National Unity chairman Benny Gantz said during a press conference in Sderot on Wednesday that Hamas was militarily defeated following the IDF‘s operation in Gaza.
„From a military point of view – Hamas is defeated. Its fighters are eliminated or in hiding. Its abilities are cut off, and we will continue to strike what remains.
However, “from a military point of view – Hamas is defeated. Its fighters are eliminated or in hiding” and its capabilities “crippled,” he continues, stating that “victory will come step by step” and that Israel “will not stop. We will enter Rafah. We will return to Khan Younis. And we will operate in Gaza. Wherever there are terrorist targets – the IDF will be there.”
(today)
And therefore, as was the case when he insisted on continuing to run the country while in the midst of a corruption trial, and as was the case when he pressed on with his assault on Israeli democracy and briefly fired that defense minister, so too, now, it falls to a potential few good men and women within his own coalition base to tell him that his presence is harming Israel, that his policies empowered and emboldened Hamas, and that far from being uniquely capable of ensuring Israel has the practical and diplomatic room to destroy Hamas, he is almost uniquely incapable of doing so.
(09.04.2024)
Israel must destroy Hamas as a military and political force in the territory while minimizing harm to civilians. It must do what it can to rescue its hostages without jeopardizing the overriding goal of destroying Hamas. It must, by diplomacy or force, push Hezbollah back from Lebanon’s southern border, so that 60,000 Israelis can return safely to their homes in the north. It must take the battle directly, as it did last week in Damascus, to Hamas’s and Hezbollah’s patrons, whether in Syria, Qatar or Iran.
And for all of that to happen effectively, Benjamin Netanyahu must go.
„It‘s very, very important,“ Ziv said of U.S. military aid to Israel. Placing conditions on it, he said, „creates a dangerous precedent for Israel because it just wasn‘t in the cards up until now.“ (…)
The U.S. could continue to abstain or even support United Nations resolutions that Israel finds unfavorable, as it did this week.
(27.03.2024)
It‘s a sharp reversal by Netanyahu who on Monday canceled the same trip by the same people in protest over the U.S. not vetoing a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas.
The fallout over the canceled trip and a deadlock in hostage talks added to already spiraling relations between Netanyahu and the Biden administration.
Asked by the Barents Observer, the Joint Headquarters near Bodø, however, confirms that the planes were inside Norwegian airspace before flying out over international airspace in the Barents Sea.
“The activity included both Norwegian and international airspace,” says spokesperson Reidar Flasnes.
“We cannot detail the activity,” Flasnes says and points to the United States as in charge of Sunday’s flights. He adds that the flights are “approved by Norway’s Ministry of Defense.”
„On March 24, 2024, Russian airspace control capabilities spotted an aerial target over the Barents Sea approaching the state border of the Russian Federation. A MiG-31 fighter jet from air defense quick reaction alert forces was scrambled to identify the aerial target and prevent it from violating Russia’s state border,“ the ministry said. „The fighter’s crew identified the aerial targets as a pair of B-1B strategic bombers of the US Air Force, it said.
The Polish Armed Forces reported a violation of the country‘s airspace on the border with Ukraine early in the morning of March 24 and claim that it is a Russian cruise missile. No evidence was provided for these statements.
„On March 24 at 4:23 a.m. (0323 GMT), there was a violation of Polish airspace by one of the cruise missiles launched overnight by long-range aviation of the Russian Federation,“ the armed forces said on the social media platform X.
„The object entered Polish space near the town of Oserdow (Lublin Voivodeship) and stayed there for 39 seconds. During the entire flight, it was observed by military radar systems.“
Despite more than a week passing since the unexpected Iranian attack, with its timing, circumstances, and justifications, Iranian officials persist in claiming that the long-range missiles launched at civilian areas in Erbil were targeting „Mossad sites.“ However, Tehran has not provided any evidence or arguments to support this claim to either the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) or the Iraqi government.
The „escaping forward“ policy pursued by Iranian officials regarding the attack on Erbil amounts to an implicit admission of the invalidity of their justifications and the failure of the missile aggression itself.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, today begins a tour of the Middle East that will first take him to Lebanon, then to Iraq, where he will hold meetings at the highest level with the aim of boosting the chances of achieving a regional de-escalation that will result in greater stability in the area.
The dual rebukes of Iran and the US underscore the tightrope Baghdad is walking as the war in Gaza seeps out beyond the besieged Mediterranean enclave’s borders.
Across the region, Tehran and Washington are flexing their muscles, vying to outflank each other in a deadly proxy war. The shadowy conflict has taken on different flavours that reflect local and geopolitical realities.
„While positive steps have been taken to reshape the future relationship and missions of the Coalition members and advisors in Iraq, the recent actions are hindering this progress, undermining agreements and various sectors of joint security cooperation,“ Rasool said.
„This unacceptable act undermines years of cooperation, blatantly violates Iraq‘s sovereignty, and contributes to an irresponsible escalation.“
Maj. Gen. Rasool said the strikes came at a time when the region is already grappling with the „danger of expanding conflict, the repercussions of the aggression on Gaza, and the consequences of the immoral war of extermination faced by the Palestinian people.“
(20.01.2024)
The Iranian missile attacks last Monday night on Iraqi territory in Erbil, Kurdistan Region (KRI), were deemed by the Iraqi government as „an act of aggression“ and a dangerous development undermining the strong relation between Iraq and its eastern neighbor. The Iraqi government affirmed its right to respond at an appropriate time. Political analysts see the Iraqi response as unusual, entering a diplomatic crisis with Iran for the first time since 2003.
Troops will be part of Operation Inherent Resolve, a U.S. military campaign against Daesh from Iraq and Libya to Syria. Last year alone, the U.S. sent more than 3,000 soldiers to Syria and Iraq for the campaign. The website Axios reported that U.S. military presence in the region reached about 45,400 as of October 2023 and most are stationed in Kuwait.
(14.01.2024)
Soldiers from New Jersey are joining the fight against an Islamic militant group in the Middle East. This will be the largest deployment of New Jersey Army National Guard soldiers since 2008.
Lt. Col. Omar Minott is among 1,500 New Jersey Army National Guard soldiers deploying to Iraq and Syria. This is his fifth deployment to the Middle East, he said.
His deployment is part of Operation Inherent Resolve, a military campaign to defeat ISIS.
Israel‘s War Cabinet gathered overnight on Friday to discuss the future of the Gaza Strip after the nation‘s war against Hamas ends. The meeting was reportedly cut off after lawmakers clashed with the defense establishment over the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) investigation of the mistakes leading to the October 7 tragedy that had previously been promised to start after the Israel-Hamas war.
Miri Regev, Minister of Transport and Road Safety, pointed out that the decision over the probe had been made without lawmakers‘ knowledge and argued that the army should be fully focused on the combat in the moment.
Secretary Antony J. Blinken will travel to Istanbul, Türkiye; Crete, Greece; Amman, Jordan; Doha, Qatar; Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates; Al ‘Ula, Saudi Arabia; Tel Aviv, Israel; the West Bank; and Cairo, Egypt from January 4-11, 2024.
Hezbollah Secretary General, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, on Wednesday issued a stern warning to Israel against the prospects of initiating an extensive conflict with Lebanon. Nasrallah underscored that in such a scenario, the Islamic Resistance would engage without any constraints.
During his statement, Nasrallah highlighted Hezbollah‘s decision to enter the conflict on October 8 in solidarity with Palestinians and to counter the Israeli offensive in Gaza. He emphasized that while Hezbollah‘s actions currently align with the interests of Lebanon, these boundaries would dissolve should Israel provoke a comprehensive war.
Hostages first! Civilians never
A key democratic lawmaker said White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will tell Israel that it will lose US support if it continues its current bombing campaign in Gaza.
“Netanyahu has gone way too far and Jake Sullivan will be informing him that the bombing must be greatly limited or Israel will be without its last real friend, the USA & Joe Biden,” Steve Cohen, a senior Democratic congressman, said in a social media post.
Gallant and Sullivan discuss operational developments in Gaza, as well as tensions in the north with Hezbollah and regional threats posed by Iran’s actions and its backing of proxies in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, and Syria.
Gallant further expresses his gratitude for US support for Israel in the war and efforts by the Biden administration to secure the release of hostages taken by terrorists on October 7.
Iranian media outlets claimed that the confrontation forced helicopters to land back on the Americans ships.
The ships, a helicopter carrier and a support vessel that were carrying more than 4,000 American troops between them, were sent to the Gulf in response to Iran‘s continued threats of seizing commercial ships in the region.
„Man sieht, dass russische Propagandisten versuchen, die Lage in Frankreich für ihre Zwecke zu nutzen und die Spannungen weiter zu verstärken“, stellt Lamberty fest.
Gleichzeitig instrumentalisieren Rechtsextreme die Lage in Frankreich, um Stimmung gegen Menschen mit Migrationshintergrund zu machen.
The abrupt about-face follows a rare, remarkable challenge to the Kremlin that threatened to plunge the country into crisis and destabilize its already stumbling war efforts in Ukraine.
The threat of civil war leaves the country – and the Putin regime – in a very different place Sunday than it had been just two days prior. And with Russia possessing the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, that instability has other nations on edge, prompting emergency meetings and high-level talks.
“This is something the president stands by entirely,” a French diplomat told reporters, according to Reuters.
Macron’s warning that Europe shouldn’t be “America’s followers” is part of his vision for Europe to have “strategic autonomy” from the US, an idea that some EU officials support.
Charles Michel, the head of the EU’s European Council, said “quite a few” European leaders think like Macron when it comes to the relationship with the US.
ABOARD COTAM UNITÉ (FRANCE’S AIR FORCE ONE) — Europe must reduce its dependency on the United States and avoid getting dragged into a confrontation between China and the U.S. over Taiwan, French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview on his plane back from a three-day state visit to China.
Speaking with POLITICO and two French journalists after spending around six hours with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his trip, Macron emphasized his pet theory of “strategic autonomy” for Europe, presumably led by France, to become a “third superpower.”
(today)
The official noted Taiwan will use its own funds for the purchase. (…)
A news release from the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency on Wednesday said the defense contractors for the munitions and equipment will be Raytheon and Lockheed Martin.
(22.02.2023)
Mr. Gallagher was one of five House lawmakers who traveled to Taiwan during the congressional recess, meeting with top political, national security and business leaders to discuss how to enhance security and economic cooperation between Taipei and Washington.
(22.02.2023)
Gallagher, a former Marine Corps intelligence officer and chairman of the House select committee on China, also said it is urgent for the U.S. to send weapons to Taiwan in an effort to prevent China from invading the country and the possibility of a third World War from happening.
In his state of the nation speech delivered on Tuesday, Putin seemed to address the infighting.
“We must get rid of … any interdepartmental contradictions, formalities, grudges, misunderstandings, and other nonsense,” he told the political and military elite.
In a post later in the day, Prigozhin said he had been too busy to watch the speech and could therefore not comment on the president’s remarks.
Der Ballon sei später über Alaskas Aleuten-Inseln geschwebt und dann über Kanada gedriftet, von wo er anscheinend durch starke Winde auf das Festland der Vereinigten Staaten getrieben sei.
Analysten untersuchten dem Bericht zufolge nun die Möglichkeit, dass China mit seinem „Überwachungsgerät“ nicht absichtlich in das amerikanische Kernland eindringen wollte.
Am vergangenen Freitag, Samstag und Sonntag hatte Biden angeordnet, jeweils eines dieser Luftschiffe vom Himmel zu holen. Daraufhin feuerten Kampfjets Lenkraketen auf das Ziel. „Aus einem Übermaß an Vorsicht“, sagte er jetzt. „In einer hektischen Phase haben die USA möglicherweise hochentwickelte Waffen eingesetzt, um harmlose Objekte zum Absturz zu bringen“, schreibt die Washington Post.
(…)
“Nothing right now suggests they were related to China’s spy balloon program or that they were surveillance vehicles from any other country,” Biden said. “The intelligence community’s current assessment is that these three objects were most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation or research institutions studying weather or conducting other scientific research.”
Biden also said there was no evidence of a sudden increase in the number of aerial objects, saying the United States was finding more of them because of radar adjustments.
A US warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland on Thursday, prompting criticism from Beijing.
The US military said the USS Chung-Hoon‘s transit showed the US commitment to a „free and open Indo-Pacific“.
Ein Staatsmann sollte darüber nachdenken und wissen, wohin er sein Land führen wolle. Er sollte auch darüber nachdenken und wissen, wie er mit anderen Ländern und der ganzen Welt auskommen könne, fügte Xi hinzu.
Xi betonte, in dieser Zeit und in diesem Zeitalter würden sich große Veränderungen in einer Weise vollziehen, wie es sie nie zuvor gegeben habe, und sagte, die Menschheit stehe vor noch nie dagewesenen Herausforderungen.
„Die Welt ist an einem Scheideweg angelangt. Wie soll es von hier aus weitergehen? Diese Frage beschäftigt nicht nur uns, sondern auch alle anderen Länder“, sagte Xi. Die Welt erwarte, dass China und die USA ihre Beziehungen in Zukunft richtig handhaben.
Xi wies darauf hin, dass sein Treffen mit Biden die Aufmerksamkeit der Weltöffentlichkeit auf sich gezogen habe, und sagte, dass beide Seiten mit allen Ländern zusammenarbeiten sollten, um dem Weltfrieden mehr Hoffnung zu geben, das Vertrauen in die globale Stabilität zu stärken und der gemeinsamen Entwicklung einen stärkeren Impuls zu verleihen.
This is the first gathering of leaders ahead of President Joe Biden’s first in-person meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week at the Group of 20 summit in Indonesia. It will be followed by the leaders’ meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in Bangkok.
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz held a „friendly“ and „constructive“ conversation over lunch Wednesday, Paris and Berlin said, after the relationship suffered some bruising in recent weeks over a number of issues including energy and defence.
Derzeit gibt es zwischen Bundeskanzler Scholz und dem französischen Präsidenten Macron viele Uneinigkeiten. Diese prägten auch den heutigen Besuch von Scholz in Paris.
Ben Wallace refutes General Sergei Shoigu‘s allegations that the UK is helping Kyiv gather nuclear material to use on the battlefield
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has begun its annual military drills in preparation for nuclear war on Monday. American B-52 bombers will be joined by advanced aircraft from other alliance members as they simulate a war of annihilation with Russia.
The war games, dubbed „Steadfast Noon,“ are scheduled to run through the end of October. Belgium is hosting the exercises which will take place over the North Sea and the United Kingdom.
(13.10.2022)
Moscow and NATO are both proceeding with nuclear exercises, even as tensions escalate over President Vladimir Putin’s threats to use “all means available” — including atomic weapons — to defend land he claims to be Russian.
US President Joe Biden said in an exclusive CNN interview he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin is a “rational actor” who badly miscalculated his ability to invade Ukraine. He also said he doesn‘t believe Putin would use a nuclear weapon.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who addressed a meeting of the G7 on Tuesday, urged the leaders to intensify efforts to create an „air shield“ for Ukraine and to stiffen Russian sanctions.
Russia launched missile strikes on several regions of Ukraine on Tuesday, the second day of heavy bombardment aimed at the nation‘s infrastructure.
At least 19 people were killed and more than 100 injured Monday in the Russian attacks, the heaviest seen in Kyiv and other cities since February.
Er habe zwar nicht kürzlich mit dem US-Sicherheitsberater Jake Sullivan gesprochen, aber die USA hätten Russland über mehrere Kanäle ihre starke Antwort auf einen möglichen Einsatz taktischer Atomwaffen mitgeteilt.
Petraeus said that he had not spoken to national security adviser Jake Sullivan on the likely US response to nuclear escalation from Russia, which administration officials have said has been repeatedly communicated to Moscow.
(02.10.2022)
During an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” Petraeus told co-anchor Jonathan Karl that western powers have to take Russia’s nuclear weapons threats seriously, noting National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan’s recent remarks that US officials have warned the Moscow of “catastrophic consequences” if the Kremlin deploys nuclear weapons.