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Haniyeh’s Death in Tehran Shows Iranian Role in Hamas’ Warfare
Iranian protesters carry a portrait of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a Yemeni flag as they burn an Israeli flag during an anti-US and anti-British protest in front of the British embassy in downtown Tehran, Iran, Jan. 12, 2024. Photo: Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Reuters Connect
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh spent the final hours before his assassination in a Tehran safehouse that belongs to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Haniyeh’s death in the Iranian capital underscores the depth of the relationship between Hamas and the clerical regime, whose funding, training, and equipment have proven indispensable to the Gaza terror group.
Nevertheless, the White House continues to focus on reducing tensions and negotiating a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas without addressing Tehran’s role in directing its network of proxies to attack Israel on multiple fronts.
Haniyeh died the night of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s inauguration, attended by leaders representing the main proxies that comprise the Tehran regime’s “Axis of Resistance.” This included Hamas’ Haniyeh, the head of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Ziyad al-Nakhalah, Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary General Naim Qassem, and Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam from Yemen.
These men are all regular visitors to Tehran, and Iran does not hide its association with terrorist leaders, or its celebration of their efforts.
Masoud Pezeshkian may be a reformist compared to the ultra-hardliners within the clerical regime, but his election in no way signals a rejection of Tehran’s efforts to spread its revolutionary Islamist doctrine and eliminate the Jewish State.
Following Haniyeh’s death, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, declared it the regime’s duty to “take revenge.”
“The criminal and terrorist Zionist regime martyred our dear guest in our home, but it also prepared a harsh punishment for itself,” Khamenei said on his website.
The IRGC echoed Khamenei’s remarks, and claimed to have launched an investigation into the security breach that led to the assassination. The Houthis also vowed to take revenge in cooperation with the Axis of Resistance, hinting at a potential coordinated attack against Israel.
A major decision facing Tehran is whether to retaliate directly from its own soil, or rely on its proxies — which would reduce the odds of an Israeli counterstrike inside Iran’s borders.
The Islamic Republic has directly targeted Israel from its own territory only once, after an Israeli airstrike on Damascus this April killed top IRGC leaders responsible for operations in Syria and Lebanon. The Iranian regime launched approximately 331 projectiles toward Israel, including 185 drones, 36 cruise missiles, and 110 surface-to-surface missiles. While most were fired from Iran, some originated in Iraq and Yemen.
Israel, the US, Jordan, and reportedly Saudi Arabia intercepted many of these projectiles, with Israeli officials reporting no casualties.
Tehran’s support for Hamas dates back to the 1980s. Throughout the years, Iran has provided the terrorist group with hundreds of millions of dollars, as well as training, weapons, and rockets. According to the US State Department, Iran provides about $100 million annually to Palestinian militant groups, including Hamas. By 2023, Israeli estimates were even higher, claiming Iran had increased its funding for Hamas to $350 million a year.
Hamas and Islamic Republic leaders frequently convene in Tehran, Damascus, and Beirut. In addition to Iran’s alleged role in orchestrating the October 7 massacre of 1,200 Israelis, since that day Iranian-backed militias across the region have been attacking Israel on multiple fronts under the Islamic Republic’s leadership.
On the northern front, Hezbollah has frequently launched missiles at Israeli territory and also deployed drones for surveillance and attacks. A recent Hezbollah rocket attack killed 12 children playing in a soccer field in northern Israel, marking the highest civilian death toll since October 7 and raising fears among US and European diplomats of an all-out war between Hezbollah and Israel.
The Houthis joined these efforts by launching missiles and UAVs at Israel, with one drone striking Tel Aviv after traveling roughly 1,730 miles from Sana’a. In Iraq, Iranian-backed militias, known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, claimed to have attacked a vital Israeli target in the Port of Eilat with several drones, stating they were supporting Hamas in Gaza.
US pressure for a ceasefire in the absence of any real measures to address Tehran and its proxies has been a prime policy objective, whereas this approach fails to offer a plan for preventing future Hamas violence if the group remains intact.
A day after Haniyeh’s death in Tehran, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said reaching a ceasefire in Gaza “is the enduring imperative,” without addressing the Islamic Republic’s evident role in the process. Similarly, Vice President Kamala Harris pressured Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to finalize a ceasefire deal during his trip to D.C., while also suggesting that Israel has the right to defend itself — but without mentioning the threats posed by Iran-backed groups other than Hamas.
These pushes for de-escalation between Hamas and Israel do not take into account other proxies that also target Israel, as Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iraqi militias could ramp up their attacks at Tehran’s behest. As pressure mounts from the US and the international community to reach a ceasefire, it is crucial to consider Iran’s role in ensuring the success or failure of an enduring agreement.
The Gaza conflict is but one front of a larger conflict involving various Iranian proxies. Any approach towards de-escalation must encompass the threats posed by other militia groups that are not bound by a Hamas ceasefire, and operate under Iran’s influence.
Janatan Sayeh is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies focused on Iranian domestic affairs and the Islamic Republic’s regional malign influence.
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Israel Strikes Houthi Targets in Yemen
Smoke rises after Israeli strikes near Sanaa airport, in Sanaa, Yemen, Dec. 26, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
Israel struck multiple targets linked to the Iran-aligned Houthi terrorist group in Yemen on Thursday, including Sanaa International Airport, and Houthi media said three people were killed.
The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said he was about to board a plane at the airport when it came under attack. A crew member on the plane was injured, he said in a statement.
The Israeli military said that in addition to striking the airport, it also hit military infrastructure at the ports of Hodeidah, Salif, and Ras Kanatib on Yemen’s west coast. It also attacked the country’s Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations.
Houthi-run Al Masirah TV said two people were killed in the strikes on the airport and one person was killed in the port hits, while 11 others were wounded in the attacks.
There was no comment from the Houthis, who have repeatedly fired drones and missiles towards Israel in what they describe as acts of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said following the attacks that Israel will continue its mission until it is complete: “We are determined to sever this terror arm of Iran’s axis.”
The prime minister has been strengthened at home by the Israeli military’s campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah forces in southern Lebanon and by its destruction of most of the Syrian army’s strategic weapons.
The Israeli attacks on the airport, Hodeidah and on one power station, were also reported by Al Masirah TV.
Tedros said he had been in Yemen to negotiate the release of detained UN staff detainees and to assess the humanitarian situation in Yemen.
“As we were about to board our flight from Sanaa … the airport came under aerial bombardment. One of our plane’s crew members was injured,” he said in a statement.
“The air traffic control tower, the departure lounge — just a few meters from where we were — and the runway were damaged,” he said, adding that he and his colleagues were safe.
There was no immediate comment from Israel on the incident.
More than a year of Houthi attacks have disrupted international shipping routes, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys that have in turn stoked fears over global inflation.
The UN Security Council is due to meet on Monday over Houthi attacks against Israel, Israel‘s UN Ambassador Danny Danon said on Wednesday.
On Saturday, Israel‘s military failed to intercept a missile from Yemen that fell in the Tel Aviv-Jaffa area, injuring 14 people.
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Controversial Islamic Group CAIR Chides US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew for Denying Report of ‘Famine’ in Gaza
US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew. Photo: Alchetron.
The Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) has condemned US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew for casting doubt on a new report claiming that famine has gripped northern Gaza.
The controversial Muslim advocacy group on Wednesday slammed Lew for his “callous dismissal” of the recent Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) report accusing Israel of inflicting famine on the Gaza Strip. The organization subsequently asserted that Israel had perpetrated an ethnic cleansing campaign in northern Gaza.
“Ambassador Lew’s callous dismissal of this shocking report by a US-backed agency exposing Israel’s campaign of forced starvation in Gaza reminds one of the old joke about a man who murdered his parents and then asked for mercy because he is now an ‘orphan,’” CAIR said in a statement.
“To reject a report on starvation in northern Gaza by appearing to boast about the fact that it has been successfully ethnically cleansed of its native population is just the latest example of Biden administration officials supporting, enabling, and excusing Israel’s clear and open campaign of genocide in Gaza,” the Washington, DC-based group continued.
On Monday, FEWS Net, a US-created provider of warning and analysis on food insecurity, released a report detailing that a famine had allegedly taken hold of northern Gaza. The report argued that 65,000-75,000 individuals remain stranded in the area without sufficient access to food.
“Israel’s near-total blockade of humanitarian and commercial food supplies to besieged areas of North Gaza Governorate” has resulted in mass starvation among scores of innocent civilians in the beleaguered enclave, the report stated.
Lew subsequently issued a statement denying the veracity of the FEWS Net report, slamming the organization for peddling “inaccurate” information and “causing confusion.”
“The report issued today on Gaza by FEWS NET relies on data that is outdated and inaccurate. We have worked closely with the Government of Israel and the UN to provide greater access to the North Governorate, and it is now apparent that the civilian population in that part of Gaza is in the range of 7,000-15,000, not 65,000-75,000 which is the basis of this report,” Lew wrote.
“At a time when inaccurate information is causing confusion and accusations, it is irresponsible to issue a report like this. We work day and night with the UN and our Israeli partners to meet humanitarian needs — which are great — and relying on inaccurate data is irresponsible,” Lew continued.
Following Lew’s repudiation, FEWS NET quietly removed the report on Wednesday, sparking outrage among supporters of the pro-Palestinian cause.
“We ask FEWS NET not to submit to the bullying of genocide supporters and to again make its report available to the public,” CAIR said in its statement.
In the year following the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s invasion of and massacre across southern Israel last Oct. 7, Israel has been repeatedly accused of inflicting famine in Hamas-ruled Gaza. Despite the allegations, there is scant evidence of mass starvation across the war-torn enclave.
This is not the first time that FEWS Net has attempted to accuse Israel of inflicting famine in Gaza. In June, the United Nations Famine Review Committee (FRC), a panel of experts in international food security and nutrition, rejected claims by FEWS Net that a famine had taken hold of northern Gaza. In rejecting the allegations, the FRC cited an “uncertainty and lack of convergence of the supporting evidence employed in the analysis.”
Meanwhile, CAIR has been embroiled in controversy since the onset of the Gaza war last October.
CAIR has been embroiled in controversy since the Oct. 7 atrocities. The head of CAIR, for example, said he was “happy” to witness Hamas’s rampage across southern Israel.
“The people of Gaza only decided to break the siege — the walls of the concentration camp — on Oct. 7,” CAIR co-founder and executive director Nihad Awad said in a speech during the American Muslims for Palestine convention in Chicago in November. “And yes, I was happy to see people breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land, and walk free into their land, which they were not allowed to walk in.”
CAIR has long been a controversial organization. In the 2000s, it was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing case. Politico noted in 2010 that “US District Court Judge Jorge Solis found that the government presented ‘ample evidence to establish the association’” of CAIR with Hamas.
According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), “some of CAIR’s current leadership had early connections with organizations that are or were affiliated with Hamas.” CAIR has disputed the accuracy of the ADL’s claim and asserted that it “unequivocally condemn[s] all acts of terrorism, whether carried out by al-Qa’ida, the Real IRA, FARC, Hamas, ETA, or any other group designated by the US Department of State as a ‘Foreign Terrorist Organization.’”
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Jewish Civil Rights Group Representing Amsterdam Pogrom Victims Slams Dutch Court for ‘Light Sentences’
Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters are guarded by police after violence targeting Israeli football fans broke out in Amsterdam overnight, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, November 8, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ami Shooman/Israel Hayom
The international Jewish civil rights organization legally representing more than 50 victims of the attack on Israeli soccer fans that took place in Amsterdam last month has joined many voices in lambasting a Dutch court for what they described as a mild punishment for the attackers.
“These sentences are an insult to the victims and a stain on the Dutch legal system,” The Lawfare Project’s founder and executive director Brooke Goldstein said in a statement on Wednesday. “Allowing individuals who coordinated and celebrated acts of violence to walk away with minimal consequences diminishes the rule of law and undermines trust in the judicial process. If this is the response to such blatant antisemitism, what hope is there for deterring future offenders or safeguarding the Jewish community.”
On Tuesday, a district court in Amsterdam sentenced five men for their participation in the violent attacks in the Dutch city against fans of the Israeli soccer team Maccabi Tel Aviv. The premeditated and coordinated violence took place on the night of Nov. 7 and into the early hours of Nov 8, before and after Maccabi Tel Aviv competed against the Dutch soccer team Ajax in a UEFA Europa League match. The five suspects were sentenced to up to 100 hours of community service and up to six months in prison.
The attackers were found guilty of public violence, which included kicking an individual lying on the ground, and inciting the violence by calling on members of a WhatsApp group chat to gather and attack Maccabi Tel Aviv fans. One man sentenced on Tuesday who had a “leading role” in the violence, according to prosecutors, was given the longest sentence — six months in prison.
“As someone who witnessed these trials firsthand, I am deeply disheartened by the leniency of these sentences,” added Ziporah Reich, director of litigation at The Lawfare Project. “The violent, coordinated attacks against Jews in Amsterdam are among the worst antisemitic incidents in Europe. These light sentences fail to reflect the gravity of these crimes and do little to deliver justice to the victims who are left traumatized and unheard. Even more troubling, they set a dangerous precedent, signaling to future offenders that such horrific acts of violence will not be met with serious consequences.”
The Lawfare Project said on Wednesday that it is representing over 50 victims of the Amsterdam attacks. It has also secured for their clients a local counsel — Peter Plasman, who is a partner at the Amsterdam-based law firm Kötter L’Homme Plasman — to represent them in the Netherlands. The Lawfare Project aims to protect the civil and human rights of Jewish people around the world through legal action.
Others who have criticized the Dutch court for its sentencing of the five men on Tuesday included Arsen Ostrovsky, a leading human rights attorney and CEO of The International Legal Forum; Tal-Or Cohen, the founder and CEO of CyberWell; and The Center for Information and Documentation on Israel.
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