“The fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas was back on track Sunday as
the militants freed 17 more hostages, including 14 Israelis and the first
American, in a third exchange under a four-day truce that the United States
said it hoped would be extended. In turn, Israel released 39 Palestinian
prisoners. Most hostages were handed over directly to Israel, waving to a
cheering crowd as they arrived at an air force base. Others left through Egypt.
Israel’s army said one was airlifted to a hospital, and the director of Soroka
Medical Center said Elma Avraham, 84, was in life-threatening condition as “a
result of an extended period of time when an elderly woman was not taken care
of as needed.” The youngest hostage released was Abigail Edan, a 4-year-old
girl and dual Israeli-American citizen whose parents were killed in the Hamas
attack that started the war on Oct. 7. “What she endured was unthinkable,” U.S.
President Joe Biden said of the first American freed under the truce. He did
not know her condition and did not provide updates on other American hostages.
Biden said his goal was to extend the cease-fire deal as long as possible.”











<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>



Eye on Extremism



November 27, 2023



Associated Press: Hamas Releases A Third Group Of Hostages As Part Of Truce,
And Says It Will Seek To Extend The Deal
<[link removed]>



“The fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas was back on track Sunday as
the militants freed 17 more hostages, including 14 Israelis and the first
American, in a third exchange under a four-day truce that the United States
said it hoped would be extended. In turn, Israel released 39 Palestinian
prisoners. Most hostages were handed over directly to Israel, waving to a
cheering crowd as they arrived at an air force base. Others left through Egypt.
Israel’s army said one was airlifted to a hospital, and the director of Soroka
Medical Center said Elma Avraham, 84, was in life-threatening condition as “a
result of an extended period of time when an elderly woman was not taken care
of as needed.” The youngest hostage released was Abigail Edan, a 4-year-old
girl and dual Israeli-American citizen whose parents were killed in the Hamas
attack that started the war on Oct. 7. “What she endured was unthinkable,” U.S.
President Joe Biden said of the first American freed under the truce. He did
not know her condition and did not provide updates on other American hostages.
Biden said his goal was to extend the cease-fire deal as long as possible.”



Reuters: Afghan Embassy In India Shuts Down Citing Lack Of Support, Taliban
Pressure
<[link removed]>



“Afghanistan's embassy in New Delhi has closed as diplomats appointed by the
Afghan government ousted by the Taliban two years ago failed to secure visa
extensions from their Indian hosts, the outgoing ambassador said in a statement
on Friday. India does not recognise the Taliban government which seized power
in 2021, and had allowed Ambassador Farid Mamundzay and mission staff to stay
in place, issuing visas and handling trade matters. In September, however, the
ambassador and senior staff left for Europe and the U.S. to seek asylum, and
the embassy said it was suspending operations. An embassy statement posted on
X, formerly known as Twitter, on Friday said that period in limbo was over, and
the embassy was shutting and the keys had been given to the host government. It
also said that pressure from both the Indian government and the Taliban had
forced the decision. "Unfortunately, despite an eight-week wait, the objectives
of visa extension for diplomats and a shift in the Indian government's conduct
were not realised," ambassador Mamundzay said in the statement. "Given the
constant pressure from both the Taliban and the Indian government to relinquish
control, the embassy faced a difficult choice," the statement added.”




CEP Expert Analysis

* Houthis Targeting Of Religious Minorities
<[link removed]>
* The Houthis And U.S.-Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations
<[link removed]>
* The Houthis’ Use of Technology for Repression
<[link removed]>
* CEP Calls For Account Freeze On Qatari Assets In The UK
<[link removed]>
* The Houthis and U.S.-Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations
<[link removed]>



CEP Mentions



Associated Press: Hamas Releases A Third Group Of Hostages As Part Of Truce,
And Says It Will Seek To Extend The Deal
<[link removed].>



“…Al-Ghandour had survived at least three Israeli attempts on his life and was
involved in a cross-border attack in 2006 in which Palestinian militants
captured an Israeli soldier, according to the Counter Extremism Project, an
advocacy group based in Washington.”



United States



Reuters: US Forces Attacked 4 Times In Iraq, Syria Within Hours
<[link removed]>



“U.S. forces were attacked four times in Iraq and Syria on Thursday with
rockets and armed drones, but there were no casualties or damage to
infrastructure, a U.S military official said. Speaking on condition of
anonymity, the official said U.S. and international forces were attacked at two
sites in northeastern Syria with multiple rockets and a one-way attack drone.
In Iraq, multiple one-way drones were launched at the Ain Al-Asad airbase west
of Baghdad and a drone was launched at a base housing U.S. forces near Erbil
airport in northern Iraq. A group calling itself the Islamic Resistance in
Iraq, which analysts say is a catch-all for several Iran-aligned Iraqi armed
groups, had claimed attacks on those locations earlier in the day. The attacks
come the day after the U.S. struck the Iran-aligned Kataeb Hezbollah (KH) armed
group south of Baghdad in an attack that KH said had left eight members dead.
The attack was condemned by the Iraqi government as escalatory and a violation
of sovereignty. U.S. officials said the United States had struck Iran-aligned
groups after an escalation in their attacks that have targeted U.S. and
international forces dozens of times since Oct. 17, 10 days after the
Israel-Hamas war began. As of Thursday, there had been 36 attacks in Iraq and
37 in Syria, the U.S. military official said.”



BBC: Right-Wing Figures Slammed For Rushing To Brand Niagara Blast A Terrorist
Attack
<[link removed]>



“Right-wing figures have been slammed for rushing to brand a deadly Niagra
Falls car explosion that killed two people a terrorist attack. A New York
couple, who have not been identified, were killed on Wednesday night when their
car crashed at a border crossing between the US and Canada, leading to an
explosion. The couple, who lived in western New York, were reportedly on their
way to a Kiss concert in Toronto but the gig was cancelled. Their car was
travelling at speed when it hit a curb on the US side of the border and became
airborne before exploding, according to the FBI field office in Buffalo, New
York. The blast initially sparked fears of a terrorist attack and prompted
Canadian and New York officials to briefly shutter four border bridges between
the two nations and ground planes at nearby Buffalo Airport. A Fox News report
cited “high-level police sources” who linked terrorism to the crash and
believed the two people travelling in the car packed it “full of explosives,” a
claim the network later retracted. Senator Ted Cruz also claimed the incident
was a terror attack, tweeting: “This confirms our worst fear: the explosion at
Rainbow Bridge was a terrorist attack.””



Syria



Associated Press: At Least 10 People Killed In Syrian Government Shelling Of A
Rebel-Held Village, The Opposition Says
<[link removed]>



“Syrian government forces shelled a northwestern village Saturday killing at
least 10 people, including seven children, as they picked olives, a paramedic
group and relatives of the victims said. The shelling of the village of
Qawqafeen, in Idlib province, is the latest violation of a truce reached in
March 2020 between Russia and Turkey, who back rival sides in Syria’s 12-year
conflict that has killed half a million people. Syrian government officials
have not commented on the strike. Hundreds of people have been killed or
wounded over the past years in violations of the truce that ended a monthslong
Russian-backed government offensive on northwestern Idlib province, the last
major rebel stronghold in Syria. The shelling of the farm was reported by the
Britain-based opposition war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and
the opposition’s Syrian Civil Defense, also known as White Helmets. The White
Helmets said it treated one woman who was wounded and handed over the bodies of
the dead to their families. Omar Qadda, whose cousin, Abdallah Saeed, was
killed in the strike along with Saeed’s children, sister and sister’s children,
said he was nearby when the shells landed and rushed to the scene.”



Associated Press: Syria Says An Israeli Airstrike Hit The Damascus Airport And
Put It Out Of Service
<[link removed]>



“An Israeli airstrike Sunday hit the international airport in the Syrian
capital of Damascus and put it out of commission, Syrian state media said.
Israel has struck Syria’s Damascus and Aleppo international airports several
times since the onset of the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza on Oct. 7. Israel has
also struck parts of western Syria after rocket fire landed on the
Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights. SANA, citing an unnamed military
official, said Israel fired missiles from the direction of the Golan Heights,
striking Damascus International Airport and other areas in the Damascus
countryside causing material damage. There was no mention of casualties.
Britain-based opposition war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights,
said the strikes came just hours after the airport resumed flights after a
monthlong hiatus following a previous Israeli strike. Israel has carried out
hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of war-torn
Syria in recent years. It does not usually acknowledge its airstrikes on Syria.
However when it does, it says it is targeting Iranian-backed groups there that
have backed President Bashar Assad’s government.”



Pakistan



BBC: Pakistan Charging Refugees $830 To Leave
<[link removed]>



“The exit fee applies to people who arrived without a visa. In October
Pakistan announced that it would deport 1.7 million undocumented foreigners
from the country if they did not leave by 1 November. Most are Afghans,
including hundreds of thousands of people who fled Afghanistan when the Taliban
retook power in 2021. Those who have expired visas will be charged depending on
how long they have overstayed. An exit fee does not apply to anyone travelling
back to Afghanistan. Many Afghans who arrived in Pakistan when Kabul fell to
the Taliban have faced delays getting documentation, according to groups like
Amnesty International. Pakistan is not a party to the Refugee Convention and
has said it does not recognise any of the Afghans living in its borders as
refugees. A senior diplomat in Pakistan told the BBC that the fee was
particularly worrying when it was being applied to people who were being
relocated on humanitarian grounds. "In many countries, if you overstay your
visa you have to pay or you get booted out," they said. "The problem is
charging those we are taking on humanitarian visas. Not necessarily the people
we are taking because they worked for us, but who UNHCR sees as having a
humanitarian need. It sets a very bad precedent."”



Associated Press: Pakistan’s Army Says It Killed 8 Militants During A Raid
Along The Border With Afghanistan
<[link removed]>



“Pakistan’s military said its forces raided a militant hideout in a former
stronghold of local Taliban in the country’s northwest near the border with
Afghanistan, triggering an intense shootout that killed eight militants In an
overnight statement, the military stated that the intelligence-based operation
took place on Sunday in the South Waziristan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
province and that troops seized weapons and ammunition from the hideout. No
further detail was given about the militants’ identities. But blame usually
falls on the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, a
separate group but allied with the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in
Afghanistan in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO troops were in the final stages of
their pullout from the country after 20 years of war. Many TTP leaders and
fighters have found sanctuaries in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover,
which also emboldened the Pakistani Taliban who also often target troops across
the country. This has caused a spike in tensions between the two countries with
Pakistan demanding the Taliban administration stop the TTP from using Afghan
soil to launch attacks.”



Lebanon



Associated Press: Hezbollah Fires Rockets At North Israel After An Airstrike
Kills 5 Of The Group’s Senior Fighters
<[link removed]>



“The militant Hezbollah group fired more than 50 rockets at military posts in
northern Israel on Thursday, a day after an Israeli airstrike on a home in
southern Lebanon killed five of the group’s senior fighters. The waves of
rockets sent over the border represented one of the most intense bombardments
since Hezbollah started attacking Israeli posts in the country’s north at the
beginning of the Israel-Hamas war. Hezbollah has said that by heating up its
actions on the Israel-Lebanon border, it is easing pressure on the Gaza Strip,
where Israel’s crushing aerial, ground and naval offensive has left more than
13,300 Palestinians dead and caused wide destruction in the sealed-off enclave.
The war was triggered by an Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel that left
about 1,200 people dead, most of them civilians, and resulted in about 240
hostages getting taken to Gaza. An agreement for a four-day cease-fire in Gaza
and the release of dozens of hostages held by the militants and Palestinians
imprisoned by Israel, was set to take place Thursday but it was later announced
in Qatar, which was a main mediator, that the truce would go into effect Friday
morning.”



Middle East



Reuters: Palestinian Militants In West Bank Say Two 'Collaborators' Executed
<[link removed]>



“Palestinian militants in the West Bank said they had killed two men accused
of collaborating with Israeli authorities and hung their bodies up as a
warning, underlining growing fears of increased radicalisation as the war in
Gaza continues. A statement from the Tulkarm Brigades, a group based in the
West Bank city of Tulkarm that is associated with the Fatah faction, said there
was "no immunity for any informant or traitor". "We are on the lookout for him
and we will hold him accountable," it said, referring to any such person.
Footage shared on the Tulkarm Brigades Telegram channel showed a man apparently
confessing to working with Israeli security services and providing details of
his activities. Other footage, which could not be verified by Reuters, showed
two dead bodies and bodies hung from a wall and an electricity pylon in front
of angry crowds. The Tulkarm Brigades statement said anyone who had been
working with Israeli security services had until Dec. 5 to come forward and
repent. The Independent Commission for Human Rights, a Palestinian rights
group, issued a statement criticising extrajudicial killings but said Israeli
authorities were responsible for recruiting Palestinian agents.”



Reuters: Netanyahu's Two-Front War Against Hamas And For His Own Political
Survival
<[link removed]>



“Inside Israeli defence headquarters, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
monitored the first release of Hamas-held hostages while outside, their
families in a Tel Aviv square gathered around Benny Gantz, his leading
challenger for the top job. On camera Gantz, a former army chief and opposition
leader who joined Netanyahu's war cabinet last month, pointedly asked a TV crew
to leave him alone with the families. Photos published later showed him hugging
individuals in the crowd. Facing a huge wave of criticism over his failure to
prevent the shock Hamas infiltration of Israel on Oct. 7, Netanyahu has largely
avoided the limelight while conducting a two-front war, one against Hamas and
the other for his own political survival. Netanyahu, 74, has long maintained an
image as a security hawk, tough on Iran and backed by an army that ensured Jews
would never again suffer a Holocaust - only to experience on his watch the
deadliest single incident in Israel's 75-year-old history. Israelis have
shunned some of Netanyahu's fellow cabinet ministers, blaming them for failing
to prevent the Palestinian Hamas gunmen from entering from Gaza, killing 1,200
people, abducting 240 more and engulfing the country in war.”



Nigeria



Reuter: Gunmen Kill One, Kidnap At Least 150 In Nigeria's Northwest, Residents
Say
<[link removed]>



“At least 150 people, including women and children, were abducted with one
person killed in a coordinated attack by gunmen on four villages in Nigeria's
northwest Zamfara state, residents said on Saturday. Kidnapping for ransom has
become rife in northwestern Nigeria in recent years where armed gangs, often
referred to locally as bandits, have targeted villages, schools, and
travellers, demanding millions of naira in ransom and making it unsafe to
travel by road or to farm in some areas. The Zamfara police spokesperson did
not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment on the attack, which
took place late on Friday. Residents told Reuters that gunmen on dozens of
motorcycles stormed the villages of Mutunji, Kwanar-Dutse, Sabon-Garin Mahuta
and Unguwar Kawo in the Maru local government area of the state. Dankandai
Musa, a resident of one of the villages, told Reuters he managed to slip away
unnoticed during the chaos. But 20 members of his household were taken. "I
managed to escape after they were regrouping us and the people from the three
other villages that were attacked," he said. "I fled while they were dragging
us to the bush."”



Somalia



Reuters: Somalia Joins East Africa Trade Bloc As It Eyes New Opportunities
<[link removed]>



“The East African Community trade bloc admitted Somalia as its eighth member
on Friday, a move Somali authorities and businesses hope will boost the
country's war-ravaged economy. The EAC common market - which consists of
Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and
Uganda - was set up in 2010 and currently comprises almost 300 million people.
"Somalia officially joins the East African Community, reinforcing ties and
opening new doors for progress and partnership," Daud Aweis, Somalia's minister
for information, culture and tourism said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
With the new member the bloc has expanded its market and also gained an
additional new coastline stretching over more than 3,000 km (1,800 miles) that
holds potential for offshore resources like oil and gas. In turn the bloc's
large population and existing customs union and common market are a draw for
investors that Somalia can now tap into. Although the EAC has over the decades
made progress in economic integration, like many other trade blocs it has
struggled to overcome barriers to commerce like red tape, political
instability, poor infrastructure and trade disputes.”



Africa



Associated Press: Militants With Ties To The Islamic State Group Kill At Least
14 Farmers In An Attack In East Congo
<[link removed]>



“Militants from a shadowy extremist organization with ties to the Islamic
State Group killed at least 14 farmers in Congo’s hard-hit eastern region, a
local official said Saturday. The Allied Democratic Forces attacked Mamove
village in North Kivu province on Friday night where they beheaded the farmers
working on their fields, said Samson Simara, a delegate of the provincial
governor. “This death toll could rise because other farmers are missing,” he
told local media, adding that the militants also burned down several houses in
the village. Armed violence in eastern Congo has been simmering for decades as
more than 120 groups fight for power, land and valuable mineral resources,
while others try to defend their communities, but it spiked in late 2021 when
another rebel group, that goes by M23 and had been largely dormant, resurfaced
and initiated attacks to seize land. The attacks have heightened tensions ahead
of Congo’s presidential election in December, with many residents in affected
communities afraid for their safety. Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, who
seeks reelection, has said rebel-controlled territories might not participate
in the December vote for security reasons.”



United Kingdom



BBC: Student Faces Deportation After Terror Threats To Dundee University
<[link removed]>



“Somtochukwu Okwuoha claimed he had enlisted Isis to help bomb the university
and told staff he planned to target the city in a chemical attack. The
international energy studies student was found guilty of seven charges and was
remanded in custody. The 26-year-old will be sentenced next month. Sheriff
William Wood will also consider the Crown's motion for an order to deport
Okwuoha to Nigeria. A trial heard that Okwuoha told university staff he planned
to carry out mass murder on the Dundee University campus. Witnesses described
how Okwuoha claimed he had a military background and was capable of making
bombs and unleashing a deadly virus on the city. Keith Mackle, 58, now retired
director of student services, told Perth Sheriff Court he became aware of
"serious concerns" in the autumn of 2021. He said staff members received emails
making terrorist threats. One said: "Expect a massive bomb explosion at the
University of Dundee. I have contacted Isis terrorists to plant bombs on
campus. "I can assure you staff and students will die in great numbers. 9/11
will be a joke compared to what will happen. "Blood will spill and flesh will
be scattered."”



Germany



Associated Press: Four Local Employees Of Germany’s Main Aid Agency Arrested
In Afghanistan
<[link removed]>



“Taliban authorities in Afghanistan arrested four local employees of
Germany’s main government-owned aid agency, according to the German Ministry
for Economic Cooperation and Development. “I can confirm that the local
employees of GIZ are in custody although we have not received any official
information on why they are detained,” a ministry spokeswoman told the
Associated Press in a statement late Saturday. “We are taking this situation
very seriously and are working through all channels available to us to ensure
that our colleagues are released,” she added. The German Agency for
International Cooperation, or GIZ, is owned by the German government. It
operates in around 120 countries worldwide, offering projects and services in
the areas of “economic development, employment promotion, energy and the
environment, and peace and security,” according to the agency’s website. The
Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021, after the withdrawal of U.S. and
NATO forces from the country. Many foreign missions, including the German
embassy in Kabul, closed down their offices. The Taliban initially promised a
more moderate approach than during their previous rule from 1996 to 2001 but
gradually reimposed their harsh interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia.”



Europe



Bloomberg: Dutch Extremist Wilders Channels Donald Trump’s Politics Of Division

<[link removed]>



“When far-right leader Geert Wilders delivered his victory speech after the
shock Dutch election result, he emphasized a willingness to compromise with
other parties. But his campaign had hit on all the familiar themes of his long
crusade against the migrants that he says are destroying his country’s culture.
People don’t forget those kind of diatribes, and many voters who backed other
parties are worried that the Netherlands is about to lurch into the kind of
populist politics that characterized Donald Trump’s presidency in the US. Just
like Trump, Wilders cultivates an eye-catching splash of hair and, in the final
days of the campaign, he had taken to wearing red ties rather than his usual
blue, as if to emphasize the visual similarities. As he soaked up the attention
in the aftermath of his victory, he was happy to entertain the comparison.
“People have come up with so many names for me,” he told reporters on Thursday.
“Some say I am the Dutch Trump, others call me Geert Milders” — a jibe that
suggests his views have suddenly and conveniently become more mild since he
began trying to form a coalition. “The truth is somewhere in the middle,” he
suggested.”



Associated Press: With Antisemitism Rising As The Israel-Hamas War Rages,
Europe’s Jews Worry
<[link removed]>



“As he sits in Geneva, Michel Dreifuss does not feel all that far away from
the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel’s subsequent bombardment of
Gaza. The ripples are rolling through Europe and upending assumptions both
global and intimate — including those about his personal safety as a Jew.
“Yesterday I bought a tear-gas spray canister at a military-equipment surplus
store,” the 64-year-old retired tech sector worker said recently at a rally to
mark a month since the Hamas killings. The choice, he says, is a “precaution,”
driven by a surge of antisemitism in Europe. Last month’s slayings of about
1,200 people in Israel by armed Palestinian militants represented the biggest
killing of Jews since the Holocaust. The fallout from it, and from Israel’s
intense military response that health officials in Hamas-controlled Gaza say
has killed at least 13,300 Palestinians, has extended to Europe. In doing so,
it has shaken a continent all too familiar with deadly anti-Jewish hatred for
centuries. The past century is of particular note, of course. Concern about
rising antisemitism in Europe is fueled in part by what happened to Jews before
and during World War II, and that makes it particularly fearsome for those who
may be only one or two generations removed from people who were the victims of
riots against Jews and Nazi brutality.”



Reuters: Gaza War Increases Risk Of Islamist Attacks In Europe, Security
Officials Say
<[link removed]>



“European security officials are seeing a growing risk of attacks by
Islamists radicalised by the Israel-Hamas war, with the biggest threat likely
to come from "lone wolf" assailants who are hard to track. More than 10
intelligence and police officials in five European countries including Britain,
Germany and France told Reuters they are increasing surveillance of Islamist
militants. This will put a further burden on resources already stretched by
dealing with perceived threats from Russia, China and Iran, in what London
police chief Mark Rowley calls "one of the most challenging convergence of
threats I have ever seen." A British security official said the war in Gaza was
likely to become the biggest recruiter for Islamist militants since the Iraq
war in 2003, and that calls for attacks on Jewish and Western targets had risen
in Europe. A German source briefed by intelligence services said the threat to
civilians was the highest in Germany's recent history, with dangers coming from
Islamist militants, far-right groups and Russia. Two Islamist militant attacks
in France and Belgium last month killed three people, and these two countries,
Austria, Slovenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina have raised their terrorism threat
alert levels. Italy has reimposed border controls with Slovenia, citing the
risk of militants entering the country.”



Technology



Reuters: Focus: New Crypto Front Emerges In Israel's Militant Financing Fight
<[link removed]>



“A new front has emerged in Israel's fight against the funding of Iran-backed
militant groups from Hamas to Hezbollah: A fast-growing crypto network called
Tron. Quicker and cheaper than its larger rival Bitcoin, Tron has overtaken its
rival as a platform for crypto transfers associated with groups designated as
terror organizations by Israel, the United States and other countries,
according to interviews with seven financial crime experts and blockchain
investigations specialists. A Reuters' analysis of crypto seizures announced by
Israeli security services since 2021 reflects the trend, showing for the first
time a sharp rise in the targeting of Tron wallets and a fall in Bitcoin wallet
seizures. "Earlier it was Bitcoin and now our data shows that these terrorist
organizations tend to increasingly favor Tron," said Mriganka Pattnaik, CEO of
New York-based blockchain analysis firm Merkle Science, citing Tron's faster
transaction times, low fees, and stability. Merkle Science says it counts law
enforcement agencies in the United States, Britain and Singapore as clients.
Israel's National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF), which is
responsible for such seizures, froze 143 Tron wallets between July 2021 and
October 2023 that it believed were connected to a "designated terrorist
organization" or used for a "severe terror crime," the Reuters analysis found.”



ABC: Amid Israel-Hamas Conflict, 'Information War' Plays Out On Social Media,
Experts Say
<[link removed]>



“In the wake of Hamas' unprecedented surprise attack inside Israel, a battle
is being waged on the streets of Gaza, with guns and tanks following Israel's
retaliatory bombing campaign. But at the same time, another clash is happening
-- one using tweets and shares. TikTokers, Instagram users and others posting
online from both sides of the war -- including those witnessing the conflict up
close in Gaza -- are battling it out to win the social media war and influence
public opinion worldwide, experts told ABC News. "It's particularly relevant in
this instance. The military battle with Hamas and Israel is predetermined;
Hamas can't defeat the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] and [the] IDF can't
obliterate Hamas. So, you have a wider battle, let's call it an information
war," David Patrikarakos, a war correspondent and author of the book "War in
140 Characters: How Social Media is Shaping Conflict in the Twenty-First
Century," told ABC News. Citing a disparity between pro-Israeli and
pro-Palestinian social media posts, Max Boot, a military historian and a
foreign policy analyst, told ABC News he believes, "Israel is losing the
information war because it's the battle of victimhood."”



Associated Press: Pentagon’s AI Initiatives Accelerate Hard Decisions On
Lethal Autonomous Weapons
<[link removed]>



“Artificial intelligence employed by the U.S. military has piloted pint-sized
surveillance drones in special operations forces’ missions and helped Ukraine
in its war against Russia. It tracks soldiers’ fitness, predicts when Air Force
planes need maintenance and helps keep tabs on rivals in space. Now, the
Pentagon is intent on fielding multiple thousands of relatively inexpensive,
expendable AI-enabled autonomous vehicles by 2026 to keep pace with China. The
ambitious initiative — dubbed Replicator — seeks to “galvanize progress in the
too-slow shift of U.S. military innovation to leverage platforms that are
small, smart, cheap, and many,” Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks said
in August. While its funding is uncertain and details vague, Replicator is
expected to accelerate hard decisions on what AI tech is mature and trustworthy
enough to deploy - including on weaponized systems. There is little dispute
among scientists, industry experts and Pentagon officials that the U.S. will
within the next few years have fully autonomous lethal weapons. And though
officials insist humans will always be in control, experts say advances in
data-processing speed and machine-to-machine communications will inevitably
relegate people to supervisory roles.”



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