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Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Matan Zangauker’s mother says Edan Alexander provided sign of life from son
2025-05-17
[IsraelTimes] Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is held captive in Gaza, said Friday she had received proof from freed hostage Edan Alexander that her son is still alive in Gaza.

Alexander was freed from captivity on Monday as part of an agreement between the US and Hamas, to which Israel was not a party.

During an interview at a “Friday Culture” event, Zangauker said, “Matan is still alive. We received this information due to the return of Edan Alexander.”

But she said the good news may be for nothing if her son is eventually killed by the “military pressure implemented since Edan returned.”

According to Zangauker, “The military pressure killed hostages. The only way to bring back my Matan and all the hostages is with a complete agreement for the end of the war. [Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] is dragging us toward an endless political war.”
Petulant, pissy, loudmouthed, self-aggrandizing fool, who places her personal politics above the fate of her son and the nation. She endangers her son and all the other still-living hostages every time she opens her mouth.
Alexander, a US-Israeli IDF soldier kidnapped on October 7, 2023, was freed by Hamas after 584 days in captivity in what the terrorist organization said was a gesture toward the Trump administration.

He was released from Ichilov Medical Center in Tel Aviv on Friday after completing a medical checkup. Channel 12 reported earlier in the week that Alexander had returned with injuries sustained from torture at the hands of his captors, as well as flea bites.

Matan Zangauker, 24, was kidnapped on October 7, 2023, from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz alongside his girlfriend, Ilana Gritzewsky. Gritzewsky was released on November 30, 2023, as part of a temporary ceasefire deal brokered by Qatar and the United States between Hamas and Israel.

Zangauker’s mother, Einav, has become one of the most recognizable relatives of hostages. The former Netanyahu supporter has led protests and made media appearances in which she has repeatedly demanded a ceasefire-hostage deal and slammed the government and the prime minister.

When it was revealed that Hamas planned to release Alexander, Zangauker said she feared that would leave Matan alone in captivity.

“The two of them are in a dark tunnel without any other hostages. If Matan is left alone in the tunnel, Netanyahu is deciding to murder my boy; instead of releasing all of the hostages, he has become my private angel of death,” she said in a previous statement.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum
…they’ve done some good, supporting the families moved away from the Gaza border for the duration, after they were shamed into it. But mostly they have worked to overthrow Bibi’s conservative government — in the midst of a shooting war they continued the effort that has gone for the past quarter century whenever the conservatives controlled the Knesset — because they are offended that their beloved Labour Socialists are not still running things...
said on Friday that Israel was losing the “opportunity of the century” as it intensifies operations in the Gaza Strip, instead of reaching a deal to return hostages and joining diplomatic initiatives led by US President Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, the Tikva Forum, a hawkish organization of hostages’ families, said reports of widespread airstrikes in Gaza meant the war was heading in the “right direction,” and urged more military pressure they argued would secure the release of their loved ones.

“The justification for the military activity is solely for the release of all our abductees together, without selection and without stages,” the forum said, urging the complete defeat of Hamas.
Related:
Tikva Forum: 2025-02-16 Protesters in Tel Aviv slam PM: ‘A deal that’s not completed murders everyone’
Tikva Forum: 2025-02-13 Signs of life received in recent days for at least 10 hostages held in Gaza
Tikva Forum: 2025-01-02 Hostages families: Calls for 'unity' are an attempt to end the war
Related:
Einav Zangauker 03/02/2025 Weekly pro-hostage deal and anti-government rallies drew ‘thousands’ of Israelis Saturday night
Einav Zangauker 02/24/2025 At the weekly rally by the Bibi-hating selfish idiots: As truce’s first stage winds down, families of hostages plead for more releases
Einav Zangauker 02/16/2025 Al-Quds Brigades spokesman emphasises humane treatment of Zionists held in Gaza; Saturday’s Hamas and PIJ prisoners testify of isolation, torture, and starvation

Related:
Hostages and Missing Families Forum: 2025-05-04 Hamas publishes new propaganda video of hostage Maxim Herkin
Hostages and Missing Families Forum: 2025-04-20 Netanyahu: Won’t surrender to Hamas by ending war to get back hostages; can’t trick Hamas either
Hostages and Missing Families Forum: 2025-04-17 Defense minister: Aid will enter Gaza only once civilian mechanism built to bypass Hamas
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran’s IRGC chief tells Trump that country views him as ‘murderer’ of Soleimani
2025-05-16
[IsraelTimes] The top commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami, tells US President Donald Trump that the Iranian nation considers him the “murderer” of Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani.
That’s like trying to insult an American by calling him a cowboy. Total insult FAIL.
Soleimani was the commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force. He was killed in Iraq in a drone strike on January 3, 2020, ordered by Trump during his first term in office.

Trump had said earlier that the United States was getting very close to securing a nuclear deal with Tehran.
Link


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Hamas chiefs’ correspondence shows how Israel misjudged results of May 2021 clash - and the anti-Bibi protesters still do
2025-04-29
[IsraelTimes] Report reveals Haniyeh’s praise of ‘glorious victory,’ while Sinwar wrote he was close to destroying Israel; senior Hamas officials said tunnel network ‘not damaged at all’

Newly released Hamas
..always the voice of sweet reason...
documents found in 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...
show that Israel seriously misunderstood the impact of its 2021 operation in Gaza, which the terror group viewed as a victory that encouraged it to launch the October 7 massacre over two years later, Hebrew media reported.

At the time, Operation Guardian of the Walls was painted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an "extraordinary success," and he vowed to implement a much tougher stance against the terror group’s rocket fire.

But Channel 12 news on Saturday revealed letters exchanged by Hamas’s then-Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar and the terror group’s leader at the time, Ismail Haniyeh
...became Prime Minister of Gaza after the legislative elections of 2006 which Hamas won. President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh from office on 14 June 2007 at the height of the Fatah-Hamas festivities, but Haniyeh did not acknowledge the decree and continued as the PM of Gazoo while Abbas maintained a separate PM in the West Bank. Zapped during the 2023-24 war, to eveyone's satisfaction...
, showing that the two men considered the 11-day conflict a defeat for Israel.

Sinwar advocated the strategy of proposing a long-term ceasefire, or hudna, with Israel, as a way of either isolating it from the international community or creating division within Israeli society.

Both leaders have since been killed — Haniyeh in a covert operation in 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 Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
in July 2024, and Sinwar by IDF troops in Gaza later that year.

"It is likely that this move, which would be acceptable to most countries in the world, would not be acceptable to the occupation [Israel] and would therefore increase their isolation and disconnection from them. If the occupation decides to go in this direction [of a hudna], it would tear it apart from within and lead to internal division and civil war," the letter by Sinwar reportedly said.

Haniyeh, in response, congratulated Sinwar on his "clear victory" in the fighting.

"The flag of the Al Qassam movement is waved all over the world, and millions cheer to the dear chief of staff of the resistance, Muhammad Deif, who won a divine and glorious victory," Haniyeh wrote, referencing the Hamas military wing chief, who was also killed by Israel in July 2024.

Sinwar responded on May 30, 2021: "Praise be to God who granted us victory, humiliated the enemy’s leadership. We are close to destroying their country."

Throughout those 11 days in May 2021, Hamas and Paleostinian Islamic Jihad
...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah...
fired over 4,000 rockets and mortar shells at Israel. A dozen non-combatants were killed in Israel during the fighting, along with one soldier. Over 250 Paleostinians were killed, roughly half of whom the IDF claimed were combatants.

It has previously been reported that from that point until October 7, 2023, Hamas carried out a years-long campaign of deception to convince Israel it was not really interested in war.

Additionally, while Netanyahu claimed in the wake of the 11-day operation that the Israel Defense Forces had destroyed "a considerable portion" of Hamas’s internal tunnel routes — its "metro" — senior Hamas officials said otherwise in a meeting with then-Hezbollah leader His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
...The late, lamented satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb...>
and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force Commander Esmail Qaani, Channel 12 reported.

"’The ’metro’ was not damaged at all, and only the offensive tunnel network was slightly damaged and will be repaired soon," the Hamas officials said during the meeting in Beirut on July 26, 2021, according to the report.

Months after the war began, senior defense officials told The New York Times

...which still proudly claims Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize...

that Hamas’s tunnel network was far more extensive than they had initially believed.

Israel believed Hamas had been deterred from starting a war until October 7, 2023, when Lions of Islam burst across the Gaza border, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages to the Strip.

Israel then launched a massive air and ground operation in Gaza, vowing to bring home all the hostages and dismantle Hamas’s rule over Gaza.
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Hezbollah missile warehouse in southern Beirut airstruck following Israeli warning
2025-04-28
[GEO.TV] A building in southern Beirut was struck on Sunday, Reuters live footage showed, almost an hour after the Israeli army issued an evacuation order to residents of the area.
Hodhod Yemen News adds:
Israeli drones initially launched three strikes on the structure, which had been used by local residents for Ashura processions.

IDF strikes Hezbollah missile warehouse in Beirut, kills operative in south Lebanon
[IsraelTimes] Military issues evacuation alert, fires warning shots before hitting storage site — no casualties reported; Lebanon condemns strike, appeals to the US and France for protection

The Israeli military struck what it said was a Hezbollah precision missiles warehouse in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday, after killing one of the Iran-backed terror group’s operatives in a dronezap in southern Leb
...home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade....
earlier in the day.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in the Beirut-area strike, which came after after the military warned residents to evacuate.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement that missiles stored in the Lebanese capital "posed a significant threat to Israel."

"Israel will not allow Hezbollah to grow stronger and pose any threat to it — anywhere in Lebanon," the two men said.

They stressed that Israel will not allow Beirut’s southern suburbs — historically a Hezbollah stronghold — to serve as a sanctuary for the terror group.

"The Lebanese government bears direct responsibility for preventing these threats," they warned.

Shortly thereafter, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement: "The storage of missiles in this infrastructure site constitutes a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon, and poses a threat to the State of Israel and its civilians."

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the strike in Beirut, in a statement issued on his behalf.

He called on "the United States and La Belle France, as guarantors of the ceasefire agreement, to assume their responsibilities and compel Israel to halt its attacks immediately."

He also alleged that Israel was attempting to destabilize his country and warned that it would intensify tensions in the region.

It was only the third time that the IDF has carried out an attack in the Beirut area since a ceasefire in Lebanon went into effect in November 2024.

The previous attacks took place on March 28, when Israel also issued a warning after two rockets were fired from Lebanon at northern Israel, and on April 1, when an unannounced strike killed four people, including Hassan Bdair, a member of Hezbollah’s Unit 3900 and of the elite Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

In a post to X earlier Sunday, the IDF’s Arabic-language front man, Col. Avichay Adraee, published a map showing the location of the building, and called on civilians to evacuate at least 300 meters (984 feet) from it for their safety.

"To everyone present in the building marked in red as shown on the map and the buildings adjacent to it: You are present near facilities belonging to Hezbollah," he said.

According to Lebanese media, several small warning strikes were carried out in the area before fighter jets dropped heavier munitions to destroy the structure.

IDF DRONE KILLS HEZBOLLAH OPERATIVE IN SOUTHERN LEBANON
Earlier Sunday, the IDF killed a Hezbollah operative in a dronezap in southern Lebanon’s Halta, the military said.

The operative was involved in Hezbollah’s attempts to regroup and rearm, according to the IDF.

The military published footage of the strike.

Lebanon’s health ministry confirmed that an Israeli dronezap had killed one person. Local media said the man was killed while working on his chicken farm.

The November 2024 ceasefire largely ended more than a year of fighting, including some two months of open war, between Hezbollah and Israel.

The fighting started when the Iran-backed terror group opened fire on October 8, 2023, shooting rockets and drones at the Jewish state in support of Hamas
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
, which had attacked Israel from 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 in a shock invasion the previous day.

The ceasefire allows Israel to strike immediate threats, however, and near-daily strikes against Hezbollah operatives and their allies have continued.
Link


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Al-Qassam Brigades: We will fight till either victory or martyrdom
2025-04-26
Martyrdom it is, then. Or rather, more martyrdom. Y’all have a large collection of martyrs already — some number well over 20,000.
[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] Spokesman for al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
Resistance® Movement, stressed on Friday that the Paleostinian resistance fighters are still ambushing an attacking the enemy troops across 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...

The feats of our fighters from Beit Hanoun to Rafah are a source of pride, a military miracle, and a call up for the Umma's youths and forces, Abu Obeida said in a statement .

He added: ''Our fighters in the combat zones and defensive ambushes are ready for confrontation and have pledged to remain steadfast until victory or martyrdom.''

The Paleostinian resistance intensified its attacks on the Israeli occupation forces across Gaza Strip, inflicting more losses upon them.

In this context, al-Qassam Brigades announced that its fighters managed to snipe four Zionist occupation soldiers in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza, leaving them dead or injured.

Israeli media outlets reported casualties among a special Army force in Rafah, South of Gaza, adding that 4 injured soldiers, including 3 seriously, have been evacuated.

The Zionist media also indicated that the deputy commander of a company was injured in an anti-armor fire in Rafah.

Meanwhile,
...back at the palazzo, Count Guido had escaped from his bonds and overwhelmed his guard using the bludgeon the faithful Filomena had smuggled to him in the loaf of bread...
al-Quds Brigades also announced bombarding the Zionist enemy forces and vehicles stationed in al-Muntar Hill, east of Gaza City, with mortar shells.
Related:
Al-Qassam Brigades: 2025-04-24 Hamas armed wing releases video showing Israeli hostage alive
Al-Qassam Brigades: 2025-04-21 Hamas said to recruit 30,000 Gaza youths into its military wing
Al-Qassam Brigades: 2025-04-16 Hamas said to reject Israeli proposal that it disarm as part of 6-week ceasefire, claims can’t find Israeli-American hostage
Related:
Beit Hanoun: 2025-04-25 Israeli soldier killed, three wounded during fighting in northern Gaza
Beit Hanoun: 2025-04-23 Weekend Hamas ambush lays bare vulnerability of Israeli-held Gaza buffer zone
Beit Hanoun: 2025-04-22 Four killed in overnight Israeli bombardment on Gaza camp
Related:
Rafah: 2025-04-23 Weekend Hamas ambush lays bare vulnerability of Israeli-held Gaza buffer zone
Rafah: 2025-04-23 Israel expands offensive in Gaza, strikes kill and injure civilians
Rafah: 2025-04-22 Islamic Jihad terrorist who took part in October 7 assault killed in strike, IDF says
Related:
Abu Obeida 04/20/2025 Abu Obeida: Body of martyr tasked with guarding Edan Alexander retrieved
Abu Obeida 04/16/2025 Hamas said to reject Israeli proposal that it disarm as part of 6-week ceasefire, claims can’t find Israeli-American hostage
Abu Obeida 04/05/2025 Hamas: We won’t move hostages from areas being targeted by IDF; Israel is responsible for their lives

Link


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israel’s new unmanned bulldozers ‘changing the paradigm’ of war in Gaza
2025-04-21
;Go on, Besoeker — you know you want to do, and nobody does it better.[IsraelTimes] The Robdozer, the robotic version of the D9 bulldozer, has begun limited deployment in the IDF’s operations against Hamas; ‘This is the future,’ says one military expert

At first glance, there is nothing unusual about the bulky bulldozer turning up soil at a testing site in central Israel, but as it pulled closer it became clear: the driver’s cabin is eerily empty.

This is the Robdozer, a fortified engineering vehicle manned remotely, and in this case operated from a military expo halfway across the globe in Alabama.

Army engineers and military experts say that the Robdozer — the robotic version of Caterpillar’s D9 bulldozer — is the future of automated combat.

The Israeli military has used D9 for years to carry out frontline tasks like troweling roads for advancing troops, removing rubble and flattening terrain, but since war in Gaza broke out in October 2023, and later in Lebanon, the Israeli military has increasingly deployed this robotic version in a bid to enhance its field operations and reduce the risks to its troops.

“The idea is to eliminate the person from the cockpit of the dozer,” said Rani, whose team at the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries developed the Robdozer.

During the Gaza war, the military has increasingly opted for the unmanned version, which can carry out a full range of tasks “even better than a human,” said Rani, using his first name only for security reasons.

While such vehicles and other systems are currently operated by humans, future versions could be autonomous, raising ethical and legal concerns over the unchartered future of warfare being shaped by the Israeli military in the Gaza war.

‘CHANGING THE PARADIGM’
Israel’s increasing use of advanced technology on the battlefield, from air defense systems to a broad range of AI-driven intelligence tools, has been well-documented but also criticized for inaccuracies, lack of human oversight and potential violations of international law.

Analysts say the growing Israeli deployment of the Robdozer reflects broader global trends toward automation in heavy combat vehicles, like remote-controlled personnel carriers that operate much like drones.

An Israeli military official, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, told AFP that the army has been using “robotic tools for over a decade, but in very small numbers. Now it is being used in large-scale warfare.”

Troops can now operate machinery without having to enter enemy territory, said the official.

Andrew Fox, a retired British army major and a research fellow at the London-based Henry Jackson Society, said the Israeli military was likely the first force to use remote-controlled combat machinery in an active war zone.

“It’s a really big development” that is “changing the paradigm” of warfare, carrying out tasks as effectively but at a far reduced risk to personnel, he said.

A NEW ERA OF WAR
“This is the future,” said John Spencer, chair of urban warfare studies at the US military’s Modern War Institute at West Point.

Many “have been experimenting with it, but nobody has seen direct deployment into active modern combat,” he added. “It is very unique.”

But beyond ethical and legal drawbacks to such advanced technology, there is also the need for an overriding human presence to make decisions particularly in unusual situations.

The October 7, 2023, attack — when some Hamas terrorists breached the high-security border to invade southern Israel, where it killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, starting the Gaza war — was a disastrous example for that, said Tal Mimran of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

“I think that October 7 showed us that you can build a wall that may cost $1 billion, but if you do not patrol the border, then someone will infiltrate your country,” said Mimran, a lecturer and researcher of international law who has been closely following the Israeli military’s technological developments.

“We must take note of the opportunities and of the risks of technology,” he said. “This is the era in which artificial intelligence is exploding into our lives, and it is only natural that it will also have a manifestation in the security field.”
Related:
D9 bulldozer  03/30/2025 26 Palestinians killed, 70 others injured in Israeli attacks in Gaza in 24 hours as IDF expands ground op into Rafah
D9 bulldozer  06/28/2024 Soldier killed, 16 injured by roadside bombs during operation in West Bank’s Jenin
D9 bulldozer  02/24/2024 Al-Quds Brigades ambush Zionist forces in central Khan Yunis

Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
After blows to proxies, Iran advances space program with Russian assistance
2025-04-21
[IsraelTimes] Islamic Republic said to build 54-square-mile complex with spaceport at Chabahar; experts say space technology could enhance Tehran’s long-range missile capabilities

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 Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
is reportedly building a major spaceport as part of an effort to maintain its regional prowess following major blows to its proxies across the Middle East.

Bloomberg detailed the Islamic Theocratic Republic’s plans to build the facility, likened to Florida’s Cape Canaveral, in Chabahar, a launch site close to the equator, making it more efficient for launches.

The site, which was supposed to open last year, will contain a 54-square-mile complex, allowing Iran to launch powerful spacecraft into orbit, the Friday report said.

The program has reportedly raised concerns among Western nations — particularly the US and Israel — that Iranian space technology could be used to advance the country’s intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capabilities.

"Iran’s work on space-launch vehicles — including its two-stage, liquid-fueled Simorgh satellite carrier rocket — likely shortens the timeline to produce an ICBM due to the similarities in technology," General Anthony Cotton, commander of US Strategic Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee last month.

One of the program’s reported aims is to send to space 20 internet satellites named after Qassem Soleimani
, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force commander killed by a US drone in 2020.

With more satellites, Iran could better guide its long-range weapons, according to the report. John Sheldon, an Abu Dhabi-based founding partner at AstroAnalytica, a space consulting firm, was quoted as saying the Iranians "could become much more precise in their targeting and have quicker reaction times to launch their own ballistic missile forces to hit targets much more precisely."

The report did not provide precise figures regarding the costs of the program, though a senior Iranian official reportedly said last November that approximately $11 million would be provided to Iran’s space agency, despite the sanctions that have crippled the Iranian economy.

According to the report, the program is also being supported by Iran’s strategic relationship with Russia, as both countries face sanctions from the West. Russian President Vladimir Putin
...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances...
and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a 20-year strategic pact in January.

"What Russia definitely has is the expertise," Juliana Suess, a researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, was quoted as saying. "That’s something that Iran is after."

In October, two Iranian-made satellites were sent into orbit from Russia. Iranian drones have also been used throughout Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The advancement of the program has led the UK and the EU to sanction Brigadier General Ali Jafarabadi, who leads the IRGC’s space division. The UK has also sanctioned the Iranian Space Agency.

"Our enemies constantly try to prevent us from standing on our own feet, but this has driven us to achieve scientific and technological advancements," Pezeshkian said of the program in February.

Matthew Schmidt, an associate professor of national security and political science at the University of New Haven, told Bloomberg that the Iranian space program’s advancements are motivated by the blows the country’s proxies were recently dealt in Leb
...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel...
and Syria.

"Iran has a need now, especially after the losses of its proxy power to Israel, to reestablish some kind of pathway to do power projection," he said. "They see space technology and aeronautical technology as a place to do it."

Iran has not explicitly said whether the program is intended for military purposes, claiming that its goal is to achieve the same technological capabilities as Western countries.

However,
those who apply themselves too closely to little things often become incapable of great things...
Iran has called for the destruction of Israel for decades and launched barrages of long-range missiles at its adversary twice in the past year.

The Islamic Theocratic Republic recently began negotiations with the US on its nuclear program, aiming to reach a deal that will ease sanctions. It is unclear whether the Omani-mediated talks are making headway.

Iran claims that its nuclear program is intended only for civilian purposes, but it nevertheless has enriched uranium to levels that are only necessary for developing an atomic bomb.
Link


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Gaza doctor’s post lays bare terror groups’ infiltration of enclave’s hospitals
2025-04-19
[IsraelTimes] Medical official sparks controversy online after speaking out against terrorists’ attempts to use Khan Younis’s Nasser Hospital, revealing that he has been ‘openly threatened’

Mohammed Sakar, head of the nursing department at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, published a very unusual post on his Facebook account last week.

In his post, the doctor, who also serves as a spokesperson for the hospital, hinted that he had been threatened by Palestinian Islamic Jihad due to his refusal to let the terror group’s operatives enter and use the hospital.

“As head of the department, I exerted all efforts to reopen the hospital and I succeeded… in serving the wounded,” Sakar wrote. “I made sure that the hospital wards were used only for patients, and not for displaced persons… In this way, I managed to keep the hospital safe and avoid threats of closure.”

Now, he revealed, “I’m being openly threatened, even though I explained to those who came to my office that all the steps I took were to protect the hospital,” he continued. “God will not forgive you.”

The post included a photo of a note Sakar had apparently received that read: “Dear one, you have crossed the line, take heed! – Saraya al-Quds,” referring to the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group.

The post was deleted a few days after it was published, and since then, Sakar has not posted again on Facebook or appeared in the media.

Sakar’s public disclosure was a rare instance of a medical professional in Gaza addressing attempts by terror groups to infiltrate hospitals. By numerous accounts, these efforts are commonplace in most hospitals in the Strip.

Throughout the war, Israel has repeatedly sent troops into hospitals to root out terror infrastructure and gunmen. It has also offered evidence of the facilities’ regular use by terror groups as bases of operations due to their protected status. But little testimony has come willingly from Gazans themselves.

The Times of Israel connected with another doctor at Nasser Hospital who wished to remain anonymous due to safety concerns. He refused to say if he had also been threatened, due to the subject’s sensitivity. He only said: “Regarding threats, these are things that the hospital’s management should deal with. We, the medical teams, are not involved in politics.”

Sakar’s public post sparked online reactions from Gaza residents. Mustafa Asfour, a Gaza City resident who was previously detained by Hamas and claims his brother was beaten by Hamas members after criticizing them on social media during the war, wrote on his X account: “Dr. Mohammed Sakar received threats from mercenaries belonging to Islamic Jihad because of his opposition to armed men inside the hospital. Every mercenary organization has thieves around it, and it wants to take the land into its own hands and play with people’s lives as it pleases.”

Another Gaza City resident, writing on X under the name Abu Malek al-Azzi, said: “The head of nursing at Nasser Hospital is receiving threats from spies and the impure offspring of [former Iranian Supreme Leader Ruhollah] Khomeini… People and the Sakar family must shoot anyone who attacks their son.”

In the days following the publication of Sakar’s post, another incident suggested tensions in Gaza hospitals tied to Hamas’s attempts to utilize them. At the beginning of the week, rumors spread online that the Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis, run by the Red Crescent Society, had closed its doors and that doctors were on strike in protest of attempts by Hamas operatives to enter the hospital. Photos were shared showing the hospital shuttered and empty of patients. However, the next day, the Red Crescent in Gaza denied that the hospital had closed.

Such incidents come amid growing internal criticism of Hamas in Gaza during the renewed war and Israel’s prevention of humanitarian aid from entering the Strip, which has severely impacted Gaza’s population.

EVIDENCE OF DUAL USE
Over the past year and a half, the Israeli military has conducted ground raids on the vast majority of hospitals in the Gaza Strip, in some cases more than once. According to the IDF, battles took place in many of the hospitals, and following the raids, hundreds of individuals were detained on hospital grounds. Ammunition and weapons were also discovered inside the hospitals, and detainees reportedly testified during interrogations that the hospitals had been used as shelters by terrorist organizations.

In April 2024, the IDF said it conducted a raid on the Shifa Hospital, during which it said it killed 200 terror operatives and arrested another 500. Among those killed and detained were top commanders in Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Valuable intelligence was also seized, the IDF said at the time.

The IDF launched in December 2024 an operation at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza after identifying that Hamas operatives had returned to the area. Later, the IDF released interrogation footage of a Hamas operative detained by troops at Kamal Adwan, in which he said the terror group used the medical center as a shelter.

Last month, Israel struck a surgical wing of Nasser Hospital and killed two people, one of whom was senior Hamas figure Ismail Barhoum. According to the IDF, Barhoum was appointed as Hamas’s prime minister in the Strip after his predecessor, Issam al-Da’alis, was killed on March 18 during the surprise Israeli attack that ended the ceasefire.

On April 7, 2025, Israel struck a nearby communications compound, injuring Hassan Asleh, a journalist close to Hamas who had documented the October 7 attack. Palestinian media reported that other journalists were killed. The compound, adjacent to the hospital, has existed since the beginning of the war and has been regularly used by journalists in Gaza.

Released hostages have also testified that they were held in hospitals at certain points.

MORE THAN 30 HOSPITALS FOR 2 MILLION PEOPLE
According to UN reports, before the war began, following Hamas’s October 7 surprise attack, there were around 35 hospitals in Gaza. However, this number is not fixed and tends to fluctuate, due to the existence of small medical clinics, some of which are counted as hospitals.

Currently, according to sources familiar with the humanitarian situation in Gaza who spoke to The Times of Israel, 14 government hospitals are operating under Hamas control in the Strip, in addition to 14 field hospitals established during the war with international funding from humanitarian organizations and Arab states. Many hospitals were damaged and closed during the war.

This represents a relatively high number of hospitals per capita for a population of 2 million. In comparison, Israel, with a population of approximately 9.9 million, has about 20 general hospitals and a few additional hospitals without emergency departments.

The large number of hospitals in Gaza is due to donations from countries and non-profit organizations that established many of them, and the absence of a modern administrative body that will push to unite the hospitals into larger medical centers. Nonetheless, the current situation has allowed terrorist organizations to operate within many of these sites.

MOUNTING PRESSURE
Despite all this, hospitals in Gaza continue to function as medical centers, staffed by doctors, nurses and medical personnel throughout the war, according to numerous reports and testimonies, some from foreign medical staff.

According to the Israeli humanitarian organization Doctors for Human Rights, hundreds of Gaza medical staff — doctors, nurses and other hospital workers — have been arrested over the past year and a half, about 150 of whom are still held in Israel. Dr. Iyad al-Bursh, who spoke with The Times of Israel, was arrested during IDF operations at Shifa Hospital last year and was held in Israel for 10 months before being released without charges. He says he does not know why he was arrested.

Al-Bursh told The Times of Israel that there is a severe shortage of medicine due to Israel’s decision not to allow humanitarian aid into the Strip beginning in early March, and that the situation in northern Gaza is even worse. Additionally, bombings and raids have caused hospitals in Gaza to either shut down or function only partially. Shifa Hospital itself was largely destroyed in a military raid against terror operatives during the war and, according to al-Bursh, is currently operating on a very limited scale.

Al-Bursh asserted to The Times of Israel that he has not received any threats from any entity during his work at Shifa. “The medical establishment in Gaza cares for the doctors and medical staff and overcomes obstacles,” he said, referring to the civil infrastructure in Gaza controlled by Hamas.



Related:
Nasser Hospital: 2025-04-16 IDF kills Hamas’s Shejaiya Battalion chief, a week after eliminating his predecessor
Nasser Hospital: 2025-04-08 Airstrike targets, injures Gaza photographer who entered Israel with terrorists on Oct. 7
Nasser Hospital: 2025-03-31 Hamas sniper Bakr Suleiman al-Dirawi ELIMINATED, 20 Paleos airstruck in Gaza as Eid begins
Related:
Khan Younis: 2025-04-17 ‘No to terror, yes to peace’: New anti-Hamas protest breaks out in northern Gaza
Khan Younis: 2025-04-17 IDF says holding off on bid to crush Hamas; current op aimed at coaxing it into deal
Khan Younis: 2025-04-16 IDF kills Hamas’s Shejaiya Battalion chief, a week after eliminating his predecessor
Link


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
AP doubted reliability of Hamas-linked reporter years before Oct. 7, documents show
2025-04-11
[IsraelTimes] Internal communications released in lawsuit show newsroom was informed of freelancer’s work for pro-terror media in 2018, but continued to employ him

The News Agency that Dare Not be Named was told that a photographer it employed in 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...
was connected to Hamas
..one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,...
in 2018 and doubted his reliability, years before the news agency cut ties with the freelancer due to controversy about his work during the October 2023 invasion of Israel, according to documents released in a US lawsuit on Tuesday.

The AP has pushed back against the claims, calling the lawsuit "baseless," saying the correspondence between its staff was mischaracterized, and highlighting that the news agency stopped accepting the photographer’s work shortly into the war. The photographer, Hassan Eslaiah, was targeted and maimed in an Israeli Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
this week, with the IDF saying he was a Hamas member.

Eslaiah entered Israel during the October 7, 2023, massacre, photographing Gazooks, some of them armed, as they stormed Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of the hardest-hit communities that day. He also took a picture of Gazooks atop a burning tank next to the destroyed Gaza border fence. A video and photos from the scene showed him next to the tank, though no press credentials could be seen on him.

After the attack, pro-Israel advocates suggested that Eslaiah and other photographers working for the international media had had foreknowledge of the Hamas invasion, without providing evidence, causing huge controversy. An image also surfaced showing Eslaiah embracing the late Hamas terror chief Yahya Sinwar in 2020. The AP denied that the photographers knew about the attack ahead of time, but said it was cutting ties with Eslaiah in November 2023. Eslaiah’s pictures from October 7 were removed from the AP’s distribution feed, though other photographs remain.

In February 2024, a number of survivors of the Hamas attack and the families of victims sued the AP in a US federal court in Florida, accusing the agency of being complicit in the invasion by working with freelancers embedded with terrorists, including Eslaiah. They are being represented by the National Jewish Advocacy Center, which charged the AP with "funding and substantially supporting a terrorist organization" by purchasing images from the October 7 attack.

"AP has long been on notice of their freelancer’s Hamas connections, and chose to ignore those connections," the lawsuit said. "AP knew, or at the very least should have known, through simple due diligence, that the people they were paying were longstanding Hamas affiliates, propagandists, and full participants in the terrorist attack that they were also documenting." The lawsuit argued that Eslaiah’s connections to Hamas granted him access to photograph the invasion and other Hamas operations.

After the lawsuit was filed, AP called the case "baseless" and said that none of its freelancers had foreknowledge of the attack.

Filings in the lawsuit released on Tuesday showed that AP staff had been informed of Eslaiah’s Hamas ties in 2018, though, and worried about his reliability.

The two sides waged a legal battle over the release of the documents. Lawyers for the AP opposed their release, saying the materials were confidential, but a judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, allowing for the redacted documents’ public release this week.

In 2018, the pro-Israel media watchdog CAMERA questioned the AP about an article on the shooting of a boy in Gaza. The shooting was attributed to Israel, using Eslaiah’s reporting to corroborate the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry claims and describing Eslaiah as a "local journalist." CAMERA’s Israel director, Tamar Sternthal, asked the AP staff which outlets Eslaiah worked for, the emails showed.

"I don’t know. I’ll check. I was told he is independent and reliable and not Hamas," an AP staffer said in response. The AP email addresses in the documents were redacted.

Sternthal responded with information about Eslaiah, including a link to the Electronic Intifada website, saying that Eslaiah was a camera operator with the Hamas-affiliated Quds TV. CAMERA also reviewed Eslaiah’s social media and said that he openly identified with Hamas’s politics, praised terrorism, backed the murder of Israelis and made anti-Jewish statements.

"They have sent an entire file on the journalist we quoted, saying he is from Hamas media. Is this stuff accurate? I thought you said he is independent," one of the AP staffers said in the internal email chain.

"The most important thing to me is that our reporting is accurate. Hassan is a freelancer, he is active on several platforms and mostly quotes, shares or reposts stuff from different sources," another staffer said in response, indicating the AP was aware of Hassan’s posts.

"Frankly speaking, many local journalists here don’t pay attention to their language," they said.

"We shouldn’t describe someone from al-Quds as being an independent journalist," another staffer said, adding that the news agency should seek another corroboration for their report. "I just want to shut them up once and for all," they said of CAMERA.

"I still think we need to be careful. [Redacted] describes this guy as independent and reliable. I’m not sure he is either," another email said.

CAMERA previously said it had informed the AP about Eslaiah’s Hamas links, but the documents released this week were the first view of the newsroom’s internal response, including the fact that staff doubted Eslaiah’s reliability.

The documents released this week also showed a text message chain from December 2023, after the controversy over Eslaiah’s photographs of the October 7 attack. The messages, from a WhatsApp chat, show AP staff discussing Gaza freelancers. The names and numbers are redacted.

In the conversation, the AP staff, under apparent stress, debated their use of Gaza photographers. The messages were marked with timestamps indicating they were sent in Israel.

"Until this Oct. 7 issue has been resolved we should not be using any images from" Eslaiah and three other photographers, one message said.

"We cannot use him until this blows over. We just can’t. However much we may think this report is bullshit, this has gone ballistic," another message said. It was unclear which specific photographer the message referred to.

Another staffer resisted cutting ties with the photographers, saying, "Publicly parting ways with one of the stringers is a bad call."

"His social media is a mess, we really didn’t have a choice. It’s a good lesson for all of us. Be careful what you post or repost. It will come back and bite you," a response said.

The AP staff also discussed a report in French media. In that report, Eslaiah said the AP had told him to go to the border on October 7, according to the court filings. Two AP staffers in the text discussion said the claim was not true.

CAMERA had previously shared Eslaiah’s social media posts from October 7. Eslaiah celebrated the Hamas attack, calling it a "beautiful thing," described forces of Evil as "warriors" and rockets as "resistance," and called the victims "settlers."

David Litman, a senior analyst at CAMERA, said, "The internal AP emails show that at least one AP official was alarmed enough by CAMERA’s evidence to question Eslaiah’s ’independence’ and ’reliability.'"

"That the AP would still turn to Eslaiah five years later without informing its audience of Eslaiah’s terrorist affiliation raises serious concerns about the agency’s judgment and credibility," Litman said.

"He effectively participated in the October 7 attack, although he may not have pulled any triggers, and the News Agency that Dare Not be Named all along has been suggesting that this is somebody who just happened to be there," said Etan Mark, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs. "The News Agency that Dare Not be Named knew before October 7th that this guy was likely a terrorist, but nonetheless continued to pay him."

The AP downplayed the messages in a statement to The Times of Israel on Thursday. It said claims that the documents showed staff were aware of Eslaiah’s Hamas support, and that AP staff doubted his independence and reliability, were a "mischaracterization."

"The email exchange is a complaint over Eslaiah being quoted in a brief story. The information attributed to him was confirmed to be accurate," an AP spokesperson said. "The text messages show a couple of journalists discussing being told to stop purchasing photos from certain freelancers, and their concerns over the impact on the ability to cover major breaking news as a result.

"It’s worth noting that AP stopped accepting photos from Eslaiah a year and a half ago," the spokesperson said. "AP publishes 5,000 stories every day. When we receive complaints like this one about a witness quoted in an article, we look into them, as we did here. This email exchange shows part of our due diligence. Importantly, we did not confirm that Eslaiah worked for al-Quds."

The lawsuit against AP included a timeline of Eslaiah’s coverage on October 7. The case said that 30 minutes before the Hamas attack began, at 5:59 a.m., Eslaiah posted on Telegram, "We wake up to the great gifts of God. The spirit has returned, and our blessings have increased."

Eslaiah began covering the Hamas rocket barrage that preceded the ground assault within half an hour, was inside Israel by 8:29 a.m., and posted a verse from the Koran that said, "And on that day, the believers will rejoice in the victory of Allah," with the hashtag "#AqsaFlood," Hamas’s name for the attack.

During the attack, Eslaiah posted a video bearing his watermark showing a room full of bloodied dead bodies. The video is still visible on Eslaiah’s Telegram channel. A voice in the video, believed to be Eslaiah’s, said, "God is great. This is the path to Jerusalem," according to the lawsuit.

Israeli officials also accused Eslaiah of working for Hamas after an Israeli airstrike maimed him on Monday. According to the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security service, Eslaiah was a member of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade and was operating "under the guise of a journalist and owner of a press company." AP’s coverage of the airstrike described Eslaiah as a freelance journalist.

The AP and Rooters were also sued in an Israeli court for their use of photographers on October 7. Rooters stopped distributing Eslaiah’s photos in recent weeks, and described Eslaiah as a "well-known Paleostinian journalist" in coverage of this week’s airstrike.

Israel advocates have long accused the international press of cozying up to Hamas in Gaza, concealing freelancers’ links to the terror group, and employing biased journalists in the territory.
Link


Iraq
Iran sends new missiles to Iraqi proxies that were said to be disarming – report
2025-04-10
[IsraelTimes] Delivery, days before nuclear talks with US, reportedly includes missiles that can reach Europe, in apparent bid to reassure what remains of ‘Axis of Resistance’

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 Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
has transferred new long-range missiles to proxy groups in Iraq over the past week, defying hopes that the anti-American militias would disarm amid concern of an escalation with US President Donald Trump
...Oh, noze! Not him!...
, according to a Tuesday report, amid preparations for high-level US-Iran nuclear talks in Oman Saturday.

The deliveries from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ air force include surface-to-surface missiles that could reach as far as Europe, as well as shorter-range Quds 351 cruise and Jamal 69 ballistic missiles, The Times of London reported, citing regional intelligence sources involved in monitoring the Iran-Iraq border.

A source cited by The Times said the new long-range models had never before been given to Iraq’s separatist pro-Iranian militias, which last year killed US and IDF troops in dronezaps on military bases in the region.

"It’s a desperate move by the Iranians, risking the stability of Iraq," said the source.

The report came after Rooters reported on Monday that several powerful Iran-backed militias in Iraq had agreed to disarm for the first time to avert the threat of an escalating conflict with the Trump administration.

Arab media later cited an Iraqi political source as saying that the gangs had refused to disarm. A regional diplomatic source quoted by The Times said "the efforts seen in the last 48 hours to create a picture that the militias are disarming is a ruse."

The diplomatic source said the militias were "concerned about internal Iraqi opposition" that was wary of playing host to an Iran-backed state-within-a-state in the mold of Leb
...The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else?...
’s Hezbollah.

"There are discussions in Iraq, among politicians but also in the public sphere on social media, against importing Iran’s problems to their home turf," said the source. "They look at Lebanon and are actively trying to avoid that."

Analysts cited by The Times said Iran’s missile deliveries to allied groups in Iraq were part of Tehran’s effort to reassure what remains of its crumbling network of regional proxies after Israel’s wars against Hamas
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
and Hezbollah and the ouster in December of Syria’s Iran-backed president, Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Despoiler of Deraa...
Unprovoked, Hezbollah began launching near-daily attacks on northern Israel on October 8, 2023 — a day after fellow Iran-backed group Hamas stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in 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...
More distant segments of Iran’s so-called Axis of Resistance®, including Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
’s Iran's Houthi sock puppets
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him...
rebels and pro-Iranian militias in Syria and Iraq, have also attacked Israel with missiles and drones.

Amid the conflict, Iran itself has fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel on two occasions last year, in the Islamic Theocratic Republic’s first-ever direct attacks on Israel. The attacks triggered Israeli responses that reportedly degraded Tehran’s air defenses and missile production capabilities, eliciting fear in Iran of a US-Israeli strike against its nuclear program.

While most of the attacks from Iraqi pro-Iranian groups have been largely ineffective, two soldiers were killed and 24 others maimed when an Iraqi drone hit their Golan Heights base in October.

The Iran-backed groups reportedly agreed to stop attacking Israel in December at the urging of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudan
...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans...
i, as they waited to see how Trump would approach the region upon taking office in January.

The groups had also attacked US forces in the region, killing three US soldiers and wounding dozens of others at a base in Jordan in January 2024. The strike prompted then-US president Joe The Big Guy Biden
...46th president of the U.S. You're a lyin' dog-faced pony soldier...
to launch strikes on dozens of Iranian proxy sites in Iraq and Syria, including a strike that killed the leader of pro-Iranian Iraqi militia Kataeb Hezbollah that February.

In the same month, it was reported that Iraq’s pro-Iranian militias had agreed to scale back attacks on the US at the request of the commander of the IRGC’s elite Quds Force, who had warned of a harsh US reprisal.

Iran is set to enter high-level nuclear talks with the US in Oman this Saturday, Trump announced Monday during a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.

Since taking office in January, Trump has reinstated his "maximum pressure" policy, which in his first term saw the United States withdraw from a landmark 2015 agreement on Iran’s nuclear program and reimpose sanctions on Tehran. He said last month that "there will be bombing" if Iran fails to sign a nuclear deal.

The US State Department said Tuesday that Tehran was "going in" the direction of an agreement about its nuclear program, and reiterated Trump’s threat that Iran would have "hell to pay" if it fails to make a deal.

Netanyahu has argued that Iran’s nuclear facilities must be completely destroyed, either by force or through agreement. He was reportedly updated about Trump’s announcement just hours before it was made, and given no assurances that Israel’s criteria for a nuclear deal would be met or what would happen if the talks fell through.

The Islamic Theocratic Republic, whose leaders are sworn to destroy Israel, has said it opposes nuclear weapons, but has increased production of 60%-enriched uranium and already possesses enough to create a sizable nuclear arsenal, according to analysts and international watchdogs. The enrichment rate is far beyond what is necessary for a civilian nuclear program and a short step away from developing nuclear warheads.
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Western security source claims Hezbollah receiving arms and cash via Beirut port
2025-04-09
[AnNahar] al-Arabiya television on Tuesday quoted a Western security source as saying that Hezbollah has "re-imposed its control over Beirut’s port," following the 2020 catastrophic explosion at the facility that killed around 220 people and devastated swathes of the capital.

"Through its Unit 190 and Unit 700, Iran’s Quds Force will depend on sea smuggling operations, whether directly to 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....
or through intermediary countries," the source said.

"Hezbollah is operating with total freedom at Beirut’s port through a network of collaborators belonging to the customs administration and the inspection authorities at the port," the source added, noting that the alleged network is supervised by Hezbollah security official Wafiq Safa.

"Through his agents at Beirut’s port, Safa is seeking to facilitate the smuggling of equipment, arms and money, without any inspection or supervision," the source claimed.

The source accordingly warned that "Hezbollah’s use of Beirut’s port, which is the most important port in Lebanon, jeopardizes Lebanese interests and threatens foreign investments," calling on the Lebanese state to "act urgently in light of Hezbollah’s violations and plans for Beirut’s port that threaten a repetition of the August 2020 disaster."
The Times of Israel pulls back forthe bigger picture:
The report added that 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 Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
is relying on the maritime route to support Hezbollah, as previous smuggling routes, largely through Syria, have been shut down since the beginning of the year.

Iran’s use of Syria as an overland route to smuggle weapons is thought to have ended with the fall of Assad late last year.

Since Syria’s new government took control in December, its forces have stopped a number of attempts to smuggle weapons across the border into Leb
...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel...
, seizing firearms, explosives, ammunition and RPG launchers.

Lebanon’s government, which has begun to assert renewed control over the country after Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah crippled the terror group and killed nearly all of its top leaders, has also stopped several smuggling attempts into the country, seizing arms and money both at the Syria border and at the Beirut international airport.

Lebanese authorities have forced flights from Iran to turn around midflight after Israeli forces alerted them to intelligence that they were being used to smuggle money and arms, and even detained an Iranian diplomat in January after receiving a tip that the commercial flight he was on was being used to transfer funds to Hezbollah.

According to reports in Lebanon, the plane was delayed upon arrival in Beirut, was forced to be searched bag by bag, and the Iranian diplomat was held by customs agents for refusing to allow his belongings to be searched.

One report said the contents of the diplomat’s bag were confiscated by Lebanese authorities after large amounts of cash were found in his belongings, but Iran insisted the funds were solely intended for use at the Iranian embassy, and thus were protected under international law. There was no further information on what security services found in their search of the plane.

Israel has also used force to stop smuggling into Lebanon, repeatedly striking Syria-Lebanon border crossings that it says have been key to the terror groups’ funding and weapons supply.

The IDF has also targeted several senior members of Hezbollah’s Unit 4400, which is responsible for transporting and smuggling Iranian weapons into Lebanon.
Link


Iraq
More on yesterday’s report about Iran proxy groups in Iraq voluntarily disarming
2025-04-08
Follow-up to this story from yesterday.
[IsraelTimes] The Resistance® group, a key pillar of Iran’s network of regional proxy forces, has grabbed credit for dozens of missile and drone attacks on Israel and US forces in Iraq and Syria since 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...
war erupted about 18 months ago with the October 7 onslaught by Hamas
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
Farhad Alaadin, Sudan
...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans...
i’s foreign affairs adviser, told Rooters in response to queries about disarmament talks that the Iraqi prime minister was committed to ensuring all weapons in Iraq were under state control through "constructive dialogue with various national actors."

The two Iraqi security officials said Sudani was pressing for disarmament from all the militias of the Islamic Resistance® in Iraq, which declare their allegiance to Iran’s IRGC or Quds Force rather than to Baghdad.

Some groups have already largely evacuated their headquarters and reduced their presence in major cities including djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
and Anbar since mid-January for fear of being hit by air attacks, according to officials and commanders.

Many commanders have also stepped up their security measures in that time, changing their mobile phones, vehicles, and abodes more frequently, they said.

The US State Department said it continued to urge Baghdad to rein in the militias. "These forces must respond to Iraq’s commander-in-chief and not to Iran," it added.

An American official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, cautioned that there had been instances in the past when the militias had ceased their attacks because of US pressure, and was skeptical that any disarmament would be long-term.

The IRGC declined to comment on this article, while the Iranian and Israeli foreign ministries didn’t respond to queries.

SHAKEN: IRAN’S AXIS OF RESISTANCE
Shahbndar, the Shiite politician, said the Iraqi government had not yet finalized a deal with bully boy leaders, with a disarmament mechanism still under discussion.

Options being considered include turning the groups into political parties and integrating them into the Iraqi armed forces, he added.

While the fate of any disarmament process remains uncertain, the discussions nonetheless mark the first time the militias have been prepared to give ground to longstanding Western pressure to demilitarize.

The shift comes at a precarious time for Tehran’s regional "Axis of Resistance®," which it has established at great cost over decades to oppose Israel and US influence, but has seen severely weakened since Paleostinian terror group Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, tipped the Middle East into conflict.

Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Leb
...home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade....
have been hammered by Israel since the war began, while the Iran's Houthi sock puppets
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him...
movement in Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
has been targeted by US Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s since last month. The fall of Syrian President Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Trampler of Homs...
, another key Iranian ally, has further weakened the Islamic Theocratic Republic’s influence.

Iraq is seeking to balance its alliances with both America and 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 Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
in its dealings with the militias on its soil. The groups sprang up across the country with Iranian financial and military support in the chaotic wake of the 2003 US invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, and have become formidable forces that can rival the national army in firepower.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told Prime Minister Sudani in a phone call on March 16, shortly after the American strikes on the Houthis began, to prevent the militias from carrying out Dire Revenge attacks on Israel and US bases in the region in support of their allies, according to two government officials and two security sources briefed on the exchange.

The Iraqi-based militias had launched dozens of drone and rocket attacks against Israel in solidarity with Hamas since the Gaza war began and killed three US soldiers in a drone operation in Jordan near the Syrian border last year, and two IDF soldiers were killed and 24 maimed in a separate drone attack on a base in Israel.

Ibrahim al-Sumaidaie, a former political adviser to Sudani, told Iraqi state TV that the United States had long pressed Iraq’s leadership to dismantle Shi’ite militias, but this time Washington might not take no for an answer.

"If we do not voluntarily comply, it may be forced upon us from the outside, and by force."

The discussions in Iraq come after a report by the 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 newspaper al-Araby al-Jadeed last month that the US additionally warned Iraq’s prime minister of "political and economic consequences" unless he ensured the release of kidnapped Russian-Israeli academic Elizabeth Tsurkov.

Iraq’s national security adviser said that authorities were actively searching for Tsurkov, a doctoral student at Princeton University and fellow at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy who is believed to have been held by Islamist Death Eaters since March 2023.

Israeli authorities have blamed the Iran-backed Iraqi terror group Kataeb Hezbollah, though no group has grabbed credit for her disappearance.
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