Middle East
For Wartime Russia, Rewards, Risks, And Limits In The Volatile Middle East
On October 16, Russian air strikes hit a furniture workshop, a sawmill, and an olive press in Syria's Idlib Province, killing 10 civilians, including a child, according to the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the White Helmets civil defense force.
Two days later, Russian President Vladimir Putin was playing the Middle East peacemaker at a meeting with journalists from countries in the BRICS grouping of nations ahead of a summit this week, saying Moscow is ready to do whatever it can to end what he called the "terrible strikes on civilian targets in the Gaza Strip" and offering Moscow's services as a mediator.
"I very much hope that an escalation of this conflict can be avoided," Putin said.
While deadly Russian bombings in Syria contradict that claim, the desire to avoid a wider war may be genuine: The Kremlin is comfortable with the current level of violence in the Middle East because it can take advantage of the mayhem to further its own interests in the region, in Ukraine, and worldwide, analysts say -- but Moscow is wary of a more massive conflagration.
"War, disorder, and chaotic U.S. policy have made it easier for Russia to maneuver" in the Middle East, Thanassis Cambanis, director of Century International, a branch of The Century Foundation, a U.S.-based think tank, said in an e-mailed comment to RFE/RL.
There are several reasons why the current level of bloodshed and volatility in the Middle East suits Moscow.
One is what Hanna Notte, a Berlin-based expert on Russian foreign policy, calls the "distraction dividend." The crisis draws the world's attention away from Ukraine, where Moscow's forces are killing civilians almost daily in a brutal invasion that is headed for a fourth year with no end in sight.
It forces Washington and its allies to expend cash, weapons, and resources in the Middle East even as they struggle to keep Russia in check in a war in Europe whose result will have major consequences for the West.
In addition to that practical benefit, there's a propaganda plus that may be even more important for Putin, who casts the war in Ukraine as part of a civilizational standoff with the United States and the European Union and is seeking to get as much of the world as possible close to Russia's side as he can.
'A Growing Tilt'
Since Putin launched the full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022, "confrontation with the West over Ukraine has become the defining logic driving Russian policy" in the Middle East, Notte, a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told RFE/RL.
LISTEN: As it focuses on its war against Ukraine, Russia is also seeking to leverage violence in the Middle East to improve its global standing and condemn the West.
Against that backdrop, Israel's attacks in Gaza and Lebanon are a rich vein for Moscow to mine as it courts countries in the Global South and around the world, portrays the violence in the Middle East as the product of misguided and destructive policies of the West, and of the United States in particular.
For the Kremlin, using the Middle East crisis and the war in Gaza as ammunition against Washington is a "no-brainer," said Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran Program at the Washington-based Middle East Institute.
It "really does hurt the U.S., not just in…the Middle East but internationally, including in the United States," Vatanka told RFE/RL.
At the same time, however, Russia's leverage in the Middle East has limits. As it stands, Russia can punch above its weight in the region, claiming a substantial role without having to do very much, but the eruption of a wider war could lay those weaknesses bare.
The war against Ukraine has fueled Moscow's "growing tilt towards the anti-Western forces in the region," Notte said.
That means Iran, which provides Russia with weapons and helps it skirt sanctions, and what Tehran calls the "Axis of Resistance": groups including Hamas, the U.S.- and EU-designated Palestinian terrorist group; Hezbollah in Lebanon, which is also designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, while the EU blacklists its armed wing; and the Huthi rebels in Yemen.
Limited Leverage
But Russia is still engaged in a balancing act in the Middle East: It does not want to alienate Israel or the Persian Gulf states too much. On the flip side, it has little or no chance of turning countries in the region against the United States, even if they can cooperate in some areas.
Russia and Iran have "very different systems, very different world views" and are united mainly by anti-Americanism, Vatanka said.
"Can Russia take that model and expand it to…other countries in the region, like Turkey? The answer is no," he said. "Just because a country joins the [Shanghai Cooperation Organization] or BRICS doesn't mean it's willing to jump teams, if you will," and abandon the United States.
Furthermore, despite warm words and treaties -- like the "comprehensive strategic partnership" pact that Russia is expected to sign soon with Iran -- Moscow's embrace of Tehran and its allies goes only as far as the Kremlin believes its own interests will take it, at least for now.
"The Russians…don't want to empower the 'Axis of Resistance.' They want to use the 'Axis of Resistance,'" he said.
For the time being, Vatanka said, Putin wants to preserve the status quo in the region, as precarious and bloody as it may be.
Others agree.
'A Certain Impotence'
"The amount of tension and the developments have so far not threatened Russian interests or Russian positions in the region," Notte said. "But we could sort of be stepping over a tipping point, especially if there are Israeli strikes against Iran, or a significant deterioration in Syria, where that balance could shift and…the risks start outweighing some of the benefits."
Because the war in Ukraine is "its priority and demands so much bandwidth from Russia," Moscow "has not wanted to see a situation in Syria where there's significantly enhanced instability or Russia would need to…step up its efforts there," she said.
As for Iran, an Israeli attack could put its defense industry under strain, she said, "something that Russia probably does not want to see, given this enhanced partnership that they have with the Iranians."
"Another thing that would happen if the Israelis were to attack Iran proper is that a certain Russian impotence would potentially be exposed, because I don't see that Russia could get involved in the defense of Iran in the case of this kind of escalation and Israeli retaliation," Notte said. "Russia would probably have to sit on the sidelines, which could…harm Russia's reputation."
Moscow will continue to try to maintain balance, but "the more the ‘Axis of Resistance' will come under pressure in the region, the more we might also see Russia giving certain assistance to Iranian partners like the Huthis, like Hezbollah," she said. "Russia might be more forward-leaning."
Blinken Says 'Now Is The Time' To End War In Gaza
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called on Israel and the Iran-backed groups it is fighting in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon to call a truce after the Israeli military said it had killed a top official for Hezbollah, a militant group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon, who had been widely expected to be the group’s next leader.
"Now is the time to turn those successes into an enduring strategic success," Blinken told reporters as he prepared to leave Jordan on October 23 for Saudi Arabia on a tour of the region for talks on how to bring the current fighting to an end.
Late on October 22, Israel said Hashem Safieddine, a senior figure inside Hezbollah, was killed in an air strike on the Lebanese capital on October 3, ending weeks of speculation as to whether the man expected to take over the group was alive. The previous Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in Israeli air strikes in Beirut on September 27.
Safieddine headed Hezbollah's executive branch, which oversees the group's political affairs. He was also a member of the decision-making Shura Council as well as the Jihad Council, which runs the group's military operations.
The United States designated Safieddine a terrorist in 2017. Hezbollah is considered a terrorist organization by Washington, although the European Union has only blacklisted its armed wing. Hezbollah’s political party has seats in the Lebanese parliament.
The current war between Israel and the Iran-backed groups Hezbollah and Hamas -- which has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union -- was triggered after Hamas militants made an incursion into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people. They also took some 240 people back to Gaza as hostages.
Israel has since launched a withering offensive that, according to the Hamas-led Heath Ministry in Gaza, has seen almost 43,000 people killed while displacing virtually all of Gaza's 2.3 million people.
Israeli forces have killed many senior figures from Hezbollah and Hamas, including the Palestinian militant group's leader, Yahya Sinwar, who was suspected of being the mastermind behind the October 7 attacks.
Sinwar was killed last week by the Israeli Defense Forces, prompting senior officials from the United States and other Israeli allies to seize on what they see as an opportunity for a new scenario for the region.
Israel has also been under pressure from many allies, including the United States, for the rising number of civilian casualties in Gaza as a result of the war, and accusations that it has been hindering aid supplies to the territory, where hundreds of thousands are living in a growing humanitarian crisis.
"The focus needs to be on getting the hostages home, ending this war and having a clear plan for what follows," Blinken said on October 23.
Neither side, however, appears prepared, at least publicly, to seize on the so-called opportunity Blinken and others say is there for the taking.
Just hours before Blinken spoke, the Israeli military leveled a suburban Beirut building that it said housed Hezbollah facilities.
The strikes and a later one that sent thick columns of flames shooting into the night sky came shortly after an Israeli military spokesman issued evacuation warnings for the neighborhood.
Another strike came with no warning hitting the nearby office of a pro-Iran broadcaster, the station said. It said the office had been empty since the conflict began. Lebanon's Health Ministry said one person was killed and five others, including a child, were wounded.
Iran-backed Hezbollah said in a statement late on October 23 that it had escalated its attacks on Israel, using "precision missiles" for the first time, and launched new types of drones on Israeli targets.
It later said it had targeted an Israeli military factory on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.
The Israeli military said four projectiles were identified as having been fired from Lebanon. Two were intercepted and one fell in an open area. There was no immediate indication of any defense facility around Tel Aviv having been hit.
Meanwhile, Hamas continues to refuse to release the remaining hostages it holds unless Israel stops its attacks in Gaza.
With reporting by Reuters
- By RFE/RL
UN Palestinian Agency Chief Accuses Israel Of Hindering Aid
Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN agency giving aid to Palestinians, accused Israel on October 21 of denying aid to northern parts of the Gaza Strip and called for a cease-fire as a step "to putting an end to this endless nightmare." "The Israeli Authorities continue to deny humanitarian missions to reach the north with critical supplies including medicine and food for people under siege," he wrote in a post on X. Lazzarini called for aid organizations to be allowed access to the northern Gaza Strip, including the group he heads, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Gaza has been ravaged by a war triggered by the Iran-backed Hamas's October 7, 2023 incursion into Israel, which saw the militant group that has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union kill some 1,200 people and take around 240 hostages. Israel has since launched a withering war against Hamas, vowing to cripple it.
- By RFE/RL
U.S. Probing Reported Leak Of Israel's Plans For Iran Attack
The United States will soon begin a probe of the leak of highly classified intelligence documents describing Israel's preparations for a retaliatory strike on Iran, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives said on October 20.
The documents, dated October 15 and 16, were initially posted on the Telegram messaging app on October 19.
They carry "top secret" labels and have markings indicating they were to be seen only by the United States and other members of the so-called Five Eyes allied nations of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Britain, according to CNN.
The documents describe apparent Israeli military preparations for a strike against Iran.
One of the documents state the material was produced by the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA).
House Speaker Mike Johnson (Republican-Louisiana) confirmed in an interview with CNN that an investigation is "under way and I'll get a briefing on that in a couple of hours."
The Pentagon said it was looking into the reports. The NGA did not immediately comment.
The New York Times (NYT) reported that U.S. officials "are trying to determine the source of the leak, which describes military drills and weapons placement, and how damaging it might be."
"The documents, which offer interpretations of satellite imagery, provide insight into a potential strike by Israel on Iran in the coming days," the NYT report said.
Many government officials and observers around the globe have said they expect Israel to strike Iran in retaliation for an Iranian rocket attack earlier this month -- which Tehran said was in itself retaliation for an earlier attack by Israel.
Officials told the NYT that the documents are not a comprehensive assessment of what Washington knows about Israeli plans and that they only represent what analysts looking at satellite imagery could determine.
With reporting by CNN, Reuters, and The New York Times
- By RFE/RL
G7 Warns Iran To End Support For Hamas, Hezbollah
The world’s leading industrial nations warned Iran to stop supporting the Hamas and Hezbollah militant groups and other nonstate actors in the Middle East and to cease actions that are helping to destabilize the region, while Washington also urged Israel to scale back its attacks near Beirut amid ongoing fears of a potential all-out war.
The Group of Seven (G7) developed economies, in a joint statement on October 19, said they "call on Iran to refrain from providing support to Hamas, Hezbollah, Huthis, and other nonstate actors, and taking further actions that could destabilize the region and trigger an uncontrolled process of escalation."
Gaza-based Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union. Hezbollah has also been designated terror group by the United States, while the EU blacklists its armed wing but not its political unit, which has members in the Lebanese parliament.
Hamas, Lebanon-based Hezbollah, and the Huthi rebels in Yemen -- also deemed a terrorist organization by the United States -- are considered Iranian proxy organizations in the Middle East.
Following its summit in Italy, the G7 -- the United States, Italy, Canada, Britain, France, and Japan -- said it remains "united in supporting the need for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza," the release of all hostages, and a "significant and sustained increase" in the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The statement also said the G7 is troubled by the latest events in Lebanon and "the risk of further escalation."
It expressed concerns over "all threats" to the security of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which has complained of dangers to its staff amid the Israeli military's air and ground operations in southern Lebanon near the Israeli border.
Separately, U.S. defense chief Lloyd Austin said Washington would "like to see" Israel scale back some of its attacks in and around Beirut.
"The number of civilian causalities have been far too high. We would like to see Israel scale back some of the strikes in and around Beirut and we would like to see a transition to negotiations that would allow civilians on both sides to return to their homes," he said following the G7 summit in Naples.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on October 19 said the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar presented an opportunity for a cease-fire in the Middle East.
"This creates an opening that I believe we must take full advantage of to dedicate ourselves to ending this war and bringing the hostages home," Harris told reporters.
"As it relates to the issues in the Middle East and in particular in that region, it has never been easy. But that doesn't mean we give up. It's always going to be difficult."
The statements come after Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Hamas "will remain alive" despite the death of Sinwar.
Khamenei said in a statement on October 19 that Sinwar's "loss is undoubtedly painful for the Axis of Resistance," referring to a self-described network of several Iran-backed groups in the Middle East, including Hamas.
"But this front did not cease advancing with the martyrdom of prominent figures," Khamenei added.
Sinwar -- the architect of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza -- was killed by Israeli forces on October 16. His death was confirmed by a top Hamas political official the following day.
The situation remains tense in Gaza, where at least 50 people including children were killed in Israeli air strikes on October 19, Palestinian health officials said.
At least 10 of them were killed in central Gaza when a house was hit in the town of Zawayda, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where the casualties were taken.
Another attack killed 11 people, all from the same family, in the Maghazi refugee camp, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah.
The Israeli government said that a drone was launched toward the house of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the coastal town of Caesarea on October 19, with no casualties. Neither Netanyahu nor his wife were home, his office said in a statement.
Netanyahu later said that the "agents of Iran who attempted to assassinate" him and his wife "made a bitter mistake."
The drone strike came in the morning as sirens wailed in Israel, warning of incoming fire from Lebanon.
In Lebanon, authorities said two people were killed in an Israeli strike on October 19 in Jounieh, north of Beirut.
Jounieh, a Christian-majority town, had not been hit since Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah started exchanging cross-border fire over the Gaza war last year.
Israel intensified its bombardment of Lebanon on September 23 and later in the month sent ground troops across the Lebanese border.
The strikes have reached areas outside of traditional strongholds of Hezbollah, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, while the European Union blacklists its armed wing but not its political party.
Hezbollah's political wing has seats in the Lebanese parliament and the militants control the southern part of the country that borders Israel.
Elsewhere, pro-Iranian groups in Iraq overran offices of Saudi broadcaster MBC after it aired a report referring to commanders of Tehran-linked militant groups as "terrorists."
More than 400 people "wrecked the electronic equipment, the computers, and set fire to a part of the building," an Iraqi Interior Ministry source told AFP.
The source said the fire had been put out and that police had dispersed the crowd.
With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters
As Middle East Crisis Escalates, Hopes For Diplomatic Solution Dim
Israel's two-front war in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, as well as the threat of escalation with Iran, have put the Middle East crisis on boil.
But despite the risk of all-out war involving regional powers Israel and Iran, experts say there is little appetite for a diplomatic solution.
This is largely because the main obstacles to peace are immovable without incentive and persuasion, and the only actors capable of changing the situation are either reluctant to act or are in a position to benefit from escalation, analysts say.
"There are diplomatic solutions to this crisis, but they have to center on the de-occupation of Palestine, since that is the root cause of the conflict," said Trita Parsi, co-founder of the Washington-based Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.
The main obstacle to such an outcome, Parsi said, "is Washington's refusal to sincerely push Israel to end its occupation." If the United States "fundamentally changes its approach, these diplomatic solutions will become politically viable."
The United States is a key ally of Israel, a major recipient of U.S. arms and aid. But Israel has charted its own course, despite some U.S. pressure, and it is unclear if other players would scale down their military activities in response to Israeli de-escalation.
Expanding War
Israel is currently involved in a two-front war against Iran-backed armed groups -- the U.S.-designated terrorist organizations Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israel launched its war in Gaza a year ago in retaliation for Hamas's deadly assault on its territory. More recently, the war expanded into Israel's aerial bombardment and ground invasion of Lebanon intended to cripple Hezbollah and its ability to strike Israel with rockets and missiles.
Hezbollah is both an armed group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon. The EU has not blacklisted its political wing, which has seats in the Lebanese parliament.
Iran, which helped establish Hezbollah four decades ago to serve as its lead proxy in its shadow war against archenemy Israel, has also engaged in tit-for-tat attacks with Israel in recent months, leading to fears of a broader war involving the two regional heavyweights.
Of the two fronts, analysts told RFE/RL, Israel is more inclined to engage in diplomatic efforts with Hamas because it is interested in securing the release of scores of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas in the October 7, 2023, assault.
Recent polls have shown that Israeli public opinion considers the release of the hostages as the top objective of the war in Gaza.
Israel's killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the alleged mastermind of the October 7 attack and considered by Washington to be a "massive obstacle to peace," is also seen as a potential breakthrough.
The State Department characterized Sinwar's October 17 death as an opportunity to end the conflict in Gaza and secure the release of Israeli hostages. President Joe Biden said it was now "time to move on" and secure a cease-fire.
Hezbollah Seeks Relief
In Lebanon, only Hezbollah and its key backer Iran want a cease-fire because the militant group has "taken such very heavy blows," according to Middle East expert Kenneth Katzman, a senior adviser for the New York-based Soufan Group intelligence consultancy.
"I don't think Israel necessarily wants a lot of diplomacy," he said.
Iran, meanwhile, has recently made the rounds among Arab Gulf States in an effort to persuade them to help deter Israel from attacking key targets in Iran. Fears of Israeli attacks against Iranian oil and even nuclear facilities have risen since Iran fired around 180 ballistic missiles on Israel on October 1.
But while some Gulf states have normalized relations with both Iran and Israel, and helped blunt Iran's missile and drone attack on Israel in April, experts are skeptical of their influence in this diplomatic arena.
"The Arab states have very little sway over Israel, but they have some sway with Washington," Parsi said in written comments.
Staying On The Sidelines
The Gulf states, as well as Washington, also have their own incentives to stand aside because they want to see Hezbollah weakened, experts said.
Thanassis Cambanis, director of the U.S.-based Century Foundation think tank, said that Saudi Arabia and most of the Gulf states "are tacitly willing to tolerate or even support" the war against Hezbollah because it provides them an advantage in "their own regional contest for power with Iran."
In Gaza, Cambanis said, "there is a real perverse lack of incentive" for either Hamas or the Israeli government to work out a cease-fire because extending the conflict helps each of them hold onto power.
Cambanis said that a diplomatic process that involved serious U.S. leverage "could very quickly and very easily end the conflict as it stands now."
But he said that diplomacy cannot currently resolve the underlying causes of the war.
"I don't think it's reasonable to expect diplomacy to come up with a long-term solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Nor do I expect diplomacy to urgently come to a long-term resolution of the boundary disputes between Lebanon and Israel," Cambanis said.
- By RFE/RL
Lebanese PM Rejects Iranian Comments On Helping Implement UN Resolution
The caretaker prime minister of Lebanon, Najib Mikati, has rejected any move by Iran to hold talks on implementing a UN resolution concerning southern Lebanon, calling it "blatant interference" in his country's internal affairs.Responding to comments a day earlier by Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Qalibaf that Tehran was ready to negotiate on the UN resolution that calls for the border area of southern Lebanon to be free of international weapons or troops, Mikati said on October 18 that the Lebanese government was "surprised by this position."
This "constitutes a blatant interference in Lebanese affairs and an attempt to establish a rejected guardianship over Lebanon," he said in a statement.
Qalibaf made the comments in an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro.
"The issue of negotiating the implementation of Resolution 1701 is the responsibility of the Lebanese state, and everyone is required to support it in this direction, rather than seeking to impose new guardianships that are rejected on all national and sovereign grounds."
The UN resolution authorizes a peacekeeping mission, called UNIFIL, to help Lebanon keep the border area secure.
The Israeli army launched a ground incursion into the southern border area earlier this month, saying it was pushing out militants from Iran-backed Hezbollah, a militant group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon, and that UNIFIL has failed in its mission.
Several UN peacekeeping positions in southern Lebanon have since come under fire, but a UNIFIL spokesperson on October 18 said the mission would remain in Lebanon despite the attacks.
"We need to stay, they asked us to move," said UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti by video link from Beirut.
"The devastation and destruction of many villages along the Blue Line, and even beyond, is shocking," he said.
The Blue Line refers to a demarcation created by the UN to separate Lebanon from Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Hezbollah is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, while the European Union blacklists its armed wing but not its political party. Hezbollah’s political party has seats in the Lebanese parliament.
Hamas Confirms Sinwar's Death; U.S. Sees 'Opportunities' For Change
Iran-backed Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, has confirmed the death of leader Yahya Sinwar, considered to be the mastermind of the October 7, 2023, attack that killed some 1,200 people in Israel and triggered the war in Gaza between Israel and the militant group.
Deputy Gaza Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya, who is also the group's chief negotiator, confirmed on October 18 Israeli reports that Sinwar was killed in Gaza in a televised address where he called on Israel to end its war in the coastal strip of land and withdraw its forces.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) first confirmed Sinwar's death on October 17, saying soldiers of the 828th Brigade (Bislach) identified and eliminated three "terrorists," and "after completing the process of identifying the body, it can be confirmed that Yahya Sinwar was eliminated."
"People are shocked and saddened. A Palestinian leader has been killed," 37-year-old Ramzi Sahlout, a former teacher who now helps as a volunteer at a local hospital, told Radio Farda via WhatsApp from northern Gaza. "The situation remains unchanged, and nothing new has happened. The war continues, and the only important issue for people now is the end of the war."
Sinwar's death leaves Iran-backed Hamas without a leader for the second time in less than three months and, according to senior officials from the United States and other Israeli allies, creates the possibility of a new scenario for the region.
"We believe, continue to believe, that finding an end to the war is critical, and we also believe that Mr. Sinwar's death...can provide an inflection point to getting there," said White House spokesperson John Kirby, who is in Berlin with U.S. President Joe Biden as he meets European officials on a variety of topics.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin noted the removal of Sinwar from the scene opens a path for "a change of direction."
"We'll see how things evolve," Austin said on October 18 during a visit to Brussels for a meeting of NATO defense ministers. "But clearly there are opportunities for a change in direction, and we would hope that, you know, parties would would take advantage of that, both in Lebanon, in Gaza and in Lebanon."
Added NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte: "I personally will not miss him."
Sinwar's death represents a major victory for the Israeli military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been under pressure from many allies, including the United States, for the rising number of civilian casualties in Gaza as a result of the war, and accusations that Israel has been hindering aid supplies to the territory, where hundreds of thousands are living in a growing humanitarian crisis.
But neither side appears prepared, at least publicly, to seize on the opportunity Austin and other diplomats around the world have spoken about in the wake of Sinwar's death.
Hamas said on October 18 it would launch a new phase of fighting in the conflict, while Netanyahu said in a speech late the previous evening that "our war has not ended."
The current war between the two sides broke out after Hamas's October 7 attack, that also saw the militants take some 240 people back to Gaza as hostages.
Israel has since launched a withering offensive that, according to the Hamas-led Heath Ministry in Gaza, has seen more than 42,000 people killed while displacing virtually all of Gaza's 2.3 million people.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sinwar had rebuffed efforts by the United States and its partners to bring the war to a close through an agreement that would free the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people.
The fighting has also spilled over into Lebanon, where Iran-backed Hezbollah, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S., while the EU blacklists its armed wing but not its political party, has fired rockets and missiles into Israel on almost a daily basis in support of Hamas.
Hezbollah’s political party has seats in the Lebanese parliament and the militants control the southern part of the country that borders Israel.
The IDF launched a ground incursion into the southern border area earlier this month, saying it was pushing out Hezbollah militants.
Hamas Leader's Death Makes Israeli 'Hit List' Shorter But Might Not Alter Gaza War
The death of Yahya Sinwar just months after he was named the top leader of Hamas highlights the difficulties the U.S.- and EU-designated Palestinian terrorist group has in protecting high-value targets from Israel, but it might not have a major effect on the course of the war in the Gaza Strip.
The 62-year-old Sinwar was accused of organizing and directing Hamas's deadly assault on Israel on October 7, 2023, landing him at the top of Israel's hit list.
Israel confirmed on October 17 that Sinwar was killed in a military operation in the southern city of Rafah in Gaza. Hamas has not yet commented.
Sinwar's death highlights the high turnover rate of senior Hamas members as well as Israel's "very deep coverage in terms of intelligence and the ability to strike quickly when high-value targets are detected," said Lucas Webber, senior threat intelligence analyst at Tech Against Terrorism and research fellow at the Soufan Center.
The timing of Sinwar's death is also significant, he said, coming as Israel is renewing its offensive in northern Gaza and expanding operations against Hamas ally Hezbollah, an armed group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon.
"It's seen as a tactical success, taking out a high-value target at a time when they kind of need this internal support for the expansion of their internal and external military campaign," Webber said.
Webber was doubtful about the impact that Sinwar's death could have toward ending the war in Gaza, however.
"He [Sinwar] was obviously very experienced and had a high status among Hamas and its supporters, but I don't think his killing will change the trajectory of the conflict in any fundamental way," Webber said.
Sinwar became Hamas's top leader soon after Israel's suspected assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the group's political chief, in Tehran on July 31.
Hamas is still fighting nearly a year after Israel's retaliatory invasion of Gaza and will be difficult to defeat, Webber notes. Sinwar's death might require some "reorientation" by Hamas, he said, but will not "factor too much" into Israel's attempts to win the war.
Thanassis Cambanis, director of the U.S.-based Century Foundation think tank, says it's difficult to gauge the impact Sinwar's death will have on Hamas's viability to remain in power in Gaza.
But he does see two possible outcomes to Sinwar's death.
"One is that Israel becomes emboldened to even more intensely pursue the complete destruction of Hamas and Gaza," he said. "The other option, which would be more positive, is that his death would create an opening for negotiations to actually lead to an end to the conflict."
Neither Hamas nor Israel has to this point been seriously interested in ending the war, Cambanis says.
"Both sides see it in their interest to continue fighting,” he added. “Sinwar's death could change the dynamic for the better by creating an opening for Hamas to either surrender or come to some kind of negotiated settlement that until now, its leadership hasn't really been that interested in pursuing."
As for who would be in line to replace Sinwar, who was seen as a "ruthless" replacement for his predecessor Haniyeh, Cambanis said that can go two ways as well.
"We've seen more pragmatic people follow after periods of really intense extremism, and then we've also seen factions or parties where people really double down and with each leader who gets killed the successor is even more hard-line," he said.
Trita Parsi, co-founder of the Washington-based Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, warned that the "idea behind Hamas -- that Palestinian statehood only can come through armed resistance against Israel -- has not only not been killed, but it has also likely flourished."
"Israel's indiscriminate bombing of Gaza and massive killings of civilians, including forced starvation, has likely radicalized the Palestinian people and provided more ground for recruitment for Hamas," he added.
- By Kian Sharifi
Who Was Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar?
Yahya Sinwar, the leader of the U.S.- and EU-designated Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, is dead, according to Israel.
Foreign Minister Israel Katz announced on October 17 that Sinwar was killed during a military operation in the Gaza Strip. Hamas has not yet commented.
The 62-year-old was the alleged architect of the deadly October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The unprecedented assault triggered Israel's ongoing war in the Palestinian enclave.
Sinwar became Hamas's top leader soon after Israel's suspected assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the group's political chief, in Tehran on July 31.
Sinwar, the head of Hamas's military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, was not considered the favorite to succeed Haniyeh, who lived in Qatar.
Khaled Meshaal, a former political chief of Hamas, and Khalil al-Hayya, a prominent figure within the political wing, were seen as frontrunners.
Traditionally, Hamas's political chief is based abroad so he can travel and maintain contact with regional allies, such as Iran and Hezbollah. Sinwar is believed to be in Gaza.
A key reason for Sinwar's appointment, experts said, was his close ties with Iran, which has provided financial and military support to the group.
Molded By Israeli Prisons
Also known by his supporters as Abu Ibrahim, Sinwar was born in a refugee camp in the city of Khan Younis in Gaza.
His parents, like Haniyeh's, fled the coastal town of Ashkelon during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War that resulted in the establishment of the state of Israel -- or what Palestinians call the "nakba," or catastrophe.
Sinwar joined Hamas shortly after it was formed in 1987 and set up its feared internal security organization, Al-Majd, whose main purpose was to find Israeli spies within the group. He gained a reputation for violence and was nicknamed the "Butcher of Khan Younis."
Sinwar was captured by Israeli forces and sentenced to multiple life terms for a variety of offenses -- including the killing of two Israeli soldiers -- and spent more than two decades in prison.
While in prison, Sinwar organized strikes to improve working conditions and emerged as a leader among incarcerated Palestinians.
Sinwar was released from prison in 2011 as part of an exchange that saw more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners freed in return for one Israeli soldier held by Hamas.
Soon after his release, Sinwar accompanied Haniyeh on a trip to Tehran, where he met Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Death Of Hamas Leader Sinwar Prompts Calls For Cease-Fire In Gaza War
Yahya Sinwar, considered to be the mastermind of the October 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war in Gaza between Israel and the militant group Hamas, has been killed in southern Gaza in a major victory for the Israeli military.
Sinwar's death also prompted calls for the return of the hostages still held by Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union, and an end to the war in Gaza.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) initially confirmed Sinwar's death in a post on X on October 17 that said simply, "Eliminated: Yahya Sinwar." It released a longer statement later in the evening saying soldiers of the 828th Brigade (Bislach) identified and eliminated three terrorists, and "after completing the process of identifying the body, it can be confirmed that Yahya Sinwar was eliminated."
Sinwar's death leaves Iran-backed Hamas without a leader for the second time in less than three months.
It also represents a major boost to the Israeli military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been under pressure from many allies, including the United States, for the rising number of civilian casualties in Gaza as a result of the war, and accusations that Israel has been hindering aid supplies to the territory, where hundreds of thousands are living in a growing humanitarian crisis.
"Eliminated: Yahya Sinwar," the IDF said in its post, giving no further details.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz also confirmed Sinwar had been killed, calling it a "victory for the entire free world" and "an opportunity for the immediate release of the hostages and paves the way for a change that will lead to a new reality in Gaza."
Hamas has not officially commented on the reports.
U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters after landing in Germany following a phone conversation with Netanyahu that it is time to move toward a cease-fire in Gaza and "make sure that we are moving in a direction that we're going to be able to make things better for the whole world," he said. "It's time for this war to end and bring these hostages home. So that's what we're ready to do."
Biden added that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to the Middle East in the coming days to discuss ways to push for a Gaza hostage and cease-fire deal.
Netanyahu said earlier in a televised address that Israel will keep control over Gaza long enough to ensure Hamas does not rearm.
"Hamas will no longer rule Gaza. This is the start of the day after Hamas," he said, adding that Israel will keep fighting until all the hostages are free.
“Our war is not yet ended," he said.
Biden said earlier in a statement said it was on Sinwar's orders that Hamas militants invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, and committed "massacres, rapes, and kidnappings."
Vice President Kamala Harris also commented on the death of Sinwar, saying Hamas is no longer capable of carrying out another October 7 and "gives us an opportunity to finally end the war in Gaza."
Blinken recalled the victims of "Sinwar’s unspeakable crimes" in a statement and said the "world is a better place with him gone."
He said Sinwar had rebuffed efforts by the United States and its partners to bring the war to a close through an agreement that would free the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people.
"In the days ahead, the United States will redouble its efforts with partners to end this conflict, secure the release all hostages, and chart a new path forward that will enable the people of Gaza to rebuild their lives and realize their aspirations free from war and free from the brutal grip of Hamas," Blinken said in a statement.
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Foreign Minister Baerbock issued statement calling on Hamas to release all hostages.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he hoped Sinwar's death will lead to a cease-fire in Gaza.
The speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Mike Johnson (Republican-Louisiana), said Sinwar's death should bring "relief" to Israel.
- By RFE/RL
U.S. Targets Sanctions Evasion Network That Funnels Money To Hezbollah
The United States imposed sanctions on October 16 on individuals and companies that it said are part of a sanctions evasion network that funnels millions of dollars to Hezbollah in part through sales of illegal amphetamines.
The action targets three individuals and four Lebanon-based companies linked to Hezbollah's "finance team." The individuals have registered companies in their own names in order to conceal Hezbollah's interest in the activities, the Treasury Department said in a statement.
"The companies in turn provide Hezbollah potentially lucrative business opportunities while also providing them access the formal financial system," according to the department.
The sanctions build on designations imposed in September on other individuals and entities linked to Hezbollah's corporate network. Those sanctions targeted Hezbollah finance officials who the department said masquerade as ordinary Lebanese business owners, as well as several of their companies.
The Treasury also placed sanctions on three individuals involved in the production and sale of the amphetamine known as captagon, who it said have funded the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and its allies, including Hezbollah.
"Today's action underscores [Hezbollah's] destabilizing influence within Lebanon and on the wider region, as the group, its affiliates, and its supporters continue to finance their operations through covert involvement in commercial trade and the illicit trafficking of captagon," Bradley Smith, acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in the statement.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement that the sanctions were imposed in support of the objectives of the Illicit Captagon Trafficking Suppression Act passed by Congress last year and signed by President Joe Biden in April.
The law requires the president to impose sanctions on foreign persons "determined to engage in activities or transactions to contribute to the illicit production and proliferation of captagon."
Miller said the "dangerous and highly addictive amphetamine harms communities and countries across the region and beyond and is a source of funding for the Syrian regime and its backers, including Hezbollah."
He said Hezbollah continues to launch rockets into Israel, further destabilizing both Lebanon and the region, and the United States remains steadfast in its commitment to "disrupt Hezbollah's access to the international financial system and its various methods of generating revenue, which the Iran-backed group uses to fund its violence."
"We will also continue to target the illicit captagon trade in the region, which has become an illicit billion-dollar enterprise operated in part by senior members of the Syrian regime," he said.
The sanctions freeze any assets held by the individuals and companies in U.S. jurisdiction and bar U.S. persons from conducting business with them.
What Is THAAD And Why Is The U.S. Deploying It To Israel?
The United States has said it will deploy an advanced antimissile system and around 100 soldiers to operate it to Israel, a key ally.
The Pentagon said on October 13 that the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system will bolster Israel’s already formidable air defenses. It is unclear when the system and the U.S. soldiers will arrive in Israel.
What Is THAAD?
The THAAD is one of the most advanced and powerful antimissile systems in the U.S. arsenal.
Israel currently uses several systems developed with the United States -- the Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow -- to intercept rockets, drones, and missiles at different altitudes and distances.
The THAAD system has advanced radar, which detects missiles from longer distances. Its interceptors also have a longer range.
“It is a far superior antimissile system,” said Hossein Aryan, a Britain-based defense expert. “Its range is vastly [more] extensive” compared to Israel’s air defense systems.
Why Is The U.S. Sending THAAD To Israel?
The U.S. decision came after Iran fired around 180 ballistic missiles on Israel on October 1, an attack that some experts say exposed vulnerabilities in Israel’s air defenses.
Aryan said Iran’s attack prompted Washington to boost Israel’s antimissile defense capabilities in the event of “another potential attack from Tehran.”
Tehran’s massive missile barrage -- its biggest-ever direct attack against its archenemy -- was in response to Israel’s invasion of Lebanon and its recent assassinations of key Iranian allies in the region.
Israel downplayed the damage caused by Iran’s attack. But satellite imagery appeared to show around 30 ballistic missiles landed in and around the Nevatim air base in southern Israel. The images show damage to buildings and craters on the runway at the base.
The Nevatim base houses U.S.-made F-35 fighter planes. Experts say Iranian missiles only narrowly missed some of the fighter planes stationed in the base.
Meanwhile, one missile landed close to the headquarters of Mossad, Israel’s spy agency, in Tel Aviv, causing a deep crater.
Israel has vowed a severe response to Iran’s missile attack.
Meanwhile, a drone attack by Hezbollah, the armed group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon, killed four Israeli soldiers in a base on October 13.
Shashank Johsi, a visiting fellow at Kings College London, said Washington is deploying the THAAD system “because it anticipates that Israel's retaliation to the recent Iranian missile barrage will be a large and significant attack.”
That, in return, is “likely to prompt yet another Iranian strike,” he said.
Joshi, who is also the defense editor of The Economist magazine, said Israel has a range of options, from striking Iranian weapons facilities to targeting its leadership or nuclear sites.
“Whichever option it chooses, Iran's leadership is likely to retaliate in force,” he said.
- By Lusine Musaelian and
- Frud Bezhan
Lebanon's Armenians Face Painful Choice: Stay And Risk Death Or Flee Their Country
The windows in Zakar Keshishian’s house rattle violently as Israeli air strikes pound Lebanon’s capital, Beirut.
“We don’t know how close the bombs will land from us,” said the 56-year-old. “We have to pray that we stay alive.”
Keshishian lives in Mezher, a small town just outside of Beirut that has been spared the worst of Israel’s devastating aerial bombardment of Lebanon.
Keshishian is a member of Lebanon’s 150,000-strong Armenian Christian community. Many are the descendants of the survivors of the World War I-era mass killings of up to 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire that dozens of countries consider a genocide.
Now, Israel’s war has left many Lebanese Armenians with a painful choice: stay and risk death or leave behind a country they call home.
"We have at least 100 years of history here,” said Keshisian, a musician born in Beirut. “Letting go of our community, culture, and properties here will be incredibly hard.”
Israel’s ground invasion of Lebanon and its ongoing air strikes targeting Hezbollah, an armed group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon, has taken a huge toll on civilians.
Lebanese officials say more than 2,300 people, mostly civilians, have been killed since September 23. Over 1.2 million people have been displaced, more than a fifth of the population, in the biggest displacement in the country’s history.
Little of Lebanon, a multiethnic and multireligious country of some 5.5 million people, has been spared. Israeli ground forces have invaded southern Lebanon. Israeli warplanes have carried out thousands of air strikes in Beirut and other major cities.
Keshishian, his wife, and 12-year-old son rarely venture outside their home in Mezher, a predominately Armenian town northeast of Beirut. Keshishian said he spends most of the day consoling his terrified son.
“I try to reassure him that this is temporary and that I went through similar experiences and survived,” said Keshishian. “But, in reality, my fears are eating me up.”
Keshishian says Israel’s war in Lebanon is not just against Hezbollah, considered a terrorist organization by the United States, although the EU has only blacklisted its armed wing.
“We’re all victims -- ordinary people, children, and the elderly,” he said. “We’re all victims of these inhumane actions, and the homes of ordinary citizens are being destroyed.”
'Horror Of War'
Yessayi Havatian thought he was safe in his home in Anjar, a village some 60 kilometers east of Beirut.
The predominately Armenian village even took in hundreds of internally displaced people fleeing Israel’s bombardment of the country’s south.
But the 64-year-old Havatian said the war has now come to the village’s doorstep.
“The reality hit home when the sounds of explosions reached our ears -- much closer than we anticipated -- reminding us of the horror of war,” said the academic.
Anjar, a historic village popular with tourists, lies just a few kilometers from the main border crossing with Syria.
Israeli air strikes on October 4 struck the Masnaa crossing, cutting off the road to traffic. Israel claimed Hezbollah was transporting weapons through the border.
Around 500,000 people have crossed the border in the past three weeks, many on foot carrying their children and belongings, to flee the violence in Lebanon.
Havatian, who was born in Anjar, survived Lebanon’s civil war from 1975 to 1990 and the Israeli-Hezbollah war in 2006. But he says the current conflict is different.
“I have witnessed many wars and armed clashes in Lebanon, but I have never seen such extensive destruction or attacks against the civilian population,” he said.
“The southern regions of Lebanon are completely devastated. It seems like the scenes of Gaza are repeating themselves,” added Havatian, referring to Israel’s ongoing war in the Palestinian enclave.
'Constant State Of Alarm'
In Beirut, Christine Tanielian-Sarkisian coordinates the work of the Jinishian Memorial Program, an NGO that supports disadvantaged members of Lebanon’s Armenian community.
“Over the past few weeks, I have heard many heartbreaking stories from vulnerable families,” said the humanitarian worker.
“Mothers who we have helped told us how their children are suffering from trauma, insomnia, and stress-induced vomiting,” she added.
The 47-year-old lives with her husband and three children in east Beirut, a relatively safe area at the foot of the mountains that flank the city.
But she said Israel’s aerial bombardment of Beirut, a densely populated city of some 2.5 million people, has touched everyone.
“Maybe the war is not directly against us [the Armenian community], and perhaps we aren’t the main targets,” she said.
“But for the past few weeks, we have lived in a constant state of alarm. Our city feels paralyzed, and chaos surrounds us,” she added.
Tanielian-Sarkisian fears that Israel’s escalating war in Lebanon will force her and her family to flee the country. If the family is compelled to evacuate, their destination is Armenia.
“Lebanon is my country, and the Armenian community has fought hard to build our lives here,” she said. “We pray it will not come to that.”
- By RFE/RL
Israel Launches Fresh Strikes On Lebanon After Netanyahu Warning
Israeli forces launched fresh strikes on Hezbollah in eastern Lebanon on October 15 after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed no mercy for the Iran-backed militant group.
Multiple Israeli strikes targeted Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, taking a hospital in the city of Baalbek out of service, according to Lebanon's official National News Agency.
The strikes came as Netanyahu vowed a ruthless response to a Hezbollah drone strike that killed four Israeli soldiers in central Israel on October 13.
Netanyahu, speaking during a visit to the military base where the four soldiers were killed, said Israel would continue to strike the group "without mercy, everywhere in Lebanon -- including Beirut."
Hezbollah -- which is considered a terrorist group by the United States, although the EU has only blacklisted its armed wing, and not the political party -- controls much of southern Lebanon.
The Hezbollah attack on the Israeli army base in the town of Binyamina was one of the bloodiest since October last year and employed a "swarm" of drones that were difficult to locate and destroy by the Israeli air defenses.
Israel's sophisticated air defenses have usually shot down Hezbollah's rockets without problems.
Following the deadly Hezbollah strike, Israeli strikes killed 41 people and injured 124 in Lebanon on October 14, the Health Ministry said. More than half of the victims were killed in the northern village of Aito, which lies outside Hezbollah's traditional strongholds.
Israel said it “struck a target belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization,” but the UN's human rights office in Geneva called for an independent investigation.
“We have real concerns with respect to…the laws of war,” said Jeremy Laurence, a spokesperson for the human rights office. Laurence said the UN had received credible reports that a dozen women and children were among the dead.
In a televised speech on October 15, Hezbollah’s acting leader declared that the group is focused on “hurting the enemy” by targeting Haifa and other parts of Israel, including Tel Aviv. Sheikh Naim Kassem, Hezbollah’s deputy chief, vowed to “defeat our enemies and drive them out of our lands.”
Separately, Netanyahu's office said in a statement on October 15 that he will take into account the position of the United States -- Israel's main ally -- but will have his country's own "national interests" as a top priority as it ponders a response to a massive Iranian attack earlier this month.
"We listen to the opinions of the United States, but we will make our final decisions based on our national interest," his office said in a statement.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned Israel that it must increase the amount of humanitarian aid it is allowing into Gaza within the next 30 days or it could risk losing access to U.S. weapons funding.
The warning came in a letter to their Israeli counterparts dated October 13 that restates U.S. policy toward humanitarian aid and arms transfers.
A senior U.S. defense official said on October 15 that Blinken and Austin sent the letter as they saw a recent decrease in assistance reaching Gaza. The official said a similar letter sent by Blinken in April triggered “concrete measures from the Israelis.”
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the latest letter was a way to similarly address the problem.
Fears of an all-out regional war grew as signs indicated Israel could be preparing to launch a direct strike on Iran in retaliation for Tehran's strike on October 1.
U.S. President Joe Biden has warned Netanyahu against striking Iran's nuclear or oil facilities to avoid a further escalation of the conflict.
On October 13, Biden announced that he had ordered the Pentagon to send a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery and troops to Israel as part of U.S. efforts to defend its ally.
With reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters
- By RFE/RL
Israel Strikes Southern Lebanon, Fires Missile Interceptor Above Haifa (Video)
The latest news on the Israel-Lebanon war: videos emerged of the devastation of a southern Lebanon marketplace after a new Israeli missile attack. Air raid sirens also went off in the Israeli city of Haifa, as the military said incoming missile strikes from Lebanon were intercepted.
- By RFE/RL
Hezbollah Drone 'Swarm' Kills 4 Israeli Soldiers, Injures Dozens At Army Base
Four Israeli soldiers were killed and dozens were injured, seven critically, when a "swarm" of Hezbollah drones hit an army base near the northern Israeli town of Binyamina in one of the bloodiest attacks on the country since October 2023.
Hezbollah is an armed group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon.
The Israeli military early on October 14 said the attack took place at an army base some 60 kilometers north of Tel Aviv. It did not immediately provide further details.
CNN had earlier reported that the United Hatzalah rescue service said it had "provided assistance to over 60 wounded people in various conditions -- some of them in critical, serious, moderate, and light condition."
National emergency service Magen David Adom (AFMDA) said at least 67 people were injured in the attack in Israel's Haifa district.
Hezbollah -- which is considered a terrorist group by the United States, although the EU has only blacklisted its armed wing -- claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it had launched a "swarm of attack drones" at a military training camp in Binyamina.
Iran-allied Hezbollah has fired hundreds of rockets and drones into Israel but, because of Israel's sophisticated air-defense systems, most have been shot down or have caused little damage and few casualties.
Earlier in the day, angry UN peacekeepers said Israeli forces had smashed into a gate of one of their bases in Lebanon, causing about 15 minor injuries.
"At around 4:30 a.m., while peacekeepers were in shelters, two IDF Merkava tanks destroyed the position's main gate and forcibly entered the position in the Ramia area," said the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), adding that the Israeli forces left after about 45 minutes.
Israel later claimed the tanks had come under fire when they crashed into the base gate.
The action came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said UN peacekeepers must "immediately" pull out of the combat zone in southern Lebanon and directly addressed Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
"The time has come for you to withdraw UNIFIL from Hezbollah strongholds and from the combat zones," Netanyahu said, accusing Guterres of making UNIFIL soldiers "human shields" and "hostages of Hezbollah."
"Mr. Secretary-General, get the UNIFIL forces out of harm's way. It should be done right now, immediately," he said.
UNIFIL is a 9,500-strong mission created in 1978 tasked with monitoring a cease-fire that ended a 33-day war in 2006 between Israel and Hezbollah.
Forty nations that contribute to UNIFIL said in a joint statement on October 12 that they "strongly condemn recent attacks" on the peacekeepers. The United States and European leaders have demanded Israel stop firing at the peacekeepers, with U.S. President Joe Biden on October 12 saying he was "absolutely, positively" telling Israel to stop.
Fears of an all-out regional war grew as signs indicated Israel could be preparing to launch a direct strike on Iran in retaliation for Tehran's massive missile strike on Israel on October 1.
Biden on October 13 said he had ordered the Pentagon to send a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery and troops to Israel as part of U.S. efforts "to defend Israel."
Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder said the system will help bolster Israel's air defenses following Iran's missile attacks. The THAADs are similar to Patriot missile systems but can cover wider areas and require about 95 soldiers to operate, analysts say.
"It is part of the broader adjustments the U.S. military has made in recent months, to support the defense of Israel and protect Americans from attacks by Iran and Iranian-aligned militias," Ryder said.
The French presidency on October 13 said President Emmanuel Macron, in a phone call, told his Iranian counterpart, Masud Pezeshkian, it was Tehran's "responsibility" to back efforts to lower tensions in the Middle East. The Iranian presidency also reported the call, saying the sides discuss ways to end the conflict but also using heavily belligerent language toward Israel.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi on October 13 said Tehran was prepared for a "war situation," although he stated his government desired peace.
"We are fully prepared for a war situation. We are not afraid of war, but we do not want war. We want peace, and we will work for a just peace in Gaza and Lebanon," he said while on a visit to the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.
Israeli warplanes hit a 100-year-old mosque in a village of Lebanon near the border early on October 13, a day after a marketplace was hit in the southern city of Nabatiyeh, according to Lebanon's official National News Agency.
Lebanon's Health Ministry reported deadly strikes in other areas of the country, including one on a Shi'ite Muslim village in a mostly Christian mountainous area.
Hezbollah said it launched rockets at Israeli forces inside Lebanese territory on October 13 as ground troops conducted incursions into the country's south.
A Hezbollah statement claimed it targeted a "gathering" of Israeli forces in the village of Maroun al-Ras "with artillery shells."
Hezbollah fired hundreds of projectiles from Lebanon into Israel on October 12 as Israelis celebrated Yom Kippur, an important holiday on the Jewish religious calendar.
The escalation comes as Israel is also conducting fresh attacks in Gaza and is expected to strike Iran in retaliation for a missile attack earlier this month.
Palestinian medical officials said on October 13 that an Israeli strike killed a family of eight and wounded seven others in the central Gaza Strip.
The attack late on October 12 hit a home in the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing a couple and their six children, who ranged in age from 8 to 23, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where the bodies were taken.
Israel continues to strike what it says are militant targets in Gaza nearly every day for more than a year into the war with Hamas, which is designated a terrorist group by the United States and European Union.
The Israeli Army said in a statement on October 13 that forces operating throughout the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours had attacked about 40 targets and killed dozens of militants.
Both Hamas and Hezbollah are allies of Iran. Israel has repeatedly said it will respond to Iran's missile attack on October 1, which Tehran said was launched in retaliation for Israel's military operations in Gaza and Lebanon and the killings of a string of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.
Washington believes Israel has narrowed down targets in its potential response to military and energy infrastructure, NBC reported on October 12, citing unnamed U.S. officials.
There is no indication that Israel will target Iran’s nuclear facilities or carry out assassinations, the NBC report said, adding that Israel has not made final decisions about how and when to act.
Araghchi said there would be "no red line" for Iran in defending its citizens from the potential strikes.
"While we have made tremendous efforts in recent days to contain an all-out war in our region, I say it clearly that we have no red lines in defending our people and interests," Araghchi wrote in a post on X on October 13.
With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP
- By RFE/RL
Hezbollah Attacks Israeli Base, Tel Aviv Area On Yom Kippur
Hezbollah on October 12 said it had fired a number of missiles and drones at an Israeli military base south of Haifa and at the outskirts of Tel Aviv as Israelis celebrated Yom Kippur, the most important holiday on the Jewish religious calendar.
Hezbollah -- an armed group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon -- said its forces targeted "the explosives factory there with a salvo of...missiles" in the Haifa region, while it said it sent a swarm of drones toward Tel Aviv, the economic center of the country.
The Israeli military confirmed that Hezbollah fired hundreds of projectiles from Lebanon into Israel over Yom Kippur, which ended at sundown on October 12.
"Throughout the weekend of Yom Kippur, approximately 320 projectiles that were fired by the Hezbollah terrorist organization crossed from Lebanon into Israel," the military said in a statement.
Hezbollah is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, while the EU blacklists its armed wing but not its political party.
Israel has meanwhiile faced a of barrage of diplomatic criticism over a second strike at a United Nations peacekeeping position in Lebanon.
Two Sri Lankan peacekeepers were hurt in the incident, the UNIFIL mission said on October 11.
The Israeli military said it had fired at "an immediate threat" around 50 meters from the UNIFIL post.
On October 10, two Indonesian soldiers were hurt when Israeli tank fire hit a watchtower.
The UN peacekeeping force said in a statement that the incident occurred at its headquarters in the town of Naqoura, adding that Israeli forces also fired on a nearby bunker where peacekeepers were sheltering, damaging vehicles and a communication system.
The incidents sparked condemnation from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Israel's Western allies, prompting the Israeli military to pledge to carry out a "thorough review."
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it hit some 280 "terror targets" in Lebanon and in the Gaza Strip over the weekend.
"Among these targets were underground terror infrastructure sites, weapons storage facilities, military command centers, terrorist cells, and additional terrorist infrastructure sites," a statement read.
Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf on October 12 traveled to Beirut, condemning what he called Israel's "crimes."
He met Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who said his government's priority was "to work toward a cease-fire," according to Lebanon's official National News Agency.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on October 11 that Washington was still working to prevent a larger war in the Middle East and urged Israel to protect civilians after 22 people were killed in strikes on two buildings in central Beirut.
"We continue to engage intensely to prevent broader conflict in the region," Blinken told reporters after an East Asia summit in Laos, adding that it was "vitally important" for Israel to ensure that civilians are protected during the conflict.
Lebanese sources said at least one senior Hezbollah figure was targeted in the attacks, which were the third on Beirut since Israel started a military campaign in southern Lebanon last month against the Iran-allied Hezbollah militia, sparking fears of an all-out regional war.
Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV reported after the strikes that an attempt to kill Wafiq Safa, a top security official with the group, had failed. It said that Safa had not been inside either of the targeted buildings.
Safa heads Hezbollah's liaison and coordination unit responsible for working with Lebanese security agencies, security sources said.
With reporting by AFP
Russian, Iranian Presidents Meet As War Rages In Middle East
Russian President Vladimir Putin used a meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Masud Pezeshkian, to cement their growing bilateral ties that have raised concern in the West as war rages in Ukraine and the Middle East.
The two leaders met in Ashgabat on the sidelines of a conference in the capital of the tightly controlled Central Asian country of Turkmenistan on October 11. It was the first of two meetings between the men, with another scheduled at the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan that runs on October 22-24.
It was the first of two meetings between the two, with another scheduled at the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan that runs on October 22-24.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters ahead of the meeting that while the talks will focus on bilateral relations, "the situation in the Middle East definitely will not be ignored and will also be on the agenda."
The meeting was the first between the two since Pezeshkian assumed office on July 30 after winning an election to succeed his hard-line predecessor, Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May.
Relations between Moscow and Tehran have strengthened since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
"Pezeshkian is trying to gauge to what extent Iran can rely on Russia for help," Touraj Atabaki, professor emeritus of Middle East and Central Asia social history at Leiden University in the Netherlands, told Radio Farda.
"Russia wants to stand with Iran due to Iran's support in its war on Ukraine but Moscow doesn't want to darken its relationship with Israel further and cut all ties," he added.
Since the early months of the Ukraine war, Russia has been accused of using Iranian-made Shahed and Mohajer-6 drones, many of which have been found after being shot down over Ukrainian cities and battlefields.
Iran initially denied arming Russia before relenting and admitting that it had supplied a "limited number of drones" to Moscow before the war.
Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Tehran continues to deny that its drones are being used by Russia against Ukraine. That has not stopped the United States and the European Union from imposing sanctions on Iran for helping Moscow.
Last month, the EU said it had "credible" information provided by allies suggesting that Iran has supplied short-range ballistic missiles to Russia to help Moscow wage war in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, tensions in the Middle East have been heightened since Tehran launched some 200 missiles at Israel on October 1, saying the attack was in response to the killing of Tehran-backed militant leaders and a general from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Israel has vowed to launch a "deadly, precise, and surprising" attack on Iran in retaliation, while it continues to pound targets in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip that it says are aimed at Iran-backed proxies.
At least 30 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded on October 11 by Israeli strikes in Jabalia in northern Gaza, according to the territory's civil-defense agency.
The recent spiral of violence was sparked by the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas that killed around 1,200 people and saw some 250 taken hostage. Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.
The fighting in Gaza prompted another Iran-backed group, Hezbollah, to fire missiles into Israel in support of Hamas. Hezbollah is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, while the EU blacklists its armed wing but not its political party.
The Israeli military has launched massive air strikes on Beirut and southern Lebanon in response, as well as a ground incursion into southern Lebanon intended to destroy the Iran-allied militant group, whose political party has seats in the Lebanese parliament.
Israel faced condemnation on October 11 after its forces fired at what it said was a threat near a UN peacekeeping position in Lebanon. Israeli soldiers had responded to "an immediate threat" around 50 meters from the UNIFIL post, the military said.
"An initial examination indicates that during the incident, a hit was identified on a UNIFIL post...resulting in the injury of two UNIFIL personnel," the statement added. The army pledged to carry out a "thorough review."
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the firing as "intolerable" and "a violation of international humanitarian law," while the British government said it was "appalled" by reports of the injuries.
U.S. President Joe Biden said he was "absolutely" asking Israel to stop firing at UN peacekeepers, while the French, Spanish, and Italian leaders issued a joint statement expressing "outrage."
French President Emmanuel Macron renewed his call for an end to exports of weapons used by Israel in Gaza and Lebanon, while saying the UN peacekeepers had been "deliberately targeted."
In Iran, more than three dozen hard-line lawmakers on October 10 demanded the government revise its nuclear doctrine to pursue atomic weapons.
In a letter to the Supreme National Security Council, they said Western powers could not control Israel, thus making nuclear weapons "Iran's option to create deterrence."
Iran has been hit with waves of crippling economic sanctions for its nuclear program, which has seen a sharp increase in its uranium enrichment capacity after the United States under former President Donald Trump withdrew from a 2015 landmark deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that restricted Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for relief from sanctions.
Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful civilian purposes, but government officials caused alarm recently by saying it could change its "nuclear doctrine" if it is attacked or its existence is threatened by Israel.
With reporting by Reuters and AFP
- By RFE/RL
Blinken Tells Israel Protecting Civilians 'Vitally Important' After Deadly Beirut Strikes
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that Washington was still working to prevent a larger war in the Middle East and urged Israel to protect civilians after 22 people were killed in strikes on central Beirut.
Blinken spoke a day after Israeli air strikes targeted two buildings in Beirut, one of which completely collapsed.
"We continue to engage intensely to prevent broader conflict in the region," Blinken told reporters after an East Asia Summit in Laos, adding that it was "vitally important" for Israel to ensure that civilians are protected during the conflict.
Lebanese sources said at least one senior Hezbollah figure was targeted in the attacks, which were the third on Beirut since Israel started a military campaign in southern Lebanon last month against the Iran-allied Hezbollah militia, sparking fears of an all-out regional war.
Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV reported after the strikes that an attempt to kill Wafiq Safa, a top security official with the group, had failed. It said that Safa had not been inside either of the targeted buildings.
Safa heads Hezbollah's liaison and coordination unit responsible for working with Lebanese security agencies, security sources said.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah kept up its rocket fire into Israel on October 10, with the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) saying that several drones heading toward Israel had been intercepted.
Earlier on October 10, an Israeli strike on a school in the Gaza Strip killed at least 27 people, Palestinian medical officials said. The Israeli military said it had carried out a "precise strike on terrorists" who had a command-and-control center embedded in the school.
"This is a further example of the Hamas terrorist organization's systematic abuse of civilian infrastructure in violation of international law," an Israeli military statement said.
The Palestinian militant group Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and the EU, has denied such accusations. People who had been sheltering at the school said the strike hit a meeting of aid workers and injured 54 other people.
Israel has continued to strike at what it says are militant targets across Gaza as it battles Hamas militants, even as the war broadened to include Hezbollah in Lebanon amid rising tensions with Iran.
In a separate incident on October 10, the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon said an Israeli tank fired on its headquarters in the town of Naqoura, hitting an observation tower and wounding two peacekeepers. The nationality of the injured peacekeepers was not released.
The UN peacekeeping mission -- known as UNIFIL -- said in a statement that Israeli forces also fired on a nearby bunker where peacekeepers were sheltering, damaging vehicles and a communication system.
The Italian Defense Ministry summoned Israel's ambassador in protest, and Defense Minister Guido Crosetto told a press conference that "hostile acts committed and repeated by Israeli forces against the base...could constitute war crimes."
Crosetto added that Italy has asked for an official explanation "because it was not a mistake."
The French Foreign Ministry said that while no French soldiers were injured in the incident, it also demanded an explanation.
With reporting by Reuters
Living Under The Threat Of Hezbollah Rockets In Northern Israel
The sound of explosions and alarms have become so routine in northern Israel that some locals who remain barely flinch when they hear them.
"It's very, very loud," said David Amzel, a bakery owner at the Gesher Haziv kibbutz located just 5 kilometers from the border with Lebanon. "But to be honest with you, I see people sitting down at the bakery, having their coffee, and then there is a loud BOOM! and people don't even move."
Amzel still gets up at 2:45 a.m. every day to get the bread in the oven, but business has been anything but usual since the unprecedented attack on Israel by the U.S.- and EU-designated Palestinian terrorist group Hamas one year ago.
Israel’s retaliatory war in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip has been met by daily cross-border rocket attacks by Hezbollah, the armed group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah's attacks led the Israeli government to order the evacuation of everyone within several kilometers of the northern border. The move initially displaced 60,000 people and created a closed military zone that extends 120 kilometers from the Mediterranean Sea to the occupied Golan Heights.
While Gesher Haziv kibbutz lies just outside the evacuation zone, many residents voluntarily left the settlement that was once home to about 1,000 people.
Amzel and his family of four were among those who opted to stay, in part to keep his business afloat. But now, after his normal workday ends in the early afternoon, Amzel has additional duties -- guarding the gates of the kibbutz until 6 p.m. as a member of an emergency-response team.
On Guard
The threat of cross-border attacks by Hezbollah -- considered a terrorist group by the United States, although the EU has only blacklisted its armed wing -- continues to loom large.
And since Israel's ground invasion of southern Lebanon early this month and its ongoing air strikes across the country, Hezbollah has stepped up the intensity and range of its rocket attacks, targeting cities as far south as Haifa and displacing tens of thousands more Israelis.
Amzel described the situation in Gesher Haziv -- located along the Mediterranean Sea -- in an October 9 telephone interview in which the sounds of his two children, weapons fired by Israel's navy, and alarms warning of impending strikes were audible in the background.
He said that locals rely heavily on phone apps that signal incoming rocket attacks, and if they are in the line of fire, they run for bomb shelters -- including mobile ones placed on streets -- or safe rooms in homes.
"People don't like to walk, to be outside a lot," he said. "They go to work, they come back, they stay with their kids."
The same day, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for an attack involving some 150 rockets that killed two people who were walking their dog in Kiryat Shmona, a one-hour drive northeast.
Hezbollah rocket attacks have killed dozens of people in northern Israel in the past year, according to Israeli officials.
The city of Kiryat Shmona, which lies inside the evacuation zone, was populated by more than 26,000 people a year ago, according to Maria Gershkovich, who operated a children's theater there until she and her family left for Haifa.
Gershkovich said that Kiryat Shmona was basically a "ghost town," and that only people in some professions live there today. In a video interview with Current Time this week, she said she wants to return but has no plans to do so for now.
"Our return is only possible if I, as a mother, am sure that I can calmly send my child to school," Gershkovich said, adding that it might take a long time before she is assured that it is safe to go back.
Tough Row
Amid the uncertainty of war, few things remain constant in the largely agricultural north. But life goes on.
Most workers and residents have been evacuated from Kibbutz Snir, located 15 minutes northeast of Kiryat Shmona and just 500 meters away from the border with Lebanon.
But someone needs to protect the kibbutz, care for the cattle and chickens, and tend to the fields and avocado groves.
Army reservist Lior Shelef is part of the security team that defends the kibbutz. But the 48-year-old explained that, while the highly trained team patrols and stays at the ready for a possible Hezbollah attack, his job entails much more.
"If there are rocket attacks, we need to make sure there's no damage to any of the houses. If there are brush fires we need to go and fight the fires," Shelef told RFE/RL by phone. "We need to make sure that everything will still be here."
Shelef only occasionally gets to see his wife and three children aged 5 to 10, who were evacuated and have spent much of the last year in a hotel. Shelef says the situation is difficult for people who remain near the border, especially for children who can only attend school online and who suffer from post-traumatic stress.
"At every small noise, they become fearful and want to go and stay in the safe room. The reality here for the kids is very, very hard," Shelef said.
But at the end of the day, he added, the kids know that "this is where their home is. This is where we chose to live our life."
They have no doubt that they will be reunited with their games and their dog at home, Shelef said, "and they are just hoping that it happens as soon as possible."
- By RFE/RL
Israeli Strikes On Beirut, Gaza School Kill Dozens
At least 22 people were killed and 117 others injured in Israeli strikes on Beirut, the Lebanese Health Ministry reported on October 10 after an Israeli strike on a school sheltering Palestinians in Gaza killed dozens of people.
Lebanon's state news agency NNA reported two evening air raids in central Beirut. The first targeted an eight-story building and the second a four-story building that completely collapsed as a result of the strike, NNA said.
A Lebanese security source quoted by Reuters said at least one senior Hezbollah figure was targeted in the attacks, which were the third on Beirut since Israel started a military campaign in southern Lebanon last month targeting the Iran-allied Hezbollah militia and sparking fears of an all-out regional war.
Hezbollah’s Al Manar TV reported after the strikes that an attempt to kill Wafiq Safa, a top security official with the group, had failed. It said that Safa had not been inside of either of the targeted buildings.
Hezbollah kept up rocket fire into Israel on October 10. The military said several drones heading toward Israel were intercepted.
Earlier on October 10 an Israeli strike on a school in the Gaza Strip killed at least 27 people, Palestinian medical officials said, while a separate Israeli strike hit UN peacekeeper headquarters in southern Lebanon, prompting Italy to summon the Israeli ambassador.
The Israeli military said it carried out a "precise strike on terrorists" who had a command and control center embedded in the school.
"This is a further example of the Hamas terrorist organization's systematic abuse of civilian infrastructure in violation of international law," a military statement said.
The Palestinian militant group Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and the EU, has denied such accusations. People who had been sheltering at the school said the strike hit a meeting of aid workers and injured 54 other people.
Israel has continued to strike at what it says are militant targets across Gaza as it battles Hamas militants even as the war broadened to include Hezbollah in Lebanon amid rising tensions with Iran.
In a separate incident on October 10 the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon said an Israeli tank fired on its headquarters in the town of Naqoura, hitting an observation tower and wounding two peacekeepers. The nationality of the injured peacekeepers was not released.
The UN peacekeeping mission known as UNIFIL said in a statement that Israeli forces also fired on a nearby bunker where peacekeepers were sheltering, damaging vehicles and a communication system.
The Italian Defense Ministry summoned Israel's ambassador in protest, and Defense Minister Guido Crosetto told a press conference that "hostile acts committed and repeated by Israeli forces against the base...could constitute war crimes." Crosetto added that Italy has asked for an official explanation "because it was not a mistake."
The French Foreign Ministry said that while no French solider was injured in the incident, it also demanded an explanation.
The Israeli military announced earlier on October 10 that it had eliminated another important Hezbollah member as it kept up its attacks against the Iran-backed group.
Adham Jahout, a member of Hezbollah's Golan Terrorist Network was killed in an air strike in the area of Quneitra in Syria, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said.
Jahout was relaying intelligence from Syrian regime sources to Hezbollah and facilitating operations against Israel in the Golan Heights, the IDF said.
Israel annexed the Golan Heights after capturing them from Syria during the 1967 Middle East war. The annexation has not been recognized by most countries.
Separately, the Israeli military said on October 10 that it had eliminated two Hezbollah commanders in southern Lebanon and its warplanes attacked munitions depots in the Beirut area and in southern Lebanon. It did not immediately reveal the identities of the two commanders.
Hezbollah, a militant group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon, is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, while the European Union blacklists its armed wing but not its party, which has seats in the Lebanese parliament.
The latest strikes came as the United States, Israel's main ally, warned against bombardments in Lebanon similar to those that caused large-scale destruction in Gaza as Israel retaliated against Hamas following the U.S.- and EU-designated terrorist group's deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, that left more than 1,100 people dead.
Israel's bombardment of central and northern Gaza in recent days has killed dozens of people and trapped thousands in their homes, Palestinian officials say.
October 7: The Hamas Attack That Changed Israel And Sparked War
"There should be no kind of military action in Lebanon that looks anything like Gaza and leaves a result anything like Gaza," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told journalists on October 9.
The warning came after U.S. President Joe Biden emphasized in a call on October 9 with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the need for a diplomatic arrangement for the return of both Lebanese and Israeli civilians to their homes on both sides of the border.
The United States warned Israel on October 9 against launching a military action in Lebanon like the one it has conducted in Gaza, and U.S. President Joe Biden emphasized in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the need for a diplomatic arrangement for the return of both Lebanese and Israeli civilians to their homes on both sides of the border.
Biden also condemned Iran's ballistic-missile attack on Israel on October 1, a White House statement said.
Biden "affirmed Israel's right to protect its citizens from Hezbollah, which has fired thousands of missiles and rockets into Israel over the past year alone, while emphasizing the need to minimize harm to civilians, in particular in the densely populated areas of Beirut," the statement said.
- By Frud Bezhan and
- Zhakfar Ahmadi
FBI's Arrest Of Afghan Underscores Growing Threat Of Islamic State-Khorasan
The FBI's arrest of an Afghan man who allegedly planned a U.S. Election Day attack has underscored the growing threat posed by the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) extremist group to the West.
Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, an Afghan citizen living in the United States, plotted an attack on November 5 in the name of IS-K, the U.S. Justice Department said.
Based in Afghanistan, IS-K has carried out a series of devastating, high-profile attacks in Russia, Iran, and Tajikistan in recent years.
"IS-K poses a dangerous threat to both the region and the West," said Abdul Sayed, a Sweden-based researcher who tracks militancy in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.
"IS-K is not confined to Afghanistan alone,” Sayed added. “It operates with a global agenda and has a network functioning both regionally and internationally."
Resilient Force
IS-K is considered the most active and potent of all the regional affiliates of Islamic State (IS), the extremist group that overran large swaths of Iraq and Syria in 2014. IS was largely defeated by a U.S.-led coalition.
IS-K was founded in Afghanistan in late 2014 and captured small pockets of territory in the country as part of IS’s broader aim of expansion throughout South and Central Asia.
But it soon came under fire from Afghan and international forces as well as the Taliban, a rival militant group.
The threat posed by IS-K has increased since the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan and the collapse of the Western-backed Afghan government in 2021, analysts say.
The Taliban, which then seized power, has waged a brutal war against IS-K, killing or capturing its key commanders and hundreds of its fighters. But IS-K has embarked on a strategy of urban warfare and remains a resilient force.
The group's ranks have been boosted by foreign fighters, particularly those from the former Soviet republics of Central Asia.
That has allowed IS-K -- which seeks to establish a caliphate, or Islamic state, in Khorasan, a historical region that includes parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, and Central Asia -- to continue its attacks in Afghanistan and conduct complex assaults in the region.
In March, IS-K militants stormed the Crocus City Hall outside Moscow, killing around 140 people, underlining the threat it poses in the region.
Exploiting Grievances
Experts say extremist groups like IS-K have tried to exploit the grievances among Muslims since Israel launched its devastating war in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian enclave.
That came after Hamas, a U.S.- and EU-designated terrorist group, carried out an attack on Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people.
Israel has recently expanded its war by launching a deadly aerial bombardment and ground invasion of Lebanon targeting Hezbollah, the armed group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon.
Lucas Webber, senior threat intelligence analyst at Tech Against Terrorism, an UN-backed project that monitors extremism online, says IS-K has been vocal in calling for attacks against the West in the wake of the conflict in the Middle East.
"[IS-K] has a robust, multilingual propaganda apparatus," Webber told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi. "They can reach a diverse range of diaspora communities to build support and mobilize supporters to violence."
Webber says IS-K and its recruiters have targeted Europe. Now, he said, "we're starting to see an increase of activity in North America and the United States, specifically."
- By RFE/RL
Biden, Netanyahu Talk As Israel Vows 'Deadly, Precise, Surprising' Response To Iran Attack
U.S. President Joe Biden emphasized the need for a diplomatic arrangement for the return of both Lebanese and Israeli civilians to their homes on both sides of the Israeli-Lebanese border in a call on October 9 with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the White House said.
Biden also condemned Iran’s ballistic missile attack against Israel on October 1, a White House statement said.
Biden "affirmed Israel’s right to protect its citizens from Hezbollah, which has fired thousands of missiles and rockets into Israel over the past year alone, while emphasizing the need to minimize harm to civilians, in particular in the densely populated areas of Beirut," the statement said.
Biden spoke with Netanyahu earlier about Israel's plans to retaliate against Iran for a missile attack last week, according to statements from both the White House and the Israeli prime minister's office on October 9.
The White House statement said Biden and Netanyahu "agreed to remain in close contact over the coming days both directly and through their national security teams."
The call comes amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, an armed group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon.
The Middle East has been on edge awaiting Israel's expected response to Iran's largely ineffective missile attack, which Tehran carried out in retaliation for Israel's escalation in Lebanon, including the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a video published on Israeli media that Israel's response "will be deadly, precise, and above all surprising."
Biden last week said he would not support Israel striking Iranian nuclear sites as part of its retaliation. He also said that, if he were in Israel's shoes, he would think about alternatives to striking Iranian oil fields.
Israel has faced calls by the United States and other allies to accept a cease-fire deal in Gaza and Lebanon but has said it will continue its military operations until Israelis are safe.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller warned on October 9 that Israel must avoid conducting military operations in Lebanon like those it has conducted in Gaza.
"I'm making very clear that there should be no kind of military action in Lebanon that looks anything like Gaza and leaves a result anything like Gaza," Miller told journalists.
The White House statement said Biden and Netanyahu discussed the urgent need to renew diplomacy to release the hostages held by Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and the EU. Biden also discussed the humanitarian situation in Gaza, the White House said.
Israel’s bombardment of central and northern Gaza in recent days has killed dozens of people and trapped thousands in their homes, Palestinian officials said.
Hezbollah, a group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon, is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, while the European Union blacklists its armed wing but not its party, which has seats in the Lebanese parliament.
The call between Biden and Netanyahu took place as Israeli forces stepped up their ground offensive against Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon.
On October 9, Hezbollah said in a statement that its fighters had used artillery and rockets against Israeli troops near the Lebanese border village of Labbouneh.
In a separate statement, the group said it engaged in combat with Israeli forces as they "attempted to infiltrate the border town of Blida" in southeast Lebanon.
The Israeli Army said early on October 9 that it had intercepted two projectiles fired from Lebanon as air-raid alarms sounded in and around Caesarea, a coastal city south of Haifa.
The latest fighting comes as fears grow of a larger conflict in the region after Israel also claimed that the successor to Nasrallah has likely been "eliminated."
Gallant said on October 8 that Hezbollah was an "organization without a head" and there's no one left to make decisions.
Netanyahu later echoed those comments, saying, "We've degraded Hezbollah's capabilities."
"We took out thousands of terrorists, including Nasrallah himself and Nasrallah's replacement, and the replacement of the replacement," Netanyahu said.
Hashem Safieddine, a top Hezbollah official and a cousin of Nasrallah, was widely expected to be named to the group's top position, but his whereabouts and condition remain unknown since an October 2 Israeli strike on a suspected Hezbollah leadership meeting.
Hezbollah has not commented on Safieddine's fate, although unidentified members have told various media that the group had lost contact with him since the attack.
Safieddine has been declared a global terrorist by the United States.
Would An All-Out Israel-Iran War Send Oil Prices Skyrocketing?
The prospect of an all-out war in the Middle East increased after Iran launched a massive missile attack on Israel on October 1.
Israel has threatened retaliation, fueling concerns of a disruption to the flow of oil and gas from the energy-rich region.
Global oil prices have already soared 9 percent since Iran's attack, which came amid Israel's yearlong war in the Gaza Strip and its invasion of southern Lebanon earlier this month.
A full-scale conflict between Israel and Iran could upend the international energy supply and send shock waves throughout the global economy, experts warn.
"Major disruption of regional oil and gas exports is likely to have a material impact on the global economy," said Farzan Sabet, senior research associate at the Geneva Graduate Institute.
'Act Of Aggression'
Israeli media reports suggest the country could target Iran's nuclear sites or its oil or gas installations.
U.S. President Joe Biden cautioned Israel against hitting oil facilities in Iran, one of the world's biggest producers. Iran has warned that any attack on its infrastructure would "provoke an even stronger response" from Tehran.
If Israel carries out a major attack against Iran's oil or gas facilities, Tehran could "resort to placing pressure on important transit chokepoints like the Strait of Hormuz," Sabet said.
Iran has for years threatened to block the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil supply flows.
"The Strait of Hormuz is critical to the global economy," said Neil Quilliam, an energy policy and geopolitics expert at London's Chatham House think tank.
Qatar, one of the world's biggest producers of natural gas, also uses the Strait of Hormuz for its exports.
There are also concerns that Tehran could target oil installations in neighboring countries if it is attacked by Israel. Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Iran are among the world's top oil-producing states.
Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian, during a trip to Qatar last week, met with senior officials from the Gulf Arab states. The officials sought to reassure Iran of their neutrality in the conflict between Tehran and Israel, according to reports.
Sabet said any Iranian retaliation against a possible Israeli attack that affects global energy prices or trade would be "viewed as an act of aggression and lead to further pressure on Iran."
Quilliam said Israel is likely to strike targets that will "hurt the Iranian regime and affect the country's economy" rather than impact global oil markets.
'Feel The Price Hike'
In recent decades, there have been major energy price hikes following the Arab oil embargo in 1973 and the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979.
Those events led to major gas shortages in some countries and endless lines for drivers filling up their cars.
But experts said even a major disruption to the flow of oil and gas from the Middle East stemming from an all-out Israel-Iran conflict would not cause the global economy to spiral out of control. That is largely due to the rise of the United States as a major oil and gas supplier as well as the decreasing global reliance on fossil fuels.
"Western consumers will feel the price hike at the pump," Sabet said. "[But] it will be much less than it might have been in a previous era."
He points to how repeated warnings about the disruption of commercial shipping in the Red Sea by the Iran-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen have not resulted in significant consumer inflation in the West.
But Sabet says a major disruption to the flow of oil and gas from the Middle East would have "an outsized effect" on the Chinese economy.
Beijing imports an estimated 1.5 million barrels of oil a day from Iran, accounting for 15 percent of its oil imports from the region.
Sabet said increased energy prices for China would "filter through the supply chain to the manufactured goods the country exports to the United States, Europe, and elsewhere" and potentially result in "more inflation for consumers."
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