Author: Steven Sahiounie

After the communications and internet blackout, the Palestinian Red Crescent says it is cut off from its teams in the Gaza Strip. “The artillery shelling this morning of the association’s headquarters in Khan Younis also destroyed the VHF antenna network for the association’s work, which was the only means of contact in light of the communications outage,” the Red Crescent said. “This poses a major challenge for ambulance and emergency crews in reaching the wounded and injured.” Source: AlJazeera

In his yearly review, World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus cited some positive developments in 2023, including the end of COVID as a public health emergency of global concern and increased attention to the health impacts of climate change. He also listed the war Gaza as the source of 2023’s “immense and avoidable suffering” and mentioned fighting in Sudan, Ukraine, Ethiopia and Myanmar. Source: AlJazeera

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator On October 17, just 10 days after the Hamas attack on Israel, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak said Hamas cannot be eliminated. Barak said, “We cannot completely eliminate Hamas. Hamas is an ideological movement which exists in [Palestinian] people’s dreams, in their hearts and in their minds.” For

The Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces warned the Zionist regime that its “strategic mistake” of assassinating Iranian adviser General Seyed Razi Mousavi in Syria will not remain unanswered. In a message on Tuesday, Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri said the Israeli regime’s cowardly airstrike that resulted in the martyrdom of General Mousavi in Damascus was carried out in brazen violation of Syria’s sovereignty, contravened the international conventions, and laid bare the terrorist nature of Israel. General Mousavi, a member of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps serving as a military adviser in Syria, was martyred in an Israeli…

Two Palestinians were killed today by Israeli occupation army gunfire and two others were injured during confrontations in Fawar refugee camp, south of the southern West Bank city of Hebron, according to medical and local sources. The Ministry of Health said Ahmad Yousef Yaghi, 17, and Ibrahim Majed al-Titi, 31, were killed by army bullets. Local sources said soldiers raided the camp and started shooting in all directions while firing sound grenades critically injuring two people before they were pronounced dead. Two others were also injured. Source: WAFA

Units of our armed forces shot down eight terrorist drones in Aleppo and Idlib countryside. Our army units operating in the direction of rural Aleppo and Idlib responded to attempts by terrorist organizations to attack safe villages and towns and some military points, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement. The statement added that our armed forces managed to shoot down and destroy eight terrorist drones and prevent them from achieving their goals. Source: SANA

In a message to the Pope on Christmas Eve, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi called for urgent measures by the international community to stop the massacre of Palestinians, slamming the Israeli regime’s onslaught on Gaza as a major challenge to human society. In his message to Pope Francis on Sunday, Raisi stressed the need for decisive action by international organizations in support of Gaza. What follows is the text of the message released by his official website: In the name of God His Excellency Pope Francis, Honorable Leader of the World’s Catholics, With great pleasure, I sincerely congratulate you and all the believers of…

Footage obtained and verified by Al Jazeera reveals widespread destruction of homes and residential buildings in the city of Beit Lahiya. The visuals show entire residential blocks levelled to the ground as a result of Israeli attacks, causing significant damage to schools, shelters and mosques in the vicinity. Some of the most intense Israeli attacks have taken place in northern Gaza since the war began on October 7. Source: AlJazeera

On January 4, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is scheduled to visit Ankara where he will meet with his Turkish counterpart, Tayyip Erdogan. The discussions are expected to centre around the situations in Gaza and Syria, in addition to addressing bilateral ties. A Turkish official also said a planned visit by Raisi in late November was postponed because of the conflicting schedules of the two regional powers’ foreign ministers. At the time, Turkey’s foreign minister was in New York City as part of a “contact group” of Muslim countries on Gaza. Source: AlJazeera

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani says the killing of Razi Mousavi, adviser in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, is “vicious and cowardly”. Mousavi was killed in an Israeli air strike on the outskirts of Damascus earlier in the day, Iranian officials said in a statement. Kanani condemned the attack, saying Iran was within its rights to respond with the “necessary measures” and at a time and place of its choosing. Earlier, we highlighted a report from the US news site Axios that said the Israeli government is expecting a response from Iran, possibly rocket fire from Lebanon or Syria…