The congressional leaders cited a recent poll from Data For Progress that found 77 per cent of Democrats, 69 per cent of Independents and 56 per cent of Republicans wanted "a permanent ceasefire and a de-escalation of violence in Gaza". Not only is a ceasefire good policy, it is good politics (Read more at The National).
The Pentagon said Mr Austin was quoting Hamas numbers and that the US is not keeping track of Gaza casualty figures. Pentagon press secretary Maj Gen Pat Ryder said that absent being on the ground in Gaza, the Pentagon has no way to corroborate tolls given by Israel or Gaza authorities (Read more at The National).
Biden walked back his previous remarks about a possible ceasefire in Gaza by Monday. White House deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton said the U.S. asked the Israeli government to thoroughly investigate the aid convoy incident. USAID Administrator Samantha Power said two crossings is not enough and we need more crossings into Gaza so that vitally needed humanitarian assistance can be dramatically surged (Read more at Axios).
The US urged Israel to allow Muslims to worship at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem during Ramadan after a far-right minister proposed barring Palestinians from the occupied West Bank from praying there (Read more at Al Ahram).
This move underscores the growing concern within the White House about the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The administration was skeptical of such an idea early in the war, but support for it has been growing (Read more at Axios).
The Biden administration gave Israel until mid-March to sign a letter that gives assurances it will abide by international law while using U.S. weapons and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. If the assurances aren't provided by the deadline, U.S. weapon transfers to the country will be paused (Read more at Axios).
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday pushed back against President Biden's recent warning that Israel will lose support worldwide if its "incredibly conservative" government continues down its current path. Netanyahu cited a recent Harvard-Harris poll that found more than 80% of those surveyed in the U.S. supported Israel more than Hamas in the current conflict. But a recent AP/Norc poll showed that 50% of U.S. adults surveyed in January said they believed Israel's actions had gone too far (Read more at Axios).
During a guest appearance on Late Night With Seth Myers on US TV, US President took the opportunity to say that he was a Zionist. He did so several times before: During a Senate debate in 1986, he said "were there not an Israel, the United States of America would have to invent an Israel to protect her interests in the region". Last year, during his visit to Israel he said: "I don't believe you have to be a Jew to be a Zionist, and I am a Zionist" (Read more at NewArab).
The testimony from Shapiro and Tim Lenderking, the US envoy for the conflict in Yemen, marked the first congressional testimony by US officials since President Joe Biden ordered strikes against the Houthis last month. This was the most detailed public accounting of the airstrikes so far (Read more at YahooFinance).
Israel's plan to add thousands more homes in the occupied West Bank was the final push the Biden administration needed to declare them "inconsistent" with international law. Since January 2021, the Biden administration has come close a few times to restoring the language to the pre-Trump era, but each time the move was set aside largely due to a failure to secure a green light from all of the senior members of the administration. The Oct. 7 Hamas attack had temporarily halted plans for such a change (Read more at USNews).
The United States has been carrying out near-daily strikes against Houthis. Democratic Senator Tim Kaine said, "Trying to re-establish deterrence, I don't think you're going to do it if the 200 strikes become 400 strikes, 800 strikes, 1,200 strikes." U.S. Special Envoy Tim Lenderking told lawmakers during the hearing that China should be "more engaged" in international efforts to halt the Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping (Read more at AOL).
Israel’s war on Gaza has not been a centerpiece of Trump’s attacks on Biden. He said if he was in charge he would go after Iran and its proxies and would argue that he would have secured the release of American hostages held by Hamas. He may decide that America has had enough of the Middle East and should focus on its real rival, China, instead (Read more at Arabnews).
Israel's killing thousands of Gaza citizens became a reminder of how invisible they sometimes feel in America. For example, Schools rarely allow students to choose their racial identity as Arab American on information forms. Biden's early support for Israel's assault on Palestinians in Gaza was simply a tipping point for many Arab Americans who helped him achieve a critical win the state in 2020 (Read more at Axios).
The United States targeted Iranian and Houthi commanders and a vessel that shipped more than $100 million in Iranian commodities to businesses in China in sanctions announced on Tuesday (Read more at USNews).
"Blocking West Bank residents from working in Israel, it has a very significant negative effect on incomes in the West Bank. And Israel is also dependent on that labor force," Yellen said, adding that labor shortages were also hurting Israel's economy (Read more at USNews).
Türkiye, in October 2021, requested 40 new F-16 Block 70 aircraft and 79 modernisation kits from the US to upgrade its remaining F-16s to Block 70 level (Read more at TRTWorld).
Machine-learning algorithms that can teach themselves to identify objects helped to narrow down targets for more than 85 US air strikes on February 2. AI systems have also helped identify rocket launchers in Yemen and surface vessels in the Red Sea (Read more at theNational).
He added that he was leading the effort in Congress to make sure that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn't get the US funds that he needs to continue his war against the Palestinian people (Read more at NewArab).
His steadfast support of the Gaza war effort is angering young people and Arab Americans in an election year. But any change risks alienating Jewish voters. Mr. Biden needs the war to end, so he can reassemble the coalition that got him elected in 2020. But Mr. Netanyahu wants it to continue until the complete rout of Hamas, to stave off his own political reckoning from an angry electorate — and potentially help Donald J. Trump, his ally, return to power (Read more at NYTimes).
Mohammad Shtayyeh announced the resignation of his government. The United States and other powers have called for a reformed Palestinian Authority to take charge of all Palestinian territories after the end of the war sparked by Hamas's October 7 attack. He said, "the next stage and its challenges require new governmental and political measures that take into account the new reality in the Gaza Strip" (Read more at Barrons).
Sandvine, which has been accused of helping facilitate surveillance on Egypt's opposition, supplies what is known as "deep packet inspection technology" which examines and manages network traffic. U.S. companies are effectively barred from shipping goods and technology to Sandvine with its addition to the list (Read more at USNews).
A 25-year-old US airman of San Antonio, Texas filmed himself repeatedly yelling yelling “Free Palestine". He then put his phone down, doused himself over the head with a liquid from a water bottle, and then set himself ablaze. The Israeli Embassy said none of its staffers were injured. In December, a person self-immolated outside the Israeli consulate in Atlanta and used gasoline as an accelerant. A Palestinian flag was found at the scene. (See his Linkedin page).
The Biden administration asked Israel to stop targeting members of the Hamas-run civilian police force who escort aid trucks in Gaza. Gaza is turning into Mogadishu" as a security vacuum and desperation have opened the door for armed gangs to attack and loot aid trucks. Many of the trucks that have recently entered Gaza have been overrun by criminal gangs (Read more at Axios).
It includes the release of several hundred Palestinian prisoners, including those convicted of killing Israelis and serving long sentences, in exchange for Hamas freeing 35 to 40 Israeli hostages. Israel would agree to a day of ceasefire for each hostage, a limited return of Palestinian citizens to the northern part of the Gaza Strip, and a significant increase in the scope of humanitarian aid that would enter the Gaza Strip. It only mentions general principles for the next phases of the deal and the release of soldiers and an exchange of bodies (Read more at Axios).
The world's most influential Sunni institution urged the world to intervene to stop the rivers of blood in Palestine, put an end to this savage aggression, and halt the massacres and daily crimes (Read more at Al Ahram).
One expert expects that Erdogan will pay a visit to the White House in the near term as the two parties bridge key differences. The decision by Turkey to appoint a career diplomat as the country's top envoy in the US capital reflects its desire to maintain the current upward trajectory of their relations (Read more at Al Monitor).
U.S. Secretary of State Antony said the United States has become "disappointed" in Israel's announcement of plans for building new housing in the occupied West Bank because it is 'inconsistent' with international law. In 2019, Trump's Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that Washington no longer viewed Israel's settlements on West Bank captured in the 1967 as "inconsistent with international law." (Read more at USNews).
He is a graduate of international relations at Ankara University and had represented Ankara in New York from 1998 to 2002. He then assumed the role of Counselor at the Embassy of Türkiye in Tehran from 2002 to 2005. He has been Türkiye's permanent representative to the UN in New York since February 2023 (Read more at TRTWorld).
In the intermediate term, Israel wishes to “maintain its operational freedom of action in the entire Gaza Strip, without a time limit,” as well as to retain a security buffer within the besieged territory. Any reconstruction can only begin after “de-radicalization” and demilitarization. Israel also requests a “southern lock” on the border between the Gaza and Egypt (Read more at ABCNews).
Of the new entities listed, 4 from the UAE, 16 from Turkey, 63 were from Russia, and 8 from China. The action taken one day before the 2nd anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine means banning U.S. shipments to them (Read more at USNews).
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Iran has been sending “significant numbers” of drones, guided aerial bombs and artillery ammunition to Russia, and the US is closely monitoring whether Iran has transferred any close-range ballistic missiles”. He added, "I can assure you that the response in the international community will be swift and it will be severe.” (Read more at The National).
The nuclear materials came from Myanmar, with defendant Takeshi Ebisawa accused of selling them to a US undercover agent. The nuclear material came from an unidentified leader of an "ethnic insurgent group" in Myanmar who had been mining uranium in the country (Read more at Skynews).
The US intelligence report highlighted that Israeli bias against the UN aid agency impacted the quality of Israel’s assessments (Read more at New Arab).
Any movement towards Israel’s withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza requires consideration of Israel’s very real security needs on October 7 (Read more at Aljazeera).
He talks with Qatari, Egyptian and Israeli officials for at least a six-week pause in fighting. The main sticking point centers on differences over the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released and how the list will be determined for the first stage of what could be a three-phase deal (Read more at Axios).
“The next few weeks are a real hinge point — for Gaza, for Israel, for Lebanon, for the Red Sea, for Iraq,” said Senators Chris Coons. “It could create that window of 45 days, during Ramadan for a full implementation of UNSC resolution 1701,” he said. Senators Chris Coons and Richard Blumenthal told Lebanese Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri that Israel “is not bluffing” about an offensive (Read more at Arabnews).
Senator Lindsey Graham: “We are in a religious war here. I am with Israel. Do whatever the hell you have to do to defend yourselves. Level the place.” (Read more at Aljazeera).
Democratic Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Coons who held talks with Israeli and Arab leaders said yesterday that they were hopeful a deal could be struck allowing a humanitarian pause in the war in Gaza before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan (Read more at USNews).
Democratic Senator Chris Coons is headed for Beirut in what some observers comment is a show of US support for Lebanon at a time of ongoing crisis (Read more at Al-Monitor).
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasian Affairs Yuri Kim said: Very, very unfortunate that Putin has not reciprocated President Erdogan’s goodwill, and that grain initiative has now become defunct. We know that Erdogan has a special place in his heart for the Tatar community in Crimea, and we hope that he will continue to coordinate closely with us (Read more at TRT World).
It happened at the home of Israeli American media mogul Haim Saban. War in Gaza has divided California Democrats. A super PAC supporting former President Trump, ran digital ads targeting social media users in Saban’s ZIP Code that focus on White House officials’ meeting with Osama Siblani, a Michigan newspaper publisher who has previously praised Hamas and Hezbollah (Read more at LA Times).
Blinken’s first trip as secretary of state to Brazil comes more than three years into his tenure. The Biden administration had limited interest in dealing with Lula’s predecessor, the far-right Jair Bolsonaro. The Brazilian leftist president, on a trip to Ethiopia, said that what was happening in the Gaza Strip “isn’t a war, it’s a genocide.” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said We have been quite clear that we do not believe that genocide has occurred in Gaza (Read more at Arabnews).
Thirteen council members voted in favor of the Algerian-drafted text. Britain abstained. It demanded for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire (Read more at Arabnews).
Unmanned surface and subsurface vessels are likely more difficult to detect and destroy than aerial drones and anti-ship missiles. They are adjusting their strategy, apparently because they haven't been successful in striking a U.S. naval vessel. "If one or more of these weapons get through and kill U.S. sailors, Iran should expect to be held directly responsible" ABC News national security and defense analyst Mick Mulroy, a former Pentagon official and CIA agent, said (Read more at ABCNews).
They say the U.N. Security Council never authorized military action against Yemen. Russia says the root cause of the current situation is Israel’s military offensive in Gaza following Hamas’ surprise attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7 (Read more at ABCNews).
Despite a month of U.S.-led airstrikes, Yemen's Houthi rebels remain capable of launching significant attacks. For Washington, “deterrence options” are getting narrower. Houthis and allied tribes in Yemen amount to 20,000 fighters (Read more at ABCNews).
Brett McGurk is expected to visit Israel and Egypt this week for talks on the possible Israeli military operation in Rafah and efforts to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Isrealis stressed they won't operation in Rafah without coordinating with the U.S. and Egypt. Israeli and U.S. officials have admitted that it would take many weeks before an operation in Rafah could go forward — possibly only in mid-April after the Islamic holy month of Ramadan is over (Read more at Axios).
The U.S. executive order in December did not explicitly target energy but it has complicated some Turkish payments for Russian crude as well as Russian payments for a broader range of Turkish exports. A source with a Russian oil major said Russian oil exporters have not received payments from Turkey for two to three weeks (Read more at USNews).
But it says "as soon as practical" and based on the formula of all hostages being released” while also “lifting all barriers to the provision of humanitarian assistance at scale” in Gaza. The US draft also warns Israel not to launch a ground offensive in Rafah where more than 1.4 million of the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza have sought shelter. This is the first time the US is proposing the word ceasefire, while it has twice vetoed Security Council resolutions. Something very clearly has changed in Washington in the last 24 hours (Read more at Aljazeera).
This is the first observed Houthi employment of a UUV since attacks began in October 2023. Centcom identified the anti-ship cruise missiles, unmanned underwater vessel and the unmanned surface vessel in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined they presented an imminent threat to US Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region (Read more at The National).
"It's definitely a high operations tempo," the VAW-123 squadron leader said. "We're on call 24/7." They have minutes, sometimes just seconds, to react to a possible incoming threat. Rear Admiral Marc Miguez tells us that "numerous strikes" on Houthi positions from the Eisenhower and other ships in Carrier Strike Group Two are successfully degrading the Houthis' capabilities to launch their attacks (Read more at ABCNews).
But an official told ABC News that the White House and the intelligence community remains unconvinced that the response will persist, even as some State Department officials say it may take a generation to rebuild U.S. standing in some countries (Read more at ABCNews).
Algeria put forward an initial draft resolution more than two weeks ago. But U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield quickly said the text could jeopardize "sensitive negotiations" aimed at brokering a pause in the war (Read more at USNews).
The commander, Esmail Qaani, met representatives of several of the armed groups in Baghdad airport less than 48 hours after Washington blamed the groups for the killing of three U.S. soldiers at the Tower 22 outpost in Jordan. Qaani, whose predecessor was killed by a U.S. drone near the same airport four years ago, told the factions that drawing American blood risked a heavy U.S. response, 10 of the sources said. Since Feb. 4 there have been no attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria (Read more at Reuters).
Community leaders ask administration officials to allow 50,000 Palestinians to come to US under humanitarian parole programme. However, it is likely to face severe resistance from Mr Biden's Republican rivals, who are likely to bring up issues of vetting and security. (Read more at The National).
It reverses one of the first foreign policy decisions carried out by President Joe Biden after he took office. The decision to restore only the SDGT designation came after the State Department, USAID and Democrats in Congress objected to reapplying the FTO designation, which critics have said would do more to hinder humanitarian access than the SDGT designation alone (Read more at Al-Monitor).
She had said, "If Canada someday ever attacked Buffalo, I'm sorry, my friends, there would be no Canada the next day." Later she apologized for her "poor choice of words." the governor added, "While I have been clear in my support of Israel's right to self-defense, I have also repeatedly said and continue to believe that Palestinian civilian casualties should be avoided." (Read more at USNews)
Tony Blinken-Secretary of State, Lloyd Austin-Secretary of Defense, Jake Sullivan-National Security Adviser, Jon Finer-Deputy National Security Adviser, Bill Burns-CIA Director, Avril Haines-Director of National Intelligence, David Satterfield-Special Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues, Brett McGurk-NSC Coordinator for the Middle East, Kamala Harris-Vice President, Phil Gordon-National Security Adviser to the VP, Roger Carstens-Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, Gen. Erik Kurilla-CENTCOM Commander (Read more at Axios).
Lebanon foreign minister continues, the US should pressure Israel. Washington remains Israel’s primary foreign backer, sending it roughly $4 billion annually in military aid, which constitutes about 16% of Israel’s defense budget (Read more at CNBC).
An American soldier standing guard at Tower 22 in the Jordanian desert cannot simultaneously watch over the NATO border in Estonia, the demilitarized zone on the Korean peninsula or Philippine shoals in the South China Sea (Read more at Bloomberg).
It took place on the sidelines of the annual Munich Security Conference and would be linked to the normalisation of ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, according to diplomats and officials (Read more at Middle East Eye).
The proposed arms delivery includes MK-82 bombs and KMU-572 Joint Direct Attack Munitions that add precision guidance to bombs, and FMU-139 bomb fuses (Link)
This may be due to the lack of experience of Biden’s administration and the failure to withdraw from the region. America returned with its largest presence since World War II. After Hezbollah carried out more than a thousand military operations against Israel, it established a buffer zone inside enemy territory, when the settlers fled the border areas that became the target of resistance strikes (Link).
Analysts say the current escalation is dangerously prone to overreach and miscalculation that could lead to a direct U.S.-Iran conflict. American troops number 2,500 in Iraq and 900 in Syria. About the proxies, Renad Mansour, head of the Iraq Initiative at the Chatham House says, “The word ‘proxy’ here is difficult, because it implies just working entirely on behalf of someone else. These groups have their own interests.” (Link)
Protesters carrying banner saying ‘Cultural workers stand with Gaza’ call for lifting of blockade in Gaza, end to ‘artistic collaboration’ with Israel (Link).
The cyberattack took place a week ago as part of a government response to a drone attack that killed three U.S. service members in Jordan late last month and wounded dozens of others. It is said that the ship had been collecting intelligence on cargo vessels (Link).
The planning group envisions a unified Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza coupled with a Saudi-Israel normalization deal. However, the plan is premised on Israel ceasing its counteroffensive against Hamas before taking Rafah. Such a step would deny Israel the ability to complete its objective of dismantling Hamas (Link).
The president of MIT said "We need to keep the community safe.” 13 student organizers had individually been threatened with permanent suspension from MIT. The president didn't address such disciplinary action against student organizers in her video messages (Link).
Baghdad and Washington have held at least two rounds of talks since late last month to end the mission in Iraq of the US-led international coalition formed in 2014 to fight ISIS. The US has 2,500 troops in Iraq and a US withdrawal would probably increase concern in Washington about the influence of Iran over Iraq's ruling elite (Link).
The move grants "deferred enforced departure" to an estimated 6,000 Palestinians for the next 18 months (Link).
On Jan. 28, over 200 packages containing medium-range ballistic missile components, explosives, unmanned underwater/surface vehicle (UUV/USV) components, military-grade communication and network equipment, anti-tank guided missile launcher assemblies, and other military components were discovered on board, it said (Link).
Jeff Flake welcomes Congress' green light for F-16 sales to Türkiye as an opportunity to revitalise bilateral relations between the NATO allies (Link).
Number of American Jews who say they feel less secure in the US has jumped 22 percent from last year’s survey (Link).
I've been to Israel on numerous occasions. But this visit has been the most poignant and the most heartbreaking. What happened on October 7th was so shocking and so sadistic that the trauma is felt constantly, everywhere by everyone (Link).
But he also made clear what he had said to me before, which is that in order to do that, two things will be required -- an end to the conflict in Gaza, and a clear, credible timebound path to the establishment of a Palestinian state (Link).
