“The Israeli military expanded its Lebanon campaign with hundreds of airstrikes
on Monday, as the long-simmering border conflict with Hezbollah threatened to
explode into a larger war. Dozens of Israeli warplanes struck more than 1,300
targets in southern Lebanon on Monday morning, according to the Israel Defense
Forces. At least 492 people were killed and more than 1,600 wounded in the
ongoing strikes, among them women, children and medical personnel, the Lebanon
Ministry of Public Health said. Of those killed, 35 were children and 58 were
women, the ministry said.”











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Eye on Extremism



September 24, 2024



ABC News: Israel Hits 1,300 Targets In Expanded Lebanon Strike Campaign
Against Hezbollah
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“The Israeli military expanded its Lebanon campaign with hundreds of
airstrikes on Monday, as the long-simmering border conflict with Hezbollah
threatened to explode into a larger war. Dozens of Israeli warplanes struck
more than 1,300 targets in southern Lebanon on Monday morning, according to the
Israel Defense Forces. At least 492 people were killed and more than 1,600
wounded in the ongoing strikes, among them women, children and medical
personnel, the Lebanon Ministry of Public Health said. Of those killed, 35 were
children and 58 were women, the ministry said.”



Reuters: UN Rights Chief Calls For Diplomatic Efforts To Address Lebanon Crisis

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“The U.N. human rights chief on Tuesday called on anyone with influence in
the Middle East or elsewhere to seek to avert any further escalation in
hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, voicing alarm at the sharp
escalation. Israel's military said on Tuesday it struck dozens of Hezbollah
targets in southern Lebanon overnight, a day after it launched a wave of
airstrikes against the Iran-backed group's sites on Lebanon's deadliest day in
decades. Nearly 500 people have been killed, and tens of thousands have fled
from areas of southern Lebanon. "UN High Commissioner Volker Türk calls on all
States and actors with influence in the region and beyond to avert further
escalation and do everything they can to ensure full respect for international
law," Ravina Shamdasani, the spokesperson for Turk said at a Geneva press
briefing.”



CEP Mentions



CapX: Britain Is Locked In A Low-Trust, High-Crime Spiral
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“What should we do about our national crisis of confidence? In every sense,
confidence and trust in our institutions and national infrastructure is
tanking. Let me count the ways. Tomorrow, I plan to go to London from Exeter. I
have low confidence that when I get to the station, my train will appear at
all, let alone on time, in the right configuration or survive past Reading’s
engineering twilight zone. Sadly, concerns about transport are just the tip of
the iceberg when it comes to Britain’s crisis of public trust. Former Victims
Commissioner Vera Baird had this to say in response to a dramatic fall in the
number of arrests of suspected criminals in the last decade. These rates, she
said, had halved because of a collapse in trust by citizens that reported crime
would achieve anything. Even though the number of police officers is at a
record high, that isn’t producing more arrests.”



United States



Associated Press: US Is Sending More Troops To The Middle East As Violence
Rises Between Israel And Hezbollah
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“The U.S. is sending a small number of additional troops to the Middle East
in response to a sharp spike in violence between Israel and Hezbollah forces in
Lebanon that has raised the risk of a greater regional war, the Pentagon said
Monday. Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, would not say how many
more forces would be deployed or what they would be tasked to do. The U.S. now
has about 40,000 troops in the region. On Monday, the aircraft carrier USS
Harry S. Truman, two Navy destroyers and a cruiser set sail from Norfolk,
Virginia, headed to the Sixth Fleet area in Europe on a regularly scheduled
deployment. The ships’ departure opens up the possibility that the U.S. could
keep both the Truman and the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which is in
the Arabian Gulf, in the region in case more violence breaks out.”



The Jerusalem Post: Former CIA Director: Israel Pager Attack 'A Form Of
Terrorism' <[link removed]>



"Former CIA director Leon Panetta called Israel's targeted pager attack on
Hezbollah terrorists last week "a form of terrorism" in an interview on CBS on
Sunday. When asked whether he thought Israel should be condemned for the
operation, he said, "The nations of the world need to have a serious discussion
about whether or not this is an area that everyone has to focus on because if
they don't try to deal with it now."



Iran



Associated Press: Iran Was Behind Thousands Of Text Messages Calling For
Revenge Over Quran Burnings, Sweden Says
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“Swedish authorities accused Iran on Tuesday of being responsible for
thousands of text messages that were sent to people in the Scandinavian country
calling for revenge over the burnings of Islam’s holy book in 2023. According
to officials in Stockholm, the cyberattack was carried out by Iran’s
paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which hacked an SMS service and sent “some
15,000 text messages in Swedish” over the string of public burnings of the
Quran that took place over several months in the summer of 2023. Senior
prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said a preliminary investigation by Sweden’s SAPO
domestic security agency showed “it was the Iranian state via the Iranian
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, IRGC, that carried out a data breach at a
Swedish company that runs a major SMS service.” The Swedish company was not
named. There was no immediate comment from Iranian authorities on the
accusations from Sweden.”



Turkey



Reuters: Turkey Arrests Australian Woman For Alleged Links To PKK Militants
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“Turkish authorities detained an Australian woman at Istanbul Airport last
week for alleged links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a
Turkish security source said on Tuesday. Cigdem Aslan was apprehended at the
airport on Sept. 15 as she prepared to board a flight to Australia, the source
said. Following her arrest, she appeared in an Istanbul court on Sept. 18 and
was jailed pending trial for alleged "involvement in PKK propaganda in
Australia and participation in events organized by groups aligned with the
militant organization." Australia has said it is providing assistance to a
woman in Turkey, but it did not provide any more details. The PKK designated a
terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union,
began a separatist insurgency against the Turkish state in 1984. It has since
moderated its goals to seeking greater Kurdish rights and limited autonomy in
mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey.”



Pakistan



Associated Press: Pakistan Appoints New Army General As Head Of Powerful Spy
Agency
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“A senior army general was tapped as Pakistan’s new spy chief, state-run
media reported on Monday. The powerful Inter-Service Intelligence, though it
officially reports to the prime minister, takes its directive from the
military, which has ruled Pakistan for over three decades since its
independence from British colonial rule in 1947. The agency has also been
previously criticized for indulging in politics. Lt. Gen. Asim Malik was
appointed days ahead of the retirement of Lt. Gen. Nadeem Anjum, the ISI
Director-General. The new chief had held key positions in the military in
southwestern Balochistan and the restive northwest bordering Afghanistan. Both
provinces have witnessed a surge in militant attacks in recent years.”



Middle East



Associated Press: As Israel’s Fight With Hezbollah Heats Up, People Of Gaza
Fear Being Forgotten
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“As the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah grabs global
attention, Palestinians in Gaza wonder: What will become of their plight after
nearly a year of devastating war? They are petrified that international concern
has been diverted and that a dark possibility looms: abandonment. The families
of Israeli hostages held in Gaza have the same worry. Nezar Zaqout, one of some
1.9 million Palestinians forced to flee their homes since the Israel-Hamas war
broke out, said he fears the fighting across the Israel-Lebanon border will
overtake interest in the abysmal living conditions in Gaza and efforts to
negotiate a cease-fire. “We have become completely forgotten,” said Zaqout, who
is living in Khan Younis after fleeing from Gaza City months ago. “There is no
news about us in the media.” Palestinians fret that the miserable conditions in
Gaza will become permanent.”



Reuters: Israel And Hezbollah Carry Out New Attacks Amid Fears Of Wider
Conflict
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“Israel struck Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, and the Iran-backed
group attacked military facilities in northern Israel on Tuesday, increasing
fears of a full-blown conflict after Lebanon suffered its deadliest day in
decades. Israel's military said it hit dozens of Hezbollah targets overnight, a
day after carrying out airstrikes against the armed group, which Lebanese
authorities said killed nearly 500 people and sent tens of thousands fleeing
for safety. "In the last hour, warplanes bombed Hezbollah targets in southern
Lebanon, including missile launchers, military buildings, and buildings where
weapons were stored," Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee posted on X.
Hezbollah said it targeted several Israeli military targets overnight,
including an explosives factory 60 km (37 miles) into Israel, which it attacked
with Fadi rockets around 4 a.m. (0100 GMT).”



Egypt



Bloomberg: Egypt Sends Somalia Military Aid As Territorial Feud Simmers
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“Egypt said it sent military aid to Somalia, the latest show of support for
the Horn of Africa nation that’s embroiled in a feud with neighboring Ethiopia
over a breakaway territory. A shipment that recently arrived in the capital,
Mogadishu, is part of backing “for the efforts of sisterly Somalia to achieve
security and stability, combat terrorism,” and preserve its sovereignty and
unity, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said Monday in a brief statement. The North
African nation didn’t elaborate on the assistance but said it would help build
the Somali army’s capabilities and was part of Egypt’s obligations under a
military-cooperation protocol signed in August. That pact came in the wake of a
planned deal by landlocked Ethiopia to formally recognize Somaliland — which
declared independence from Somalia three decades ago — in return for access to
a port and a military base on the Gulf of Aden.”



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