Iran to EU: ‘Be responsible, sanction Israel’
The Cradle, Apr 23 2024
Iran has called upon the EU to show responsibility and place sanctions on Israel on Apr 23 following the multinational European bloc tightening sanctions on Iran. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said via social media:
It is regrettable to see the EU deciding quickly to apply more unlawful restrictions against Iran just because Iran exercised its right to self-defense in the face of Israel’s reckless aggression. The EU should not follow Washington’s advice to satisfy the criminal Israeli regime. It is also regrettable that while the Israeli regime continues its genocide against the Palestinians through different war crimes, missile attacks & famine, the EU’s reaction to such crimes is almost nothing more than hollow words. The EU must act responsibly and sanction the Israeli regime.
Amir-Abdollahian’s comments come after the EU decided to harden sanctions on Iran in order to prevent the exports of EU-made parts used in drones and ballistic missiles as retaliation to Iran’s strike on Israel. On Apr 13, Iran fired about 300 missiles and drones on Israel in retaliation to its Damascus consulate being bombed by Israel, bypassing Israel’s missile defense systems and damaging an airbase and intelligence gathering center. The strike on Israel also allowed Iran to gather key information on the whereabouts of these defense system launchers in Israel.
The EU has imposed sanctions on Iran over its support of Russia. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis noted during a recent meeting between EU foreign and defense ministers that the sanctions discussion is “mostly about spare parts for drones that are still not under sanction and ballistic missiles.” Despite Tehran’s largely domestic manufacturing of military hardware, Iran still requires foreign-made materials for its missile program. Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg told reporters in Luxembourg prior to the EU meeting to agree on the new sanctions:
I support extending the drone sanctions against Iran factually and geographically, concerning deliveries not only to Russia but also proxies, and including ballistic missiles.
Israel ‘has achieved nothing in 200 days’: Abu Obeida
The Cradle, Apr 23 2024
Israel has failed to achieve all of its goals since it launched its war on the Gaza Strip, the spokesman for Hamas’ Qassam Brigades, Abu Obeida, said in a speech marking the 200th day of war on Apr 23. Abu Obeida said:
200 days and our resistance in Gaza is as firm as the mountains of Palestine. The occupation forces are trying to convince the world that they have eliminated all resistance factions, and this is a big lie. The enemy was unable, in 200 days, to achieve anything other than mass massacres, destruction, and killing. The enemy is still stuck in the sands of Gaza, and what he will reap will only be more anger, revenge, and disgrace.
In a message addressed to Netanyahu, Abu Obeida said:
Your death, the end of your occupation, and your downfall are your fate, and your crying in front of the world will not help in changing your image.
Hamas’ military wing, the Ezz’ed-Din al-Qassam Brigades, and several other resistance factions, including the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s Quds Brigades, remain entrenched across the Gaza Strip and engaged in operations against Israeli troops. Despite this, Israel claims that southernmost Rafah is Hamas’ final stronghold, and is planning a devastating assault on the desperately overcrowded city. During his speech, Abu Obeida praised the several fronts that opened in support of the resistance in Gaza at the start of the war in October, saying:
We appreciate every military and popular effort towards Al-Aqsa flood, especially the fighting fronts in Lebanon, Yemen, and Iraq.
The spokesman also praised the resistance factions in the occupied West Bank, as well as Iran’s Operation True Promise, which saw hundreds of drones and missiles target Israel on Apr 14 in response to the Israeli strike on the Tehran consulate in Damascus at the start of this month. He said:
Iran’s response, in its size and nature, established new rules and confused the enemy’s calculations. Resistance will continue as long as the occupation’s aggression or its presence continues on any inch of our land. We will not give up the basic rights of our people, most notably withdrawal, lifting the siege, and the return of the displaced to their homes. The resistance will remain faithful to the sacrifices of our people, and we carry their pain and hopes.
Thousands of tents set up in central Gaza as Israel prepares to enter Rafah
The Cradle, Apr 23 2024
Satellite images of a sprawling tent compound being built near Khan Yunis in Gaza indicate Israel may soon launch a ground offensive on the southern border city of Rafah. The AP compared satellite images taken on Apr 16 of a tent compound being constructed west of Khan Yunis in central Gaza with images taken almost a week later, on Apr 21. According to the AP, the tent compound has grown significantly over that period. The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday about the tents.
Rafah is currently home to over 1 million displaced people who were forced to flee Israeli bombing in northern Gaza. Many are already living in tents. Israeli air strikes have killed scores of Palestinian civilians in Rafah in recent days. The construction shown in the images coincides with reports that an Israeli ground assault on Rafah is nearing.
A report in the WSJ Monday claimed that the Israeli army is preparing to evacuate Palestinian civilians from Rafah ahead of a long-planned military offensive. Citing Israeli and Egyptian officials, the WSJ reported that the Israeli plans envision that the first two to three weeks of the operation will consist of evacuating civilians to Khan Yunis in coordination with the US, Egypt, and other Arab countries. The report claimed Israel would set up shelters with tents, food, and medical facilities.
The Jerusalem Post reported on Apr 9 that Israel’s Defense Ministry purchased 40k tents to facilitate the evacuation and prepare for an imminent invasion of Rafah. Each tent can hold 12 persons, suggesting Israel is preparing to evacuate at least 480k Palestinians over several weeks or months. The paper added that Israeli officials hoped many Palestinians would “self-evacuate” by going back to Khan Yunis following the Israeli military’s withdrawal from the city.
Israeli troops flattened large swathes of Khan Yunis during operations there, allegedly to defeat Hamas battalions. Israel targeted not only Hamas fighters in Khan Yunis but also destroyed civilian infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, mosques, churches, homes, apartment buildings, farmland, and even cemeteries in an apparent bid to destroy the city. Israel claims a similar operation is needed in Rafah to defeat the four Hamas battalions allegedly still in the city.
Shortly after the beginning of the war on Gaza on Oct 7, a proposal was leaked from Israel’s Ministry of Intelligence advocating the expulsion of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents to Egypt or other third countries to make way for Jewish settlement in Gaza. The plan suggested the strip could be ethnically cleansed without international opposition if the expulsion appeared to be carried out for humanitarian reasons. Israel has killed over 34k people in Gaza since the start of the war, including over 14k children.
Fight against UK arms sales to Israel persists
The Cradle, Apr 23 2024
A legal obstacle to British weapons exports was reignited at the UK High Court on Apr 23. The case, brought by Palestinian rights group Al-Haq and the UK-based Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), was dismissed in February. On Tuesday, Apr 23, the case was granted an expedited judicial review of the UK government’s export license process, scheduled for the coming October. According to Al-Haq, there is a serious risk that weapons exported by the UK to Israel will be used in violation of international law, making their continued export illegal. In the court filings for Tuesday’s preliminary hearing on the matter, Al-Haq’s lawyers said the government processes for evaluating violations are “robust and detailed.” A lawyer for the Department for Business and Trade, James Eadie, said the processes have been “honed and refined” following cases previously brought by the Campaign Against Arms Trade over arms exports to the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. GLAN’s lawyer Charlotte Andrews-Briscoe said:
The world has watched as 34k people have been killed, and more are being killed every day. Over the weekend, a single strike in Rafah killed 17 children. The case for urgency has never been clearer.
The UN has repeatedly warned in recent months that states exporting arms or military goods to Israel are at high risk of complicity in war crimes. Last month, Canada announced its intention to impose a ban on arms sales to Israel. Several countries, including Spain, the Netherlands, Japan, and Belgium, have taken similar steps. At the start of March, over 200 MPs from 12 states signed a letter urging their governments to impose a ban on weapons sales to Israel. In the letter, organized by Progressive International and signed on Mar 1, the MPs said they refused to be complicit in “Israel’s grave violation of international law” in Gaza.
Gaza mass graves spur Yemen to expand naval attacks
The Cradle, Apr 23 2024
Yemen’s armed forces threatened on Apr 22 to expand military operations against Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea, Arab Sea, and Indian Ocean following the discovery of mass graves in Gaza’s Nasser Medical Complex. The armed forces said via a statement on Yemen’s Al-Masirah channel:
For the seventh month in a row, the genocidal crimes of the Israeli enemy continue, the latest of which is the brutal massacre in the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis. The genocidal crimes that the Palestinian people are facing in Gaza and the occupied West Bank reflect an unparalleled level of Zionist hatred and crime.
The statement by Yemen called to “escalate their operations in the Red Sea,” adding that Sanaa continues its full support for the people of Gaza. On Sunday, over 200 bodies were found across two mass graves located in Khan Yunis’ Nasser Medical Complex. Gaza’s Government Media Office announced that about 700 victims are expected to be found. The media office said:
We found in the Nasser Complex corpses without heads and bodies without skins, and some of them had their organs stolen. The occupation executed dozens of displaced, wounded, sick, and medical staff.
Yemen’s statement said that the West was to blame for the continued crimes on Gaza, saying:
If it hadn’t been for US and Western support, the shameful Arab silence, and powerlessness of the UN, the Zionist crimes against the Palestinian people would not have occurred.
The Yemeni armed forces have overwhelmed the forces they deem to be enemies of Palestine. Earlier in April, Yemen’s attacks led to the French Aquitaine-class FREMM frigate Alsace’s retreat from the Red Sea following the ship’s complete exhaustion of munitions. The ship’s commander, Jerome Henry, said:
We didn’t necessarily expect this level of threat. There was an uninhibited violence that was quite surprising and very significant. They do not hesitate to use drones that fly at water level, to explode them on commercial ships, and to fire ballistic missiles.
Earlier in April, the Yemeni armed forces drones announced its targeting of two Israeli ships, MSC Darwin and MSC Gina, and two US ships, Maersk Yorktown and a warship, in the Gulf of Aden. The statement read:
The Yemeni armed forces continue to perform their religious, moral, and humanitarian duty towards the oppressed Palestinian people and in defense of dear Yemen.
Hezbollah hits army HQ deep inside Israel
The Cradle, Apr 23 2024
Hezbollah attacked the headquarters of the Israeli army’s Golani Brigade with drones on Apr 23, in the deepest strike within Israel since the start of the war on Oct 8, Al-Mayadeen reported. The Lebanese resistance group confirmed:
The attack targeted the headquarters of the Golani Brigade and the headquarters of Egoz Unit 621 in the Sharaga barracks, north of the occupied city of Akka, and the drones hit their targets accurately.
Al-Mayadeen’s correspondent confirmed that the attack deep on the Israeli coast involved launching a swarm of decoy and explosive drones that successfully hit their target. Hezbollah stated the attack was in response to an Israeli attack on the town of Adloun and the assassination of one of its fighters, Hussein Azkoul. Israeli media had reported the sounding of sirens in the Upper Galilee region in fear of a drone infiltration, pointing to the launch of an interceptor missile towards a suspicious air target in the sky over Nahariya. The Israeli media also indicated that sirens sounded in a large number of settlements in the north, all the way to Acre, in fear of a drone infiltration. Israeli Army Radio confirmed that 200k Israelis evacuated to bomb shelters in the north after three drones were launched from Lebanon over Nahariya.
This came after Hezbollah launched a combined attack last Wednesday with guided missiles and assault drones on the headquarters of the new military reconnaissance company in Arab al-Aramshe. The resistance group stated one Israeli general was killed and scores of others injured in the strike. The Israeli rescue service Magen David Adom said 18 people were wounded, four of them seriously. It didn’t identify them or indicate whether they were soldiers or civilians. Israel Hayom recently reported that the Israeli army is increasingly struggling to deal with Hezbollah’s drone attacks. The newspaper explained that the Israeli army faces difficulty detecting and intercepting small drones with a low radar cross-section.
Israel bombs Gaza from north to south on 200th day of war
The Cradle, Apr 23 2024
Israeli warplanes launched violent airstrikes on several areas across the Gaza Strip on Apr 23, as Palestinians marked 200 days of war in the enclave. WAFA reported on Tuesday:
On the 200th day of Israeli aggression, occupation warships bombed the beaches of the Al-Zawaida and Deir al-Balah areas in the central Gaza Strip. Israeli gunboats also fired shells towards Nuseirat Beach in the central Gaza Strip.
Israeli jets also heavily targeted Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Apr 23, as well as areas in the north, including Beit Lahia. Clashes with the Palestinian resistance in the northern Gaza Strip have been ongoing since last week. On Tuesday, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s Quds Brigades launched a barrage of rockets “at Sderot, Niram, and the Gaza envelope in response to the crimes of the Zionist enemy against our people.”
Gaza’s Government Media Office released an updated toll on Apr 23, marking “200 days of genocidal war.” According to the toll, there are 41,183 dead Palestinians and missing persons. The media office says 3,025 massacres have been committed. Of the dead, 14,778 are children. The media office statement reads:
72% of the victims are children and women. 17k children are living without one or both parents, and 11k injured are in need of travel for surgery. 10k cancer patients are facing death and are in need of treatment. Over 1m people are at risk of infectious diseases due to displacement.
There are also “$30b in preliminary direct losses due to the genocidal war on Gaza Strip.” Over 200 archeological and heritage sites have been destroyed as a result of Israeli bombing. The media office also confirmed that around 75 kilotons of explosives have been dropped on the Gaza Strip by Israel. Meanwhile, in the southernmost city of Rafah, over one million Palestinians remain stranded and under Israeli bombardment. The Israeli army is closing in on completing its plans for an assault on Rafah, the WSJ reported on Apr 23. Israel claims Rafah is Hamas’ final stronghold, despite the group being entrenched across several areas of Gaza along with other resistance factions.
Erdogan ends Iraq visit urging officials to ‘eliminate’ Kurdish militias
The Cradle, Apr 23 2024
Erdogan said in comments published on Apr 23 that he believes Iraq wants to eliminate the PKK, adding Ankara wants Baghdad’s support in a common battle against the Kurdish militant group. Erdogan told reporters on a flight back from Baghdad:
One would hope that our neighbors put the necessary stance forward against the threats directed at us from their lands, and we continue this battle jointly.
The comments followed Erdogan’s talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and Kurdish leaders during his visit to Baghdad and Erbil. This marks the first time a Turkish leader had visited Iraq in 13 years. Erdogan said:
Eliminating this threat is also to the benefit of Iraq. I believe they see this reality and they will now put forth a will for this issue to be removed.
Erdogan noted that he also spoke with Erbil about taking steps against the PKK. Speaking about his meeting with Sudani on Monday, the Turkish head of state said:
I shared with my counterparts my strong belief that it (PKK) will be officially declared a terrorist organization and its presence in Iraqi territory will end as soon as possible. We are ready to provide all the support that the Iraqi government will need in every step it takes in this direction.
During a joint press conference in Baghdad on Monday, Sudani announced that Ankara and Baghdad inked 20 agreements to develop road projects, water, and other sectors. The Iraqi premier also said, concerning increasing security ties between the two nations:
We will not tolerate any armed force attacking Turkey from Iraqi territory, nor will we permit any violation of Iraqi sovereignty.
Erdogan met with Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR) President Nechirvan Barzani in Erbil, during which the two discussed economic, trade, and security cooperation. Barzani noted:
We expressed the Kurdistan Region’s desire to further strengthen its ties with Turkey across all sectors, emphasizing that the Kurdistan Region should continue to be a source of stability and peace in the region.
In March, Iraq designated a ban on the PKK, a move which the Chief Adviser to Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Nuh Yilmaz called a “turning point.” Also in March, Turkiye launched a military expansion in Iraq’s north and is planning to establish a 30 km to 40 km security zone, expanding on its ongoing fight against the PKK. In September last year, and with the compliance of Kurdish authorities, Iraq disarmed and relocated the Kurdish militant group from the border with Iran. An anonymous Kurdish source previously told the New Arab:
The ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has recently disarmed the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) based near Erbil from its middle and heavy weapons. They soon would be relocated to a new camp near Makhmour.
Pro-Palestine rallies spread on US campuses despite heavy repression
The Cradle, Apr 23 2024
Pro-Palestinian protests at major US universities continued to grow on Apr 22 despite arrests by police, suspensions by university administrators, and sabotage by pro-Israel lobby groups. Columbia, a prestigious university in NYC, has been the epicenter of the student protests opposing Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The protests have now spread to other universities, including Harvard, New York University, Yale, Arizona State, and California State Polytechnic University at Humboldt. Police have arrested dozens at Columbia and Yale for refusing to leave protest encampments after administrators demanded it. Columbia student and protester Grant Miner told the New Statesman:
Our demands include amnesty for students who had been suspended by the administration over earlier campus protests [he being one of them]; divestment from Israeli bonds and equity; financial transparency around how the university invests its $14b endowment.
The protests made headlines in the US on Monday as new mass graves were discovered outside Nasser Hospital in Gaza with over 200 civilian bodies, including doctors and nurses still wearing scrubs, as well as women, men, and children, all killed by the Israeli army.
On Monday night, police cleared a protest encampment centered at NYU’s Gould Plaza at the university’s request. Faculty and students were arrested. The WaPo reported:
Videos on social media showed dozens of officers in tense confrontations with protesters. Some officers tossed tents, and others grappled with demonstrators. Videos also showed police loading people, whose hands were zip-tied behind their backs, onto correctional buses.
NYU spokesman John Beckman said:
The confrontations began after university police blocked access to the plaza Monday morning, where about 50 protesters were demonstrating without authorization. The barriers were breached early in the afternoon by additional protesters, many of whom we believe were not affiliated with NYU, who exhibited disorderly, disruptive, and antagonizing behavior and refused to leave when told the protests would be disbanded. The university then requested assistance from the NYPD. There were several antisemitic incidents reported.
Last week, over 100 students at Columbia were arrested amid accusations of violence and antisemitism among protesters. NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said:
The students that were arrested were peaceful, offered no resistance whatsoever, and were saying what they wanted to say.
According to Grant Miner, a Jewish Columbia student, allegations of antisemitism are unfounded. Miner said:
I’m not sure what people would be referring to. I myself am Jewish. The narrative is that we’re a violent mob, and there’s been no violence here. The only anti-Jewish sentiments I’ve received are from hard-core Zionist Jews calling me a fake Jew. In fact, I got a fun email to my work email calling me, just a subject line, ‘Judenrat.’
Journalist Max Blumenthal reported that pro-Israel lobby groups are offering “cash compensation” to young Zionists “willing to wear keffiyehs and walk in these demonstrations” as provocateurs to spread antisemitic slogans and issue threats against Jews. On Monday, Republican Senators Tom Cotton and Josh Hawley used alleged concerns about the safety of Jewish students to demand that Biden call in the National Guard to suppress the protests at Columbia.
Israel prepares Rafah evacuation with US, Arab assistance: Report
The Cradle, Apr 23 2024
The Israeli army is closing in on completing its plans for an assault on the Gaza Strip’s southern city of Rafah, the WSJ reported on Apr 23. The WSJ cites Egyptian officials as saying that Israel’s plan to evacuate civilians from the city will take two to three weeks and will be carried out in cooperation with Washington, Cairo, and other Arab states, including the UAE. The officials say Israel is planning on gradual deployments of troops to Rafah. The troops will concentrate on specific areas where Tel Aviv believes Hamas leaders are holed up. The entire operation, including the evacuations, is expected to take at least six weeks, according to WSJ. An Israeli security official told the outlet:
The attack on Rafah will have a very tight operational plan because it’s very complex there. There’s a humanitarian response that’s happening at the same time.
Israel’s evacuation plan involves moving Rafah’s civilian population upwards towards the southern city of Khan Yunis, as well as other areas of the strip, the report states, adding that shelters with tents, food supplies, and medical facilities will be set up. Egypt has been briefed on the details of the plan. Al-Araby Al-Jadid reported last week, citing Egyptian sources, that Egyptian forces and agencies are “at full readiness” in northern Sinai and along the Egyptian border with Gaza. The increased readiness came after “contacts from the Israeli side” relating to preparations for the operation in the southern city. Al-Araby Al-Jadid adds that the Egyptian Red Crescent has been readying camps in Khan Yunis over the past few months in preparation for the displacement of Palestinians from Rafah. Satellite images obtained by AP this week reportedly show a new tent compound near Khan Yunis.
In February, it was reported that Egypt built a security zone in the Sinai near the border with Rafah. Many speculated at the time that the security zone would aid Israeli plans to push Rafah’s population into the Sinai desert. Egypt’s State Information Service said on Feb 17 that the zone is a logistics hub on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border, which will be used to deliver aid into Gaza. Israeli army radio reported on Monday that Tel Aviv is now expanding a designated “humanitarian zone” that will “accommodate around one million people.” It said field hospitals have also been set up in the area. Army radio added that the zone will extend from Al-Mawasi on Gaza’s southern coast towards Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. Israel believes Rafah is Hamas’ final stronghold and is dead set on attacking the city. Washington has repeatedly said it would not accept an operation there without a plan to properly and safely evacuate civilians and move them out of harm’s way. The UN and several countries have warned that attacking Rafah would have catastrophic consequences and that there is no safe way to evacuate the desperately overcrowded city.
Niqnaq 