Yemen, Iraqi resistance keep up attacks against Israel as coordination expands
The Cradle, May 24 2024
The leader of Yemen’s Ansarallah movement, Abd’ul-Malik al-Houthi, recently held a phone call with the chief of Iraq’s Kataib Hezbollah, Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi, during which the two resistance leaders discussed coordinating efforts to confront Israel. Al Mayadeen reported Hamadawi as saying:
We stressed during the call that coordination between the forces of the axis of resistance in the region will increase the impact of their operations against the Zionist enemy. We praised the military operations of the Yemeni forces, which contributed greatly to imposing the ban on Israeli maritime navigation, and stressed the necessity of maintaining readiness and high coordination between the forces of the axis of resistance, especially between Iraq and Yemen, to support the Palestinian people.
As part of the naval campaign waged by Ansarallah and the armed forces of Yemen’s Sanaa government since the start of the war in Gaza, Yemeni forces have recently expanded their operations against Israeli maritime interests to include the Mediterranean Sea. The Yemeni army had previously been attacking Israeli-linked ships and ships bound for Israeli ports across the Red Sea, Arab Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Indian Ocean. It also targeted US and British vessels in response to the brutal campaign of airstrikes launched by Washington and London against Yemen in January.Sanaa announced on Friday afternoon that its forces targeted three Israeli-linked vessels in three different seas.
The spokesman for Yemen’s Armed Forces, Yahya Sari, said that the Israeli-linked MSC Alexandria was targeted with ballistic missiles in the Arab Sea, the Yannis ship of the Greek Eastern Mediterranean Maritime Company was hit in missile and drone operation in the Red Sea, while the Israeli-linked Essex ship was targeted with missiles in the Mediterranean Sea. Saree said in reference to the Yannis ship:
The targeting operation came after three ships belonging to the same company arrived at the ports of occupied Palestine on May 4 and 5.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq coalition, of which Kataib Hezbollah is a part, announced that same day that it carried out a drone operation against Israel’s Haifa Port. It said:
The Mujahideen of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq targeted, at dawn today, Friday May 24 2024, by drone, the port of Haifa in our occupied territories. We will continue to destroy enemy strongholds, to resist the occupation, and to support our people in Gaza, and in response to the Zionist massacres against Palestinian civilians.
The IRI has continued frequent attacks against sites within Israel since it halted operations against US bases in Iraq and Syria in late January.
ICJ orders Israel to halt Rafah assault, allow entry of genocide investigators
The Cradle, May 24 2024
The International Court of Justice ordered Israel on May 24 to halt its military offensive in Rafah as part of the ongoing genocide case filed by South Africa earlier this year. The top UN court said that the current situation entails further risks of “irreparable damage” to the rights of Palestinians in Gaza and that conditions have been met for new emergency measures. ICJ President Nawaf Salam said:
Israel must immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in the Rafah Governorate, which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part. Israel must maintain open the Rafah crossing for unhindered provision at scale of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance, and take effective measures to ensure the unimpeded access to the Gaza Strip of any commission of inquiry, fact-finding mission or other investigative body mandated by competent organs of the United Nations to investigate allegations of genocide. Israel must submit a report to the Court on all measures taken to give effect to this Order, within one month as from the date of this Order.
Following the ICJ session, Israeli media reported that Netanyahu will convene an emergency meeting later today, which will include Foreign Minister Israel Katz, war cabinet minister and opposition leader Benny Gantz, and the government’s judicial advisor. Hamas also commented on the ruling, highlighting that Tel Aviv continues to commit “massacres” across the Gaza Strip and urged the court to issue an order for Israel to stop all its operations in the besieged enclave, not just in Rafah. The Hamas statement reads:
What is happening in Jabalia and other governorates of the Strip is no less criminal and dangerous than what is happening in Rafah. We call on the international community and the UN to pressure the occupation to immediately comply with this decision and to seriously and genuinely proceed in translating all UN resolutions that force the zionist occupation army to stop the genocide it has been committing against our people for more than seven months.
For its part, South Africa welcomed Friday’s ruling and urged UN member states to back it. Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor told public broadcaster SABC:
I believe it’s a much stronger, in terms of wording, set of provisional measures, very clear call for a cessation.
The ruling comes as Israel’s now two-week bombing and ground offensive in Rafah has killed at least 171 people and displaced around one million Palestinians. Most had already been displaced by Israeli bombing and now face a further lack of shelter, food, water, and medicine. South Africa made an urgent request in February for the court to consider whether Israel’s decision to launch an operation in Rafah “requires that the court uses its power to prevent further imminent breach of the rights of Palestinians in Gaza.” The country had filed its case at the end of December, declaring that Israel was breaching obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention in its military campaign in Gaza.
On Jan 26, the ICJ ordered that Israel take steps to prevent acts of genocide by its military in Gaza and punish incitements to genocide. The court, however, stopped short of ordering a ceasefire. South Africa had been aiming for an ICJ order of an emergency halt to Israel’s military operations in Gaza. Any decision of the sort would need backing from the UNSC. On May 16, the ICJ held hearings to consider South Africa’s request for additional emergency measures to halt Israel’s ongoing operation in Rafah, resulting in Friday’s ruling.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed over 35k Palestinians while razing much of the besieged enclave, including entire neighborhoods, hospitals, schools, mosques, churches, farmland, and cemeteries. Israel politicians and activists have repeatedly publicized their intent to destroy and ethnically cleanse Gaza to make way for future Jewish settlement.
Wanted by ICC, Netanyahu set to address US congress
The Cradle, May 24 2024
Mike Johnson, Republican Speaker of the US House of Representatives, said on May 23 that Netanyahu will soon address a joint meeting of the Congress. Johnson said during a speech at an Israeli embassy event:
Tonight, I’m happy to announce, we will soon be hosting Prime Minister Netanyahu at the Capitol for a joint session of Congress. This will be a strong show of support for the Israeli government in their time of greatest need.
The announcement comes as officials from the administration of Biden have made increasingly critical comments on Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza. Despite Biden’s continued support for the Israeli war effort, Johnson is a critic of his administration’s policy toward Israel. Netanyahu’s speech at Congress is expected to draw the ire of some Democrats who have spoken out about Israel’s conduct in Gaza. Speaking at the same event, a US Democratic Representative said:
As Americans, we reaffirm our commitment to Israel’s sovereignty.
Both officials condemned the International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan’s decision to seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant. Johnson also said on Thursday:
We should punish the ICC and put Karim Khan back in his place. If the ICC is allowed to threaten Israel’s leaders, we know that the US will be next. There is a reason we never endorsed the ICC, because it is a direct affront to our own sovereignty.
The decision has created an uproar in Washington, with Republican members of the US House of Representatives working on a sanctions package against the ICC. Johnson added:
Congress is reviewing our options right now, we have some very aggressive legislation that were going to push as soon as possible, it will include sanctions. If the ICC moves forward with its absurd request, this is going to be a bigger international problem.
Blinken said on May 21 that he is willing to help Congress impose sanctions against ICC officials over their request for arrest warrants against the Israeli officials. EU leaders have taken a more balanced approach towards the ICC decision. Germany said on Wednesday that if the ICC goes ahead and issues the warrants, it would arrest the Israeli premier if he set foot on German soil. France said earlier that week that it backs the ICC in the “fight against impunity.”
Israeli troops abduct injured civilians from Gaza hospitals: Report
The Cradle, May 24 2024
The Israeli army has been abducting injured Palestinian civilians from hospitals in Gaza and transporting them to a detention camp in the Negev, where they are shackled to beds and undergo major surgeries, often without painkillers, the Guardian reported on May 24. A whistleblower from the Sde Teiman detention camp told the Guardian some patients had come from hospitals in Gaza after being abducted by Israeli forces. The source said:
These were patients who had been captured by the Israeli army while being treated in Gaza hospitals and brought here. They had limbs and infected wounds. They were moaning in pain.
The source described how the field hospital in the detention camp consisted of tents, including an emergency room where patients underwent surgery on a stretcher as there was no operating table. The patients were handcuffed to the beds, made to wear diapers, and blindfolded. In one case, a detainee’s hand had been amputated “because the wrists had become gangrenous due to handcuffing wounds.” A second whistleblower who spoke with the Guardian said:
There were about 15 patients in total, they were all handcuffed and blindfolded. They were naked, wearing diapers and were covered by blankets. Most of them appeared to have obvious war injuries; some had undergone amputations, and others underwent major abdominal or chest surgery. They were practically naked except for a diaper.
The source said he witnessed a patient undergoing painful medical procedures without any painkillers. In the other section of the camp, the whistleblowers said up to 200 Palestinian detainees from Gaza are being held in cages under severe physical restrictions. The source said:
The prisoners are detained in a sort of cages, all blindfolded and handcuffed. If someone speaks or moves, they are immediately silenced or they are forced to stand with their hands raised above their head and handcuffed for up to one hour. If they are unable to keep their hands raised, the soldiers attach the handcuffs to the bars of the cage. Many of the detainees had infected wounds that were not being properly treated.
The source claimed the Israeli military had no proof that detainees were members of Hamas. Some inmates repeatedly asked why they were there. According to the whistleblower:
Most were considered suspects, and some were released. But they had not been formally charged. It was a kind of filtering camp, a provisional detention.
Tel Aviv ‘prohibits’ Spain’s West Bank consulate from serving Palestinians
The Cradle, May 24 2024
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has decided to bar the Spanish consulate in Jerusalem from providing services to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank in response to Madrid’s decision to recognize Palestine as a state. Katz said in a statement on May 24:
I have decided to sever the connection between the Spanish mission to Israel and the Palestinians, and to prohibit the Spanish consulate in Jerusalem from providing services to Palestinians from the West Bank.
Norway, Ireland, and Spain announced on 22 May that they will formally recognize Palestine as a state next week. The Israeli decision is a response to the announcement and to comments made by a Spanish minister on 23 May. Katz said on Friday, in reference to Spain’s Labor and Economy Minister Yolanda Diaz, who said in a speech a day earlier that “Palestine will be free from the river to the sea”:
If this ignorant hate-filled person wants to truly understand what radical Islam wants, she should learn about the 700 years of Islamic rule in Al-Andalus – modern-day Spain.
Following the decision to recognize Palestinian statehood, Tel Aviv immediately recalled its ambassadors to Ireland and Norway and pledged to recall its envoy to Spain. The foreign ministry also summoned the ambassadors from the three European nations to “reprimand” them. Spain has repeatedly condemned Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians. Diaz’s statement was not the first instance in which the country signaled its readiness to recognize Palestine as a state. On May 10, the UNGA voted overwhelmingly in favor of an Arab-sponsored resolution to recognize Palestine as a member state of the organization. Washington voted against it, along with Israel and a number of other states. On Apr 18, the US vetoed a UNSCR to recognize Palestine as a full member state in the UN. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez accused Netanyahu on Wednesday of putting the two-state solution in “danger” with his policy of “pain and destruction” in Gaza.
Netanyahu received four intel warnings of ‘security risks’ before 7 Oct
The Cradle, May 24 2024
Israeli media reported on May 24 that Netanyahu had received four warnings before Hamas carried out its military operation Al-Aqsa Flood on Oct 7. Israeli Channel 13 reported Thursday:
Netanyahu received four warnings or reports from the Military Intelligence Agency, AMAN, during the past year, 2023, indicating the existence of security risks, before Oct 7. The Israeli army spokesman indicated that, between Mar-Jul 2023, the AMAN Military Intelligence Division sent four warning messages to Netanyahu that the country’s enemies are exploiting the ongoing internal divisions to prepare for any military operations to attempt to harm Israel.
Netanyahu has denied such foreknowledge, saying that all reports or intelligence briefings he received showed that “Hamas is deterred and wants to reach a settlement.” Israeli intelligence issued multiple reports suggesting Hamas was planning to invade Israeli settlements and military bases surrounding Gaza. However, these reports were ignored by higher-level intelligence officials, including warnings issued in the weeks and days ahead of Oct 7.
These reports, as well as the ease with which Hamas fighters breached the Gaza border fence and the slow response of the air force and army, have led some Israelis to speculate that Netanyahu and others in Israeli intelligence and the military welcomed a Hamas attack. Far-right religious elements in Israel, led by prominent ministers in Netanyahu’s government, have long called for a war on Gaza to forcibly expel its population and build Jewish settlements in its place. Israel responded by officially declaring war on the Gaza Strip, razing it with devastating bombing, and sending troops in for ground military operations.
The events of Oct 7, including many false claims of Hamas atrocities, such as rape and beheading babies, have given Israel a pretext to wage its brutal war on Gaza. Claims of Hamas atrocities were further amplified by Israel’s killing of many of its own civilians during the Hamas attack under the Hannibal Directive. Israeli forces used heavy weapons from attack helicopters, drones and tanks to kill Hamas fighters and the Israelis they had taken captive from kibbutzim and the Nova music festival.
Iran completes preliminary probe into presidential chopper crash
The Cradle, May 24 2024
The General Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces released on May 23 a preliminary report by the special investigative committee probing the helicopter crash that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and other top officials last weekend. According to Mehr news agency, the report said:
A significant part of the information in various specialized, technical and general fields that could have been related to the accident has been collected.
It said that the presidential helicopter continued on its preplanned route after departing from the East Azerbaijan province in northwest Iran and did not “deviate from the designated path.” About a minute and a half before the crash, the pilot made contact with the two other helicopters in the president’s convoy. No traces of bullets or shell casings were reported to be found in the wreckage of the crashed chopper. According to the probe, the helicopter caught fire as soon as it crashed into the mountain.
Due to the complexity of the area, fog, and low temperature, the reconnaissance operation was extended into the night, and on Monday morning (at 5 am), with the help of Iranian drones, the exact location of the accident was found. It was clear, and the ground forces of reconnaissance operations were present at that point.
In the conversations between the watchtower and the flight crew, “nothing suspicious” was observed. The report adds, however, that more time is needed for further investigations. During a May 21 interview on the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network (IRINN), Raisi’s Chief of Staff Gholam Hossein Esmaili, who was on one of the two other helicopters in the convoy that safely reached their destination, narrated what he witnessed in the moments before the helicopter. Esmaili said:
After our noon prayers, we departed toward the direction of Tabriz. The weather was clear, there was no weather condition to be worried about. After half an hour of being in the air, prior to reaching the Sungun copper mine, there was a small patch of clouds at the same height as the helicopters. The pilot of Raisi’s helicopter told the other pilots to ascend above the patch of clouds. We rose above the clouds and advanced for approximately 30 seconds. Our pilot suddenly realized that the main helicopter carrying the president was missing. After failing to make contact with the team, Esmaili’s helicopter landed to investigate the situation. After several attempts, the Imam of Tabriz Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, who was on Raisi’s chopper, picked up the phone. He told us that he didn’t know what had happened, and when asked about his whereabouts, said he was surrounded by trees. I asked him about the condition of the others, the Ayatollah replied that he’s alone and couldn’t see anyone else.
The investigation into the crash was ordered on May 20 by the Chief of Staff of the Iranian army, Major General Mohammad Bagheri. The sudden demise of Raisi and Amir-Abdollahian has prompted social media users and observers to speculate about Israeli involvement in the crash. “It wasn’t us,” an anonymous Israeli official told Reuters on 20 May. There has been no official comment from Israel.
US negotiates Rafah crossing reopening under EU control: Report
The Cradle, May 24 2024
The White House is in talks with Israel and Egypt to place an EU mission in charge of administering the Rafah crossing in southern Gaza, Politico reported on May 22. Citing a senior White House official and another person familiar with the matter, Politico reported that the EU border assistance mission to the Rafah crossing point, known as EUBAM Rafah, may take responsibility for the crossing, which has been closed since the Israeli invasion of the city on May 7. Its mission statement reads:
EUBAM Rafah is mandated to provide a Third-Party Presence at the Rafah Crossing Point. In its current stand-by mode, EUBAM Rafah supports enhanced capacity of Palestinian Authority border agencies.
EUBAM Rafah was previously in charge of monitoring the crossing from 2005 to Jun 2007. It suspended operations after Hamas took control of Gaza from the Palestinian Authority and Egypt closed the crossing. According to the mission’s website, EUBAM has been involved in “capacity-building activities to enhance their ability to redeploy to the Rafah border crossing when conditions will allow.”
The Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza has been the main entry point for humanitarian aid and the only exit for Palestinians seeking to escape the war. Any Palestinian wishing to leave must pay $5k to an Egyptian firm and be approved for exit by Israeli and Egyptian authorities. No aid trucks have entered Rafah in the two weeks since Israel took control of the crossing. Netanyahu and Blinken have sought to blame Egypt for the halt. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told reporters on Monday:
Israel’s military presence on the outskirts of the Rafah crossing and military operations put aid convoys and truck drivers in danger.
On Wednesday, Egypt threatened to withdraw from negotiations to reopen the crossing because of “attempted doubts over its role.” Israel’s military takeover of Rafah and occupation of parts of the Philadelphi corridor, which stretches along the Egypt–Gaza border, is in breach of the 1979 Camp David peace accords between Israel and Egypt.
At the beginning of the war on Oct 7, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant vowed to block all food, water, and electricity from entering Gaza. Since that time, Israeli forces have severely limited the aid reaching Gaza, creating severe food shortages throughout Gaza and famine in some parts of the strip. Israeli forces have killed many aid workers and police accompanying food into Gaza in truck convoys. In December, Human Rights Watch said:
The Israeli government is using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare in the Gaza Strip, which is a war crime.
In May, the head of the UN World Food Programme, Cindy McCain, said northern Gaza has entered “full-blown famine.” McCain said severe Israeli restrictions on humanitarian deliveries to Gaza “have pushed civilians in the most isolated, devastated part of Gaza over the brink. Famine was now moving south in Gaza.”
Niqnaq 