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Hezbollah fires over 100 rockets at occupied territories

By
IFP Media Wire
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Lebanon Hezbollah

The Israeli military said in a statement that the group launched more than 100 rockets from southern Lebanon towards the Galilee region on Wednesday, stressing it marks one of the largest barrages carried out by Hezbollah.

The statement added that the barrage saw the city of Tiberias targeted for the first time.

It went on to assert that several rockets were intercepted by the regime’s so-called Iron Dome systems, while others impacted at several locations.

As a result of the rocket impacts, several fires were sparked, according to the Israeli army.

Israeli media outlets reported that some rockets had slammed into a factory at Sassa kibbutz in the Upper Galilee area, causing damage.

There were also reports of power outage in Safed city in the northern sector of the 1948 occupied territories as a result of the Hezbollah rocket strike.

The massive attack was in response to the death of a high-ranking Hezbollah field commander in Israeli airstrikes against a house in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah announced in a statement that Sami Abdallah, better known by the nom the guerre Abu Taleb, born in 1969, was killed in the air raids that targeted a residential building in the town of Jwaya, located 95 kilometers (59 miles) south of the capital Beirut, early on Wednesday.

The Lebanese group later added the deaths of three other resistance fighters, identifying them as Mohammad Hussein Sabra, also known as Baqer, Ali Salim Soufan, and Qassem Hmayyid, also known as Sajed, respectively.

On Tuesday night, Israel’s army said a barrage of “50 launches” had been fired by Hezbollah at the strategic Golan Heights, sparking fires.

The occupying Israeli regime has repeatedly launched attacks on southern Lebanon since October 7, after commencing a genocidal war in Gaza that has killed almost 37,200 Palestinians, predominantly women and children so far.

As a retaliatory measure, Hezbollah has been carrying out almost daily rocket attacks on Israeli positions.

At least 455 people have been killed on the Lebanese border, including more than 80 civilians, according to reports.

Two Israeli wars waged against Lebanon in 2000 and 2006 were met with strong resistance from Hezbollah, resulting in the retreat of the regime in both conflicts.

Acting FM: Iran still committed to JCPOA, acts based on nuclear deal

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-
Ali Bagheri Kani

In an interview with Russia’s RT news network on Tuesday that touched on several subjects, Ali Bagheri Kani said, “The actions Iran takes to develop its nuclear activities, and will definitely develop these activities in the upcoming period, are within the framework of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and therefore Iran is not committing any violation of the obligations.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that friendly countries could receive weapons systems from Moscow amid the war on Ukraine.

Asked whether Iran will be among the recipients of the weapons, Bagheri said, “Iran and Russia cooperate in various fields to secure the national interests of their countries, but the important point is the cooperation has always promoted stability and security in the region and the world.”

The months-long Israeli aggression on Gaza and the response by resistance groups in support of Palestine were also discussed in the interview.

The Iranian diplomat clarified, “What is going on in Gaza is not a conflict but a flagrant war crime and an open genocide. The oppressed Palestinian nation is the victim and the Zionists are the invaders and criminals. The occupiers are the main perpetrators of the crime and the Americans are the main supporters of the Zionists in these crimes.”

He also said that the resistance movements in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen rose up to defend Palestinian rights after the start of the Israeli genocidal campaign on Oct 7 last year, explaining, “The secret of their steadfastness in Yemen, even in the face of the Western coalition led by the US and UK, is that they are rooted in the people.”

US Congress seeking to deepen Israel ‘anti-tunnel’ defence capabilities

By
IFP Media Wire
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Hamas

In a proposed amendment to the fiscal 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a bipartisan group of lawmakers aim to improve cooperation between the United States and Israel on anti-tunnel defence capabilities.

The legislation has been proposed by Republican Congressmen Joe Wilson, Don Bacon and Doug Lamborn, alongside Democrats Ruben Gallego, Brad Schneider and Seth Moulton.

In addition to enhancing cooperation, the lawmakers are calling on the US to provide an additional $30m to Israel to detect, map and fight in underground tunnels. Last year the US provided $47.5m for the efforts.

“Israel is an international leader in developing innovative defence technologies, including pioneering efforts to map, detect, destroy and maneuver through terror tunnels,” the legislation says.

“Such an increase in joint United States-Israel cooperation will not only benefit Israel but will also help the United States and allies across the globe that face similar challenges from subterranean tunnels.”

The NDAA is an annual piece of legislation that sets the budget for the Pentagon. The House of Representatives is slated to consider the amendment along with hundreds of others in the coming days, as is the Senate. A final version of the NDAA is passed by both bodies and signed into law by the US president.

President Joe Biden’s administration has faced some criticism among progressive lawmakers for its unconditional support of Israel’s war on Gaza. Since 7 October, US lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle have moved to enhance cooperation.

Despite tensions between the Biden administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over differences on post-war Gaza governance and civilian Palestinian casualties, the Israeli leader is set to address US lawmakers in Washington on 24 July. He received the invitation from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson.

Hamas has been able to withstand Israel’s deadly bombardment thanks to its massive tunnel infrastructure below Gaza. Israel’s assault on the enclave has killed at least 37,164 people, mainly women and children.

US officials have been working with Israel to try to cut off Hamas’s access to tunnels. In May, Israel seized Gaza’s border with Egypt, saying the move was necessary to prevent smuggling arms into Gaza.

In a bid to avert the assault and smooth over tensions between Israel and Egypt over allegations of Hamas tunnel smuggling in the Sinai, the US deployed technical teams to Egypt’s side of the border earlier this year to address the allegations of tunnel smuggling, MEE previously reported.

The 2025 NDAA is being hashed out at a time when the Biden administration itself is reviewing the US’s military approach to Gaza and the occupied West Bank, two theaters that US officials had paid little attention to before 7 October.

The Biden administration is also weighing a plan to bring cooperation with the Palestinian Authority’s security forces under the purview of Centcom, a potential reshuffle that some US officials say could advance plans for post-war Gaza governance, MEE reported on Friday.

3,000 malnourished children in Gaza at risk of ‘dying before their families’ eyes’: UNICEF

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Gaza War

This number, based on reporting from UNICEF’s nutrition partners, equates to approximately three-quarters of the 3,800 children who were estimated to be receiving life-saving care in the south ahead of the escalating conflict in Rafah.

“Horrific images continue to emerge from Gaza of children dying before their families’ eyes due to the continued lack of food, nutrition supplies, and the destruction of healthcare services,” said UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Adele Khodr.

“UNICEF has more nutrition supplies prepositioned to arrive in the Gaza Strip, if access allows,” she added.

The Palestinian Ministry of Education has recently reported more than 15,000 Palestinian children have been killed since October 2023, when Israel launched its genocidal war against the Gaza Strip.

In early June, the UNICEF warned of severe child food poverty amid world crises, including in Gaza.

“Five rounds of data collected between December 2023 and April 2024 have consistently found that 9 out of 10 children in the Gaza Strip are experiencing severe food poverty, surviving on two or fewer food groups per day,” UNICEF said in a report.

It noted months of hostilities and restrictions on humanitarian aid have collapsed food and health systems, resulting in “catastrophic consequences” for children and their families in Gaza.

“This is evidence of the horrific impact the conflict and restrictions are having on families’ ability to meet children’s food needs – and the speed at which it places children at risk of life-threatening malnutrition,” it added.

Israel is deliberately blocking and delaying the flow of food and basic supplies into Gaza and using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare.

First black jaguar born in Iran

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-
black jaguar Iran

Officials in the Safadasht Zoo, just outside the capital Tehran, posted a video on their Instagram account, announcing the birth of the rare black jaguar cub.

The cub has not been named yet, according to the officials in the zoo.

The officials wrote, “Last year, two normal female jaguar cubs were born in Safadasht Zoo, which were sent to a Zoo in Sirjan, Kerman, and the male cub has just been born.”

The black jaguar is one of many endangered species whose main habitat is Central and South America.

Melanistic jaguars, which have congenital excess of melanin in an organism resulting in dark pigment, are often confused with black panthers. The black morph, considered a favorable evolutionary mutation by most scientists, is less common than the spotted one.

Estimates indicate only 600 black jaguars are left in the wild.

Families of Israeli soldiers in Gaza call on their sons to ‘put down weapons’

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Israeli Army

“We are letting our fighting children know they must stop the fighting right now, put down their weapons and return home immediately,” the families said in an open letter addressed to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and army Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi.

The families added they no longer support the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.

They also criticized Monday’s Knesset decision to approve a bill exempting Ultra-Orthodox men from serving in the military.

“It is unthinkable that a law like this would pass while the brave soldiers are giving their lives,” they stated in the letter.

The bill passed with 63 votes in favor in the 120-seat Knesset. It will now move to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in preparation for the bill’s second and third readings before becoming law.

The bill, if approved, would lower the age of mandatory service for Ultra-Orthodox Jews from 26 to 21, and “very slowly” increase the rate of their conscription in the army.

Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

Nearly 37,200 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and more than 84,800 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

Iran condemns US court order to stop pro-Palestine protests

By
IFP Media Wire
-
US Universities Rally Gaza

In a post on X on Tuesday, Kanaani slammed a ruling by an Orange County Superior Court judge late on Friday that forced thousands of academic workers of the University of California to end their strike and return to their jobs on Monday.

They were striking and demonstrating at six campuses against administrators’ response to pro-Palestinian protests.

The difference between slogans and actions; Violation of the “right of freedom of speech and opinion” in the United States by issuing an American court order to stop the anti-Israel protests (strikes) of University of California students,” the Iranian official said.

Kanaani added “officials of the University of California Student Union believe that the court’s order to forcefully stop the strike by university students and employees in support of Palestine is invalid.”

In recent weeks, unionized academic researchers, graduate teaching assistants and post-doctoral scholars went on a strike over unfair labor practices in the university’s handling of pro-Palestinian protest rallies.

United Auto Workers Local 4811, however, said it is planning protests on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Protests were held recently on many campuses in the US, demanding an end to the Washington-backed Israeli war on the besieged Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 37,100 Palestinians.

The ant-Israel demonstrators in the US were met with brutal police violence.

Israel’s war in Gaza, which began in early October, has driven virtually 80 percent of the territory’s population of 2.3 million from their homes and caused vast destruction in several towns and cities.

Biden viewed more positively than Trump in global poll

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Biden Trump

The new survey from the Pew Research Center found that a median of 43 percent of respondents across 34 nations have confidence that Biden will do the right thing in global affairs, while 28 percent had the same confidence in Trump.

The poll also found that eight countries, including Ghana, Greece, Nigeria, Israel, Malaysia, India, Bangladesh and Turkey, had no statistically significant difference in respondents’ ratings of Biden and Trump. Trump, meanwhile, received higher ratings than Biden in just Tunisia and Hungary.

Pew noted that the gap is more prominent in European countries, with Biden’s confidence rating at least 40 percentage points higher than Trump’s in Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden.

The poll also included questions on how Biden is handling major global issues, including climate change, economic problems, China and the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.

Respondents were split on how Biden is handling climate change and global economic problems, with about 44 percent saying they disapprove of how he is addressing those issues and 43 percent saying they approve.

Forty-five percent disapproved of how Biden is handling China, while 39 percent said they approved. The president got his most negative ratings in response to how he is addressing the Israel-Hamas war, with 57 percent saying that they disapprove.

The poll also found that a median of 4 in 10 people across the 34 countries say that the U.S. used to be a good example of democracy. Twenty-two percent said it was never a good example and 21 percent said it was still a good example, according to the median of the 34 countries.

The poll was conducted using telephone, face-to-face and online interviews with help from Gallup, Langer Research Associates, Social Research Centre and Verian. Pew noted that the results are based on national samples.

Hamas delivers response to Gaza ceasefire proposal

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Gaza War

“The state of Qatar and the Arab Republic of Egypt announce that they have received today a response from [Hamas] and the Palestinian factions regarding the most recent proposal for a ceasefire deal and the exchange of prisoners and detainees,” a statement from Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs read.

White House Spokesperson John Kirby stated the US had received the response Hamas delivered to the mediators, and that the US was “working its way” through it.

“The response prioritises the interests of the Palestinian people and emphasises the need for a complete halt to the ongoing aggression in Gaza,” Hamas and Islamic Jihad announced in a joint statement.

They added they were ready to “engage positively to reach an agreement that puts an end to this war”.

According to Reuters, Hamas’s response includes a counter-proposal for a new timeline for the permanent ceasefire and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.

Qatar said in its statement that it would study the response with Egypt and coordinate with the parties.

Hamas’s official response comes a day after the UN Security Council voted 14 to 0 in support of a US-backed resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and hostage exchange.

The Palestinian group stated after the vote that it “welcomed” the resolution and expressed “readiness” to implement its principles through indirect talks with Israel.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated Hamas’s statement was a “hopeful sign” but he continued to pressure the group, suggesting that the public comments didn’t amount to an official response delivered via mediators Qatar and Egypt.

“Everyone’s vote is in, except for one vote, and that’s Hamas,” Blinken added.

Blinken himself appeared to express frustration with Hamas’s decision-making process. The group’s top political officials are based outside Gaza, but the military leaders and head of the besieged enclave, Yahya Sinwar, are inside Gaza.

Analysts say Sinwar likely has the final say on a deal given his control of captives as necessary to start phase one of the staged ceasefire agreement and influence over fighters in the field.

Talks between Hamas and Israel have been ongoing for months.

Biden cast them into an unprecedented public view on 31 May, when he laid out the details of a three-phase agreement that he characterised as an Israeli proposal for a permanent cessation of hostilities in Gaza.

Despite an immediate positive response to Biden’s speech, the group soon expressed doubts about the deal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly rejected Biden’s suggestion that the deal would lead to an end of the war, stating that Israel would continue fighting in Gaza until it eliminates Hamas’s governing and military capabilities.

In response, Hamas sought written guarantees from mediators that a ceasefire would follow the hostage exchange.

Last week, Middle East Eye reported the latest Israeli proposal received by Hamas did not guarantee a permanent cessation of hostilities as described by Biden in his speech announcing the proposal.

The US’s move to put the ceasefire plan Biden verbally outlined in May to a vote at the UN Security Council appeared designed to force Hamas’s hand. Only Russia abstained from voting in favour of it.

Top diplomat says Russia and Iran fully agree on text of state treaty

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Lavrov Bagheri Kani

Lavrov said on Tuesday that Russia and Iran have yet to put their final signatures on the state treaty, adding that Moscow is waiting for the Iranian side to settle procedural issues needed for the agreement to be signed.

“As for work on a state treaty on cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Iran, yes, it cannot be signed yet even though the text has been fully coordinated,” he added.

The remarks were made at a press conference after a ministerial meeting of the BRICS group of developing economies in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod. They came after Russian diplomatic sources said that works on the Russia-Iran state treaty had been suspended because of certain issues in Iran.

Iranian ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali rejected the notion that the deal had been suspended, saying it could become finalized after Iran elects a new president in late June.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that deadlines for finalizing the deal had been pushed back after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash last month.

“…given the current period in Tehran when preparations for a presidential election are underway, the deadlines have been slightly pushed back. Because it is the presidential election, as a rule, later staff reshuffle is possible and so on,” Peskov stated.

Lavrov noted he had told Iranian Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani on Monday that Russia is committed to the state treaty with Iran which he said “is meant to take Russia-Iran relations to a completely different level”.

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