ISRAEL NOT ONLY BANNED THE U.N SECURITY COUNCIL LEADER ISRAEL HATER ANTONIO GUTERRES. FROM ISRAEL.BUT NOW ISRAEL BANS THE UNRWA WHO HUNDREDS OF WORKERS WERE HAMAS TERRORISTS DISQUISED AS WORKERS.

JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER. 1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)

 ISRAEL NOT ONLY BANNED THE U.N SECURITY COUNCIL LEADER ISRAEL HATER ANTONIO GUTERRES. FROM ISRAEL.BUT NOW ISRAEL BANS THE UNRWA WHO HUNDREDS OF WORKERS WERE HAMAS TERRORISTS DISQUISED AS WORKERS.

WEEK OF DANIEL 9:27 WE KNOW ITS 7 YRS

The King of Jerusalem[1] was the supreme ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Crusader state founded by Christian princes in 1099 when the First Crusade took the city.Godfrey of Bouillon, the first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, himself refused the title of king, and instead chose the title "Defender of the Holy Sepulchre". Thus, the title of king was only introduced for his successor, King Baldwin I in 1100. The city of Jerusalem was lost in 1187, but the Kingdom of Jerusalem survived (also known as the "Second Kingdom of Jerusalem"), moving its capital to Acre in 1191. The city of Jerusalem was re-captured in the Sixth Crusade, during 1229–39 and 1241–44. The Kingdom of Jerusalem was finally dissolved with the fall of Acre and the end of the Crusades in the Holy Land in 1291.After the Crusader States ceased to exist, the title of King of Jerusalem was claimed by a number of European noble houses descended from the kings of Cyprus or the kings of Naples. The (purely ceremonial) title of King of Jerusalem is currently used by Felipe VI of Spain. It was claimed by Otto von Habsburg as Habsburg pretender, and by the kings of Italy until 1946.

Heres the scripture 1 week = 7 yrs Genesis 29:27-29
27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week:(7 YEARS) and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.

JEREMIAH 6:14
14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
JEREMIAH 8:11
11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

 1 THESSALONIANS 5:3
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
 
ISAIAH 33:8
8  The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant,(7 YR TREATY) he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.(THE WORLD LEADER-WAR MONGER CALLS HIMSELF GOD)

JERUSALEM DIVIDED
GENESIS 25:20-26
20  And Isaac was forty years old (A BIBLE GENERATION NUMBER=1967 + 40=2007+) when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.
21  And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
22  And the children (2 NATIONS IN HER-ISRAEL-ARABS) struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went
toenquire of the LORD.
23  And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels;(ISRAEL AND THE ARABS) and the one people shall be stronger than the other people;(ISRAEL STRONGER THAN ARABS) and the elder shall serve the younger.(LITERALLY ISRAEL THE YOUNGER RULES (ISSAC)(JACOB-LATER NAME CHANGED TO ISRAEL) OVER THE OLDER ARABS (ISHMAEL)(ESAU)
24  And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
25  And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.(THE OLDER AN ARAB)
26  And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob:(THE YOUNGER-ISRAELI) and Isaac was threescore (60) years old when she bare them.(1967 + 60=2027)(COULD BE THE LAST GENERATION WHEN JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED AMOUNG THE 2 TWINS)(THE 2 TWINS WANT JERUSALEM-THE DIVISION OF JERUSALEM TODAY)(AND WHOS IN CONTROL OF JERUSALEM TODAY-THE YOUNGER ISSAC-JACOB-ISRAEL)(AND WHO WANTS JERUSALEM DIVIDED-THE OLDER,ESAU-ISHMAEL (THE ARABS)

ISAIAH 28:14-19 (THIS IS THE 7 YR TREATY COVENANT OF DANIEL 9:27)
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.

DANIEL 8:23-25
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king (EU DICTATOR) of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences,(FROM THE OCCULT) shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power:(SATANS POWER) and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;(JESUS) but he shall be broken without hand.DANIEL 11:36-40
36 And the king shall do according to his will;(EU PRESIDENT) and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,(THIS EU DICTATOR IS A EUROPEAN JEW) nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:(HES A MILITARY GINIUS) and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds (CONTROL HEZBOLLAH,AL-QUAIDA MURDERERS ETC) with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many,(HIS ARMY LEADERS) and shall divide the land for gain.
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south(EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR PROTECTING ISRAELS SECURITY) and the king of the north(RUSSIA) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.

ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)

MATTHEW 24:37-42 (THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-SURE NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)(50% OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE)
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
42 Watch therefore:(FOR THE LAST DAYS SIGNS HAPPENING) for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

DR SAMUEL DOCTORIANS VISION - SECOND ANGEL: MIDDLE EAST
Then I saw that the second angel had a sickle in his hand, such as is used in harvesting.The second angel said: "Harvest time has come in Israel and the countries all the way to Iran."I saw those countries in a few split seconds."All of Turkey and those [inaudible] countries that have refused me and refused my message of love shall hate each other and kill one another."I saw the angel raise the sickle and come down on all the Middle East countries. I saw Iran, Persia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, all of Georgia - Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, all of Asia Minor - full of blood. I saw blood all over these countries. And I saw fire; Nuclear weapons used in many of those countries. Smoke rising from everywhere. Sudden destruction – men destroying one another. I heard these words:"Israel, Oh Israel, the great judgment has come." The angel said, "The chosen, the church, the remnant, shall be purified. The Spirit of God shall prepare the children of God."I saw fires rising to heaven.The angel said: "This is the final judgment. My church shall be purified, protected and ready for the final day. Men will die from thirst. Water shall be scarce all over the Middle East. Rivers shall dry up, and men will fight for water in those countries."The angel showed me that the United Nations shall be broken in pieces because of the crisis in the Middle East. There shall be no more United Nations. The angel with the sickle shall reap the harvest.

DANIEL CHAPTER 9:24-27 EXPLAINED.
24 Seventy weeks (70X7=490 YEARS) are determined upon thy people (ISRAEL) and upon thy holy city,(JERUSALEM) to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.(JESUS ANNOINTED WITH HOLY OIL AS KING OF JERUSALEM FOREVER).
25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, (7X7=49 YEARS) and threescore and two weeks:(62X7=434 YEARS) the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.(490-49-434=7 YR PERIOD WERE GOD DEALS WITH ISRAEL AND JERUSALEM (NOT THE CHURCH-THE TRUE CHURCH IS IS IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS FOR THAT LAST 7 YEAR PERIOD.)(DANIEL 9:26-27 IS IN THE FUTURE WHEN GOD DEALS ON EARTH WITH ISRAEL AND JERUSALEM FOR THAT FINAL 7 TEAR PERIOD. WHEN ALL OF ISRAEL WILL BE SAVED BY MESSIAH JESUS.)(AT THE END OF IT)
26 And after threescore and two weeks (69X7=483 YEARS)(ONE 7 YEAR PERIOD UNTIL PROPHECY IS FULFILLED) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince (ROMANS) that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(2ND TEMPLE AND JERUSALEM) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(NOW THE FINAL ISRAEL-JERUSALEM COUNTDOWN FOR MESSIAH JESUS RETURN THE LAST 7 YEARS)
27 And he (HE WHO? HE HERE IS THE REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE LEADER THAT MAKES THE FINAL 7 YR CONTRACT WITH ISRAEL AND MANY MUSLIM COUNTRIES FOR A 7 YR PERIOD, AND THE EU WILL GUARENTEE ISRAELS SECURITY FOR THIS LAST PERIOD) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: (7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week (3 1/2 YEARS IN) he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, (THIS FALSE MESSIAH OR ROMAN LEADER STOPS THE ANIMAL SACRIFICES IN THE 3RD TEMPLE AT THE MIDPOINT OF THE 7 YR DEAL. A JEW MURDERS HIM WITH A SWORD WOUND AND HE HAS A FALSE RESSURECTION-SATAN INCARNATES IN HIS BODY. AND BRINGS HIM BACK TO LIFE.AND HE THEN SITS IN THE 3RD TEMPLE CALLING HIMSELF GOD AS THE WORLD SAYS HES JESUS REINCARNATED. AND BY THIS FALSE RESURRECTION GOD SENDS THIS STRONG DELUTION ON THE EARTH THAT ALL THE LOST WILL WORSHIP THIS ROMAN LEADER AS GOD AND ACCEPT HIS NAME, NUMBER OR NUMBER OF HIS NAME IN THEIR MICROCHIP IMPLANT. THAT THEY MIGHT BE DOOMED, DAMNED TO THE LAKE OF FIRE FOREVER. WHO WORSHIPS THIS ROMAN LEADER AS GOD.) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.(WARS NON STOP DURING THE LAST 3 1/2 YEARS OF THE 7 YEAR PERIOD. HAMAS DEATH CULT HOSTAGE RELEASE.

ISRAEL NOT ONLY BANNED THE U.N SECURITY COUNCIL LEADER ISRAEL HATER ANTONIO GUTERRES. FROM ISRAEL.BUT NOW ISRAEL BANS THE UNRWA WHO HUNDREDS OF WORKERS WERE HAMAS TERRORISTS DISQUISED AS WORKERS.

'If UNRWA goes away, children won't have access to food' US urges Israel to rethink anti-UNRWA laws, warning millions at risk of ‘catastrophe’US official blasts ‘disingenuous’ PM for saying Israel ready to work with int’l community on Gaza aid after approving laws that will crimp UN agency without an alternative in place-By Jacob Magid-Today, 6:24 am-OCT 29,24

The US blasted legislation passed by the Knesset on Monday that targets the UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees, arguing that it risks “catastrophe” for millions of Palestinians and urging Jerusalem to hold off on implementing the laws.The two bills overwhelmingly passed through final votes ban UNRWA from operating in Israeli territory and bar Israeli authorities from any contact with the agency. The legislation will shutter UNRWA’s operations in East Jerusalem where it provides education, health and civil services to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. It will also severely curtail UNRWA activities in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank where the agency relies on coordination with Israel to provide humanitarian aid and other services.Israel has long had a combative relationship with UNRWA, which it argues has perpetuated the Palestinian refugee crisis by allowing the status to be passed down through generations. Frustration with UNRWA in Jerusalem has picked up over the past decade as Israel has found the Gaza-ruling Hamas terror group embedded within the agency’s infrastructure.That anger has peaked since Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, in which a number of UNRWA staffers were found to have participated. Israel has gone on to claim that 10% of the UN agency’s staff have ties to Hamas — a charge the agency has denied.It was against this backdrop that the two bills managed to swiftly make their way through the Knesset, with sponsorship from both coalition and opposition lawmakers.Related: UNRWA confirms terrorist killed by IDF who led Re’im shelter massacre was a staffer-The legislation’s passage sparked immediate alarm in the international community, which has called for major reforms within UNRWA while also expressing concerns that forcing its closure in the middle of the Gaza war without a viable alternative would shatter the already dire humanitarian situation in the Strip, where it plays a critical role in providing aid.In an October 13 letter to Israel warning that continued US security assistance was at risk if Jerusalem didn’t take major steps to alleviate the Gaza humanitarian crisis, top Biden administration officials raised the then-still-pending anti-UNRWA legislation and urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to use his authorities to ensure that it was not implemented.The letter did not include a call to scrap the legislation in the specific steps the administration was asking Israel to take to ensure continued US security assistance. However, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said earlier Monday that the Knesset’s passage of the bill “could have implications under US law.”The US is legally barred from transferring offensive weapons to countries that block the delivery of humanitarian assistance, and Miller suggested during a press briefing that barring the main agency responsible for supplying aid from doing its job could lead to curbs on US military support to Israel.Miller said UNRWA plays “an irreplaceable role right now in Gaza where they’re on the front lines of getting humanitarian assistance to the people they need it. There’s nobody that can replace them right now in the middle of the crisis.”“If UNRWA goes away, you will see civilians — including children, including babies — not be able to get access to food and water and medicine that they need to live. We find that unacceptable,” he added.“We continue to urge the government of Israel to pause the implementation of this legislation. We urge them not to pass it at all, and we will consider next steps based on what happens in the days ahead,” Miller said hours before the Knesset approved the bill.A reporter pointed out that the Biden administration itself suspended its funding to UNRWA following the revelations against UNRWA and that Congress passed legislation barring the resumption of such funding until at least March of next year.Miller said the administration thinks this ban should be lifted, arguing that UNRWA is engaged in important reforms.He added that UNRWA has launched investigations of its own accord into the Israeli allegations, but that Israel has yet to provide the agency with the evidence necessary to properly probe the matter, and the State Department spokesperson urged Israel to do so.“In a number of important ways, the relationship between Israel and the United Nations is not one that is productive,” Miller said, adding that the US has urged Israel to work more cooperatively with the UN.For its part, Jerusalem has long accused the UN of institutional bias against Israel and points to the overwhelmingly disproportionate attention and criticism that the Jewish state receives at the international body.After the legislation was passed later on Monday, the State Department issued a statement saying the US was deeply troubled by the move, as it could force the UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees to discontinue all of its operations in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.“Implementing the legislation risks catastrophe for the more than 3 million Palestinians who rely on UNRWA for essential services, including health care, and primary and secondary education,” the State Department said. “We urge the government of Israel to pause and further consider implementation of this legislation to ensure UNRWA can effectively carry out its mission and facilitate humanitarian assistance.”“UNRWA has also long been an organization in need of reform. We support steps to strengthen UNRWA impartiality and neutrality, including to respond to allegations of ties to terrorism,” the US State Department added.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised the issue with Netanyahu during a one-on-one meeting that the two held in Jerusalem last week, according to an Axios report.Netanyahu falsely told Blinken that opposition lawmakers were the ones responsible for advancing the legislation and that the secretary should raise the issue with its leader Yair Lapid, a US official told Axios.While Lapid’s party voted in favor of the legislation, the bills were brought to a final vote earlier today by Netanyahu’s coalition, not the opposition.An Israeli official told The Times of Israel on Monday that the Israeli security establishment and professional staff cautioned the political echelon against passing the legislation that massively hampers UNRWA’s capacity to operate in Gaza in the middle of a war without a viable replacement in place.While some Israeli political leaders recognized the humanitarian risk and the international backlash that would result from the law passed by the Knesset, “the political cost of opposing the legislation became too significant to endure,” the official said, noting that the IDF itself has spent months building a campaign that ties UNRWA to Hamas.In an effort to address the mounting international alarm, Netanyahu’s office issued an English statement asserting that Israel is prepared to work with international partners to ensure that humanitarian aid can still reach Gazan civilians in the 90 days before the law is implemented.“UNRWA workers involved in terrorist activities against Israel must be held accountable. Since avoiding a humanitarian crisis is also essential, sustained humanitarian aid must remain available in Gaza now and in the future,” the statement aid.“In the 90 days before this legislation takes effect – and after – we stand ready to work with our international partners to ensure Israel continues to facilitate humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not threaten Israel’s security.”But a US official scoffed at the statement, telling The Times of Israel that passing legislation against UNRWA without an alternative in place to replace the agency “and then turning around and saying that you want to ensure that aid can continue reaching civilians… It’s disingenuous and reckless.”

PM: 'Those looking to succeed him will be more Sinwar than Sinwar' In warning, Qatar and Egypt tell US hostage talks complicated by killing of Sinwar-Washington frames Hamas leader’s death as opportunity for breakthrough since he was main ceasefire obstacle, but Arab mediators say there’s no central decision maker with him gone-By Jacob Magid-Today, 2:53 pm-OCT 29,24

Qatari and Egyptian mediators have warned the US over the past week that Israel’s killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar complicates efforts to broker a ceasefire and hostage release agreement between Israel and the terror group, two US officials and one Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel.The Biden administration has sought to frame the IDF’s October 16 killing of Sinwar as an opportunity for a breakthrough in the hostage negotiations, arguing that the Hamas leader was the main obstacle to a deal.But Qatar and Egypt argued that Sinwar’s death creates a leadership vacuum in Hamas that the terror group will have a hard time filling, the three officials said, noting that the Arab mediators’ concerns were passed along to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his visit to the region last week.Qatari and Egyptian mediators noted that Sinwar had managed to maintain the allegiance of all factions in Gaza, including terror groups like Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which is holding some of the remaining 101 hostages, the officials said.Hamas is now run by a council of several senior members who are expected to appoint a leader in the near future, but the Arab mediators warned the US that Sinwar’s successor likely won’t be as successful in maintaining a centralized authority in Gaza, raising logistical obstacles to implementing a hostage deal, the officials said.The US has responded to the concern from Arab mediators by arguing that talks had been at a standstill for over two months because of Sinwar, and his removal from the scene couldn’t possibly make things worse, said one of the US officials.Qatar and Egypt have been less convinced by this argument, maintaining that the US has downplayed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s culpability for the impasse and claiming that a deal would have been possible over the summer had the premier not added new conditions demanding that Israel maintain a military presence in the Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors, the Arab diplomat said.Hamas in early July had withdrawn its key demand for an upfront Israeli commitment to permanently end the war, which Egypt and Qatar believed should have been enough to secure a deal before Netanyahu updated Israel’s proposal that Hamas went on to reject.The Arab diplomat said that the Biden administration is gradually understanding the logistical complications posed by Sinwar’s departure.State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said during a Monday briefing that the US is still waiting to see whether Hamas is prepared to credibly engage in hostage negotiations.“At some point, they will go through a process to select a new leader, and I think the results over the next few weeks will determine whether there has been a change in their posture,” he said.Miller noted that Israel has achieved a number of its war aims, namely the significant degradation of Hamas’s military capabilities and the killing of its top leaders, appearing to express hope that Jerusalem would be more willing to agree to a deal to end the war.But Netanyahu indicated Monday that he was still not prepared to accept a permanent ceasefire in exchange for the hostages.“Hamas is making demands that we can’t agree to [such as] ending the war,” he said in recorded comments from a Likud faction meeting that were quickly leaked to the press.Netanyahu offered his support for a temporary ceasefire, while claiming that an Egyptian proposal published in the media for such a deal did not actually exist. The basis for Netanyahu’s assertion was unclear, given that it was announced by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi himself in a press conference.Regardless, he injected further pessimism into the discussion, telling Likud faction members, “It’s not clear if there will be any new opportunities due to the killing of Sinwar. At the moment, all those who want to succeed Sinwar will be more Sinwar than Sinwar.”An Israeli official involved in the hostage negotiations expressed frustration with Netanyahu’s comments, saying the premier was well aware that they would be leaked to the press and provide “another excuse” for Sinwar’s successor to take a more combative approach to negotiations.Moreover, Netanyahu has refrained from broadening the mandate of Israel’s hostage negotiating team, which the Israeli official said would have increased the chances for a deal.The premier has preferred a more hardline approach, providing his negotiating team with very limited flexibility in the talks, the Israeli official lamented.

Germany recalls ambassador from Iran, protesting execution of Iranian-German prisoner-Jamshid Sharmahd, a German citizen and US resident, put to death on charges related to a 2008 bombing; Germany calls his trial a ‘sham’ and his execution ‘a murder’By AP and ToI Staff Today, 2:41 pm-OCT 29,24

The German government protested to Iran on Tuesday over the execution of Iranian-German prisoner Jamshid Sharmahd and recalled its ambassador to Berlin for consultations.Germany’s Foreign Ministry wrote on the social network X that Iran’s charge d’affaires in Berlin was summoned to hear “our sharp protest” against Tehran’s action and added that it reserves the right to take “further measures.”At the same time, German Ambassador Markus Potzel “protested in the strongest terms against the murder of Jamshid Sharmahd” to the Iranian foreign minister, it said. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock then recalled him to Berlin for consultations.Sharmahd, 69, lived in the US and was kidnapped in Dubai in 2020 by Iranian security forces.He was put to death in Iran on Monday on terrorism charges, the country’s judiciary said. That followed a 2023 trial that Germany, the US and international rights groups dismissed as a sham.He was one of several Iranian dissidents abroad in recent years either tricked or kidnapped back to Iran as Tehran began lashing out after the collapse of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers including Germany.Tehran accused Sharmahd, who lived in Glendora, California, of planning a 2008 attack on a mosque that killed 14 people — including five women and a child — and wounded over 200 others, as well as plotting other assaults through the little-known Kingdom Assembly of Iran and its Tondar militant wing.In the United States, Sharmahd helped develop a website for an exiled Iranian opposition group and also hosted radio broadcasts.Iran also accused Sharmahd of “disclosing classified information” on missile sites of its paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps during a television program in 2017.Sharmahd had been in Dubai in 2020, trying to travel to India for a business deal involving his software company. He hoped to get a connecting flight despite the coronavirus pandemic disrupting global travel.Sharmahd’s family received their last message from him on July 28, 2020. It’s unclear how the abduction happened. But tracking data showed that Sharmahd’s mobile phone traveled south from Dubai to the city of Al Ain on July 29, crossing the border into Oman. On July 30, tracking data showed the mobile phone traveled to the Omani port city of Sohar, where the signal stopped.Two days later, Iran announced it had captured Sharmahd in a “complex operation.” The Intelligence Ministry published a photograph of him blindfolded. He was put on trial in Iran, convicted of “corruption on earth” and sentenced to death.His family disputed the allegations and worked for years to see him freed.According to the human rights group Amnesty International, he had been subjected to “enforced disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment” while in prison.Germany expelled two Iranian diplomats in 2023 over Sharmahd’s death sentence.

Gallant: 'Temporary appointment. Not for long' Hezbollah names deputy leader Naim Qassem as secretary-general, successor to Nasrallah-Qassem, deputy secretary since 1991, has served as acting leader since Israel killed Nasrallah last month; Israel says his tenure ‘may be the shortest in the history’ of Hezbollah-By Reuters and ToI Staff Today, 2:27 pm-OCT 29,24

Hezbollah announced on Monday that deputy head Naim Qassem will serve as its secretary-general, succeeding slain chief Hassan Nasrallah as the leader of the Iran-backed Lebanese terror group.A longtime deputy to Nasrallah, Qassem has served as the terror group’s acting leader since Israel killed Nasrallah in a strike in Beirut last month.The presumed successor to Nasrallah, Hashem Safieddine, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut earlier this month before he was officially named secretary-general. He was presumed dead after a series of strikes targeted a Hezbollah compound in southern Beirut in early October, and his death was officially announced last week.Qassem, Hezbollah’s new leader, was born in 1953 in southern Lebanon. He served as a Shiite cleric and educator until the late 1970s, when he joined the Amal terror group and political party during the Lebanese civil war.When a number of Amal members split from the party to found Hezbollah in 1982, Qassem followed and was appointed deputy leader in 1991 under founding leader Abbas al-Musawi, who was killed by an Israeli helicopter attack the following year.Qassem remained in his role when Nasrallah became leader in 1992, and served as his deputy until Nasrallah’s death.Qassem has long been one of Hezbollah’s leading spokesmen, but he is considered by many in Lebanon to lack the charisma and gravitas of Nasrallah.Since Nasrallah’s killing, Qassem has given three televised addresses, including one on September 30, days after Nasrallah was killed, where he appeared to be sweating profusely while reading prepared remarks.“Despite the losses of its commanders, the attacks against civilians throughout Lebanon, and great sacrifices, we will not budge from our position,” Qassem said in that speech from an undisclosed location in Beirut. “We will continue to support Gaza and to defend Lebanon.”According to a report by UAE-based Erem News, after the deaths of Nasrallah and Safieddine, Qassem fled Lebanon on an Iranian plane in early October and is currently residing in Tehran.‘The countdown has begun’Reacting to Qassem’s appointment, the Israeli government’s official Arabic account on X posted, “His tenure in this position may be the shortest in the history of this terrorist organization if he follows in the footsteps of his predecessors Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine.”“There is no solution in Lebanon except to dismantle this organization as a military force,” it wrote.“Temporary appointment. Not for long,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant posted on X alongside a picture of Qassem. “The countdown has begun.”Since October 8 of last year, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, firing over 12,600 missiles and drones into Israeli territory, according to IDF data.Some 60,000 Israeli residents were evacuated from northern towns on the Lebanon border shortly after Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, amid fears Hezbollah would carry out a similar attack.The attacks on northern Israel since October 2023 have resulted in the deaths of 32 civilians. In addition, 60 IDF soldiers and reservists have died in cross-border skirmishes and in the ensuing ground operation launched in southern Lebanon in late September.The IDF estimates that more than 2,000 Hezbollah operatives have been killed in the conflict. Around 100 members of other terror groups, along with hundreds of civilians, have also been reported killed in Lebanon.

IDF officer succumbs to wounds sustained fighting Hamas in northern Gaza-Soldier’s death brings Israel’s toll to 363; military pushes on with Jabalia raid, killing Hamas gunmen trying to plant bombs near troops-By Emanuel Fabian,Jacob Magid-and Agencies Today, 12:23 pm-OCT 29,24

An IDF officer who was wounded during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip earlier this month succumbed to his wounds, the military announced on Monday evening, bringing Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and military operations along the border with the Strip to 363.Maj. Guy Yaacov Nezri, 25, a company commander in the 401st Armored Brigade’s 52nd Battalion, from Atlit, was seriously wounded on October 19 during fighting in Jabalia.He was wounded in the same incident in which Staff Sgt. Ofir Berkovich and Sgt. Elishai Young were killed. An IDF probe found that the soldiers were hit by anti-tank fire.The announcement came as the IDF said that it hit over 150 terror targets in Gaza and Lebanon over the past day, including dozens of gunmen killed by security forces in both theaters of operations, and large amounts of weaponry destroyed.In Gaza, troops killed Hamas gunmen attempting to plant bombs near troops and eliminated several other cells who were a threat to the soldiers, the IDF said on Tuesday morning.Hamas-run authorities in Gaza said on Tuesday that an overnight Israeli airstrike killed more than 55 people in a residential building in the northern district of Beit Lahiya. Tolls provided by Hamas cannot be verified and do not differentiate between civilians and fighters.“More than 55 people have been martyred and dozens more wounded are under the rubble of a five-story residential building belonging to the Abu Nasr family that was hit by the Israeli occupation last night in Beit Lahiya,” agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.There was no immediate comment from the IDF on the strike. Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.Meanwhile, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Monday that humanitarian assistance was not reaching Palestinian civilians in Jabalia.The IDF has been operating in the northern Gaza neighborhood and several other surrounding towns in order to thwart what it says has been a resurgence of Hamas activity. The operations have involved mass evacuations of Palestinians and an initial two weeks during which aid was blocked from reaching the area.This led to international alarm that Israel was implementing the so-called General’s Plan to lay siege to northern Gaza. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to publicly clarify that this is not Israel’s policy. While the premier assured him that it was not, he declined to make a public statement, a US official told The Times of Israel.Miller noted the assurance received by Netanyahu, adding that the US is following the matter closely and has seen some improvement in the amount of aid reaching northern Gaza over the past two weeks.But Jabalia, in particular, continues to not receive aid, Miller said. “We don’t accept that… and we want to see that change.”The State Department spokesperson noted that Israel will have to address such issues if it wants to remain in compliance with US law regarding the receipt of US offensive weapons.The issue was raised in a letter that the US sent Israel on October 13, warning that it had 30 days to take a series of steps to improve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.“At this point, they’re not meeting all the conditions of the letter,” Miller said.One of the issues raised in the letter was then-pending Knesset legislation to bar the UN agency for Palestinian refugees and their descendants from operating in Israel, which was passed on Monday evening despite cautions from the US.Israel alleges that more than 10 percent of UNRWA’s staff in Gaza have ties to terrorist factions and that educational facilities under the organization’s auspices consistently incite hatred of Israel and glorify terror.In February, the IDF revealed the existence of a subterranean Hamas data center directly beneath UNRWA’s Gaza headquarters. The IDF has also repeatedly targeted Hamas command centers and gunmen hiding out in UNRWA schools.“UNRWA workers involved in terrorist activities against Israel must be held accountable,” Netanyahu said.The vote came as Hamas-run emergency services said IDF tanks thrust deeper into northern Gaza, trapping 100,000 civilians in Jabalia, Beit Lahiya, and Beit Hanoun without medical or food supplies. The number could not be independently verified.North Gaza’s three major hospitals, whose officials refused Israel’s orders to evacuate, were said to be hardly operating. At least two were damaged and had run out of medical, food and fuel stocks.Only a few families headed toward southern Gaza as the majority preferred to relocate temporarily in Gaza City, fearing they could otherwise never regain access to their homes.The war in Gaza erupted after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre, which saw some 3,000 terrorists burst across the border into Israel by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 251 hostages, mostly civilians, amid many acts of brutality and sexual assault.The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 42,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 17,000 combatants in battle as of August and another 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.Talks led by the US, Egypt, and Qatar to broker a ceasefire resumed this week after multiple abortive attempts. Egypt’s president proposed a two-day truce in exchange for some of the 97 hostages still held by Hamas for Palestinian security prisoners, followed by talks within 10 days on a permanent ceasefire.Israel has repeatedly said the war will go on until Hamas is eradicated while the Palestinian terror group has ruled out any end to fighting until IDF forces leave Gaza.

Orthodox Jew shot on way to Chicago synagogue; man charged with attempted murder-Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi also allegedly fired at police before being shot; local authorities, Jewish groups urge caution about possible motive; alderman seeks hate crime charge-By jacob gurvis Today, 8:49 am-OCT 29,24

JTA — Chicago Police have charged a man with attempted murder after he allegedly shot an Orthodox Jew walking to synagogue on Saturday morning.The victim, a 39-year-old man whose identity has not been released, was walking to Congregation KINS in Chicago’s West Rogers Park neighborhood when a man approached from behind and fired multiple shots, striking the victim’s shoulder.Police say the man, Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, then exchanged fire with law enforcement after police and paramedics arrived on the scene. Police shot Abdallahi, who was taken to a local hospital in critical condition. The victim was released from the hospital Saturday afternoon.Abdallahi, whose detention hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, was charged with 14 total felony counts: six counts of attempted first-degree murder, seven counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm toward a police officer/firefighter, and one count of aggravated battery with the discharge of a firearm.Speaking Monday in Pittsburgh, second gentleman Doug Emhoff cited the Chicago shooting in a list of recent antisemitic attacks.Local authorities and Jewish groups urged caution in drawing conclusions about the motivation for the shooting. But Debra Silverstein, the alderman for Chicago’s 50th Ward, said in an interview that she was disappointed by the lack of a hate crime charge.“I am very disappointed by this turn of events and strongly encourage the Cook County State’s Attorney Office to prosecute the offender to the full extent of the law,” Silverstein wrote in an email to her constituents after charges were filed. “The police have assured me that they are continuing to gather evidence, and additional charges — including hate crime charges — can still be added.”Authorities filed charges today against Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi for the shooting Saturday that targeted a Jewish member of our community as he walked to synagogue on Shabbat. The offender was charged with 14 felony counts, including 6 counts of attempted murder in the first… https://t.co/cuiLA9csRH pic.twitter.com/R21zry5sNV— Angela Van Der Pluym (@anjewla90) October 28, 2024-The incident comes at a time of high alert for Jewish communities nationwide. The shooting unfolded hours after the conclusion of Simchat Torah, the end of the Jewish High Holiday season and the anniversary, on the Hebrew calendar, of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The ensuing multi-front war has been accompanied by a spike in reported antisemitic incidents. It also came a day before the sixth anniversary of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, when 11 worshippers were killed in the deadliest antisemitic attack in US history.Security camera footage that was posted on social media appears to show part of the Chicago incident. Multiple gunshots can be heard, and a hybrid Israeli-American flag is visible outside the home that recorded the footage, which also included audio of the assailant shouting. Many who have heard the recording concluded that the man shouted, “Allahu akbar,” or “God is the greatest” in Arabic.“Given the circumstances, given the fact that here we have an Orthodox Jewish man, notably wearing a kippah, walking to synagogue on our Sabbath, I think my community and myself really were hoping to get hate crimes on this,” Silverstein said.Silverstein, who is herself Orthodox, said she could not share the victim’s identity without permission but that she had visited him after the shooting.It is not unusual for hate crime designations to be added to criminal charges after they are first filed.Other local Jewish leaders said they, too, thought hate crimes charges could follow.“Assuming the investigation is complete and that there is evidence to indicate that he was targeted because he was Jewish, then I have all confidence that law enforcement—whether it be the state’s or the feds — will prosecute this as a hate crime for sure, and we would expect nothing different,” Lonnie Nasatir, president of the Jewish United Fund of Chicago, told the Jewish News Syndicate.Silverstein said she convened a Zoom meeting on Sunday with Jewish clergy and communal leaders as well as Chicago Police leadership to discuss the shooting.“The police share our disgust at a Jewish man being the victim of violence over the Jewish holiday,” Silverstein wrote. “They are dedicated to committing the resources necessary to keep our community safe and they ask for the public’s help in providing any information or footage that could aid in the investigation.”Rabbi Leonard Matanky, who leads Congregation KINS, confirmed to JTA that the victim, whom Matanky knows personally, is a member of his synagogue and was headed there Saturday when he was attacked.“We live in very dangerous times, where a lone gunman can wreak havoc on a safe community and cause people to lose their sense of security,” Matanky told JTA.Matanky applauded local law enforcement for its response and encouraged the community not to speculate about the likelihood of a hate crime until the investigation is concluded.“I think the people who are proclaiming it a hate crime, I don’t know if they have information beyond what the victim has — and I’ve spoken to the victim directly — and I don’t know if they have more information than the police have,” Matanky said. “And it may be [a hate crime], but at this point that hasn’t been determined yet. I don’t see any advantage of speculating while the investigation is going, is moving forward, and I know it’s moving forward quickly.”Matanky said the victim is “a very fine family man” who is “well-liked and well-known.”With concern high about the incident and its implications, national Jewish security groups said they urged caution in drawing conclusions about what happened in West Rogers Park, the main center of Orthodox Jewish life within Chicago’s city limits.“Due to the complex and ongoing investigation, it is important that we allow law enforcement to do their work and avoid unverified rumors and misinformation until credible updates are provided by the authorities,” Michael Masters, CEO of the Secure Community Network, which operates a national “command center” out of Chicago, said before the charges were filed.Silverstein encouraged her Jewish constituents to “go about our business” in the face of concern.“Our neighborhood is always on high alert,” she said. “I have the assurance of the police and the superintendent that there is going to be heightened security around here, as far as the police presence. We can’t be afraid.”Matanky similarly urged the Jewish community to be careful — but not fearful.“My message is that we always have to remain vigilant, but we can’t let actions such as this cause us to cower in fear, nor to diminish our engagement with the world,” Matanky said. “There have always been dangers in this world, and every day we take actions understanding that those actions have risks. Fortunately, we live in a very safe community. But the world and the community has changed over the years. We need to be aware and always, always aware of our surroundings.”

Poll shows Israelis massively favor Trump over Harris in US election-Channel 12 survey finds 66% prefer Republican candidate; separate poll finds Netanyahu preferred to former PM Bennett as Likud rises amid war successes-By ToI Staff and Agencies Today, 8:47 am-OCT 29,24

Israelis massively favor Republican Donald Trump over Democrat Kamala Harris in the upcoming US presidential elections, according to a poll published Monday.When asked who they preferred as the next US president, 66 percent chose the former president, while only 17% said they wanted to see the US vice president win the election. A further 17% said they did not know.Among Israelis who vote for parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conservative coalition, the party found a whopping 93% support for Trump and only 1% for Harris.The  Channel 12 news poll noted that US President Joe Biden was briefly favored by the Israeli public last year, when he threw his full support behind Israel after the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre that sparked the ongoing fighting with Iran-backed terror groups in Gaza and Lebanon.However, that good feeling appears to have dissipated, as the US has sought to restrain Israel over the past year.Trump pushed a series of pro-Israel moves during his time in office, including moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights, and taking a tougher stance against Iran.A week before election day, tensions in the US are soaring in a race polls suggest is too close to call, fueled by fears that former president Trump could again refuse to recognize a defeat, as in 2020, and by his harsh rhetoric threatening migrants and political opponents.Netanyahu rising-Meanwhile, a separate poll also published by Channel 12 on Monday indicated a rise in the popularity of Netanyahu and his Likud party in light of recent war successes. The survey showed that the premier is now preferred over former prime minister Naftali Bennett.Despite the rise, the poll found that Netanyahu could not form a government with his current coalition.According to the poll, if an election were to be held today, Likud would win 26 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. Benny Gantz’s National Unity would get 22 seats, while Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid would get 13.Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu would get 13 and the ultra-Orthodox Shas would win 10, as would The Democrats — the unified left-wing Labor and Meretz under Yair Golan.The ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism got eight seats in the poll, as did far-right Itamar Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit, while the two Arab-majority parties Hadash-Ta’al and Ra’am each won five.That gave the current coalition 52 seats, with parties opposed to Netanyahu garnering 63. Hadash-Ta’al, which would not join a coalition with Jewish parties, had the other five.Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism, Gideon Sa’ar’s New Hope, and the Arab Balad parties all failed to cross the election threshold in the poll.The survey also asked respondents who they thought was most suited to be prime minister, although Israelis do not directly elect their leaders.Netanyahu was found to be favored 41-24% over Lapid, 39-27 over Gantz, and beat Bennett by 38% to 35%.The poll also found that if Bennett were to return to politics, his party would win 21 seats — largely at the expense of Gantz and Lapid, whose parties would drop to 13 and 10 seats, respectively. Likud would get 24 mandates in such a scenario.Zooming out of politics, the poll also found that Israelis were largely supportive of recent military strikes against Iran and the ongoing offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon.The survey, conducted by pollster Mano Geva and Midgam, questioned 508 Israelis and had a margin of error of 4.4%.

ToI in southern Lebanon-Hezbollah’s Radwan force planned to invade Israel from this village; now the IDF controls it-Much of Kafr Kila, a central Hezbollah hub on the border with Israel, is now destroyed, as a monthlong Israeli ground offensive in south Lebanon uproots terrorist infrastructure-By Diana Bletter-Today, 6:39 pm-OCT 29,24

KAFR KILA, southern Lebanon – Only an hour after a barrage of Hezbollah rockets was fired into northern Israel on Monday morning, The Times of Israel and other journalists rode in a convoy of armored personnel carriers through Metula — now a ghost town on Israel’s northern border — directly into the southern Lebanon war zone.Wearing helmets and flak jackets, the press corps entered Kafr Kila, a border village that until recently was a central hub for Hezbollah, one of the world’s largest and wealthiest terrorist groups, and was set to be a launchpad for an invasion of Israel.The Hezbollah plan, “Conquest of the Galilee,” envisioned that the Radwan Forces would “storm the border from here, invade and capture Metula,” and set about killing and kidnapping residents as Hamas did in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, according to Col. Avraham Marciano, the commander of the 769th “Hiram” Brigade, a regional unit normally responsible for the eastern portion of the border with Lebanon.In late September, IDF troops instructed Kafr Kila’s 3,000 residents to leave the area. Then, after weeks of intense fighting, troops cleared the village of most of the Hezbollah terrorists.Marciano, who was serving as our guide, pointed to a mound of debris 50 yards (50 meters) from where we stood. Here, he said, troops uncovered an underground shaft that ran for several hundred yards, almost reaching the border wall with Israel.“Several battalions of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan unit were planning to go into the shaft from the village’s main street and get equipment they had stored there,” Marciano said. The IDF has found thousands of weapons, launchers, and tactical equipment belonging to the fighters of Hezbollah’s elite force in the village.The terrorists would then emerge from the shaft opening only a few minutes’ walk from the border wall. Just on the other side is a residential neighborhood of Metula.“They would have entered and killed and done all the unbearable things that were done on October 7 in the south,” he said.A limited ground incursion-Hezbollah began striking northern Israel a day after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, invasion, when 3,000 Hamas-led terrorists slaughtered some 1,200 people in a rampage through southern Israel and kidnapped 251 to Gaza.After suffering nearly a year of Hezbollah cross-border rocket and drone attacks that forced 60,000 residents of northern Israel from their homes, Israel dramatically stepped up its operations in September, with strikes against commanders in the field and senior leaders in Beirut, and attacks on the terror group’s weaponry that crippled much of its capabilities.While the IDF, including the 769th Brigade, had been operating close to the northern border since last October 8, it began an overt ground incursion only at the end of September this year — a limited operation targeting Hezbollah gunmen and infrastructure relatively close to the border.The battles in southern Lebanon have been fierce and deadly, especially in the past week. Israel has been reeling from the loss of 17 soldiers — all but one of them reservists. Over the year of conflict, 60 IDF soldiers have died in the cross-border skirmishes and the ground operation.The IDF estimates that more than 2,000 Hezbollah operatives have been killed in the conflict. Around 100 members of other terror groups, along with hundreds of civilians, have also been reported killed in Lebanon.Driving into enemy territory-Our convoy of journalists entered Lebanon near Fatima Gate, once known as the Good Fence Crossing, which was used from 1982 to 2000 during Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon.Oskar Lawther, a driver of one of the APCs in the 769th Brigade, said that when he used to drive in a patrol car on the Israeli side of the border, he always wondered what it was like on this — the other — side.Our first stop, a strategic lookout onto Israel on the edge of Kafr Kila, could have been the perfect picturesque pause on a hike. “This is a historic vantage point… Radwan leaders used to come here and look down into Israel,” Marciano said as he stood with the journalists on the hilltop. “This is where Hezbollah operatives observed Israel and aimed at citizens’ houses.”From here, terrorists made a direct hit on a house in Kfar Yuval in January, killing Barak Ayalon, 45, a member of the community’s security team, and his mother, Miri Ayalon, 76.“In every house in this village were weapons, Hezbollah flags, and photos of Nasrallah and other Hezbollah leaders,” Marciano said, adding that everyone who lived here in Kafr Kila had ties to Hezbollah.“We better get moving quickly,” he said, glancing around cautiously. “An anti-tank missile landed where we are standing two days ago.”The craziness of the Middle East-The soldiers and press corps moved carefully up the hill, stepping around a rocket casing and other debris.Marciano gave a short briefing with a view of the village.“We had a checklist of what we needed to do, and we’ve accomplished about 65 percent of our goals,” Marciano said.All around the rocky hillside were evacuated houses — some completely destroyed, others still standing.“Hezbollah was here, and now we’re here,” Marciano said. “Our goal is to destroy all the Hezbollah infrastructure so they don’t return.”Although he claimed to be an optimist, he also said the army is dealing with the balagan, or craziness, of the Middle East.“I’m not a prophet,” he went on. “I can’t say that Hezbollah will never come back here. But I want to make the area free from Hezbollah so my children won’t have to fight.”He paused. “Maybe my grandchildren will have to fight,” he said, “but not my kids.”The day after-When asked what the army’s goals are in this war, Marciano replied that in 2006, Israel signed a ceasefire with Hezbollah after 34 days of fighting without a decisive victory.The war ended when Israel, Hezbollah, and the Lebanese government agreed to UN Resolution 1701, which required Hezbollah to disarm and withdraw north of the Litani River — terms that were never enforced.At the time, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an IDF airstrike in Beirut on September 27, boasted that Israel was  “weaker than a spider’s web.”Over the subsequent 18 years, Hezbollah established bases in villages throughout southern Lebanon, creeping closer and closer to the border. In December, the IDF said that Hezollah used “the infrastructure in the area for terror purposes, exploiting the civilian population and using it as a human shield for its operations.”“This is not 2006,” said reservist Efraim Feiglin, guarding the press corps. “This time, we will continue to victory.”It isn’t clear what exactly victory means or who will return to Kafr Kila and other villages once controlled by Hezbollah after the fighting ends.For now, however, Marciano is focused on completing one of the Israeli government’s stated war goals: “We will do everything we have to do so that people can return to their homes in the north. We’ll stay as long as it takes to do the job.”Jump scares-Parts of the Lebanese side of the border wall that we passed on our trip were covered with standard graffiti — scribbles in English with hearts and people’s names — along with propaganda-style drawings of Hezbollah leaders.Further on, the wall also bore evidence of Israeli troops’ presence, with words recently written in Hebrew that said, “You wanted it, you got it.”This meant, said driver Lawther, “that Hezbollah had wanted the war, and that is what they got.”IDF bulldozers moved slowly through the village, clearing wreckage. There were still booby-trapped buildings to be searched, terrorist cells to be dismantled, and hidden forces to contend with, Marciano said.Soldiers from the Golani Brigade, as well as from the paratroopers, were working together to clear the village of gunmen, he said, highlighting the cooperation between two units known for their long-standing rivalry.Marciano walked us past a gas station he said was once owned by Hezbollah, now destroyed, directly across from the border wall.In the distance, on the other side of the hill, there was a sudden, loud explosion from artillery shelling, making this reporter jump.“It’s good for your adrenaline,” a soldier said lightly. “It gets your heart pumping.”

'One of the earliest temples discovered in Judean Lowlands' 5,000-year-old site near Beit Shemesh offers clues to how cities developed in Israel-Ancient inhabitants could have been precursors to biblical Canaanites; temple building found to contain unique collection of intact miniature, ritual ceramic vessels-By Gavriel Fiske-Today, 6:34 pm-OCT 29,24

Archaeologists have unearthed a large settlement on the outskirts of Beit Shemesh dating from the early Bronze Age some 5,000 years ago, providing “a view of the beginning of the urbanization process in the Land of Israel,” the Israel Antiquities Authority said Tuesday.Exactly who inhabited the site is unknown, but it may have been inhabited by the ancestors of the biblical Canaanites, said archaeologist Ariel Shatil, a graduate student at the University of Haifa and one of the directors of the dig, speaking to The Times of Israel by phone.“It’s a very ancient period, and they didn’t leave much” in the way of written materials, Shatil said, adding that it’s possible that these were “among the people who developed into what we know as Canaanites, but we really don’t know.”The Canaanites, portrayed in the Hebrew Bible as local antagonists of the Israelites as they were conquering the Land of Israel, are usually considered by archaeologists and historians to have been a civilization and culture that coalesced around 2,000 BCE, about a millennium after the recently excavated settlement.The site, dubbed Hurvat Husham, “is exceptional not only because of its size, but because it reveals to us some of the first characteristics of the transition from village life to urban life,” the archaeologists said.The findings at the site include a large public building, likely a “cultic worship site,” which contained a room with a unique collection of intact clay vessels, the IAA said.Adjacent to and surrounding this building, the archaeologists found rows of large standing stones, which were set in place “even before this enclosed public building was erected,” the researchers said.“It seems that originally there was an open cultic activity area for the general public, which then transformed into ritual activity in an enclosed compound with more controlled access,” said Dr. Yitzhak Paz, Early Bronze Age expert at the IAA.“This development process on the site, along with other processes, attests to an increase in social complexity,” an indicator of “urbanization development in Israel during the Early Bronze Age,” Paz added.This period is “one of the most complex in Israel’s history,” the researchers said, a time of dramatic changes as population and social complexity were rapidly increasing — phenomena linked to increased urbanization and the development of more hierarchical power structures.Just a few generations later, there were already large walled cities in the area with palaces, public buildings and more developed economies, including at Tel Yarmouth, a site also located near modern Beit Shemesh.Hurvat Husham was clearly “on the way to becoming a city… we believe that [the population was] a little more than a thousand at best,” Shatil said.The temple building is important because “we know of almost no public buildings in Israel from this ancient period,” indicating that “this is probably one of the earliest temples ever discovered in the Judean Lowlands,” Shatil said.The building, because “the size of this structure that we uncovered, its broad walls, the benches inside it and other variables indicate that it is an important and exceptional structure with a public function – perhaps a temple,” the IAA said.The possible temple building contained  “about 40 vessels preserved intact. Among them were also many tiny vessels, whose size suggests they were not for domestic use, but rather had a mainly symbolic purpose,” the IAA said.These “miniatures are very small and not very functional for everyday use such as cooking or storage,” Shatil said. The ceramic vessels were left in “this specific room. It seems someone collected these vessels, arranged them nicely, and then left. We don’t know why… It’s very unusual,” he added.The room showed signs of burning and some of the vessels had fallen on top of each other, the press release noted. Additional examinations will be able to tell if these vessels held regular materials such as oil or wheat, or more exotic substances used during rituals at the site.Signs of ancient life-In Hurvat Husham, archaeologists also uncovered several kilns, among the earliest discovered in Israel, several large stone granaries, and areas with houses where the inhabitants lived.The larger circular granaries, which were “concentrated next to the temple,” indicated that “there was someone who takes resources from the people, who manages and distributes. That’s a phenomenon of social development, there is someone who was managing things… it’s something we did not expect to find,” Shatil said.The archaeologists discovered three ancient kilns used to fire pottery, but those were distributed around the settlement, each next to a house, indicating that making pottery was practiced by individuals and was not a centralized industry, Shatil said.Hurvat Husham was discovered in 2021 during explorations undertaken in advance of an expansion of industrial and business areas in western Beit Shemesh, and the IAA is scheduled to continue excavations at the site.The rare collection of intact pottery vessels discovered in the temple building is to be displayed to the public this week in Jerusalem, as part of the annual “Discoveries in the Archaeology of Jerusalem and its Surroundings Conference,” to be held on Wednesday and Thursday at the IAA’s Schottenstein National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel.

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Sally Rooney among 1,000 authors urging boycott of Israeli cultural institutions-Letter vows signatories won’t work with entities complicit in ‘overwhelming oppression’ of Palestinians; Howard Jacobson pans ‘staggering’ attempt to silence writers-By ToI Staff Today, 9:29 am-OCT 29,24

Irish author Sally Rooney is among some 1,000 authors and literary professionals who signed a pledge to boycott Israeli cultural institutions, the UK’s Guardian newspaper reported Monday.Authors Arundhati Roy and Rachel Kushner also signed the letter vowing to boycott Israeli cultural institutions that “are complicit or have remained silent observers of the overwhelming oppression of Palestinians.”According to the report, the signatories pledge not to work with Israeli publishers, festivals, literary agencies and publications that are “complicit in violating Palestinian rights,” including “whitewashing and justifying Israel’s occupation, apartheid, or genocide.”The campaign was organized by the Palestine Festival of Literature.Other leading authors panned the letter.Booker Prize-winning author Howard Jacobson said he had “scarce belief that one writer, that one person from the artistic community, should dream that he or she has a right to silence another. It is staggering,” the UK’s Times newspaper reported.Award-winning author Lionel Shriver charged that the letter aimed to “intimidate all authors into withdrawing their work for consideration at Israeli publishing houses and refusing to participate in Israeli festivals,” the Times said.Rooney is a long-time Israel critic who has refused to allow her Israeli publisher to translate her books into Hebrew.UK Lawyers for Israel, a legal advocacy group, posted to social media platform X that the letter “makes false allegations against Israel and commits its signatories to engage in a discriminatory and illegal boycott of Israeli cultural institutions.”In a missive to the Publishers Association, UKLFI said the letter is “plainly discriminatory against Israelis,” citing the UK Equality Act 2010 and other discriminatory legislation from around the world.“This boycott is plainly discriminatory against Israelis. The authors do not impose similar conditions on publishers, festivals, literary agencies, or publications of any other nationality,” the UKLFI wrote.The development came against the backdrop of the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, which began when the Palestinian terror group Hamas led a massive cross-border attack on Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 people as hostages to Gaza.Israel’s military response is aimed at destroying Hamas and saving the hostages.The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 42,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 17,000 combatants in battle as of August and another 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.

Elite police unit stopped scores of Oct. 7 terrorists from reaching deep into Israel-Heavily outnumbered, four Gideonim fighters engaged gunmen who planned to drive pickup trucks into central region; battle held up attackers until IDF arrived-By ToI Staff Today, 7:46 am-OCT 29,24

A small group of police officers from an elite counter-terrorism unit battled against Gaza terrorists at a key location during the October 7 attack of last year, preventing them from penetrating deep into central Israel, the commander and members of the unit said in a Sunday report.Two members of Unit 33, known as Gideonim, were seriously injured in battle at the Black Arrow war memorial near the Gaza border.In an interview conducted at the location, three members of the unit, including its commander, told Channel 12 how the events unfolded on that day, when Hamas led thousands of terrorists in a cross-border attack on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians.Due to security protocols, the officers could not be identified in the report or reveal their faces.The terror assault began with a 6:32 a.m. massive rocket barrage at the country, after which terrorists blasted gaps in the security boundary with the Gaza Strip. Driving through the breaches in vehicles, the gunmen roamed through southern Israel, overrunning military posts and communities where they massacred or kidnapped those that they found.The Unit 33 commander, who was identified in the report only by the Hebrew initial “Ayin,” said he was at home when his wife woke him to tell him there had been a rocket barrage from Gaza and something unusual was going on.Watching television updates, he said he saw a video of terrorists riding pickup trucks in the border town of Sderot, where they killed at least 38 people, 18 of them police officers from the local station.For Ayin, that was already what he termed “Stage C” of the four levels of penetration security forces had prepared for, in which “A” is a border fence breach, “B” is terrorists reaching nearby border communities, and “C” when they go beyond that into cities. “Stage D,” he explained, would mean terrorists reaching major Israeli cities, such as Jerusalem or Tel Aviv.“To me, it looked like somewhere between ‘C’ and ‘D’,” Ayin said.He immediately ordered all unit members to gather in the center of the country, prepare their gear, and then mount their armored vehicles.In a moment of grim prescience, Ayin described how he took a photo of the gathered members of the unit, having already sensed “that I won’t see them together.”Most of the unit then headed south, toward the chaotic areas where hundreds of terrorists were lying in ambush along the roads.Already an hour after they were scrambled, members of the unit made contact with terrorists on Route 232 and found themselves in a firefight, while also managing to help injured civilians to safety.A group of four unit members, Ayin among them, arrived at the Black Arrow memorial, about 900 meters from the Gaza border. Unbeknown to them, the gathering of terrorists that they happened upon had been planned for the purpose of pushing further into the country.Ayin described a convoy of some 30 pickup trucks and other vehicles carrying heavily armed terrorists arriving at the site.He quickly instructed the officers with him to stay hidden until backup could be brought in.However, the officers were already surrounded by terrorists, who opened fire on them, injuring two. The officers shot back, killing terrorists and pinning down others even as ever more gunmen arrived.As the officers tried to hold their position, taking fire from two sides, reinforcements from the army arrived and the Unit 33 members found themselves caught in the crossfire.Moving to safer cover, they were able to direct the army reinforcements to fire at the terrorists until eventually they were overcome by the Israeli forces.The action apparently prevented scores of terrorists from reaching far into the country, the Channel 12 report said.

South Africa files its ‘evidence’ of alleged Israeli genocide in Gaza at UN court-750-page document claiming ‘destruction of Palestinians’ is not made public, in accordance with International Court of Justice procedures; Israel has until July 2025 to respond-By Jeremy Sharon-28 October 2024, 9:53 pm

South Africa filed with the International Court of Justice its full submission, or Memorial, on Monday, alleging that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza during its ongoing military operation against terror group Hamas, and claiming that Israel has failed to abide by numerous clauses of the genocide convention and its international obligations.Although Pretoria has already filed several motions requesting interim measures against Israel with the ICJ — the UN’s top court, which adjudicates disputes between nations — it was obligated to file its comprehensive arguments for a final ruling.Israel rejects allegations of genocide in the war that began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas led a devastating cross-border assault, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.The South African Department of International Relations & Cooperation said that the 750-page document it filed, together with 4,000 pages of “exhibits and annexes,” provides “evidence” that Israel has violated the genocide convention by “promoting the destruction of Palestinians living in Gaza,” killing them, depriving them of access to humanitarian assistance, and “causing conditions of life which are aimed at their physical destruction.”It also alleged that Israel has had genocidal intent in its actions in Gaza, a key component of a genocide charge, has failed to prevent incitement to genocide, and has failed to punish those who have allegedly incited to genocide and committed alleged acts of genocide.“The international community cannot stand idly by while innocent civilians – including women, children, hospital workers, humanitarian aid workers, and journalists are killed for simply being. That is a world we cannot accept,” the Department of International Relations & Cooperation said in a statement to the press.As per court procedures, South Africa’s submission will not be made public.Israel has until July 2025 to file its response. The Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on South Africa’s submission.Israel has strongly denied that it has committed any genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza, asserting in oral hearings and written submissions to the ICJ that statements by Israeli elected officials cited by South Africa as evidence of genocidal intent were either taken out of context, mendaciously interpreted, or not reflective of government policy.Jerusalem argued in court that civilian deaths were not deliberate and that they were largely caused by Hamas’s tactic of embedding its military personnel and infrastructure throughout the civilian infrastructure of Gaza, including in hospitals, mosques, schools, civilian homes, UN facilities, and in its vast tunnel network running under Gazan cities.Israel’s legal team has also pointed to the large amounts of aid, whose entry into Gaza Israel has facilitated, as evidence that it has sought to ensure Gazan civilians’ access to necessary food and humanitarian supplies.South Africa filed its case with the ICJ late last year, alleging that Israel was breaching the genocide convention in its military assault against Hamas, launched in response to the October 7 attack. In addition to rejecting the accusations, Israel says South Africa is acting as an emissary of Hamas, which rules Gaza and seeks to eliminate the Jewish state.Preliminary hearings have already been held in the ICJ case against Israel, but the court is expected to take years to reach a final decision.In the interim, the court has issued four rulings against Israel since January 26, the most recent of which was an order in May for Israel to “immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in the Rafah governorate, which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”The ambiguous order was approved by 13 votes to two but its exact interpretation was disputed among the judges. Some read it as a blanket order to entirely halt the offensive in the southernmost Gaza city, while others suggested that it was a limited order instructing Israel not to violate the Genocide Convention while carrying out its military campaign.The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 42,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 17,000 combatants in battle as of August and another 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7. Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields.

Israel to spend $530 mln on 'Iron Beam' laser defence-by AFP Staff Writers.

Jerusalem (AFP) Oct 28, 2024-Israel's defence ministry said on Monday it has earmarked $530 million to accelerate development of the laser air defence system known as "Iron Beam"."The Ministry of Defence has signed a major deal worth approximately 2 billion shekels to significantly expand procurement of the laser interception systems, 'Iron Beam,'," a statement said.The system is aimed at improving the interception of drones and other projectiles, which Hezbollah in Lebanon has fired at Israel since the start of the war in Gaza in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas.Iron Beam would supplement other aerial defence capacities such as the more well-known Iron Dome.These have been unable to intercept every projectile launched by the Lebanese armed group, resulting in both civilian and military casualties.The defence ministry will work with defence companies Rafael and Elbit, the statement said.It quoted ministry director general Eyal Zamir as saying he hoped the new system would "enter operational service within a year".Rafael Advanced Defense Systems is Israel's national defence research and development arm.Defence company Elbit said in a separate statement the ministry granted it a contract worth about $200 million specifically to develop Iron Beam.Israel announced in late September it had received a new US military aid package worth $8.7 billion, at a time when it is at war with both Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.The ministry said $5.2 billion of that was designated for air defence systems, including "supporting the continued development of an advanced high-powered laser defence system currently in its later stages of development".After a test in 2021, the defence ministry published a video showing a laser system on a small aircraft fire an energy beam at a drone, apparently burning a hole and setting it ablaze.Israel's current air defence features a multi-layered shield that helped to intercept a large number of around 200 missiles launched by Iran on October 1.Iron Dome offers short-range protection against missiles and rockets, such as projectiles fired from Gaza and Lebanon.David's Sling and successive generations of Arrow missiles are Israeli-American technology paid for with US aid and built to bring down ballistic missiles.dms/cyj/lba/amj/srm

S. Korea to deploy 'StarWars' lasers against North's drones-by AFP Staff Writers.

Seoul (AFP) July 12, 2024-South Korea will begin deploying drone-melting laser weapons designed to shoot down North Korean UAVs this year, the country's arms procurement agency told AFP Friday.The new laser weapons -- dubbed the "StarWars Project" by the South -- are invisible and noise-free, require no additional ammunition, operate solely on electricity and cost only about 2,000 won ($1.45) per shot, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).The "Block-I" system, developed by Hanwha Aerospace, will be "put into operational deployment in the military this year", Lee Sang-yoon, a DAPA official, told AFP.The two Koreas remain technically at war because the 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.In December 2022, Seoul said five North Korean drones crossed into the South, the first such incident in five years, prompting its military to fire warning shots and deploy fighter jets, but they failed to shoot any of them down.The South's "ability to respond to North Korea's drone provocations will be significantly enhanced" by the laser weapons system, DAPA said in a statement Thursday.It has successfully achieved a 100 percent shoot-down rate in previous tests, and with future improvements, it could become a "game-changing" weapons system capable of countering aircraft and ballistic missiles in the future, DAPA said.- 'Weapon of the future' -The "StarWars" system -- a "weapon of the future" according to official Lee -- neutralises targets by directly hitting them with laser light generated from optical fiber."When a laser weapon transfers heat to a drone, its surface melts. As the surface melts, the internal components catch fire, causing the drone to eventually fall," Lee told AFP."This laser weapon uses electricity, so simply increasing the output allows it to travel at the speed of light," he said."Laser weapons can travel even further in space where there is no air," which gives it a significant advantage over conventional weapons, he added.But some analysts said it was too early to be sure about the weapon's capabilities."Laser weapons have not yet been put to practical use worldwide, and further verification and more time are needed to determine whether they can be utilised as a practical weapon system," Hong Sung-pyo, senior researcher at the Korea Institute for Military Affairs, told AFP."Laser weapons also have an operational range. While it may be possible to shoot down (North Korean) drones that come within this range, it is difficult to target those that are outside of it," he added.Relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points in years, with Pyongyang ramping up weapons testing as it draws ever closer to Russia.After Pyongyang sent multiple barrages of trash-carrying balloons across the border, Seoul last month fully suspended a tension-reducing military deal and resumed live-fire drills on border islands and by the demilitarised zone that divides the Korean peninsula.

Russia advanced 478 sq km into Ukraine in October, record since 2022-by AFP Staff Writers.

Paris (AFP) Oct 28, 2024-The Russian army advanced 478 square kilometres into Ukrainian territory in October, a record since March 2022 in the first weeks of the war, according to an AFP analysis on Monday of data from the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).By October 27 Russian forces had gained more territory than in August and September 2024 (477 and 459 square kilometres respectively) following major shifts on the front line, in particular in eastern Ukraine around the city of Pokrovsk.Two-thirds of the Russian gains, or 324 square kilometres, were in the eastern Donetsk region.Russian forces are now only several kilometres from Pokrovsk, which they are approaching from the south and east.The advances underscore the difficulties faced by the Ukrainian army in the war-battered country's east, where it faces better-armed Russian troops who outnumber Kyiv's forces.Moscow's army is also gaining territory at the north of the front, having seized more than 40 square kilometres near Kupiansk.Captured by Russian troops in the early stages of the war, that town was then retaken by Ukraine in a September 2022 counteroffensive.The last time that Russia made such advances was in March 2022, when they marched towards the capital Kyiv in the early stages of the war.At that time the frontline was far more fluid than it is today.Over the course of 2023, Russian forces seized just 584 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory.Yet since January 1, 2024 they have already taken more than 2,660, an area slightly bigger than the size of Moscow.From the start of the war on February 24, 2022 up to October 27, 2024 Russia had taken 67,192 square kilometres of Kyiv's land.Along with the Crimea peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014, and the areas of eastern Ukraine controlled by Moscow-backed separatists before the February offensive, Russia currently controls 18.2 percent of Ukraine's 2013 territory.AFP's analysis is based on data released on a daily basis by the ISW, which is derived from information published by the two warring sides and satellite imagery.

Russian defence ministry says held fresh nuclear drills.

Moscow, Oct 29 (AFP) Oct 29, 2024-Russia said Tuesday its army held fresh nuclear drills under the supervision of President Vladimir Putin, who recently called for changes to rules on the use of Moscow's nuclear deterrent.Putin has raised the prospect of using nuclear weapons during Moscow's offensive in Ukraine several times and last month suggested Russia broaden its rules on using nuclear weaponry.Russia's defence ministry said a "training exercise was conducted with the forces and means of the land, maritime and aviation components of the strategic deterrent force" and that an "intercontinental ballistic missile was launched."The ministry said the missile was launched at a test site in the far-eastern Kamchatka peninsula.Other missiles were launched from a submarine in the Barents Sea in the Arctic and from the Sea of Okhotsk in the Russian Far East.The ministry said the drills were conducted successful and that the missiles had "reached their targets."The TASS news industry published footage of a missile being launched in the Plesetsk cosmodrome in the Russian Far-North.In September, Putin suggested that Moscow change its nuclear doctrine to allow it to unleash a nuclear response in the event of a "massive" air attack.Under the proposed rules, Russia would also consider any attack by a non-nuclear country supported by a nuclear power as a joint attack by both, in a seeming reference to Ukraine.The plans came as Ukraine is seeking authorisation to use long-range missiles against Russia, which has so far been met by US reluctance.

Indonesia and Russia to hold first joint naval drills-by AFP Staff Writers.

Jakarta (AFP) Oct 29, 2024-Indonesia and Russia will hold their first joint naval drills next month, Jakarta's navy said Tuesday, as the Southeast Asian archipelago's new leader seeks to boost ties with Moscow.The region's biggest economy maintains a neutral foreign policy, refusing to take sides in the Ukraine conflict or in great power competition between Washington and Beijing.But newly inaugurated Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has pledged to be bolder on the world stage and in July visited Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin.The Indonesian navy said the drills would take place from November 4 to 8 in the Java Sea near a naval base in Surabaya."(It) is a milestone bilateral exercise between TNI AL and the Russian navy," the navy said in the statement, using its Indonesian acronym.Russia will send three corvette class warships, a medium tanker ship, a military helicopter, and a tug boat, it said.Russian ambassador to Indonesia Sergey Tolchenov confirmed the drills and said they were not aimed at any rival power."It's... just to increase the capabilities and potential of our two fleets," he told a press briefing Monday.Indonesia has repeatedly called for a peaceful resolution to Russia's years-long invasion of Ukraine.Former president Joko Widodo became the first Asian leader to visit both Kyiv and Moscow since the outbreak of war in February 2022.Kyiv derided Prabowo in June 2023 when he was Indonesia's defence minister over what it called a "strange" peace proposal he made at the Shangri-La Dialogue defence summit in Singapore.His plan included demilitarised zones and referendums in disputed areas of eastern Ukraine.Indonesia last week also started the process of becoming a member of the BRICS bloc led by Russia, Brazil, India, China and South Africa, newly appointed foreign minister Sugiono, who goes by one name, said at a BRICS Plus summit in the Russian city of Kazan.

Turkey to pursue campaign against Kurdish group in Iraq, Syria.

Istanbul, Oct 29 (AFP) Oct 29, 2024-Turkey will continue its military operations in northern Iraq and Syria against Kurdish PKK rebels so as to "eliminate" their threat, President Recep Tayip Erdogan promised on Tuesday."We are preventing the terrorists who live on our borders from breathing," said Erdogan."Until the establishment of a country and a region without terror, we will continue this combat in several dimensions," the president insisted as he cited the ongoing operations.The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) claimed it was behind last week's attack on the headquarters of Turkey's state-owned defence firm in Ankara, which killed five people and wounded 22."Where we detect a threat to our country, both within and outside our borders, nobody can prevent us from eliminating it," Erdogan continued in an address to mark the 101st anniversary of the Turkish republic, saying he would stop at nothing to do so and "end terrorism".The PKK, which has waged an on-off insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, is designated as a terror group by Turkey and its Western allies.Turkey has been accused of targeting Kurdish civilians in cross-border strikes, a charge the army denies.Erdogan dubbed last Wednesday's attack as "the last efforts" of the separatist organisation."We are now able to develop the weapons we need in the fight against terror and we do not require anyone's permission," Erdogan added.The head of state said that Turkey was in the process of equipping itself with "an iron dome" anti-aircraft defence system similar to one which Israel has, "but made of steel".He added that Turkey had also become "the world's largest manufacturer of drones" and that "since 2018, 65 percent of the sales of armed drones in the world have been made by Turkish companies."

Japan nuclear reactor near Fukushima to restart.

Tokyo, Oct 29 (AFP) Oct 29, 2024-A Japanese nuclear reactor with an upgraded anti-tsunami wall was set to restart Tuesday in a region near the crippled Fukushima plant, according to its operator.Japan shut down all of its 54 reactors after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, but has since brought 12 of 33 still operable units online -- although none in eastern and northern regions.Unit number two at the Onagawa plant in the northeastern Miyagi region, next to Fukushima prefecture, was to become the 13th on Tuesday, according to Tohoku Electric Power Company.Japan has been turning back to nuclear power in order to cut emissions, reduce expensive imports of fossil fuels and meet energy demand for data centres for artificial intelligence (AI)."Nuclear power, along with renewable energy, is an important decarbonised power source, and our policy is to make maximum use of it on condition that safety is ensured", top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters on Tuesday.The 2011 earthquake and tsunami that killed around 18,000 people cut power lines and flooded backup generators at Fukushima Daiichi, sending three reactors into meltdown.Safety and regulatory standards have been tightened since, and the Onagawa plant -- cleared in 2020 to re-start -- has increased the height of its anti-tsunami wall to 29 metres (95 feet) above sea level, one of the highest in Japan.The reboot also marks the first time a boiling water reactor (BWR) -- the same model used at Fukushima -- will be brought back online since the meltdown."The importance of restarting (nuclear reactors) is growing from the perspective of our nation's economic growth driven by decarbonised power sources", Hayashi said.Under its current plan, Japan aims for nuclear power to account for 20-22 percent of its electricity by 2030, up from well under 10 percent now.It wants to increase the share of renewables to 36-38 percent from around 20 percent and cut fossil fuels to 41 percent from around two-thirds now.The E3G think-tank ranks Japan in last place -- by some distance -- among Group of Seven industrialised nations on decarbonising their power systems.