#Sudan 🇸🇩: Fighters affiliated with the Sudanese Forces (#SAF) released a new video from the frontline.
Fighters are armed with a notable Skyfend Hunter SHH100 Anti-Drone Jammer and a possible #Azerbaijan-made 🇦🇿 M11 RBG grenade launcher. pic.twitter.com/a1NOXEwvUO
Troops arrest 9 suspected Berom militia responsible for targeted killings, recover arms and ammunition in Plateau
By Zagazola Makama
Troops of Operation Enduring Peace have arrested nine suspected Berom militia members responsible for targeted killings, and recovered arms and… pic.twitter.com/J7XvOlA4qL
Troops arrest 9 suspected Berom militia responsible for targeted killings, recover arms and ammunition in Plateau
By Zagazola Makama
Troops of Operation Enduring Peace have arrested nine suspected Berom militia
… self-protection of the ethnic group of the same name in Plateau State with whom the Fulani herders compete for resources. It looks like they’ve progressed to the point of protecting preemptively …
members responsible for targeted killings, and recovered arms and ammunition following an operation in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State, amid ongoing security concerns linked to recurring attacks and cycles of violence in the area.
Security sources told Zagazola Makama that the suspects were arrested at about 0135 hours on April 18, 2026, when troops deployed at Ganawuri responded to reports of suspected criminal movement towards the Danwal general area.
The troops intercepted and apprehended the suspects, who were found with blood stains on their bodies, raising suspicion of recent involvement in silent killings.
Those arrested were identified as Mr. Gyang Dantoro, Mr. Samson Davou, Mr. Choji Yakubu, Mr. Vincent Adamu, Mr. Pam Dalyop, Mr. Femi Badung, Mr. Jacob Musa and Mr. Choji Chaga, all residents of Danwal and reportedly of Berom extraction.
[IsraelTimes] Incident follows string of antisemitic arson incidents in north London, including synagogue and Jewish ambulance fires, with possible links to Iran-backed actors
UK counter-terror police were on Saturday investigating an arson attack on a London building that was formerly used by a Jewish organization, following similar incidents in recent weeks.
No one was injured in the fire late Friday in Hendon, in the northwest of Britannia’s capital, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement, without specifying the premises targeted.
Officers stood guard outside an empty office that still contained the sign Jewish Futures, an educational organization, an AFP photographer saw.
"We are aware of what appears to be another attempted arson, this time targeting a premises in north London previously used by the Jewish community," the Community Security Trust charity, which provides safety advice to Jewish groups, said in a statement.
"It caused minimal damage to a nearby doorway and no injuries."
The incident comes after police arrested two people over a separate arson attack on a synagogue in nearby Finchley on Wednesday, amid an upsurge in antisemitic incidents in Britannia.
In late March, four Jewish community ambulances were torched in Golders Green, also in north London.
"At this stage, last night’s arson is not being linked to other incidents in the north-west London area over the last week or last month’s arson in Golders Green, but counter-terrorism officers are leading due to the similarities of each attack," Helen Flanagan of the Met’s counter terrorism unit said in a statement.
Police were called to the scene shortly after 10:30 p.m. (2130 GMT) on Friday after a man was spotted approaching a row of shops carrying a plastic bag later found to contain three bottles with "fluid," the Met said.
He placed the bag by a building before lighting the items inside, it added.
When they failed to fully ignite, the man expeditiously departed at a goodly pace. The shopfront sustained minor damage and no arrests have been made, the force added.
On Wednesday evening, a burning object was thrown toward the offices of Persian media outlet Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... International, which is heavily critical of Iran’s holy manal leadership.
It landed in a car park, and no one was injured.
Little-known group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI), with links to Iran, grabbed credit for that and the attacks on the synagogue and ambulances, according to SITE Intelligence Group.
The group previously claimed similar attacks in Belgium and the Netherlands.
[IsraelTimes] British prosecutors said on Friday they have charged a fourth person in connection with an arson attack last month on Jewish community ambulances in north London. The police said Judex Atshatshi, 18, a Brit from Dagenham, east of the capital, has been charged with committing arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered. He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Saturday.
Three others were previously charged in connection with the incident and will next appear at the Old Bailey on April 24.
The pro-Iranian terror group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya, or Movement of the Companions of the Right Hand of Islam, has grabbed credit for a spate of attacks across Europa ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... on American, Israeli and Jewish targets, including the arson attack that destroyed several ambulances belonging to the Jewish volunteer emergency service Hatzola, which were parked at a synagogue in the Golders Green area of north London.
On Friday, British police said they were investigating a security incident near the Israeli Embassy in London after Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya posted online that it had targeted the premises with drones carrying "dangerous substances." Scotland Yard confirmed that Israel’s embassy was not attacked, but that it was "carrying out urgent enquiries to determine the authenticity of the video and to identify any potential link between it and the items discarded in Kensington Gardens."
[IsraelTimes] Suspect from nearby village spotted climbing over community’s entrance gate; local guard opened fire after assailant rushed at him with knife, probe finds FAFO
A Paleostinian terrorist armed with a knife who infiltrated a West Bank settlement on Saturday morning was rubbed out by a local security officer, according to the military.
The incident began shortly after 6 am, when a siren warning of a terrorist infiltration was activated in the settlement of Negohot following the identification of a suspect climbing over the South Hebron Hills community’s entrance gate.
One of the settlement’s volunteer patrolmen reached the entrance gate within minutes, where he identified the suspect rushing toward him while brandishing a knife.
The armed civilian then opened fire, killing the assailant, according to an initial probe of the incident carried out by the Israeli Defense Forces.
There were no other injuries in the incident.
Paleostinian media and Israeli security officials identified the suspect as Muhammad al-Suweiti, 25, from the nearby village of Fuqeiqis, west of the town of Dura.
The Paleostinian Authority’s Wafa news agency reported that Israeli authorities were holding Suweiti’s body.
Following the incident, the IDF said it had dispatched troops to carry out searches of the area.
After just over an hour, the military ruled out the possibility of further suspects, and the Home Front Command issued an all-clear in the settlement, allowing civilians to leave their homes.
Later in the morning, the IDF said it raided Suweiti’s home in Fuqeiqis.
According to the military, at the home of the terrorist, troops located a makeshift firearm and other military equipment, with which he "planned to carry out acts of terror against Israeli civilians and IDF troops."
The IDF said that "in light of the findings," Suweiti’s brother was detained at the scene and handed over to the Shin Bet security agency for interrogation.
[IsraelTimes] Military says troops opened fire after the ‘armed terrorists’ approached the ceasefire line in northern Gaza; Two others killed in separate incidents after crossing Yellow Line
Two civilian contractors delivering water for the UN children’s fund were rubbed out by Israeli troops in northern Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... , UNICEF said on Saturday, expressing fury over the deaths the previous day.
The outrage came as the Israel Defense Forces said that in two separate incidents, troops had killed two other Paleostinians on Saturday, whom it identified as terror operatives who crossed the Gaza ceasefire line.
UNICEF, the United Nations ...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly... International Children’s Emergency Fund, said in a statement that it was "outraged by the killing" of the two truck drivers contracted by the organization "to provide clean water to families in the Gaza Strip."
Contacted by AFP, the IDF said troops saw "two armed hard boyz in the area of the Yellow Line" — which marks the boundary of the area under Israeli control — approaching, so they "opened fire."
The army said the incident was "under review."
UNICEF said the incident took place at the Mansoura water filling point in northern Gaza, which is "the only operational truck filling point for the Mekorot water supply line serving Gaza City."
"The incident, in which two other people were maimed, occurred during routine water trucking operations, with no changes in movement or procedures," it said, adding that the point was used "multiple times a day" by UNICEF and its humanitarian partners.
Following the incident, all activities at the filling point had been suspended, it said, urging the Israeli authorities to "immediately investigate" the incident and ensure those responsible are held accountable.
"Humanitarian workers, essential service providers and civilian infrastructure, including critical water facilities, must never be targeted.
The protection of civilians and those delivering life-saving assistance is an obligation under international humanitarian law," UNICEF said.
Separately on Saturday, the IDF said it killed two Paleostinian terror operatives who crossed the Gaza ceasefire line.
The IDF said that reservists of the 205th "Iron Fist" Armored Brigade, operating in the Strip’s north, and Negev Brigade, stationed in southern Gaza, "identified two hard boyz who crossed the Yellow Line and approached the forces in a manner that posed an immediate threat."
In both cases, the troops "eliminated the hard boyz to remove the threat," the IDF said.
Earlier on Saturday, the Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... -run health ministry in Gaza said that 72,549 people have been killed in the Paleostinian enclave since the outbreak of war on October 7, 2023, sparked by the terror group’s bloody invasion and massacre in southern Israel.
The toll did not differentiate between combatants and civilians, and included the 773 people that the Hamas-run ministry says have been killed since a ceasefire came into effect on October 10, 2025.
The Israeli military believes that Hamas’s overall toll is largely accurate, with IDF officials estimating that two to three non-combatants were killed for every dead terror operative.
The IDF says it has killed over 23,000 combatants in Gaza and another 1,600 hard boyz inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.
Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.
Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 477. The toll includes two coppers and three Defense Ministry civilian contractors.
Five IDF soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the start of the ceasefire.
The latest theme thrown against the wall for the weekly anti-Bibi protests by the far left, frustrated that the voters keep rejecting them, in the hope that this one will stick.
[IsraelTimes] Thousands of people gathered at Tel Aviv’s Habima Square Saturday night for an anti-government protest and memorial ceremony led by bereaved families, calling for a state commission of inquiry into the failures leading to the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack.
The protest, which was accompanied by several other gatherings in cities across Israel, was organized by the October Council, a group of relatives of victims of the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack. It took place ahead of Israel’s official Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism, which will begin Monday night.
How many of the cadres will turn out, upon investigation, to be the exact same cadres who organized the anti-Bibi protests for the past decade and more, or their near relations carrying on the family tradition?
The ceremony was held under the title Yishkach (“forget”), a play on the Yizkor (“remember”) adjuration that is typically read at Memorial Day ceremonies.
At the protest, speakers railed against the government’s failure to hold itself accountable for October 7, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of leading a directionless forever war at the expense of their slain loved ones so he can remain in power.
Vicious nonsense. The forever war is the project of the Islamists within and surrounding modern Israel, by one view dating back decades before Theodore Herzl wrote about the need for a Jewish nation state in the historic Jewish homeland, by another view going all the way back to Mohammed’s order to betray and massacre the local Jewish tribes in Arabia for daring to refuse to convert to his new religion, referenced in the hateful chant "Khaybar, Khaybar, ya yahud! Jaish Muhammad soufa yaʿoud!" Were Bibi to have ordered the IDF to lay down arms at any point in the past quarter century, every one of the protesters would have been murdered in wave after wave of 10/7 style attacks, just as Hamas promised after 10/7 when they were driven back in to the Gaza Strip. The intention of you lot is worse than the Jewish Kapos in the Nazi concentration camps.
#1
Accountability is a dirty word. Nobody was held accountable for 9/11, for Iraq, for Afghanistan, for illegal NSA spying and even now not a single person named in the Epstein Files has been arrested.
#2
Nobody held accountable? Look at the deaths and rubble in Afghanistan and Iraq, and in the organization chart of Al Qaeda — both the home office and the franchises and the descendant organization, ISIS, and ponder your words.
As for Mr. Epstein’s files, while trials may not be in the offing, the number of men, and some women, who have stepped away from public life and private industry careers continues to grow. They know exactly what could come out to force them to leave if they did not do so voluntarily, even if we do not. I know many here would prefer the formality of trials and jail sentences, but the files are so compromised that it would probably be disastrous to try to use them as evidence. What think our Rantburg lawyers on the subject?
#6
Reference #2: Departures from gov't service may be prompted by a number of things. One of the motivations is likely the non-availability of the 5th Amendment during testimony while is USG service.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] The US military is preparing to board Iran-linked vessels and oil tankers in the coming days, a move that will expand a conflict largely confined to the Strait of Hormuz into a global crackdown.
General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, announced the escalation on Thursday, according to US officials who spoke with The Wall Street Journal.
Caine said the US 'will actively pursue any Iranian-flagged vessel or any vessel attempting to provide material support to Iran'.
'This includes dark fleet vessels carrying Iranian oil. As most of you know, dark fleet vessels are those illicit or illegal ships evading international regulations, sanctions or insurance requirements,' Caine added.
This mission, dubbed Economic Fury, will be executed with the help of US Indo-Pacific Command and enforced in addition to the US Navy's blockade of all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
The US has already turned away 23 ships that have tried to leave Iranian ports, according to US Central Command.
This comes as the Iranian military has reasserted 'strict control' over the Strait of Hormuz, attacking several ships that have tried to pass through the narrow waterway on Saturday.
The strikes from Iran - which allegedly involved two Indian ships - came just a day after Iran's foreign minister said the Strait of Hormuz was open to commercial traffic.
President Donald Trump took the declaration from the foreign minister as genuine, announcing on Friday morning that the strait was 'COMPLETELY OPEN AND READY FOR BUSINESS'.
Trump followed that up with a series of optimistic statements about negotiating an end to the war. He even said that Iran agreed to hand over its remaining supply of highly enriched uranium to the US, something Iran has denied.
Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, warned later on Friday that if the US blockade continued, 'the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open'.
The blockade has continued and the Trump administration has not shown any signs of budging on any of Iran's demands.
Trump is optimistic that the blockade, as well as intercepting Iran-flagged ships around the world, will eventually force the Iranians to the table by severely limiting imports into the country.
Previously, Iran's stranglehold over the Strait of Hormuz was a tactical advantage, allowing them to skyrocket global oil and gas prices. Roughly 20 percent of the world's daily oil supply passes through the strait, making it a vital chokepoint.
The president's strategy to cut off Iran from the world market is quite similar to what he has done with Cuba by heavily restricting the oil flowing into the country.
Like in Iran, he is seeking regime change in the island nation, which has been under communist rule since Fidel Castro came to power in 1959.
The push to increase economic pressure comes as a temporary ceasefire between Iran and the US is set to expire next week.
Peace talks held last weekend in Pakistan failed to produce a breakthrough or any permanent halt in hostilities between the two sides. Another round of negotiations has not been scheduled.
Both sides have been taking precautions in case fighting resumes, with Iran retaining thousands of medium- and short-range missiles. The country is also retrieving launchers from underground storage areas, many of them buried within mountainous regions.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said US forces are 'maximally postured' to pick up where they left off if diplomacy fails.
Hegseth has also said striking Iran's power plants are still an option, even though experts say that would be against international law. The move could also invite Iran to retaliate by bombing energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab countries allied with the US.
Trump administration officials are reportedly loath to use ground troops, something that would lead to US service members dying and a potential backlash from the American public.
Trump and his allies have largely settled on the economic pressure campaign as the way forward.
As part of Economic Fury, the Treasury Department announced Wednesday that it had sanctioned even more companies and individuals with ties to 'Iran’s illicit oil transportation infrastructure'.
The newly-sanctioned ships and firms are controlled by oil shipping magnate Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani is the son of Ali Shamkhani, a top security adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Ali Shamkhani was killed along with the Iranian leader in the Israeli airstrike in late February that started the war.
There are hundreds of sanctioned Iranian-linked vessels that could now be boarded or intercepted by the US military.
It could mirror how the US Navy interdicted at least seven oil vessels with ties to Venezuela both before and after Nicolas Maduro was captured in a late-night operation in early January.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has also said he will prosecute anyone who buys or sells sanctioned Iranian oil.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the White House for comment.
Littoral combat ship USS Canberra (LCS 30) patrols the Arabian Sea during the U.S. blockade. Since commencement of the blockade, 23 ships have complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around. American forces are enforcing a maritime blockade against ships entering or… pic.twitter.com/PMIBOoeJXS
#2
I keep thinking ... Why don't we have A-10s on hand at a moments notice to handle the speed boat assault attacks? Sounds like shooting fish in a barrel...??
Posted by: Oregon Dave ||
04/19/2026 1:13 Comments ||
Top||
[IsraelTimes] Army says it acted in accordance with deal, which allows Israel to strike in ‘self-defense’; Hezbollah official says terror group ‘not concerned’ by Israel-Lebanon talks
The Israeli military on Saturday confirmed carrying out several strikes in southern Leb ...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects.... over the previous day against Hezbollah operatives who "violated the ceasefire understandings," in the first such action since the truce took effect at midnight between Thursday and Friday.
The announcement of the strikes came a day after US President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and whatever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th and 47th President of the United States... said that Israel was "prohibited" from bombing Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, though a US official later clarified to The Times of Israel that while IDF can not carry out any offensive military operations, the terms of the truce allow it to carry out defensive strikes against "planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks."
The military also said that it would continue to clear the area currently under its control of Hezbollah infrastructure, operatives, and any other threats. The IDF assessed on Friday that a small number of Hezbollah operatives remain holed up in Bint Jbeil, after more than 100 were killed during fighting in the town over the past weeks. They would be given the opportunity to surrender, a military official said.
Regarding the recent strikes, the IDF said that troops operating south of the "Yellow Line" in southern Lebanon "identified Death Eaters who violated the ceasefire understandings and approached the forces from north of the Yellow Line in a manner that posed an immediate threat."
The IDF said that the Israeli Air Force and ground troops "struck Death Eaters in several areas in southern Lebanon" to "remove the threat."
In one incident on Friday, a Hezbollah operative traveling on a cycle of violence between the southern Lebanon towns of Kounine and Beit Yahoun, just north of Bint Jbeil, was killed in a dronezap, according to the military and Lebanese media.
On Saturday, the IDF said troops of the 401st Armored Brigade identified "a cell of Death Eaters that violated the ceasefire understandings and approached the forces in a manner that posed an immediate threat, during their activity in southern Lebanon, south of the forward defense line area used to prevent a direct threat to northern communities."
To "remove the threat," the Israeli Air Force struck and "eliminated the terrorists," the IDF said.
In another incident on Saturday, south of the "forward defense line," also dubbed the Yellow Line, the army said that it struck a Hezbollah tunnel shaft after identifying members of the terror group entering it.
The Yellow Line in southern Lebanon refers to the military’s line of deployment at the time the ceasefire took effect on Thursday night. (It is not to be confused with the Yellow Line in the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip, which demarcates the areas of IDF and Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... control within the Paleostinian enclave.)
In addition, the military said it carried out artillery shelling in support of ground troops operating in southern Lebanon, "and terror infrastructure was destroyed in response to threats."
The IDF said it was acting "in accordance with the directives of the political echelon."
"Accordingly, the IDF is authorized to take the necessary measures for self-defense against threats, while safeguarding the security of Israeli civilians and the troops deployed on the ground," the military said.
"Actions of self-defense and the removal of threats are not limited by the ceasefire," the IDF stated, adding that it will "not allow harm to the citizens of Israel and its soldiers, and will take all necessary actions to ensure their security."
Since the truce went into effect, the IDF remains deployed several kilometers deep inside southern Lebanon.
In the west, the IDF holds the Ras al-Bayada headland, south of the coastal city of Tyre, which is located around eight kilometers (5 miles) north of Israel’s border. In the central sector, the military has been operating in Beit Lif and Bint Jbeil, both around four kilometers (2.485 miles) from the border. And in the east, the IDF has operated in villages near the Litani River — up to around eight kilometers from the border — as well as in the town of Khiam, some seven kilometers (4.35 miles) north of the border.
מבצע "שאגת הארי" – הזירה הלבנונית
התמונה הכללית שמצטיירת עם סיום המבצע בלבנון מצביעה על כך שמדובר בגרסה מורחבת של מבצע "חצי צפון".
במפה צירפתי את הערכתי לתמרון הקרקעי הנוכחי (מסומן בכחול), אשר עדיין כולל פערים ודורש השלמה, לצד התמרון במבצע "חצי צפון" (כחול מקווקו). במהלך הפסקת… pic.twitter.com/ClGYnpkgey
Translated from Hebrew
Operation "Lion's Roar" – The Lebanese Arena
The overall picture that emerges with the conclusion of the operation in Lebanon indicates that this is an expanded version of Operation "Half North."
On the map, I have attached my assessment of the current ground maneuver (marked in solid blue), which still includes gaps and requires completion, alongside the maneuver in Operation "Half North" (dotted blue). During the previous ceasefire, IDF forces established five outposts within Lebanese territory following the withdrawal from the villages (in the thirties)
As of now, the full details of the agreement are not known, but the assessment is that IDF forces will reorganize and establish a hold at least across all villages of the first line of contact, from Al-Khiyam to Naqoura, from the sea to Mount Hermon.
The advance to the Litani River occurred in the Deir Seryan sector. However, contrary to rumors that circulated in recent weeks, Beaufort has not yet been captured, and the area around it continued to serve as a launch site toward the Finger of the Galilee.
In the current maneuver, the forces reached the line of the third row of villages, Rashaf and Kantra, and in parallel encircled and captured the area of Bent Jbeil, although full control over it has not yet been declared. The implication is that the maneuver remains relatively limited and not very deep, with a primary focus on the second row of villages.
Finally, it should be noted that the alpinist forces also operated in the Mount Hermon area, but the depth of their operation is still unclear.
The IDF also announced Saturday that just before the ceasefire with Hezbollah took effect Thursday night, Israeli troops carried out a special operation in southern Lebanon during which soldiers seized control of a strategic ridge.
The Israeli Air Force’s elite Shaldag unit landed at the so-called Cristofani Ridge, several kilometers north of Mount Hermon, and established control in the area, the statement said.
The military said the special forces landed in the area just minutes before the ceasefire took effect.
HEZBOLLAH OFFICIAL DISMISSES ISRAEL-LEBANON TALKS
Senior Hezbollah official Mahmud Qamati said Saturday that the terror group was not concerned by Lebanon’s planned direct talks with Israel, labeling them a failure.
In a presser in Beirut’s southern suburbs, Qamati said Hezbollah was "not concerned with the negotiations being conducted by the state," saying they were "a failure, weak, defeated... and submissive negotiations."
"The resistance is the one that imposes. We are the land... and we are the ones who draw up the decisions, not those who have an official status," he said, adding that while his group did not mind Beirut "coordinating with us... not in this way that leads to surrender."
"Defeated, you go to the Israelis and Americans, let’s see what you will get out of it," he added.
Qamati’s statement came as Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Saturday discussed preparations for the first direct negotiations with Israel in decades, after Israeli and Lebanese representatives met directly in Washington to secure a ceasefire and lay the ground for potential peace talks.
In a statement, Aoun’s office said he and Salam conducted "an assessment of the post-ceasefire phase and the ongoing efforts to consolidate it," and discussed "Lebanese readiness for the anticipated negotiations" with Israel.
Their meeting came a day after a strongly-worded speech to the nation from Aoun, stating that the country was entering a new phase to work on "permanent agreements" with Israel and insisting that direct talks were not a "concession" — an apparent rebuttal of Hezbollah criticism.
[IsraelTimes] An IDF reservist was killed and three other soldiers were maimed on Friday after an bomb detonated by them in southern Leb, hours after the ceasefire with Hezbollah took effect, the military announced Saturday.
The slain soldier was named as Warrant Officer (res.) Barak Kalfon, 48, of the 226th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade’s 7056th Battalion, from Adi in northern Israel. He worked as an engineer at Rafael, the state-owned defense firm, and is survived by his wife and two daughters.
His death occurred on Friday after a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect at midnight. The reservists were scanning a building in the southern Lebanon village of Jebbayn for weapons. During the scans, a Hezbollah bomb detonated, killing Kalfon and wounding three other troops, two moderately and one lightly.
According to an initial IDF probe, the bomb was not remotely detonated and was likely automatically triggered.
Kalfon was severely injured in the earth-shattering kaboom and evacuated by helicopter to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa. He underwent emergency surgery and other life-saving measures, but his death was confirmed hours after arrival.
#2
No doubt they are tracking and tracing, setting up for the next massive operation, Grom. And it gives the fighting units a break to go home and kiss their spouses and children and catch up on civilian life stuff before the next round. A regular hudna, given that Hezbollah has no intension of surrendering.
#4
Only physically safe, Grom. And that only until Mossad or the IDF activates the next thing they have or are setting in place once Hezbollah ends the hudna.
In the meantime, I’m willing to bet this is more Bibi & The Donald amateur theatricals.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. Navy is preparing to start boarding and seizing Iranian-linked sanctioned oil tankers in international waters across the world.
The operations would start over the next couple of days if the ceasefire ends without a deal. pic.twitter.com/9chXLLo6Qo
#5
With regard to Iran, according to the Israel Times, while President Trump says he is confident and optimistic that Iran will accept a deal, Israel already has the next target list ready on the assumption that Iran will walk away.
And we know they already have target lists for Hezbollah.
[IsraelTimes] French president directly accuses terror group of ambush, as it issues a denial; Lebanon’s president vows to prosecute those responsible
French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday said Hezbollah was responsible for the death of a French soldier in an attack on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon,
…a bold statement. President Macron is good at bold statements…
while the UN Interim Force in Lebanon blamed “non-state actors,” code for the Iran-backed terror group.
“Everything points to Hezbollah being responsible for this attack,” Macron said on X, urging Lebanese authorities to arrest the perpetrators.
“This morning, a UNIFIL patrol clearing explosive ordnance along a road in the village of Ghanduriyah to re-establish links with isolated UNIFIL positions came under small-arms fire from non-state actors. Tragically, one peacekeeper succumbed to his injuries and three others were injured, two of them seriously,” the observer force said in a statement.
UNIFIL said it “condemns this deliberate attack on peacekeepers engaged in their mandated tasks. The work of explosive ordnance disposal teams is vital in the mission’s area of operations, especially in the wake of the recent hostilities.”
The observer force said it had launched an investigation “to determine the circumstances surrounding this tragic incident.”
It added that an “initial assessment indicates the fire came from non-state actors.”
Hezbollah denied any involvement, calling for “caution in issuing judgments and responsibilities regarding the incident” while expressing “surprise at the [parties] that rushed to throw accusations arbitrarily.”
Macron’s office said he held calls with Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun and Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam to urge them to “guarantee the security of UNIFIL soldiers.”
Aoun vowed to prosecute those who targeted the peacekeepers, while Salam said he had ordered an investigation.
A statement shared by the presidency said Aoun had expressed his condolences to Macron in a phone call, condemning the incident and vowing that Beirut “will not hesitate to pursue those involved and bring them to justice.”
The peacekeeper killed, identified as Staff Sergeant Florian Montorio, was caught in an “ambush” as his unit headed to a UNIFIL outpost, and he died from a “direct gunshot,” France’s armed forces minister Catherine Vautrin said on X.
She said the outpost they had been heading to had been “cut off for several days by combat in the area.”
The ambush was carried out “by an armed group at very close range,” she said.
Vautrin added that Montorio was “picked up by his comrades under fire,” but they were unable to resuscitate him.
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, condemned the deadly attack in a statement shared by his office.
The speaker “praised the sacrifices made by UNIFIL forces over the decades, particularly the French contingent,” and contacted UNIFIL Force Commander General Diodato Abagnara to offer his condolences.
Three Indonesian peacekeepers were killed last month, with a preliminary UN investigation finding one was killed by Israeli tank fire, while the two others were killed by an improvised explosive device likely planted by Hezbollah.
Saturday’s incident comes less than two days after US President Donald Trump announced a 10-day ceasefire to end more than six weeks of war between Hezbollah and Israel.
Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East conflict on March 2 when Tehran-backed Hezbollah attacked Israel to avenge the death of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, with Israel responding by firing waves of strikes at Hezbollah targets and launching a ground offensive.
Senior Hezbollah official Mahmud Qamati said that his terror group was not concerned by Lebanon’s planned direct talks with Israel, labeling them a failure.
UNIFIL is stationed in southern Lebanon to monitor hostilities along the border. The mission, which will be halted at the end of 2026, has been sporadically caught in the crosshairs of both Israel and Hezbollah over the last few years.
Israel has long argued that the observer force has failed in its mission, doing little to block Hezbollah from building up its forces near the Israeli border over the decades.
And he will continue saying so until the moment when he once again releases the Hounds of War.
[IsraelTimes] Iranian security council says it will hold strait until ‘war fully ends’; Egypt’s FM says Cairo, Islamabad working on US-Iran ‘final agreement’; report: US to seize Iran-linked ships worldwide
US President Donald Trump ...The Hero of Butler, Pennsylvania... said Saturday Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... "got a little cute" by reimposing its closure on the Strait of Hormuz earlier in the day, but insisted that the White House is in touch with Tehran and that the dialogue is "working out really well."
Israel, however, is preparing for the possibility that the talks will collapse and the situation in the strait will escalate, a source told the Kan public broadcaster. In addition, US forces are preparing to begin boarding and seizing Iran-linked ships in international waters across the globe, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Iran said Saturday that "control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state ... under strict management and control of the armed forces," as long as the US blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect. Iran’s security council further said that the strait will remain in Iranian control until "the war fully ends and lasting peace is achieved in the region."
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said it had been presented with new American proposals during a recent visit by Pakistain’s army chief, who is serving as an intermediary with Washington. The council did not reveal what was in the proposals, but said that they were still under review.
Further talks would require the US to abandon "excessive demands and adjust its requests to the realities on the ground," it added.
Iran also fired on at least three tankers attempting to pass the waterway on Saturday, only a day after it announced that it was opening the strait in accordance with the ceasefire deal with the US.
Confusion over the critical chokepoint threatened to deepen the energy crisis roiling the global economy and push the two countries toward renewed conflict, even as mediators expressed confidence that a new deal was within reach. Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil passes through the strait and further limits would squeeze already constrained supply, driving prices higher once again.
Briefing news hounds in the White House, Trump downplayed the situation, insisting that dialogue with Iran was "working out really well" despite the closure of the strait.
"We’re talking to them," he said. "We’ll have some information by the end of the day."
Iran "got a little cute" in its decision to close the key waterway, he said. "They wanted to close up the strait again... they can’t blackmail us."
Hours earlier, Trump had cited "some pretty good news" about Iran, declining to elaborate. But he also said fighting might resume without a peace deal by Wednesday, when the two-week ceasefire expires.
Kan reported, citing an unnamed Israeli source, that Iran closed the strait completely. Though Israel assesses that the closure is a negotiating tactic, the report said, it has prompted fears that the negotiations could fall apart and conflict in the strait could escalate.
Amid the concerns of potential escalation, The New York Times
...which still proudly claims Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... reported on Saturday that US intelligence assessments have suggested that Iran likely still has access to around 70 percent of its pre-war ballistic missile stockpiles, around 60 percent of its missile launchers, and 40% of its drone arsenal.
Citing US intelligence and military officials, the Times reports that when a two-week ceasefire came into effect between Iran and the US on April 8, Tehran had access to around half of its ballistic missile launchers.
Since then, the report says it has managed to dig out another 100 launchers from under the ground, bringing the total of operational missile launchers to around 60% of the pre-war total.
Along with the launchers, the report says Iran is also working to dig out any missile stocks that became buried under the rubble of the US and Israeli strikes. Once complete, the US intelligence officials believe Tehran will have missile stockpiles amounting to around 70% of its pre-war stockpiles.
US SAID PREPARING TO BOARD IRAN-LINKED SHIPS ACROSS GLOBE
The US military is preparing in the coming days to board Iran‑linked oil tankers and seize fat merchantmen in international waters, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials.
According to the report, the US is expanding its blockade campaign to the entire globe and will target ships ferrying Iranian oil outside the Persian Gulf as well as vessels transporting weapons that could support the Islamic Theocratic RepublicThe US "will actively pursue any Iranian flagged vessel or any vessel attempting to provide material support to Iran," US Joint Chiefs chair Gen. Dan Caine said on Thursday at a presser. "This includes dark fleet vessels carrying Iranian oil."
He continued, "As most of you know, dark fleet vessels are those illicit or illegal ships evading international regulations, sanctions or insurance requirements. More than 10,000 sailors, Marines and airmen, over a dozen ships and dozens of aircraft are executing this mission."
Most of Iran’s oil exports are headed to China, according to the Journal. The US is also expanding its sanctions targeting Iran.
EGYPT, PAKISTAN TOUT WORK ON ’FINAL AGREEMENT’
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said Saturday that Egypt and Pakistain were working closely on a framework for a lasting peace between the US and Iran.
After meeting Friday with his Ottoman Turkish, Pak and Saudi counterparts at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...a NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... member, but not the most reliable... , Abdelatty said that the four countries were coordinating on a broader regional effort to prevent renewed escalation and lay the groundwork for a post-war security arrangement, stressing the importance of protecting Gulf states and stabilizing energy markets, supply chains and food security.
Egypt and Pakistain were working "very hard" as mediators to bring about "a final agreement between the United States and Iran," said Abdelatty.
"We hope to do so in the coming days," he said, noting that "not only [we] in the region, but the whole world is suffering from the continuation of this war.
"We are pushing very hard in order to move forward," he said.
Pakistain is expected to host the second round of talks between Iran and the United States early next week. Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the Antalya conference on Saturday, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said no date has been set for the next round of talks in Islamabad after the failure of the first round last week.
"Until we agree on the framework, we cannot set the date... There was significant progress made actually. But then the maximalist approach by the other side, trying to make Iran an exception from international law, prevented us to reach an agreement," he said, referring to US demands about Iran’s nuclear program.
"I have to be very crystal clear that Iran would not accept to be an exception from the international law. Anything that we are going to be committed [to] will be within the international regulations and international law," said Khatibzadeh.
Asked about reports that Iran had again closed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday after its temporary reopening following a separate US-brokered 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Leb ...The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. Only one of those statements is an exaggeration.... on Thursday, Khatibzadeh said Iran had announced it would allow the safe passage of commercial vessels in line with the terms of the truce.
"The other side, the American side, tried to sabotage that by saying that it is open except for Iranians. So that was the reason we said that ’if you are going to violate the ceasefire terms and conditions, if Americans are not going to honor their words, there will be repercussions for them,'" he said.
During the war that began on February 28, Iran fired missiles and drones across the region and imposed an effective blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, sparking a sharp rise in global energy prices. Israel and the US launched the bombing campaign in Iran in a bid to destabilize the regime and destroy its ballistic missile and nuclear programs.
Trump on April 8 announced a two-week ceasefire, subject to Iran’s reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The ceasefire is set to expire on Wednesday, with the US and Israel threatening a return to the fighting.
As part of the scramble to salvage the ceasefire, Pak Prime Miniser Shehbaz Sharif met at the Antalya conference with Ottoman Turkish President His Enormity, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important... and Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... i Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to discuss recent regional developments and ongoing diplomatic efforts. Sharif left for home on Saturday.
Pakistain’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, also concluded a visit to Tehran after meeting with senior Iranian leaders in an effort to ease tensions between Iran and the US, the Pak military said Saturday.
[IsraelTimes] Iran will “give priority” to vessels paying a toll to transit the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Iranian official tells CNN.
“Given the limitation on the number of vessels that will be allowed to pass,” the official tells the US outlet, “Iran has decided to give priority to those vessels that respond more quickly to the new Strait of Hormuz protocols and pay the costs of security and safety services.”
Those who do not pay will have their transit “postponed,” says the official.
Iran reimposed restrictions on passage through the strait on Saturday.
REPORTER: "On the Strait — are there going to be restrictions and tolls managed by Iran for ships and vessels passing through?"@POTUS: "Nope. No way... The restriction is you can't do the tolls. No, there's not gonna be tolls." pic.twitter.com/PaTpnFPOr2
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
...The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. Only one of those statements is an exaggeration....
