Yemen says 145 ships targeted in support of Gaza as US laments ‘deadly’ threat
The Cradle, Jun 13 2024
The leader of Yemen’s ruling Ansarallah resistance movement, Abd’ul-Malik al-Houthi, revealed on Jun 13 June that the Yemeni armed forces targeted 145 ships linked to Israel, the US, and the UK since the start of Sanaa’s pro-Palestine operations in November. The number includes 11 naval operations and two military operations “deep inside Israel” conducted over the past week, which used “31 ballistic and winged missiles, drones, and military boats.”
The most recent of these operations took place on Thursday, when Yemeni cruise missiles struck the M/V Verbena commercial bulk cargo carrier in the Gulf of Aden, reportedly setting it on fire and wounding at least one crew member. According to US CENTCOM, the Verbena is a Palauan-flagged, Ukrainian-owned, and Polish-operated bulk cargo carrier that had “docked in Malaysia and was on its way to Italy carrying wood.”
The revelations from the Ansarallah leader came hours ahead of a report by AP in which US navy commanders lament the “deadly serious” threat posed by the Arab world’s poorest country. Commander Eric Blomberg with the USS Laboon told AP:
I don’t think people really understand just kind of how deadly serious it is what we’re doing and how under threat the ships continue to be. We only have to get it wrong once. The Houthis just have to get one through.
The report details the intensity of the Yemeni attacks, highlighting that members of the US-led naval mission “have seconds to confirm a launch by the Houthis, confer with other ships, and open fire on an incoming missile barrage that can move near or beyond the speed of sound.” Captain David Wroe, the commodore overseeing Washington’s guided missile destroyers, said:
It is every single day, every single watch, and some of our ships have been out here for seven-plus months doing that.
Bryan Clark, a former Navy submariner and a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, confirmed previous statements by top CENTCOM officials who said the naval battle against Yemen is the largest Washington has participated in since WW2. Clark told AP:
This is the most sustained combat that the US Navy has seen since WW2, easily, no question. We’re sort of on the verge of the Houthis being able to mount the kinds of attacks that the US can’t stop every time, and then we will start to see substantial damage. If you let it fester, the Houthis are going to get to be a much more capable, competent, experienced force.
Five months after US & UK jets started bombing targets across Yemen in support of Israel, attacks from the Yemeni armed forces have continued unabated. Late last month, Sanaa launched two attacks against the aircraft carrier Eisenhower, and just days later, the country launched its first joint operation with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq. Yemeni authorities also recently dismantled an extensive spy network operated by US and Israeli intelligence agencies.
Israel tries to placate France following ‘inappropriate attack’ from war chief
The Cradle, Jun 13 2024
The Israeli foreign ministry on Jun 14 condemned comments made earlier in the day by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant against France, in which he accused Paris of taking a “hostile stance” against Tel Aviv. The ministry said:
Beyond the differences of opinion that exist between Israel and France, the remarks against France are incorrect and out of place. Just a few weeks ago, France actively participated in defending the State of Israel and its citizens and took part in the operation to thwart the Iranian missile attack. We disapprove of Defense Minister Gallant’s attacks on France. Beyond the existing disagreements between Israel and France, the statements against France are incorrect and inappropriate.
Earlier on Friday, Gallant rallied against Paris and said his country would not join a trilateral framework proposed by Macron to defuse escalations with Hezbollah on the border with Lebanon. Gallant said via social media:
As we fight a just war, defending our people, France has adopted hostile policies against Israel. In doing so, France ignores the atrocities committed by Hamas against Israeli children, women and men.
The claims from the war chief, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the mass murder of Palestinian civilians, reportedly came in response to France’s criticism of the Israeli army’s conduct in Gaza and the banning of Israeli companies from participating in this year’s annual Eurosatory arms and defense industry exhibition in Villepinte. On Thursday, Macron announced that his nation agreed with the US and Israel to work together to step up efforts to advance a roadmap presented by Paris earlier this year to deescalate the violence on the Lebanese-Israeli border. Macron told reporters on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy:
With the US, we agreed on the principle of a trilateral, Israel, the US, and France to advance on the roadmap that we proposed, and we will do the same with the Lebanese authorities.
Washington ‘cannot verify’ whether Israel using US intel to massacre civilians
The Cradle, Jun 13 2024
US lawmakers fear Israel may be using US-supplied intelligence to carry out bombings that kill civilians in Gaza, the WaPo reported on Jun 14. Current and former US and Israeli intelligence officials told the newspaper:
Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, the US has shared an extraordinary amount of drone footage, satellite imagery, communications intercepts, and data analysis using advanced software, some of it powered by artificial intelligence.
Some US officials described Israel’s demand for more intelligence as “insatiable.” However, given Israel’s regular targeting of civilians and repeated claims that there are no “innocent” Palestinians in Gaza, not even children, this raises questions about how the intelligence is being used. Israel has killed over 37k Palestinians in its horrific eight-month bombing campaign while turning huge sections of Gaza into a “moonscape.”
The WaPo reports that some US lawmakers worry that the intelligence provided by the US is making its way into data repositories that Israeli forces use to conduct airstrikes or other military operations and that there are no effective means of monitoring how the information is used. The White House claims it has forbidden Israel from using any US-supplied intelligence to target regular Hamas fighters in military operations. The intelligence is only to be used for locating the captives held by Hamas and targeting the top leadership of the group, including Yahya Sinwar and Mohammad Deif.
However, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said last month that the intelligence is “not tied or conditioned on anything else,” and Israel killed 247 Palestinians during an operation to rescue four captives last week that relied in part on US intelligence. The WaPo adds:
Practically speaking, Israel is on its honor not to use US-supplied intelligence for proscribed purposes, current and former US officials familiar with the intelligence-sharing relationship said.
US Congress member Jason Crow, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, has questioned how White House officials can be sure that Israel is not using the intelligence it receives as part of its bombing campaign in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians and is widely viewed as genocide by the international community. Crow, an Army combat veteran, co-authored legislation enacted last year requiring the DNI to notify Congress if intelligence that the US provides another country results in civilian casualties. Crow said in a statement to the WaPo:
Prime Minister Netanyahu is pursuing a failed strategy in Gaza. The terrible civilian toll, famine, and lack of a coherent strategy are deeply concerning. I will continue to conduct robust oversight to ensure intelligence sharing is in line with US interests.
Israel must end Rafah assault to confront Hezbollah in north: Army leaders
The Cradle, Jun 13 2024
Israeli army recommended ending its operation in Rafah in southern Gaza as soon as possible and moving forces to the north to confront Hezbollah, Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Jun 14. This week, Hezbollah launched the largest number of attacks since the start of the war in October, including drone and rocket attacks, following the assassination of one of its senior commanders.
The Israeli army’s Northern Command says it is focusing on targets that will reduce Hezbollah’s attack capabilities. To do so, it recommended ending the operation in Rafah to Israel’s political leadership in a war cabinet meeting on Thursday. A security source told Channel 12 that more decisive action is needed in the northern arena to allow hundreds of thousands of Israelis to return to the settlements near the Lebanon border. The source said:
Security cannot be brought through an agreement. We cannot bring a sense of security to the residents without taking active measures. A deep change must be made at the northern border if we want the residents to return home.
Recent Hezbollah attacks have led to large fires in areas surrounding Israel’s northern settlements.
The head of the Upper Galilee Regional Council, Amit Sofer, said yesterday:
The state must increase its firefighting forces before there is nothing left to defend. Our beautiful north is burning and our hearts are burning, we must remove the threat to the residents of the north and allow the IDF to strike a blow at the enemy so that he understands that every target that burns, we will rebuild.
At the same time, Hezbollah officials have affirmed their resolve in confronting Israel. The head of Hezbollah’s Executive Council, Hashem Safieddine, said on Wednesday:
If the Israeli enemy is screaming and moaning from what it’s suffering in northern Palestine, let it prepare to cry and wail. Our operations against Israel will increase in intensity, strength, quantity, and quality.
US mulls dismantling Gaza ‘Aid Pier’ for second time in two weeks
The Cradle, Jun 13 2024
The US military is considering temporarily dismantling the pier it constructed off the coast of Gaza and moving it back to Israel amid concerns that rough seas could once again break it apart, CNN reported on Jun 14. Earlier this month, the fragile pier and causeway system, known as Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, broke apart due to heavy waves and had to be towed to the Israeli port of Ashdod to be repaired. It was moved back to Gaza last week, and operations resumed on Saturday. However, were paused again on Monday and Tuesday due to heavy seas. Poor weather and rough waters are again expected this weekend. Meanwhile, the World Food Programme’s aid distribution operations at the pier have been suspended.
WFP Director Cindy McCain announced on Sunday the organization was pausing its work there after the Israeli army used the area next to the pier to extract by helicopter four Israelis rescued from Hamas captivity in Gaza. Israeli forces massacred 274 Palestinians during Saturday’s rescue operation, which included executing Palestinian civilians with gunfire in their homes and bombing densely populated civilian areas with airstrikes to provide cover for the rescue team’s escape. WFP’s McCain told CBS on Sunday:
Right now, we’re paused because I’m concerned about the safety of our people after the incidents yesterday.
The operations will remain paused pending a risk assessment. But very little aid has entered Gaza via the US-built pier, raising questions about why Biden ordered it to be built. Aid workers say that delivering enough aid to avoid famine throughout the strip is only possible through land crossings from Israel and Egypt. One humanitarian aid official said of the pier:
A very expensive distraction.
The Rafah crossing from Egypt, the main entry point for aid, has been closed since 7 May as Israel launched an offensive to take the border city of the same name. The Center for Responsible Statecraft noted that by the end of May:
66,181 fewer pallets of food reached Palestinians in May compared to April. The pier, which opened May 17, didn’t come close to compensating for this shortfall: According to the IDF, just 1,806 pallets of food from the pier reached aid agency centers in Gaza before it broke apart in a storm on May 25.
Israel has also killed humanitarian workers and Palestinian police accompanying aid convoys with drone strikes and gunfire. Humanitarian officials tell CNN that there is still no effective deconfliction method to protect aid workers. Last month, the lead prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, applied for arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for their efforts to block food from reaching Gaza. The ICC alleged the two are guilty of the crime of “extermination.” In December, the rights group Amnesty International said Israeli leaders were using starvation as a weapon of war against the people of Gaza.
Israeli warplanes kill civilians in south Lebanon as Hezbollah intensifies attacks
The Cradle, Jun 13 2024
A powerful Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon overnight killed two women, including a medic, and injured at least twenty more, L’Orient Today reported on Jun 14. The strike resulted in the most casualties of any Israeli attack since the start of the war on Oct 8. Israeli warplanes fired missiles, destroying a three-story house and damaging nearby buildings located between the towns of Jannata and Deir Qanoun al-Nahr near the coastal city of Tyre.
The female victims were Sally Salaiki, who worked as a paramedic with the Amal Movement, and Dalal Ezzedine. The twenty injured included children and infants, who were taken to hospitals in Tyre for treatment. L’Orient Today adds that Deir Qanoun is the home village of Hashem Safieddine, the chair of Hezbollah’s Executive Council and cousin of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. A spokesperson from Hezbollah dismissed rumors that Safieddine and other officials from the resistance had been killed in the strike. Rescue teams are still working to clear the debris and search for more victims under the rubble. Videos circulating online show piles of rubble and large fires caused by the strikes.
The overnight strike comes amid a broader escalation of the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel this week. In an airstrike on Tuesday, the Israeli army assassinated Talib Abdallah, the highest-ranking Hezbollah official killed since the start of the war. In response, Hezbollah fired hundreds of rockets and missiles at multiple Israeli military bases and critical positions on Wednesday. On Thursday, Hezbollah launched missile attacks against nine Israeli army sites simultaneously, the largest rocket attack of this kind since October. Hezbollah’s attacks from Lebanon have become increasingly more precise over recent months after the resistance managed to take out more than 1,500 Israeli intelligence posts and devices.
Israeli analysts have determined that launching a wide-scale attack against Lebanon would prompt Hezbollah to fire thousands of rockets and precision missiles at Israel per day, which they predict would collapse its air defense systems and cause major destruction in Israel’s cities. But many in Israel’s political and defense establishment continue calling for a full ground invasion of Lebanon and the bombing of Beirut. On Jun 5, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called to expand the war in Gaza and invade southern Lebanon during Jerusalem Day speeches. Leading the crowd in a chant of “victory,” Ben Gvir shouted to the crowd:
We will only win after we enters all of Gaza and fight until victory. And for victory, we need to go into the north and fight Hezbollah and destroy them.
On Jun 12, Hebrew daily Walla reported that senior US officials expressed concern that Israel plans to make a “proactive move” against the Lebanese resistance on its northern front and spark a full-blown war “without a clear strategy.” Israeli journalist Barak Ravid quotes the unnamed US officials as saying:
The US fears that Israel will make a proactive move that will lead to a war with Hezbollah or will be dragged into such a war without a clear strategy and without thinking a few steps ahead about the consequences of such a scenario.
Niqnaq 