Orientul Mijlociu

After Hezbollah’s retaliation, no broader war for now, but the conflict drags on

Following Israel’s “pre-emptive strike” against Hezbollah military facilities and Hezbollah’s rocket and drone attacks, the two sides have engaged in a war of narratives, each trying to frame their respective operation as a success.

Given the continuing failure of the Gaza cease-fire talks, Hezbollah seems to be in a strategic trap of its own making: By linking the cessation of its war of support to a cease-fire deal, it has relegated the decision over when to end it primarily to the Israeli prime minister.

Since November 2023, the Houthis have conducted dozens of attacks on commercial ships transiting the Red Sea, endangering civilian crews and threatening freedom of navigation through a critical global trans-
portation route.1 2 The Houthis are non-state actors in Yemen who have used Iran’s support to gradually expand their military capabilities since at least 2015.3 In early December 2023, the Houthis threatened to attack any ships that they believed were heading to Israeli ports, though many of their attacks both before and since have been against civilian ships with either tenuous or no known Israeli affiliations or port calls.4 5 6 Since mid-December 2023, the Houthis have also threatened to attack ships affiliated with the United States and its allies, including members of Operation PROSPERITY GUARDIAN, a multinational initiative to protect international freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.7 8 Despite seeking international legitimacy, Houthi actions have damaged regional security, impeded international humanitarian relief efforts, and put stress on global maritime trade.

On the 10th anniversary of the Yezidi genocide by ISIS, survivors are still struggling to get the international community to identify and punish the Kurdish collaborators who helped pave the path for slaughter.

Terror organization: Hamas

Status: Khaled Qaddoumi is Hamas’s representative in Tehran, Iran.

Role: Khaled Qaddoumi is Hamas’s representative in Tehran, Iran. He is responsible for raising Hamas’s interests with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and members of the Iranian government. He also acts as a public mouthpiece for Hamas to Iranian and international media.

Terror organization: Al Ashtar Brigades. (AAB)

Status: Leader.

Role: Al-Muamen has recruited terrorists in Bahrain, facilitated training on weapons and explosives for AAB members, and supplied AAB members with funding, weapons, and explosives to carry out attacks. In November 2017, Bahraini authorities identified al-Muamen as being involved in an AAB plot to assassinate prominent figures in Bahrain and target three oil pipelines.

Successive Israeli evacuation orders have displaced around 100,000 Palestinians in the space of two days in the central Gaza Strip city of Deir al-Balah

Successive Israeli evacuation orders have displaced around 100,000 Palestinians from Gaza’s Deir al-Balah in the space of two days, municipal authorities in the central Gaza Strip city announced on Saturday.

The July election of reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian and historic fears of conflict with the U.S. military have delayed or derailed an Iranian retaliatory attack on Israel.

Iranian leaders appear willing to trade a military response to the killing in Tehran of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh for an indirect seat at the table in Gaza ceasefire talks.

Analysis: There are concerns that the new government in Sanaa could be part of Houthi preparations for a resumption of fighting in Yemen.

After eight years in power, the Houthi-led government in Sanaa, which is not recognised by the United Nations, was reshuffled last week, marking a new phase in priorities.

The southern arena: IDF forces continued their activity in the Rafah area in the southern Gaza
Strip and the Netzarim Corridor in the central Gaza Strip, expanding their activities in Khan Yunis
and Deir al-Balah. The Palestinian organizations continued firing rockets into Israeli territory,
including targeting the center of the country. Three IDF soldiers were killed in combat.

“The Palestinian resistance resorted to suicide operations as a response to the US and international collusion with Israel…” one analyst said.

The Palestinian armed resistance groups decided to resume “suicide operations” within Israeli territories, signalling a new phase in the fighting as Israel’s genocidal war continues past its tenth month.