Berlin and Vienna summoned Iran’s representatives to protest the Islamic Republic’s response to the Israeli assassinations.

October 3, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , , , | Leave a comment

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