The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps gave the final go-ahead last Monday in Beirut.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps gave the final go-ahead last Monday in Beirut
Iranian security officials helped plan Hamas’s Saturday surprise attack on Israel and gave the green light for the assault at a meeting in Beirut last Monday, according to senior members of Hamas and Hezbollah, another Iran-backed militant group.
Officers of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had worked with Hamas since August to devise the air, land and sea incursions—the most significant breach of Israel’s borders since the 1973 Yom Kippur War—those people said.
Details of the operation were refined during several meetings in Beirut attended by IRGC officers and representatives of four Iran-backed militant groups, including Hamas, which holds power in Gaza, and Hezbollah, a Shiite militant group and political faction in Lebanon, they said.
I have nothing but a gut feeling to back this up, but isn't this oh so convenient for russia? Now the very powerful USA Israel lobby will be asking for as much aid as possible.
I wouldn't be surprised if russia was behind this and other escalations.
It might disrupt US focus a little, but Israel's military really doesn't need help on this. Israel is heavily militarized with a very advanced domestic defense industry. And as much as Russia has flopped, they're still a former superpower while Hamas is DIYing half their equipment
This does not account for US domestic politics though. Now, Republicans who have been pro-Russia and anti-Ukraine aid will be screaming from the rooftops about how that money should have all gone to Israel instead. They started blaming Biden for this the day it happened, meanwhile not a peep about Netanyahu
I think I saw Russia's name before, so it's not just you wondering about that. It would be completely unsurprising to find out that Russia is giving a push to plans that had been mothballed for a while.
I actually think it’s better for russia to fracture the democrats over it. Stop the genocide b/w support Israel. That’s the spin they’re expecting, and have already started to see dividends from that in the press.
The curse of over-simplifying is the only winner in any of that messaging. Keep the discussions long, detailed and boring. Ignore the blaring “dems in disarray” messaging they’ve already got chambered for next week.
I think if they were involved it will backfire on them. The reality is it is now going to be a lot easier, and the military-industrial complex is extremely eager, to put aid for Israel as a joint package in aid with Ukraine. Net result may be that aid is enhanced for both nations.
Edit: that said they do want Iranian drones. I could see them supporting it from that perspective and also happy to run their misinformation campaigns for them to dry and drive a wedge.
It's not like we really have a budget to hit, we can just fund both. If anything, Republicans in the House who are arguing that we need to spend the money here instead of on military aid will lose that talking point if they vote for Israeli aid. And the Senate who wants Ukrainian money can tie the two together to force more money to Ukraine.
Not that it can't be Russian-encouraged, they probably do want the US preoccupied somewhere else, but Hamas has their own reasons for launching the attack, not everything has to be about the United States.
Israel's been neutral in the Ukraine conflict. I doubt Russia would seriously risk turning Israel.
And even then, if Russia wanted to do something theyd do it through Syria, not Gaza.
At the very least this maybe could be a diversion to get eyes off Ukraine but I seriously doubt that. Hamas is probably just pissed off Saudi/Israeli relations have been improving and want to stop that.
Russia really isn't some illuminati spymaster country.
It could have been a move to take Israel off the "Ukraine Playing Field" before they ever entered. Before, there was a risk of Israel lending support to Ukraine. Now, Israel will be using all of its military capabilities closer to their home.
Of course, that's just a possibility. Personally, I don't think Russia had much, if any, hand in this. At most, perhaps Iran told them what was going on so the Russian disinformation machines could spin up as much confusion and dissent as possible in the West.
Russia might also exploit this situation for their gain, but it doesn't mean they planned it.
But at the same time, I don't doubt that Russia will jump in to cause as much chaos as possible if they think it will help them. Just because they didn't help plan this attack doesn't mean they can't push (through "certain people that they know") for aid to go to Israel instead of Ukraine.
Who are these senior members of Hamas and Hezbollah that said this? Sounds to me like the article is just war mongering for Israeli attacks on Iran with justifications based on he said she said bullshit with no actual evidence of it. Also article is paywalled.
As a GenX-er, I grew up with WW3 as a constant possibility. My third grade teacher showed us a TV movie about nuclear war that had me thinking every plane that flew overhead was a nuclear missile.
Maybe this is why GenX is the "whatever" generation. When you grow up thinking you're going to die at any moment, you tend to shrug off a lot of stuff.
When both sides of a conflict make the claim that the same piece of dirt is sacred to their religion, it's unlikely for cooler heads to get a word in edgeways.
It's amazing to me that people think they aren't being antisemitic to simply criticize Israel, but, then military actions are taken against them during the holiest days of Judaism. Yeah, tell me more about how you aren't antisemitic.
There is one Jewish state in the whole world, and people are intent on destroying it.
You realize the people who attacked them are also semites right? Semite doesn't equal Jewish. Israel doesn't equal Judaism.
There are Jews in the US who are critical of the nation state of Israel. Curious how that fits in your framework. You think they are just ethnomasocists?
This is basically what you just said, but I really don't understand how you think there's any country in the world that's beyond reproach? Thinking that you can't criticize a country ever for anything or you're an antisemite seems like blatant propaganda for that country
It's absolutely awful what happened, and it is the responsibility of Hamas, and also Israeli policies toward Palestinians created the climate in which this sort of attack can be cultivated by bad actors. Unfortunately, when Israel kills a bunch Palestinian civilians, which happens often, it doesn't typically make the front page
I didn't say they couldn't be criticized ever. In fact, I often am critical myslef. You're the one that suggested they can't be criticized ever. Also, this is much different than what you think should make the front page regularly.
I'm Jewish and my take on the whole "criticizing Israel is antisemitic" thing is: Context Matters.
Are you criticizing the Israeli government/military for an action they took? You're not being antisemitic.
Are you criticizing all Israelis for the actions of the Israeli government/military? You're being antisemitic. (For an example here, would you blame all Americans for the actions of Trump even though over half of them voted against him?)
Are you criticizing all Jews, regardless of where they live, for the actions of the Israeli government/military? You're definitely being antisemitic. I'm an American Jew and have about as much pull in Israeli affairs as a random citizen of the UK has in US affairs.
Time and empathy also matter. If you heard of the slaughter of 700 civilians and said "Israel is to blame for this" or "this is an appropriate response given what was done to the Palestinian people," then - yes - I'd consider that antisemitic. Not because it's not allowed to show support to the plight of the Palestinian people, but because responding in this way minimizes the suffering of one group (Israelis) because another group is suffering.
To give an example in this case, imagine if you broke your leg and your friend said "you expect sympathy from me? People are dying of cancer and you only have a broken leg!" You'd probably be insulted that they were minimizing your pain and suffering. You could acknowledge that the people dying of cancer definitely have it worse and also warrant empathy, but empathy shouldn't be reserved only for the group that has it worst.
Neither should a group be denied empathy because their government/military takes actions that are repugnant. If this is the case, then the Palestinian people should be denied empathy because of this attack. (A statement which I don't support, but am using to prove a point.)
In short, context always matters. Criticizing Israel, like so many things in life and especially like the quagmire in the middle east, isn't a black and white affair.
That’s just tactics. The best time to attack is when everyone sleeps outside. It’s gruesome, but the holiday itself may not be relevant, just the celebration of it.