RSS
Hamas Tried to Steal Gaza Aid Shipment From Jordan, US Says
Over 38,000 Meals Ready to Eat and water destined for an airdrop over Gaza are loaded aboard a US Air Force C-130J Super Hercules at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia, March 1, 2024. Photo: US Air Force/Handout via REUTERS
Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group that rules the Gaza Strip, attempted to seize a major shipment of humanitarian aid from Jordan intended for civilians in Gaza, according to a US State Department spokesman.
Matthew Miller revealed at a press briefing on Thursday that earlier in the week Hamas hijacked a significant aid shipment from Jordan that was delivered to Gaza through a newly reopened Israeli border crossing.
“Yesterday was the first major shipment of aid from Jordan over this new land route through the Erez Crossing,” Miller told reporters. “The convoys from the Jordan military that brought the aid in unloaded the aid inside Gaza. It was then picked up by a humanitarian implementer for distribution inside Gaza, and that aid was intercepted and diverted by Hamas on the ground in Gaza.”
However, the aid was ultimately recovered and returned to the organization responsible for its distribution, according to Miller, who noted that UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, would likely issue a statement soon condemning the incident.
“The UN is either in the process or has by now recovered that aid, but it was an unacceptable act by Hamas to divert this aid to begin with, to seize this aid,” Miller said. “We have made clear that it’s an unacceptable act. I think the UN partners will be also making clear that it’s an unacceptable act.”
Miller emphasized that diverting humanitarian aid hurts civilians in Gaza, where Hamas terrorists have been embedding themselves in the civilian population and using civilian sites — such as hospitals — as command and operational centers.
“If there is one thing that Hamas could do to jeopardize the shipment of aid, it would be diverting it for their own use rather than allowing it to go to the innocent civilians that need it, so they certainly should refrain from doing that in the future,” he said, describing the incident as the “first widespread case of diversion that we have seen.”
Hamas reportedly held the aid trucks for a period before eventually releasing them.
There have been long-held concerns about Hamas keeping resources sent to Gaza for itself that were intended for the civilian population.
Last fall, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel had offered fuel to Al Shifa, Gaza’s main hospital facility, but that the terrorists had refused to receive it. Several press reports, citing Arab and Western officials, have corroborated Israeli claims that Hamas has been hoarding hundreds of thousands of gallons of fuel for rockets and electricity used to power its network of underground tunnels as Gaza hospitals struggle to maintain power.
The post Hamas Tried to Steal Gaza Aid Shipment From Jordan, US Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Iran ‘Has No Proxies,’ Khamenei Says as His Allies Languish
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with a group of students in Tehran, Iran, Nov. 2, 2022. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
JNS.org – The official X account of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, rejected the term “proxy” for Iranian-backed militias on Sunday.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran doesn’t have proxy forces. If we decide to take action [against the enemy], we don’t need proxy forces,” read the text on Khamenei’s English-language account.
This statement follows setbacks for Iran’s terrorist proxies in the Middle East: Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis in Yemen, and the Assad regime in Syria. The text seems to distance Tehran from these events, amid economic struggles and speculation about the Iranian regime’s vulnerabilities.
“They say that the Islamic Republic has lost its proxies in the region,” a related post by Khamenei said. But “Yemen fights due to their faith. Hezbollah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad fight because their beliefs compel them to do so.”
US forces attacked the Houthis in Yemen on Saturday, while Israel targeted power stations and Hodeidah port after recent rocket and drone launches on Israel. Hezbollah suffered significant losses and agreed to withdraw south of Lebanon’s Litani River. Hamas lost control of most of Gaza, and its leaders have been killed along with many of its fighters.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that Israel had “split [Iran’s] Axis right down the middle.”
Khamenei’s X account on Sunday appeared to counter. “The Zionists try to show they’re the victors. You wretched people! Where have you won? Have you won in Gaza? Have you destroyed Hamas? Have you freed your own prisoners? Is this victory to kill over 40,000 people without being able to achieve even one of your goals?”
Another post added, “You Zionists haven’t won; you’ve been defeated,” vowing that “the courageous, devout, young people of Syria will definitely expel you from there.”
The Iranian rial hit a record low last week, trading at 777,000 to the dollar. Internal protests over economic issues and religious coercion, including women’s dress codes, continue to challenge the regime. Donald Trump’s upcoming presidency may exacerbate tensions, especially after his campaign linked Iran to attempts to assassinate him.
The post Iran ‘Has No Proxies,’ Khamenei Says as His Allies Languish first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Reports: 90% of 3-Stage Ceasefire, Hostage Release Deal Completed
Israelis protest against the government and to show support for the hostages who were kidnapped during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Nov. 30, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – A ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas is 90% complete, according to a report in the BBC on Sunday.
Egyptian media said that 34 Israeli hostages are set to be released in the first stage of a deal, although the terrorist organization is demanding additional compensation for male soldiers held.
A senior Israeli official said Jerusalem has received “signs of life” from the hostages, according to a report in the Times of Israel.
Outstanding issues includes lists of hostages slated to be released as well as which are living and dead, although Hamas has stated it does not know where every one of the captives taken in the terrorist onslaught of October 7, 2023, is being held.
Another issue is the question of Israeli presence in the Gaza Strip, with Hamas reportedly backing down on its demand that all IDF soldiers leave. Instead, the Israeli army will reportedly remain in the Netzarim and Philadelphi Corridors for the duration of the ceasefire, with a withdrawal planned for later stages, when a civilian authority takes over administration of the Palestinian enclave.
The post Reports: 90% of 3-Stage Ceasefire, Hostage Release Deal Completed first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Germany Confirms Saudi Warning about Perpetrator of Christmas Market Attack
A Saudi flag flutters atop Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul, Turkey October 20, 2018. Photo: REUTERS File Photo
i24 News – German authorities confirmed on Sunday that Saudi Arabia had warned them last year about the suspect in the car-ramming attack at the Christmas market in Magdeburg over the weekend.
The head of the Federal Criminal Police Office (Germany’s equivalent to the FBI), Holger Münch, told German media that his office received a tip from Saudi Arabia in November 2023, which led the authorities to carry out “appropriate investigative steps.” However, Germany decided that the warnings were not serious, as the perpetrator had no criminal background.
“The suspect, Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, also published a large number of extremist posts online,” Münch said. “He was also in contact with various authorities, voicing insults and even threats. However, it is unknown if he committed any acts of violence.” He added that the warnings turned out to be non-specific. The Federal Office for Immigration and Refugees also reported on X that it had received a tip about the suspect at the end of last summer.
The incident began Friday evening, when the Saudi-German slammed into people with his BMW in a crowded Christmas market area in the city of Magdeburg, running over a large group of people. Five people were killed in the event, which German authorities have not yet defined as a terrorist attack. Today the name of one of the victims was published, a 9-year-old boy named Andre Gleissner. Abdulmohsen is reportedly a 50-year-old doctor with no criminal record who hailed from Saudi Arabia, but in later years became an atheist and spoke out against Islam. He had a permanent refugee status in Germany, for fear of persecution in Saudi Arabia.
The post Germany Confirms Saudi Warning about Perpetrator of Christmas Market Attack first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login