Israel has wiped out 902 Palestinian families in Gaza over past year – Day 361
Israel admits air bases were hit in Iran attack – how much damage was there?
Various agencies report:
Middle East Monitor says: The Israeli army yesterday admitted that some of its air bases were hit during Iran’s missile attack on the occupation state on Tuesday night, but claimed the impact was insignificant.
Army Radio quoted the military: “No air force aircraft were damaged in the attack and all of the missile impacts in the air bases are deemed by the military as ‘ineffective’, meaning that no harm was caused to the continuous operations of the air force.”
A number of videos on social media Tuesday night, during the attack, show impact explosions, infrastructure damage, and huge craters (for example, this and this and this and this and this).
Military Watch Magazine says: Reports have indicated that the bulk of Nevatim Air Base’s F-35s – over 20 fighters – were destroyed in the attack, with the stealth fighters representing one of the most high value targets in Israel.
F-35s play a central role in Israeli plans for potential attacks on Iran, with their stealth capabilities and advanced avionics, including electronic warfare systems and other air defense suppression features, making them optimal assets for such operations.
Forbes, however, stated that these “reports” are from Iranian state media, and is an example of “spread[ing] misinformation and propaganda without supporting evidence.”
Ha’aretz points out: According to images taken by Planet Labs, one missile hit an aircraft hangar. Most photos of the damage were banned from publication.
Israel heavily censors information on its military, so the truth may never come out.
On April 13, Iran launched several hundred of its older missiles toward Israel, most of which were intercepted. The Iranian mission to the UN declared, “Should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran’s response will be considerably more severe,” and said Iran now “deemed the matter concluded”.
On July 31, Israel assassinated Hamas political leader – the Palestinians’ head ceasefire negotiator – while he was an official guest on sovereign soil in Iran.
In late September, Israel carried out attacks in Lebanon, killing over 700 in just a few days, including Hezbollah’s top leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
Iran vowed to respond, and on Tuesday night, it did. Following its missile attack on Israel, Iran indicated that its retaliation was complete and the chapter could be closed (unless Israel again did something provocative).
Various agencies report:
US President Joe Biden is counseling Israel to take a proportional response to this week’s barrage of Iranian ballistic missiles, voicing opposition to a potential strike on Iran’s nuclear sites in the hopes of preventing the conflict that has erupted in the region from widening further.
“No one’s saying don’t respond,” one senior administration official said.
Kamala Harris’ statement Tuesday: “Iran launched 200 ballistic missiles at Israel in a reckless and brazen attack. I condemn this attack unequivocally. Iran is a destabilizing, dangerous force in the Middle East, and today’s attack on Israel only further demonstrates that fact.”
After talking about the Iranian attack as a brazen and unacceptable escalation, State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller was asked by the press if he considered anything Israel has done in the past three weeks escalatory. Miller ridiculously refused to acknowledge any escalatory behavior on Israel’s part, saying instead that Israel had merely “done things to expand the conflict” in order to fight terrorism.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday that the US would work with Israel to ensure Iran faces “severe consequences” for launching a missile attack on Israel.
THAT IS TO SAY: Harris does not consider Israel’s multiple unprovoked attacks to be destabilizing or dangerous; Miller could not bring himself to admit that Israel had done anything provocative; Sullivan announced that the US was collaborating with Israel to bring another attack from Iran.
Sina Toossi of the Center for International Policy offers this commentary: “After a string of assassinations and other Israeli escalations in recent weeks, Iran is trying to create a new deterrence equilibrium. They are saying that we can still hit you, and we can hit you hard. Iran is actually trying to ‘escalate to de-escalate’ here.”
Several Israeli politicians openly call for a large-scale assault on Iran
Middle East Eye reports:
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said: “Israel has now its greatest opportunity in 50 years, to change the face of the Middle East. We must act now to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, its central energy facilities, and to fatally cripple this terrorist regime.”
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said: “What we did to Lebanon must also be done to Iran… no political arrangements, no diplomacy – crush, crush, crush.”
Parliament member Avigdor Lieberman said: “Bomb all the oil, gas and nuclear facilities, and destroy the refineries and dams.”
NOTE: According to the Nuclear Threat Initiative: Although Israel has possessed nuclear weapons since the 1960s, it maintains a policy of nuclear opacity, never officially confirming the existence of its nuclear program. Accordingly, Israel has never signed the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Peace is within reach – if Israel will be a partner
From the Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi:
The Arab world calls on the international community to bring Israel to the table, where a peace initiative is waiting for him.
US finally steps up to evacuate Americans from Lebanon
BACKGROUND: The US State Department faced harsh criticism after announcing Sunday that it would not be assisting Americans who wanted to leave Lebanon, as Israel (backed by the US) has increased its attacks on southern Lebanon.
National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby said, “Right now, the State Department does not feel a need for [evacuation]. There are still commercial operations, commercial air traffic that is getting out of Beirut and are still available to those Americans that want to leave…if you’re in Lebanon and you want to go, go now while these options are available to you.”
Apparently, the agency has had second thoughts.
CNN reports:
The US organized a charter flight for Americans to depart Lebanon on Wednesday and plans to offer future flights based on demand, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said.
There were just over 100 people, including Americans and family members of American citizens, on the flight today, he said. The flight flew from Beirut to Istanbul.
Around 7,000 people have registered with the State Department to get more information about US-supported ways to depart Lebanon.
Malaysian PM calls out Netanyahu’s genocidal self-preservation strategy
Anadolu Agency reports:
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim criticized Israeli politicians Wednesday, saying they are sacrificing innocent lives to keep themselves in power.
In a statement on X, Anwar said Israel’s continued aggression and attacks on Lebanon, Syria and Yemen are deliberate attempts to divert the global community’s focus from its brutal atrocities and acts of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
“This escalation is plainly aimed at keeping Israel’s current political leaders in power and out of prison, sacrificing innocent lives at the altar of one man’s political career,” he added, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
He called on all parties in the Middle East to urgently de-escalate tensions which are destabilizing the region.
Israeli court rules that body of Walid Daqqa can be held as bargaining chip in hostage negotiations
The New Arab reports:
Israel’s highest court on Monday ruled authorities have the right to indefinitely hold the body of Palestinian novelist Walid Daqqa, rejecting a petition filed by his family to secure the return of his remains for a dignified burial.
Daqqa, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, died from cancer at age 62 while still in custody in April.
He had spent 38 years in detention for the kidnapping and murder of an Israeli soldier in 1984, with Israel accusing him of being a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
During his time in prison, Daqqa authored several highly regarded works of Arabic literature, including the 2018 children’s fable The Tale of the Secrets of the Oil.
Following his cancer diagnosis, there were widespread calls for him to be released early, with only two years left on his sentence. However, Israel refused.
Additionally, Amnesty International visited him a few weeks before his death and reported that he had been subject to torture while in an already weakened state.
Palestinian journalist released by Israel
Middle East Monitor reports:
The Israeli authorities released journalist Asmaa Harish Tuesday after holding her for six months in administrative detention in Damon Prison, the Palestinian Information Centre has reported.
She was detained in April of this year, and has been since subjected to ill-treatment and serious human rights violations.
READ: Welcome to Hell: the Israeli prison system as a network of torture camps
Israel continues to hold 96 Palestinian women in its prison, including 27 administrative detainees, not including prisoners from Gaza.
The release of Harish means that Israel is now holding six women journalists in its prisons.
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