Headlines from the Middle East - 1 November, 2023

 I have been having difficulty in posting on this blog for the last day or so, so I am transferring this "rough-and-ready" version from my other blog. If you see nothing more go to 

Things are deteriorating rapidly.

Yet Another War: Iraq Islamic Resistance Tells U.S. "Get out of Iraq" or All American Troops here will face military attack

 
 
 

The United States has been told by Iraqi groups that all American troops must leave Iraq immediately or all US bases in that country will be attacked; all troops, killed.

"One American present in Iraq is too much, Abu Ala al-Walai said."

Today the Secretary-General of the Iraq Islamic Resistance, Harakat Al-Nujaba, Sheikh Akram Al-Kaabi, confirmed that the Iraqi Islamic Resistance has decided to liberate Iraq militarily. "The matter has been resolved, and what is coming is greater."

The speakers continued by saying "We in the Islamic Resistance, “Ashab al-Kahf,” send an unequivocal message that we are ready and will continue to strike American bases until our land is liberated."

 

Ultimatum to Israel??? 3:00pm Local Time, This Friday, Nov. 3

Hezbollah in Lebanon has issued what many people BELIEVE is an "Ultimatum" to Israel: Stop the war against Gaza by 3:00 PM local time, this Friday, 03 November, or Hezbollah will enter the war.  Speculation is rampant that Iran may do so as well.

Social media is presently "lighting-up" with claims that an order to attack may be given when Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah gives a televised speech to the world.

Confirmation that a speech by him is, in fact, scheduled, is everywhere:

Timed to Affect Financial Markets?

It is worth pointing out that most major actions around the world are usually timed to take place AFTER major Stock Markets close, so as to minimize the effect on financial markets.  However, this Friday at 3:00 PM in Israel, is **not** after global markets close!   So if some kind of attack is ordered, or announced at 3:00 PM local time in the Middle East, it will most definitely affect global markets.

Beirut, Lebanon from where the speech will come, is six hours ahead of the US East coast.  Our Stock Market will open a half hour AFTER Hezbollah's announcement.   The Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) in London is four hours ahead of the US East Coast, so it will be 1:00 PM in London when the announcement is made.  Paris and Berlin are five hours ahead of the US East Coast, so it will be 2:00 PM in those major cities and their markets will also be open when the announcement comes.   Given the scheduling, many, many people around the world will be quite nervous about what will be said this Friday.

Social Media is laying it out:

and:

Hezbollah is run by the man giving the speech this Friday.

He and others around the world have been taken aback by the level of slaughter being inflicted by Israel on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.  The death toll is staggering . . . over eight thousand CIVILIANS.    One United Nations boss in the region said yesterday "70% of the dead are women and children.  No one can call this "collateral damage."    In other words, it appears to be PLANNED by Israel, that they kill mostly women and children!

OIL EMBARGO?

Iran's Supreme Leader, the Ayatollah Khamenei, posted a worrisome message on social media:

Iran controls access into and out of the Persian Gulf, which accounts for upwards of twenty percent of global oil shipments.   If Iran were to block the Strait of Hormuz to impose an oil embargo, the entire world would be affected immediately.

A lot of people around the world pay little to no attention to what's taking place in the Middle East right now.  If things go "wild weasel" this Friday, those people will get a dose of reality fast.  As the price of oil skyrockets if the Strait of Hormuz is blocked, and people start having to pay $10 a gallon for gasoline, they can thank their own inattentiveness to world affairs, for the hole in their wallets from fuel costs.   Which, by the way, would come as the entire northern hemisphere is heading into winter.  Cold winter.  When people need oil and gas to keep warm.

A lot of folks who haven't been paying attention, might suddenly find themselves having to make a choice: Do I eat or do I keep warm?   Because if prices skyrocket, they won't be able to do both.

China JUDGES United States: "War Addicts" Will an "Intervention" to stop our addiction come next?

The People's Republic of China has JUDGED the United States of America as being "War Addicts." As families of anyone with Chemical Dependency know, making such a determination is the step before an "intervention" to put a stop to an addiction!

A uniformed spokesman from China's People's Liberation Army brought the judgement to the world via a Press Conference.  ""The USA are war addicts." The country has existed for 240 years, and only 16 years it did not go to war. They built 800 military bases around the world. "Wherever the US military goes, people die everywhere," said a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Defense.   

The Minister of Social Rights in Spain, Ione Belarra, has called for the International Criminal Court in to prosecute Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, labeling him a war criminal.

The country of Turkiye', via its President, Recypt Erdogan, said yesterday "The Israeli administration, relying on the unconditional support of Europe and America, has been committing crimes against humanity in front of the whole world for exactly 25 days. The international press is also silent and seeking coverage for Israel."  He finished by revealing "Turkey will take legal action against Israel at the International Criminal Court."

Chaos, fear reign as foreign nationals try to leave Gaza through Rafah

The Rafah border crossing opened to allow some foreign and dual nationals to leave Gaza – but bombs are still dropping.

Israel-Hamas war live: UN says Israel’s Jabalia attacks may be ‘war crimes’

• The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights says Israeli attacks on Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp may be “disproportionate attacks that could amount to war crimes”.
• Antonio Guterres’s spokesman also says the United Nations chief is “appalled” by the Israeli strikes on Jabalia, which was hit twice in two days.

‘A catastrophic situation’ across hospitals in Gaza Strip

Most of the casualties or the injuries [in the Jabalia area] have been taken to the Indonesian Hospital, but the Indonesian Hospital’s situation is one of the most complicated situations.

All hospitals here in the Gaza Strip now … [are] operating without fuel. They have a shortage of medical staff, medical equipment. Yet the injuries keep on coming.

The largest hospital in the Gaza Strip [al-Shifa] … has announced that in just a few hours it will completely stop operating because of the shortage of fuel. It has been taking fuel from private sectors.

Fuel has not been entering for over three weeks now.

It’s a catastrophic situation because … when the hospital stops operating, that threatens the lives of thousands.

Israeli military spokesman says forces breached Hamas front line in northern Gaza

Spokesman Hagari said the Israeli operation in Gaza was “progressing as planned”, Israeli media reported.

“With planning in advance, precise intelligence, and joint attacks, our forces broke through Hamas’s frontlines of defence in the north of the Gaza Strip,” Hagari said, according to the Times of Israel.