US’ CIA uncovers how Islamic State’s Afghanistan branch planned and carried out Iran blasts
ISIS on Thursday claimed responsibility for the bombings, saying two operatives wearing explosive suicide belts staged the attack during a memorial service for Qassem Soleimani, a senior military commander assassinated in Iraq in a 2020 US drone strike.
University of Pennsylvania professors in Israel speak out on US campus antisemitism
Outrage mounted on December 5 when then-president Liz Magill declined to give a US congressional committee a definitive “yes” or “no” answer to the question of whether calling for genocide of Jews violated the school code of conduct.
More than 100 killed in ‘terrorist attacks’ near tomb of Iranian Guards’ Soleimani
Babak Yektaparast, a spokesperson for Iran’s emergency services, was reported as saying 73 people had been killed and 170 injured. State television said later that at least 100 people had been killed.
South Africa’s genocide case against Israel sets up high-stakes legal battle at International Criminal Court
Many South Africans, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, have compared Israel’s policies regarding Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank with South Africa’s past apartheid regime of racial segregation. Israel rejects such allegations.
Possibility of Gaza war spreading high following killing of Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut
US spy agencies assessed that Hamas and Islamic Jihad had used Al Shifa to command forces and hold some hostages but largely evacuated it before Israeli troops entered, a US official said on Tuesday, citing declassified US intelligence.
Troops pullout from Gaza signals Israel’s switch to low intensity war, but continues to pummel enclave
Artillery fire between Hezbollah and Israel has rattled the border since the start of the Gaza conflict, with Israel’s military saying it carried out an air strike on Monday. The Israeli official said the situation on the Lebanese border “will not be allowed to continue. This coming six-month period is a critical moment.”
US pressure forces change of war strategy as Israel pulls out some troops from Gaza Strip
Word of the drawdown came ahead of a visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the region and after the Biden administration bypassed Congress for the second time this month to approve an emergency weapons sale to Israel.
US Navy helicopters fire at Yemeni Houthi rebels and kill 10 in latest Red Sea maritime attack
For over a month, Iran-backed Houthis have claimed attacks on ships in the Red Sea that they say are either linked to Israel or heading to Israeli ports. They say their attacks aim to end the Israeli air-and-ground offensive in the Gaza Strip that was triggered by the Palestinian militant group Hamas’ October 7 attack in southern Israel.
Israeli PM Netanyahu unveils plans for control of Gaza’s border with Egypt, vows war to last months
Such a move by Israel would be a de facto reversal of its 2005 withdrawal from Gaza, placing the enclave under exclusive Israeli control after years of being run by Hamas. Netanyahu’s comments about the buffer zone came as Israeli military forces pressed ahead with an offensive that the prime minister reiterated will last “for many more months.”
Israel scoffs at South Africa’s allegations of genocide in Gaza in case filed at ICC as ‘blood libel’
South Africa asked The Hague-based court to issue an interim order for Israel to immediately suspend its military operations in Gaza. A hearing into the request is likely in the coming days or weeks. The case, if it goes ahead, will take years, but an interim order could be issued within weeks.
