Here are quotations from Chinese language sources from Singapore dealing with alleged and real weapons delivery from North Korea to Russia:
Foreign ministers from 10 countries, including the G7, condemned North Korea's transfer of arms to Russia, saying the weapons were being used to attack Ukraine.
Reuters reported that the foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as the European Union, issued a statement on Friday (May 31) urging North Korea to stop arms exports and end its nuclear weapons program.
[联合早报 on May 31]
..............
South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said that the friendly relations between Russia and North Korea are further sublimating, and North Korea has shipped a total of more than 7,000 containers of weapons to Russia.
According to reports from Yonhap News Agency and Agence France-Presse, Shin Won-sik said at a media briefing on Monday (March 18) that North Korea has shipped about 7,000 containers of weapons to Russia, 300 more than previously expected; due to some Sea shipping routes are now suspended and some containers are being shipped to Russia by rail.
[联合早报 on March 18]
.............
The Malaysian company Jatronics was accused of supplying key electronic components for fighter aircraft to Russia, and was sanctioned by the United States.
In response, the Malaysian government stressed that the Malaysian side will only comply with the sanctions list issued by the United Nations Security Council, and that it does not recognize the sanctions. Malaysia also claims that Russia is not on the Security Council sanctions list.
[联合早报 on June 5]
.........................
Further News from Malaysia Customs and semi-official entities:
Malaysia has been among the most vocal supporters of the Palestinian cause since the onset of the war in the blockaded enclave last October, which has so far killed nearly 36,000 people, mostly civilians, according to the latest figures from Gaza's Hamas-run health authorities.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has frequently criticised Israel's bombardments of the territory and the United States' continued diplomatic and military support of its Middle Eastern ally.
.........................
Earlier in May, the Spanish government refused to allow a cargo ship "carrying 27 tons of explosives" bound for Israel to dock at the country's port. Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported on May 31 that the cargo ship departed from the port of Chennai in India, thus raising questions from the outside world that "India is providing weapons to Israel." However, some analysts countered that India's weapons technology is relatively immature and the explosives may have come from a third party.
The cargo ship is the Marianne Danica and flies the Danish flag. [凤凰 on June 1st]
Background Info:
The Shipping Corporation of India Ltd. (SCI) and the Israeli national carrier, Zim Israel Navigation Co. Ltd., have agreed to cooperate in providing a joint container service to the Indian foreign trade.
While the details, such as ports of call, frequency, and other factors have yet to be worked out and will be announced at a later time, the arrangement envisages the development of cooperation in stages.
Zim Israel will gradually introduce vessels with the aim of upgrading the present SCI container service between India and the U.K. to eventually reach a weekly frequency. The joint service will enable the companies, through hubs in Colombo and Barcelona, to transship containers through connecting services to the Far East, the U.S., and South America.
The first stage of the service was slated to begin at the beginning of this year, and the companies have also agreed to cooperate in other transport-related areas.
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.
Last Update on March 16. Videos expressing opinion on the Palestinian issue ...
Opinion on the Palestinian Issue
Sami Al-Arian, director of the Centre for Islamic and Global Affairs, has told Al Jazeera that
it is a “very sad moment” in Gaza as Ramadan begins without a ceasefire and for many on
the brink of famine. - “Unfortunately, Israel doesn't see the Palestinians as human beings;
they say they are ‘human animals’.
US Senator Bernie Sanders: “Netanyahu’s right wing government is blocking the borders
and preventing the massive amount of aid that needs to get through from getting through
and people are dying as a result. That is in violation of American law. We should stop
funding Netanyahu’s war machine.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the
USA, on March 14 for the first time called for the Israeli government to hold an election,
calling it the "only way" to determine Israel's path forward after its war with Hamas.
Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara highlights the complicity of
Western leaders, portraying them as "useful idiots" for supporting Netanyahu's
genocidal war in Gaza.
Jews for a Ceasefire - Al-Jazeera looks at whether there is a shift
within the Jewish community against Israel’s actions and policies.
عكس السير
من أوائل المؤسسات الإعلامية الخاصة في سوريا
"
قليل من الحيادية ... كثير من المصداقية
"
Akas Al-Sir (Reverse Traffic) on March 13:
One of the first privately owned media in Syria, their
adage being: "Some neutrality ..... Much reliability".
Founded in 2006, Akas Al-Sir is currently at the top of the most
followed news sites in Syria, according to international statistics.
- Riding the Internet Backbone - Notice on new visitor statistics and related article added below:
For the Biden administration, the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict has become an important issue dividing Democratic voters. In previous elections, American Jewish voters tend to support the Democratic Party. The political donations provided by pro-Israel groups to the Democratic Party far exceed their contributions to the Republican Party, almost twice as much as the latter. However, as the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip escalates, many young voters and ethnic minorities who originally supported the Democratic Party have become increasingly dissatisfied and strongly demand that the Biden administration put pressure on Israel to achieve an early ceasefire. During the primary campaign, Biden was already feeling pressure from progressive forces to do something without offending pro-Israel groups and appease the anger of other supporters.
Therefore, the Biden administration came up with the current idea of "passing a knife with one hand and a band-aid with the other hand". An important decision that Biden will announce in his State of the Union address is to use US military engineers to build a floating dock near the port of Gaza City. The US military does not need to land but works on ships to complete the construction of the dock, thus opening up a channel for transporting relief supplies from the sea to the Gaza Strip. Earlier this month, the US military, with the assistance of Jordan, airdropped aid supplies to Gaza. However, the delivery cost of military transport aircraft is high, the accuracy is poor, and more importantly, the carrying capacity is limited. Compared with the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, it is a drop in the bucket.
According to multiple foreign sources, although this round of negotiations ended inconclusively, Hamas and Israel will continue to communicate indirectly. Many senior U.S. officials blamed Hamas for the failure to reach a ceasefire agreement, saying it was because the latter refused to release elderly and sick Israeli detainees.
Hamas responded that the United States and Israel have a cooperative relationship, and the United States' rhetoric confuses right and wrong. It is Israel that has been hindering efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement. Israel did not attend this round of negotiations, allegedly because Hamas refused to provide a complete list of Israeli detainees who are still alive.
In this round of negotiations, neither Hamas nor Israel made concessions on key issues: Hamas said it would not release Israeli personnel before a long-term ceasefire agreement was reached; Israel insisted that it would not release Hamas until it completely eliminated it. The military operation will not end. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on the 7th that Israel will continue to advance military operations in the Gaza Strip.
Egyptian security sources revealed that the next round of negotiations is scheduled to begin on the 10th of this month.
According to the Associated Press, the mediator's previous hope that Palestine and Israel would reach a ceasefire agreement before Ramadan may not be realized.
................
'starvation tactics'
According to [UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Michael] Fakhri, Israel banned small fishing boats from the Gaza Strip and destroyed fishing boats, fishing houses and other facilities. Since the current round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out in October last year, about 80% of the Gaza Strip’s fisheries have been damaged. Not a single ship in the main port of Gaza City, located in the northern Gaza Strip and on the Mediterranean Sea, was spared, and all were destroyed by the Israeli army.
................
Adding fuel to the flames of the Palestinian-Israeli situation, the Israeli Civil Administration's High Planning Committee approved on the 6th the construction of 3,426 new housing units in Jewish settlements in the West Bank. The Palestinian Wafa News Agency reported on the 6th that Palestinian Presidential Spokesperson Abu Rudeina said that Palestine strongly condemns Israel’s move and believes that this approach will not bring security to any party.
[新浪科技 on March 9 (local time)]
.........................
Starting on March 2024, internet traffic to the blueprinteditor site seems to have been diverted to the already described south-east Asian internet hub of Singapore. From there, an increased internet traffic to my site simultaneously resulted in small Singapore dominating my country list.
Update added on Jan. 27, anniversary of the
Liberation of Auschwitz Concentration Camp
& International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa speaks
after ICJ orders Israel to prevent acts of genocide.
[Broadcast begins 01:50 minutes after video start]
محكمة العدل الدولية تطلب من إسرائيل منع ارتكاب "إبادة" في غزة
وكانت جنوب إفريقيا طلبت قرارا بإجراءات عاجلة تتضمن وقفا للعمليات العسكرية في قطاع غزة، إلا أن القرار لم يلحظ ذلك
...............
وتابعت أن على إسرائيل "اتّخاذ جميع الإجراءات الممكنة لمنع التحريض المباشر والعلني على ارتكاب إبادة والمعاقبة عليه"، و"عليها أن تمنع كل أعمال الإبادة المحتملة في قطاع غزة
"
و
رفعت بريتوريا الدعوى متهمة إسرائيل
بانتهاك اتفاقية الأمم المتحدة لمنع جريمة الإبادة الجماعية والمعاقبة
عليها المبرمة في العام 1948
كرد عالمي على محرقة اليهود إبان الحرب العالمية الثانية
...............
International Court of Justice asks Israel to prevent 'genocide' in Gaza
South Africa had requested a resolution for urgent measures, including a cessation of military operations in the Gaza Strip, but the resolution did not take this into account.
...............
Israel must "take all feasible measures to prevent and punish direct and public incitement to commit genocide," and "it must prevent all possible acts of genocide in the Gaza Strip."
Pretoria filed the lawsuit accusing Israel of violating the 1948 U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide as a global response to the Holocaust during World War Two.
...............
"عالم رأسا على عقب"
وكانت المحامية عادلة هاشم من
وفد جنوب إفريقيا إلى المحكمة
قالت خلال جلسات سابقة هذا الشهر
أمام هذه المحكمة أدلة تم جمعها خلال الأسابيع الـ13 الماضية تُظهر بصورة لا تقبل الشك نمطًا من السلوك والنوايا يبرّر الادعاء المعقول بارتكاب أعمال إبادة
وقبل انعقاد الجلسة الجمعة، أعربت
وزيرة خارجية جنوب إفريقيا ناليدي باندور
عن
"أمل"
بلادها، مؤكدة على أهمية تسليط الضوء على
مصير الأبرياء في فلسطين
ووصفت
وزارة الخارجية في جنوب إفريقيا
القرار بعد صدوره
بـالانتصار الحاسم
للقانون الدولي و
خطوة على طريق الألف ميل في البحث عن العدالة للفلسطينيين
"Upside Down World"
Lawyer Adela Hashim of the South African delegation to the court said during earlier hearings this month: "Before this court is evidence gathered over the past 13 weeks that unequivocally shows a pattern of conduct and intent that justifies a reasonable allegation of genocide."
Ahead of Friday's session, South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor expressed her country's "hope", stressing the importance of highlighting "the fate of innocent people in Palestine."
South Africa's foreign ministry called the resolution a "decisive victory" of international law and "a step on the road to a thousand miles in the search for justice for the Palestinians."
[Lebanon Files ليبانون فايلز on Jan. 26]
...............
Timeline - The Warsaw Ghetto
International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Jan. 27
The Warsaw ghetto uprising was an act of resistance by the Jewish population in Nazi-occupied Poland during World War II in an effort to stop transportation of their people to the extermination camps in Majdanek and Treblinka.
For 10 years now, an empty streetcar has rolled silently through the streets of Warsaw on January 27. Instead of a route number, it has a large Star of David on the roof. Its route takes it through the part of the city that Poland's Nazi occupiers turned into Europe's largest Jewish ghetto in 1940.
و"كالات" : في وقت يسعى الاتحاد الأوروبي خلال مباحثاته لإنشاء دولة فلسطينية على أساس أنها السبيل الوحيد الموثوق لتحقيق السلام في الشرق الأوسط، فوجئ المشاركون باقتراح اسرائيل بناء
جزيرة للفلسطينيين في عرض البحر الأبيض
وكان الاتحاد الأوروبي أعرب فعلا عن قلقه إزاء الرفض الواضح لرئيس الوزراء الإسرائيلي بنيامين نتنياهو لفكرة إنشاء الدولة الفلسطينية سابقا
وبحسب مصادر، فإن وزير الخارجية الاسرائيلي تجاهل المقاربة الأوروبية التي شرحها عدد من الوزراء في جلسة تحولت الى مشهد سريالي
ولم تتردد اسرائيل بعرض
مقترحها بناء جزيرة في عرض البحر الأبيض
حيث ينقل اليها سكان قطاع غزة، في موقف أثار استغرابا واسعا في القاعة وانتقادات من دول عدة منها بلجيكا والبرتغال
وقال دبلوماسي أوروبي
إن النقاشات مع الجانب الاسرائيلي كانت بمثابة
حوار الطرشان
من جهة أخرى فند رئيس الوزراء الإسرائيلي بنيامين نتنياهو أمس الاثنين فيما يبدو تكهنات إعلامية ذكرت أن جهودا تجري لإبرام اتفاق هدنة جديد في غزة
Netanyahu: Hamas has not made any serious proposal
[According to News] "Agencies": At a time when the European Union seeks during its talks to establish a Palestinian state on the basis that it is the only reliable way to achieve peace in the Middle East, participants were surprised by Israel's proposal to build an island for Palestinians in the Mediterranean.
The European Union has already expressed concern over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's apparent rejection of the idea of founding a Palestinian state.
According to sources, the Israeli foreign minister ignored the European approach explained by a number of ministers in a session that turned into a surreal scene.
Israel did not hesitate to present its proposal to build an island in the Mediterranean, where residents of the Gaza Strip would be transferred, a position that raised wide eyebrows in the hall and criticism from several countries, including Belgium and Portugal.
A European diplomat said the discussions with the Israeli side were tantamount to a dialogue between two deaf.
Separately, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday appeared to have refuted media speculation that efforts were underway to conclude a new truce agreement in Gaza.
[The Morning السباح, Kuwait, early morning edition on January 23 (local date)]
Israel-E.U. Meeting on Gaza’s Future
Yields Division and Confusion
Europeans, insisting on Palestinian statehood, are frustrated by Israel’s opposition and lack of a postwar plan for the devastated Gaza Strip. [New York Times on late Jan. 22 (local time)]
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.
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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.
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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]
