Analysis: Israel is trying to depopulate the north to geographically reconfigure Gaza into disconnected enclaves and maintain indefinite control, analysts say.
Residents of northern Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp, along with those in the nearby towns of Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun, were urgently ordered to evacuate on 6 October as Israel launched a new ground operation in the enclave’s northern region.
ournalists and historians have warned about a “new antisemitism” in the twenty-first century United States comprising a repackaging of historic antisemitic tropes presented by the far right and the far left as part of a struggle between neo-fascism, anti-fascism, and anarchism. Both the far left and the far right are challenging the liberal world order established after World War II and targeting Jews as responsible for the ills during the post-war period. This has led to a worrisome trend of violent antisemitism such as the October 2018 Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the April 2019 attack on a Chabad house in Poway, California, the December 2019 attack on a kosher market in Jersey City, New Jersey, as well as an increase in antisemitic hate crimes.1 To understand the modern incarnation of antisemitism requires an examination of the roots and evolution of institutional antisemitism and how it led to events such as the Spanish Inquisition and the Holocaust.
Following is the September 2024 installment of “ISIS Redux: The Central Syria Insurgency,” a monthly chronicle of attacks by the terrorist group ISIS in central Syria. All previous 2024 monthly installments can be found here, as well as a review of developments throughout 2023, 2022, and 2021. A full background and analysis of ISIS’s resurgence in Syria, including the methodology used to collect this data, can also be explored here, here, and here.
My family is experiencing what they say is ‘the worst stage of genocide’ as Israel attempts to empty and annex northern Gaza.
Jabalia Refugee Camp in northern Gaza, where I was born and raised, has been facing relentless, indiscriminate Israeli bombing, targeting concentrations of displaced Palestinians.
The death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar will not end the operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Sinwar’s death is unlikely to trigger a rethink within Hamas about its basic strategy, which is to survive the war and secure a ceasefire that results in a total Israeli withdrawal.[i] Sinwar will be replaced by capable military commanders in the Gaza Strip and equally extreme political leaders abroad. A total Israeli withdrawal would be akin to Israel’s surrender in this war and would enable Sinwar’s capable successors to rebuild Hamas’ military organization over the next decade to threaten Israel once more.
The Israel-Hamas War is a prelude to future Iranian aggression in the Middle East. Iranian military leaders are explicitly drawing lessons from the war to develop concepts for fighting and destroying Israel. Senior Iranian officials are arguing that the war has revealed critical Israeli vulnerabilities that they can exploit. They are specifically examining ways to use proxy forces and terror to destabilize the Israeli state and Israeli society. Iran is sharpening these concepts because it is increasingly confident that its “Axis of Resistance”—the collection of Iranian-backed partners and proxies, including Hamas, across the region—is winning the current war against Israel and could fight and win a larger war too. Iran will not be able to fight a war at this scale for the foreseeable future, to be sure. But this Iranian thinking reflects Tehran’s regional aspirations and the current tenor of regime discourse. This thinking also underscores the importance of seeing the Israel-Hamas war within the context of the broader Iranian effort to dominate the Middle East. Narrowly focusing on the situation in the Gaza Strip ignores the war’s long-term implications and risks for the United States and its partners.
Israel’s recent success in eliminating Hamas and Hezbollah commanders has been attributed by influential Iranian theologian Mustafa Karami to nothing less than an army of jinn that Israel has enlisted to serve it. In the Middle East, it is still believed that jinn, who according to the Koran were created before Adam from a smokeless flame, can influence the fate of the world. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, for example, calls them the country’s main enemies, along with the United States and the coronavirus. And in Saudi Arabia, there is even a special anti-magic unit in the Ministry of Justice that has the authority to arrest and interrogate those suspected of witchcraft.
The statement reaffirmed the Salvation Government’s commitment to taking all necessary measures to defend civilians and uphold their right to live in safety and dignity in their homeland.
The Salvation Government has urged the Fatah al-Mubin operations room to take immediate and decisive measures to protect civilians and their property in northwestern Syria amid escalating Russian and Iranian attacks.
Syria is at the center of escalating tensions, facing both military incursions and a growing humanitarian crisis. The Israeli army intercepted two drones approaching from Syria, following a deadly Hezbollah drone attack, marking a deepening of the conflict on Israel’s northern borders with Syria and Lebanon. At the same time, thousands of Syrian refugees are returning home monthly from Turkey, with Turkey tightening its registration requirements for refugees and stopping a new migration wave from Syria. Meanwhile, inside Syria, a humanitarian funding shortfall threatens essential mental health care for millions displaced in the war-torn northwest, while UNRWA struggles to support displaced Palestinian refugees fleeing from Lebanon into Syria. Adding to this complex situation, Israel’s recent military movements in Syria’s Quneitra province have sparked concerns of further territorial annexation, raising alarm over broader regional conflict dynamics.
Erdogan claimed that Israel’s intentions to occupy Damascus after Lebanon could bring Israeli forces to Turkey’s border, Enab Baladi writes.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned that Israel’s potential occupation of Damascus would drastically alter Syria’s map. Speaking to reporters on his return from Albania on Saturday, October 12, Erdogan criticized Israeli threats against Lebanon and Syria, asserting that “the occupation of Damascus will represent a serious regional threat,” as reported by the Turkish presidency’s Communications Department.