From now on, the world is going to change !
About 300 hundred drones and rockets of different types were deployed by Iran. Most of them could be intercepted by Israeli and US forces. A military basis in southern Israel and the region of Dimona, hosting Israel's nuclear capabilities, have been targeted.
فيما ذكرت وكالة الأنباء الإيرانية "إيرنا" أنها استهدفت قاعدة جوية إسرائيلية بنجاح في النقب بصواريخ خيبر.
وأضافت الوكالة، أن القاعدة الجوية المستهدفة في النقب كانت منطلقا للهجوم على القنصلية بدمشق
The Iranian news agency IRNA reported that it successfully targeted an Israeli air base in the Negev with Khaybar missiles. The agency added that the targeted air base in the Negev was the starting point for the attack on Iran's consulate in Damascus. [Al-Dostor الدستور published at 09:00 AM local time]
وقال رئيس هيئة الأركان المشتركة اللواء محمد باقري إن “عملية الوعد الصادق نفّذت بنجاح بين ليل أمس وصباح اليوم (الأحد)، وحققت كل أهدافها”
وأشار إلى أن الضربات استهدفت موقعين عسكريين هما “المركز الاستخباري الذي وفّر للصهاينة المعلومات المطلوبة” لقصف القنصلية الإيرانية في دمشق، إضافة إلى “قاعدة نفاطيم التي أقلعت منها طائرات إف-35” لشنّ الضربة في الأول من نيسان/أبريل. وأكد أن الموقعين أصيبا بأضرار بالغة
من جهتها، أكدت اسرائيل “إحباط” الهجوم وأنها اعترضت مع حلفائها، غالبية المسيّرات والصواريخ قبل بلوغها أراضيها. لكنها أقرت بسقوط بعضها وإلحاق أضرار “طفيفة” في القاعدة الجوية الواقعة في النقب
And the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri said “Operation True Promise was carried out successfully between last night and this morning (Sunday), and achieved all its objectives.”
He pointed out that the strikes targeted two military sites: “the intelligence center that provided the Zionists with the information required” to bomb the Iranian consulate in Damascus, in addition to “the Nafatim base from which F-35 planes took off” to launch the strike on April 1. He confirmed that the two sites were severely damaged.
For its part, Israel confirmed that the attack was “thwarted” and that it, along with its allies, intercepted the majority of the drones and missiles before they reached its territory. But it acknowledged that some of them had fallen and caused “minor” damage to the air base located in the Negev.
[Akhbar Alaan أخبار الآن on April 14, 17:00 local time]
Included videos below were published shortly after the Iranian attack began:
After bombing an Iranian consulate building in Damascus, thereby killing some high-ranking Iranian commanders, Israel is now awaiting Iran's retaliation. An Israeli army spokesman put it like that: "The coming days are complicated". Israeli cocerns come at the same time when Hezbollah launched 50 rockets at northern Galilee.
The Yemenite paper Al-Ayyam doesn't allow its article from April 12, 2024, to be copied.
Further News of the Day:
Israeli settlers in the occupied Westbank set fire to a Palestinian village, killing one Palestinian and wounding 25. [Al-Jazeera]
مع اقتراب رد إيران على إسرائيل.. القصة الكاملة لهجوم القنصلية
تحبس منطقة الشرق الأوسط أنفاسها، ترقبا لهجوم إيراني محتمل للرد على ضربة جوية إسرائيلية طالت قنصليتها في دمشق.
وقد أسفرت الضربة عن مقتل محمد رضا زاهدي أبرز القادة العسكريين الإيرانيين، فهو المسؤول عن فيلق القدس التابع للحرس الثوري في سوريا ولبنان، ورغم أنه ليس الأول الذي يقتل هكذا، لكنه الأرفع بين سلسلة عسكريين إيرانيين استهدفتهم تل أبيب.
وتحدثت تقارير أمريكية عدة، خلال الساعات الماضية، عن تحريك إيران طائرات مسيرة وصواريخ كروز، استعدادا لهجوم انتقامي هو الأكبر ضد إسرائيل, التي لم تعلن مسؤوليتها رسميا عن هجوم القنصلية.
100 مسيرة وعشرات الصواريخ.. سيناريو جنوني لرد إيران على هجوم القنصلية
As Iran's response to Israel approaches...the full story of the consulate attack
The Middle East region is holding its breath, anticipating a possible Iranian attack in response to an Israeli air strike that targeted its consulate in Damascus.
The strike resulted in the killing of Mohammad Reza Zahedi, the most prominent Iranian military leader. He is responsible for the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guard in Syria and Lebanon. Although he is not the first to be killed in this way, he is the highest-ranking among a series of Iranian military personnel targeted by Tel Aviv.
During the past hours, several American reports spoke of Iran moving drones and cruise missiles, in preparation for the largest retaliatory attack against Israel, which did not officially claim responsibility for the consulate attack.
100 [guided missiles] and dozens of rockets ... a crazy scenario for Iran's response to the consulate attack.
من كتابة العين الإخبارية
• 59 دقيقة
AL-Ain Al-Akhbariya, 59 minutes ago
published on April 13 at 08:00 AM
...................................
الحرس الإيراني يؤكد سيطرته على سفينة مرتبطة بـ"إسرائيل" (شاهد)
كشفت وكالة الأنباء الإيرانية الرسمية، أن الحرس الثوري سيطر على سفينة "مرتبطة بإسرائيل"، مشيرة إلى أن القوات الإيرانية استخدمت طائرة هليكوبتر اعتلت السفينة وسيطرت عليها
وقالت مصادر إعلامية غربية، إن السفينة المحتجزة ترفع علم البرتغال وتديرها شركة زودياك المملوكة لرجل أعمال إسرائيلي
وكانت هيئة عمليات التجارة البحرية البريطانية السبت، تلقت تقريرا عن استهداف سفينة قبالة السواحل الإماراتية.
ولم تكشف الهيئة عن طبيعة ما جرى للسفينة، أو الهجوم الذي تعرضت له، لكنها قالت في بيان، إن السلطات الإقليمية سيطرت على السفينة على بعد 50 ميلا بحريا شمال شرقي الفجيرة الإماراتية، دون تفاصيل إضافية.
والثلاثاء، قال قائد القوة البحرية في الحرس الثوري الإيراني، إن الوجود الإسرائيلي في الإمارات يمثل تهديدا لطهران وإنها قد تغلق مضيق هرمز في حال الضرورة، وتقع الفجيرة على الجانب الشرقي من مضيق هرمز.
Iranian Guards confirm seizure of Israel-linked ship (Witness)
The official Iranian news agency revealed that the Revolutionary Guards took control of a ship "linked to Israel," noting that Iranian forces used a helicopter that boarded and took control of the ship. Western media sources said the seized ship was Portugal-flagged and operated by Zodiac, owned by an Israeli businessman.
On Saturday, Britain's Maritime Trade Operations Authority received a report that a ship had been targeted off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. The authority did not disclose the nature of what happened to the ship or the attack it suffered, but said in a statement that regional authorities had taken control of the ship 50 nautical miles northeast of Fujairah, without further details. On Tuesday, the commander of the naval force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that the Israeli presence in the UAE posed a threat to Tehran and that it could close the Strait of Hormuz if necessary, as Fujairah is located on the eastern side of the Strait of Hormuz.
Violent explosions after a drone attack rocked positions inside the province of Erbil – the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan – as Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility for the attack. In the details, Al-Arabiya / Al-Hadath reported on Monday [Jan. 15] that 6 explosions occurred in different areas in Erbil, northern Iraq. They also said that Iraq's Erbil airport halted air traffic after explosions rang out in the city. A security source told Al-Arabiya/Al-Hadath that the attack was carried out with long-range missiles and drones.
New U.S. Consulate Headquarters
Kurdish sources said a six-rocket attack took place at the new US consulate (under construction) in the northern suburbs of Erbil. The sources also said the rocket attack was carried out from Iran's Kermanshah province, which borders the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
Revolutionary Guards Adopt [Responsibility]
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for the attack and said it had attacked "spy centers and gatherings of anti-Iran terrorist groups" in Erbil, Iraq, Iranian media reported.
This development comes a few days after the Counter-Terrorism Service in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq announced the downing of a booby-trapped drone targeting international coalition forces that are stationed near Erbil airport last Thursday evening, making up for the second attack in 24 hours. On Wednesday evening, the region's counter-terrorism service [had already] reported a similar attack, for which [pro-Iranian] armed factions in Iraq claimed responsibility.
Since the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, US military has already been subjected to about 130 attacks in Iraq and Syria through a combination of rockets and mined drones. Pentagon spokesperson Patrick Ryder previously announced that US facilities had been hit by 127 attacks since the escalation began in the region, 52 in Iraq and 75 in Syria. This prompted America to respond by striking some of the pro-Iranian armed factions in the two countries, the most important of which was the strike that targeted the headquarters of Harakat al-Nujaba east of Baghdad in early January 2024.
It is noteworthy that the United States are deploying 900 troops in Syria, and 2,500 soldiers on Iraqi soil as part of the coalition forces that provide advice and assistance to local forces in order to prevent the return of DAESH [Islamic State], which in 2014 controlled large areas of territory in both countries before its defeat.
[Lebanese Forces Official Website on Jan. 15]
.......................
Militant anti-Iranian organization in Pakistan under attack by Iranian missiles
Meeting between Indian and Iranian Foreign Ministers during Davos Forum
According to sources such as the Global Network, Pakistan distributed a message in the early morning of the 17th, accusing Iran of launching an attack on its airspace, which caused serious consequences such as the killing of two children and the injury of three girls. The Pakistani statement warned Tehran that this could trigger "serious consequences".
Blueprint Editor's Note:
Pakistan's warning is only related to the killing of civilists by an unprecise Iranian missile attack.
In fact Iran and Pakistan are allies in their fight against "Baloch terrorists" as their common enemy.
Only two days later, another Chinese article praised the joint operation of both countries' air forces
targeting the same group in Iran on Jan. 18. The article underlines the efficiency of Iran's air force
in contrast to the faulty Iranian missile attack on terrorist strongholds in Pakistan on Jan. 17. The
whole story seems to have something of a planned deception in it .....
Iranian media mentioned that Iran used missiles and drones to strike the strongholds of the "Justice Army", and two strongholds in Balochistan province in Pakistan were destroyed. Groups claim that Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps fired a large number of rockets, as well as six attack drones.
Earlier, Iran had just launched missiles against targets in Syria and Iraq, triggering a "strong warning" from the United States because the strike site was even close to the U.S. consulate facility and reportedly destroyed Israel's Mossad establishment. However, Iran behaved very tough this time, and did not forget to notify the UN Security Council after the fight, emphasizing Tehran's right to "fight terrorism" and "self-defense".
Russian media reports also show that on the 16th, Iranian Foreign Minister Abdollahian met with Pakistani caretaker Prime Minister Kakar during the Davos forum, and it is not clear whether there was any mention of the strike incident that day. However, there is a detail that Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar also recently arrived in Tehran and met with Abdollahian, and it is said that he also agreed on projects such as long-term cooperation at the Chabahar port. Jaishankar's two-day trip means that Jaishankar may still be in Iran when Iran strikes Pakistani targets.
Iran and India met and Pakistan was hit by heavy air strikes, which happened by a bit of a coincidence. In fact, after Iran's air strikes in Syria and Iraq, China has already made its position clear. The [Chinese] Ministry of Foreign Affairs appealed to all parties to exercise restraint and not allow the situation to continue to escalate.
[腾讯网, China Mainland, on Jan. 17]
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Evaluation: The Military Situation of Hamas related Qassam Brigades in Gaza
Impact assessment of the 100-day conflict between Palestine and Israel:
Gaza’s farmland damaged and Israel’s technology industry severely hit.
The Qassam Brigades, an armed faction affiliated with Hamas, has not disclosed its organizational structure and specific number of personnel, but some analysts estimate that the number of Qassam Brigades is roughly 30,000 to 45,000. A research report released by the American think tank "Institute of War Studies" shows that the Qassam Brigade had at least 26 to 30 combat battalions in the early stages of the war, with each battalion having 400 to 1,000 soldiers. After more than three months of fighting, only three battalions were completely wiped out. Among the remaining military forces, about 4 to 5 battalions have been weakened but can still fight alone or in conjunction with other units.
Al Jazeera analyzed that although Israel relied on its excellent intelligence capabilities to kill at least five Hamas commanders from five battalions in targeted air strikes, almost all of the "decapitated" troops continued under the command of deputy commanders. The battle fully proves that Hamas still has sufficient reserves of troops in the rear.
...............
Robert Looney, a professor at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, also held a similar view in an article on the "World Politis Review" website, that is, Israel's agriculture, high-tech industries, tourism and construction industries have been severely affected by the war. Since the outbreak of the conflict, Israel has mobilized a total of 360,000 reservists, accounting for approximately 10% to 15% of the country's working population. As a large number of young and middle-aged workers were recruited into the army, many high-tech talents chose to immigrate due to the war. The war dealt a heavy blow to high-tech industries that help boost the economy and attract foreign investment. Robert warned that Israel should reach a peace agreement as soon as possible, citing brain drain, relocation of high-tech industries and serious labor shortages in sectors such as construction and agriculture, which may further worsen Israel's economic situation.
...............
It is not difficult to see that with the turmoil on the Lebanese-Israeli border and the spread of the Red Sea crisis, the risk of spillover from the Gaza war is also increasing. Shu Meng believes that as a continuation of its retaliatory activities against Hamas, the frequency of Israel's targeted strikes against senior Hamas leaders in Lebanon will definitely increase. In addition, the Houthis have taken various actions under the slogan of supporting Palestine to enhance their legitimacy and influence at home and abroad. The Red Sea security issue has become an important platform for the Houthis to use their small skills to make a big difference. “If the Palestine-Israel issue does not receive international attention and political resolution in the future, it will continue to be entangled with other regional issues, and more conflict parties will use the Palestine-Israel conflict as an excuse to enhance their influence, actions and legality." Shu Meng analyzed.
[Shu Meng is an assistant researcher at the Institute of Middle East Studies at Shanghai International Studies University.]
[澎湃新闻, Chinese state-owned digital newspaper, on Jan. 16]
Gadi Eisenkot, member of Israel's war cabinet and former chief of staff for
Israeli Defense Force (IDF), is favouring a cease-fire as the only means to
free Israeli hostages held by Hamas. Interview with Israel's Channel 12 TV.
Eisenkot added that those claiming hostages can be freed through military
pressure were spreading illusions. [Times of Israel / AP on Jan. 19, 2024]
South Africa that lived through the experience of an Apartheid regime for decades
is now going to try Israel for the actual genocide of the Palestinian people as the
ultima ratio of an Apartheid regime that has lasted longer than since Oct. 7, 2023,
the day of an unexpected Hamas attack. South Africa is therefore expected to go
back in time to the very foundation of the State of Israel and which would bring up
a case of suppression of a people that had been expelled from its homeland long
before violence escalated to the actual level. [Videos: Al-Jazeera/BBC on Jan. 11]
أعلنت وزارة الصحة في قطاع غزة في بيان اليوم الجمعة إن 23708 فلسطينيين على الأقل لقوا حتفهم
وأصيب 60005 آخرين في الغارات الإسرائيلية على قطاع غزة منذ السابع من أكتوبر
وقالت الوزارة إن نحو 151 فلسطينيا قتلوا وأصيب 248 خلال الساعات الأربع والعشرين الماضية
The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip announced in a statement on Friday
that at least 23,708 Palestinians have been killed and 60,005 injured in Israeli
raids on the Gaza Strip since October 7. Some 151 Palestinians were killed
and 248 wounded in the past 24 hours, the ministry said.
[MENAFN, Middle East and North Africa Financial Network, publisher: Al-Bawaba, on Jan. 12]
Editor of Israel's Newspaper Haaretz Condemns Netanyahu's Government
Gideon Levy in an interview with DemocracyNow.org two months ago.
The member of Haaretz editorial board has also accused Israel's army
of indiscriminate killing in Gaza, live on Israeli TV only three days ago.
Ofer Cassif, far-left member of Israel's parliament Knesseth declared his support
of South Africa accusing Israel for genocide at the International Court of Justice.
Malaysia, Turkey and Bolivia recently joined South Africa in its appeal to the ICJ.
[Hindustan Times on Jan. 8, 2024]
Major Mossad Activities - Successful or Foiled -
Turkish police detained 33 people suspected of spying for Israel's Mossad intelligence service and of targeting foreigners living in Turkey, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Tuesday (January 2).
Police raided 57 locations in eight provinces as part of an investigation - dubbed "Operation Mole" - launched by the Istanbul prosecutor's counter-terrorism bureau and the MIT intelligence agency, Yerlikaya said.
He said on social media platform X that the suspects were believed to be aiming to identify, monitor, assault and kidnap foreign nationals living in Turkey. The state-run Anadolu news agency said authorities were seeking 13 others.
Last month, Turkish officials warned Israel of "serious consequences" if it tried to hunt down members of the militant group Hamas living outside Palestinian territories, including in Turkey. President Tayyip Erdogan warned that would be a mistake.
[Times & Sunday Times on Jan. 2, 2024]
Hamas says its deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri has been killed in
an explosion in the Lebanese capital Beirut which is infuriating
Lebanon's government. - News Report and Political Analysis.
[Channel 4, British TV station, on Jan. 2, 2024]
ماذا تعرف عن الشهيد الأقرع الذي اغتيل رفقة العاروري؟
كان وقع خبر استشهاد القيادي البارز في كتائب القسام، عزام الأقرع صادما على عائلته ورفاقه، وهو الذي نجح على مدار 35 عاما من الإفلات، رغم المطاردة المستمرة من قبل قوات الاحتلال وأجهزته الاستخبارية.يعد الأقرع الذي يبلغ 54 عاما من العمر أحد أبرز قيادات كتائب القسام في الساحات الخارجية، لا سيما لبنان التي عاش أكثر من نصف حياته فيها، بعد أن نفاه الاحتلال خارج بلدته الأصلية قبلان عام 1992، إبان حملة الملاحقة التي تعرضت لها قيادة حركة حماس آنذلك، وجرى إبعاد المئات إلى منطقة مرج الزهور جنوب لبنان.
What do you know about the martyr Al-Aqra' who was assassinated together with Al-Arouri?
The news of the martyrdom of the prominent leader of the Qassam Brigades, Azzam Al-Aqra, was shocking to his family and comrades, who succeeded over 35 years of escape, despite the continuous pursuit by the occupation forces and his intelligence services.Al-Aqra, 54 years old, is one of the most prominent leaders of the Qassam Brigades in the external arenas, especially Lebanon, where he lived more than half of his life, after the occupation exiled him outside his native town of Qabalan in 1992, during the campaign of persecution against the leadership of Hamas was then deported to the Marj al-Zuhur area in southern Lebanon.
[Beirut Time on Jan. 6, 2024]
The assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in a hotel room in Dubai
on 19 January 2010. => The Complete Timeline of a Murder <= in a
31 minutes sequence of videos registered by surveillance cameras.
The Mossad team could be identified and arrested at Dubai airport.
Please note: One member of the killing team is still wearing a single
protection glove while hurriedly leaving Al-Bustan hotel. [The Guardian]
On 25 September, 1997, Israel's spy agency attempted to assassinate
Palestinian political leader Khaled Meshaal in Amman, the capital of Jordan.
The brazen attempt on the life of the then 41-year-old head of the Hamas
Political Bureau sparked a diplomatic row which threatened to wreck the
newly-signed peace deal between Jordan and Israel. The crisis ended with
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu making a number of humiliating
concessions. [Middle East Monitor 2020]
Independently from the above listed assaults on prominent members of Hamas, Iran's nuclear program was subsequently targeted by Mossad. While Israel's own nuclear arsenal remains an unspoken reality and was never openly contested, Iranian efforts are thoroughly scrutinized by many Western nations. And there have been press reports about Mossad operations that were intended to prevent Iran from reaching their goal: Four assassinations of nuclear scientists in Iran, accomplished since 2010, and several sophisticated activities to destroy Iran's ability to produce weapons-grade Uranium.
The last killing of an Iranian scientist is dating back to November 2020 when top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was assassinated in a sophisticated hit led by a Mossad team. The team reportedly deployed a computerized machine gun using artificial intelligence, required no on-site operatives, took less than a minute, and did not injure anyone else, including the scientist’s wife who was with him at the time. [Times of Israel in September 2021]
Germany's Rigid Policy
Organized by the United Palestinian National Committee, nearly 1,200 protesters held a solidarity demonstration at Adenauerplatz [Adenauer Square in Berlin]. They decried Germany's stance on Israel, with crowd chanting slogans such as "Shame on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz" and "Shame on (Foreign Minister) Annalena Baerbock".
The participants later held a march on Kurfurstendamm, one of Berlin's most famous avenues, while shouting pro-Palestinian slogans. Along with a large Palestinian flag, the protesters also carried signs, some of which read: "Cease-fire now" and "stop the genocide".
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has repeatedly said that Israel's security is non-negotiable, and in the current conflict with Hamas, Germany “has only one place,” and that is “firmly at the side of Israel."
.................
A recent poll revealed that the German government's pro-Israel stance on the Gaza conflict is seemingly not supported by the public. Some 43% of those surveyed said that Germany should stay out of the conflict, and only 34% said they agree with the view that Germany bears special responsibility for Israel due to its Nazi past.
[Yeni Safak, Turkey, on Dec. 31]
Palestine - An Alarming Development
An opinion poll proves increasing support for Hamas organization
in the occupied Westbank where Hamas used to be in opposition
to the Palestinian administration of Mahmud Abbas in Ramallah.
[Deutsche Welle, German National Radio, on Dec. 31]
Far-right Israeli minister calls for resettlement of Gaza after the war
saying this is a beautiful land to be rebuilt by and for Israeli settlers
after Palestinian emigration. [Al-Jazeera on Dec. 31]
Israel - Judicial Chaos and Accusation of Genocide
Israel's High Court strikes down Netanyahu's judicial reform law
[TRT World, Turkey, on Jan. 2, 2024]
The Palestinian Gaza Strip health department said on December 31 that Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours resulted in a total of 150 deaths. Since the outbreak of a new round of conflict between Palestine and Israel on October 7, Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip have resulted in approximately 21,000 deaths and more than 56,000 injuries.
[Youth Net 青年网 on Dec. 31]
Sultan Barakat, a professor of public policy at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, says that the genocide case filed by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice [ICJ] will be “the most important instrument of international pressure against Israel”.
“The way that South Africa has addressed this issue is that they are purely focused on the fact that Israel, by December 29 when the case was filed, has murdered more than 20,000 civilians without achieving any clear goal, in that they seem to be pursuing a genocide against the Palestinian people and specifically within Gaza,” Barakat said.
The ICJ works slightly differently from the International Criminal Court [ICC] in that its mandate covers all the state members of the United Nations, Barakat explained.
“And Israel for them it’s very important to be recognised as a state. This is the only country in the world that talks about the right to exist, [whereas] every other state is comfortable within their own foundation.”
[Al-Jazeera,Qatar, on Jan. 2, 2024]
