CEP Mentions
Tagesspiegel: Iran’s Attack On Israel: Is A Major War In The Middle East Now Looming?
“Iran had long been saying it would happen, and on Tuesday the regime in Tehran got serious. Less than a day after Israel began its ground offensive in Lebanon, the Islamic Republic said it fired 200 rockets towards Israel. Sirens blared across the country, and according to Israeli forces, 180 rockets were intercepted. […] However, Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the international Counter Extremism Project and head of the office in Berlin, does not believe that an escalation is inevitable. "We are currently in a serious spiral of escalation, but one that can be ended at any time by one of the sides - Israel, Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas," Schindler told the Tagesspiegel. The picture in the region is complicated: some states sympathize with the Palestinians, some have problems with the militias supported by Tehran or are more or less neutral towards the situation.”
DW News: Iran Attacks Israel: All-Out War In The Middle East? | Ask DW Live Q&A
“After Iran has responded with ballistic missile attacks on Israel's ground offensive into Lebanon, Ask DW answers your questions. We'll be joined in the studio by DW's Middle East analyst Shani Rozanes and by security expert and senior director of the Counter-Extremism Project Hans-Jacob Schindler as well as journalist Karim El-Gawhary from Beirut.”
DW News: The Day With Phil Gayle: Iran Missile Attack
“Israel vows to retaliate after Iran fires a barrage of ballistic missiles towards Israeli cities. Iran says its latest attack was in response to the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah last week and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in late July. The US has condemned the attack as a major escalation.”
United States
Associated Press: After Pressing An Israel-Hezbollah Cease-Fire, The Biden Administration Shifts Its Message
“The Biden administration says there is a significant difference between Israeli actions that have expanded its war against the Iranian-backed militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah and Iran’s retaliatory missile attack against Israel, which it condemned as escalatory. In carefully calibrated remarks, officials across the administration are defending the surge in attacks by Israel against Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon, while still pressing for peace and vowing retribution after Iran fired about 200 ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday. President Joe Biden praised the U.S. and Israel militaries for defeating the barrage and warned, “Make no mistake, the United States is fully, fully supportive of Israel.” Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the Iranian missile attack “totally unacceptable, and the entire world should condemn it.””
Syria
Reuters: Israel Strikes Three Anti-Aircraft Radar Stations In Southern Syria, Sources Say
“Israel has struck at least three anti-aircraft radar stations in southern Syria, including one stationed in a military airfield, two Syrian military sources told Reuters on Tuesday. The drone strikes hit two radar stations west of the city of Sweida, including one stationed in an airbase in the area. Another hit a radar station in the adjoining Daraa province. They are part of the Syrian army’s air defences in the southern region, one of the sources added. Israel said commando and paratroop units launched raids into Lebanon on Tuesday as part of a "limited" ground incursion, while Iran-backed Hezbollah said it had fired a barrage of missiles into Israel, including at its spy agency near Tel Aviv.”
Afghanistan
Associated Press: US Special Envoy For Taliban-Ruled Afghanistan Moved To Different Role
“The United States has reassigned its special representative for Afghanistan, leaving vacant a key position in its efforts to engage with the Taliban-ruled country. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the decision Tuesday to reassign Tom West, while emphasizing that Washington's commitment to the South Asian nation "remains an enduring priority." Blinken said West would serve in a new role as the acting head of the Office of Sanctions Coordination at the U.S. State Department and commended him for working "tirelessly to ensure [that] both our national interests and the welfare of the Afghan people guided our policy in Afghanistan." West was appointed as the special representative to Afghanistan in October 2021, two months after the Taliban regained power and all U.S.-led NATO troops withdrew from the country, ending 20 years of involvement in the war.”
Yemen
Associated Press: Yemen’s Houthi Rebels Are Looking To Gain From Continuing Conflict In The Middle East
“In the days since Israel intensified its campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, including the strike that killed the militant group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been quick to show they are an important player in the complex conflicts convulsing the Middle East. In a brazen attack on Saturday, the Houthis fired a ballistic missile at Israel’s main airport as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was arriving back from New York, where he had addressed the United Nations. On Monday, they threatened “escalating military operations” to target Israel after apparently shooting down a U.S. military drone flying over Yemen. And on Tuesday, an explosive-loaded drone crashed into one ship in the Red Sea as a missile exploded against another, the British military and private security officials said, the latest in the Houthis’ assaults on commercial shipping in the key waterway.”
Lebanon
Associated Press: Under Fire And Using Old Equipment, Lebanon’s Rescuers Struggle To Respond To Israeli Offensive
“When Israel bombed buildings outside the southern Lebanese city of Sidon, Mohamed Arkadan and his team rushed to an emergency unlike anything they had ever seen. About a dozen apartments had collapsed onto the hillside they once overlooked, burying more than 100 people. Even after 17 years with the civil defense forces of one of the world’s most war-torn nations, Arkadan was shocked at the destruction. By Monday afternoon — about 24 hours after the bombing — his team had pulled more than 40 bodies, including children’s, from the rubble, along with 60 survivors. The children’s bodies broke his heart, said Arkadan, 38, but his team of over 30 first responders’ inability to help further pained him more. Firetrucks and ambulances haven’t been replaced in years. Rescue tools and equipment are in short supply. His team has to buy their uniforms out of pocket.”
Middle East
BBC: Seven Killed In Shooting And Knife Attack In Tel Aviv
“Seven people have been killed in a shooting and knife attack in Tel Aviv, police in Israel have confirmed. Several others were injured - some seriously - when a gunman opened fire at members of the public in the Jaffa area. The deadly attack began in a rail carriage and continued on the platform, local police said in a statement. Footage posted on social media showed motionless bodies strewn on the street. Police said the gunman and another attacker armed with a knife were "neutralised" by members of the public, and described the motive as "terror". The identities of the perpetrators have not been released. Some Israeli media outlets earlier reported the death toll as eight, though it is unclear if this included the attackers. The shooting occurred shortly before an Iranian missile attack against Israel began.”
Reuters: Hamas Praises 'Heroic' Missile Attacks Launched By Iran
“Hamas praised on Tuesday what it called Iran's "heroic" missile attacks avenging the deaths of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and Iranian Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan. "We congratulate the heroic rocket launch carried out by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran, on large areas of our occupied territories, in response to the occupation's continuing crimes against the peoples of the region, and in retaliation for the blood of our nation’s heroic martyrs," the group said. Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday in retaliation for Israel's campaign against Tehran's Hezbollah allies in Lebanon, and Israel vowed a "painful response" against its enemy. Iran had vowed to retaliate following Israeli strikes that killed the top leadership of its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon, including that group's leader Hassan Nasrallah, a towering figure in Iran's network of fighters across the region.”
Associated Press: Palestinian Officials Say 51 Killed In Israeli Strikes On Southern Gaza
“Israel launched ground operations and carried out airstrikes in a hard-hit city in southern Gaza overnight, killing at least 51 people, including women and children, Palestinian medical officials said Wednesday. Israel has continued to strike what it says are militant targets across Gaza nearly a year after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack ignited the war in the Palestinian territory, and even as attention has shifted to Lebanon and Iran. Israel has launched ground operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Tehran fired a barrage of ballistic missiles on Israel late Tuesday. Separately, Hezbollah said its fighters clashed with Israeli troops in the Lebanese border town of Odaisseh, forcing the troops to retreat. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military or independent confirmation of the fighting, which would mark the first ground combat since Israeli troops crossed the border this week.”
Somalia
Bloomberg: Islamic State Doubles Its Presence In Somalia, Us Military Says
“Islamic State in Somalia, the global terrorist group’s affiliate in the Horn of Africa nation, has doubled its presence in the country this year, the chief of the US Africa Command said. “I am concerned about the northern part of Somalia and ISIS growing in numbers,” Africom Commander Michael Langley said on Voice of America, warning about the possibility of Islamic State increasing its foreign-fighter presence in Somalia. Abdulkadir Mumin, the leader of IS-Somalia, split from Islamist-militant group al-Shabaab — which is linked to al-Qaeda — to form the group nine years ago and was the target of a US airstrike in May, according to the International Crisis Group. Asked whether Mumin is now the global leader of IS, Langley said the US considers those reports “credible.” “ISIS professes that — sometimes you’ve got to take that seriously,” he said.”
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