Category: News Articles

A spate of attacks on merchant shipping near Yemen and Somalia, likely triggered by the war in Gaza, have prompted the US to warn vessel operators to be extra careful when navigating the region.

On Nov. 19, Houthis seized of the Galaxy Leader car carrier while a Liberia-flagged chemicals tanker was targeted over the weekend. Both have an Israeli connection. At the same time, there have also been at least four other suspicious approaches to ships in the Indian Ocean in the past few weeks — many of them taking place in the Red Sea or the Gulf of Aden — according to the UK navy.

Hamas terrorists attacked Israeli forces in the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday as efforts continued to extend the ongoing ceasefire, according to initial reports.

Shortly after the reported incident the spokesperson for Hamas’s al-Qassam Brigades Abu Obeidah claimed that Israeli forces had committed a “clear violation” of the ceasefire in the northern Gaza Strip and that Hamas had “dealt with this violation.”

Why are big banks suddenly rushing to shut down so many local branches all over the nation? As I have discussed in previous articles, U.S. banks are currently sitting on hundreds of billions of dollars in unrealized losses. When financial institutions get into trouble, they start getting really tight with their money and they start cutting costs. In addition to laying off workers, our banks have been cutting costs by permanently closing local branches. For example, between November 12th and November 18th, the sixth largest bank in the United States initiated filings to close 19 more local branches…

Hamas official Hisham Qasem spouted a new propaganda talking point for the terrorist group this week, claiming that Hamas terrorists had kidnapped Thai nationals “for their own protection” during their October 7 attack on Israel.

Qasem’s remarks come after Hamas terrorists murdered 39 Thai nationals during their attack and took an unknown number hostage.

Qasem falsely claimed that the hostages were only “detainees” and that Israel was “shelling” houses located in the kibbutzes.

“[Turkey and Hamas] discussed the release of some of the [Thai] detainees,” he said. “As we said at the beginning of the October 7 operation, these [Thai nationals] were detained for their own protection, because on October 7, the forces of the Zionist army was shelling the houses with people inside – whether members of the Al-Qassam Brigades, [foreign] laborers, or even the Zionist inhabitants of those settlements.”

“A Palestinian state should be demilitarized,” says Egypt’s president
What is happening now is an interim phase. Everyone understands that one day the war will end and the barbaric Hamas regime will be history.

Much now depends on whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu keeps his promise and leads the war until the destruction of Hamas. That’s why Netanyahu is reminded again and again, like yesterday, when members of the ruling Likud party made it clear to him that if he halts the war, the ruling coalition will collapse immediately. A few days earlier, on Friday morning, just hours before the first Israeli hostages were released from the Gaza Strip, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said something that is today deemed novel. He presented basic principles for the establishment of a future Palestinian state, noting Israel’s long-held conditions for such a solution.

North Korea claimed its first spy satellite put into space, which was launched into orbit last week, has taken photos of the White House, Pentagon and nearby US naval stations.

The prominent US sites add to a list of areas North Korea claims to have photographed using its reconnaissance probe that was launched on Nov. 21. The state’s official media said leader Kim Jong Un has seen the latest images along with previous photos of Rome, Anderson Air Force Base in Guam, Pearl Harbor and the US Navy’s Carl Vinson aircraft carrier.

Turkish exports of essential goods to Russia, crucial for Moscow’s military production, have experienced a significant spike in 2023.

This surge has intensified worries about potential sanctions circumvention, with the United States and the European Union actively seeking to curb Russia’s access to dual-use goods through third-party nations.

Turkey recorded a staggering €144 million in exports of 45 goods, including microchips marked as “high priority” by the US, to Russia and five “former Soviet countries” suspected of acting as intermediaries for Moscow during the first nine months of 2023.

This figure is three times higher than the same period in the previous year, surpassing the average of €26 million recorded from 2015 to 2021.

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu became the first Israeli head of state to travel to Gaza in two decades when he visited IDF troops stationed there on Sunday and was shown Hamas tunnels.

“We continue until the end – until victory,” Netanyahu said as he pledged to continue the Gaza war until he has ousted Hamas from Gaza.

“Nothing will stop us. We are convinced that we have the power, the strength, the will, and the determination to achieve all the war’s goals, and we will,” he said.

The terrorist organization Hamas announced on Sunday the deaths of four commanders, particularly the head of its Northern Gaza Brigade, before the ceasefire that went into effect on Friday morning.

The Northern Gaza Brigade commander, Ahmed al-Ghandour, was also a member of the Hamas Military Council. The terrorist organization had denied previous reports of his death, as well as the assassinations of other senior leaders.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Shin Bet internal security agency responded with a joint statement, highlighting that al-Ghandour was one of the leaders in planning and executing the October 7 massacres led by Hamas.

Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant on Sunday conducted a situation assessment in Division 210, near Mount Dov, together with the Division’s senior commanders.

Minister Gallant was briefed on the troops’ activities in the eastern area of the Lebanese and Syrian borders, including their efforts in air defense, thwarting firing squads, and exacting a price from Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations.

Upon completing the assessment, Minister Gallant expressed his appreciation to the commanders, soldiers, and reservists for their determined actions in defense of the [northern] communities and in thwarting terror operatives in the area.