Israel using food as a weapon against Gazans

Israel has imposed a block on all aid entering the Gaza Strip following the end of the first phase of the January 19 ceasefire deal. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office issued a statement on Sunday confirming that Israel had blocked the entry of all goods into Gaza, Middle East Eye reported.

The move, which coincides with the fasting month of Ramadan for Muslims, came after Hamas refused to accept the extension of the first phase of the ceasefire deal.

Though, Israel has stopped, possibly temporarily, dropping bombs on Gazans, its recent moves openly confirm that it was starving the Gazans during the nearly 16-month war to make the resistance fighters surrender.

The statement by Netanyahu’s office added, “Israel will not allow a ceasefire without the release of our hostages. If Hamas continues its refusal, there will be further consequences."

There are certain reasons for setting such a condition. Most importantly, Israel feels humiliated that despite its nearly 16-month cruel war on Gaza, it failed to defeat resistance fighters.

It is an open secret that Israel was starving Gazans, and the UN officially were constantly warning about this act. His then so-called defense minister Yoav Gallant said, "I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and we act accordingly."

Israel is notoriously famous for breaking promises, agreements, and international laws. Now, contrary to the terms of the ceasefire agreement, Netanyahu is seeking to extend the initial exchange phase to secure the release of as many Israeli captives as possible without offering anything in return or fulfilling the military and humanitarian obligations of the agreement.

In addition to feeling humiliated to defeat the resistance fighters, Netanyahu is using aid as a weapon to force Hamas officials to give in to his demands, which are contrary to what has been agreed in ceasefire agreement, to find a pretext to resume the war as it has been openly implied in the Sunday statement, and finally force the people to leave their homes in line with the proposed Trump plan for Gaza and the greater project of ethnically cleansing Palestinians from their motherland.   

 

Ramadan in Gaza: Faith Amid Ruins

Ramadan begins in Gaza as the devastation from Israeli attacks remains overwhelming. Despite the destruction, Palestinians are determined to observe the holy month.

After almost 16 months of relentless bombardment, much of Gaza lies in ruins. Families that once gathered around dinner tables now break their fast on the cold ground, surrounded by the wreckage of their homes.

In the shattered Jabaliya refugee camp, simple meals of lentils and bread are cooked over makeshift fires.

Entire neighborhoods have been reduced to rubble, hospitals are barely functioning with dwindling supplies, and essential infrastructure has collapsed.

The United Nations reports that almost the entire population of Gaza has been forcibly displaced. Many now live in overcrowded shelters, tents, or temporary homes built from salvaged debris.

Yet, amid these hardships, the spirit of Ramadan endures. Families gather for iftar (breaking the fast), children find moments to play among the ruins, and the faithful continue to pray, even in mosques that have been destroyed.

In Gaza City, men lay prayer rugs on cracked pavement, reciting verses from the Quran as dust and smoke fill the air.

“We have lost so much,” says Ahmed, a father of four whose home was destroyed in an airstrike. “But our faith and resilience can never be taken from us.”

Adding to their struggles, Gaza is now dealing with severe flooding. Heavy rains have turned tent cities into muddy swamps, with drainage systems too damaged to handle the water.

In some areas, people wade through waist-deep floods, trying to salvage what little they have left.

Sixty-seven-year-old Mahmoud Abu Sitta, who lost his home in the bombings, now sleeps in a tent slowly filling with rainwater.

“First the bombs, now the floods,” he says. “It feels like the suffering never ends.”

Yet, even in these dire conditions, the people of Gaza hold onto their traditions.

The communal spirit of Ramadan remains strong. Those who have little still share with their neighbors. Volunteers distribute food and supplies despite struggling themselves.

In a small bakery that remarkably survived the airstrikes, young men work tirelessly, baking flatbreads to feed families with nothing left.

“This is what Ramadan teaches us,” says Youssef, one of the bakers. “To give, to care for one another, even when we are suffering.”

Evening prayers, once held in grand mosques, now take place in makeshift spaces, inside tents, on street corners, or in the shadows of collapsed buildings.

Each prayer is a plea for relief, justice, and an end to the suffering that has defined life in Gaza for too long.

Humanitarian aid remains slow to arrive, border crossings are tightly controlled by the Israeli occupation regime, and political negotiations offer little certainty.

A fragile ceasefire has brought temporary calm, but on Sunday, Israeli authorities halted humanitarian aid shipments, pressuring Hamas to agree to the regime’s conditions for extending the truce.

Hamas has urged mediators to ensure the occupation regime abides by the ceasefire agreement, which includes negotiations for a second phase that would see Israeli forces withdraw from Gaza.

Despite everything, Gaza’s people persist. They fast, they pray, and they hope. They rebuild their lives, even when the world seems to have abandoned them.

As the call to prayer echoes over the devastated land, it carries the unwavering resilience of a people who refuse to be broken, even as everything around them has crumbled.

 

Iraq-Turkey pipeline capacity utilization

Turkey wants an Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline to operate at maximum capacity once it resumes flows through Turkey's Ceyhan, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar was quoted as saying by the state-owned Anadolu news agency on Sunday.

The pipeline was halted by Turkey in March 2023 after the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ordered Ankara to pay Baghdad US$1.5 billion in damages for unauthorized exports between 2014 and 2018.

Turkey has said since late 2023 that it is ready to resume operations at the pipeline, carrying oil exports from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. Bayraktar told Reuters last month that Ankara had not received confirmation on resuming flows.

On Friday, eight international oil firms operating in Iraq's Kurdistan region said they would not resume oil exports through Turkey's Ceyhan despite an announcement from Baghdad that the restart was imminent.

"This pipeline has been ready for 1.5 years already. We want the Turkey-Iraq pipeline, especially the two pipelines of 650 km from our Silopi to Ceyhan to be used," Bayraktar said.

"We want some of the oil passing through this line to go to the refinery in Kirikkale, and also via ships through Ceyhan, to refineries in Turkey or to different refineries in the world, so that the capacity of the line can be used at the maximum level," he added.

Bayraktar also said a planned trade route project involving Turkey and Iraq, dubbed the Development Road Project, included the construction of a pipeline reaching the Persian Gulf for the Iraqi oil flows to go to global markets via Turkey.

 

Iran: Foreign outfits attempting to destabilize Sistan and Baluchistan province

Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib said the foreign adversaries are attempting to destabilize the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan by using external elements to fuel insecurity. His remarks came in the wake of a major counterterrorism operation that resulted in the dismantling of a Takfiri terrorist network and the seizure of a significant cache of weapons and explosives.  

Speaking during a visit to the province on Friday, Khatib stressed that Iran’s enemies have historically sought to create unrest within the country.

"From the very beginning of the Islamic Revolution, adversaries have continuously plotted against the Islamic Republic. Today, we see that efforts to incite insecurity are being carried out by foreign-backed agents who have no connection to the people of this region," he said.  

Khatib urged vigilance and national unity in the face of these threats, warning that hostile forces seek to exploit every opportunity to sow discord.

"The enemies will use any means at their disposal to create chaos, but the Iranian people have consistently resisted such conspiracies through awareness and solidarity. Now, more than ever, we must remain alert and prevent external actors from destabilizing our country," he emphasized.  

The intelligence minister reaffirmed the government's commitment to safeguarding security in the southeastern province, calling for enhanced cooperation between the public and local authorities. "Ensuring peace and stability in Sistan and Baluchistan is a top priority. We must not allow our enemies to use this region as a launching pad for their destructive agendas," he stated.  

Khatib reassured that Iran’s intelligence forces are closely monitoring and countering any threats to national security.

"The Ministry of Intelligence will not hesitate to take action against any attempts to undermine stability. We will continue to work relentlessly to protect the nation and uphold peace," he declared.

He also expressed gratitude to the people and officials of Sistan and Baluchistan for their crucial role in maintaining security.  

The counterterrorism operation, conducted on Wednesday, uncovered four warehouses filled with arms and explosives belonging to the terrorist group.

According to local media reports, security personnel confiscated 226 light and heavy weapons, including pistols, Kalashnikov rifles, and Goryunov machine guns.  

 

Trump still supplying arms to Israel

According to media reports, the US State Department has approved the sale of nearly US$3 billion worth of bombs, demolition kits and other weaponry to Israel. The weapons sales were notified to Congress on Friday afternoon on an emergency basis. 

That process sidestepped a long-standing practice of giving the chairs and ranking members of the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations Committees the opportunity to review the sale and ask for more information before making a formal notification to Congress.

The sales included 35,529 general-purpose bomb bodies for 2,000-pound bombs and 4,000 bunker-busting 2,000-pound bombs made by General Dynamics. While the Pentagon said that deliveries would begin in 2026, it also said “there is a possibility that a portion of this procurement will come from US stock which means immediate delivery for some of the weapons.

A second package, valued at US$675 million, consisted of five thousand 1,000-pound bombs and corresponding kits to help guide the “dumb” bombs. Delivery for this package was estimated to be in 2028. A third notification consisted of US$295 million worth of Caterpillar D9 bulldozers.

Friday’s announcements marked the second time this month the Trump administration has declared an emergency to quickly approve weapons sales to Israel. The Biden administration also utilized emergency authorities to approve the sale of arms to Israel without congressional review.

On Monday, the Trump administration rescinded a Biden-era order that required it to report potential violations of international law involving US-supplied weapons by allies, including Israel. It has eliminated most US humanitarian foreign aid.

Since Israel’s inception, it has received hundreds of billions of dollars in US foreign aid, a level of support that reflects many factors, including a US commitment to Israel’s security and the countries’ shared foreign policy interests in the Middle East.

Israel is a leading buyer of US weapons systems via traditional arms sales. The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) report found Israel as one of the largest cumulative recipient of US foreign aid since its founding, receiving about US$310 billion in total economic and military assistance.

Nearly all US aid today goes to support Israel’s military, the most advanced in the region. The United States has provisionally agreed via a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to provide Israel with $3.8 billion per year through 2028, as per the CFR report.

The report also highlighted that since the start of Israel’s conflict with Hamas on October 07, 2023, the US has enacted legislation providing at least US$12.5 billion in direct military aid to Israel, which includes US$3.8 billion from a bill in March 2024 and US$8.7 billion from a supplemental appropriations act in April 2024.

 

Pakistan: Suicide attack kills top cleric

The bombing of Darul Uloom Haqqania in KP’s Nowshera district on Friday marks a departure from the recent trend of militants targeting mostly security personnel and government officials. A number of victims lost their lives in the tragedy, including Maulana Hamidul Haq Haqqani, head of the institution, who appeared to be the religious heir of his murdered father, Maulana Samiul Haq.

The latter, along with his involvement in Pakistani politics, was known as the ‘Father of the Taliban’; he had earned the moniker because numerous high-ranking Afghan Taliban leaders had attended his madressah. Media reports have quoted police officials as saying that it was a suicide blast, and that Hamid Haqqani was the apparent target.

While no group has claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack, the Afghan Taliban have insinuated that the self-styled Islamic State may be involved. An Afghan interior ministry official, while condemning the attack, pinned the blame on “enemies of religion”, an apparent reference to IS.

Those familiar with the militancy dynamics of the region also concur that there is a strong possibility that this is IS-K’s handiwork, as the latter had been openly critical of the Haqqania seminary.

There is, of course, no love lost between the Afghan Taliban and IS, but from Pakistan’s point of view, if the attack were indeed traced to IS, it would signal a fresh security challenge in KP.

Already the province, as well as parts of Baluchistan, are witnessing frequent terrorist activity believed to be carried out by the banned TTP and affiliated groups. IS is an equally — if not more — ferocious entity, with global pretensions and a mediaeval, sectarian outlook.

What adds further credence to the belief that IS may be involved is that the group, and those adhering to its ideological narrative, view clerics who endorse democracy in any form with disdain. The late Haqqania head, as well as his father, were active in politics, along with their religious activities.

It is also a possibility that the Haqqanis’ strong links with the Afghan Taliban could have made them prime targets for rival militants. Only a thorough probe can establish the facts, while fresh IS activity in the country should be cause for considerable concern.

Nevertheless, the attack also offers an opportunity for Islamabad and Kabul to work together against a common, and highly dangerous foe.

Courtesy: Dawn

 

 

Why no oil pipeline after Trans Mountain?

The Canadian energy sector has proposed several major oil pipeline projects in the last decade, but only the Trans Mountain expansion project was completed.

There are three other pipelines that never came to be:

Energy East

A proposed C$15.7 billion project (US$11.0 billion), Energy East would have carried oil cross-country from Alberta to the Atlantic province of New Brunswick. It was cancelled in 2017 by TC Energy in the face of regulatory hurdles and opposition from environmental groups, particularly in Quebec.

Northern Gateway

This pipeline was proposed by Enbridge in 2006 to carry oil from Alberta to British Columbia's northwest coast. The C$7.9 billion project (US$5.5 billion) faced opposition from local and Indigenous communities who feared the risk of a marine spill. The project died in 2016 after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government cancelled its permits.

Keystone XL

This proposed TC Energy project would have carried oil from the oilsands of northern Alberta to the major US crude storage hub at Cushing, Oklahoma and then on to US Gulf Coast refineries. The project was rejected on environmental grounds by former US President Barack Obama's administration, then revived during President Donald Trump's first administration. Former President Joe Biden revoked the pipeline's permit on his first day in office in 2021.

TC Energy spun off its oil pipeline business in October last year into a new company named South Bow Energy. Trump said on Monday he wanted the pipeline built, but South Bow said it had moved on.

TC Energy has sought to recover more than US$15 billion from the US government for cancellation of the project