Regional War
Updated 2024-08-29
2024-08-24 Top U.S. general makes unannounced Middle East trip as Iran threat looms The top U.S. general began an unannounced visit to the Middle East on Saturday to discuss ways to avoid any new escalation in tensions that could spiral into a broader conflict, as the region braces for a threatened Iranian attack against Israel. Air Force General C.Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, began his trip in Jordan and said he will also travel to Egypt and Israel in the coming days to hear the perspectives of military leaders.
His visit comes as the United States is trying to clinch an elusive Gaza ceasefire-for-hostages deal between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, which Brown said would “help bring down the temperature,” if achieved. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/exclusive-top-u-s-general-makes-unannounced-middle-east-trip-as-iran-threat-looms/ar-AA1pmnn1?
2024-08-02 Bibi’s Death Wish In one 24-hour period, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the killing of a top Hezbollah leader in an air strike on Beirut, and the assassination of the lead Hamas peace negotiator, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran. That’s one sure way of destroying the peace talks.
Of all the Hamas leadership, Haniyeh was reportedly the most in favor of making a deal with Israel that traded a hostage release for a cease-fire and staged regional settlement. Now, talk of a hostage deal is off the table, much less the regional entente that the Biden Administration has been promoting—humiliating President Biden yet again.
Since the assassination of Haniyeh took place at an Iranian guesthouse, the world now waits to see what sort of retaliation ensues. Last April, the Iranians rained down some 300 missiles on Israel, taking care to limit casualties. That attack was in retaliation for Israel’s last assassination, one that also violated diplomatic immunity—the strike on Iran’s Damascus consulate on April 1 that killed seven officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, including two senior commanders.
Hezbollah was not involved in that carefully limited Iranian retaliation. But this time, Israel is on the verge of a war with Hamas and Hezbollah at the same time. Netanyahu has managed to bring together sworn enemies of each other, Sunni Hamas and Shia Hezbollah. Unlike Hamas, Hezbollah is armed by Iran and capable of inflicting massive damage on Israel in a regional war. https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2024-08-02-netanyahu-israel-war-hezbollah-iran/
2024-01-08 Israel is hinting at a wider war in the Middle East — one that the US thinks it will lose: report With Israel’s war in Gaza still raging, tensions have also been flaring between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah — and Israel hinting that a wider war may be on the horizon, according to a report from the Washington Post. But the US has privately warned Israel that it might not stand a chance against the Iran-backed militants, the Post reported. That’s because the US thinks Israel’s resources will be spread too thin in a broader conflict, the Post reported, citing two people familiar with a secret assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/israel-is-hinting-at-a-wider-war-in-the-middle-east-one-that-the-us-thinks-it-will-lose-report/ar-AA1mEcz3
2023-12-11 Displacement, Disease and Death Plague Gazans as Israel Continues Its Genocidal Assault Meanwhile, a U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon is warning the likelihood of a “wider conflict” is increasing amid escalating cross-border violence between Israel and Hezbollah.
Israel’s unrelenting assault on the Gaza Strip continues as the death toll has reached 18,000 Palestinians killed in just over two months. Airstrikes rocked the Nuseirat and Maghazi refugee camps in central Gaza overnight. At least 23 people were killed in Maghazi. Airstrikes also struck at least two residential homes in Rafah. Meanwhile, the ground battle is pushing ahead in Khan Younis, which is under heavy bombardment.
The mass displacement and war on the besieged territory has led to a public health disaster. The U.N.’s World Food Programme warns half of Gaza’s population of over 2 million people is starving and that nine out of 10 people are not able to eat every day. As clean water becomes more scarce, diarrhea, skin infections, acute viral hepatitis, scabies and measles are multiplying. Earlier today, the World Health Organization passed a resolution calling for immediate humanitarian aid access and an end to fighting in Gaza. In the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, usually busy streets and commercial areas are empty today in observance of a general strike for Gaza. Global actions are also taking place today, including marches and calls to refrain from buying anything.
2023-10-25 Craig Murray: The Chances of a Regional War As countries with influence over Israel actively encourage the slaughter, Murray considers what will happen internationally and what is happening in Western societies.
Gaza has no defense from bombs and missiles, and there is no military reason why Israel cannot keep this up for months and simply rely upon aerial massacre. We are perhaps within a week of thirst, starvation and disease killing even more people per day than bombardment. The population of Gaza is simply defenseless. Only international intervention can stop Israel from doing whatever it wishes, and those countries which have influence with Israel are actively abetting and encouraging the genocide.
The net effect is that I see no current hope for averting the atrocity which is unfolding before our horrified eyes.
Most of our eyes are indeed horrified. The gap between the western political and media elites and their people on this issue is simply enormous. Western leaders have not only failed to restrain Israel, they have almost unanimously egged Netanyahu on, with the continued repetition of the phrase “Israel’s right to self-defence” as justification for the mass bombing, removal and starvation of an entire civilian population. The Western leadership glee in vetoing every attempt at a ceasefire resolution at the U.N. is astonishing.
Massive demonstrations have been taking place across Europe against this unspeakable massacre, and the knee-jerk reaction of politicians at their isolation from public opinion has been to try to make such shows of dissent illegal. https://consortiumnews.com/2023/10/25/craig-murray-the-chances-of-a-regional-war/
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Categorized Directory: News and Articles about Israel- Palestine Conflict
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