Press TV – December 2, 2024
Hundreds of Takfiri terrorists killed in Syrian army’s attacks near Aleppo, Hama
Hundreds of the Takfiri terrorists have been killed in Syria as the army is pressing ahead with its anti-terror operation.
Reporting on Monday, Syria’s state television said around 320 more terrorists had been killed in the countryside of the cities of Aleppo, Idlib, and Hama.
The death toll took to some 1,300 the number of the Takfiris, who have been killed as a result of joint cooperation between Syrian and Russian forces, since last week, when the terrorists began trying to stage resurgence in the Arab country’s northern areas.
Detailing the operations, the Syrian television said Syrian and Russian air forces had struck gatherings of terrorists and their ringleaders in the vicinity of the al-Hamadaniah sports complex in Aleppo Province, killing and injuring a large number of those who had been targeted.
The official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said dozens more terrorists were also killed and wounded near the city of al-Safira to the east of Aleppo during similar joint airstrikes.
According to Syria’s al-Thawra newspaper, a group of Takfiris, meanwhile, invaded Zughba village in Hama’s suburbs, only to be ambushed by the villagers, who confronted and killed all of the attackers.
The Syrian forces also destroyed as many as 63 armored personnel carriers and other military vehicles belonging to the terrorists, besides shooting down one of their drones over the city of Masyaf, west of Hama.
Also on Monday, various Syrian media outlets said Chief of the General Staff of the Syrian armed forces, Abdul Karim Mahmoud Ibrahim had visited the northern parts of Hama Province on the orders of President Bashar al-Assad after the areas were purged of terrorist presence.
Separately, the Syrian state TV cited Health Minister Ahmad Damiriyah as saying that Aleppo’s emergency medical services organization had resumed its operations after being knocked out of service as a result of terror attacks two days before.
Earlier this week, members of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Takfiri terrorist group were reported to have overrun many government-controlled areas and killed dozens of Syrian soldiers in the Arab country’s north.
Later, though, it was also reported that the Syrian army had thwarted large-scale terrorist operations in Aleppo Province through a preemptive strike.
Terrorist outfits and their Western allies launched a full-scale media campaign afterwards, trying to tarnish the Syrian military’s successful counterterrorism drive, including by reporting that the Syrian forces had withdrawn from Hama’s countryside.
The Syrian military, however, dismissed the reports later, considering them to be part of a “media war” aimed at painting Damascus’ anti-terror struggle in a bad light.
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/12/02/738309/Syria-Russia-kill-hundreds-terrorists
Al Mayadeen – December 2, 2024
Israel continues to insolently violate Lebanon ceasefire
Israeli occupation forces continue to violate the ceasefire agreement with Lebanon, shelling and opening fire on southern Lebanese towns and villages.
The Israeli occupation continues to violate the ceasefire agreement with Lebanon by targeting southern border villages, as well as areas in the Bekaa Valley.
In its latest breach, the Israeli occupation military carried out Monday a drone strike on a bulldozer operating near a Lebanese Army post in the village of Hosh al-Sayyed Ali, north of the Hermel district, wounding a Lebanese soldier.
The Lebanese Army announced on X that an Israeli drone targeted a bulldozer belonging to the army while it was conducting fortification work inside the military post of al-Abbara in the area of Hosh al-Sayyed Ali, resulting in moderate injuries to one soldier.
Later, the Lebanese General Directorate of State Security announced that an [Israeli] enemy drone targeted one of its members, Mahdi Khreis, in a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement.
The drone struck Corporal Khreis with a guided missile while he was performing his national duty, resulting in his martyrdom, it added, calling the attack "a serious escalation and a flagrant violation of Lebanese sovereignty."
In the south, the Israeli occupation forces fired bursts of machine guns toward homes in the town of al-Naqoura, coinciding with the flight of reconnaissance aircraft over villages in the Tyre district.
The occupation forces also launched four artillery shells toward Khiam, with one hitting a chalet in the area between Marj'youn Plain and Khiam, according to Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA).
The Lebanese Health Ministry said one person was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Marj'youn near the border with occupied Palestine.
Yesterday, the outskirts of the town of Maroun al-Ras were subjected to hostile machine gun fire near the "Blue Line".
Additionally, Israeli occupation forces carried out demolition operations in Khiam, the echoes of which were heard across the south, with plumes of smoke rising into the air.
Meanwhile, Al Mayadeen’s correspondent in Sout reported the withdrawal of a significant number of Israeli occupation vehicles, including 10 Merkava tanks, from eastern Khiam toward the al-Wata area.
These Israeli violations constitute a clear breach of the ceasefire terms in Lebanon. Nevertheless, despite these infractions, Lebanese residents continue to return to their villages and homes in the south, the Bekaa, and the Southern Suburb of Beirut.
France warns Israeli violations could jeopardize Lebanon ceasefire
France voiced concern on Sunday over the potential collapse of the ceasefire agreement signed last week between "Israel" and Lebanon, the Israeli Ynet news website reported, describing the deal as "fragile".
According to the website, the French government highlighted 52 Israeli violations, which reportedly resulted in the deaths of three Lebanese civilians, and pointed to an increase in Israeli drone flights at low altitudes over the Lebanese capital Beirut.
Ynet mentioned that French officials stated that "Israel" had taken action against "alleged Hezbollah violations" without consulting the international committee responsible for overseeing compliance with the agreement.
Paris is said to be in continuous communication with Lebanese Army Chief of Staff Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Najib Mikati to address the escalating tensions, the Israeli news website added.
“The Lebanese are fully committed to maintaining the cease-fire and preventing Hezbollah from reestablishing its presence in southern Lebanon, but they must be given time to prove themselves,” a French official was quoted as saying.
Ynet said Israeli officials justified their violations, claiming that the international monitoring committee would not be fully operational until Monday or Tuesday. Until then, they emphasized, "Israel" would maintain its firm response to any alleged breaches along the border.
“Any breach will be met with significant enforcement, as has been the case so far,” a senior Israeli official stated.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday called for an "immediate" halt to all operations that violate the truce between Lebanon and "Israel", which has been in force since Wednesday.
According to AFP, during phone discussions with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and House Speaker Nabih Berri yesterday, Macron encouraged all sides to fully follow the ceasefire agreement, emphasizing that "all actions undermining this full implementation must stop immediately."
Information revealed to Al Mayadeen's correspondent confirmed that the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon - Hezbollah remains committed to the agreement at this very moment and is addressing violations in accordance with the terms of the agreement.
The Resistance is monitoring every Israeli violation in southern Lebanese towns, adhering to the terms of the agreement, and keeping track of all breaches, our correspondent added, as per his information, noting that while Hezbollah is more than capable of responding, it remains committed to the provisions of the ceasefire.
On his part, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf has cautioned against attempts by "Israel" to normalize violations of the recently brokered ceasefire in Lebanon.
Speaking in a phone call with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Saturday, Ghalibaf stressed the importance of vigilance to ensure that "Israel's" actions do not become routine.
"It is necessary to be cautious that their violation of this agreement should not turn into a routine matter," Qalibaf stated.
https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/-israel--continues-to-insolently-violate-lebanon-ceasefire
Al Mayadeen – December 2, 2024
Yemen strikes US destroyer, three army ships, in top-tier military operation
The Yemeni Armed Forces' drone and missile forces jointly strike US Army assets in the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden, in support of Palestine and in defense of Yemen.
In support of the Palestinian people and its Resistance, in response to the Israeli crimes in the gaza Strip, and in retaliation to the American-British aggression on Yemen, the Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) announced on Sunday the targeting of one US destroyer and three US supply ships in the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden.
Spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree confirmed in a statement that the Stena Impeccable, Maersk Saratoga, and Liberty Grace ships, belonging to the US Army, as well as an American destroyer, were targeted in a top-tier military operation carried out by the YAF's missile and drone forces.
According to the statement, 16 ballistic missiles, one cruise missile, and one drone were used to carry out the multifaceted operation, achieving precise hits, in both the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Saree further affirmed that the Yemeni Armed Forces will continue executing their military operations at an escalating pace in the declared naval operational area against the Israeli and American enemies, further reiterating that they would not cease until the aggression on Gaza ends and the blockade is lifted.
Earlier, the missile force of the Yemeni Armed Forces also carried out an operation targeting a vital site in the occupied Yafa region using a hypersonic missile of the Palestine 2 type, YAF spokesperson Saree announced on Sunday, confirming its success.
Al Mayadeen – December 2, 2024
Understanding US and Israel as the same entity in West Asia
Robert Inlakesh
Yet, the struggle shouldn’t be read in this way, as the true power lies not in “Tel Aviv” but in Washington.
The US and Zionist entity’s approach is clear “total victory”, as repeatedly outlined by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Hamas-led Al-Aqsa Flood operation shattered the image of US-Israeli dominance in West Asia, and in order to revive their perceived supremacy, they are fixated on an accelerated regional campaign of terror.
This agenda would not be possible without the United States and could not be hatched by the Israelis alone. Whether it be in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq, Yemen, or Iran, the Americans are the backbone of the plot. Understanding this must be the foundation of reading both Israeli and US actions.
While in the past, the interests of the United States and the Zionist entity may have slightly differed, October 7, 2023, put both on a path of complete alignment. There are two primary factors to keep in mind here when considering this analysis and why it makes sense: The role of Zionist financial power in the US political system and the strategic goals of the American leadership.
The US-Israeli agenda
As there are various analyses of the US-Israeli alliance, the starting point here should be an example of where American and Zionist interests have collided. Iran is a key example of how such a disagreement has demonstrated that the US will place its own regional ambitions above the considerations of donors when push comes to shove.
It is clear that AIPAC, the most powerful pro-Israeli lobby group in the United States, seeks regime change in the Islamic Republic of Iran, which is also a goal shared by most policymakers in Washington. However, there have been considerable differences in the strategic approach to achieving this goal.
The fact that the US Obama administration approved the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal demonstrated that the demands of the AIPAC lobby and the direct influence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will, at times, fail. Under the Trump administration, the approach to Iran did change but still didn’t result in a direct assault against Iran.
Even in 2023, during the lead-up to the primary foreign policy goal of the Biden administration - sealing a normalization agreement between Saudi Arabia and the Zionist regime - we saw that attempts were made to grant Iran certain concessions with deconfliction being the goal in mind. That same year, around $20 billion in frozen Iranian assets were set to be released, as part of a prisoner exchange deal between the two sides. It is no secret that the Biden White House knew that achieving a revival of the nuclear deal was out of reach - in large part due to Zionist Lobby interference - yet sought to prevent any kind of escalation prior to sealing its prized Saudi-Israeli deal.
The American government had taken a more strategic approach to dealing with Iran, which pushed back against the wishes of the pro-Israeli lobby that had advocated the war hawk position. While the ultimate goal may have been the same, the US would occasionally put its foot down and implement what it saw as the smartest approach.
At this point, the US and Zionist regimes could still be labeled as two separate entities. This is despite the fact that many of the think tanks in Washington were funded by Zionists, the lion's share of the lawmakers were paid for by pro-Israeli lobbyists - on issues pertaining to foreign policy - in addition to many government members professing belief in Zionism.
The end of Israel
October 7, 2023, changed everything in this regard. Only a few weeks prior to the Hamas-led operation against the Zionist regime, the Biden administration had announced its vision for the Indian-Middle East-Europe economic corridor and this came against the backdrop of Riyadh and Tel Aviv both signaling a Saudi-Israeli normalization deal was almost ready.
A major miscalculation had occurred, which is the assumption that the Palestinian cause was effectively dead and that they could not possibly do anything significant enough to change the direction the region was now headed in. Despite the rise of armed resistance inside the West Bank for the first time since the Second Intifada, coupled with the major warning sign of the 11-day Gaza war in 2021, the US-Israeli alliance failed to see the writing on the wall. [*]
What Hamas did was completely destroy the illusion of Israeli security, deterrence, and, by extension, the American projection of regional power. The war shattered the hopes for achieving the US’ desired trade route that would have run through the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and then occupied Palestine (Israel). It also raised the question: If this is what Hamas, on its own, can do, just how powerful is the Axis of Resistance led by Iran?
Suddenly, overnight, it appeared as if the US role as the dominant power in West Asia was collapsing before our very eyes, that the Zionist regime was in demise, and that Iran was the dominant force regionally. The US could not accept this outcome and decided to work with the Israelis to completely undo what occurred that day.
If you attempt to analyze the course of the war over the past 13 months through a purely Israeli lens, what they have done makes no sense. The decision to continue its genocide past the period of the first few months has in fact crippled the regime. Nearly a million settlers have left, their sense of security has been robbed from them, the already divided society has fractured further, their political system is in disarray, their economy is crumbling, and their "international legitimacy" is gone; only held up by their closest Western allies.
Yet, the struggle shouldn’t be read in this way. The true power lies not in “Tel Aviv” but in Washington.
Without the economic, diplomatic, and military support of the United States, there would not be an “Israel” any longer. In fact, the old Zionist entity is no more. Today, the idea of complete victory is being directed by the United States, and the vessel through which this concept is being carried out is Benjamin Netanyahu.
If you read many analyses put forth by self-professed experts, they present a narrative that the Israeli PM is an irrational actor running an extremist coalition but is being tamed by the United States. This is the kind of fictional presentation of events presented through the likes of Bob Woodward’s recent best-selling book “War”. It attempts to put blame on the alleged independent actions of the Israelis, while the US Biden administration has been there to try and calm the situation down through tirelessly working toward the passage of aid into the Gaza Strip and diplomacy aimed at sparing the entire region from a catastrophic war.
If this was the case, the US regime would not have continued “Operation Prosperity Guardian” in the Red Sea in order to combat Ansar Sllah’s blockade. It wouldn’t have permitted the pager terrorist attacks in Lebanon and the decapitation strikes ordered against Hezbollah’s senior leadership in Beirut. It also would have forced the Israelis to allow aid into Gaza, enforced its “red line” over the invasion of Rafah, and worked to directly prevent the road toward the "annexation" of the West Bank.
If the US government sought to actually act in the interests of maintaining the Zionist Entity, it would have forced through a ceasefire at the beginning of 2024, or even in May following the Israeli invasion of Rafah. However, it only permitted further escalation and sought to maintain the genocide, while hatching plots to deal blows against every single member of the Axis of Resistance.
None of this is in the interests of a severely weakened Israeli regime, which can be demonstrated through its failure to destroy Hezbollah, despite the massive blows that were dealt against the Lebanese Party in September. If you look at the Israeli military strategy on the ground in both the Gaza Strip and how it has operated in South Lebanon, it doesn’t actually have any clear goal beyond destruction for the sake of destruction.
Placed at the head of this campaign of regional terror is Benjamin Netanyahu: a man possessed by his own self-interests/political survival above and beyond any kind of ideological commitment to the survival of the Zionist regime. Behind him, backing his actions to the hilt, are a combination of Israeli military and intelligence figures who do not possess the kind of political sway that he does in Washington and are working with the US to execute a regional offensive strategy, while Netanyahu’s loyalist suck-ups and fanatical religious-nationalists seek to achieve so-called “Greater Israel”.
The Israelis do not possess the power to mobilize the Takfiris in Syria alone or manage the battle with Hezbollah or airstrike trade-offs with Iran. This is a combined effort that is staged by the United States. Why? Because this war is about re-asserting American dominance, it is about striking fear in the traditionally pro-US Arab regimes in order to deter them from pivoting to the East. It is more than just West Asia politics, it is about Russia, China, and the newly emerging Global South economic alliance.
The US regime is an imperialist force, fixated on global dominance and has long considered West Asia as its own backyard, so if it allows for Iran to come off as a victor regionally or for the perception of American power to fall, it loses what is considered one of its strategic strongholds.
The US must deal with a myriad of complex relationships throughout the region, and the ability of their Israeli allies to emerge as a dominant force from any conflict reflects directly on Washington. What also must be considered here is the influence of the US military-industrial complex, which seeks to demonstrate its ability to produce the superior military tools that the nations of the world desire. The carnage that the Israelis inflict with these weapons will market them, while the outcomes of conflicts also influence the perception of this industry.
It is incorrect to separate the US and Israelis when it comes to the current regional war, Washington has completely taken over the decision-making of the Zionist entity, it owns it, while the pro-Israeli lobby groups throw their money into securing complete political adherence to the mission. This means that the Zionist mega-donors to political, academic, and financial institutions are now working to crush descent, as “Israel” is used as the spearhead to inflict the necessary damage that will project American power.
The strategy is being done at the expense of the long-term existence of the Zionist entity, which is crumbling at every level and would not survive much longer without the US propping it up. Therefore, the US and “Israel” are one and the same, one depending on Zionist money to aid it and the other depending on Washington’s support to maintain it. There is no reasoning with this joint entity, as only military defeats or setbacks will force it to end any given aggression.
[*] During the G20 summit in New Delhi in September 2023, Western leaders unveiled plans for a India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). Saudi Arabia, the European Union, India, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), France, Germany, Italy, and the United States all signed a Memorandum of Understanding, committing to work together to advance the project. The project’s physical infrastructure includes railway lines connecting the UAE to Israel via Saudi Arabia and Jordan, as well as electric cables to enhance digital connectivity and pipes for clean hydrogen export.
