Repeating its strategy of the 2006 summer war, Israel has already flattened wide areas in Beirut’s southern suburbs and elsewhere in Lebanon
Swathes of Beirut’s southern suburbs have been reduced to rubble because of the Israeli military’s near-daily bombardment of the area.
Iran appeared to be taking preparations in anticipation of a potential Israeli strike on its oil facilities, despite US warnings to Israel regarding this.
Iran is anticipating an Israeli attack after it launched ballistic missiles against Israel earlier this month, and appears to be taking steps in preparation for this, notably at its oil facilities.
Hamas leader-in-exile Khaled Meshaal said the Palestinian group would rise “like a phoenix” from the ashes despite heavy losses during a year of war with Israel, and that it continues to recruit fighters and manufacture weapons, Reuters reported.
One year after the Hamas attack that triggered the war, Meshaal framed the conflict with Israel as part of a broader narrative spanning 76 years, dating back to what Palestinians call the “Nakba” or “catastrophe,” when many were displaced during the 1948 war that accompanied the creation of Israel.
Hamas political bureau head Ismail Haniyeh thanks the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Aal-Thani, for his country’s support for Hamas. (Source: qudspress.com)
For decades, Qatar has, directly or indirectly, provided economic and political support for all the extremist Islamic terror organizations: the Muslim Brotherhood, Al-Qaeda, and even ISIS-linked groups. Muslim Brotherhood leader Sheikh Yousuf Al-Qaradawi, one of the leading Islamic jurists who was known for his extreme antisemitism and his justification of the annihilation of the Jews in the Holocaust, operated for many years in Qatar, under the state’s protection. Qatar also sheltered leaders of other jihad organizations. Its education system is saturated with preaching to jihad and suicide attacks. Its state-run media, the Al-Jazeer channel, is rife with antisemitism and Holocaust denial.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The destabilizing actions of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its armed proxy groups, known as the Axis of Resistance, threaten vital US interests in the Middle East and beyond, ranging from the security and stability of US allies to the free flow of energy and maritime commerce—and deterring Iran from becoming a nuclear-weapons state requires urgent attention. How the United States should approach Iran will remain one of Washington’s primary foreign policy challenges for years to come. This report aims to provide a comprehensive strategic plan that can guide US executive branch leadership, members of Congress, the military, diplomats, and others who have roles in shaping US foreign policy toward Iran for the next four years, with an eye toward the next two decades.
Hassan Khomeini, grandson of the leader of the Iranian Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, said in an October 5, 2024 interview on Channel 1 (Iran) that Israel will not back down unless it is faced with force and power, therefore, he suggested that it is time to increase Iran’s military deterrence. He said that Iran’s solution for a Palestinian state is a referendum with the participation of the Palestinian refugees, and this will “ultimately wipe out Israel.”
Hizbullah-affiliated Lebanese Minister of Labor Moustafa Bayram said in a September 29, 2024 interview that aired on NBN TV (Lebanon) that Hizbullah is a “miraculous resistance movement.” He said that no other movement would survive 5,000 of its fighters being put out of commission in two two-minute explosions and the killing of the “crown jewel” Hassan Nasrallah. Bayram added: “Allah is with us on the battlefield.”
Hizbullah Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qassem said in an October 8, 2024 address that Hizbullah supports the ceasefire initiative of parliament speaker and head of the Amal movement Nabih Berri, who he referred to as a “big brother.” He further said that despite Netanyahu’s “lies,” this is not a war over Iran and its influence over the region. Qassem added that Iran and Hizbullah are helping the Palestinians to liberate their own land. The address was aired on Al-Manar TV (Hizbullah-Lebanon) and was clipped via a Sky News Arabia TV (UAE) broadcast.
WASHINGTON, DC The U.S. Treasury Department has designated the Al-Aqsa Foundation as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) entity under Executive Order 13224. As a result of this designation by Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), all assets of the Al-Aqsa Foundation are blocked and transactions with the organization are prohibited.
And How It Can Regain Its Strategic Edge
The massacre of October 7, 2023, was one of the most horrific atrocities perpetrated since World War II. On that day, Hamas-led militants kidnapped Israeli children, raped Israeli women, beheaded Israeli men, and burned alive entire Israeli families in their homes. But beyond this human and moral calamity, the catastrophe that befell Israel on a bleak Sabbath morning reverberates with historic significance. Because it took place in the immediate vicinity of Gaza—the one place in which Israel had dismantled settlements and withdrawn to the 1967 border—this massacre was an attack on the idea of a Jewish state in any part of the land of Israel. Because its very essence was the slaughter of peace-loving kibbutzniks and life-celebrating music festival attendees, it was an assault on the existence of a liberal and cosmopolitan democracy in the Middle East. And because it led to a surge of anti-Semitism the likes of which had not been seen since 1945, it was a blatant act of aggression against the Jewish people as a whole.