Arabs EXPOSE Netanyahu's True Aim Behind Hostage Talks Lie
Israeli PM Netanyahu has claimed 'significant progress' in hostage negotiations, but an Arab official speaking to AFP dismissed the statement as political posturing. According to the official, Netanyahu is trying to stabilize his fracturing coalition rather than reflecting real developments. Key ceasefire issues remain unresolved. Hamas insists on a permanent ceasefire before any hostage release, while Netanyahu reportedly refuses to end the war without dismantling Hamas. Mediators remain stuck, as Israeli forces face mounting international outrage over deadly incidents in Gaza, including recent aid-line shootings.#netanyahu #hamas #gazawar #hostagetalks #israelpalestine #ceasefirenegotiations #middleeastconflict #gazaaid #coalitionpolitics #israelunderfire
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Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
Decoded: How Iran and Israel's decades-old conflict could explode into war
The Islamic Republic of Iran on Thursday (June 12) posted a chilling two-word message on social media platform X: 'We are ready,' amid reports that Israel is preparing to launch a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. The United States has responded by warning that Iran may retaliate against American targets in neighbouring Iraq and has advised some US citizens to leave the region as a precaution. Tensions have surged since the breakdown of nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran. US President Donald Trump has reaffirmed his hardline stance, declaring that Iran would not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon. 'Very simple. They can't have a nuclear weapon. We're not going to allow that,' he said, adding that US troops are being repositioned away from parts of the Middle East 'because it could be a dangerous place.' Iran's enriched uranium stockpile nears weapons-grade threshold The trigger behind this rising tension lies in Iran's growing nuclear stockpile. According to a recent estimate by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran now holds over 408 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 60 per cent purity, dangerously close to the 90 per cent threshold required for a nuclear weapon. That's a nearly 50 per cent increase from earlier this year. The time it would take Iran to 'break out' and build a bomb is shrinking rapidly. Tracing the historical roots of Iran-Israel hostility Iran and Israel weren't always enemies. In fact, prior to 1979, the two countries maintained close ties. Iran was one of the first Muslim-majority nations to recognise Israel after its founding in 1948. Under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Iran and Israel enjoyed diplomatic, economic, and military ties. Both nations viewed Arab nationalism as a mutual threat, and Israel considered Iran a key strategic ally on the periphery of the Arab world. But this cooperation snapped after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The new regime in Tehran cut all ties with Israel, transferred the Israeli embassy to the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), and declared Israel an enemy of Islam. Ayatollah Khomeini's regime began openly supporting anti-Israel militant groups, shifting the nature of the conflict from political rivalry to ideological confrontation. Iran's proxy network intensifies regional warfare against Israel Since then, Iran has supported and armed groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, and the Islamic Jihad Movement in the Palestinian territories. This network of proxies has conducted many wars against Israel, including those in Lebanon and several Gaza conflicts from 2008 to 2024. Iran has also provided support to groups in Syria and Yemen over the years, designed to counter Israel and attack its interests. How close is Iran to developing a nuclear weapon? Iran's nuclear programme has always been at the heart of Israeli fears. Israel has long considered Iran's nuclear ambition an existential threat. Over the years, it has launched covert operations to sabotage Iran's programme, including the infamous Stuxnet cyberattack and the assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists. These efforts have slowed but not stopped Iran's progress. Once Iran crosses the 90 per cent enrichment mark, experts warn it could produce a nuclear weapon within weeks—a scenario Israel says it will not allow. Where are the modern flashpoints in the Iran-Israel conflict? The conflict has played out across multiple theatres in West Asia. Lebanon remains a critical front. Iran's most powerful proxy, Hezbollah, is based there and has fought major wars with Israel, including the 2006 conflict. Hezbollah is believed to possess over 100,000 rockets aimed at Israeli cities. In Gaza, Iran funds and supports both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad Movement. Despite the Shia-Sunni divide, their shared hostility towards Israel unites them. Syria is another major flashpoint. Iran maintains a strong military presence there and uses the territory to transfer weapons to Hezbollah. Israel frequently launches airstrikes on Iranian assets and supply routes in Syria. Recently, Iraq has emerged as a new front. Iranian-backed militias there have carried out drone attacks on Israeli targets. In 2024, after Israel bombed an Iranian consulate in Damascus, Iran and its proxies launched a large-scale drone and missile barrage. Though most were intercepted with US and European assistance, Israel responded with strikes inside Iran and Syria. Both sides then pulled back to avoid a wider regional war. Who supports Iran and Israel in this regional power struggle? Iran's 'Axis of Resistance' includes state and non-state actors such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), its elite Quds Force, Hezbollah, Hamas, the Islamic Jihad Movement, Houthi rebels in Yemen, and various Shiite militias in Iraq and Syria. Iran also supports smaller militant groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Israel, meanwhile, is firmly backed by the United States. Washington provides billions in military aid, advanced defence systems like Iron Dome, and intelligence support. US forces also target Iranian-backed militias in Syria and Iraq. Western allies, including the UK, Germany, and Italy, assist diplomatically and through missile defence cooperation. While not formal military allies, several Sunni Arab states share Israel's concerns. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt have deepened ties with Israel since the 2020 Abraham Accords. The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank remains ideologically opposed to Israel but occasionally coordinates security efforts against Hamas. Why is Iraq becoming a critical theatre in this confrontation? Iraq now serves as a launchpad for Iranian-aligned militias and a proxy battleground. Groups like Kata'ib Hezbollah under the 'Islamic Resistance in Iraq' banner have claimed attacks on Israeli military assets. These militias allow Iran to strike Israel indirectly while avoiding direct confrontation. Geographically, Iraq's proximity to Israel makes it strategically significant for weapons transfers and strikes. However, the Iraqi government under Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al-Sudani is under pressure to control these groups, fearing that Israeli retaliation could further destabilise the country. The US military presence in Iraq—currently around 2,500 troops—acts as a deterrent. But Washington's plan to withdraw by 2026 could reduce Iraq's resistance to Iranian pressure and shift the balance of power further. Are the conditions now set for full-scale regional war? With nuclear breakout potential, active proxy networks, and direct military exchanges, the Iran-Israel conflict is dangerously close to escalation. Iraq's emergence as a proxy front, growing Hezbollah stockpiles, increased Western involvement, and failed diplomacy are all converging. Whether this leads to an all-out war or a prolonged cycle of strikes and retaliation depends on the decisions made in the coming weeks—both in Jerusalem and Tehran, and in capitals far beyond.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
The Ghost of al-Qassam: Who is Ezzedin al-Haddad? Meet Hamas' third Gaza chief in seven months
Gaza's war-scarred labyrinth has a new face of command. His name is Ezzedin al-Haddad—and most people have never heard of him. After more than 600 days of war, and the deaths of both Yahya and Mohammed Sinwar, Hamas has quietly handed over its Gaza operations to a shadowy veteran commander known as The Ghost of al-Qassam. At 55, Ezzedin al-Haddad is no stranger to bloodshed, nor to survival. With a $750,000 Israeli bounty on his head and the weight of a crumbling militant empire on his shoulders, Haddad steps in as Hamas's third Gaza chief in just seven months. From the Tunnels to the Top An experienced field commander and tactician, Haddad played a key role in planning the devastating October 7, 2023 attacks that sparked the current war. According to Arab and Israeli officials, he has also overseen the recruitment of new fighters and taken personal responsibility for the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza—keeping photos of them on his phone, even engaging directly with some in captivity. But he didn't exactly rise to the top through a hotly contested election. The war has decimated Hamas's top ranks. Of the 18 senior figures on the group's military council before the war, only a few are thought to still be alive. Mohammed Sinwar, Haddad's immediate predecessor and Yahya's younger brother, was killed in May during an Israeli strike beneath Khan Younis's European Hospital. Haddad survived—and took over. A Ghost with a Memory and a Grudge Unlike the flamboyant Sinwar brothers, Haddad is known for his silence and shadowy demeanour. His nickname, The Ghost of al-Qassam, reflects a career defined by evasion and low visibility. He has survived several Israeli assassination attempts, but not without personal loss: both of his sons have been killed in the current conflict. A former hostage who met Haddad five times during captivity described him as calm, cold, and Hebrew-speaking. On one occasion, Haddad even ordered that a book left behind by a hostage be returned to him. But the ghost has moods too. In later meetings, he became harsher and more bitter—changes that coincided with the death of his son. A Diminished but Not Defeated Hamas While Israel claims to have killed up to 20,000 of Hamas's 35,000 fighters and destroyed most of its weapons stockpile, the group remains Gaza's dominant armed force. Its ranks have been replenished—at least numerically—with thousands of young recruits trained with little more than leaflets or crash courses in ambush tactics. Israeli and Arab intelligence sources estimate Hamas now commands around 25,000 fighters, though many are poorly trained and under-equipped. The group's financial reserves have also dwindled. Once flush with income from taxing aid and smuggling contraband, Hamas is reportedly struggling to pay its fighters. According to an internal document found by the Israeli military, Hamas reduced the share of aid diverted to its military wing from 25% in early 2024 to just 7% by April. Still, the organisation has retained one of its most potent strategic advantages: its underground network. Israeli military sources concede that as much as 75% of Hamas's tunnels remain intact. And as recent Israeli casualties show, the group is turning unexploded ordnance into makeshift bombs capable of ambushing even well-armoured patrols. A Fighter Willing to Talk? Despite his militant past, Haddad is reportedly more pragmatic than his predecessors. Arab intelligence officials say he pushed for the January 2024 hostage-prisoner swap and urged further releases to extend the ceasefire, which eventually broke down in March. He has also shown tentative openness to discussing the disarmament of Hamas—something the Sinwar brothers firmly rejected. But pragmatism has limits. Haddad still insists that no further hostages will be released without a full Israeli withdrawal and an end to the war. His motivations, officials believe, are driven as much by strategic calculation as ideology: Hamas remains Gaza's only coherent armed authority, but it is bleeding fighters, funds, and territory. What Comes Next? Israel aims to control 75% of Gaza by late July. Its current strategy seeks to fragment Hamas's hold on the enclave by isolating population centres and targeting remaining leadership. But for every commander killed, another emerges. And while the group may now rely on improvised explosives rather than rockets, its capacity to inflict daily pain on Israeli forces persists. As Miri Eisin, former deputy head of Israeli combat intelligence, put it: 'They don't need tens of thousands of weapons. They just need to kill a soldier a day.' Whether Haddad can—or wants to—shift the trajectory of the war remains unclear. He is a commander forged in tunnels and blood, tempered by loss, and now facing a military juggernaut in a battle that seems increasingly existential. But so far, the Ghost has not disappeared.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
French prosecutors seek murder charge for school stabbing suspect
Representative AI image French prosecutors on Thursday requested that a 14-year-old pupil detained for allegedly stabbing to death a teaching assistant be charged with murder, as schools across France held a minute of silence. The secondary school pupil was arrested Tuesday after allegedly killing with a knife a school monitor -- a 31-year-old mother of a young boy -- during a bag search in the eastern town of Nogent. The latest school attack caused widespread shock in France, with President Emmanuel Macron denouncing a rise in violence. The pupil had wanted to attack "any" monitor after being reprimanded a few days earlier for kissing his girlfriend, prosecutors say. On Thursday, prosecutors requested he be charged with "murder of a person carrying out a public service mission" and "intentional violence" against a police officer injured during the arrest. The prosecutor's office also requested that the pupil be placed in pre-trial detention, Dijon prosecutor Olivier Caracotch said in a statement. Regional prosecutor Denis Devallois told reporters on Wednesday that the teenager acknowledged "being the perpetrator" of the deadly stabbing and that he "intended to kill". As a minor, the suspect faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison instead of life imprisonment. A moment of silence was held at midday in schools across France in memory of the victim identified by authorities only as Melanie. France has seen several attacks on teachers and pupils in recent years by other schoolchildren. Macron denounced the violence during a cabinet meeting on Thursday, said the government spokeswoman. "He spoke... of a rise, a disinhibition around violence in our country, for which solutions will clearly need to be found," Sophie Primas said, quoting the French leader. In March, police started random searches for concealed weapons in and around schools. - 'Going to be hard' - Classes resumed on Thursday at the site of the tragedy, the Francoise Dolto school. The first students arrived shortly after 8:00 am in complete silence, escorted by a member of school staff, an AFP journalist saw. "It's going to be strange not seeing the monitor anymore," said Jade, 15. "I told my daughters to go to the counselling room to talk," said Daniele Quentin, 52, mother of three children enrolled at the school. "It's going to be hard for the girls, who really liked her," she said, referring to the victim. A former hairdresser, the victim had retrained and worked at the school since September. She was a mother of a four-year-old boy and a councillor in a village near Nogent. Her family called for a silent march to be held in Nogent on Friday. - 'No regret' - The suspect told investigators "there was perhaps a link with the fact he was told off by a monitor on Friday, June 6, as he was kissing his girlfriend on school grounds", Devallois said, adding she was not the one killed. "He stated that he had, as early as the next day, Saturday, mulled over a plan to kill a monitor," the prosecutor added. "He grabbed the largest knife in his home to, in his words, 'cause the most damage'". The teenager did not appear to suffer from any "mental disorder", but appeared "detached" and expressed "no regret" for the killing, Devallois said. In the wake of the attack, authorities promised measures to tackle knife crime among children. Macron said on Tuesday he was proposing banning social media for children under 15. Greece has spearheaded a proposal backed by France and Spain for the European Union to limit children's use of online platforms. Macron said France would go ahead with a unilateral ban if no progress was made on an EU-wide measure.
