[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Officials have begun a large-scale nuclear incident exercise in New York amid fears of WWIII.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said the exercise includes military aircraft, personnel who will carry out scenario threats to be ready 'to respond in the event of a nuclear incident in the United States or overseas.'
The drills began Sunday, but the agency said the public may now see personnel practising out in the opening. The exercise ends on January 31.
'The training exercise will not pose risks to area residents. Please do not be alarmed by the activity,' the FBI shared in a statement.
The agency emphasized that such training exercises have been conducted twice a year across the nation since 2012.
The agency emphasized that such training exercises have been conducted twice a year across the nation since 2012.
The exercise is meant to simulate a radiological attack, enabling response personnel to practice protecting public health and safety, providing emergency relief to affected populations, and restoring essential services.
While the FBI emphasized that the exercise poses no threat to the public. It comes a month after Vladimir Putin warned that WWIII could erupt if the West continues 'escalating the situation' in his latest existential threat over the war in Ukraine.
Putin also accused the West of pushing Russia to its 'red lines' and threatened to lift all voluntary restrictions on the deployment of his short and medium-range missiles if the US went ahead and deployed similar weapons.
Nikolai Sokov, a former Soviet and Russian diplomat, said at the time the 'red line' was intended as a 'very clear message': 'Don't make a mistake - all these kind of things may mean nuclear war.'
However, FBI Albany Public Affairs Officer Sarah Ruane said: 'I believe planning for this one began back in the spring.'
She added that these drills are not due to any recent or ongoing world events.
The exercise will primarily occur at and around the Stratton Air National Guard Base, Albany International Airport, and portions of northern Saratoga County.
'This is an exercise of the National Technical Nuclear Forensics Ground Collection Task Force, which would support the investigation of a nuclear incident,' said Ruane.
'The Task Force mission is to collect nuclear debris samples for analysis at the national laboratories.'
While details about the exercises are unknown, previous events saw simulated scenarios to which personnel had to respond.
In March 2024, the New Jersey, Delaware and Idaho National Guard participated in interagency chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosives training with the FBI and state and local law enforcement.
In one training scenario, the FBI received intelligence that a domestic terrorist group had planted bombs — including one with cesium-137, a radioactive isotope — as more than 10,000 people are about to converge on the CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton to listen to the vice president.
[IsraelTimes] Spurs, Chelsea, Arsenal supporters set aside intense rivalry to celebrate as they cover up Damari ‘kidnapped’ posters with new stickers celebrating fellow fan’s release.
Although the team’s fans did not know Damari before she was taken hostage on October 7, 2023, she became a symbol to them, especially amid recent increased campaigning efforts to get her released.
“I don’t know her, I’ve never met her, but there was something very personal about her not just being a British hostage but being a Spurs fan. It was a fantastic moment last week when we saw her finally released,” a fan named Damian told Channel 12.
The Spurs fans were not alone in celebrating Damari’s return, however, as Channel 12 reported that fans of rival teams Chelsea and Arsenal joined them.
All three teams’ fans united in singing a chant Spurs fans have been singing in recent months, changing the lyrics to the tribute to former Tottenham skipper Harry Kane “he’s one of our own,” to “she’s one of our own, bring Emily home,” and finally on Sunday to “Emily’s home.”
[IsraelTimes] Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli scrapped a planned trip to the European Parliament in Brussels over concerns that pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel groups would seek a warrant for his arrest, the Kan public broadcaster reports.
The Prime Minister’s Office released a statement saying the trip was cancelled “in light of concrete warnings, and in accordance with the guidance of security officials,” though the broadcaster says its inquiries with Shin Bet sources established that there were no such concrete threats against Chikli.
According to the report, Belgian officials relayed to Israel that Chikli would not enjoy diplomatic immunity during his time in Belgium, as he would not be there on an official visit to the country.
[IsraelTimes] Instructions reportedly sent to El Al, Arkia, and Israir airlines; flights will land at Larnaca airport instead; no travel advisory issued on visiting Paphos
The Shin Bet security agency on Sunday ordered the suspension of Israeli commercial flights to Paphos in Cyprus, citing security concerns.
Cypriot officials confirmed the suspension of Israeli flights to the airport, a terminal catering mainly to charter traffic on the western coast of Cyprus. Flights will instead land at Larnaca airport and from there, travelers can make their way to Paphos.
The Shin Bet said in a statement that “the decision to concentrate flights to and from Cyprus to the Larnaca airfield is based on various security considerations.”
There was no travel ban or advisory for Paphos itself, a popular summer vacation destination for Israelis that has a Chabad house.
The suspension instruction was issued to Israel’s national carrier El Al as well as charter services Arkia and Israir.
“The Republic of Cyprus is aware of the change in scheduling, for security reasons, of Israeli companies from and to Paphos airport. This happened some days ago,” a Cypriot official told Reuters.
“Flights (from Israel) are continuing normally to Larnaca,” the official added, referring to Cyprus’s largest international airport.
Paphos is the smaller of Cyprus’s two airports and abuts a military base slated for an upgrade by the US.
Staying out from underfoot while work is being done?
According to its winter flight schedule available online, there are up to 10 flights a week from Tel Aviv and seven flights a week from Haifa.
[JustTheNews] Former lead agent in case confirms frustration among investigators, lack of pursuit of some terrorists.
The FBI approved a book manuscript in 2023 from its lead investigator in the Benghazi terror attack probe that confirms frontline agents and prosecutors believed politics kept the Justice Department from approving operations to capture several conspirators, supporting a key part of FBI Director-nominee Kash Patel’s account of events that was recently challenged by The New York Times.
In his yet to be published book, retired FBI Special Agent Michael Clarke chronicles the frustrations he and other law enforcement officials experienced at the end of President Barack Obama’s administration when their Joint Terrorism Task Force had identified several conspirators in the Sept. 11, 2012 attack on the State Department special mission compound in Benghazi but could not get a memo signed that would have sent the Pentagon in action to round up the alleged suspects.
Specifically, Clarke raised concerns that in 2016 then-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe – whose wife had recently run for political office as a Democrat and received large donations from a Hillary Clinton ally – would not approve an “executive memo” clearing the way for the Pentagon to plan the capture of key suspects in the attack on the Benghazi consulate.
The deadly terror attack proved to be a black eye for Clinton during her tenure as Secretary of State.
ONLY ONE DEFENDANT
The lead agents and prosecutors “could accept a reality where the White House may elect to postpone an operation based on political considerations - this was always their prerogative, however distasteful,” Clarke wrote. “What none of us ever fathomed was that a small number of FBI higher ups would consider politics in making an operational decision.”
Clarke, who led the FBI’s investigation of Benghazi from the start until his retirement in 2020 and received top DOJ and FBI awards for his work in the probe, declined comment when contacted by Just the News, referring reporters to the FBI-approved approved language in his manuscript.
McCabe did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent Tuesday to his email address at George Mason University, where he is a distinguished visiting professor. The FBI declined to comment.
But in 2017 testimony to Congress, McCabe acknowledged the FBI had managed to bring only one defendant, Ahmed Abu Khatallah, to justice, blaming it on the complexity of the investigation.
"So Mr. Khatallah was one of the few people that we have been able to hold responsible for the attack on our special mission facility in Benghazi, Libya," he testified. "I oversaw the development of that operation and the very significant and complicated partnership relationships that enabled us to bring Mr. Khatallah to Justice."
"Was that a difficult case?" he was asked.
"Yes, sir, it was," McCabe answered.
But other government officials told Just the News that Clarke’s team in concert with other U.S. agencies and foreign allies had identified dozens of suspects and potential defendants but only two ultimately went to trial. The current and former officials said Patel, then the coordinating lawyer in main DOJ’s counterterrorism office, supported frontline agents but that others blocked the team from succeeding as Clarke alleged in his manuscript and Patel claimed in the 2024 book titled "Government Gangsters" was accurate.
“By the time the D.O.J. was moving in full force to compile evidence and bring prosecutions against the Benghazi terrorists, I was leading the prosecution’s efforts at Main Justice in Washington, D.C.,” Patel wrote in the book.
After experiencing lengthy foot-dragging from the leadership, Clarke’s team spent years working with DOD and other agencies to find other solutions for the unpunished suspects, often drone strikes, to ensure some form of justice and ensure Benghazi participants posed no further threat to the Western world, current and former officials told Just the News, stressing the investigation still continues today.
The delays were also criticized by Patel in his book and in media appearances following his service in the first Trump administration.
“Despite the fact that we had reams of evidence against dozens of terrorists in the Benghazi attack, Eric Holder’s Justice Department decided to only prosecute one of the attackers,” Patel wrote in his book, "Government Gangsters".
MOTIVATED BY POLITICS
He also said bureau and department leadership were motivated by politics in their decision to delay pursuing other Benghazi attack suspects in 2016.
“I remember this meeting with then-A.G. Holder. And we had a deck of like 19 guys we wanted to prosecute. You know, JSOC had them rolled up and we wanted to get them all. They killed four Americans. You know, it’s a legit terrorist attack. And the basic general response from the F.B.I. and D.O.J. leadership was ‘it’s only politically convenient to get one guy,’” Patel said on The Shawn Ryan Show in September.
In December, the New York Times challenged Patel’s account of events basing its reporting on several anonymous sources. According to those anonymous sources, Patel’s statements inflated his role and was, in reality, only in a supporting role to the overall investigation. However, in the book and interview excerpts cited by the Times, Patel never claimed that he led the overall, interagency investigation into the Benghazi attacks.
The Times also challenged Patel’s contention that the government had “rolled up” 19 suspects in the Benghazi attack, citing the government’s failure to capture a vast majority of the suspects.
But Patel’s account about frustrating efforts to take into custody and prosecute the several suspected attackers is supported by Clarke’s manuscript, which chronicled how senior FBI leadership delayed the Pentagon to begin its planning to locate and capture the remaining individuals.
The Times did not respond to a request for comment from Just the News.
According to Clarke, in March of 2016 both the Department of Defense and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C. were supportive of the plan. The Pentagon began to draw up plans to apprehend the suspects immediately and identified a small window of opportunity that would allow U.S. forces to apprehend the suspects in war-torn Libya.
Clarke wrote, because of the risk of employing U.S. forces in the war zone, the Pentagon wanted a reassurance from the FBI and DOJ that the suspects would be prosecuted in the form of an “executive memo.”
The memo, according to Clarke, was delayed by McCabe at the senior level. After repeatedly asking for updates and an explanation, the then-Special Agent in Charge of the New York counterterrorism division indicated that the memo was being held up for political reasons.
Clarke wrote that his FBI boss “pulled me aside and with a disgusted look on his face said, ‘nothing is going to happen until after the election in November.’”
“The Benghazi Team should focus strictly on the upcoming trial of Khatallah and stop looking at capture options. ‘It was politics,’” Clarke wrote.
He also stated a top federal prosecutor also confirmed to him that McCabe was part of the holdup.
The criminal division chief at the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, D.C. “advised me the log jam regarding the issuing of an executive session memo remained between the Deputy Assistant Attorney General at DOJ National Security Division and with FBI Deputy Director,” Clarke wrote.
In his manuscript, Clarke raised concerns about the former FBI deputy director’s political ties. Multiple news reports confirmed McCabe’s wife had received financial assistance in 2015 from then-Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a close Clinton ally, to run for state Senate. Just the News reported that internal FBI documents showed the financial and political ties between McAuliffe and the McCabe family raised red flags.
Clarke wrote he shared in those concerns, especially as it related to Benghazi.
“In late October 2016, the Wall Street Journal reported Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a longtime Clinton confidant, helped steer hundreds of thousands of dollars to the election campaign of the wife of Deputy Director Andy McCabe who was heading the probe into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email system,” he wrote. “The political action committee of McAuliffe, a Clinton loyalist, gave the contribution to the state Senate campaign of Jill McCabe, the wife of the Deputy Director. The report stated Jill McCabe received an additional two-hundred-thousand-plus from the Virginia Democratic Party, which is heavily influenced by McAuliffe.
“When the article broke in the Wall Street Journal, the obvious questions immediately surfaced. From the beginning of the case in 2012, Andy McCabe had an influential role to the Benghazi investigation while serving at a variety of positions at FBIHQ,” he added.
McCabe has acknowledged the donations his wife received but insisted they did not affect his work decisions.
[IsraelTimes] Eli Albag, whose daughter Liri was released from captivity in Gaza on Saturday, along with three other abducted female soldiers, says Hamas operatives told them ahead of the handover ceremony the terror group was arranging that they would be required to speak from the stage. Instead, he said, the four decided to make “victory gestures” and subvert the Hamas ceremony.
Interviewed on Radio 103, Eli Albag says Liri told him that Hamas “told them to speak. So Liri and the other girls decided, We’re not only not going to speak. We’ll make victory gestures and spoil the whole show they’d planned.”
The four hostages — Albag, Karina Ariev, Naama Levy and Daniella Gilboa — indeed smiled and waved to the large crowd of armed Hamas operatives and supporters, when they were brought onto the Hamas stage in Gaza’s Palestinian Square. Albag also gave a thumbs-up.
“The moment they did the victory gestures,” said Eli Albag, the Hamas organizers “realized that they’d got themselves into a mess with these girls, took them down from the stage, and didn’t let them speak.”
He added: “When Liri told me about this, she said, ‘Dad, if they had let me speak, I’d have said one sentence, in Arabic: “My name is Liri Albag, and I’m Number One’.”
[IsraelTimes] Italy says monitoring mission, which was halted when Hamas seized control of Strip in 2007, ‘was launched at the request of Israel and the PA’
The European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... agreed Monday to restart a monitoring mission at the Rafah Border Crossing between Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... and Egypt as part of efforts to bolster the hostage release and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... The 27-nation bloc set up a civilian mission in 2005 to help monitor the crossing, but it was suspended two years later after the Islamist terror group Hamas seized control of Gaza.
EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc’s foreign ministers had agreed to redeploy the mission, which she said "can play a decisive role in supporting the ceasefire" that took effect last week.
"It’s starting already from February," Kallas said. "The people are ready to go and start work."
"This will allow a number of injured individuals to leave Gaza and receive medical care," she added.
EU officials said earlier the deployment had a mandate for 10 European personnel and eight local staff.
Italia, Spain and La Belle France said they would send officers to form part of a police security detachment to help protect the mission.
"The mission was launched at the request of Israel and the Paleostinian Authority, with the full support of Egypt," the Italian government said in a statement.
"The primary objective is to coordinate and facilitate the daily transit of up to 300 maimed and sick, ensuring assistance and protection to vulnerable people in a context of humanitarian emergency."
The Rafah crossing reopened as part of the ceasefire, after being closed in May when the Israeli military seized the area, with Egypt refusing to reopen the gateway until it was back under Paleostinian control. The crossing is a major conduit for aid into Gaza and its closure has worsened the humanitarian crisis caused by the war, which was sparked by Hamas’s devastating attack on southern Israel in October 2023.
A report last week in the the Saudi-owned, UK-based Asharq al-Awsat, said Israel has agreed to allow the PA to take control of the Rafah crossing in future stages of the hostage-ceasefire deal, though this was partly denied by the Prime Minister’s Office, which accused the Paleostinian Authority of attempting to "create a false picture to the effect that it controls the crossing."
However,
a good lie finds more believers than a bad truth... the PMO admitted that the current arrangement at the crossing is "correct for the first stage of the framework and will be evaluated in the future," and that the PA currently plays a limited role at the border crossing.
According to the PMO, the IDF currently controls the crossing point and "nobody passes through it without supervision, oversight and advance approval of the IDF and Shin Bet." It stated that "non-Hamas Gazooks" provide technical management at the crossing with international oversight, and the PA provides the stamp on passports allowing Gazooks to exit the Strip.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly refused to entertain the idea of the PA ruling postwar Gaza, accusing it of glorifying terror and supporting the October 7 attack. However,
a good lie finds more believers than a bad truth... many in the Israeli security establishment have privately backed such a move due to the lack of any other viable alternative.
[IsraelTimes] Israel says Hamas list shows 18 of remaining first-phase hostages are alive, 8 are dead; delegation from terror group arrives in Cairo to discuss Gaza ceasefire deal implementation
The Paleostinian Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... terror group released a propaganda video Monday evening of civilian hostage Arbel Yehoud, who is due to be released on Thursday. In the video, Yehoud says the date is January 25, meaning it was apparently filmed on Saturday. Yehoud reassures her family that she is "okay," and says she hopes to return home soon "like the other girls."
Islamic Jihad and Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... have previously issued similar videos of hostages held by them, in what Israel says is deplorable psychological warfare.
Under the terms of the ceasefire deal, Yehoud was supposed to have been released over the weekend, as she is a civilian, but Hamas instead released four IDF surveillance soldiers: Naama Levy, Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, and Liri Albag.
Israel announced Sunday night that the dispute over Yehoud’s release had been resolved, with the terror group set to release six hostages in two batches this week, including Yehoud and the last remaining surveillance soldier, Agam Berger.
The fate of Yehoud was briefly a major sticking point in the deal’s implementation, with Israel blocking the return of Paleostinians to northern Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... after Hamas released the four female soldiers on Saturday. Under the ceasefire and hostage release deal, the terror group was required to prioritize the release of civilian women.
Once the dispute was resolved, Israel allowed Paleostinians to cross the Netzarim Corridor and return to northern Gaza starting at 7 a.m. Monday morning. According to Hamas, "more than 300,000 displaced" Paleostinians returned to the north throughout the day.
Yehoud is being held by Islamic Jihad, which was reportedly falsely describing her as a soldier and demanding more prisoners be released in return for her. The Kan public broadcaster reported Sunday evening that PIJ agreed to classify her as a civilian, helping resolve the crisis.
Yehoud, 28, and her boyfriend Ariel Cunio, 26, were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led holy warriors stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.
18 ALIVE, 8 DEAD
Israel said Monday that Hamas finally sent a list detailing the conditions of the remaining hostages, which showed that 18 of the 26 remaining hostages still to be freed are alive and eight are dead, but did not specify which are alive or dead.
Government front man David Mencer conveyed the Hamas information to journalists on Monday.
Thirty-three hostages are being freed in phase one of the deal, including the seven living hostages who have gone free since the implementation of the agreement began on January 19.
Hebrew media reported Monday that some of the families of the hostages slated to be released were being informed that there is concern for their loved ones’ lives. Among those whose fates are unknown are Shiri Silberman Bibas, her husband Yarden Bibas, and their two young sons, Ariel and Kfir.
Speaking to Kan, Yarden’s sister Ofri Bibas said, "We have known that there is grave fear for their lives, since Hamas’s announcement at the end of the previous deal," she said, referring to the terror group’s claim in November 2023, that Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir had been killed.
Whether hostages are alive or dead inside Gaza has been a heartbreaking uncertainty for their families, who have pushed Israel’s government to reach a deal to free them, fearing that time is running out.
Eighty-seven of those kidnapped by Hamas in the October 7 onslaught remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.
In addition to the seven hostages released during a ceasefire that began this month, Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November 2023, and four hostages were released before that.
Eight hostages were rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 40 hostages have been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military, as they tried to escape their captors.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the body of an IDF soldier who was killed in 2014. The body of another IDF soldier, also killed in 2014, was recovered from Gaza this month.
HAMAS DELEGATION IN CAIRO
A high-ranking Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo on Monday evening, saying it aimed to discuss the implementation of all three phases of the ceasefire and hostage release deal.
The Hamas statement said the delegation includes big shot Mohammed Darwish and other prominent members of its leadership council and negotiating team.
The terror group said meetings with Egyptian officials will focus on ensuring progress in the ceasefire’s implementation and addressing any challenges in the ongoing exchange of hostages and Paleostinian prisoners. The Hamas delegation will also meet with Paleostinian prisoners released under the ceasefire’s six-week first phase that began just over a week ago.
Egypt is a key mediator in ceasefire talks and part of the joint committee implementing the deal.
The Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo as US President Donald Trump ...They hit him with slander, they impeached him twice. Nancy Pelosi tore up his State of the Union address on national TV. They stole an election and put his adherents in jail. They vilified him. They couldn't crucify him, so they shot him. Still, they can't keep him down... ’s Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff is on a diplomatic trip in the region, in part to work to secure the implementation of the second and third phases of the ceasefire deal.
Witkoff is slated to visit Israel this week, after visiting Saudi Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start... Separately, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office is planning for the premier to travel to Washington next week to meet with Trump, two sources familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel.
The trip has not been finalized and will be dependent on Netanyahu’s health, as he recovers from prostate surgery, but the plan is for him to depart on Sunday and return on Thursday.
If he travels, Netanyahu will be the first foreign leader to meet Trump in his second term, a gesture from the US president to the Israeli leader, in return for him acceding to pressure to reach a deal in Gaza.
[IsraelTimes] Military doctor refuses to discuss possible torture or abuse to maintain their privacy; says hostages’ injuries were not properly treated, they bear signs of mild starvation
Some of the hostages released from Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... during the ceasefire had been held in Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... tunnels for up to eight months straight, deprived of daylight and with little to no human contact, an Israeli general said on Monday.
Three Israeli civilians and four soldiers — all women — have been released so far in the ceasefire, which began on January 19. In return, Israel has released 290 Paleostinian convicts and detainees.
"Some of them told us that they’ve been in the past few months, that they’ve been through the entire time, in tunnels, underground," the deputy chief of the Israeli military’s medical corps, Colonel Dr. Avi Banov, told journalists online.
"Some of them were alone through the entire time they were there," he said. "Those who said they were together were in better shape."
The military oversees the first health checks that the hostages receive upon their arrival in Israeli territory.
The hostages said their treatment improved in the days leading up to their release, Banov said, when they were allowed to shower and change their clothes and received better food. They appeared to be smiling in videos on the days of their release.
However,
Switzerland makes more than cheese... Eitan Gonen, father of Romi Gonen, who was released last week, stressed that their smiles were not an indication they were being treated well by Hamas.
"The smiles aren’t a testament to the conditions they were under; they’re because of the [hostages’] joy that they’re no longer in the hands of the Nazis. If you were rescued from hell, and someone offered you a hand, wouldn’t you smile?" he told Walla on Monday.
Citing the hostages’ privacy, Banov would not say whether any of the seven hostages released since last week bore signs of torture or abuse.
Some had not received proper treatment for wounds sustained when they were captured during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and some showed signs of "mild starvation," he said.
Among the hostages who were released recently, Emily Damari is missing two fingers as a result of being shot in her hand on October 7, and Daniella Gilboa still has a bullet in her leg that her aunt said will be removed in the near future.
The three civilians, released on the first day of the ceasefire, were discharged from hospital on Sunday. The four soldiers, freed in the ceasefire’s second swap on Saturday, were still being treated in another medical center.
Eitan Gonen, father of 24-year-old Romi Gonen, who was released on January 19, told the Kan public broadcaster that while in captivity she had heard some of the radio interviews he had given.
“Even if only 10% of the interviews reach the hostages’ ears, it is enough to give them strength,” he said. “It gave her a lot of strength, energy and great hope.”
Twenty-six women, children, elderly, ill or injured hostages are still meant to be released in the next six weeks as part of the first phase of the ceasefire. Hamas provided a list late on Sunday detailing their condition.
Israeli authorities have said that they believe most due to be released in the first phase are alive and they fear for the lives of the rest. They have given no new details since receiving the list.
Banov said he expected that some of next hostages to be released “will be more ill and also people who have died during their time in Gaza.”
[BenarNews] Southeast Asian nation is considering seeking repatriation of Hambali – detained at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay since 2006 – whose case remains resolved.
Indonesia’s new government is considering seeking a key Bali bombing suspect’s return from Guantanamo Bay because, its law minister said, Jakarta is as concerned about its citizens imprisoned abroad as it is in repatriating some foreign convicts.
Jakarta’s acknowledgement that Hambali ...real name Riduan Isamuddin, close personal friend of Osama bin Laden, one of the founders of Jemaah Islamiyah and the planner of the 2002 Bali bombings. He was captured with the help of a mid-Eastern intel service, shipped to Guantanamo to rot but he'll likely be released eventually because that was a long time ago and we were all so much younger then... , the suspect in jug at the U.S. military base in Cuba, is Indonesian marks a reversal. Analysts say the change may be linked to his bully boy group Jemaah Islamiyah disbanding or President Prabowo Subianto’s historical concern for the rights of citizens abroad.
The reason given by Yusril Ihza Mahendra, Indonesia’s law minister, referred to Jakarta’s repatriation last month of a Filipina and five Australian drug convicts.
"Our primary concern is ensuring the protection and legal assistance for all Indonesian nationals abroad, regardless of their actions," Yusril told news hounds in Jakarta on Tuesday.
"This demonstrates to the public that the government is not only concerned with foreign prisoners in Indonesia but also cares for Indonesian citizens detained abroad," he had told news hounds last week, state news agency Antara reported.
BenarNews contacted Yusril’s office, which confirmed his comments to the media.
Hambali, whose real name is Encep Nurjaman, has been detained without trial for 18 years at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, with his case still unresolved.
The three bombs that targeted Bali nightclubs on Oct. 12, 2002, killed 202 people. The attacks were blamed on Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), a Southeast Asian bully boy network linked to al-Qaeda — Hambali was a big shot.
Now 60 years old, Hambali was first arraigned before a U.S. military judge only in 2021. Another pre-trial hearing in the case is scheduled next week, from Jan. 27 until Jan. 31.
The latest developments in Indonesia related to the Hambali case follow the quiet repatriation last month of two Malaysian accomplices in the 2002 Bali bombings.
Yusril said that recent efforts through the previous Indonesian government to establish communication with Hambali through the Foreign Ministry had failed.
"We also asked the United States to expedite his trial, but that has not happened. In earlier discussions, repatriation for trial in Indonesia was considered," Yusril said.
Sidney Jones, senior advisor at the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict, said that bringing Hambali back home was "the right thing to do."
"Nothing justifies the treatment Hambali has endured, including reported torture and indefinite detention," Jones told BenarNews.
"If he had been tried in Indonesia after his 2003 arrest, he might have received a life sentence."
The country’s counterterrorism unit, Detachment 88, though, is capable of monitoring him effectively, Jones said.
A front man for the National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT) declined to comment about why the government had reversed its position on Hambali.
As recently as 2021, the government denied that Hambali was an Indonesian citizen, citing his ownership of a foreign passport, and rejected any consideration of bringing him back.
Guantanamo Bay, a facility criticized globally for holding suspects indefinitely without trial, has long been a symbol of the post-9/11 war on terror, noted Al Chaidar, a terrorism analyst from Malikussaleh University in Lhokseumawe.
"This is the United States’ greatest failure — claiming to uphold democracy but disregarding the rule of law," he said.
"Hambali has been detained for more than 20 years without resolution."
Adlini Ilma Ghaisany Sjah, a terrorism researcher at Nanyang Technological University, told BenarNews "it’s possible" that this Indonesian government’s shift is related to the end of JI.
"The Indonesian police have also announced plans to repatriate 16 former JI members from Syria and 10 from the Philippines, which could indicate a broader shift in policy," said Adlini, from the Singapore university’s Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research.
Besides, Prabowo has in the past championed the rights of Indonesian nationals abroad.
For instance, Prabowo himself advocated for the eventually successful return in 2021 of an Indonesian domestic worker on death row in Malaysia.
It is possible that if Jakarta requested Hambali’s repatriation, it may face resistance from the new U.S. administration under Donald Trump ...His ancestors didn't own any slaves... , Ian Wilson from Murdoch University in Australia told BenarNews.
"Considering Trump’s support for keeping the Guantanamo internment camp in operation, it would seem unlikely he’d be receptive to the idea of repatriation," said Wilson, a lecturer in politics and security studies.
"[That is] unless it was part of a deal seen as having clear benefits for his administration."
Wilson was referring to Trump’s earlier term as president, when he signed an executive order in 2018 to keep Guantanamo open.
Meanwhile,
...back at the revival hall, Buford bit the snake and Eloise began speaking in tongues... one of Hambali’s younger brothers, Kankan Abdulkodir, told BenarNews that he had heard of talk regarding the potential repatriation and expressed hope for the best.
Kankan said the family last spoke to Hambali via video call last December, during which he told them he was in good health, but they were not allowed to discuss his legal case.
"If it is his fate to be released, then I hope it will happen," Kankan said.
"But if he has to stay at Guantanamo Bay, then so be it."
[IsraelTimes] Iran has purchased Russian-made Sukhoi-35 fighter jets, a senior Revolutionary Guards commander says, amid Western concerns about Tehran and Moscow’s growing military cooperation.
This is the first time an Iranian official has confirmed the purchase of Su-35 jets. However, Ali Shadmani, who was quoted by Iran’s official Student News Network, does not clarify how many jets were purchased and whether they had already been delivered to Iran.
“Whenever necessary, we make military purchases to strengthen our air, land, and naval forces… The production of military equipment has also accelerated,” the deputy Coordinator of the Khatam-ol-Anbia Central Headquarters says.
Earlier this month, Iran and Russia signed a comprehensive strategic partnership which did not mention arms transfers but said the two will develop their “military-technical cooperation.”
Iran’s air force has only a few dozen strike aircraft, including Russian jets as well as aging US models acquired before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that the issue of Russian military bases in Syria will be resolved in accordance with established norms. The statement was published on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic.
The head of the department emphasized that the decision will be made by the Syrian government and people.
Thank you for your unnecessary input. Now go away.
"I think it is clear what Russia expects from Syria. Everyone knows this, as well as the situation with the bases. The head of the new Syrian government in Damascus was asked about the status of these bases, and he answered. Frankly, I think that over time this situation will be resolved properly," Fidan said.
The current head of the Syrian government is Ahmad al-Sharaa, better known as Julani.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, the new Syrian authorities are negotiating with the Russian Federation on the future of the Russian military bases located on Syrian territory, but the parties have not yet been able to reach an agreement. This was reported on January 22 by the Minister of Defense in the transitional Syrian government, Murhaf Abu Kasra.
On January 22, the new Syrian authorities terminated the contract for the expansion and modernization of the Tartus port, which was concluded between the country and a Russian company in 2019. Tartus Customs Director Riyad Judi clarified that all revenues from the port's activities will be used in the interests of the Syrian state.
Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Bogdanov said on December 12 that Russia expects to maintain military bases in Syria due to their important role in the fight against international terrorism. The diplomat said that Moscow has established contacts in Syria with the political committee of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group (a terrorist organization whose activities are banned in the Russian Federation).
On December 8, Bashar al-Assad resigned as president and left Syria, ordering a peaceful transfer of power. He and his family arrived in Russia, where they were granted asylum.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
...real name Riduan Isamuddin, close personal friend of Osama bin Laden, one of the founders of Jemaah Islamiyah and the planner of the 2002 Bali bombings. He was captured with the help of a mid-Eastern intel service, shipped to Guantanamo to rot but he'll likely be released eventually because that was a long time ago and we were all so much younger then...
...His ancestors didn't own any slaves...
