News of the World
10-02-2024, 04:28 AM
USA
MIDDLE EAST
And as a friendly reminder...
And now that Biden & Harris are in power, they did nothing to stop Iran from attacking Israel TWICE in the same year. Or did Biden really think that a "Don't!" was enough to scare them away?
By the way, Trump has something to tell Kamala about her handling of the situation.
200+ Former Generals & Admirals on Trump's Side
Quote:Over 200 retired military generals and admirals endorsed former President Donald Trump in an open letter released on Monday, saying that he has demonstrated the leadership ability needed to provide for the safety and security of the United States.
The group who organized the letter, Flag Officers 4 America, said in a statement: “Donald Trump has a proven track record of success providing the most fundamental responsibilities required of a U.S. President: protecting national security, domestic safety, and the U.S. Constitution.”
Meanwhile, they said, “The current administration, led by the President and Vice President, has allowed our nation to become unsecure, our citizens unsafe, and our country divided due to the cultural war being waged across America in the form of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).” They added:
This divisive domestic strife is dividing our Country, allowing our foreign adversaries to take advantage of the political/social disorder in America. A recent bipartisan congressional report ‘Commission on the National Defense Strategy’ said: ‘The United States confronts the most serious and the most challenging threats since the end of World War II. The United States could in short order be drawn into a war across multiple theaters with peer and near-peer adversaries, and it could lose.’
“We urge our fellow Americans to join us in supporting the election of Donald J. Trump for president. Our future is at stake,” they said.
Tim Walz Knows Who is Ruling the US Right Now
Quote:Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) referred to the current administration as the “Harris administration” — perhaps, mistakenly, showcasing once again that Vice President Kamala Harris owns the policies and failures of the Biden-Harris administration.
Walz said this phrase during a portion of the debate discussing climate change as the moderators essentially blamed Hurricane Helene on “climate change.” Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) responded by pointing out that even if Democrats were correct that carbon emissions are causing extreme weather, the best solution is to reshore as much American manufacturing as possible and produce as much energy as possible in the U.S. “because we are the cleanest economy in the entire world.”
During his rebuttal, Walz used the phrase, the “Harris administration.”
“What we’ve seen out of the Harris administration, now the Biden-Harris administration, is we’ve seen this investment,” Walz said.
“We’ve seen massive investments,” he continued, touting the Inflation Reduction Act.
Walz’s admission comes as President Joe Biden admitted that he has delegated everything to Harris, showing that, once again, these current failures are her failures.
As Breitbart News detailed:
The acknowledgment is significant because it contradicts Harris’s talking points. Harris has tried multiple times to distance herself from the Biden-Harris record.
…
While campaigning for Harris on The View on Wednesday, Biden appeared to blame Harris for the administration’s failure to reduce inflation, secure the southern border, and responsibly withdraw from Afghanistan.
“As Vice President, there wasn’t a single thing that I did that she couldn’t do and so I was able to delegate her responsibility on everything from foreign policy to domestic policy,” he said.
Once again, this shows Harris cannot commit to fixing current issues without undermining her own administration.
Let's Mute the Mics Because Vance Fact-Checked Us
Quote:The CBS News moderators muted Donald Trump running mate JD Vance’s and Kamala Harris running mate Tim Walz’s microphones during the debate on Tuesday night when Vance fact-checked the moderators on housing migrants in Springfield, Ohio.
“Springfield, Ohio, does have a large number of Haitian migrants who have legal status, temporarily protected legal status,” said Margaret Brennan.
“But Margaret, I think it’s important because–” said Vance as the moderators began cutting him off. “The rules were you weren’t going to fact-check, but since you are fact-checking me, I think it’s important to say what’s going on. There is an application CBP One App where you can go on as an illegal migrant, apply for asylum, or apply for parole, and be granted legal status at the wave of a Kamala Harris open border wand. That is not a person coming in for a green card and waiting for 10 years.”
“Thank you, Senator,” said Brennan.
As Vance continued, Margaret thanked him for “describing the legal process” before eventually cutting off his mic.
Tim Walz The Commie That Missed the Tiananmen Square Massacre
Quote:During a 2014 congressional hearing, then-Rep. Tim Walz (D-MN) bragged about being in Hong Kong at the time of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre.
There’s just one problem…
He wasn’t.
He was in Nebraska at the time.
Here he is boasting (once again) about something that is not true:
As a young man I was just going to teach high school in Foshan in Guangdong, and was in Hong Kong in May of ’89. And as the events were unfolding, several of us went in. And I still remember the train station in Hong Kong. There was a large number of, especially European, I think, very angry that we would still go after what had happened, but it was my belief at that time that the diplomacy was going to happen on many levels. Certainly people to people, and the opportunity to be in a Chinese high school at that critical time seemed to me to be really important. And it was a very interesting summer to say the least.
Except…
“Contemporaneous news reports show Walz touring a National Guard storeroom in Alliance, Nebraska, in May 1989,” reports the Washington Free Beacon. “They indicate that Walz did not leave the United States until August of that year, at least two months after the student protests ended with the Tiananmen Square massacre.”
As the Beacon points out, far-left NPR discovered the lie, but naturally, the taxpayer-funded welfare queens buried it under some 30 paragraphs:
Walz also once described being in Hong Kong in May 1989, during the student uprising that culminated in the Tiananmen Square massacre — an assertion that is belied by newspaper accounts at the time. …The campaign was unable to produce documentation to back up Walz’s statement that he was there during the uprising.
The Beacon also points out that leftist outlets like the New York Times have reprinted Walz’s self-serving Tiananmen Square lie without bothering to fact-check it. That is called taking dictation, as opposed to performing journalism.
Listen, being in Hong Kong during something as historic as Tiananmen Square is not something you forget or misremember. We all know where we were on September 11, 2001. Hell, I remember where I was when I first saw that protester attempt to block the tank.
The only thing that would make Walz’s latest lie even more perfect would be if he were to claim he worked at a Hong Kong McDonald’s during the massacre.
What doesn’t Kamala Harris’s vice presidential choice lie about?
He claimed he carried weapons in war although he never saw combat as a member of the Minnesota National Guard. Walz lied about his 1995 DUI arrest—something about a misunderstanding due to Walz’s deafness (probably from all that combat he never participated in) and that he was not drinking. But he was drinking. A blood test showed his alcohol level at .128. For years, Walz has repeatedly claimed he retired from the National Guard at a higher rank than he actually did.
This guy is pathological.
Tonight’s vice presidential debate should be interesting. JD Vance is dynamite in these settings and has a ton of ammo to hit this serial-lying clown with.
CBS Moderator
Quote:CLAIM: CBS Moderator Margaret Brennan claimed that “Iran is weakened” because of President Joe Biden.
VERDICT: FALSE. Biden relaxed sanctions against Iran, giving it access to billions and making it stronger and bolder.
The first question of the vice presidential debate was a very specific one: whether each candidate would approve a preemptive strike against Iran, given that it has continued to attack Israel and is developing a nuclear weapon.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) dodged the question and trashed former President Donald Trump instead. Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) said that he would support whatever Israel decided it needed to do to defend itself from Iran.
But the moderator set up the question with an inaccurate statement, claiming that “Iran is weakened” because of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. As Vance pointed out, Iran is stronger under Biden-Harris.
Biden and Harris dropped many of the sanctions that Trump had imposed on Iran, allowing it access to billions of dollars in assets. Biden and Harris also allowed Iran access to global oil markets, where it could earn billions more.
Faced with provocations by Iran, and attacks on Israel by Iranian proxies, the Biden-Harris administration backed down. In fact, they were often more concerned with placing pressure on Israel to make compromises. They also restored funding to organizations such as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which Trump had cut off due to concerns about its connections with Iranian-backed terror groups. The Biden-Harris administration also pressured Israel to give away an offshore gas field to Lebanon, where Iran’s proxy, Hezbollah, could benefit.
Moreover, Biden sent a special envoy, Robert Malley, to Europe in a vain attempt to revive the defunct (and fatally flawed) nuclear deal. Malley ended up being suspended due to suspected breaches of classified information with Iran.
The Biden-Harris administration also pulled support for Saudi Arabia, Iran’s regional rival, and removed the Houthi rebels in Yemen, another Iranian proxy, from the terrorism list. That allowed Iran to threaten global shipping lanes as well as the U.S. Navy and American allies. Ultimately, the Saudis restored ties to Iran — and did so in Beijing.
Finally, as Vance pointed out, Iran is closer to a nuclear weapon than it has ever been before. Far from being “weakened” under the Biden-Harris administration, Iran is stronger than it has ever been. The only thing that has changed is that Israel is confronting Iran more forcefully than before. It has been forced by Biden and Harris to do so.
Helene Became a Killer Storm
Quote:Fresh water, fuel, food, medical, and other essential supplies were being rushed to flood-stricken areas Monday after Hurricane Helene left a trail of destruction across the U.S. southeast.
At least 91 people across several states were killed after the behemoth weather event reached full force over the weekend.
A North Carolina county that includes the mountain city of Asheville reported 30 people killed, AP reports.
Gov. Roy Cooper predicted the toll would rise as rescuers and other emergency workers reached areas isolated by collapsed roads, failing infrastructure and widespread flooding.
Supplies were being airlifted to the region around the isolated city of Asheville, the AP report continued.
Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder pledged she would have food and water to the city by Monday.
“We hear you. We need food and we need water,” Pinder said on a Sunday call with reporters.
“My staff has been making every request possible to the state for support and we’ve been working with every single organization that has reached out. What I promise you is that we are very close.”
President Joe Biden described the impact of the storm as “stunning” and said he would visit the area this week at a time still to be determined.
John Amos Passed Away
Quote:John Amos, the star of “Good Times,” “Roots” and more, died on Aug. 21 in Los Angeles of natural causes, his representative confirmed to Variety on Tuesday. He was 84.
“It is with heartfelt sadness that I share with you that my father has transitioned,” said his son Kelly Christopher Amos in a statement. “He was a man with the kindest heart and a heart of gold… and he was loved the world over. Many fans consider him their TV father. He lived a good life. His legacy will live on in his outstanding works in television and film as an actor. My father loved working as an actor throughout his entire life…. most recently in ‘Suits LA’ playing himself and our documentary about his life journey as an actor, ‘America’s Dad.’ He was my dad, my best friend, and my hero. Thank you for your prayers and support at this time.”
Born on December 27, 1939, in Newark, N.J., Amos’ acting career picked up when he landed the role of weatherman Gordon “Gordy” Howard on “The Mary Tyler Moore show” in 1970.
From there, he brought his comedic talents to CBS’ “Good Times,” a spinoff of “Maude” and “All in the Family,” and played father James Evans Sr. in 1974. The Norman Lear program made history as the first TV show to follow an African American, two-parent household. The hardworking and devoted father figure role resonated with audiences. After three seasons, however, Amos was displeased with the direction of the show and portrayal of his character’s son, James “J.J.” Evans Jr. He was fired after Season 3, and Season 4 began by killing James Evan Sr. off-screen.
Amos received an Emmy nomination in 1977 for his role as adult Kunta Kinte in the ABC historical miniseries “Roots.” The series, about slavery in the United States, won nine Emmys, a Golden Globe and Peabody Award and received massive viewership in the country. More than 130 million people tuned into the series, which was more than half of the population of the U.S. in 1977. The final episode holds the record for the third-highest-rated episode for any type of TV series and the second-most-watched series finale in history.
MIDDLE EAST
Syrian Leaders Mourns Nasrallah's Death
Quote:The Iran-backed dictatorship of Bashar Assad in Syria was the first state to address the United Nations General Assembly on Monday, using the opportunity to mourn the head of the Iran-backed terrorist organization Hezbollah.
Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Shiite terrorist organization, confirmed the death on Saturday of leader Hassan Nasrallah, a mass murderer, following a massive Israel Defense Forces (IDF) bombardment of Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon. Hezbollah has targeted Israel with terrorist attacks for decades – including the deadliest terrorist attack in the history of the Western Hemisphere prior to 2001, the bombing of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) in Buenos Aires – but in the past year has dramatically escalated its activities.
Following the massacre of Israeli civilians by fellow Iran-backed jihadist terror organization Hamas on October 7, 2023, Hezbollah launched a campaign against residents of northern Israel, displacing tens of thousands and limiting the Israeli government’s ability to protect the region. The strikes on its Beirut compound on Friday were a response to Hezbollah’s terrorism in northern Israel.
“Israel’s war is not with you. It’s with Hezbollah,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an address to the Lebanese people last week. “For too long, Hezbollah has been using you as human shields. It placed rockets in your living rooms and missiles in your garage. Those rockets and missiles are aimed directly at our cities, directly at our citizens.”
As an Iranian proxy, Hezbollah has long enjoyed the support of the Assad regime, which relied heavily on Iranian and Russian support to remain in power through a decade of civil war. Syrian Foreign Minister Bassam Sabbagh used his address at the United Nations to mourn Nasrallah and Hezbollah’s defeat, as well as call for more opposition to Israel’s self-defense operations at the already notoriously anti-Israel venue.
Iran Will Avenge Nasrallah
Quote:Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, elected in a special election this year after campaigning as a “moderate” candidate, menacingly declared weekend his regime would give Israel a “decisive” response to its elimination of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.
Killing Nasrallah, the head of a genocidal terrorist organization responsible for the displacement of tens of thousands in northern Israel in the past year, was “unacceptable,” Pezeshkian said on Sunday, according to the Iranian propaganda outlet PressTV, and Tehran would help Hezbollah, as well as promote the “importance of supporting the Hezbollah fighters.”
Pezeshkian joined a chorus of Iranian voices, including “supreme leader” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, promising to avenge the removal of Nasrallah from the battlefield. The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Monday promised reporters that radical Islamists would soon “celebrate the death of Zionism” despite the loss of one of international jihad’s most prominent figures, and that Iran would support global efforts to destroy Israel.
Pezeshkian reportedly condemned Nasrallah’s killing on onday in conversations with several new ambassadors to Tehran, including those of Germany, Denmark, Norway, Qatar, and Niger.
“If the Islamic governments had had unity and solidarity and had acted and protested against the Zionist regime’s [Israel’s] crimes with a united voice, we would have not witnessed the commitment and rude continuation of the criminal measures of the (Israeli) regime,” Pezeshkian reportedly complained, suggesting Muslim countries are not doing enough to support anti-Israel terrorism.
A day prior, Pezeshkian declared that Iran must give a “decisive” response to Nasrallah’s death.
“Addressing a cabinet session on Sunday, Pezeshkian once again strongly condemned Israel’s assassination of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the longtime leader of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah,” PressTV reported, “in a massive airstrike on southern Beirut on Friday using American-supplied bunker-buster bombs.”
“This crime once again proved that this criminal regime does not adhere to any of the international principles and rules,” Pezeshkian was quoted as saying, calling the removal of a mass murderer from the battlefield “unacceptable” and promising it would “not go unanswered.”
“Pezeshkian stressed the importance of supporting the Hezbollah fighters in their war with Israel,” PressTV added, “to prevent the atrocious regime from attacking countries of the axis of resistance and killing innocent women and children.”
Nasrallah died following a targeted airstrike by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Hezbollah’s compound in Beirut on Friday. The IDF reportedly eliminated a large number of Hezbollah leaders in the attack, a response to Hezbollah’s incessant terrorist attacks this year in support of fellow Iran-backed terrorist outfit Hamas. Hamas conducted an unprecedented siege of Israel on October 7, 2023, that resulted in 1,200 deaths and dozens of abductions. About 100 Israeli hostages remain in Hamas captivity at press time.
Nasrallah became the leader of Hezbollah, a Shiite genocidal jihadist organization based in Lebanon, in 1992. Hezbollah has for decades received support and guidance from the Iranian Islamist regime and has, in turn, conducted violent terrorist acts on behalf Iran. Hezbollah is particularly responsible for at least hundreds of American deaths in terrorist attacks on American targets such as embassies and military outposts.
“During the Iraq War, according to a U.S. congressional research report, Hezbollah members armed and trained Shia militias that carried out attacks on U.S. forces during their deployments between 2003 and 2011,” NPR noted in its coverage of Nasrallah’s death.
“Hassan Nasrallah and the terrorist group he led, Hezbollah, were responsible for killing hundreds of Americans over a four-decade reign of terror,” outgoing American President Joe Biden said in a statement. “His death from an Israeli airstrike is a measure of justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis, and Lebanese civilians.”
Outside of targeting Israel and the United States, Argentine investigators found Hezbollah and Iran jointly responsible for 1992 and 1994 bombings in the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires and the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA), respectively. The latter bombing killed 85 people and was the deadliest terrorist attack in the history of the Western Hemisphere prior to September 11, 2001. An Argentine court declared Hezbollah guilty in April of executing the attacks, adding that it did so at the Iranian government’s bidding.
Pezeshkian’s vocal support of one of the Middle East’s deadliest terror leaders contradicts the public image the Iranian president has attempted to build in the West as a “moderate” seeking to limit the power of radical Islamist elements of his government over his people. Pezeshkian campaigned as a political mildly critical of Iran’s “morality police” focused on fighting inflation and solving the problems Iranians face in their daily lives, de-emphasizing Iran’s role as the world’s premier state sponsor of terrorism. Pezeshkian has also flirted with the possibility of returning to nuclear negotiations with the United States after former President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal in 2018.
US Strikes Terrorists in Syria
Quote:The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Sunday that two targeted airstrikes in Syria eliminated 37 terrorists aligned with the Islamic State and al-Qaeda, including several senior leaders.
CENTCOM revealed the first of the previously undisclosed airstrikes was conducted on September 16 on a “remote ISIS training camp in central Syria.” At least 28 ISIS operatives were killed, including four “senior leaders.”
“The airstrike will disrupt ISIS’ capability to conduct operations against U.S. interests, as well as our allies and partners,” CENTCOM said.
On September 24, a second targeted strike in northwestern Syria killed “nine terrorist operatives” of a group called Hurras al-Din, including a senior leader called Marwan Bassam.
“Hurras al-Din is an al-Qaeda-affiliated organization based in Syria with global aspirations to conduct attacks against U.S. and Western interests,” CENTCOM explained.
Hurras al-Din is the successor to the infamous Nusrah Front as the leading al-Qaeda franchise in Syria. The Nusrah Front broke away from al-Qaeda’s control in 2018, absorbing several smaller Syrian rebel militias that were reluctant to join al-Qaeda and renaming itself Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
Hardcore al-Qaeda loyalists in the Nusrah Front created a new group called Hurras al-Din, which found itself struggling to survive against Western counter-terrorist operations, the Syrian government, and HTS, which decided to eliminate any threat posed by its former Nusrah Front comrades. HTS and Hurras al-Din members have been known to abduct and kill each other over the past six years as they struggle for influence and resources.
In August, the U.S. military eliminated Hurras al-Din leader Abu-Abd al-Rahman al-Makki with a “targeted kinetic strike” in Syria. Al-Makki was the operational commander of the group’s terrorist activities in Syria.
CENTCOM’s statement on Sunday said there was “no indication any civilians were harmed” in either the September 16 or September 24 strikes.
US: Iran About to Strike Israel
Quote:U.S. officials reportedly warned Tuesday that Iran is about to fire ballistic missiles at Israel, as Israeli forces battled Iran’s terrorist proxy, Hezbollah, in Lebanon.
Israel reacted to the warning by saying that it had not detected any incoming missiles from Iran yet, but that it was ready.
Meanwhile, the State Department told employees of the U.S. embassy to shelter in place.
In April, Iran fired some 300 missiles, projectiles, and drones directly at Israel. Almost all of them were intercepted by Israel’s air defenses, and those of other US allies in the region.
The Biden administration urged Israel not to mount a significant response. Israel did retaliate, but did so in limited way, targeting Iran’s air defenses, and demonstrating that Israel could penetrate them easily.
Iran is suddenly vulnerable to Israeli attack. The Iranian regime had used Hezbollah as a deterrent force against any attack on its nuclear program, but Hezbollah’s capabilities have been severely degraded over the past two weeks.
Iran had also vowed to avenge the killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July, but apparently had not managed yet to mount a significant response.
Israel officially announced Tuesday that it had begun ground operations in Lebanon, and revealed that it had been sending commando units into Lebanon for months.
Israel Shells Hezbollah Positions
Quote:The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reportedly pulled back from Lebanon’s border with Israel, as Israel began shelling Hezbollah positions ahead of a ground assault on Monday night.
As Breitbart News reported, citing other media reports, Israel had informed the U.S. of its plans for a “limited” ground operation in Lebanon to remove Hezbollah outposts.
Reports circulated Monday that the LAF and UNIFIL had withdrawn. The Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that the LAF had begun repositioning its forces in response to information about Israeli troop movements from the U.S.
There were also unconfirmed reports that UNIFIL, which is meant to enforce United Nations Security Council resolutions against Hezbollah’s presence near the border, but has failed to do so, also withdrew from some positions.
The Times of Israel reported that there was “heavy” Israeli shelling reported near a Lebanese border town. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) declared the area around Israel’s northernmost border communities to be a closed military zone.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Monday afternoon that the Biden administration understood that Israel’s strategic purpose was “to make sure that Hezbollah cannot maintain the capacity to attack Israeli communities from the immediate opposite side of the border.”
She reiterated President Joe Biden’s call for a ceasefire.
Update: The IDF’s Arabic spokesperson, Avihay Adraee, posted maps of buildings in Beirut, Lebanon’s capital city, that he said local residents should avoid:
...
Israel Kills Hamas Leader in Lebanon
Quote:The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel Security Agency (ISA) announced Monday that they had killed Fateh Sherif, who led Hamas in Lebanon. He was also a United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) employee.
In a joint statement, the IDF and ISA said:
Overnight, during a joint IDF and ISA intelligence-based activity, the IAF struck and eliminated the terrorist Fateh Sherif, Head of the Lebanon Branch in the Hamas terrorist organization.
Sherif was responsible for coordinating Hamas’ terror activities in Lebanon with Hezbollah operatives. He was also responsible for Hamas’ efforts in Lebanon to recruit operatives and acquire weapons.
He led the Hamas terrorist organization’s force build-up efforts in Lebanon and operated to advance Hamas’ interests in Lebanon, both politically and militarily.
The IDF and the ISA will to continue to operate against anyone who poses a threat to the civilians of the State of Israel.
UNRWA acknowledged that Fateh Sherif had been the principal of one of its schools, the Times of Israel reported:
Sherif was killed today in an airstrike on the al-Bass refugee camp in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre, along with his wife and children. Reports indicate he had been the principal of the UNRWA-run Deir Yassin Secondary School in al-Bass.
“Fateh Al Sharif was an UNRWA employee who was put on administrative leave without pay in March, and was undergoing an investigation following allegations that UNRWA received about his political activities,” UNRWA says in response to a Times of Israel query.
Sherif’s suspension for three months had sparked protests in Lebanon, the Times of Israel added.
Israeli government spokesman David Mencer told reporters on Monday that Sherif had been head of the UNRWA teachers’ association in Lebanon.
He said that UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini had to answer: “What on earth is a terrorist doing as one of your teachers?”
Several UNRWA employees were also found to have participated in the October 7 terror attacks. Israel has called for the dismantling of the agency.
Then-President Donald Trump cut off its U.S. funding in 2018, but President Joe Biden restored it upon taking office. The Biden administration suspended funding to UNRWA after evidence of its ties to terror emerged after October 7.
Several Democratic members of Congress, backed by far-left J Street, have proposed a bill to restore funding to UNRWA; they acknowledge its role in terror but insist it can be reformed and trusted with U.S. taxpayers’ money.
Mencer said that UNRWA could not be reformed, and recounted the agency’s collaboration with Hamas in Gaza and elsewhere. “UNRWA, unfortunately, is a front for Hamas.”
Sherif was the latest major terrorist leader to be killed in two weeks of Israeli attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel also killed three senior members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), another terrorist group.
In a statement, the IDF and ISA said they had killed Nidal Abdel-Aal, head of the PFLP’s Lebanon branch, as well as Imad Odeh, the head of the PFLP’s military office in Lebanon. They added that Abdel-Aal had directed terror attacks on Israelis in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), including a bus bombing and a shooting attack, both in 2023.
Third Lebanon War Kicked Off?
Quote:The Third Lebanon War has officially begun, according to Israel’s Army Radio, as Israel Defense Forces (IDF) ground forces crossed into Lebanon early Tuesday morning to remove Hezbollah outposts that threaten Israeli communities.
The IDF apparently crossed into Lebanon at the “finger” or “panhandle” of Israel’s Galilee region, near the town of Metula, which was Israel’s northernmost town until the capture and annexation of the Golan Heights.
In a statement, the IDF said:
In accordance with the decision of the political echelon, a few hours ago, the IDF began limited, localized, and targeted ground raids based on precise intelligence against Hezbollah terrorist targets and infrastructure in southern Lebanon. These targets are located in villages close to the border and pose an immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel.
The IDF is operating according to a methodical plan set out by the General Staff and the Northern Command which IDF soldiers have trained and prepared for in recent months.
The Israeli Air Force and IDF Artillery are supporting the ground forces with precise strikes on military targets in the area.
These operations were approved and carried out in accordance with the decision of the political echelon. Operation “Northern Arrows” will continue according to the situational assessment and in parallel to combat in Gaza and in other arenas.
The IDF is continuing to operate to achieve the goals of the war and is doing everything necessary to defend the citizens of Israel and return the citizens of northern Israel to their homes.
The ground invasion began exactly two weeks after Israel’s security cabinet decided to adopt a new war goal, namely the safe return of Israel’s northern residents to the homes from which they were evacuated when Hezbollah opened fire in October.
According to Army Radio, the goal of the war is not to occupy southern Lebanon, or to establish a “security zone” (see below), but simply to remove Hezbollah bases and positions from which terrorists have been firing on Israeli citizens.
The First Lebanon War took place in 1982, when Israel invaded southern Lebanon to remove Palestinian guerillas who had shelled Israeli communities. Israel won the war but went astray when it continued on to Beirut and tried to install a friendly government in Lebanon, amid civilian casualties and atrocities by local militias. While the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was forced to leave Lebanon, Israelis came to regard the war as their own Vietnam.
For 18 years, Israel occupied a “security zone” north of the border, until repeated attacks by Hezbollah insurgents led the Israeli government to seek a negotiated withdrawal. When talks failed, Israel simply left unilaterally in 2000 — under fire from Hezbollah, which claimed victory.
The Second Lebanon War began in 2006, when Hezbollah kidnapped and killed several Israeli soldiers. Israel hit Hezbollah hard, but its ground forces, which had been focused on responding to the threat of the second Palestinian intifada, were ill-prepared and underequipped.
While the Israeli Air Force (IAF) successfully pounded Hezbollah positions, civilian casualties prompted global protest, and the George W. Bush administration pushed Israel to accept a stalemate and a compromise — namely, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which said Hezbollah had to withdraw north of the Litani River.
Hezbollah ignored the resolution, and neither the United Nations nor Lebanon enforced it. That allowed Hezbollah to build a massive arsenal, and underground tunnels, which posed a threat to Israeli communities. Iran, which arms and funds Hezbollah, also used the terror organization as a deterrent against an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear program.
Last October, Hezbollah began firing at Israel after Hamas launched its brutal terror attack in the southern part of the country. The Biden administration sought a diplomatic resolution, on the heels of his push in 2022 for a deal in which Israel gave up some of its offshore gas fields in exchange for vague guarantees Hezbollah would not start another war.
But rather than a deal, Hezbollah preferred to continue firing at northern Israel, or at least to emerge with an agreement that would allow it to claim its intervention had forced Israel to accept an unfavorable ceasefire in Gaza.
That appears to have been a major strategic blunder. In the space of two weeks, Israel has destroyed Hezbollah’s leadership and communications infrastructure, as well as much of its arsenal, and is now pressing its advantage.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears determined to ensure that the Third Lebanon War does not end with the indeterminate result of the first two, but rather with Israeli victory, and a Lebanon free from enemy interventions.
Iran Attacks Israel AGAIN
Quote:Iran launched missiles at Israel on Tuesday evening local time, as Israelis throughout the entire country were ordered to take cover in bomb shelters until further notice.
The IDF said in a statement:
A short while ago, missiles were launched from Iran towards the State of Israel.
You are instructed to remain alert and precisely follow the Home Front Command’s instructions
In the last few minutes, the Home Front Command has distributed life-saving instructions in various areas across the country. The public is asked to adhere to the Home Front Command’s guidelines. Upon hearing a siren, you must enter a protected space and remain there until further notice.
The IDF is doing and will do everything necessary to protect the civilians of the State of Israel.
IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari addressed the nation, telling them that the Home Front Command would communicate to them via mobile phone alerts.
“We are strong, and we are capable in this attack also,” he said.
Other officials warned Israelis not to film or photograph during the attack, and to avoid windows in case missiles fell nearby.
The U.S. had revealed earlier that it had indications of a pending Iranian attack.
In April, when Iran launched nearly 300 missiles and drones at Israel, nearly all of them were intercepted by Israeli air defenses and by those of several regional American allies, without causing damage. One Bedouin girl was injured by falling shrapnel.
Update: Iran was reported to have fired toward Israel’s nuclear reactor in Dimona, in the Negev desert.
Update: The IDF released another statement:
Iran’s attack is continuing. You are requested to remain in a protected space until further notice. The explosions you are hearing are from interceptions or fallen projectiles.
The Aerial Defense Array is currently identifying and intercepting launches.
Israel’s Army Radio said that Iran had announced that its attack was a response to the killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July; to Israel’s killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut on Friday; and to the death of a senior Hezbollah officialm Abbas Nilfroshan, alongside Nasrallah.
Iran claimed to have aimed at military targets.
Unconfirmed reports on social media suggested that 400 missiles had been launched and that two had possibly hit Israel, while the rest appeared to have been intercepted.
Update: IDF Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told Israelis at roughly 8:30 p.m. local time that the Iranian attack had ended, and that there had been no injuries or deaths.
He urged the public to exercise caution.
He said Israel would respond to Iran “in the place and the time we determine. … We have plans.”
Update: The IDF estimated that about 180 missiles were launched and most were intercepted, with no injuries to Israelis and little damage. Initial reports had cited 400 possible missiles.
Quote:On Tuesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Lead,” IDF International Spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani stated that a Palestinian was killed in Iran’s attack on Israel earlier that day.
Host Jake Tapper asked, “Lt. Col., what can you tell us about any casualties? Jim Sciutto mentioned that the U.S. had referred to a Palestinian American in the West Bank being killed possibly. Do you know anything about that or any other casualties?”
Shoshani answered, “Well, this large-scale attack happened just recently. We’re still assessing the situation. I can tell you, in the moment, we know of multiple people injured and we know of a Palestinian who was killed by this attack in the area of Jericho and we are still assessing the situation because this scale of attack is one of the largest attacks we’ve seen, definitely in the history of Israel, maybe in the history of ballistic [missile] attacks.”
Shoshani continued that the low number of casualties is due to people taking shelter and strong air defense by Israel, the United States, and other nations.
Jericho Governor, Hussein Hamayel, told Agence France-Presse, “A Palestinian worker in Jericho was killed when pieces of a rocket fell from the sky and hit him.”
Quote:Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement Tuesday evening from a security cabinet meeting in the Kirya, the military headquarters in Tel Aviv, warning: “Iran has made a big mistake tonight, and will pay for it.”
Netanyahu spoke shortly after Iran launched hundreds of missiles at central and southern Israel, almost all of which were intercepted by Israeli and American air defenses. Only a few landed; no Israelis were injured or killed.
He began his remarks by offering condolences to the families of the victims of a terror attack that took place in Jaffa, near Tel Aviv, earlier in the evening, when two gunmen opened fire on commuters, killing six innocent civilians.
He thanked the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for defending the country from the missile attack, and thanked the United States. Then he launched into his warning, vowing that the Iranian regime would learn what his proxies had learned: that Israel is determined to defend itself, and to punish its enemies.
He repeated a warning he delivered at the United Nations General Assembly last Friday — as Israeli warplanes were bombing Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon, killing arch-terrorist Hassan Nasrallah: “If you strike us, we will strike you.”
Netanyahu did not specify when, where, or how an Israeli counterattack might happen. Earlier in the evening, IDF Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari warned that Israel would strike back “in the place and in the time that we determine.”
Update: The Prime Minister’s Office released a transcript of Netanyahu’s remarks:
Citizens of Israel, at the start of my remarks, I send condolences to the families of those who were murdered in the abhorrent terrorist attack in Jaffa and my best wishes for a quick recovery to the wounded.
As in the missile attack, there was also a murderous guiding hand behind this terrorist attack – it came from Tehran.
This evening, Iran again attacked Israel with hundreds of missiles. This attack failed. It was thwarted thanks to Israel’s air defense array, which is the most advanced in the world. I commend the IDF for the impressive achievement. It was also thwarted thanks to your alertness and responsibility, citizens of Israel. I also thank the US for its support in our defensive effort.
This evening, Iran made a big mistake – and it will pay for it. The regime in Tehran does not understand our determination to defend ourselves and to exact a price from our enemies.
Sinwar and Deif did not understand this; neither did Nasrallah or Mohsen. Apparently, there are those in Tehran who do not understand this either.
They will.
We will keep to the rule we have determined: Whoever attacks us – we attack them.
This is true wherever we fight the axis of evil. It is true in Judea and Samaria. It is true in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen and Syria – and it is also true in Iran. We are fighting the axis of evil everywhere, including in southern Lebanon and Gaza, where our heroic soldiers are active.
Today, more than ever, the forces of light in the world must unite and work together against the ayatollahs’ dark regime, which is the source of terror and evil in our region. They must stand alongside Israel. The choice has never been more clear, between tyranny and freedom, between the blessing and the curse.
On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, I say to you, citizens of Israel: Israel has the momentum and the axis of evil is in retreat. We will do whatever needs to be done to continue this trend. To achieve all of our war objectives, especially the return of all of our hostages, and ensure our existence and our future.
A good and safe year to you all.
Hezbollah's Map Shows They Planned to Conquer the Galilee
Quote:The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) revealed Tuesday that its soldiers had recovered a map prepared by Hezbollah in Lebanon as part of a plan called “Conquer the Galilee,” in which it hoped to execute an October 7-style raid on Israel.
The revelation was made in a press briefing by IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, who spoke less than 24 hours after Israel officially began a ground invasion of Lebanon to dislodge Hezbollah from the border.
Hagari declassified a trove of intelligence and confirmed what Breitbart News had reported since April — that IDF soldiers had been conducting limited missions inside Lebanon. Hagari said that the IDF had been locating Hezbollah tunnels and weapons caches and destroying them. Many were located in civilian areas, with entrances inside civilian homes.
Hezbollah began attacking Israel on October 8, a day after Hamas terrorists invaded Israel from Gaza and murdered 1,200 people, taking over 250 hostages (97 of whom remain in Gaza today, with 33 reported to be confirmed dead).
Israel feared that Hezbollah might invade as well, and rushed some 100,000 troops to the northern border. (Breitbart News reported from inside the “red zone” in November, as the IDF prepared near the border for a possible attack.)
As Hezbollah continued to fire at Israeli civilian communities, Israel evacuated 60,000 residents from their homes.
Hagari said:
Hezbollah has openly declared that it plans to carry out its own October the 7th massacre on Israel’s northern border, on an even larger scale. They call this plan, “Conquer the Galilee”. For years, Hezbollah has been planning to do in northern Israel what Hamas did in southern Israel on October 7th: invade Israel, infiltrate civilian communities and massacre innocent civilians.
To make sure that Hezbollah can never carry out such an attack and in order to enable all 60,000 Israelis to safely return back to their homes in northern Israel, the IDF is taking action. Hezbollah planned to launch their October 7th attack from villages across southern Lebanon where they have been building up their arms; capabilities; and forces for the last two decades. Hezbollah also dug tunnels under homes in these villages close to the border with Israel.
Hagari also revealed videos of IDF infiltrations into Lebanon, showing Israeli soldiers discovering tunnels and weapons, and showing tunnels and other Hezbollah infrastructure being destroyed in controlled explosions.
US Sends More Warships & Troops to Middle East
Quote:Combined U.S. military forces are being rushed to the Middle East to deter an Iranian response in the wake of Israel’s enhanced air campaign against Hezbollah and the start of a ground operation in southern Lebanon to remove terrorist outposts that threaten Israeli communities, U.S. and Israeli officials said Monday.
The infusion of fighting assets, which includes air-defense units, will add to the tens of thousands of American personnel already on high alert there, said Sabrina Singh, a Pentagon spokeswoman.
The push follows other moves to enhance and reposition U.S. forces already in the troubled region, as Breitbart News reported.
The Washington Post reports the fresh military dispositions were ordered by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin after Israel last week used a series of airstrikes around Beirut to kill Hezbollah terrorist leader Hasan Nasrallah, and as U.S. officials anticipated Israel could soon launch a limited ground entry into Lebanon which has since occurred. The Post notes:
Singh told reporters that to further boost the number of personnel in the Middle East, the Pentagon will extend some deployed units that were scheduled to rotate home and send additional forces to augment them, including squadrons that fly F-16, F-15E and F-22 fighters and A-10 attack jets. Austin also issued prepare-to-deploy orders for an unspecified number of other units that are in the United States, she said.
Singh linked the additional deployments directly to rhetoric from senior Iranian officials, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has called for all Muslims to stand with Hezbollah as it confronts Israel. Writing on social media over the weekend, he declared that “the blows struck by the Resistance Front on the worn-out, deteriorating body of the Zionist regime will become even more crushing.”
The “resistance front” is a reference to the network of militant proxy forces that Iran backs across the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis in Yemen, and several militia forces in Iraq and Syria.
The decision brings the total number of American troops in the region to as many as 43,000, including more than a dozen warships.
The beefed-up presence is designed both to help defend Israel and protect U.S. and allied personnel and assets.
It comes after U.S. Navy warships shot down a barrage of Houthi terrorist cruise missiles and drones launched Friday from Yemen at the shipping lanes of the Red Sea.
The Pentagon confirmed the attack and the successful response on Friday.
The USS Abraham Lincoln and its carrier strike group are in the region on an extended deployment.
The accompanying strike group includes three destroyers: USS Spruance, USS Stockdale, and USS O’Kane.
And as a friendly reminder...
2019: Kamala Said that Trump Would Provoke War with Iran
Quote:Then-Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) told MSNBC host Rachel Maddow in 2019 that then-President Donald Trump would be responsible for a dangerous escalation with Iran.
The video resurfaced Tuesday after Iran launched 181 ballistic missiles at Israel — the second such missile attack, after Iran’s proxies had attacked Israel for a year.
Harris spoke to Maddow in the wake of an Iranian missile attack on Saudi oil fields that, many expected, would lead to a U.S. response. (Trump called off an airstrike.) Harris criticized Trump for not being tough enough on the Saudis. (Once in office, she and Biden pulled back support for Saudi Arabia, emboldening Iran and the Houthis in Yemen.)
The transcript reads as follows:
HARRIS: And again, you know, listen, as far as I;m concerned, this president is motivated by his — his personal insecurities more than he is our national security. And so, what we’re looking at is, again, a threat that might be taken seriously. And I — and I would dare to say that that threat was issued without serious consultation with our allies, with our military leaders, with our diplomatic leaders. What are our alternatives?
Let’s also be clear, if this president is thinking about putting us in a position where we’re in a war with Iran, the consequences will be absolutely unacceptable and tragic in terms of the young men and women who are American soldiers who would be sent and deployed into something that was completely avoidable.
MADDOW: If you did believe, if you were president right now, and you came to believe that Iran had carried out this act — and, again, you know, we have the president’s assertions, the government’s assertions on these things, we haven’t seen the evidence. But if a U.S. president came to be convinced that Iran had shot these missiles into Saudi Arabia to screw up their oil output, would you approach that as if the United States had — the United States had a responsibility to backstop Saudi Arabia militarily? There’s an assumption that we would, but would that be true in a Harris administration?
HARRIS: Well, in a Harris administration, one, we wouldn’t have gotten ourselves into this mess in terms of we would — we would have stayed as part of the partnership that was part of the Iran nuclear deal, and we would have kept our word. And we would have held up our end of the bargain.
Also, let’s step back and look at this president’s relationship with the Saudis, and the Kingdom. Do you know that this president during his tenure in the White House has issued five vetoes total? Four of them related to Saudi Arabia.
In 2020, both then-candidate Joe Biden and Harris objected when President Trump ordered an airstrike that killed Iranian terror general Qasem Soleimani. Iran’s feeble response showed the regime had been deterred, and the dire predictions of many Democrats that Trump had started a new war failed to materialize.
And now that Biden & Harris are in power, they did nothing to stop Iran from attacking Israel TWICE in the same year. Or did Biden really think that a "Don't!" was enough to scare them away?
By the way, Trump has something to tell Kamala about her handling of the situation.
Trump Calls Kamala "Incompetent Harris"
Quote:Former President Donald Trump vowed, hours after Iran fired hundreds of missiles at Israel on Tuesday, that there will be “peace in the world again” if he is elected president versus chaos if Vice President Kamala Harris wins.
Trump’s remarks came during an event in Waunakee, Wisconsin, as tensions in the Middle East escalate in the home stretch of the U.S. election.
Trump said that Iran “desperately wants Kamala Harris to be president,” going on to add that America’s adversaries believe “as long as she’s in power, they can take advantage of America like never before.”
...
Trump, who made significant progress toward peace in the Middle East with the Abraham Accords during his administration, pledged if elected, “We will have peace in the world again.”
“If she gets four more years, the world goes up in smoke. This world will go up in smoke,” Trump added, also invoking harbingers of a potential World War III in his remarks.
The 45th president, who said today’s attack was driven by a lack of respect for the U.S. on the world stage, also blasted the ‘incompetent’ Biden-Harris adminsitration for “flooding [Iran] with cash” after the nation was “in check” during his time in office.
...
“Iran was on the verge of bankruptcy. They had no money left. They had no money for Hamas. They had no money for Hezbollah, the people [Israel’s] fighting now,” he said.
“They would have been willing to make any deal. You could have made any deal, but Kamala flooded them with American cash, and even now, I mean, they’re flooding them with cash,” he added. “Honestly, it’s not even believable.”
Trump contended that today’s attack on Israel would not have happened if he were in charge and said toward the beginning of his remarks that neither would many other significant issues facing America and the globe.
...
“The whole Middle East has been unraveling, but, of course, the whole world has been unraveling since we left office,” Trump said.
“Russia would have never attacked Ukraine. This would have never happened in the Middle East. There wouldn’t have been an October 7. You wouldn’t have had inflation,” he added, also pointing to the botched Afghanistan withdrawal.
Trump’s speech comes on the heels of a press release earlier in the day outlining many of the same arguments and points.
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
![[Image: SP1-Scripter.png]](https://www.save-point.org/images/userbars/SP1-Scripter.png)
![[Image: SP1-Writer.png]](https://www.save-point.org/images/userbars/SP1-Writer.png)
![[Image: SP1-Poet.png]](https://www.save-point.org/images/userbars/SP1-Poet.png)
![[Image: SP1-PixelArtist.png]](https://www.save-point.org/images/userbars/SP1-PixelArtist.png)
![[Image: SP1-Reporter.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/GmxWbHyL/SP1-Reporter.png)
My Original Stories (available in English and Spanish)
List of Compiled Binary Executables I have published...
HiddenChest & Roole
Give me a free copy of your completed game if you include at least 3 of my scripts!
Just some scripts I've already published on the board...
KyoGemBoost XP VX & ACE, RandomEnkounters XP, KSkillShop XP, Kolloseum States XP, KEvents XP, KScenario XP & Gosu, KyoPrizeShop XP Mangostan, Kuests XP, KyoDiscounts XP VX, ACE & MV, KChest XP VX & ACE 2016, KTelePort XP, KSkillMax XP & VX & ACE, Gem Roulette XP VX & VX Ace, KRespawnPoint XP, VX & VX Ace, GiveAway XP VX & ACE, Klearance XP VX & ACE, KUnits XP VX, ACE & Gosu 2017, KLevel XP, KRumors XP & ACE, KMonsterPals XP VX & ACE, KStatsRefill XP VX & ACE, KLotto XP VX & ACE, KItemDesc XP & VX, KPocket XP & VX, OpenChest XP VX & ACE
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
My Original Stories (available in English and Spanish)
List of Compiled Binary Executables I have published...
HiddenChest & Roole
Give me a free copy of your completed game if you include at least 3 of my scripts!
Just some scripts I've already published on the board...
KyoGemBoost XP VX & ACE, RandomEnkounters XP, KSkillShop XP, Kolloseum States XP, KEvents XP, KScenario XP & Gosu, KyoPrizeShop XP Mangostan, Kuests XP, KyoDiscounts XP VX, ACE & MV, KChest XP VX & ACE 2016, KTelePort XP, KSkillMax XP & VX & ACE, Gem Roulette XP VX & VX Ace, KRespawnPoint XP, VX & VX Ace, GiveAway XP VX & ACE, Klearance XP VX & ACE, KUnits XP VX, ACE & Gosu 2017, KLevel XP, KRumors XP & ACE, KMonsterPals XP VX & ACE, KStatsRefill XP VX & ACE, KLotto XP VX & ACE, KItemDesc XP & VX, KPocket XP & VX, OpenChest XP VX & ACE
