3. Other Fronts
Cyprus
Washington has enlisted the island nation of in its efforts to protect Israel from potential retaliations by Iran and Hezbollah to the recent Israeli attacks on Tehran and Beirut.
A US military delegation was accompanied by a logistical, military and security force carrying with it a large amount of equipment, weapons and modern air defense systems, in addition to helicopters Cypriot officials said they had never seen such quantities of weapons before. The US informed Cyprus that this equipment was “related to tensions in the region” and that the island would serve as “one of the interception platforms against expected attacks from Iran, Yemen and Hezbollah.” It adds that the UK has reinforced its bases in Cyprus, and has sent experts and air defense equipment to the country. The UK has two large military bases in Cyprus, which are and make up 2.5 percent of the island’s area.
Germany has also reportedly expressed an intention to deploy naval forces to Cyprus and to assist in evacuations in case of a large-scale war.
What further confused Cypriot authorities was the US request for joint military drills with American forces on the island’s land and seas … drills do not happen suddenly, but rather require a program that is prepared at least a year in advance, not 48 hours in advance. Cypriot officials have been keen to communicate with … the axis of resistance, especially Hezbollah, to convey the message that what is happening ‘is happening against their will, and that they do not want to involve their country in any war. They expressed their fear that the island could become an arena for a confrontation with Iran, Hezbollah, and even the Houthis.
These messages are unlikely to directly with Tel Aviv.
“Opening Cypriot airports and bases to the Israeli enemy to target Lebanon would mean that the Cypriot government is part of the war, and the resistance will deal with it as part of the war,” Nasrallah said in a speech in June, warning Cyprus against taking part in an expanded Israeli war on Lebanon.
Cyprus and Israel have stepped up military cooperation in recent years as part of a joint declaration signed in 2017 and have also carried out several joint military and naval exercises. In 2022, the two states carried out joint military exercises on the island nation’s territory. Israel is also seeking to establish a port in the Cypriot city of Larnaca in case the port of Haifa is closed in a war with Hezbollah. In April, bases in Cyprus played a significant role in intercepting Iranian missiles and drones which targeted Israel in response to its destruction of the Iranian consulate in Damascus and the killing of several of its officials that month.
France, Germany, Greece and Jordan are also deeply involved in Washington’s defensive plans for Israel. Change anything in the event of a wide-scale war, given that Cypriot authorities are also coordinating
Yemen
Failed, Extended Aggression on Yemen costs US Billions
The United States naval and aerial campaign in the Red Sea has become the most sustained military campaign by American forces since coalition forces launched attacks in Iraq and Syria in 2016. It is now conducting the most expansive and enduring US military operation currently underway, which risks chewing through ammunition that the Pentagon would rather have available for a potential war with China in the Pacific. US forces have launched nearly 800 missiles and seven aerial onslaughts on Yemen since November 2023, deploying a Carrier Strike Group and naval pieces to protect Israeli interests in the region.
During the nine-month period in the Red Sea, where US forces fired over 135 Tomahawk land attack missiles, which cost between $2 million to $4 million per missile, resulting in a total expenditure ranging from at least $270 million to over $540 million. The Red Sea operation used to destroy inexpensive attack drones also cost the US millions of dollars to procure. F-18 aircraft deployed on the carrier fired 60 air-to-air missiles and 420 air-to-surface weapons. American military mobilization in the Red Sea, Gulf, and the Mediterranean has been an essential part of efforts to secure the occupation airspace, especially in the south. Yet, the Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) and the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, have managed to identify Israeli air defense coverage and have successfully exploited them on multiple occasions.
Attempting to protect every Israeli-affiliated merchant vessel in the Red Sea has proven to be both difficult and costly. The coalition that the US hoped to create in the region slowly deteriorated and failed to meet its expectations. These warships have seen the extended deployment of thousands of troops in the region’s waters nearly 20,000 km away from home. Heightened regional tensions, due to a series of Israeli crimes, risk aggravating pressure on the Navy’s sailors and hardware, as Carrier Strike Group 3 abandons the Indo-Pacific to reinforce US military presence in West Asia.
The YAF has been steadfast in support of Palestine, nearly cutting off all supply routes for the Israeli occupation through the Red Sea. Yemenis have launched a strong naval and aerial campaign in a show of proactive support to the Palestinian people, who are undergoing a blatant Israeli-executed genocide.
Over the last ten months, the Houthis targeted and hit 80 ships affiliated with Israel or owned by the United States and the United Kingdom in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. In addition, the group’s air defenses shot down at least seven American-made combat drones over Yemen and nearby waters. During the same period, the group also launched from Yemen more than 220 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and suicide drones at Israel, mostly toward the Red Sea port city of Eilat in the south.
Israel also launched an attack against al-Hodeidah port last month after a deadly Houthi drone strike on the city of Tel Aviv. However, the group remains undeterred as evident by their recent attacks. “Israel’s” aim to “intensify the people’s suffering” was demonstrated by its bombardment of energy infrastructure. Yemenis living in the north depend on the port of Hodeidah as a crucial piece of infrastructure for supplies, food imports, and other goods.
It will probably take a lot of money and effort to rebuild those facilities. Severe fuel shortages throughout northern Yemen may have an adverse effect on necessities, such as hospital diesel generators. Back in March, the leader of the Yemeni Ansar Allah movement Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi stated that the nine-year ongoing war on Yemen has led to the martyrdom and injury of more than 50,000 civilians, most of them children and women, in addition to the martyred fighters. Regarding the losses suffered by the war coalition, he said that the number of killed and wounded from all formations and divisions of the aggression armies and mercenaries reached 282,879. He also pointed out that this aggression was not limited to military attacks. He noted that the aggression coalition led by the Saudis also imposed a siege, which led to starvation used as a tool to attempt to subdue the nation, and resorted to conspiracies against the national currency and banks, aimed to undermine the country’s economy. Additionally, he mentioned that the coalition destroyed 427 hospitals and medical facilities, in addition to killing a large number of medical staff, despite the limited health services in Yemen.
He added that the aggression targeted 354 power stations and generators, as well as 7,940 roads and bridges, killing large numbers of citizens. Moreover, 647 communication networks and stations and 3,332 water tanks and networks were targeted. Additionally, Israel bombed the Hodeidah port in Yemen following Sanaa’s successful ‘Yafa’ drone operation in Tel Aviv on 19 July.
Western Intelligence Makes New Moves in Yemen
Recently, plans by the US to build up a military base and associated infrastructure were revealed.
The UAE has, since 7 October, stepped up work on joint Emirati-Israeli military and intelligence infrastructure on the Socotra Archipelago off the coast of Yemen. The UAE has sought to establish control over the strategic archipelago, and has, over the past few years, begun constructing – in coordination with Tel Aviv – military and intelligence sites on the islands of the including the Island of Socotra itself.
Other Gulf Arab countries are involved in Emirati-Israeli plans for the archipelago, which comes as part of “an alliance established … under an American umbrella.” The “ultimate goal” of the project is “to link the armies and security services of Israel and the concerned Arab countries under the umbrella of US Central Command.
The archipelago, in addition to other Yemeni islands and ports, is a central point in [this alliance] … the formation of the aforementioned alliance has become more urgent for all its parties, – – they accelerated the construction of its features, led by an Emirati-Israeli military base being built on Abd al-Kuri Island the second largest island in in the Socotra Archipilago.
In late December last year, a UAE-flagged landing ship – designed for the deployment of military personnel and equipment – arrived at Socotra Island, remaining there until early January. It then headed west towards Abd al-Kuri and anchored until 11 January, heading back to Socotra two days later. It then returned to the UAE on 18 January. It concealed its signal while stationed off the island’s shores, and remained this way until it reappeared again on 25 December in the Arabian Sea heading north, which suggested that it was carrying out suspicious activity at the time. Information indicates that the ship’s trips were intended to transport military supplies and specialized personnel supervising the development of an Emirati base.
Following 7 October, a new pier and a helicopter landing pad were constructed on Abd al-Kuri, which was revealed in satellite imagery released in March this year. This expansion allows for the accommodation of larger American military cargo aircraft and strategic bombers, such as the American C-5M Super Galaxy and B-1 bombers that were recently used in retaliatory attacks in Syria and Iraq. New housing and buildings were also built.
The Syrian Equation
The US occupation of the Jazira region and the establishment of more than 20 American bases was because “ISIS” served as the pretext for strengthening the US obstruction of the strategic land links between the eastern Mediterranean, via Central Asia, to China, and to Iran on the Persian Gulf. The US further seeks to prevent the development of close ties between the Syrian and Iraqi arenas. It does this to provide unlimited support for the Kurds in opposition to the region’s inhabitants.
Despite the end of large-scale military conflict in most of Syria years ago, the eastern region remains embroiled in tension and ongoing strife. Armed confrontations between the SDF and pro-Turkish factions in the north continue, while the war with Arab tribal forces east of the Euphrates enters a new chapter, driven by different calculations than in past battles.
The tribes are now determined to expand their operations and have increased their readiness. US bases have become permanent targets for resistance forces on both the Syrian and Iraqi sides, with drones, rockets and missiles. The Jazira region has essentially become a battleground where the US now reaps consequences from its forced occupation of Syrian territory, disregarding the impact on Syrian territorial unity and the strife it sows among the population. Rockets frequently striking occupation bases in the Omar and Conoco oil fields. Meanwhile, the tribes have expanded their control over villages that serve as the first line of defense for the SDF around US bases. To combat this, the CIA ordered its puppets in the region to release of 1000s of ISIS members from prisons in July, ISIS continues its terrorist attacks in the region, despite the international coalition’s previous claims of having eliminated the group’s presence. ISIS cells periodically launch assaults on Syrian army positions and their allies in the Resistance Axis.
The current uprising in Syria’s Deir Ezzor represents the growing armed resistance of local Arab tribes against US-backed Kurdish forces who control their land and resources – potentially opening up a new front for the Axis of Resistance. US occupation forces have established prominent bases at the Al-Omar and Conoco oil fields, in a region largely inhabited by Arab communities who have long been persecuted by the SDF. When the US failed to control and co-opt these tribes into a loyal organization, it sought to instead characterize them as a threat aligned with Syrian and Iranian interests.
This narrative is consistent with the approach of the US project and its allies in the SDF, who seek to suppress any resistance movements that challenge their agenda and practices, including the theft of Syrian oil and wheat. The American occupation will remain as long as it has the ability to do so, and it deals with the Arab tribes from this perspective.
The events unfolding today in Syria’s eastern region are a result of the repercussions of the Palestinian resistance’s Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and the broader across the Middle East, as the clans find common cause and common targets with the Axis of Resistance. Even if the situation temporarily stabilizes the underlying international conflict will likely resurface, potentially tied to events in occupied Palestine and Gaza.
Gaza
Ever since Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated at the end of July, the resistance groups in both Gaza and the West Bank have increased the intensity of their attacks on the occupation forces. There are three key areas where these attacks have intensified. These are the Netzarim Corridor, the Rafah border crossing and the Philadelphi Crossing. These three areas are where the IOF are building permanent bases and fortifications- an indication that they are planning for “a long stay”.
A photo that circulated on social media on 25 August shows that Israeli forces have built an asphalt road on the Philadelphi corridor on the Gaza–Egypt border in the southern strip.
What’s most remarkable is that we are now approaching the one year anniversary, this October, of the start of Israel’s war on Gaza, and yet Israel has still not been able to entirely defeat a tiny Hamas force. Russia gets criticism for taking what’s now over two years to defeat Europe’s largest military force, while the country previously billed as having “the world’s most advanced military” cannot defeat a tiny guerilla force in a year’s time.
Despite having its leader assassinated and taking all the other ‘blows’ Israel has claimed to have dealt, Hamas continues to make a comeback . And yet the group appears to have made effective use of dwindling resources on the ground. Several units have made a comeback in key areas cleared by the Israeli military after pitched battles and intensive bombardment, according to the new analyses, salvaging the remnants of their battalions in a desperate bid to replenish their ranks.
One year of “the world’s most advanced military force”, and they can only degrade 3 enemy battalions? Meanwhile, Russia destroys that many Ukrainian battalions on some days.
Israel is generating exactly the kind of additional political anger, the additional grief, and the additional emotion that will lead additional people to become fighters. The actual strategic power of Hamas is growing. The power of Hamas is in its power to recruit. Furthermore, the rise of BRICS and the Global South in general means that Iran and other adversarial countries will continue gaining power and ascendancy while Israel’s allies are steadily weakened on the world stage. It was recently stated that even Saudi Arabia’s bin Salman was threatened with assassination due to talks of his reconciliation with Israel, showing that trends have turned against Israel in the region.
4. Vaccination Campaign in Gaza: Polio Eradication or Transition to Bio-Warfare?
This is seriously creepy.
Over a million doses of polio vaccine have been shipped to Israel in preparation for a mass vaccination campaign in Gaza. The vaccines are an emergency response to the first confirmed case of polio reported in Gaza last month. So, the UN is unable to distribute humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, but they are charging ahead with a mass vaccination campaign? Doesn’t that sound a bit strange? Keep in mind, the Israelis have been preventing food, water and medicine from entering Gaza for months which has led to mass starvation and a sharp uptick in preventable diseases. But now we are expected to believe that they care about the physical well-being of the people they have been bombing to smithereens for the last 10 months? Many are not buying it. It just gets weirder and weirder.
So, aid workers will require a “humanitarian pause” (aka—A ceasefire) the likes of which Netanyahu has stubbornly refused for 10 months straight. But now—after just one confirmed case of polio—he’s expected to reverse the policy in order to save the same the people he’s been pulverizing for the last year? And how do we explain Mr. Rose’s sudden concern for young Palestinians when he was nowhere to be found when these same children were having their arms and legs amputated without anesthesia, medication or even proper sanitation. It’s a real mystery.
Everything about this mass vaccination campaign stinks to high heaven. The last thing Israel wants is more healthy Palestinians. We know that for a fact. Here’s more:
COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry’s agency that oversees policy for the Palestinian territories, said in a statement on Monday that the vaccines had been delivered to Gaza through the Kerem Shalom border crossing with Israel. The agency added that the campaign would be conducted in coordination with the Israeli military “as part of the routine humanitarian pauses” that it observes, which, it said, would allow Palestinians to reach vaccination centers. The campaign is going to be “conducted in coordination” with that great humanitarian organization, the Israeli Defense Forces. How does that square with the fact that Israel regards Palestinian children as Amalek? Are they planning to save them from polio so they can gun them down on the streets of Gaza sometime in the future? How does that work exactly? And why in heaven’s name would Netanyahu agree to “a weeklong humanitarian pause in Gaza” when he brazenly rejected the Biden-backed ceasefire. How did the WHO persuade him to change his mind when all the others failed?
Would it surprise you to know that vaccines have been used in Africa, Nicaragua, Mexico and the Philippines as anti-fertility drugs? Would it shock you to know that the Rockefeller family have used vaccine campaigns to target people who didn’t realize that they were being used as lab rats in a nefarious eugenics experiment? The WHO is a part of the UN, an entity 100% in the Rockefeller orbit. The land is theirs. The key heads work for the family. It even banks with a Rockefeller bank – JP Morgan Chase! The family has founded, funded, and directed various entities promoting and executing “population control “programs.
It’s worth noting that the World Health Organization is not a benign public health agency selflessly seeking to eradicate disease and sickness wherever they may be found. Quite the contrary. It is a flock of power-mad internationalists working for the Rockefeller Empire who seek to push through a “global pandemic treaty…. that would grant it absolute power over global biosecurity, such as the power to implement digital identities/vaccine passports, mandatory vaccinations, travel restrictions, standardized medical care and more. And if the WHO is teaming up with Netanyahu to vaccinate hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children in Gaza, we can be reasonably certain that they’re up to no-good. In fact, we can be sure of it.
This sudden decision to vaccinate the Gazans (about 700, 000 of them), followed by Netanyahu agreeing to a “humanitarian pause”, adds to what we have been writing since the start of this genocide. It is a war driven and pushed by the Rockefeller family for oil and gas reasons- and a move to consolidate their global energy holdings. For more on this, please read our article titled: THE GEOPOLITICS OF GAZA; https://behindthenews.co.za/the-geopolitics-of-gaza-part-1-of-a-2-part-series/ .The Gazans are going to be used as lab rats in a electronic prison camp. Let’s see how this plays out in the coming days and weeks.
Our next article is called “Iran prepares response to Israeli provocations “
