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1. Censorship and Damage Control: Israel’s Response to Iran’s Retaliatory Strikes

Iran's retaliatory ballistic missile attack against Israel has sparked widespread condemnation from Western nations. These reactions have been accompanied by both denials of the strike's effectiveness and suggestions that civilians were among the targets. However, video evidence and statements from Tehran's military leadership present a different narrative.

The Iranian attack, dubbed "Operation True Promise 2," involved the launch of approximately 180 ballistic missiles against three Israeli military air bases, according to official statements from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The October 1 strike was met with widespread celebration across the Middle East as videos emerged showing dozens of missiles directly hitting targets near Tel Aviv and other locations.

Iran's Defense Minister, Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh, stated that the attack "was carried out with more than 90% success and was fully compliant with international laws." However, Israel and the U.S. countered by claiming that the strike had targeted civilians and ultimately failed.

The most spectacular video yet of Iranian missiles impacting in Israel. pic.twitter.com/p72prcaKKO

— red. (@redstreamnet) October 1, 2024

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris issued a statement condemning Iran, claiming, "Israel, with our assistance, was able to defeat this attack." She further stated that the alleged "successful cooperation saved many innocent lives." Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer echoed this sentiment, condemning the strike and asserting that "the Iranian regime has launched over 200 ballistic missiles at civilian targets in Israel."

He is saying the Nevatim military airport in the Negev desert is gone.

The Iranian missiles have destroyed itpic.twitter.com/0LRKX74cK7

— الأخ الكبير (@BIG__Brother7) October 1, 2024

However, Iran explicitly stated that its attack targeted military facilities exclusively, and video footage supports this claim, showing missiles primarily landing at these locations. The specific targets were Nevatim and Netzarim military bases, which are home to squadrons of F-35 and F-15 fighter jets, as well as the Tel Nof air base.

15 minutes of footage of Iran's missiles hitting Israel.. pic.twitter.com/KvXn7kR3GI

— Nadira Ali (@Nadira_ali12) October 2, 2024

All the evidence seems to support Iran's narrative, as no Israeli non-combatants were killed, and there are no indications that civilian sites were directly targeted. An analysis of the video evidence, published by The Washington Post, concluded that footage of two dozen hits on military targets is consistent with missile strikes, not debris from interceptor missiles. The analysis noted that 20 impacts were recorded at Nevatim air base in the Naqab desert, three at Tel Nof base south of Tel Aviv, with an additional two missiles falling short near Mossad headquarters.

While Iranian media has circulated various claims, including the elimination of half of Israel's F-35 fighter jets, these reports have yet to be confirmed. However, emerging information does suggest such possibilities, though definitive evidence remains unavailable.

Israel has maintained strict military censorship throughout the war, even redacting articles in the Israeli media about the treatment of Palestinian prisoners. This heavy censorship makes it difficult to fully determine the specifics of recent events. However, there is now irrefutable evidence of direct hits on military infrastructure.

Satellite imagery released by Planet Labs revealed 32 distinct impact sites at the Nevatim air base. The evidence, including craters, damage to structures, and scorch marks, suggests that Iran's missile strikes caused significant damage to hangars, buildings, and taxiways, and created a crater on one of the runways.

According to an analysis of the satellite imagery led by Jeffrey Lewis, a professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, "if Nevatim is representative, that would suggest that more than half got through."

BREAKING: Satellite Images were released of the Israeli Nevatim air base, one of the airbases that was struck by Iranian missiles on October 1st.

Satellite imagery shows an aircraft hangar being hit as well as other buildings and possibly also damage to the runway.… https://t.co/kn14bSqbv0 pic.twitter.com/uBBr5FMqhX

— Arya – آریا (@AryJeay) October 3, 2024

On Wednesday, the Israeli military acknowledged that several office buildings and maintenance areas were struck inside Nevatim base. This admission contrasts sharply with Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari's initial assessment, which stated that "there were a small number of hits in the center of Israel and some other hits in the [sic] southern Israel."

Although the Israeli government maintains that the attack was unsuccessful and did not disrupt their air force operations, the shift in tone following the release of irrefutable satellite images is telling. Shortly after the Iranian strike, Google users began noticing that images of Israeli territory had been blurred, making it difficult to assess potential damage. Notably, the U.S. has a unique law prohibiting commercial satellite imagery of Israeli territory, adding another layer of complexity to independent verification.

While Israel has yet to release a detailed breakdown of what it claims was a "successful" air defense operation, the usual post-operation transparency—such as publishing percentages of missiles intercepted—has been notably absent. This silence is uncharacteristic, especially after what would typically be presented as a success story.

 

Context Behind the Strikes

In contrast to the typical coverage of Israeli strikes on alleged Hezbollah and Hamas military targets in Lebanon and Gaza, CNN took a more critical stance regarding Iran's potential targeting of Israeli military headquarters, emphasizing its placement within a densely populated civilian area.

While discrepancies exist in media coverage of Israeli strikes compared to those targeting Israel, significant context is often missing from the broader narrative.

Over the past year, tensions between Israel and Iran have escalated sharply. In December 2023, Israel assassinated Iranian military leaders, including IRGC commander Sayyed Razi Mousavi. In retaliation, Iran launched a ballistic missile strike on what it claimed was a Mossad headquarters in Iraq.

In January 2024, the Israeli Air Force conducted airstrikes on the Mezzeh neighborhood in Damascus, Syria, a densely populated area. The attack resulted in the deaths of five senior IRGC officials, along with a significant number of Syrian soldiers and civilians. Tehran chose not to retaliate at the time, as ceasefire negotiations regarding Gaza were underway.

In early April, Israel launched a series of airstrikes that targeted the consular section of Iran's embassy in Damascus, resulting in the deaths of seven people. This unprecedented action prompted Iran to retaliate by firing around 300 drones and missiles, which targeted Israeli military sites as a warning. When the issue was raised before the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), both the United States and the United Kingdom expressed their support for Israel and blocked any condemnation of the Israeli airstrike in Damascus.

On July 31, Israel carried out the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, marking a significant violation of Iranian sovereignty. At the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the United States and the United Kingdom once again aligned with Israel in response to the incident. According to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Western leaders had informed his government that if Iran refrained from retaliating for the assassination, they could help secure a ceasefire in Gaza. Pezeshkian has since called these assurances "outright lies," pointing to Israel's subsequent assassinations, attacks, and military operations in Lebanon.

The Iranian government had previously refrained from launching retaliatory strikes against Israel, expressing hope that diplomatic efforts could help end the conflict in Gaza. However, following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to expand military operations into Lebanon and amid heightened tensions with Iran, Tehran initiated Operation True Promise 2 in what appears to be a direct response.

Feature photo | Incoming missiles fired from Iran illuminate the Jerusalem sky, Oct. 1, 2024. Mahmoud Illean | AP

Robert Inlakesh is a political analyst, journalist and documentary filmmaker currently based in London, UK. He has reported from and lived in the occupied Palestinian territories and hosts the show 'Palestine Files'. Director of 'Steal of the Century: Trump's Palestine-Israel Catastrophe'. Follow him on Twitter @falasteen47

The post Censorship and Damage Control: Israel's Response to Iran's Retaliatory Strikes appeared first on MintPress News.

2. Gilbert Bigio: Israel’s Man in Haiti and the Architect Behind the US Migrant Crisis

In December 2022, Canada imposed strict sanctions on Gilbert Bigio, frequently referred to as "Haiti's only billionaire" and the deeply impoverished country's "richest man." He, along with two other super-wealthy Haitian citizens, was accused by Ottowa of using his outsized influence and power in the country "to protect and enable the illegal activities of the armed criminal gangs" that have been tearing Port-au-Prince apart for years. Since then, Bigio has remained at liberty and unpunished – meanwhile, Haiti has slid ever further into catastrophe.

Markedly, no other Western country – notably the sanctions-happy U.S. – followed Canada's lead. While wave upon wave of UN-mandated peacekeepers from every corner of the world have been deployed to Haiti in recent years, they have been unable to quell  – and often exacerbated – the violence that has left the country without a functioning state or civil society. Kenya, currently leading an international "anti-gang" initiative in Port-au-Prince, recently called for the effort to be transformed into a dedicated U.N. peacekeeping operation.

For his part, Latin American & Caribbean Studies Professor Danny Shaw has zero doubt that Bigio and others like him are fundamentally responsible for encouraging and facilitating Haiti's collapse. He tells MintPress News, "Only a tiny, well-connected clique of white warlords completely isolated from the needs and reality of the 99.9% of the Haitian population has the necessary private airports, ports and border contacts to smuggle guns and other contraband objects into the country."

That the arms have kept flowing all along, and no action has been taken to neutralize the international criminal networks operated by Bigio, undergirding that influx, tends to suggest the tycoon's illicit activities are actively, if quietly permitted by powerful elements within Western governments. As we shall see, Israel may lie at the forefront of Bigio's international protection racket. Comprehending how he furthers Israel's interests in Haiti and the wider region may be crucial to understanding how Tel Aviv's tendrils extend elsewhere overseas.

Professor Shaw notes that Bigio is also active in the neighboring Dominican Republic, working closely with President Luis Abinader. For example, Pablo Daniel Portes Goris, CEO of Bigio's GB Energy company, is Abinader's financial advisor. Walkiria Caamaño and Joan Fernandez Osorio are Bigio executives working for the Dominican president. Shaw adds:

Individuals like Bigio have historically been untouchable on both sides of the border. Dominican Republic elites have historically teamed up with corrupt Haitian leaders against the 99.9 percent of the island's population. The Bigios and a handful of other multimillionaire families, along with their hired politicians, are a state within a state. Much of what occurs in Haitian politics, from political coups to targeted assassinations, can be traced back to the power struggle that occurs between them."

 

'Admiration for Israel'

In reporting on Bigio's sanctioning by Canadian authorities, the Western media universally refused to mention his lifelong dedication to Zionism or intimate, long-running ties with the Israeli state. This deficit is indefensible, given a February 2004 Jewish Telegraphic Agency report on the history of Jews in Haiti featured a lengthy portrait of the oligarch, offering some highly revealing, deeply suspect disclosures along the way.

Bigio was described as the "de facto leader" of the country's ever-diminishing Jewish community, routinely convening celebrations such as Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur at his "big, beautiful house" in "one of the few upscale neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince." Despite not being "a religious man," Bigio was "especially proud of the Torah scroll he keeps in his study – the only Torah in Haiti." Coincidentally, Israel's founders were typically not observant Jews but predominantly atheists and evangelical Christians. They remain among Tel Aviv's most rabid supporters today.

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency revealed how Bigio's grandfather and father emigrated to Haiti in the late 1800s and during World War I, respectively, part of a contemporary wave of Sephardi Jew arrivals from Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria. Thereafter, the oligarch's forebears "prospered in the export of cotton, cacao and campeche wood." Come the present day, Bigio and his family had expanded their Haitian operations to include "industry and trading," a steel mill, and banking. These activities made them "extremely wealthy" in a country where: "About 50 percent of the population is illiterate, and 76 percent of children under age five are underweight or suffer from stunted growth."

Despite this, while residing in a "well-guarded" palatial home replete with "a luxurious swimming pool and a gazebo for outdoor parties," Bigio dismissed suggestions average Haitians felt any "resentment" towards him or other wealthy expatriates in the country, which included a number of high-profile Israelis. Instead, he suggested, "If you know how to manage success, people admire you instead of hate you." He also "laughed" when asked if he'd ever experienced antisemitism in the country.

Bigio countered that Haitians "have a lot of respect for the Jews and a lot of admiration for Israel," noting Haiti voted in favor of the 1947 UN partition plan for Palestine, which created Israel. In the present day, he added, Port-au-Prince "annually imports $20 million worth of Israeli goods, ranging from telecom equipment to Uzi machine guns," and the pair enjoyed "good" relations. As the Jewish Telegraphic Agency noted, the tycoon was well-placed to comment on this issue:

Bigio…is the honorary Israeli consul in Haiti, which explains the enormous Israeli flag in front of his house – as well as his bulletproof Mercedes SUV."

This may mean Bigio enjoys de facto diplomatic immunity, which could partly explain how, despite the Canadian government's censure, weapons continue to flow into Port-au-Prince without hindrance and how he has not faced prosecution or penalties stateside or elsewhere. Conversely, though, a 2004 Jewish Telegraphic Agency interview concluded with Bigio refusing to "discuss politics or offer a Jewish perspective on the current revolt" against Haiti's democratically elected President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The unrest had been raging exponentially for two years by that point. Bigio explained:

Our principle, which we respect daily, is to not mix in Haitian politics. Even after three generations, we are considered foreigners. So we believe that to have good relations with the government, we have to step aside. We take care of business, and let them take care of politics."

 

'Bigio Empire'

Just two-and-a-half weeks later, Haiti succumbed to yet another brutal, death squad-initiated, CIA-orchestrated coup. The effects reverberate throughout the country to this day. Aristide's removal from office was quickly followed by wholesale destruction of all his administration's progressive achievements for average citizens, U.S.-imposition of a savage junta in Port-au-Prince, and murderous paramilitary crackdowns on the ousted President's supporters and political base. The parlous state into which modern Haiti has been thrust directly results from these dire developments. That's indeed no accident.

The full extent of the cloak-and-dagger connivances that spurred Haiti's February 2004 coup and the identities of influential individuals and organizations implicated in sponsoring, funding, and training insurrectionary forces responsible for expelling widely-beloved Aristide may never be known. Nonetheless, Bigio has been regarded as a key orchestrator of the insurrectionary upheaval.

In the spirit of cui bono?, the oligarch – contrary to his professed commitment to non-interference in Haiti's political affairs – seems an immediately obvious candidate for supporting Aristide's downfall.

Jeb Sprague, a leading academic researcher on paramilitarism in Haiti and transnational capitalism in the Caribbean, tells MintPress News that there were earlier attempts to remove Aristide's second government from office before February 2004, in late 2000 in the lead-up to his government's inauguration, in an attempted assault on the National Palace in December of 2001, and through a low-intensity contra campaign carried out in the country's central plateau in 2002-2003:

Bigio was widely suspected to have supported these abortive efforts, in conjunction with fellow industrialists and treacherous, high-ranking local police and security officials. Bigio, as well as some other oligarchs and leaders of the Haitian military, were placed on a U.S. government list of supporters of the Cédras junta, which seized power after the 1991 CIA-backed coup that ousted President Aristide."

Moreover, mainstream U.S. media has acknowledged Bigio's industrial-scale profiteering from the dismantling of what remained of Haiti's crumbling state institutions. Without minimum wages and protections for Haitian workers and state restrictions on foreign ownership and exploitation of the country's industry and resources, his family's financial interests expanded across the island – encompassing both Port-au-Prince and the Dominican Republic – exponentially. Among the most lucrative components of Bigio's newly enlarged portfolio were energy, security, and shipping. The Miami Herald reported in December 2021:

The conglomerate's reach extends to the entire Haitian economy, from providing construction supplies and fuel to offering household necessities like cooking oil and food. He has branched out as well into the Dominican side of Hispaniola…Much of what is bought, sold or consumed in Haiti is likely to touch some corner of the Bigio empire."

Significantly, this expansion included building and overseeing Port Lafito, a significant export and import hub not far from the Haitian capital. It is here that the vast majority of heavy, war-grade weapons enter the country, then reach the hands of dangerous gangs and militias, therefore ensuring a state of constant crisis locally. In April 2018, a source with knowledge of the matter informed independent journalist Corey Lynn that the Israeli government assisted in Port Lafito's construction:

He can enter anything [into Haiti] he wants…He also has powerful lobbyists in Washington D.C. to help him keep control of his assets…He does not allow competition and will crush anyone trying to compete with everything he produces or imports…[Bigio] has a private army of about 80 men protecting himself, his home and establishments. He also makes full use of every military, paramilitary, and police force in the country. Every chief of police is on his payroll."

Sprague explained to MintPress that:

The 'families,' with surnames like Bigio, Brandt, Madsen, Acra, and others, have maintained powerful positions at the heights of Hispaniola's economy. Even so, they've transitioned over the closing decades of the 20th Century and into the 21st Century from long alliances with the coercive rule of the Duvaliers and ruling military factions to seeking out corporate inputs through the globalizing economy and working in line with U.S. soft power in the region. Some maintain important linkages to security firms and paramilitary groups and the arms trade."

 

'Pariah State'

Lynn's source further alleged Bigio "has close ties" to the Israeli military and uses "10 Israeli commandos for his personal security when he feels the situation is at a critical point." A particularly "critical point" in recent Haitian history was a catastrophic earthquake that struck the island in January 2010. Almost immediately, Tel Aviv dispatched a sizable IDF "humanitarian" team to assist locals and authorities. It was a widely reported, grand publicity stunt that regionally provided the Israeli government with enormous positive PR.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Bigio's family was centrally involved in facilitating and managing this effort. At the time, Amos Radian, Tel Aviv's ambassador to the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean, told the Jerusalem Post: "[they] assisted in such a way that made us look so good." This included donating "a football field-sized space," which served as an IDF "field hospital." Gilbert's son Reuven boasted to the outlet that his family's "desire to help" Tel Aviv's propaganda initiative in Haiti "was unconditional":

People need help, we need to be there…Being in a city where there's no synagogue, prayers are done at our house, Israel to us is the motherland. It's the rock. It's how we identify ourselves."

Before mass violence in Gaza erupted in October 2023, such displays of international magnanimity were a routine – and devastatingly effective – soft power play for Tel Aviv. For example, following Tbilisi's routing in its five-day-long August 2008 war with Russia, Israel began repairing extensive damage inflicted on the country by Moscow's forces. In the process, Israeli investors reaped over one-third of all reconstruction contracts handed out by the Georgian government.

Fast forward to November 2012. The IDF viciously attacked Gaza, slaughtering hundreds of Palestinians and wounding thousands more. International outcry and condemnation was amply forthcoming – but by and large, not in Georgia. Their government remained silent, and scores of average citizens even took to the streets of their capital to express solidarity with Tel Aviv. In the years since, Tbilisi has signed numerous big-ticket deals to purchase weapons, missile systems, and security service and police training from Israel.

Georgia is just one country where Israel has pulled off such an international relations coup. These activities garner Israel an enormous amount of international goodwill, in turn reliably securing silence, if not outright support, for its slow-motion erasure of the Palestinian people. The oppressive methods and tools of control and mass killing that it uses on Gaza and the West Bank are then sold to its foreign allies.

This is a longstanding strategy for Tel Aviv. In the 1980s, Israel formed close ties with governments in the Global South, including brutal Western-backed dictatorships in Argentina, El Salvador, Guatemala, the Philippines, apartheid South Africa, and Zaire, just as foreign powers were starting to distance themselves from these regimes. As a member of the Likud party, who once headed the Knesset foreign relations committee, explained in 1985:

Israel is a pariah state. When people ask us for something, we cannot afford to ask questions about ideology. The only type of regime that Israel would not aid would be one that is anti-American. Also, if we can aid a country it may be inconvenient for the US to help, we would be cutting off our nose to spite our face not to."

 

'Smart Fence'

Anti-Zionist Israeli Jeff Halper and independent Australian journalist Antony Loewenstein have both written extensively about how what remains of Palestine is a laboratory, replete with test subjects held in controlled conditions, for Israel.

It is seldom considered today that Haiti was the U.S. Empire's original testing ground for imperial connivances throughout Washington's "backyard" for centuries and the entire globe since 1945. While Haitians often describe their country as the CIA's "laboratwa," the country is indelibly linked to resistance, its historical genesis in the rebellion against French rule producing the world's first – and to date only – independent state governed by former slaves.

Yet, ever since, the U.S. has engaged in a wide variety of tactics to deny Haiti's sovereignty, hamper development, kill hope, and ensure relentless instability. But of course – neverending chaos means the wealthy, such as Bigio, can enrich themselves at the local population's expense untrammeled, while Washington is provided with constant justifications for interference, meddling and military occupation to support that goal. In December 2019, this malign international mission was codified into U.S. law with the passing of the Global Fragility Act.

The legislation effectively grants USAID, which in part functions as an intelligence cutout, and "the Departments of State, Defense, and the Treasury" a blank check to interfere in and take action against "fragile states," supposedly prone to conflict, extremism, instability, and poverty. Haiti was explicitly cited as an initial target country for the effort. Unsurprisingly, no reference is made in the law's text to the fact that any "fragility" suffered in Port-au-Prince is explicitly caused by Washington's machinations there over many years.

Israel stands to profit handsomely from instability worldwide, and it is unsurprising that Tel Aviv similarly seeks to perpetuate upheaval and vulnerability internationally and take advantage of disasters to provide a pretext for coming to the rescue via assets like Gilbert Bigio. The Dominican Republic is currently constructing a "smart fence," at some expense, to prevent the violence engulfing Port-au-Prince from spilling across its borders. The structure is of Israeli design and technology, modeled directly on Gaza's apartheid walls, or "separation barriers," as Israeli authorities refer to them.

The Dominican Republic's fence runs 160 kilometers, comprising reinforced concrete walls and a metal structure 3.90 meters high, crowned by an accordion of barbed wire with sharp blades. All along, 170 surveillance towers, spying systems, motion detectors, high-definition CCTV cameras with night vision and infrared capacity, checkpoints and 71 controlled access gates prevent anyone from getting in or out without permission. Meanwhile, a squadron of surveillance drones patrols 24/7, every inch.

The fence's mere existence ensures friction and literal division between the two countries, which could otherwise be comrades-in-arms while justifying Israeli and U.S. presence throughout the border strip. That presence is likely to endure, if not expand, as long as Gilbert Bigio's ownership of Port Lafito guarantees an inevitable flow of weapons and other harmful contraband into the country. It was indeed not for nothing that Bigio's father played a pivotal role in securing Haiti's support for Israeli statehood back in 1947.

Feature photo |  | Illustration by MintPress News

Kit Klarenberg is an investigative journalist and MintPress News contributor exploring the role of intelligence services in shaping politics and perceptions. His work has previously appeared in The Cradle, Declassified UK, and Grayzone. Follow him on Twitter @KitKlarenberg.

The post Gilbert Bigio: Israel's Man in Haiti and the Architect Behind the US Migrant Crisis appeared first on MintPress News.

3. US Marine Who Volunteered in the IDF Speaks Out as Lebanon Invasion Kicks Off

There is no concrete operational plan for the invasion of Lebanon, aside from a vague idea of dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure along the border and establishing a military "buffer zone" to allow displaced residents of northern Israel to return to their homes.

"What will be the depth of the invasion? How much will be cleared? We don't know," said Yaakov Amidror, a former major general and Israeli national security adviser. "It will be decided based on the achievements on the ground."

As someone who spent the formative years of his life fighting in the nebulous American project that was the Global War on Terror, this language is all too familiar to me. Phrases like "The battlefield environment is dynamic, and mission requirements will flex to compensate for an evolving tactical situation" were common. It's a reductive statement, but we all know how the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ultimately turned out. They were dubbed "Forever Wars" precisely because there were no concretely defined and thus no achievable goals.

Israel's Lebanon invasion will likely be no different. The IDF faces challenging terrain for an invading force, an enemy embedded in the land, willing to fight and die for it, and dwindling political goodwill in the international community. Moreover, the IDF is far less capable, disciplined, and powerful than the U.S. military. This invasion is likely doomed, following a trajectory similar to the strategic defeat Israel endured during its 2006 invasion. The reason is simple: Israel has not updated its military doctrine or tactics, techniques, and procedures in any substantive way since the mid-2000s.

Israel's over-reliance on bombing campaigns, coupled with a lack of maneuverability and poor integration between combat arms—infantry, artillery, and armor—is being compensated for by an aggressive information operations campaign. The strategy is to create an image of Hezbollah's defeat and portray absolute victory for Israel by highlighting short-term tactical successes. The assassination of Nasrallah is the most recent example of this propaganda effort.

Then there is the ongoing systemic issue within the Israeli Defense Force itself. Despite Israel's highly militarized society, the IDF fundamentally lacks cohesive discipline, competence, training, and experience. At its core, it is a conscript-based army, with the majority of its reservists having only two years of military experience. In reality, they are closer to civilians than to professional soldiers.

To explore this point further within the context of the Lebanon invasion, we are joined tonight on State of Play by former United States Marine Corps Drill Instructor, Sgt. Zuleyka Morales. Morales volunteered to work with the Israeli Army, and as someone raised as a Pentecostal Zionist in Puerto Rico, she was taken aback by the IDF's complete lack of discipline and military bearing. This stark reality began her process of unraveling the constructed myths surrounding the Israeli state, starting with the widely accepted myth of extreme military competence.

How can they possibly hope to prevail in the challenging operational environment of southern Lebanon if they can't even manage the simple task of wearing boots, rather than flip flops, to morning formation?

Greg Stoker is a former US Army Ranger with a background in human intelligence collection and analysis. After serving four combat deployments in Afghanistan, he studied anthropology and International Relations at Columbia University. He is currently a military and geopolitical analyst and a social media "influencer," though he hates the term.

MintPress News is a fiercely independent media company. You can support us by becoming a member on Patreon, bookmarking and whitelisting us, and subscribing to our social media channels, including Twitch, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram.

Subscribe to MintCast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud.

Also, be sure to check out rapper Lowkey's video interview/podcast series, The Watchdog.

The post US Marine Who Volunteered in the IDF Speaks Out as Lebanon Invasion Kicks Off appeared first on MintPress News.

4. Wafa Al-Udaini: How Dehumanizing Western Media Coverage Led to a Journalist’s Murder

On September 30, Wafa Al-Udaini became the 174th Palestinian journalist killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, a harrowing milestone made even more appalling by the chilling circumstances that preceded her death. Following her appearance on the U.K.'s TalkTV, where she faced hostile interrogation, Al-Udaini received direct threats from the Israeli military, targeting both her and her family.

Al-Udaini was killed in a targeted Israeli airstrike that struck her home in Deir al-Balah. The same attack claimed the lives of her husband and two young daughters, including a seven-month-old infant. Her two sons, Malek and Seraj, were left injured and must now face the unimaginable task of growing up without their parents, as orphans in a war-torn region.

Al-Udaini was a dedicated journalist who regularly contributed to outlets such as Palestine Chronicle and Middle East Monitor. She also founded the October 16th Media Group, where she devoted much of her time to educating students and mentoring young media professionals in Gaza.

As a journalist, al-Udaini rose to prominence through her coverage of the 2018-2019 Great Return March, working tirelessly to conduct interviews, document the events, and highlight the historical context behind the mass non-violent protest movement. A UN report on the Great Return March concluded that Israeli snipers had "intentionally targeted" women, children, journalists, disabled people, medical workers, and the elderly, resulting in hundreds of deaths and tens of thousands of injuries.

I am so incredibly devastated by this news.

I've worked with Wafa closely in previous times before 7 Oct. She was the peak of kindness, happiness, and tact.

Her dedication and commitment to Islam is supreme and something I've never seen before.

May Allah SWT bless her and… https://t.co/qce4eLZPv2

— Abubaker Abed (@AbubakerAbedW) September 30, 2024

When the war in Gaza began, al-Udaini worked tirelessly to report on the humanitarian crisis and the massacres of civilians. However, everything changed on October 16, when she was invited to appear on a TalkTV show hosted by Julia Hartley-Brewer.

On the show, Hartley-Brewer first invited Israeli military spokesperson Peter Lerner, who made a series of unsubstantiated claims that she did not challenge. She accepted his use of the word "massacre" to describe the Hamas-led October 7 attack against Israel without issue. However, when al-Udaini appeared after him, Hartley-Brewer's demeanor shifted from one of respect to visible disgust.

When al-Udaini described Israeli attacks across Gaza as "massacres," Hartley-Brewer quickly interrupted, questioning why she would use that term and mocking her characterization of the strikes. However, by that time, the death toll in Gaza had already reached 2,750, with nearly 10,000 injured—more than double the number of Israelis killed on October 7.

During the interview, Hartley-Brewer pointed out that the Israeli military had instructed people to move to southern Gaza "so that they can tackle the Hamas fighters." She then pressed al-Udaini on why she hadn't left her home in Gaza City. However, we now know that Israel continued to displace Palestinian civilians who fled the north, most of whom are now living in tents.

Al-Udaini responded by asking, "Why should I leave? This is my homeland. If someone asks you to leave, are you going to leave your home?" Hartley-Brewer condescendingly replied, "If someone said they were going to bomb me and my family to death, like you're saying 'a massacre,' then yes, I would leave."

By saying this, Hartley-Brewer insinuated that al-Udaini was actively endangering her family by choosing not to leave her home. This effectively shifted the responsibility away from the Israeli military's indiscriminate bombing of residential buildings in northern Gaza, which they were threatening at the time and later carried out. Instead, the question was posed to al-Udaini and her family, asking why they didn't simply follow Israel's orders.

Israeli media quickly picked up on al-Udaini's interview. That same night, al-Udaini received calls from individuals posing as members of humanitarian aid organizations, using foreign numbers. They inquired about the number of family members in her Gaza City home in the Rimal area. After hanging up, al-Udaini told me at the time that she suspected the callers were Israeli soldiers. When they failed to obtain information through this method, she began receiving direct threats against her family.

A few days later, I called al-Udaini to ask whether she believed the harassment was connected to her interview on TalkTV. She told me it happened immediately afterward, and it seemed she had been targeted because of the interview. Although she continued her journalism work, al-Udaini was clearly frightened by the situation. She went quiet for a while and had to evacuate from her Gaza City home.

"My children keep asking me, are we going to die?"

Palestinian journalist Wafa al-Udaini @wafa_Gaza was killed today by an Israeli airstrike on her home in central Gaza, along with her husband and two children.

BT spoke with her Oct 2023. Full video: https://t.co/5f08qWgDfL pic.twitter.com/JIzD7demll

— BreakThrough News (@BTnewsroom) September 30, 2024

For some time, when I asked out of concern where she was, al-Udaini would respond, "I can't say sorry." It wasn't until months later when she felt safe enough, that she informed me she was living in a building in Deir al-Balah.

After the October TalkTV incident, I had the opportunity to interview al-Udaini about her experience. She reflected on how deeply she had been affected by the encounter, stating, "The anchor killed me." She conveyed the profound sense of disrespect and marginalization she felt during the interview—a sentiment that now resonates with a haunting clarity. "I'm frustrated because I never had the chance to fully articulate my position," al-Udaini explained. "She interrupted me, only to abruptly end the conversation with, 'We don't have much time.'"

When asked about her personal experiences during the war beyond her professional work, al-Udaini responded, "Words can't really describe it. I've lost so many friends, so many colleagues, so much family. I genuinely fear for my children's future."

While it is impossible to definitively link the murder of al-Udaini, her husband, and two children directly to that interview, it undoubtedly contributed to the hardships they faced.

Julia Hartley-Brewer's dismissive and interrogative treatment of al-Udaini, a journalist and victim of Israel's assault, stands in stark contrast to her respectful and unquestioning interview with Israel's military spokesperson. Hartley-Brewer's approach granted legitimacy to Israel's narrative while simultaneously undermining the lived experiences of a Palestinian journalist who would later be displaced and killed by Israeli airstrikes.

Unfortunately, al-Udaini's murder barely registered among her fellow journalists, reducing her to a mere number—174—on the long list of members of the press whose deaths are overlooked by Western media and governments. Her life and work, like those of many others, have been met with silence, reflecting a broader indifference to the plight of Palestinians.

Wafa al-Udaini was more than just a casualty of a Western media landscape that dehumanized her; she was a devoted mother, educator, mentor, tireless journalist, and a fierce advocate for human rights. Above all, she was someone I had the privilege to call a friend over the past decade. In conflict zones like Gaza, journalists should be safeguarded, but tragically, Israel has made them deliberate targets.

Robert Inlakesh is a political analyst, journalist and documentary filmmaker currently based in London, UK. He has reported from and lived in the occupied Palestinian territories and hosts the show 'Palestine Files'. Director of 'Steal of the Century: Trump's Palestine-Israel Catastrophe'. Follow him on Twitter @falasteen47

The post Wafa Al-Udaini: How Dehumanizing Western Media Coverage Led to a Journalist's Murder appeared first on MintPress News.

5. After Nasrallah: Will Israel’s Next Move Be a Ground Invasion of Lebanon?

There is a breaking story from Saudi news channel Al Hadath claiming that an unidentified man, traveling from Iran to Lebanon, met with Nasrallah shortly before the leader's death for the express purpose of shaking his hand. The handshake was purportedly intended to transfer a trackable substance onto Nasrallah's palm.

Who was the man? What was the substance? Perhaps it was a traceable radioactive isotope, detectable by a scanner hidden inside Hezbollah's headquarters, thereby confirming his location.

The Al Hadath report, as of now, cannot be independently verified. However, it has been widely disseminated by media outlets in the Arab and Hebrew world and is being used as a propaganda piece to reassert the deadly cunning of Israeli intelligence services, which was called into question after the intelligence failure on October 7.

Despite the infamous pager attacks, the targeted killing of senior Hezbollah commanders, and rumors of a sophisticated tracking operation, one truth remains: decapitation strikes don't win wars. If Israel and its allies want to classify Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, they should take a lesson from America's ill-fated 20-year "Global War on Terror."

Nasrallah was a controversial figure—hailed by many in the region as a symbol of anti-colonial resistance and by others as an agent of pro-Assad terror during the Syrian Civil War. Regardless of one's perspective, he was undeniably a dynamic leader who transformed Hezbollah from a guerrilla resistance force into the most powerful non-state military actor in the world. Now that he is gone, the question remains: What comes next?

Hezbollah and Lebanon are undeniably in shock following recent events, but the strategic situation remains unchanged—an Israeli ground offensive into southern Lebanon would be catastrophic for the Israeli Defense Forces. However, with the far-right government in Israel unwilling to consider a ceasefire or a two-state solution to the Palestinian question, their political options appear increasingly limited, leaving invasion as a likely course of action.

Despite Hezbollah being momentarily degraded, it will not cease its rocket attacks into northern Israel—a situation that has become intolerable for the Israeli public. As a result, a performative ground operation appears necessary, though potentially misguided. Following a series of successful attacks on Hezbollah leadership, the IDF and associated intelligence services now have the public's support and confidence to push forward with a limited offensive despite the long history of military failure in southern Lebanon. Israeli leadership believes this time will be different from the strategic defeat they suffered in 2006. With a limited window to exploit their recent victories, they see no better time to invade than now.

Tonight on State of Play, we'll delve into Israel's impending operation, its stated goal of dismantling Hezbollah's military infrastructure along the border, and the push to establish a "buffer zone" inside Lebanon—an inherently colonial term for military occupation. We'll also explore why such a ground operation could have catastrophic consequences for Israel.

Greg Stoker is a former US Army Ranger with a background in human intelligence collection and analysis. After serving four combat deployments in Afghanistan, he studied anthropology and International Relations at Columbia University. He is currently a military and geopolitical analyst and a social media "influencer," though he hates the term.

MintPress News is a fiercely independent media company. You can support us by becoming a member on Patreon, bookmarking and whitelisting us, and subscribing to our social media channels, including Twitch, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram.

Subscribe to MintCast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud.

Also, be sure to check out rapper Lowkey's video interview/podcast series, The Watchdog.

The post After Nasrallah: Will Israel's Next Move Be a Ground Invasion of Lebanon? appeared first on MintPress News.

6. Israel Killed 21 Members Of My Family In Gaza – Lowkey meets Ahmed al-Naouq

The MintPress podcast "The Watchdog," hosted by British-Iraqi hip-hop artist Lowkey, closely examines organizations about which it is in the public interest to know—including intelligence, lobby and special interest groups influencing policies that infringe on free speech and target dissent. "The Watchdog" goes against the grain by casting a light on stories largely ignored by the mainstream, corporate media.

In less than one year, Israel has managed to turn Gaza into rubble. A recent estimate by a global health expert suggested that around 335,000 Gazans could have been killed as a result of the Israeli attacks.

Today, "Watchdog" host Lowkey speaks to one of the survivors of the Israeli bombing, Ahmed al-Naouq. Ahmed al-Naouq grew up in central Gaza and moved to the United Kingdom to attend Leeds University. In 2015, he co-founded We Are Not Numbers, a non-profit group that seeks to tell the stories of Palestinians to the world.

The grief began right away for al-Naouq. "On the 7th of October, my fiancé's house was bombed, and she lost her brother," he told Lowkey, adding:

We were lucky because, only two days before the war, she managed to escape Gaza and go to meet with me. And I know that if she did not travel with her parents, all of them would have been killed on the first day of the war."

For Lowkey, the Israeli attack on Gaza is of historic proportions. He compared it to the 13th-century Mongol invasion of Baghdad in its similarity in that it destroyed thousands of years of civilization. What has been done, he said, was so intensely violent, not just physically but culturally, that it is almost incomparable. On al-Naouq, Lowkey noted that his story:

Really tells us the wider way in which Palestinians have been stripped of their humanity and killed on an industrial scale in Gaza. And it stands as a testament to the will to survive, regardless of the bullying, gangsterism and intimidation from the Zionist project."

Al-Naouq, a journalist by training, lambasted the deceitful Western media coverage of the attacks, stating:

The media doesn't care about its own audiences. They don't care if they don't know the truth or not. They are seeking their own interests. And clearly, those interests do not correlate with the truth, so we are challenging that by writing our own stories."

After nearly twelve months of bombing, those attacks show little sign of slowing down, primarily because Western governments continue to supply Israel with the hi-tech weaponry it needs to continue and defend its actions in international bodies such as the United Nations.

Israel has recently stepped up its strikes on Lebanon and Syria, with Hezbollah and resistance forces in Iraq vowing to respond in kind. The United States, meanwhile, has increased its military capacity in the region, sending the aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Harry S. Truman to the Mediterranean in a show of support for Israel. U.S. troops in the region now top 50,000.

Thus, the prospect of a wider war beckons, meaning that stories like al-Naouq's will, tragically, become even more common.

Make sure to watch the full interview to hear a unique, first-hand experience of a Gazan living through the Israeli onslaught.

Lowkey is a British-Iraqi hip-hop artist and academic and political campaigner. As a musician, he has collaborated with the Arctic Monkeys, Wretch 32, Immortal Technique and Akala. He is a patron of Stop The War Coalition, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the Racial Justice Network and The Peace and Justice Project, founded by Jeremy Corbyn. He has spoken and performed on platforms from the Oxford Union to the Royal Albert Hall and Glastonbury. His latest album, Soundtrack To The Struggle 2, featured Noam Chomsky and Frankie Boyle and has been streamed millions of times.

The post Israel Killed 21 Members Of My Family In Gaza – Lowkey meets Ahmed al-Naouq appeared first on MintPress News.

7. Hamas, Israel, and the Fog of October 7: What We Know Now

It has now been one year since the October 7 attack, led by Hamas' al-Qassam Brigades. There are two diametrically opposed versions of that day: the Israeli narrative and what the evidence suggests.

On October 7, at 6:30 a.m., the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, launched a military assault targeting Israeli military positions, Kibbutzim, and surrounding areas. According to a 16-page report issued by the group, titled "Our Narrative," their stated mission was to attack Israeli military positions and seize captives to exchange for thousands of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. The report also acknowledged certain "faults" in their actions.

Israel's narrative claims that an unprovoked terrorist attack was launched against them, deliberately targeting civilians, including allegations of beheadings, burning, and dismemberment of babies, as well as a premeditated mass rape campaign. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris described the events as "the worst atrocity against the Jewish people since the Holocaust."

 

The Death Toll

On October 7, it was quickly reported that at least 413 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip. However, the Israeli death toll underwent several revisions before an accurate figure emerged. Initially, the Israeli government stated that 1,400 Israelis had been killed. On November 10, 2023, this number was revised down to "around 1,200," with officials attributing the discrepancy to difficulties in differentiating between Israeli and Palestinian bodies due to severe burns.

The final Israeli death toll from the October 7 attacks stands at 1,139, including 815 civilians and 324 soldiers, police, or security officers. This would suggest a civilian-to-combatant ratio of roughly 3.5:1, assuming all deaths were caused by Palestinian attackers.

Other accepted statistical breakdowns report 695 civilian deaths and 373 combatants, along with 71 foreigners. This highlights the ongoing debate over who should be classified as a civilian, as many off-duty soldiers and trained fighters took up arms during the attack, shifting their status from civilians to combatants.

According to a March 25 article written for Newsweek by John Spencer, chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute (MWI) at West Point, "Israel has created a new standard for urban warfare" in its war on Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later cited Spencer's article during his speech to U.S. Congress in July.

Spencer's argument is flawed, as he relies on Israeli ratio claims that don't hold up when examining the official death toll in Gaza, particularly when accounting for the women and children killed. Spencer references the 2016-2017 Battle of Mosul in Iraq to justify what he deems an acceptable civilian-to-combatant ratio in U.S. wars, highlighting a 4:1 ratio where 10,000 civilians were killed for every 2,000 ISIS fighters.

Using this military logic and assuming Hamas was responsible for every Israeli death on October 7, they achieved a more favorable civilian-to-combatant kill ratio than the U.S. did in Mosul. Notably, this was accomplished without the use of modern precision weapons.

Although this comparison may deviate from the core issue and is not an appropriate way to assess the events between Gaza and Israel, it is crucial to understand the logic behind the Israeli narrative about October 7 and what it continues to justify today.

 

Who Killed Who?

The October 7 assault began with a breach of the Separation Fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel, as rockets were launched to provide cover for Hamas fighters using paragliders. Suicide drones also targeted Israeli army monitoring equipment and automatic machine gun towers.

The attack, which Hamas named Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, initially targeted a series of military bases, outposts, and Israeli soldiers stationed at the Erez/Beit Hanoun Crossing. However, it also struck Israeli Kibbutzim, or settler communities, located around the Gaza periphery.

Various other civilian sites were also attacked, most notably the Nova Music Festival, where hundreds were reportedly killed. According to the Israeli narrative, Hamas intentionally targeted the festival. This account was echoed in a recent BBC documentary titled We Will Dance Again, which aligns with Israel's version of events. The documentary's director, Yariv Mozer, commented on the Nova Festival attack, reinforcing this interpretation.

A brutal fundamentalistic movement [Hamas] is obsessively looking to destroy the values of Western society. These were young people at a music festival celebrating life, love, and peace: very naïve and free-spirited. And they faced the most horrific people, who value death."

However, as early as November, Israeli police reports concluded that Hamas had not initially planned to target the Nova Festival, with their primary objective being a nearby kibbutz, Re'im. Israel's Channel 12 published findings from the first report, which included information from Hamas documents and interrogations. According to these sources, Hamas fighters only became aware of the festival during the operation and entered the grounds from a nearby highway.

According to a report published by Haaretz, police analysis found that most partygoers had fled the Nova Festival approximately half an hour before any gunfire was heard. Additionally, the report indicated that an Israeli military helicopter had opened fire, resulting in the deaths of some festival participants.

A United Nations human rights report, released on June 12, confirmed "the presence of at least eight attack helicopters in various locations" and noted that it was aware of reports suggesting these helicopters had been used to attack civilian vehicles at the festival site. The report further stated:

The Commission found that Israeli authorities prioritised identifying victims, notifying families and allowing for burial rather than forensic investigation, leading to evidence of crimes, especially sexual crimes, not being collected and preserved. The Commission also notes the loss of potential evidence due to inadequately trained first responders.

An investigation published in Yediot Aharonot in January concluded that at least 70 vehicles were destroyed by Israeli tank, drone, or helicopter fire, following orders from senior Israeli military command to prevent the capture of hostages "at any cost." In December 2023, footage surfaced showing an Israeli tank firing on a civilian home in Kibbutz Be'eri. It was later confirmed that Israeli forces were responsible for the deaths of 13 Israeli civilians in that incident, further supporting these revelations.

Several videos show Hamas fighters engaging in violent actions within civilian areas, including indiscriminate firing, killing non-combatants, and throwing grenades into shelters. This evidence highlights instances of violence, but it does not conclusively prove that these actions were part of a broader premeditated strategy. There is still no definitive evidence regarding the full extent of responsibility for the majority of civilian deaths that occurred on October 7.

Another important consideration is that Hamas was not the only group involved in breaching the Gaza separation fence on October 7. At least five different Palestinian resistance groups reportedly followed suit, targeting Israeli military sites and settlements. It is estimated that over 4,000 people crossed the fence that day. While Hamas led the mission, it remains unclear how many Israeli deaths were caused by fighters from these other armed groups.

 

A "Mass Hannibal" Event?

Despite the questions raised by outlets such as The Cradle and the investigative articles published by Mondoweiss, the Electronic Intifada, and The Grayzone—which pointed to Israel's infamous Hannibal Directive as a potential factor—this body of work has largely been dismissed and labeled as conspiracy theories.

It is important to note that the Hannibal Directive, a controversial Israeli military order designed to prevent the capture of soldiers—even if it means killing them—was acknowledged by Israeli Air Force Colonel Nof Erez in December 2023. He referred to October 7 as a "mass Hannibal" event. However, widespread acceptance of Israel's implementation of the Hannibal Directive on that day only came after Israel's Haaretz published a detailed article on July 7.

The bombshell Haaretz article, citing army sources, was released just before the results of an internal Israeli military investigation into the events of October 7 were published. The investigation confirmed that the Hannibal Directive had been triggered that day. However, it contained several inconsistencies, including a claim that Israeli tank fire did not kill any civilians at Kibbutz Be'eri. This assertion was later debunked by eyewitness accounts, forensic analysis, and video evidence, casting doubt on the investigation's credibility and raising concerns about accountability within Israeli forces.

A recent investigation by ABC News effectively compiled all relevant information from Israeli sources regarding Israel's use of the Hannibal Directive. The report laid to rest any doubts that the directive had not been implemented on a large scale, providing clear evidence that it played a significant role in the events of October 7.

 

40 Beheaded babies

Israeli media, government officials, and their Western counterparts have repeatedly circulated several unverified claims about the events of October 7. These included allegations such as the beheading of 40 babies, infants being hung on clothing lines, and a pregnant woman whose baby was reportedly cut from her womb.

Many of these stories were initially promoted by the ZAKA rescue agency, which has faced its own controversies, including corruption allegations. The organization was founded by Yehuda Meshi-Zahav, who has been accused of serious criminal offenses. According to confirmed reports, one baby tragically died on October 7, killed by a bullet during crossfire. Other claims regarding babies have been debunked.

During Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's July address to the U.S. Congress, he introduced a new narrative about October 7, claiming that two children hid in a basement only to be murdered by Hamas fighters. However, no record or evidence substantiates this claim, and no children matching the description have been reported.

There have also been allegations of a mass rape campaign carried out by Hamas on October 7, which have been featured in documentaries like Sheryl Sandberg's Screams Before Silence. The documentary presents interrogation tapes from the Shin Bet as evidence of these claims. However, serious investigations have dismissed these tapes, as they were reportedly recorded under conditions of torture, making them unreliable sources of evidence.

Despite widespread reports from mainstream media outlets in the West that mass rapes occurred on October 7, Israeli police have not been able to verify any of the alleged incidents. There is currently no forensic evidence, documented intent, identified victims, or credible witnesses supporting these claims.

The largest investigation into the Hamas rape allegations, published by The New York Times, became controversial when the family of a woman cited as a central case in the story publicly refuted the claims. The article quickly became the subject of a scandal, further casting doubt on the validity of the allegations.

Praised across the media, an Israeli lawyer named Cochav Elkayam-Levy established what she was calling a "civilian commission" to investigate the Hamas rape campaign. Yet, despite all the positive press, she was later exposed for sharing countless fake rape stories and soliciting millions of dollars for a commission, of which she was the only member. This led to a number of Israeli government officials publicly distancing themselves from her and accusing her of "inaccurate" research.

At the request of the Israeli government, UN Special Representative Pramila Patten undertook an eight-day mission to gather evidence of sexual violence allegedly committed on October 7. This effort culminated in a report summarizing the findings. Although the nine UN experts involved in the trip did not have an official investigative mandate, they released some key observations from their visit.

The UN report concluded that Israelis were "subjected to various forms of conflict-related sexual violence," though it stopped short of providing definitive conclusions. Instead, it stated that such incidents were possible. Notably, the report debunked two specific allegations as "unfounded." One involved a woman reportedly found separated from her family with her pants pulled down. The investigation determined that a bomb squad had altered the "crime scene, and the bodies moved," leading to uncertainty about the details of the alleged incident.

 

What The Evidence Says

The Hamas-led October 7 attack remains one of the most politicized events in recent history, with its details being used to justify the ongoing violence in Gaza. The facts surrounding the incident are still being debated, with various narratives continuing to twist the specifics of what occurred that day.

What is clear is that Hamas launched a coordinated military campaign on October 7, with the involvement of at least five other Palestinian resistance groups. The attack targeted Israeli military positions and settlement areas with the stated objectives of striking Israel's southern command and capturing individuals to exchange for Palestinian detainees. During the course of these operations, intense firefights ensued, and numerous violations of international law were likely committed.

Many extreme claims about October 7, such as those involving babies and decapitated women, have been debunked. Verified cases of killings with light weapons occurred, and Israel's invocation of the Hannibal Directive led to civilian deaths. While it's difficult to determine how many were killed by Israeli forces versus Palestinian groups, the scale of destruction suggests Israel was responsible for a significant portion of the casualties.

Allegations of sexual violence on October 7 remain unproven. While individual cases may have occurred, no evidence supports claims of an orchestrated mass rape campaign. Investigations have not confirmed any specific cases but suggest such crimes could have occurred.

While the overall picture of October 7 has become clearer, an independent investigation is necessary to fully understand the events. Israel has blocked such an inquiry and destroyed evidence, likely fearing it would reveal inconvenient truths that could undermine what little public support remains for its ongoing military operations in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon.

Feature photo | Illustration by MintPress News | Photo by AP

Robert Inlakesh is a political analyst, journalist and documentary filmmaker currently based in London, UK. He has reported from and lived in the occupied Palestinian territories and hosts the show 'Palestine Files'. Director of 'Steal of the Century: Trump's Palestine-Israel Catastrophe'. Follow him on Twitter @falasteen47

The post Hamas, Israel, and the Fog of October 7: What We Know Now appeared first on MintPress News.

8. From Gaza to Lebanon: Israel’s Bombing Campaign Backed by Media Propaganda

Western corporate media outlets, including the BBC, CNN, and The New York Times, have been working overtime to justify Israel's recent assault on Lebanon, which claimed the lives of approximately 600 people in a single day. These reports have repeatedly claimed that the Israeli strikes were targeting "Hezbollah positions," an assertion that has been widely echoed without substantial scrutiny.

Israel's large-scale onslaught against civilian areas throughout Lebanon, which began on Monday, was covered by Western corporate media as "strikes on Hezbollah."

CNN's story on the first day of the assault, after around 500 people had been killed across Lebanon, was titled, "Israeli Strikes Targeting Hezbollah Kill Hundreds Across Lebanon." The New York Times set up a live events feed labeled "Israel Strikes Hezbollah Targets in Lebanon." Even Reuters and the Associated Press, two of the most reputable Western news providers, framed the events as an escalation from "both sides," covering Israel's attack on Hezbollah.

And so it begins. Deleted Israeli propaganda posts about Lebanon after deleting dozens of exposed lies about Gaza. Never believe Israel https://t.co/KFK7d8bGJr

— Hadi (@HadiNasrallah) September 23, 2024

A Reuters article published Tuesday opens with a telling lede: "An Israeli airstrike on Beirut killed a senior Hezbollah commander on Tuesday as cross-border rocket attacks by both sides increased fears of a full-fledged war in the Middle East, and Lebanon said only Washington could help end the fighting."

Meanwhile, the BBC's Paul Adams, reporting from northern Israel, wrote a piece titled "Cold Military Logic Takes Over in Israel-Hezbollah Conflict." In it, Adams critiques Israel's "high-risk strategy," focusing on the potential consequences for Israelis. However, the article largely overlooks the devastation inflicted on Lebanon's civilian population, instead justifying Israel's assault while offering limited criticism of its tactics.

The BBC article reads as though it were written from an Israeli nationalist perspective, assuming that "Israel knows it can beat Hezbollah"—a claim for which no evidence exists. The most comprehensive Israeli report on the subject, a 130-page document published by Reichman University's Institute for Counter-Terrorism after a three-year study involving over 100 Israeli senior officials, concluded that a clear victory against Hezbollah was not possible.

Israel has made no secret of the fact that it is targeting civilians, as demonstrated by its release of a CGI video showing mockups of Lebanese villages, where missiles are allegedly stored in homes. Despite this, much of the Western media has yet to acknowledge these admissions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dispelled any remaining doubt when he delivered a message in English to the people of Lebanon in which he claimed, "Hezbollah has been using you as human shields." He further stated, "They've placed rockets in your living rooms" and "missiles in your garage."

Or even hundreds.

In addition to this racist orientalist pattern adopted by imperial newspapers ( @FT in the figure below ), the @nytimes is showing high sense of devotion placing the Zionist colony in a perpetual self-defence mode against a fictitious hostile group. Thus, the… https://t.co/03A6IVSXXS pic.twitter.com/lBeiQaigVO

— Mohammed Waleed محمد وليد (@alwaleed1258) September 24, 2024

These claims mirror those used to justify the ongoing violence in Gaza, where at least 41,524 people, the vast majority civilians, have been killed. When reporting on the death toll in Lebanon, outlets such as The Washington Post frame the narrative by stating, "Lebanon says" hundreds were killed in Israeli "strikes on Hezbollah," implying a level of doubt or downplaying the civilian impact.

While the corporate media often uses language that obscures the mass civilian casualties in Lebanon, it also frequently attributes the casualty figures to the Lebanese Health Ministry. However, there are efforts, especially from outlets like the Jerusalem Post, to undermine these numbers by labeling the Lebanese Health Ministry as "Hezbollah-run." This tactic mirrors how Western media often refers to the Palestinian death toll as coming from the "Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry," casting doubt on the credibility of the reported figures.

The New York Times has even focused on reporting Israeli anxiety attacks despite the absence of any Israeli deaths at the time of the report. This is the same outlet that described Israel's detonation of thousands of pagers in Lebanon last week—which killed dozens and injured thousands—as "stunning." The Times praised the ingenuity of the attack, which resulted in significant civilian casualties. Former CIA chief Leon Panetta, however, labeled the incident an act of terrorism.

Feature photo | A man carries pictures of his relatives standing at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Saksakieh, south Lebanon, Sept. 26, 2024. Mohammed Zaatari | AP

Robert Inlakesh is a political analyst, journalist and documentary filmmaker currently based in London, UK. He has reported from and lived in the occupied Palestinian territories and hosts the show 'Palestine Files'. Director of 'Steal of the Century: Trump's Palestine-Israel Catastrophe'. Follow him on Twitter @falasteen47

The post From Gaza to Lebanon: Israel's Bombing Campaign Backed by Media Propaganda appeared first on MintPress News.

9. Lebanon Burns: Israel Expands Genocide Beyond Gaza with Marwa Osman and Batool Subeiti

Not only is Israel bombing and committing genocide in Gaza, but it is now ramping up its violence against Lebanon. In the past few days, massive Israeli strikes have killed more than 500 people, constituting the country's bloodiest day in decades. Over 100,000 people have fled the south of the country, fearing a potential Israeli ground invasion.

The bombing campaign was preceded by a huge terror attack, wherein Israel remotely detonated thousands of Lebanese pagers, wounding thousands of people, including women and children. It has also stepped up its missile attacks on Syria, killing dozens.

Israel's intentions could barely be more clear. Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli called for the "Shia enemy population" of South Lebanon to be expelled and a buffer zone created on the border, sparking fears that the Gaza ethnic cleansing operation would be spread to Lebanon.

Joining MintCast host Mnar Adley today to discuss the perilous situation in West Asia are Marwa Osman and Batool Subeiti. Marwa is a journalist, university lecturer and TV show host from Southern Lebanon. She recently fled her home because of the Israeli bombing. Batool is an energy engineer by profession, antiwar activist and political analyst based in the United Kingdom.

In response, resistance groups across the region have promised to set up missile strikes against Israel. On Wednesday, Islamic Resistance in Iraq announced that it had carried out a drone operation against a strategic target in the Israeli port city of Eilat.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the Israeli attack until its objectives are completed and said that the war would take Lebanon to "the edge of the abyss."

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian defended Hezbollah and pointed the finger at Washington, stating: "Hezbollah cannot stand alone against a country that is being defended and supported and supplied by Western countries, by European countries and the United States."

Will this new stage of the war bring in new foreign powers and spark a wider conflict? What does the situation look like from the ground in Lebanon? And what will this mean for the region? Make sure to watch the full interview, exclusively at MintPress News.

Mnar Adley is an award-winning journalist and editor and is the founder and director of MintPress News. She is also president and director of the non-profit media organization Behind the Headlines. Adley also co-hosts the MintCast podcast and is a producer and host of the video series Behind The Headlines. Contact Mnar at mnar@mintpressnews.com or follow her on Twitter at @mnarmuh.

MintPress News is a fiercely independent media company. You can support us by becoming a member on Patreon, bookmarking and whitelisting us, and subscribing to our social media channels, including YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram.

Subscribe to MintCast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud.

Also, check out rapper Lowkey's video interview/podcast series, The Watchdog.

The post Lebanon Burns: Israel Expands Genocide Beyond Gaza with Marwa Osman and Batool Subeiti appeared first on MintPress News.

10. BRICS, the Dollar, and the End of US Empire, with Ben Norton

The United States is socially, politically and economically in crisis. As an increasingly large number of people are priced out of the economy, fewer and fewer buy into the sham of electoral politics. On the world stage, too, the U.S. is suffering. Countries everywhere are beginning to drop the dollar as the standard unit of exchange, and Washington's prestige has been severely shaken due to its relentless, unequivocal support for Israel's genocide in Gaza.

Ben Norton joins MintCast host Mnar Adley to discuss all this and more. Norton is an investigative journalist and founder of Geopolitical Economy Report, a news source dedicated to looking at the world and seeing the big picture. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Beijing, China.

"The dollar is – even more than the military – the strongest weapon the United States has," Norton told Adley, explaining that, because of the exorbitant privilege it enjoys in printing the world's reserve currency, the U.S. can simply export many of its economic problems. It also means that Washington can print more money to pay for its military misadventures around the world. Thus, the dollar system has allowed the U.S. to preserve its global empire and avoid inflation despite running a massive global trade deficit for decades.

"I hate when countries go off the dollar," Donald Trump said recently, adding: "I would not allow countries to go off the dollar because when we lose that standard, that will be like losing a Revolutionary war. That would be a hit to our country, just like losing a war. And we can't let that happen."

And yet that is precisely what is coming to pass, as even U.S. allies in the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have taken steps in that direction. Previously, if any country defied Washington's orders, it would be sanctioned into oblivion. Indeed, U.S. sanctions are powerful enough to destroy the economies of relatively small countries, such as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Cuba, or Venezuela. However, as Norton noted, Russia, and especially China, are simply "too big to sanction."

The U.S. economy has also been propped up by the petrodollar system, whereby the U.S. guaranteed the safety and the continuation of unpopular gulf monarchies, saving them from popular rebellions, and, in return, those dictatorships sold their oil in dollars, bought U.S. government bonds, stored their money in American banks, and allowed American corporations to profit from the oil industry. However, it appears that this system is reaching its end stage. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have joined the BRICS economic bloc and have begun selling oil in other currencies.

Therefore, Washington, if it wants to hold onto power in the Middle East, needs Israel more than ever. This partially explains the unshakeable support the Biden administration has offered Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, even as he carries out a genocide in Palestine. And now, Netanyahu is attempting to lure the U.S. into a regional war with his attack on Lebanon. "Israel is now doing to Lebanon what it has been doing to Gaza," Norton said.

Join us for a fantastic conversation where Ben Norton stitches together the fabric of the world's top political news stories, allowing us to see the big picture.

Mnar Adley is an award-winning journalist and editor and is the founder and director of MintPress News. She is also president and director of the non-profit media organization Behind the Headlines. Adley also co-hosts the MintCast podcast and is a producer and host of the video series Behind The Headlines. Contact Mnar at mnar@mintpressnews.com or follow her on Twitter at @mnarmuh.

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