Full-Scale Mideast War Only Way to Shaky Peace - Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman

Full-Scale Mideast War Only Way to Shaky Peace - Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman

Sputnik

Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev suggested that a full-scale war in the Middle East is the only way to a shaky peace in the region. 

"The knot in the Middle East is tightening. I regret the loss of innocent lives. They are just hostages of a disgusting state - the United States. Meanwhile, it is clear to everyone that a full-scale war is the only way to a shaky peace in the region," Medvedev wrote on Telegram. 

On Wednesday, Palestinian movement Hamas reported the death of its political leader Ismail Haniyeh as a result of an Israeli strike on his residence in Tehran, where he had arrived to participate in the inauguration of Iran's new president.

The movement blamed Haniyeh's death on Israel and the United States and said the attack would not be left without a response. 

Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said he had nothing to comment on the death of the Hamas political chief and Israel's involvement. Israeli army officials said they do not respond to media reports about Haniyeh's murder. The Jerusalem Post reported that Israeli authorities had instructed ministers not to speak out about Haniyeh's death.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov called Haniyeh's death an absolutely unacceptable political assassination that threatens further escalation in the region.

"There is no doubt that Ismail Haniyeh’s killing will have an extremely negative impact on the indirect contacts between Hamas and Israel, which offered a framework for achieving a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on mutually acceptable terms," the Foreign Ministry Information and Press Department’s Deputy Director Andrey Nastasyin

WORLD WAR III WATCH: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei Orders Direct Strike on Israel

WORLD WAR III WATCH: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei Orders Direct Strike on Israel After Jewish State Reportedly Kills Hamas Leader in Tehran

Cullen Linebarger

As a dementia patient occupies the White House, World War III may be about to break out in the Middle East.

Jim Hoft previously reported that Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed after their residence was hit in Tehran on Tuesday evening. Moreover, Israel DID NOT inform the Biden regime before they reportedly took out Haniyeh in Tehran.

The strike by Israel came less than after the Jewish State took out the military commander of Hezbollah in Lebanon. This was in retaliation for Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorists slaughtering 12 innocent children after one of their rockets hit a soccer field on Saturday.

Now The New York Times reveals that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has given the order to strike Israel DIRECTLY in retaliation for Haniyeh’s death. He gave the order Wednesday morning, just hours after the terror leader’s demise.

Israel, The Times notes, has neither confirmed nor denied killing Hanyeh.

The New York Times reported:

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has issued an order for Iran to strike Israel directly, in retaliation for the killing in Tehran of Hamas’s leader, Ismail Haniyeh, according to three Iranian officials briefed on the order.

Mr. Khamenei gave the order at an emergency meeting of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council on Wednesday morning, shortly after Iran announced that Mr. Haniyeh had been killed, said the three Iranian officials, including two members of the Revolutionary Guards. They asked that their names not be published because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Khamenei is signaling that the response from Iran will prove harsh. He vowed to avenge Haniyeh’s blood “our duty” because it happened on Iran’s turf. He also stated that Israel had set the stage for receiving “a severe punishment” as The Times notes.

The Times notes in their report that the exact nature of the retaliation remains unknown. Back in April, Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel to avenge an Israeli strike on its embassy compound Damascus, Syria. During the attack, several Iranian military commanders were wiped out.

Security Council Holds Emergency Meeting on Mideast Tensions After Terror Chiefs Killed

Security Council holds emergency meeting on Mideast tensions after terror chiefs killed

Times of Israel is liveblogging Thursday

At UN, US calls for pressuring Iran ‘to stop escalating its proxy conflict against Israel, others’

UN Security Council countries on Wednesday call for stepped-up diplomatic efforts to avert a wider Middle East conflict, during the emergency meeting called after the killings of two terror leaders raised tensions.China, Russia, Algeria and others condemn the assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, which Iran’s UN ambassador calls an act of terrorism, while the US, UK and France raise what they say is Iranian support for destabilizing actors in the region.

China, Russia, Algeria and others condemn the assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, which Iran’s UN ambassador calls an act of terrorism, while the US, UK and France raise what they say is Iranian support for destabilizing actors in the region.

Israel’s deputy representative to the UN, Jonathan Miller, calls on the Security Council to condemn Iran for support of regional terrorism and increase sanctions on Tehran.

Security Council holding emergency meeting on Mideast tensions after terror chiefs killed

The UN Security Council is holding an emergency meeting after a set of airstrikes hours apart killed two top terror group officials in the Middle East, raising concerns that a regional war could erupt.

The killings of Hamas’s political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, in Iran and of a top Hezbollah commander in Lebanon have stirred a diplomatic scramble at the UN and elsewhere to try to contain the complex, mounting tensions.

“The various attacks over the past few days represent a serious and dangerous escalation,” UN Undersecretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo says as the council meeting begins. She calls for diplomatic efforts “to change the trajectory and seek a path toward regional peace and stability.”

Iran's Khamenei orders attack on Israel as revenge for Haniyeh elimination

Iran's Khamenei orders attack on Israel as revenge for Haniyeh elimination - report

TOVAH LAZAROFF, JERUSALEM POST STAFF

Iran is expected to directly attack Israel in response to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday morning, according to a New York Times report citing three sources.

The directive was issued at an emergency meeting of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, the report added.

Iran’s Supreme leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei had earlier in the day spoken of retribution in a post on X.

“Following this bitter, tragic event which has taken place within the borders of the Islamic Republic, it is our duty to take revenge,” he wrote.

Iran had already directly attacked Israel in April.  Ninety-nine percent of its 300 drones and missiles were shot out of the sky by a coalition of five armies belonging to the US, Israel, Jordan, and the United Kingdom.

Haniyeh killed in Tehran

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin had earlier in the day said, “If Israel is attacked, we certainly will help defend Israel.”

US National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby said, “We have and will maintain a level of readiness to preserve our national security interest in the region. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had on Wednesday night warned that there could be challenging days ahead and that Israel was prepared for any scenario as he spoke of Israel’s existential battle against Tehran.

Khamenei said to order direct strike on Israel after Haniyeh killed in Tehran

TOI STAFF

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has ordered a direct strike on Israel for the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, according to a report Wednesday, as he and other top Iranian officials vowed a response to the Palestinian terror chief’s assassination in Tehran.

Citing three unnamed Iranian officials briefed on the matter, including two Revolutionary Guard members, the New York Times reported that Khamenei gave the directive at an emergency meeting of the Supreme National Security Council held shortly after Haniyeh’s killing was announced Wednesday morning.

As part of the order, the officials said Khamenei told commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iranian Army to ready both attack and defense plans “in the event that the war expands and Israel or the United States strike Iran.”

Israel has not commented on the incident, which came amid its war with the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip and hours after an IDF strike in Beirut killed the top military commander of fellow Iran-backed Hezbollah. With Israel on high alert for a possible response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned in an address to the nation on Wednesday evening that “challenging days are ahead,” but vowed the country was “ready for every scenario” and “will exact a very heavy price for any aggression against us.” He did not mention Haniyeh.

Khamenei had hosted Haniyeh, who was visiting Tehran for the swearing-in ceremony of new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, for a meeting on Tuesday hours before he was killed.

“With this action, the criminal and terrorist Zionist regime prepared the ground for harsh punishment for itself, and we consider it our duty to seek revenge for his blood as he was martyred in the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Khamenei said in a statement on the assassination carried by state media.

“A Secret Service Counter-Sniper Is Predicting Another Assassination Attempt Before November"

“A Secret Service counter-sniper is predicting another assassination attempt before November"

The Vigilant Fox

JOE ROGAN: “Do you think they're gonna try to take him [Trump] out again?” MICHAEL MALICE: “Yes.” JOE ROGAN: “Yeah, I do too. I think if they did that, this is not the only time they're gonna do that.” What's chilling is that it's not just Rogan and Malice saying this but also a Secret Service counter-sniper. Jesse Watters reports, “A Secret Service counter-sniper is predicting another assassination attempt before November. In an email obtained by Real Clear Politics, a Secret Service agent with 20 years experience on the counter sniper team is announcing he's gonna blow the whistle until all of his supervisors are fired. The counter-sniper says his mission is to prevent another JFK-style assassination. And the only reason that hasn't happened is because they've gotten lucky.” The email reads, “We all should expect another assassination attempt to happen before November. We've exposed our inability to protect our leaders due to our leadership.” “After this email went public, it was wiped off the Secret Service servers,” reported Watters. “There's a massive cover-up underway.”

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'ELEVATED RISK' New pandemic fears as UK health officials declare ‘level 4’ bird flu outbreak after virus jumped from cows to humans

'ELEVATED RISK' New pandemic fears as UK health officials declare ‘level 4’ bird flu outbreak after virus jumped from cows to humans

Isabel Shaw

The UK is now poised to launch a "public health response" to the new deadly strain

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says: "There is high uncertainty regarding the trajectory of the outbreak and there is no apparent reduction in transmission in response to the biosecurity measures that have been introduced to date."

To make sure the country is prepared for a possible outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N1 in humans, officials monitor its spread and assess its risk. 

This move comes after four dairy workers in the US tested positive for the bug in a scary advancement that saw the virus jump from birds to cows, spread between them and end up in humans. 

To become a pandemic, a virus needs to be able to infect humans easily and spread among them.

So far, there is no evidence that bird flu can be transmitted between people.

However, experts fear the sheer scale of the spread could give the virus more opportunities to mutate, which could accidentally enable H5N1 to better transmit between mammals - and potentially humans.

"The recent outbreak in US dairy cattle demonstrates that influenzaA(H5N1) continues to infect new mammals and spread between them," Dr Susan Hopkins, the UKHSA chief medical advisor, said.

“While the current risk to the UK population from influenza A(H5N1) virus remains very low, an outbreak of this kind can increase the opportunities the virus has to evolve to spread between people at some point in the future. 

"This is because the virus may adapt directly during transmission between mammals or may reassort with other flu viruses in humans or other mammals."

Bird flu's new level four risk means the disease has experienced "sustained multiple multispecies outbreaks" and "increasing human zoonotic cases or limited person to person exposure", according to the report published earlier this month.

To reach level five, the virus would have to cause "human outbreaks (larger or without identified zoonotic links)" meaning it spreads between humans.

For level six, the UK would have to see "sustained" transmission between humans.

Dr Susan said the UKHSA would "continue to monitor the situation closely". 

“UKHSA has established preparations in place for detections of human cases of avian flu and stands ready to initiate an appropriate public health response should it be needed," she added. 

In government guidance issued in May, Brits were advised to stay at least two meters away from wild birds because of bird flu fears.

People should avoid all contact with wild birds, which includes pigeons, swans, and seagulls, UKHSA said.

Some countries are discussing deploying vaccines or are working to secure supplies.

In November, health officials told The Sun that the UK was drawing up plans to stockpile vaccines in case of a bird flu pandemic in humans.

In May, the World Health Organisation (WHO) initiated a review of available influenza vaccines and confirmed that they would work against the H5N1 virus circulating in cattle.

“Although the current public health risk is low, WHO is operating in a constant state of readiness for a potential influenza pandemic,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, who heads epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention at the WHO.

Meanwhile, Finland has already begun vaccinating people against avian influenza, focusing on high-risk workers at fur and poultry farms.

In the US, scientists at pharmaceutical giant Moderna are developing an mRNA vaccine against bird flu.

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A 'Watershed Event': Five Takeaways From Israel's Assassination Of Hamas' Political Leader In Tehran

A 'Watershed Event': Five Takeaways From Israel's Assassination Of Hamas' Political Leader In Tehran

Andrew Korybko

Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated by Israel early Wednesday morning in the heart of the Iranian capital hours after attending President Masoud Pezeshkian’s inauguration. The details remain unclear, but it’s widely thought that he was killed by a precision drone strike at his residence. The world is watching to see whether Iran and/or its Resistance Axis allies will respond, what form it could take if so, and whether that would escalate tensions to a wider war.

1. Israel’s Intelligence & Tactics Are Top-Notch

Israel somehow or another obtained accurate intelligence about Haniyeh’s location despite it being top-secret and was then able to successfully assassinate him. Whatever air defenses (including electronic warfare ones) that Iran had deployed in its capital as part of the security measures to protect its high-profile guests failed to thwart this attack. This is a major embarrassment for the Islamic Republic and prompts speculation about whether it was due to utter incompetence or was partially an inside job.

2. Iran Is Caught In A Dilemma Over How To Respond

It’s unimaginable that Iran won’t respond to its Israeli enemy assassinating a high-profile allied guest in Tehran during the new president’s inauguration, but the dilemma is over the form that this response will take. Launching another drone and missile salvo against Israel like it did in the spring after the bombing of its consulate in Damascus is possible, though Israel could spin that as a failure if many of them are shot down like last time, the on-the-ground damage is minimal, and no high-profile targets are killed.

3. Mutually Assured Destruction Hangs Heavy Over Everyone’s Head

The response that Iran resorts to will be determined by its leadership’s understanding of how far they can go without triggering the “mutually assured destruction” (MAD) scenario, which both Israel and the Resistance Axis fear and is why they’ve thus far restrained themselves from waging all-out war. A repeat of spring’s salvo could remain below that threshold, but Iran might also respond in a different way that’s interpreted by Israel as an escalation, thus prompting its own escalation that could then lead to MAD.

4.  A Choreographed Response Might Therefore Be The Most “Rational”…

Duma member Dmitry Belik, whose claim to fame was helping Sevastopol reunify with Russia when he briefly served as the region’s acting head in spring 2014, described spring’s salvo as a “beautiful theatrical production”. If there’s any truth to his innuendo that Iran choreographed its response with the US and/or Israel to Israel’s bombing of its consulate in Syria, then it might also do the same after Haniyeh’s assassination, which could help Iran “save face” while averting an escalation towards MAD.

5. …But There’s No Guarantee That Iran’s Allies Will “Stand Down”

Hamas and Hezbollah are Iran’s allies but operate independently of it despite their close ties. There’s accordingly no guarantee that they’ll “stand down” and not respond in their own way if Iran sends another salvo to Israel regardless of whether or not it’s choreographed. After all, Hamas’ political chief was just killed, while one of Hezbollah’s top commanders was assassinated by Israel in Beirut the day prior. This makes the MAD risk even less manageable since those two might not share Iran’s calculations.  

Haniyeh’s assassination is a watershed event in the latest Israeli-Hamas War, which is now a regional Israeli-Iranian proxy war, since it greatly spikes the risk of everything spiraling into MAD.

Iran’s response will be crucial in determining whether or not that happens, but so too will Hamas and Hezbollah’s.

They’ll either “stand down” as Iran responds regardless of whether or not it’s choreographed, participate in a joint response that remains below the MAD threshold, or decide to cross that red line on their own.  

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Has Pledged To Avenge Death Ff Hamas Political Chief Ismail Haniyeh

Iran’s supreme leader vows ‘revenge

RT

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has pledged to avenge the death of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in a missile strike in Tehran on Wednesday.

Countries throughout the region have blamed the attack on Israel, but the Jewish state has yet to officially comment.

Following the assassination, an X account translating and sharing Khamenei’s statements posted a message from the Iranian leader, saying: “following this bitter, tragic event which has taken place within the borders of the Islamic Republic, it is our duty to take revenge.”

In a separate statement, Khamenei promised “harsh punishment” for Israel over Haniyeh’s killing, claiming that “the criminal and terrorist Zionist regime martyred our dear guest in our house and made us bereaved, but it also prepared the ground for a harsh punishment for itself.”

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has also condemned the strike on Haniyeh’s residence in Tehran, vowing to defend the Islamic Republic’s territorial integrity, honor and dignity and make “the terrorist occupiers regret their cowardly action.”

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has also threatened Israel with a “harsh and painful response” from Iran and its allies.

In a statement, the IRGC said Haniyeh’s assassination showed that “the Zionist gang of criminals, murderers and terrorists, without any regard for international rules and regulations, does not shy away from committing any criminal action to cover up the shameful failures of nine months of war in Gaza.”

Ayatollah Says 'Severe' Revenge Coming For Israel Killing Hamas Leader On Iranian Soil

TYLER DURDEN

The world just woke up to a new Middle East on Wednesday which stands on the precipice of major war between Iran and its proxies and Israel, following the overnight Israeli assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the top political leader of Hamas, during an inauguration event for Iran’s new president. Haniyeh, who is based in Qatar, and an Iranian security guard were killed reportedly while in the Iranian capital. Hamas has since condemned the "treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran."

Iran is vowing "severe" punishment, with the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, announcing in English and Farsi on X, "The criminal, terrorist Zionist regime martyred our dear guest in our territory and has caused our grief, but it has also prepared the ground for a severe punishment."

And Iran's newly sworn-in president Masoud Pezeshkian in a statement cited in state media said the country will "defend its territorial integrity, dignity, honor, and pride, and will make the terrorist occupiers regret their cowardly act."

Taking out Haniyeh was the second high-profile assassination attributed by Israel in a matter of hours, following the Tuesday airstrike in Beirut that killed Hezbollah’s top military leader and right-hand man to Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, Fuad Shukr. 

That attack was massive and on a neighborhood and buildings in the south of the capital, with Lebanon’s Health Ministry saying three people, including two children, have been killed, with at least 74 wounded. Emergency workers are still searching under the rubble, and thus the civilian death toll is likely to rise further.

And now there are emerging reports of another Israeli air raid - this time on Syria's capital of Damascus (unconfirmed) - with likely casualties. A large cloud of smoke was seen rising over the Damascus suburb of Sayyidah Zaynab at around 3pm local time. It is an area which sees a constant influx of Iranian religious pilgrims, and Israel has bombed it frequently, saying each time it is targeting Iranian military assets and proxies.

Adding to this volatile mix, the US military also overnight launched its first military action in Iraq in months, reportedly striking militia combatants who attempted to launch a drone attack. The Pentagon is calling the new military action a defensive airstrike.

The US State Department and US administration have reportedly expressed confusion at the rapid series of Israeli actions in the last hours...

Iraq's pro-Iran Popular Mobilization Authority confirmed casualties, saying, "Forces affiliated with the 47th Brigade… were exposed to an explosion of unknown nature, which resulted in the martyrdom of a number of people and the injury of others."

So in the last 24 hours there has been military action by Israel or the US in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and Iraq. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant regarding "the threats to Israel posed by a range of Iranian-backed terrorist groups, including Lebanese Hezbollah," according to a readout.

Netanyahu to convene security cabinet as threats of revenge mount after Haniyeh killing

Netanyahu to convene security cabinet as threats of revenge mount after Haniyeh killing

Times of Israel is liveblogging Wednesday

Jordan’s FM discusses ‘dangerous escalation’ with Blinken, urges war’s end

Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi speaks by phone with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss “the dangerous escalation taking place in the region and the steps required to stop it,” according to the Jordanian readout.

Safadi stresses that stopping Israel’s war in Gaza “must be the main immediate priority.” He also repeats his condemnation of the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, calling it “a heinous crime, a violation of international law, and a dangerous escalation.”

FM Katz urges dozens of countries to demand Hezbollah’s withdrawal from Israel border

Foreign Minister Israel Katz sends a letter to dozens of foreign ministers, calling on them to demand “an immediate cessation of Hezbollah’s attacks, its withdrawal to north of the Litani River, and its disarmament in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1701.”

“Israel is not interested in an all-out war,” he continues, “but the only way to prevent it is the immediate implementation of Resolution 1701.”

Katz also says that in the strike on Hezbollah military head Fuad Shukr, Israel “sent a clear message: We will harm with great force whoever harms us.”

Israel’s ‘non-rights’: Some of Haniyeh’s last words

Channel 12 broadcasts what it says were some of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh’s final public remarks, hours before his death.

In an excerpt of a television interview he gave in Tehran yesterday, Haniyeh refers to meetings he had been holding with Iran’s leadership and welcomes what he says was the new Iranian prime minister’s reiteration of “the permanent stance of the Islamic Republic, on the Palestinian issue, on resistance, on Jerusalem.”

Adds Haniyeh approvingly: “We also heard his stance on Israel’s non-right to any centimeter of the land of Palestine.”

Iran says US bears ‘responsibility’ as supporter of Israel in killing of Hamas chief

Dismay in Gaza, and rare open support for Hamas in West Bank after Haniyeh killing

Palestinian demonstrators have marched through Ramallah and other cities in the  West Bank in protest against the killing. They carried dozens of green Hamas flags and chanted, “The people want al-Qassam Brigades,” a reference to the group’s military wing.

Open support in Ramallah for Hamas is rare. Ramallah is the administrative capital of the West Bank and is governed by the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority, long at odds with Hamas over the governance of the two Palestinian territories.

Reports of explosion in Damascus suburb with heavy Iran presence

Netanyahu to convene security cabinet after killing of top Hezbollah, Hamas leaders

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene the security cabinet today, his office announces.

The meeting comes in the wake of the assassinations of top Hezbollah and Hamas officials.

Revolutionary Guards say Iran and proxies will respond to Haniyeh’s assassination

The assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran “will be met with a harsh and painful response,” Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards military force says in a statement.

“Iran and the resistance front will respond to this crime,” it says, employing a term Tehran uses to refer to its proxies across the Middle East.

Hamas political leader Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, plunging Middle East conflict into dangerous new phase

Hamas political leader Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, plunging Middle East conflict into dangerous new phase

Rob Picheta

Hamas said its political leader Ismail Haniyeh has been killed in an overnight strike in the Iranian capital Tehran, a major development that throws the war between Israel and the militant group into an unpredictable and dangerous new phase.

Haniyeh’s death is, both strategically and symbolically, a dramatic blow to Hamas, eliminating its most public figure who headed up the group’s political operations while living overseas.

He is the second leader of an Iran-backed group reported to have been assassinated in the last day, following the killing of Hezbollah’s most senior military commander in Lebanon.

In a statement, Hamas accused Israel of targeting Haniyeh and his bodyguard in a “strike” on the building in which he was staying in Tehran, where he had participated in Tuesday’s inauguration of the new Iranian president. Hamas officials said Haniyeh’s death would “not pass in vain” and described the killing as a “grave escalation,” while Iran’s Supreme Leader said it is “our duty to ask for the blood of our dear guest.”

Iranian state run media IRNA said the strike happened at around 2 a.m. local time (6:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday), involving an “airborne guided projectile.” Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, was sworn in on Tuesday and Hamas released pictures the same day of Haniyeh meeting Iranian officials in Tehran. State-affiliated Fars said Haniyeh was staying in a residence in north Tehran.

Israel’s military said it does not respond to reports in foreign media, though senior officials have previously vowed to eliminate Hamas and its leadership in response to the group’s October 7 attack on Israel. It later said it was “conducting a situational assessment.”

In contrast, Israel did confirm it carried out a strike in Beirut, Lebanon, on Tuesday that killed Hezbollah commander Fu’ad Shukr, whom it blamed for a deadly attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights over the weekend. Shukr’s assassination was the most serious Israeli escalation in its confrontation with the powerful Lebanese militant group since it restarted in earnest last October.

This week’s dual strikes, which came within several hours of each other, seemingly escalates that discord on multiple fronts, and will prompt renewed fears of an all-out war breaking outin the Middle East.

It may also dash any remaining hopes of a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza being reached in the near future, amid a catastrophic humanitarian crisis in the enclave. Haniyeh had played a leading role representing Hamas in months-long truce negotiations, which have repeatedly appeared to reach the cusp of a breakthrough, only to collapse at the last moment.

Haniyeh’s death leaves Hamas without its public political figurehead, and likely represents a major setback to its international operations. It would not be expected to dramatically impact its military effort, but his demise may carry symbolic weight throughout the organization.

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Are the Olympics a Trial Run for a 1984 Digital State?

Are the Olympics a Trial Run for a 1984 Digital State?

AARON HERTZBERG 

First-person report of QR Codes, Digital IDs, and police militarization of Paris

This is a guest post from a friend who is on the ground in Paris reporting what the situation is like.

The last site/category of Olympic events, and the location of the opening ceremony, the Seine River, is the most problematic in terms of security perimeters. 

In fact, in order to meet the endless safety, commercial, and sanitary needs associated with the many uses to which the river is being put, an unprecedented thing has taken place: for 8 days leading up to the opening ceremony (tomorrow), the Seine and its immediate surroundings have undergone a form of privatization that has kept almost the entirety of the Parisian population off its riverbanks and away from its nearest surrounding streets and bridges. 

Implementing this shutting down of the river has involved widespread use of the aforementioned chainlink-type moveable fences – thousands of them – along with a novel but not entirely unfamiliar technological device: the QR-coded pass. 

Entry would be granted only to authorized individuals in possession of a special QR-coded “Games Pass.” 

The “authorized” individuals allowed to enter this area, on foot or on bicycle only, would be: local residents, owners, or employees of shops and businesses on 42nd Street, and/or tourists and others with valid reasons for needing to be there. 

The QR-coded “Games Pass” itself would be issued to applicants only after the successful submission of detailed personal information and supporting documents to the NYPD well in advance of the shutdown period. 

For reasons unknown, many employees of small businesses would never get their QR-coded “Games Pass” after correctly providing all necessary personal information to the authorities. 

It’s hard to capture the universal exasperation caused by this 8-day near-total shutdown of the Seine River, its upper and lower riverbanks, the buildings all around it, and most of its bridges. 

The rerouting of motorized traffic and resulting colossal bottlenecks around this central part of the city have been an absolute nightmare to taxis and commuters at rush hour – even after the significant reduction in the number of vehicles on the roads following the seasonal exodus of Parisians fleeing the city for summer homes and foreign vacation destinations.

But it’s the restrictions on pedestrian and cyclist movements around the water and riverside areas that have enraged Parisians the most. 

The police officers I spoke with said a small number of people, like myself, objected to the use of QR-coded passes on principle, saying that it reminded them of the health and vaccine pass nightmares and that hosting an international event was no justification for denying freedom of movement in this way. 

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Man dies in Spain after contracting Ebola-like disease

Man dies in Spain after contracting Ebola-like disease that leaves victims bleeding from the eyes

• Isabel Shaw
• Natalia Penza

A MAN has died in Spain after being bitten by a tick and contracting a deadly disease that's similar to Ebola.

The 74-year-old lost his life in a hospital near Madrid after being diagnosed with Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) - which can make sufferers’ eyes bleed.

He had been rushed to the Rey Juan Carlos University Hospital in Mostoles on July 19 after being bitten by a tick near his weekend home in Buenasbodas in Toledo, around 100 miles southwest of the Spanish capital.

After confirming he had the rare virus, which has a 40 per cent mortality rate, he was transferred to an isolation unit at Madrid’s La Paz University Hospital to stop anyone else from catching it.

The unnamed OAP’s condition was initially described as stable. 

But his condition deteriorated after he reportedly developed all the symptoms of the terrifying disease and he died on Saturday.

He is the second man to contract the bug in Spain this year and the first to die of the disease since May 2020 - when it claimed the life of a 69-year-old man.

It comes as deadly tiger mosquitoes have been found in two Spanish hotspots sparking an urgent holiday warning for Brits heading abroad.

CCHF is a tick-borne disease is listed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as being one of nine pathogens deemed most likely to trigger a pandemic.

Initial symptoms include a fever, muscle aches, abdominal pain, a sore throat and vomiting.

CCHF can also cause mood swings and confusion, as well as sleepiness.

It can also trigger bleeds, usually from the nose or broken capillaries on the eyes and skin.

Although transmitted through tick bites, it can spread between humans through bodily fluids including blood or among hospital patients if medical equipment is not properly sterilised.

Groups that are at high risk of infection are farmers and those who work in slaughterhouses.

The virus is endemic in places with warmer climates such as Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and Asia.

But scientists fear the disease could be expanding out of its usual territories and moving towards Britain and France due to global warming.

There have been around 15 cases of CCHF infection in Spain since it was first detected in 2016.

During a Parliament's Science, Innovation and Technology Committee meeting last summer, experts warned it is "highly likely" the disease could soon reach Britain.