#syria war latest

[newscast1]

War and crime: The conflicts with which we are entering 2023

War and crime: The conflicts with which we are entering 2023

By Adarsh T R: The year 2022 witnessed a continuation of several conflicts that have been raging on for the past few years now. After threats and mobilisation of troops near the border, Russia invaded Ukraine in February with Vladimir Putin calling it a special military operation. If you think Russia’s war in Ukraine was the deadliest, think again. A brutal war in East Africa, that has been going…

[sayruq]

I want everyone to understand that even if Israel wins this (I mean it won't but just imagine), it won't recover from this. It won't recover from getting caught off guard on Oct 7th. The government and the IDF spent days unable to have a strategic response to the Palestinian fighters while their own soldiers deserted and their allies openly questioned the wisdom of a ground invasion in Gaza. That's why they're bombing Gaza, it is the only way to project strength to the world but it is also alienating billions of people. The world has never been more pro Palestine than this moment in time.

Just like how America being forced to flee Afghanistan led to a series of Ls globally, Israel struggling against Hamas, PFLP, Islamic Jihad, and other groups will have disastrous effects locally and internationally. I mean, the political class is already falling apart with Netanyahu blaming government officials for this disaster. The Israeli government have no unity or cohesion which is not a great sign to put it lightly. War usually binds people, even rival political groups, and especially allies. America has been hinting that it doesn't approve of some of actions taken by Israel. It could be just Biden and his people trying to softly distance him from the genocide in Gaza but you also have former and current military leaders disapproving of Israel's military strategy.

The thing is you don't see Iran openly questioning the Palestinians. You don't see Hezbollah running to the press to let them know they think Hamas' strategy is weak. Every single Palestinian militia group, including the ones in the West Bank, are working together. Iran, Hezbollah and the Palestinians are all coordinating. In the past week, they would attack Israeli settlements and military bases and American bases in Iraq and Syria at the same time. They've even managed to get new support from the Yemeni Ansar Allah group.

Israel's main export is security- meaning weapons manufacturing and training. How many countries will rush to have their police or soldiers train with the IDF after witnessing them fold while in battle (in the latest ground incursion, the IDF lasted only 15 minutes inside Gaza according to Al Jazeera)? How many countries will line up to buy Israeli tanks after seeing them get taken out easily by guerilla fighters? How many countries and individual investors will want to invest in Israel when it can't go 5 years without a war or genocide?

I believe with all my heart we will soon see a liberated Palestine.

[walks-the-ages]

OP deactivated, and some of the links were broken/marked unsafe by Firefox, so here's a new compilation post of Leslie Feinburg's (She/her, ze/hir) novels and essays on being transgender:

Stone Butch Blues official free source directly from Author's website:

Stone Butch Blues, backup on the webarchive:

Transgender Liberation: A movement whose time has come, on the web archive:

Transgender Warriors: Making History from Joan of Arc to Dennis Rodman, on the web archive:

Lavender and Red, PDF essay collection:

Drag King Dreams, on the web archive:

(Also, if anyone ever tells you that the protagonist of Stone Butch Blues ""ends up with a man""........ they're transmisogynistic jackass TERFs who are straight up lying)

Please also check out your local public libraries for these books and see if they carry them, to help support public libraries! If you have a library card already you can checkout Libby and Overdrive to see if your public library carries it as an ebook that you can checkout :)

EDIT: another not included on the orignal masterpost-- Trans Liberation: Beyond Pink or blue !

annnnnd in light of the web archive losing it's court case, here's a backup of both PDFs and generated epubs a friend made:

5/26/2023: hello! I am adding on yet another book of queer history, this time the autobiography of Karl Baer, a Jewish, intersex trans man who was born in 1884! Please signal boost this version, and remember to check the notes whenever this crosses your dash for any new updates :)

6/24/2023:

Two links to share!

Someone made an Epub version of Memoirs of a Man's Maiden Years, which you can find Here , as a more accessible version than a pdf of a scanned book if you're like me and need larger text size for reading--

And from another post I reblogged earlier today, I discovered the existence of "TransSisters: the Journal of Transsexual Feminism", which has 10 issues from 1993-1995, and includes multiple interviews with Leslie Feinburg and other queer feminists / activists of the 90s!

Here's a link to all 10 issues of TransSisters, plus a 1996 "look back at" by one of the writers after the journal ended, you can find all 10 issues on the Internet Archive Here !

------

8/28/2023:

"Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out", can be found on the web archive Here, for the 25th Anniversary Edition from 2015,

and also Here, for the original 1991 version.

Each of the above can be borrowed for one hour at a time as long as a copy is available :D

This is a living post that receives sporadic updates on the original, if you are seeing this on your dash, click Here to see the latest version of the post to make sure you're reblogging the most up to date one :)

------------

October, 25th 2023:

"I began to dawdle over breakfast during shift changes, asking both waitresses questions. After weeks of inquiries, they invited me to a demonstration, outside Kleinhan's Music Hall, protesting the Israeli war against Egypt and Syria. I was particularly interested in that protest. The state of Israel had been declared shortly before my birth. In Hebrew school I was taught "Palestine was a land without peo-ple, for a people without a land." That phrase haunted me as a child. I pictured ears with no one in them, and movies projected on screens in empty theaters. When I checked a map of that region of the Middle East in my school geography textbook, it was labeled Palestine, not Israel. Yet when I asked my grandmother who the Palestinians were, she told me there were no such people. The puzzle had been solved for me in my adolescence. I developed a strong friendship with a Lebanese teenager, who explained to me that the Palestinian people had been driven off their land by Zionist settlers, like the Native peoples in the United States. I studied and thought a great deal about all she told me. From that point on I staunchly opposed Zionist ideology and the occupation of Palestine. So I wanted to go to the protest. However, I feared the demonstration, no matter how justified, would be tainted by anti-Semitism. But I was so angered by the actions of the Israeli government and military, that I went to the event to check it out for myself. That evening, I arrived at Kleinhan's before the protest began. Cops in uniforms and plainclothes surrounded the music hall. I waited impatiently for the protesters to arrive. Suddenly, all the media swarmed down the street. I ran after them. Coming over the hill was a long column of people moving toward Kleinhan's. The woman who led the march and spoke to reporters proudly told them she was Jewish! Others held signs and banners aloft that read: "Arab Land for Arab People!" and "Smash Anti-Semitism!" Now those were two slogans I could get behind! I wanted to know who these people were and where they had been all my life! Hours later I followed the group back to their headquarters. Orange banners tacked up on the walls expressed solidarity with the Attica prisoners and the Vietnamese. One banner particularly haunted me. It read: Stop the War Against Black America, which made me realize that it wasn't just distant wars that needed opposing. Yet although I worked with two members of this organization, I felt nervous that night. These people were communists, Marxists! Yet I found it easy to get into discussions with them. I met waitresses, factory workers, secretaries, and truck drivers. And I decided they were some of the most principled people I had ever met..." Transgender Warriors (1996) Leslie Feinberg

[zorciarkrildrush]

I think the essence of what drives me crazy about current Enlightened Online Leftist Discourse Regarding My Life Personally And Whether This Time Killing Me Is Morally Correct (as in, commentary about the latest episode in i/p violence) is this:

I want a free Palestine.

I don't personally know a lot of people that don't! They might bristle at the tagline, because it's co-opted by people who do in fact want them dead, but as soon as I lay out why it's in literally everyone's best interest, how a non-free Palestine is horrific both to the people of Israel and to the people of Palestine, how pragmatically ridiculous the occupation of the west bank and the siege upon Gaza are (and I am a very pragmatic person), they get it. And I don't mean I debate people online about it - this, too, is a ridiculous concept - I mean having, time and time again, the deradicalization conversation with my friends, and colleagues, and my family. Obviously not only now - I've always been a very principled and argumentative Jew, ever since I became an adult - and I've been alive for, I don't know, a dozen flashpoints and operations and wars at this point, and I don't stop being argumentative and loud in peacetime either, but especially now.

But that's not what "from the river to the sea" means.

When you, gentle soul from across the sea, echo this slogan, you are either:

By apathy or will, ignoring that the sentiment cheers for the mass expulsion and killing of Jews. Indeed, any non-Muslim present from the river to the sea. This doesn't even begin to cover how even Muslim arabs still will not be safe under Hamas rule - and trust me, I don't care if a Hamas apologist told you different. A victory for Hamas (And we're ignoring the fact they do not have the military capacity for it - I hope you are aware of the privilege inherent to not understanding military conflicts) means exactly that. No "rule by the people". No socialistic, Palestinian utopia to be had, which is a fantasy I'm seeing alluded to a lot recently. Just an extension of the horrific power structure in Lebanon and Syria, where Hezbollah - friends and allies to Hamas - have been playing a tango for decades of both refusing to participate in actual government and betterment of civilian lives, while still draining their resources and controlling them with no real contest. "From the river to the sea" is not a sentiment for freedom fighting - it's a sentiment for a final solution to the people living here who are either Jewish, or for some Very Strange And Weird Reason would rather not submit to Hamas rule. You know - Israeli Arabs, secular and Muslim and Christian, Druze, Circassians, Bahai, take your pick. Their suffering, and my suffering - you know, a person who made the strategic error of being born in Israel while Jewish, which is inherently problematic and not okay of me - don't matter to you. Just the fantasy of an easy, morally correct cleanse of the land.

Are well aware of all of the above! You just don't care. You either smugly chuckle that I, and anybody else who will die, deserve it - or that it's an acceptable loss for the aforementioned fantasy. "Decolonization is an inherently violent process", you'll say to me, chillingly, before implying I have a summer home in Brooklyn I can just retreat to when things get tough. Israel is basically Rhodesia, a very popular blog here mentioned flippantly, so what's the issue with all of those lily-white Jews fucking off back home before the righteous freedom fighters strike them down? Well. This might be the part I urge you to open a book, or even Wikipedia or any god damn thing that will explain to you these upsetting, dense things you clearly struggle with.

It's easy for me to discount islamophobes. Like, very easy. It's very easy for me to discount insane evangelistics who "advocate for me" simply because I'm a pawn in their religious rapture. It's easy for me to fight against Israeli and Jewish fascists - I have been long before this news item came across your feed, as did the insinuations that some civilian deaths are okay, actually.

It's easy for me for me to see promotions for donations to non-political aid in Gaza. It's easy for me to see the sentiment that hey! Palestinians deserve safe, healthy lives. That they have deserved an independent state, and were unfairly denied one, for decades. It's easy for me to see people saying "You know, the Israeli government is shit, actually, and their actions endanger and promote to the misery of innocents". Because that's right! I wouldn't be voting and protesting and donating for all of these sentiments otherwise!

It's not easy for me to see people, who I honestly held in high regard and saw having well thought out opinions on important matters, inadvertently echo the sentiment that my death is acceptable. That a terrorist organization, who rule over their own territory with fear and violence, are righteous freedom fighters, vox populi, only out to establish a free state. Like hey, their manifesto said otherwise, so it must be all there is - right? That Jews are just hysterical, they can easily live elsewhere - ever since that nasty holocaust business everything's fine abroad. Besides, it was just so long ago who even cares stop talking about it. Hamas, Hezbollah, ISIS, the Ayatollahs in Iran, the fucking Islamic Jihad - are not interested in freedom. They aren't, and echoing their slogan tells me you are either ignoring that, or support them anyway. If antisemitic rhetoric, half truths and lies by omission work on you today, they would have in any period of time. I'm sorry this makes you uncomfortable. I'm not, not really.

So finally:

Know what your fucking words mean. Have a cursory glance at the history of the MENA and why it's so fucked, one that doesn't boil down to "The Jews, with American help, rolled into where they don't belong". This isn't even a joke. I've seen this braindead, history-revising sentiment repeated so many times, both online and in actual textbooks, that I feel I'm going insane. So many well-meaning people handwringing and assuring each other that repeating genocidal slogans is fine, that calling the i/p conflict "a simple problem" (which means it has a simple solution, right? Just kill the Jews.) is a well-adjusted and intellectual take. That "only the Zionists should die! The rest will be fine :)" I dare you to say that and also give me a correct definition of what Zionism is. Why I, a Jew that advocates for Palestinian statehood and rights and safety and always have, won't also face the wall in your little fantasy.

Freedom to Palestine. Peace in the middle east, fucking yesterday.

A curse and a plague on those who don't want either of those, and just want to cheer on the death of "the other side".

A curse and a plague upon you, when you tell me, smugly, from somewhere safe and far away, "from the river to the sea".

[probablyasocialecologist]

Being a European settler colonial formation, much like the US, the Zionist regime incubates a mode of social reproduction that promotes imperialist values and secures US interests in the Arab region and on a world scale. By acquiring nuclear weapons and through its numerous military attacks on and invasions of other countries in the region – such as Iraq, Lebanon and Syria – Israel has been the major force behind imperialist capital accumulation and its corollary, Arab de-development. Historically, what binds them together is a racist capitalist regime of ‘hetero-conquest’ needed for the continued domination of the Indigenous, poor, and racialised peoples of the world. Israel is a material investment for the US in militarism, a reality that has emerged clearly during this latest genocidal war. Every aspect of the Zionist regime – from its liberal-progressive ideological values to its military capacity and economic strength – engrosses its sub-imperial or functionary role within the entire Middle East region. As Theodore Herzl proposed to his then British Imperial allies, the to-be Jewish state would serve as ‘the portion of the rampart of Europe against Asia, an outpost of civilization as opposed to barbarism’.

Walaa Alqaisiya, The urgency of anti-imperialist feminism: Lessons from Palestine

[matan4il]

Daily update post:

Another independent Palestinian terrorist attack happened today, it was another stabbing, much like yesterday's, and I feel nauseous that we're at the point where, when I'm looking for an online source in English, I'm struggling to find the latest one out of all the terrorist attacks reported recently. I heard an eyewitness say the terrorist entered a cafe, stood in line, then started stabbing those standing in front of him. The terrorist is a 22 years old Israeli Arab, originally a Gazan. From what I understand, his dad is a Gazan who married an Israeli Arab woman, both men got Israeli citizenship, and the terrorist has lived in Israel for the last 4 years, during which he married an Israeli woman, like his dad. On his mother's side of the family, he has two relatives who are Israeli heroes: one is a soldier, who died not that long ago fighting in Gaza, another is a cop, who saved several people from the Hamas massacre at the Nova music festival. I've heard now 2 Israeli Arab citizens from the community where he lived denouncing him. The terrorist was neutralized. At least 2 people are reported injured, one man in his 60's is lightly wounded, another is in his 50's. One man (in a white shirt with stripes in the vid below) at the cafe saw the terrorist and jumped him with bare hands. Stripes Man kept trying to detain the terrorist until he saw one of the wounded managed to pull out a gun, Stripes Man moved out of the way, the injured one shot more than once and stopped the terrorist, but outside he collapsed, and was hospitalized in a mortal state.

The global rise in antisemitic incidents under the guise of anti-Zionism continues, this time we get insane news from Australia. I'm just gonna quote the report directly: "Two pro-Palestinian activists in Australia were charged on Tuesday with kidnapping and assaulting a victim for the perceived crime of being employed by a Jew."

Meanwhile, the Holocaust memorial at the transit camp of Drancy, through which the Jews of France were deported to their extermination in the east, was vandalized. I'll say it again, the timing is not a coincidence, as we see more and more antisemitic incidents, it's clear each one will get less attention, and less resources allocated to correcting the wrong, since it's all being spread so thin.

I wrote yesterday about a pilot program, which is one of many attempts by Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza without about 60% of it being hijacked by Hamas. I'm sad to say that the pilot has failed, and the aid has been looted. Interestingly, it's not clear by whom. Which is many a good moment to add this: in addition to Hamas taking over the aid, so do existing Gazan mob families (presumably, the criminals are taking over the aid in order to sell it back to regular Gazans at exploitative prices).

A South African minister has announced that her country will be arresting all citizens of South Africa returning from fighting for Israel in Gaza. I do not recall any such announcement regarding South Africans returning from fighting for either side in any other area in the world, such as Ukraine or Syria. I think there's a chance we're watching South Africa ethnically cleansing itself of Jews.

These are Israeli-American mother Judith Raanan and her teenage daughter Natalie.

About a month after the start of the war, they were the first 2 Israeli hostages to be released by Hamas. Here is a short vid where Judith talks about their experiences, including how the nurses at the Gazan hospital Hamas took them to after they were kidnapped CHEERED at the sight of (in her words) "Israeli Jewish prey":

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[motherofplatypus]

Stay informed.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Let’s Talk Palestine (@letstalkpalestine)

Summary of the post:

-On Monday (4/23/24 or 23/4/24) is**** bombed Southern and Eastern Lebanon, killing over 500 people in a single day, the deadliest assault since 2006.

-Since Oct 7 up to Sep 20, is**** has attacked Lebanon 8.313 times.

-is**** accused Hezbollah of "hiding weapons in civilian areas" and "using human shields" without providing evidence. The same lies they use to justify the genocide in Gaza.

-What is Hezbollah: It's an armed resistance group that was founded after is****'s 1982 invasion. The stated goals are to liberate Palestine from is**** occupation and resist western imperialism and american influence in wider region.

-How is Lebanon connected to Palestine: The is**** colonization of Palestine destabilized and threatened the entire region. After is**** ethnically cleansed over 750K Palestinians to neighboring countries like Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. The assaults on these countries is to force them to accept the occupation of Palestine and punish those who refuse.

-Why is is**** escalating now: 1) To end Lebanese solidarity with Gaza; 2) Establish a buffer zone in Lebanon; 3) Satanyahooter's personal interest; 4) Distract global's attention from Gaza

-How is the US involved in Lebanon-is**** war: The bident-hairrys administration states that its goal is "de-escalation", but insists on providing unconditional financial and military aids. is**** latest massive assault used a US-made bombs and were subsidized by US aid.

[workersolidarity]

[ 📹 Scenes from the destruction wrought by an Israeli occupation airstrike which targeted a vehicle being driven by 7 foreign aid workers belonging to the World Central Kitchen, killing all inside. Among the dead included foreign citizens of Britain, Poland, and Australia, along with a dual American and Canadian citizen. The aid organization said it had coordinated the movements of its personnel with the Israeli authorities, who knew the vehicle contained humanitarian aid workers.]

🇮🇱⚔️🇵🇸 🚀🚀🚙💥 🚨

ISRAELI OCCUPATION BOMBS FOREIGN AID WORKERS, CONTINUES BOMBING ACROSS GAZA ON DAY 179 OF GENOCIDE

On the 179th day of "Israel's" ongoing war of genocide in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) committed a total of 7 new massacres of Palestinian families, resulting in the deaths of no less than 71 Palestinians, mostly women and children, while another 102 others were wounded over the previous 24-hours.

In the latest occupation atrocity, the Zionist army bombed the vehicle of a group of Foreign aid personnel working for the World Central Kitchen (WCK), killing 7 employees, including 6 foreigners.

"World Central Kitchen is devastated to confirm seven members of our team have been killed in an IDF strike in Gaza," the organization said in a statement on its website.

According to the World Central Kitchen, despite coordinating the organization's movements with the Israeli occupation army, a convoy including two armored cars branded with the WCK logo and one soft-skin vehicle that were carrying the WCK team while it was traveling through a "deconflicted zone" was struck by an Israeli bomb, destroying at least one of the vehicles.

WCK says the team was leaving their Deir al-Balah warehouse, in the central Gaza Strip, where their teams unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza through a maritime route, when the convoy was targeted by Zionist forces.

“This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” World Central Kitchen CEO, Erin Gore is quoted as saying.

The seven foreign aid workers killed in the Zionist strike included citizens from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, as well as a dual-citizen of the United States and Canada, and one Palestinian.

“I am heartbroken and appalled that we—World Central Kitchen and the world—lost beautiful lives today because of a targeted attack by the IDF. The love they had for feeding people, the determination they embodied to show that humanity rises above all, and the impact they made in countless lives will forever be remembered and cherished,” Erin Gore added.

In response to the International outcry over the atrocity, the Israeli occupation authorities said they will be “carrying out an in-depth examination at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident.”

The World Central Kitchen has suspended its operations in Gaza as a result of the incident.

In yet another atrocity yesterday, the Israeli occupation army bombed the Iranian consulate building in the Syrian capital of Damascus, killing several high-level Iranian officials, including 7 military advisors of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

In response to the strike, Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said in an announcement issued on Tuesday that the "evil Zionist regime will regret" it's crime of assasinating Iran's military advisors in Syria.

The Iranian leader said that both Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force, and his deputy, General Mohammed Hadi Haji Rahimi were killed in the strike, which targeted the Iranian consulate in Damascus, declaring the crime was perpetrated by the "usurping and dispicable" Zionist regime.

“The evil regime will be punished by our brave men. We will make them regret this crime and other ones, by God's will," the Iranian leader added.

As Israel's crimes spread outside the occupied Palestinian territories and the Gaza Strip, and into the wider West Asian region, the bombing inside Palestine continued unabated.

In just one example, local civil defense crews recovered the bodies of six Palestinians who were killed, including two children, along with a number of wounded civilians, following a Zionist occupation airstrike targeting the Zarub family home, located in the city of Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip.

In another atrocity, several Palestinians were killed and a large number wounded after occupation artillery shelling targeted a number of residential buildings in the city of Khan Yunis, also in the south of Gaza, focusing artillery fire on the eastern and central parts of the city.

Meanwhile, Zionist warplanes bombed the al-Bashir Mosque, in the city of Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, martyring a several civilians, including the death of at least one child, and wounding at least 20 others, while also dealing significant damage to neighboring residential buildings.

Similarly, Zionist fighter jets fired several missiles that slammed into two residential homes in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City, while occupation artillery shelling targeted the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood, along with the Sheikh Ajlin neighborhood, martyring three civilians and wounding six others.

Over the last day, as the Zionist occupation army withdrew from the Al-Shifa Medical Complex, located in the Al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City, which had been the largest and most well-equipped hospital in the entire Gaza Strip, a scene of mass destruction and carnage was revealed, with hundreds of bodies littering the hospital grounds, including some bodies discovered with handcuffed wrists, having been extra-judicially executed in cold-blood.

Among the bodies recovered from Al-Shifa were doctors and healthcare personnel, along with entire Palestinian families, which the Gaza Media Office says were just a small part of the roughly 400 citizens that were killed in two weeks of fighting near the hospital.

About another 900 Palestinians were arrested or detained by Zionist forces under suspicion of belonging to Resistance groups, while the Hospital buildings themselves were nearly completely destroyed, blown to pieces and left as scorched shells by the American bombs dropped on them by the Israeli occupation army.

As a result of "Israel's" ongoing war of genocide in the Gaza Strip, the infinitely rising death toll has now exceeded 32'916 Palestinians killed, more than 25'000 of which being among women and children, while an additional 75'494 others have been wounded since the start of the current round of Zionist aggression beginning on October 7th, 2023.

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#videosource

@WorkerSolidarityNews

[lemedstudent2021]

cant even listen to christmas music in peace smh

youtube you arent fooling anyone, have some self respect pls and fuck off

ah yes. an israeli flag is the picture that comes to mind when one thinks of the word 'christmas'. nothing says humble beginnings quite like commiting war crimes and genocide and illegal settler shit:

i pray with all my heart the john lennons song applies very soon and that the war is indeed over for everyone

wow theyve colonised anatomy too

lmao i refreshed the page and its not coming back. cowards

i was listening to no surprises just before it, and why am i not surprised at the audacity of israeli promotion everywhere.

[girlactionfigure]

🟠 Latest Events from Israel  

ISRAEL REALTIME - Connecting to Israel in Realtime

⚠️UNUSUAL MIDDLE EAST AIR MOVEMENTS NOTED, US & UK refueling tankers taking off - transponders then turning off.  Hints of possible Israeli attack.. or practice, or intentional fake to create pressure on Iran.

.. And the standard daily rumor: There is concern among U.S. government officials that Israel's attack on Iran will be carried out in the next few hours!

❗️HOME FRONT COMMAND.. There will be no classes in Krayot (north of Haifa) tomorrow.

❗️IDF LOCATES LEBANESE CROSS BORDER ATTACK TUNNEL.. IDF located and neutralized a tunnelfrom Hezbollah that crossed about  from Lebanon into Israel near Moshav Zerait. This tunnel was located a few months ago, but the info kept secret so the IDF could ambush Hezbollah if they used it.

♦️ISRAELI FLAG RAISED.. over the ruins of Maroon a Ras in Lebanon, a primary attack site for Hezbollah firing anti-tank missiles into Israeli civilian towns.  The IDF has demolished the village which was being used as an attack platform.

🎯TARGETED ELIMINATION - SYRIA.. next to the Iranian embassy!  Airstrike directly into 1 apartment within a high rise building in Damascus, Gaza neighborhood.  No info at this time on who was targeted.

❓FROM NEW BOB WOODWARD BOOK ON BIDEN.. Biden called Netanyahu a "s#%% son, a bad person, a bad fa%#^ person".  "Bibi, what the hell" he roared at Netanyahu on the phone after he found out that Israel had killed Fouad Shukar, Hezbollah's chief of staff who was a wanted man by the U.S. and mass murderer of American soldiers.

🇮🇱PM NETANYAHU TO LEBANON.. “Do you remember the days when your country was called "the pearl of the Middle East"? What happened? A gang of terrorists destroyed it. Israel left Lebanon 25 years ago. But the country that actually occupied Lebanon was Iran. Iran finances and arms Hezbollah so that it serves Iranian interests - at the expense of Lebanon.  Hezbollah has turned Lebanon into … a forward military base for Iran.

Today Hezbollah is weaker than it has been in many years.  Now you, the citizens of Lebanon, stand at an important crossroads. You can take back your country. You can put her back on the path of peace and prosperity.  If you don't do this, Hezbollah will continue to try to fight Israel from densely populated areas - at your expense. 

Free your country from Hezbollah so that this war can end and your country can prosper again.”

🔹FRANCE EVACS.. citizens from Lebanon by military transport.

🔹TURKEY EVACS.. citizens from Lebanon by ship.

🔹UNIFIL rejected the IDF's request to evacuate its positions near the battle space in Lebanon for their own safety and to prevent them from being used as human and political shields by Hezbollah.

▪️PM TO DM.. Netanyahu to Gallant: Your trip to Washington - only after approval of Israel's next actions in the cabinet and my conversation with Biden.

▪️IDF CHAREDI COMBAT BATTALION OPENS.. Hashmonaim Brigade: Recruitment begun and the first batch is expected in Dec. Base adapted for ultra-Orthodox Jews of enlistment age up to 32. All training on base, this way the soldiers will be guaranteed to maintain their lifestyle. The soldiers will serve full service, and the brigade will have a border patrol zone.

🔸HOSTAGE DEAL NEWS.. Sinwar demands from the Qataris to receive immunity from Israel during negotiations.

✡️A word of Torah: Remember that in a hall of perfect darkness, totally dark, if you light one small candle, its light will be seen from afar; its precious light will be seen by everyone. - The Lubavitcher Rebbe

[mariacallous]

In recent months, Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip has experienced population expansion on a dramatic scale. Before the war, the Rafah area, which abuts the Egyptian border, was home to around 275,000 people. Now, an estimated 1.5 million people are crammed in there, many in tent cities visible in satellite images.

In February, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warned that an Israeli military operation in Rafah, as Israeli officials have repeatedly said they are planning to do, “would exponentially increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare with untold regional consequences.”

This latest armed conflict began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups perpetrated mass atrocities against Israel, including killings, brutal mutilations, torture, and sexual assaults. More than 200 Israelis and other nationals were abducted, ranging in age from 10 months to 86 years. More than 100 remain unaccounted for.

In response, Israel unleashed a military campaign of extraordinary intensity. The civilian death toll in Gaza is intolerably high, especially the estimated 14,000 Palestinian children who have been killed. Israel says Rafah is the last stronghold of Hamas and in the absence of a hostage deal it is intent on continuing its military campaign.

According to the United Nations, famine is imminent. The World Bank and U.N. also estimate that more than 60 percent of all homes in the territory have been damaged or destroyed as well as vital medical and civilian infrastructure. In all, some 1.7 million Palestinians have been internally displaced.

So why, in a war of this intensity, are there no refugees? Or perhaps the question should be asked in a slightly different way: Where are the refugees from Gaza?

The simple answer is that most Palestinians are trapped within Gaza behind fortified borders, impregnable to all but those with international passports or exceptional connections. According to the Egyptian government, nearly 4,000 people have been evacuated into the country for medical treatment along with their families. A further 67,000 foreign and dual nationals have also been able to leave, but these are not refugees, and most foreign and dual nationals will have since moved on from Egypt.

By way of comparison, at the end of last year 6.5 million refugees from Syria and nearly 6 million Ukrainians were being provided protection outside their countries. In any conflict of this scale and with this magnitude of pain and suffering, one would anticipate a mass influx of refugees into surrounding countries. There have been few situations in living memory where an entire blockade has prevented people from escaping imminent threats to life and limb.

It is remarkable that more than six months into this conflict so few people have had the chance to leave, even though there are daily statements from international organizations that there is no safe place in Gaza; even though UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, says it cannot provide protection or assistance; and even as the international community says humanitarian relief is not reaching those most in need.

Wherever people flee from or to, states are prohibited from sending anyone to face risks of war, torture, or persecution. This universal obligation includes letting people escape, giving sanctuary for as long as the threat persists and to return safely when conditions allow.

These rights originate in the teachings of the monotheistic religions. According to Islamic migration law, individuals have the right to seek and be granted asylum in any Muslim state. Judaism, whose people have long fled persecution, has a biblical principle of welcoming and protecting the stranger.

Torture in the conflict is widespread. I have reviewed evidence of the extreme torture perpetrated during the Oct. 7 assault by Hamas and other Palestinian fighters, as well as reports of ongoing violations against hostages. My office has received allegations of torture and mistreatment by Israeli forces against detained Palestinians. The collective punishment of the Palestinian people is, in my legal opinion, tantamount to torture.

While there is little legal ambiguity and the right to asylum is an apolitical right, there are few more politicized regions than the Middle East. Neighboring Arab countries have historically borne the greatest burden of influxes of fleeing Palestinians, and these influxes have often caused significant political instability in their own states. Israel has an abysmal track record of allowing Palestinians who have fled to reenter.

So it is unsurprising that Arab leaders are now deeply sensitive to any charge of helping to facilitate the mass expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza. This would be a “red line,” according to King Abdullah II of Jordan. The possibility of Palestinians fleeing en masse in a repeat of the Nakba—the displacement of around half the Arab population of Palestine in 1948—haunts leaders in Cairo, throughout the region, and well beyond.

In due course, the International Court of Justice will determine whether there has been a genocide in Gaza. The court’s provisional measures recognize that all states have obligations to prevent genocide, which would include preventing the killings of members of a national group, by, for example, letting them leave the territory.

Despite the complexities of the politics of this conflict, the legal reality is that states cannot pick and choose which human rights obligations to implement. It is self-evident that Israel will not open its borders to Palestinian refugees, but the Israeli state and Egypt have legal obligations to do so. Egypt’s decision to seal its border with Gaza violates international humanitarian law and international refugee law.

Egypt cites security concerns as a reason for not letting in Palestinian refugees, especially given the challenges of militancy in the Sinai Peninsula potentially being aggravated by the arrival of battle-hardened fighters from Gaza alongside civilians. While that threat certainly exists, the international legal framework includes safeguards to protect against this, and robust screening processes must be put in place to ensure that militants do not cross the border alongside civilians.

Early in the conflict, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told CNBC that he could see “no reason why Egypt, which is hosting 9 million refugees—hosting them and providing them integration into our society at considerable burden on our economy—should have to bear solely [the] additional influx of Gazans.”

That figure appears to be way off the mark, at least based on the latest UNHCR statistics. The U.N. Refugee Agency says Egypt currently hosts 575,000 registered refugees and asylum-seekers from 61 countries, while another nearly 250,000 refugees have not yet been registered. More than half of those registered are Sudanese, with Syrians forming the next largest group. The estimated number of Palestinians in Egypt is unclear as they are not included in any official figures, but may number in the hundreds of thousands.

Shoukry is right, though, to say that Egypt should not have to bear responsibility for Palestinian refugees alone. Other states and international organizations must support them.

UNRWA serves Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Gaza, and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Under the 1951 Refugee Convention, responsibility transfers to UNHCR outside these areas. In other words, UNHCR is required to support Palestinian refugees who reach Egypt. The Refugee Convention stresses that international cooperation is a foundational principle and that all states must play their part.

There have been reports that Egypt has been clearing land near the border preparing for refugees in the event of widescale fighting in Rafah. The international community and the U.N. have been right to call for a cease-fire and for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. With negotiations still proceeding, the humanitarian imperative to save lives must be paramount.

Whenever peace is achieved, the level of destruction will take years to repair. Where and how are Palestinians from Gaza to live in the meantime?

The fact remains that the right to flee and to seek asylum under law is an individual right. Palestinian families, as they consider their future, must be able make this decision for themselves. The U.N.—whether it is UNRWA within the territories or UNHCR in Egypt and beyond—must support Palestinian civilians.

Short-term planning to help relieve pressure on Egypt and other countries receiving any refugees should include offers of medical evacuations, family reunification, and temporary protection transfers into third countries. There must be commitments of return to Gaza as soon as conditions allow. There are many precedents around the world of similar comprehensive strategies by the international community.

Right now, though, civilians in Gaza have no ability to determine their fate. Starvation is becoming ever more likely, and death could come at any moment. Palestinians deserve the opportunity to choose whether they wish to flee, however painful a decision it is.

Alice Jill Edwards is the United Nations special rapporteur on torture.

[zvaigzdelasas]

Israeli airstrikes in Syria “could lead to a region-wide" war, according to Russia, which accused the United States and Israel of chancing a conflict in [Syria]. “These actions by the Israeli side are a gross violation of the sovereignty of the [Syrian Arab Republic] and the basic rules of international law,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. “Such military actions are fraught with extremely dangerous consequences, since they could lead to a region-wide armed escalation.”[...]

Israeli forces bombarded Syrian airports in Damascus and Aleppo on Thursday, according to Syrian and Russian state media. Israel Defense Forces officials have declined to confirm or deny the reported airstrikes. “We do not comment on foreign media reports,” IDF Lt. Col. Amnon Shefler said on Thursday.[...]

Putin has blamed Israel and the United States for the latest Hamas terror attack. “Part of the land that Palestinians have always considered as originally belonging to them has been occupied by Israel at different times and in different ways, but for the most part, obviously, through military force,” the Kremlin strongman said Wednesday. “Also, the settlement policy and certain other aspects have ultimately led to this explosion of violence."

12 Oct 23

[missvioletvillainess]

🇵🇸 Can we talk about the fact that I keep getting asked out by hot dykes at Pro-Palestine protests and it's so affirming and wholesome?? 🇵🇸

Because there's no queer liberation without the liberation of Palestinians. Because there's no freedom from oppression until Palestinians are free from Israeli occupation and if you're actively involved in that, I know you're a safe space. If I see you can create an ounce of discomfort in your life and disrupt it to one small degree to try and create comfort for those less privileged, I know you're someone I can trust.

I need to know you care about making change. I need to know you care not in an abstract, intangible way, but in a very real, disrupting your work schedule, cutting off friends, risking opportunities, put-your-ass-on-the-line, kind of way. If you care about change,you have to be actively involved, talking about it is not enough, it's never enough. It's easy to be woke and speak out about social issues until you actually have to be inconvenienced, unsafe or economically disadvantaged for doing so. Then it's hard. Thats why so many people agree with these political views but so few actually take out the time to get involved. Trust me, I know exactly how hard it is. I did it when I had no job, no home, no visa; I did it when I was triggered, when I was unsafe, when I was overworked and overwhelmed. I have been doing it since the bombing started, and I do it consistently every week.

Personally, I don't think I could be with a partner who isn't involved in activism to some degree. It's been a part of my life for years, and I've only been more radicalised as time goes on. I'm attending 2-3 Pro-Palestine events every week, I can't date you if you have a 🇵🇸 in your bio and that's the full extent of your contribution to the cause. Thank you, but no thank you, I'm going to move on. Palestine isn't the latest war or invasion or conflict, it isn't a sad tragic story for people to donate to out of sympathy, it is a systematic ethnic cleansing and a televised genocide. I don't have capacity to deal with someone who is lukewarm about this.

More importantly, I don't have capacity to to deal with someone who talks about social issues but isn't prepared to disrupt their lives to even a small, inconsequential degree to fight for a cause they believe in. You doesn't have to just support Palestine, you could be supporting Ukraine, Lebanon, Syria, Sudan, Congo. You could be supporting ethnic minorities in your community, you could be supporting refugees, abuse survivors, homeless people, trans people, anyone at all, but if you don't show up and get involved in the cause you believe in, if you don't put in the work, if you don't put in the effort; if you can't attend protests, demonstrations, teach ins, seminars, charity events; if you're not fundraising, boycotting, spreading awareness; if you can't give something of yourself to the community you want to support, I really don't know if I can be romantically involved with you.

That's why I think people at the protests have such a strong tight knit community, and that's why some people actually find safety and security in the people they meet and that's why they might want to pursue something romantic with the people they feel comfortable exploring with. It's hard showing up when you're overwhelmed and you're going to be late to work the next day. It's hard showing up when you have to miss your iftars, your hang outs, your social gatherings. It's hard showing up when you're broke and stressed, and it's hard showing up when you're late on assignments and meetings with your supervisor. It's hard as fuck, honestly. But if I see you're doing that, I know I can trust you to a certain degree, at least. I know you have your priorities straight, I know where your morals are aligned, I know where you're going to put your energy, and I want to be part of that.

Lets go to protests together, lets make banners together, lets attend fundraisers and political teach in sessions, let's have a date at an occupied space (actually did that last week) Lets romanticise the activism we do, because it's fucking powerful and we should celebrate it.

The sexiest thing a sapphic can do is be an activist, fucking fight me.

If you're not Pro Palestine, please unfollow. Or let me know, so I can block you. Kthanksbye.

🇵🇸 Dykes for Palestine

[magz]

Palestine Summary from LetsTalkPalestine April 14 to April 21, 2024.

April 14.

Day 191

•⁠ 43 Palestinians killed, 62 injured in Gaza in last 24 hours

💰Israel likely spent $1bn+ to intercept & counter Iran's attacks yesterday

🇯🇴 Jordan summons Iranian ambassador after Iran warned Jordan could be next target if it cooperated w/ Israel. Jordan says it intercepted Iran's artillery in its airspace to protect citizens, despite causing shrapnel to fall on neighborhoods

🇺🇳 UNSC yet to reach consensus on Iran's strikes so no condemnation, but they also didn't condemn Israel's attack on Iran's consulate in Syria that triggered the retaliation

•⁠ Israel vows to "exact a price" after Iran's attack but no details. US trying to dissuade Israel + confirmed US won't participate

•⁠ ⁠Israel to mobilize 2 reserve divisions to Gaza, despite earlier withdrawal of most troops. Announced postponing of date of Rafah invasion

•⁠ Largest wave of Israeli settler attacks w/ IOF protection across West Bank, even amid Iran's attacks last night, so far killing 2 and injuring 55+

April 15.

Day 192

•⁠ 68 Palestinians killed, 94 injured in last 24 hours

🇮🇷 Israeli military chief threatens escalation vs Iran. Israeli war cabinet agrees to respond to Iran but divided on how. US insists won’t join attack. Iran says it wants to avoid escalation but will retaliate if Israel attacks

•⁠ Israeli settlers kill 2 Palestinians & injure 1 in Nablus as West Bank experiences escalating settler attacks

•⁠ ⁠2 mass graves uncovered in north Gaza: 10 patients killed by Israel’s latest siege of al-Shifa Hospital + 20 decomposing bodies in Beit Lahia

•⁠ G7 condemns Iran’s recent retaliation on Israel, saying G7 is open to imposing sanctions on Iran & allies

•⁠ Israeli military ramps up airstrikes on displaced Palestinians in Nuseirat camp killing 4+, injuring 32 today

🇱🇧 4 Israeli soldiers injured after infiltrating Lebanese territory by explosive devices planted by Hezbollah

•⁠ ⁠Undercover ​​Israeli special forces kill Palestinian & injure 2 while raiding home in Nablus (West Bank)

April 16

Day 193

• 46 Palestinians killed, 110 injured in last 24 hours

🇮🇷🇺🇸 Wall Street Journal: Pentagon reveals US involvement in intercepting Iranian projectiles, using intelligence and airspace access from initially hesitant Gulf countries (🇸🇦🇦🇪) as a "shield" to help Israel

• At least 11 killed, most of whom were children, in an Israeli attack on densely populated Maghazi refugee camp

🇮🇷🇯🇴 Iran labels Jordanian interception "strategic mistake" after it opened its airspace to Israel to combat Iran's recent retaliation

🍞 An Israeli attack on a police vehicle kills 8 aid enforcement officers working to distribute aid to starved northern Gaza

🇲🇦 Moroccan activist receives 5-year prison sentence for criticizing Morocco's normalization of relations with Israel

🇺🇳 UN to launch $2.8 billion global appeal, with 90% allocated to Gaza, citing reduced budgeting from initial $4 billion plan due to Israeli restrictions on distribution capabilities

April 17

Day 194 - Palestinian Prisoner’s Day

✊ Palestinians in West Bank rally for release of the 3,500 Palestinian captives held by Israel without charge. 9,000+ Palestinians are held captive by Israel, 5,000 of them since Oct

•⁠ 56 Palestinians killed, 89 injured in last 24 hours

💰 Israel approves 5-year $5bn plan to rebuild settlements around Gaza damaged on Oct 7

🇱🇧 18 Israeli soldiers injured by Hezbollah attack on Israeli military facility

🇪🇺 ⁠Top EU diplomats agree to impose sanctions on Iran soon, while refusing to sanction Israel

🇺🇸 Biden uses Iran attack to revive $14bn aid package to Israel & Ukraine that’s being stalled by Congress

•⁠ Google employees arrested after 9-hour sit-in protest against Google’s $1.2bn contract w/ Israel & Amazon

•⁠ HRW: Israeli settlers & soldiers “entirely uprooted” 7 Palestinian communities in West Bank since Oct, backed by top Israeli authorities

🇺🇳 UNSC to vote on resolution for Palestinian UN membership on Friday, US expected to veto

April 18

Day 195

• 71 Palestinians killed, 106 injured in last 24 hours

⚖️ Israel received intel that the International Criminal Court (ICC) may soon issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu & other leaders for war crimes. Israel is worried & lobbying to prevent it, hoping Germany & UK will help pressure the ICC

🇺🇳 US vetoed Palestine’s application for UN membership at the UNSC

🏥 30 bodies uncovered at an al-Shifa Hospital mass grave deliberately hidden by Israel. The bodies show signs of forced executions. Terrifyingly, it’s still unknown what happened to about 1,000 medical staff and journalists who were in the hospital when Israeli forces entered

• Israeli forces abduct 40 people in the West Bank yesterday, on Palestinian Prisoner’s Day

• Israel withdraws from Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp after brutal days-long attack, leaving 13,000 housing units destroyed, 75 Palestinians killed, 348 injured, and 100 missing under rubble

• Israeli attacks on Rafah today killed 11+ people including 5 kids

April 19

On Iran:

Israel’s attack on Iran.

Small drones were somehow launched from within Iran targeting an airbase in Isfahan. Iran shot them down, reporting no damage caused

It’s a limited response to Iran’s retaliation which launched drones & missiles at Israel after Israel attacked Iran’s consulate, killing 16. Israel is yet to confirm the attack but it told US last minute of the operation

The attack’s limited nature is Israel balancing US pressure to de-escalate while trying to show regional military dominance, consistent w/ reports that US & Israel agreed on a Rafah invasion in exchange for no Iran escalation. An anonymous Israeli official said it was to signal Israel’s ability to strike inside Iran

Iran is downplaying the incident, likely so they won’t have to respond. An official called it “reckless fireworks”

Unclear if Israel will attack again; Iran said they don’t plan to retaliate. Seems there’s no Iranian or Israeli desire to escalate, especially w/ mass global calls for de-escalation

-

Day 196

• Total death toll surpasses 34,000, including 10,000 women, but @ euromedhr puts the real number including the thousands missing under rubble at over 41,000

• Ongoing Israeli raid on Tulkarem (West Bank) since last night, concentrated on Nur Shams refugee camp as bulldozers cause widespread destruction; 5 Palestinians killed incl. a 16-year-old. Fierce battles between resistance fighters & Israeli forces, with IOF killing the leader of Tulkarem Brigades (local resistance group), marking an escalation. More info tomorrow [April 20]

🇪🇺 EU sanctions 4 Israeli settlers for committing violence against Palestinians

• Israeli airstrike on Rafah kills 7, injuring many others

🇺🇸 US sanctions 2 entities that raised money for US sanctioned Israeli settlers

• Columbia University authorized police to arrest 108 pro-Palestinian protesters on its campus

April 20

Israeli forces arrest dozens of Palestinian men in Nur Shams Refugee Camp in West Bank (middle east eye)

🚨 Ongoing 48-hour Israeli raid on Tulkarem causing worst destruction in the West Bank in decades

Fierce battles in Nur Shams camp in Tulkarem between Israeli soldiers & Palestinian resistance fighters who target IOF w/ explosives & gunfire, causing IOF casualties. Israeli drones hovering over Tulkarem since Thursday; reports of explosions & IOF sending reinforcements

Yesterday, IOF executed Mohammed Jaber, leader of Tulkarem Brigades (local resistance group), marking an escalation, but the group said it’ll continue to resist

4 other Palestinians killed, incl. a teen. Death toll likely to rise given ongoing battles. IOF claims to kill 10 Palestinian fighters

Today 11 were injured: 7 by bullets, 4 beaten by IOF soldiers. Videos show soldiers abusing the injured & blocking ambulances. 15+ Palestinians abducted by IOF (📹👆) + IOF seized homes to set up detention centers, forcing out families

Widespread destruction by IOF as 60+ military vehicles demolish homes, roads, shops & sewage lines

-

Day 197

•⁠ 37 Palestinians killed, 68 injured in last 24 hours, lowest daily death toll since start of the genocide (except for 1-week Nov truce)

🇺🇸 US sources say US will soon sanction 1 IOF unit for human rights violations in West Bank, to cut military aid & training. Would be 1st US sanction on Israeli military

🇺🇸 Congress passed aid bill giving $26.38bn to Israel, incl. $14bn unconditional military aid

‼️ Overnight strikes on Rafah kills 10+ people. Several Israeli surveillance drones hovering low & more troops on Rafah outskirts, suggesting an impending invasion

•⁠ ⁠Israeli settlers raid Ramallah, Hebron, al Saywah & Nablus, killing a Palestinian ambulance driver

•⁠ ⁠IOF raid of Tulkarem kills 14 Palestinians + army raided a hospital, attacked medical staff & abducted paramedics. For details scroll up

🚚 Gaza gov’t media office says only 130-150 aid trucks enter per day; not Israel & US inflated number of 300

💰 Israel considering raising taxes to fund more attacks on Gaza

April 21

Day 198

• 48 Palestinians killed, 79 injured in last 24 hours

• Israeli airstrikes on Rafah kill 24, incl. 18 children & 6 women; invasion seems imminent as Israeli intelligence drones hover low over Rafah

• In 2 incidents; 2 Palestinian teens + a woman were killed by IOF in West Bank, IOF claims they tried to stab soldiers

🏥 180 bodies deliberately hidden by Israel in a mass grave at Nasser hospital incl. elderly women & kids, expected to find 700 bodies buried. Many were found w/ their hands tied suggesting summary executions

• 7 Palestinians killed & many injured in Israeli strike targeting home in Nuseirat refugee camp (central Gaza)

🇺🇸 The report that US will soon sanction 1 Israeli military unit sparked harsh remarks from Netanyahu + Israeli minister asked US to reconsider the sanction, marking growing US-Israeli tensions

• Israeli forces continue Tulkarem raids (West Bank) after 3-day intensive raid of Nur Shams camp in Tulkarem that killed 14, incl. 3 kids + abducted 50

[athena5898]

📌 US Extends Military Presence in Syria to Safeguard Israeli Interests

The United States has officially extended its state of emergency in Syria, maintaining its military presence across illegal bases in the eastern Euphrates region and at Al-Tanf, located at the border triangle with Iraq and Jordan. This decision, announced by the White House, indicates no connection between its planned withdrawal from Iraq by 2026 and its ongoing military operations in Syria. The state of emergency, originally declared in 2003, has evolved through various amendments, with the latest being linked to the threat posed by the Israeli war on Gaza and Lebanon. The White House described the security developments in Syria as a significant threat to US national security and foreign policy, necessitating the continuation of the emergency for another year. The administration asserts that the situation in Syria undermines efforts to combat ISIS, jeopardizes civilian safety, and threatens regional stability. Since its military presence in Syria began, the US has used the pretext of combating terrorism to justify its operations, which include seizing control of oil resources in Kurdish-led areas and enhancing reconnaissance capabilities to support "Israel". The Al-Tanf base plays a crucial role in monitoring Syrian territory and disrupting resistance supply routes between Tehran, Baghdad, and Beirut. As tensions rise following resistance operations against US military bases post-October 7, the US has attempted to reassure Kurdish forces that its presence in Syria is independent of developments in Iraq. Despite assurances, Kurdish sources, as reported by Al-Akhbar, express concerns that US withdrawal from Iraq could signal a change in its commitment to the Kurdish "self-administration" project, particularly in light of the recent Syrian-Turkish rapprochement supported by Russia and Iran. Additionally, while the US maintains that its military presence aids in the fight against ISIS, there are allegations of US support for the organization, particularly from the Al-Tanf base, which serves as a strategic gateway to areas where ISIS operates. Recent reports indicate a decrease in ISIS activity following a joint Syrian-Russian campaign targeting its cells, including four sites near the American base.

Full article by Alaa Halabi can be found in Arabic here: https://al-akhbar.com/Palestine/385350

Subscribe to Al-Akhbar English Channel on Telegram here: https://t.me/alakhbar_english

[usafphantom2]

Ukraine Just Captured One Of Russia’s Most Capable Aerial Electronic Warfare Pods

Russia’s lost Khibiny-U electronic warfare pod that flies on its advanced Flanker fighters will be a prize for foreign intelligence agencies.

Joseph Trevithick Posted on Sep 12, 2022 7:27 PM EDT

A Russian Su-30SM fighter jet with at least one wingtip pod associated with the Khibiny-U electronic warfare suite, as well as a centerline electronic warfare pod. KNIRTI / via Twitter

Ukrainian forces have been capturing significant amounts of Russian materiel of various kinds as they keep pushing eastward and southward as part of their ongoing counteroffensives. These spoils of war now reportedly include a relatively intact example of an RTU 518-PSM self-protection jamming pod. This pod is associated with the latest version of the larger Khibiny-U electronic warfare suite used on the Su-30SM Flanker-H, and its capture holds potentially great intelligence value.

Pictures of the front end of the pod in question began circulating on social media earlier today. It was reportedly discovered among the wreckage of a Russian Su-30SM, with the serial number RF-81773 and bort number Red 62, that was shot down earlier in the conflict near the city of Izium (Izyum) in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region. It would appear that Russian forces had made no serious attempt to locate what was left of the aircraft, and remove or destroy it to prevent their capture before the area was recently liberated.

As the Russian Army couldn't be bothered to remove the wreckage of Su-30SM 'RF-81773' that came down in a formerly Russian-controlled part of Kharkiv Oblast, Western intelligence agencies are now the proud owner of a slightly dented SAP-518SM 'Regata' jamming pod. pic.twitter.com/9BN5dPNQvi

— Oryx (@oryxspioenkop) September 12, 2022

As installed on Russia’s Su-30SMs, the RTU 518-PSM is part of a larger suite referred to as Khibiny-U. The entire “complex,” as it is referred to in Russian, consists of the SAP 518-SM, made of up one RTU 518-PSM pod on the right wingtip and an RTU 518-LSM1 on the left wingtip, as well as the internal KS REP system, according to a 2021 paper from the Kaluga Scientific-Research Institute for Radio Engineering. Better known by the Russian acronym KNIRTI, this is the manufacturer of all of the versions of the Khibiny family of electronic warfare complexes.

As already noted, the RTU 518-PSM is understood to contain an active jamming system, while the companion RTU 518-LSM1 is believed to be a passive receiver that detects threatening electromagnetic spectrum emissions, such as those from hostile radars. In its primary role as a self-protection system against enemy air defenses, the complete SAP 518-SM subsystem, also referred to as Regata, reportedly has the ability to spot and then jam and otherwise confuse an opponent’s radars – including seekers on incoming radar-guided missiles – in various ways. This may include the ability to generate false emissions to try to help mask the actual aircraft using Digital Radio Frequency Memory (DRFM) technology, which you can read more about here.

There are also indications that the SAP 518-SM subsystem is focused on protecting against mid-band threats, while the internal KS REP subsystem is optimized against high-band ones, giving the overall complex a broader range of capabilities. This is based on what is known about the function of slightly different pods as part of the older Khibiny-10M system for the Su-35S. Another earlier version of Khibiny, the Khibiny-10V, also includes distinct pods and is used on the Su-34.

The Su-30SM can carry an additional pod, known as the SAP-14, that can reportedly provide escort jamming capabilities for larger groups of aircraft, on the centerline. It’s not immediately clear if SAP-14 is a component of Khibiny-U or not, though it clearly can be used together with other elements of that system.

A Russian Su-30SM with at least one of the SAP 518-SM wingtip pods and what appears to be the SAP-134 centerline pod. KNIRTI

In addition, the U in Khibiny-U is believed to stand for unifitsirovannyi, or unified in Russian, suggesting it may reflect an effort to create a standardized version of the system that will work with multiple types of aircraft as an offshoot of developing an electronic warfare suite for the Su-30SM. The Russian Ministry of Defense first hired KNIRTI to develop the Su-30SM’s new electronic warfare complex in 2013, a year before the Khibiny-10V became the first version of that system to enter operational service on any platform.

Russian SU-30SMs were first seen with Khibiny-U in 2018. However, there is evidence that Russian Su-30SMs in Syria flew on at least some occasions as early as 2015 with the wingtip pods from the Su-34’s Khibiny-10V system.

The possibility of gleaning new details about what the jammer inside the RTU 518-PSM pod, as well as the rest of the Khibiny-U system, can and cannot do is exactly why its capture is significant. Elements of all three known versions of Khibiny have almost certainly been recovered in the country of the fighting already, including from the remains of an Su-35S that came down in the vicinity of Izium back in April before Russian forces initially captured the area. However, this newly captured example of the RTU 518-PSM pod appears to be in especially good condition.

The potential intelligence haul could be even greater depending on the condition of other components of the electronic warfare suite on the crashed jet, as well. If it is indeed from the wreckage of Su-30SM Red 62, that aircraft could also have been fitted with the L150 Pastel radar homing and warning system (RHAWS), which is used for self-defense and for helping with the targeting of Kh-31P anti-radiation missiles, as well as UV-30MKR chaff/flare dispensers.

There’s potentially more for Ukrainian intelligence personnel, and almost certainly their foreign partners, such as those in the United States, to pick over here than just the hardware, too. Any surviving data storage systems with any software used to run portions of the Khibiny-U could actually be more valuable, especially given the reported DRFM signal mimicking functionality.

The actual subcomponents, including computer chips and other electronics, used in the RTU 518-PSM and any other elements of the associated electronic warfare complex could provide valuable industrial intelligence, too. As The War Zone, among others, has reported in the past, the conflict in Ukraine has exposed just how reliant Russia’s defense industry is on foreign-sourced parts.

The apparent decision on the part of the Russian military to make no efforts to do anything about the remains of this aircraft, possibly due to the belief that their positions in this part of Ukraine were relatively secure, can only add insult to injury.

The war in Ukraine has already been a massive boon for foreign intelligence services, especially when it comes to Russia’s most advanced electronic warfare and air defense capabilities. Many captured systems may well have already been sent outside the country for further analysis and evalution. Even before the current conflict, Ukraine had been an important source of Soviet-designed hardware, including fighter jets and large radars, for the U.S. military’s so-called foreign materiel exploitation (FME) enterprise.

Whatever the case, an important component of an entire family of Russian aircraft electronic warfare suites, one of the most modern such systems that the country has and it uses on a number of its front-line combat jets, now looks to be firmly in the hands of its opponents.

Contact the author: joe@thedrive.com