Author: Steven Sahiounie

The Israeli government has informed US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan about their vision of the timeframes of military operations in the Gaza Strip, a high-ranking US administration official said. “The Israelis have briefed us <…> of potential timeframes and Jake [Sullivan] had a very good discussion about the kind of conditions that obviously we all hope to be set up. There was a heavy discussion on, of course, civilian protection,” the official said during an online briefing on Sullivan’s visit to Israel. “The Israelis briefed us in detail <…> about the extraordinary efforts that they are undertaking to try…

The head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said he was “terrified” by the ongoing smear campaigns against Palestinians. “I am terrified at the smear campaigns that target Palestinians and all those who provide assistance and protection to them,” UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said. “And on that, I am asking you to help us push back against misinformation and inaccuracies. I know that some of you are constantly fact checking, fact checking is key if we want accurate information,” he continued. “Just always make sure you verify and debunk repeated…

Palestinian government condemns Israel’s raid on the West Bank city of Jenin and the eponymous refugee camp, which left 12 Palestinians dead and dozens injured The Palestinian government condemns Israel’s raid on the West Bank city of Jenin and the eponymous refugee camp, which left 12 Palestinians dead and dozens injured, as an attempt to provoke more violence in the West Bank, Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said. “The Israeli occupation authorities continue their bloody aggression and massacres against Palestinian people, their land, and their sanctities, in an attempt to detonate the situation and drag the region into the area…

At least 193 trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours via the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt, the Israeli government’s coordinator for the Palestinian territories has said. “193 humanitarian aid trucks carrying food, water, medical supplies, and shelter equipment were inspected and transferred to the Gaza Strip via the Rafah Crossing today (Dec. 14),” the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said on the X social network, formerly known as Twitter. Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 after militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian…

The Israel Occupation Forces (IOF) has delivered a strike on a residential block in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip resulting in multiple victims, Palestine’s WAFA news agency reported. According to the news agency, residential buildings near the Kuwait hospital were bombarded. The agency did not specify the number of those killed and wounded. Those rescued from the rubble were taken to the Abu Youssef al-Naggar Hospital. The news agency said that overnight, the IOF had also delivered strikes on residential districts in Deir al Balah and the Nuseirat and Jabalia refugee camps. Tensions flared up again in the…

The Israel Occupation Forces (IOF) stormed the Palestinian town of Tubas in the West Bank, the Palestinian WAFA news agency reported. According to it, several units of Israeli military equipment entered the town from the east. Earlier, the IOF press service reported the completion of a 60-hour raid in the city of Jenin. During the raid, 60 people wanted on suspicion of involvement in terrorist activities were arrested, and more than 50 weapons of various types and hundreds of explosive devices were confiscated. The military also discovered more than ten underground mines and seven explosives laboratories. According to the Israeli side, over…

Moscow fulfills its gas export obligations, including transit through Ukraine, the president has insisted Accusations that Russia has stopped natural gas supplies to the EU are “complete nonsense,” President Vladimir Putin stated on Thursday. The decline in gas exports to the bloc which resulted in a protracted energy crisis is not the fault of Moscow, but of the countries that have decided to abandon Russian energy, Putin stressed. Russia continues to deliver natural gas to Europe because Gazprom is a “reliable partner” and fulfills all of its obligations, including transit through Ukraine, the president said during his annual live TV press conference in Moscow.…

The sector has not collapsed as the West had expected, according to the president The exodus of Western car brands has provided Russian manufacturers with an opportunity to take back the domestic market, President Vladimir Putin stated on Thursday during a marathon Q&A session. Putin highlighted that the Russian car industry didn’t collapse and keeps operating despite the exit of Korean, Japanese, and European brands and the sanctions policies pursued by the West. “Manufacturing of our own components” is a “top priority” for the sector, the Russian leader said, adding that the Ministry of Industry and Trade, along with domestic manufacturers, are addressing…

Washington or its allies are the probable culprits in the sabotage of the Russian gas pipelines, the president has claimed The bombing of the Nord Stream gas pipelines was most likely carried out by the US or someone acting on its orders, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed on Thursday. The Nord Stream 1 and 2 natural gas pipelines each comprised two separate channels linking Russia and Germany. Three out of the four lines were destroyed in a series of explosions near the Danish island of Bornholm in September 2022, severing Germany’s direct energy ties to Russia and leaving its gas-dependent…

The country’s holdings exceeded $150 billion in November Russian gold reserves surpassed the all-time high in monetary terms, reaching $151.9 billion in November, according to the latest data released by the Bank of Russia. The stockpile surged 2.2%, or $3.198 billion month-over-month; however, in physical terms, the country’s gold reserves declined by about 16 tons to 2,315 tons, decreasing for the second consecutive month, the data shows. The increase in value was due to rising global gold prices. Russia’s total international gold and foreign exchange reserves amounted to $592.352 billion as of December, with foreign currencies accounting for $412.261 billion.…