Israel adamant at erasing Gaza

In the aftermath of Hamas’s assault over the weekend, officials from Israel and the United States are saying the group must not be allowed to survive.

“Just as the forces of civilization united to defeat ISIS, the forces of civilization must support Israel in defeating Hamas,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an address to the nation this week. 

Israeli officials and regional experts are warning of, at least, a months-long Israeli military campaign in the Gaza Strip. And there are immediate fears the conflict could spill out across the region and beyond.

While Hamas’s main base of military operations is in Gaza — a narrow strip of sandy land sandwiched between Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea — its leadership lives across the world.

Its funding and military materials are largely provided by Iran, whose militant network extends to Hezbollah in Lebanon, militias in Iraq and the Houthis in Yemen. 

“We understand that you cannot kill ideas, but you absolutely can demolish the regime or the leadership,” said Neumi Neumann, former director of research for Israel’s internal security agency, the Shin Bet, now a visiting fellow with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

She said a narrow campaign could avoid a larger conflict, focused on targeting Hamas’s two top leaders, Yahya Sinwar, the group’s leader based in Gaza, and Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of Hamas’s political bureau, who lives in Lebanon.  

“They both are trying to incite Palestinians in the West Bank, they incite Israeli Arabs inside east Jerusalem. They are trying to do a multi-front campaign against Israel,” Neumann said.

The group needs to be “taken off the battlefield, that could mean kill or capture, whatever the Israelis need to do,” Jason Crow said to reporters Tuesday evening after a classified briefing on Israel. 

“It’s clear that Hamas needs to be fully neutralized here, and there’s bipartisan consensus around that issue.”

Joni Ernst, speaking to Fox News from Jerusalem after leading a congressional delegation across the Middle East, said Israel will not be safe until Hamas is gone.

“It is extremely important that Israel proceed and make sure that they are absolutely destroying Hamas,” she said.

“This organization I would equate to ISIS. They are barbarians, and yes there will be some horrible tragedies along the way, but Israel is warning the people of the Gaza Strip, please move away from those Hamas targets. But Israel will not be safe; the people will not be safe until Hamas is gone.” 

The European Union and United Nations have already warned that Israel is committing war crimes in its response to Hamas, pointing to Jerusalem’s announcement of a sweeping siege on Gaza.

Biden has avoided similar public statements, giving Israel space to target Hamas in what is likely to be a brutal military operation on the densely populated Gaza Strip, where the terrorist group has blended its infrastructure among the civilian population. 

Israel is reportedly preparing to launch a ground assault on Hamas-controlled territory, which would begin a bloody new phase in the war. 

“The calls in Israel to topple Hamas now are loud. I do not know if they will win the day, but I would not rule it out,” said Natan Sachs, director of the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, on a panel Tuesday. 

“It is possible that Israel will try to go all the way in or find itself going all the way in to Gaza. And what would be the day after? I don’t know. And more importantly, the Israeli leadership doesn’t know. It would be an extremely difficult, possibly terrible scenario afterwards.”

Shibley Telhami, a nonresident senior fellow at Brookings and a former senior adviser to the State Department, said in the panel discussion that the US has a critical role as a level-headed advisor to Israel. 

“I also think that one cannot be confident that the policies that are being made right now — whether it’s by Hamas or by Israel, anybody else — is sound policy,” Telhami said.

“It’s on the fly. This came as a shocker. The urge to respond is not necessarily going to lead to wise decisions. And I think the United States has a critical role in counseling.”

Israeli hearts are hardened amid the trauma of Hamas’s assault, a barrage of missile attacks alongside more than 1,000 of its fighters infiltrating nearly a dozen communities in the south and attacking a music festival. Hamas massacred people in their homes and kidnapped others, with estimates putting the dead in Israel at more than 1,000 and at least 150 hostages taken into Gaza.

And now, Palestinians in Gaza are suffering under punishing Israeli air strikes against Hamas targets and are caught behind a hermetically sealed blockade. 

Gaza’s Ministry of Health, which operates under Hamas’s control of the strip, said that more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed since Saturday — when Hamas launched its assault on Israel — and more than 5,000 injured, with 60 percent of those women and children. Nearly 200,000 Gazans are believed displaced amid punishing Israeli air strikes.

US officials are so far silencing calls for a cease-fire and holding back criticism of Israel’s decision to cut off electricity, water and supplies to Gaza and to send extra military support for the Israel Defense Forces.

“Israel has a right to conduct an aggressive response to respond to the terrorism that’s been committed against its citizens,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters Tuesday when asked whether cutting off supplies to Gaza constituted a war crime.

“We expect them to follow international law, we believe that they will, and we will remain in close contact with them about it.” 

Biden is also challenged with avoiding a larger outbreak of war in the region, sending the most advanced carrier strike group to deter Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon from trying to open up separate fronts against Israel.

“Let me say again — to any country, any organization, anyone thinking of taking advantage of this situation, I have one word: Don’t. Don’t,” the president said in Tuesday remarks at the White House. 

American and Israeli officials say there’s no evidence Iran had a direct hand in the Hamas attack, even as they acknowledge Tehran’s longtime military backing of the terrorist group. 

It’s a delicate distinction. A more direct Iranian role in the attack could push the US and Israel into a direct confrontation with Tehran — particularly with at least 14 Americans believed to have been killed in Hamas’s assault and at least 20 Americans taken hostage.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan said the US acknowledges Iran is complicit in Hamas’s assault, but said there’s no confirmation that Iran knew about the attack in advance or helped plan or direct this attack.

Even as Republicans are irate at the Biden administration’s policy towards Iran, their calls for action have largely centered around freezing US$6 billion of Iranian funds the US freed up in exchange for releasing American prisoners, along with calls for imposing more sanctions. 

There’s near-unanimous support in Congress to fulfill what is likely to be a White House request for more aid to Israel. However, the request may also inflame ongoing debates about US support for Israel, and how it should be balanced with America’s other military commitments, like aid for Ukraine.

The House is largely paralyzed until Republicans can elect a new Speaker after ousting Kevin McCarthy earlier this month. However, interim Speaker Patrick McHenry has suggested Congress might act to support Israel without a permanent speaker if necessary. 

Meanwhile, the White House has dispatched Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Israel in a signal of solidarity.

“In the days ahead, we will continue to stand with our Israeli partners,” Blinken said in a statement ahead of his departure Wednesday.

“As I head to Israel, I will be working to ensure they are equipped to defend themselves and making sure any hostile parties know they must not seek to take advantage of the situation.” 

 

Saudi Crown Prince discusses Gaza situation with Iranian President

Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi discussed the ongoing Gaza military escalation in first phone call on Wednesday.

During the conversation, the Crown Prince underscored the Kingdom's commitment to deploying maximum efforts in engaging with both international and regional stakeholders to bring an end to the escalating crisis. He explicitly voiced Saudi Arabia's strong opposition to any targeting of civilians and the tragic loss of innocent lives.

Emphasizing the imperative adherence to the principles of international humanitarian law, the Crown Prince expressed deep concern for the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza and its severe impact on the civilian population.

In addition to addressing the immediate crisis, the Crown Prince reiterated the Kingdom's unwavering stance in standing up for the Palestinian Cause.

He affirmed Saudi Arabia's continued support for initiatives aimed at achieving a comprehensive and equitable peace, ensuring the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.

 

Erdogan terms Israeli assaults in Gaza massacre

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Israel's blockade and bombing of Gaza in retaliation for Palestinian militant group Hamas' attack was a disproportionate response amounting to a massacre.

With Ankara offering to mediate, Erdogan and his foreign minister held calls with regional powers, the United States and others. However, Israel's envoy to Ankara has said it is too early to discuss mediation.

Speaking to his ruling AK Party in parliament, Erdogan said even war had a morality but the flare-up since the weekend had very severely violated that.

"Preventing people meeting their most fundamental needs and bombing housing where civilians live - in short, conducting a conflict using every sort of shameful method - is not a war, it's a massacre," he said, referring to Israel cutting off electricity and water to Gaza and destroying infrastructure.

Turkey, which has backed Palestinians in the past and hosted members of Hamas, has been working to mend ties with Israel after years of animosity. Unlike the European Union and US, Ankara does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization.

While not openly blaming Israel, Turkey has said the fighting is due to years of injustices against Palestinians and that the only path to peace is the formation of a sovereign Palestinian state in a two-state solution.

On Wednesday, Erdogan criticised Israel's disproportionate attacks on Gaza as devoid of any ethical foundation, and called on the world not to blindly take one side. Leaving the underlying issue unresolved would lead to new, more violent conflicts, he warned.

"We call on countries in the Americas, Europe, and other regions to take up a position between the parties that is fair, just, and based on humanitarian balances. Everyone should refrain from acts that will wholly punish the Palestinian people, like blocking humanitarian aid," he said.

Iranian allies threaten United States over intervention in Israel-Gaza conflict

Powerful Iraqi and Yemeni armed groups aligned with Iran have threatened to target United States interests with missiles and drones if Washington intervenes to support Israel in its conflict with Hamas in Gaza that already shows signs of expanding to further fronts.

The comments come amid strong support by the United States for Israel's response to the attacks and a pledge to rapidly provide additional munitions to Israel and deploy a carrier strike group to the Eastern Mediterranean.

In Iraq, Kataib Hezbollah, a powerful armed faction with close ties to Iran, said it would target US bases with missiles, drones and its special forces if Washington intervened in the conflict.

US officials have accused the group of previous attacks on US interests in Iraq. The group has denied the claims.

The United States currently has 2,500 troops in Iraq - and an additional 900 in neighbouring Syria - on a mission to advise and assist local forces in combating Islamic State, which in 2014 seized swathes of territory in both countries.

Iraqi politician Hadi Al-Amiri, leader of political and military group the Badr Organization that is close to Iran, had made similar threats on Monday.

"If they intervene, we would intervene ... we will consider all American targets legitimate," Al-Amiri said on Monday.

Badr comprises a large part of Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), the state paramilitary organisation that contains many Iran-backed factions.

The PMF has voiced its "unequivocal support" for the Palestinian factions fighting Israel and the Iraqi government has said the Palestinian operations were a natural outcome of what it calls "oppressive" policies by Israel.

In past years, Iranian-backed militias in Iraq regularly targeted US forces in Iraq and the US embassy in Baghdad with rockets, though such attacks have abated under a truce in place since last year, as Iraq enjoys a period of relative calm.

In Yemen, the leader of the powerful Houthi Movement warned on Tuesday that the group would respond to any US intervention in Gaza with drones, missiles and other military options.

He said the group was ready to coordinate intervention with other members of the so-called "Axis of Resistance" which encompasses Iranian-backed Shi'ite Muslim factions in Iraq and Lebanon's Hezbollah group, which has already entered the fray.

Yemen's Houthi movement has battled a Saudi-led coalition since 2015 in a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands, during which it has targeted strategic assets in the Gulf, most notably energy facilities in Saudi Arabia.

Yemen has enjoyed a year of relative calm as peace negotiations gain traction.

 

 

Greatest intelligence failure of Israel

In the early hours of October 07, 2023 the world was taken by surprise as hundreds of Palestinian resistance fighters infiltrated Zionist settlements around Gaza through ground, air, and sea operations.

This was in addition to the launching of over 5,000 rockets, with targets landing in the heart of Tel-Aviv within the first twenty minutes, after the resistance declared Al-Aqsa Flood Operation.

It is being described as the greatest intelligence failure in the Zionist entity’s history, more so than the Six-Day War in 1973, as the occupation forces today are far more powerful than they were fifty years ago, and Hamas alone is not stronger than the governments of Egypt and Syria combined. How was the intelligence apparatus unable to hatch out a plan of this magnitude, that will have been in preparation for months and that will have leaned on the expertise of the resistance axis?

Indeed, the resistance has proved its efficacy, as it created a massive effect from simple resources and ideas, such as the simultaneous operation of border riots and firing of rockets, the deployment of hundreds of fighters in several groups and the use of homemade retro technology such as motorized hand gliders to drop bombs, that were less likely to be detected.

More than anything, the resistance has proved its high morale, courage and conviction about real change; sprouting from a spirit so strong it defeats all the enemy’s tanks.

What are some of the anticipated outcomes of the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation?

1)      The release of all 5,200 Palestinian prisoners in the jails of the occupation. In the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation at least 150-200 Zionist soldiers and settlers have been taken prisoners, with senior officers among those captured. Saleh al-Arouri, senior Hamas leader, stated, “What we have in our hands will release all our prisoners. The longer fighting continues, the higher the number of prisoners will become.” Gilad Shalit, a former soldier of the IDF who was captured in 2006 during a cross-border raid by Hamas, was released in 2011 in exchange for 1,027 prisoners. Regarding the fate of the prisoners, Hamas military spokesperson Abu Obeida stated, “The Israeli army prisoners will be subjected to everything that is subjected to Gaza residents. Threatening Gaza and its people is a losing game and a broken record.”

2)      It is likely there will be no more transgressions on Al-Aqsa, since it could not be more clearly defined as the red line and the price paid for its desecration is the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation. Al-Arouri stated, “We expect fighting to continue and the fighting front to expand. We have one prime target: our freedom and the freedom of our holy sites.”

3)      The balance of powers has irreversibly shifted. Even if the Zionists decide to carpet bomb Gaza, the reality is that nothing can undo the sheer turning point in favor of the resistance. That has proved it will take calculated measures as and when it sees fit to attack the enemy, on its own terms and not in retaliation to a specific incursion. From now on the Zionist entity will think many times before laying siege on any other part of the West Bank.

4)      For the first time the commander-in-chief of the Al-Qassam Brigades, Mohammed Deif, explicitly called for the merging of the Islamic resistance in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen. Hezbollah has already shown its readiness to enter the battlefront. On October 08, 2023 it claimed responsibility for mortar strikes on three posts in occupied Shebaa Farms. The Chief of the IDF Northern Command stated they are preparing for Hezbollah to join the war once ground operations begin in the Gaza Strip and that they are moving forces to the north to defend against that eventuality. The reality is that whilst Defence Minister Gallant may be preparing the mobilization of the reserve forces to the north, the IDF will have a hard time entertaining the possibility of fighting the army that gave it a humiliating defeat 17 years ago in Lebanon.    

5)      The normalization efforts with Saudi Arabia will slow down due to the shift in the balance of forces towards the resistance. It will make Saudi Arabia yield reluctant. In a statement released by the Saudi Foreign Ministry, it highlighted the Kingdom has repeatedly warned of the consequences of the deterioration of the situation as a result of the occupation.

6)      The Zionist entity has proven its demographic vulnerability- manifested by the settlers’ fear of the rocket attacks and confrontation of the resistance. Tens of thousands of settlers were panicking in Ben Gurion Airport as they sought to flee in the midst of flight cancellations to and from the entity. Moreover, it is now unthinkable for those Jewish citizens of Ukraine, America or Russia to move to the occupied lands, since their wish for safety is the most paramount priority.

 

Israel-Hamas war tests Beijing’s aspirations

The war erupting between the Palestinian group Hamas and Israel poses a complex test for China's aspirations to become a key diplomatic player in the Middle East as Beijing was looking to broker new peace talks.

Earlier this year, China had pledged to help facilitate negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Chinese state media trumpeted the possibility of a settlement based on a three-part proposal by Chinese President Xi Jinping. But the outbreak of severe violence may have shattered those hopes for the foreseeable future, while creating new challenges for China.

"This is like a tightrope walk that they have to perform," said Moritz Rudolf, a China scholar and fellow at Yale Law School's Paul Tsai China Center. "They have an economic interest in the stability of the region and they also have increased their political role."

After Hamas launched a deadly surprise attack on Saturday - firing thousands of rockets, sending fighters into Israeli communities and taking hostages back to Gaza - countries in Asia and around the world quickly condemned the killing of civilians. The death toll in Israel has surpassed 900, while nearly 700 have been killed on the Palestinian side amid a wave of retaliatory airstrikes on Gaza, according to local officials.

Unlike the United States, India, Japan and others, which have come out forcefully in support of Israel, the Chinese government has maintained a neutral position.

Beijing's official response to the Hamas attack on Saturday called for an immediate cease-fire and repeated its support for a two-state solution with an independent State of Palestine as a way out of the conflict. It did not condemn Hamas.

On Sunday, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, Zhan Jun, said China was worried about escalation.

"What's important is to prevent further escalation of the situation and casualties of civilians," Zhang told reporters before an emergency closed-door security meeting. "We condemn all attacks against civilians," he stressed.

President Xi has yet to make any public statement.

Historically, China has had close diplomatic ties with Palestinian leaders. The president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, this year made his fifth official visit to China in his nearly two decades in office. But in recent years, China has also deepened relations with Israel, investing in infrastructure and the country's vibrant technology sector.

Beijing's muted initial reaction to the violence did not go unnoticed.

On Sunday, Yuval Waks, a senior official at the Israeli Embassy in Beijing, said his country expected a stronger response from the world's second-largest economy.

"When people are being murdered, slaughtered in the streets, this is not the time to call for a two-state solution," Waks told reporters. "We believe that China as a superpower in this world ... should have taken a stronger stand."

But Beijing appears more comfortable playing a mediator role. In March, China brokered discussions between bitter rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, enabling a diplomatic rapprochement. Analysts saw this as a challenge to US influence in the region.

In June, China outlined its vision for brokering peace between Israel and the Palestinians. But in doing so, it stuck its neck into a delicate situation that has vexed the US and other powers for decades.

Even though Israel and the Palestinians signed the Oslo Accords in September 1993, agreeing on a road map to peace, unsuccessful negotiations for a two-state solution have perpetuated tensions and violence. Talks have stalled since 2014, and the prospect of a deal appears to have become even more remote under Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition government and Hamas' sudden offensive.

Some observers argue that Beijing's silence on Hamas casts doubt on its ability to realize its ambitions in the region.

"China is still not willing to call Hamas out directly, and instead has tried to refer to them as combatants using language as ambiguous as possible, because it doesn't want to be seen as betraying its developing world friends - especially when that friend is engaged in hostilities against a leading US ally, namely Israel," said Wen-Ti Sung, a political scientist focusing on China at Australian National University.

Indeed, the conflict could further complicate China's already tense relations with Washington.

Xi on Monday met with US Senate leader Chuck Schumer, who was visiting with a bipartisan congressional delegation. Schumer expressed disappointment with China's lack of sympathy for Israel. "I urge you and the Chinese people to stand with the Israeli people and condemn the cowardly and vicious attacks," Schumer said to Xi.

After Schumer's visit, China's foreign ministry stressed that it condemns all violence and attacks on civilians and that the most urgent task now is to reach a ceasefire and restore peace. The US senator, writing on Xi, claimed credit: "I pointedly asked that they strengthen their statement. They did."

The same day, however, the Chinese state mouthpiece Global Times published an article criticizing American support for Israel, arguing it will only fan the conflict. "Israel already outweighs Palestine in terms of military might; if the US wants peace, it should take actions to calm down the situation, instead of giving one-sided support to Israel," Tian Wenlin, a research fellow at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, was quoted as saying.

The story suggested that the pressure from Schumer is part of a US attempt to morally abduct China.

For now, Yale's Rudolf said that China will likely take a more risk-averse approach that advocates for humanity and civilians, without positioning itself on either side.

"The key thing is for China, they don't want to get sucked into this conflict," he said. "At some point, when great powers are to meet and to talk about this situation, China just wants to have a seat at the table, and the difference now is that they're taking it more seriously."

Courtesy: Nikki Asia

 

Saudi Crown Prince affirms unwavering support for Palestinian legitimate rights

In a series of diplomatic discussions, Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman reaffirmed Saudi Arabia's unwavering support for the Palestinian people's legitimate rights during a phone call with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday.

The leaders engaged in a comprehensive dialogue, addressing the military escalation in Gaza and its adjacent areas. They expressed deep concern over the deteriorating situation, recognizing the threat it poses to civilian lives and regional security and stability.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman underscored the Kingdom's proactive efforts to collaborate with international and regional stakeholders, aiming to bring a swift end to the ongoing escalation and prevent its further proliferation in the region.

He emphasized the significance of upholding international humanitarian law and refraining from targeting civilians.

Moreover, the Crown Prince reiterated Saudi Arabia's commitment to standing by the Palestinian people in their pursuit of legitimate rights, advocating for a dignified life, the realization of hopes and aspirations, and the achievement of a just and lasting peace.

President Mahmoud Abbas expressed heartfelt gratitude to the Kingdom's leadership, acknowledging its steadfast stance and dedicated efforts in supporting the Palestinian people and their just cause.

In a separate conversation, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of Jordan delved into the escalating situation in Gaza, reiterating concerns about its impact on civilian lives and regional stability.

Additionally, in talks with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi of Egypt, the leaders concurred on the imperative to intensify both international and regional efforts to halt the escalation in Gaza and its surroundings, emphasizing the need to prevent its expansion in the broader region.