Very troubling times ahead and the global economy, already rattled by elevated inflation, is now facing another geopolitical crisis.

Hollander, these are scary days...and I fear there's more coming real soon....a lot more.

Seems Israel is now fighting several different enemies on several different fronts.

Israel planning 'something big', considering ground invasion of Gaza: Report
Updated: Oct 12, 2023, 06:42 PM IST


Israel's national security establishment and people have been demanding retribution for the brutal attacks carried out by Hamas militants over the weekend

According to a report published in Bloomsberg, Israeli troops are massing for a suspected ground invasion of Gaza. The country's national security establishment and public have been demanding retribution for the attacks carried out by the Hamas militants over the weekend, which took the lives of more than 1,300 Israelis.

However, it will be a complicated task for the Israeli army to carry out a ground invasion considering the dense population of Gaza, its complex underground network of tunnels and the threat that the Israelis, Americans and others have been facing as hostages.

"The problem is that it's basically house-to-house fighting once you get into Gaza. And so it could be a heavy price," said former US Defence Secretary and CIA Director Leon Panetta on Tuesday (Oct 10) while speaking on Bloomberg Television's "Balance of Power." "But on the other hand, I think it's very clear that Israel has made the decision that they have got to crush Hamas in Gaza," he added.

ALSO READ | US will always 'back' Israel, says Blinken to Netanyahu on solidarity visit

An invasion would lead to heavy casualties on the two sides and questions about whether Israel can plan an exit strategy for the conflict. This can also lead to ripple effects throughout the Middle East and endanger the fragile rapprochement of Israel with its Arab neighbours, increasing the risks of conflict turning into a broader regional war.

According to an official, an invasion may look like the 2004 battle for Fallujah in Iraq which also involves bloody street-to-street fighting.

Israel's severe response to Gaza
No announcement has been made by Israel about sending troops into Gaza, however, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that "what we will do to our enemies in the coming days will reverberate with them for generations."

As per the report, the developments taking place on the ground clearly suggest that something big is being planned by Israel. Tel Aviv has been bombarding Gaza from the land, air and sea. A base is being built by the military next to the Gaza Strip to accommodate tens of thousands of soldiers as columns of Israeli tanks continue moving towards the region. Already 300,000 reservists have been mobilised by the country.

WATCH | Israel-Palestine war: Gazans reel under indiscriminate air strikes, dwindling supplies


"Israel is going to respond very severely and aggressively and there will be more loss of life," said Richard Hecht, a spokesman for the Israeli military, while speaking to journalists on Tuesday (Oct 10).

The experts feel that there is a high possibility of a ground invasion by Israel because of the limitations of aerial warfare in Gaza. It is being said that the airstrikes will not be able to clear out the underground weapons stockpiles, tunnels, and smuggling routes that made the Hamas attack possible on Saturday.

(With inputs from agencies)

https://www.wionews.com/world/israe...ng-ground-invasion-of-gaza-report-645935

guys that things i saw the last couple of days is beyond anything that possible to imagine !
filthy pro palestinians and hamas supporter's are denying this + denying the babies killings
i saw it all in my eyes !
they are nazis !

My wife and I made a big contribution to Magen David Adom, Israel's equivalent of Red Cross. Praying that it helps to relieve the heart-breaking suffering in Israel.

thank you very much sir !
you are doing good in the world !

I feel for the Gazans they deserve a better life, but the Jews have been victims of pogroms for centuries they have to defend themselves Israel is their homeland.

Iran Update from the Institute for the Study of War


IRAN UPDATE, OCTOBER 12, 2023
Oct 12, 2023 - ISW Press

Download the PDF











Iran Update, October 12, 2023

Andie Parry, Ashka Jhaveri, Johanna Moore, Annika Ganzeveld, Amin Soltani, and Nicholas Carl

Information Cutoff: 3:00 pm EST

The Iran Update provides insights into Iranian and Iranian-sponsored activities abroad that undermine regional stability and threaten US forces and interests. It also covers events and trends that affect the stability and decision making of the Iranian regime. The Critical Threats Project (CTP) at the American Enterprise Institute and the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) provides these updates regularly based on regional events. For more on developments in Iran and the region, see our interactive map of Iran and the Middle East.

Note: CTP and ISW have refocused the update to cover the war in Israel. The new sections address developments in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Lebanon, and Syria, as well as noteworthy activity from Iran’s Axis of Resistance.

Key Takeaways:

1. Hamas continued rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel but reduced the rate of these attacks.

2. Small arms clashes between Palestinian militants and Israeli forces increased slightly across the West Bank, as Palestinian militias try to stoke conflict there.

3. CTP-ISW recorded three rocket strikes into Israeli territory from Lebanon.
4. Unidentified Iranian officials implicitly threatened to direct proxy attacks against US forces in Iraq and Syria if the United States re-freezes Iranian financial assets abroad.

5. Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian is conducting a diplomatic tour to Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria, possibly to coordinate politically with senior leaders in the Axis of Resistance.

6. Iran is conducting a diplomatic campaign to unite Muslim countries against Israel.

Gaza Strip

Hamas continued rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel but reduced the rate of these attacks on October 13.[1] An IDF commander stated that Hamas is trying to conserve its rocket stockpile and prepare for a prolonged war.[2] Israel estimates that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) have expended around 33 percent of their rocket arsenal since the war began on October 7.

Hamas appeared to reduce the rate of its infiltrations into Israeli territory as well. CTP-ISW recorded one small arms clash between Palestinian militants and Israeli forces along the border of the Gaza Strip on October 12—a decrease from the six clashes that ISW recorded across October 10 and 11.

Hamas spokesperson Abu Ubaida released a video statement on October 12 describing the planning and objectives of the al Aqsa Flood operation. Ubaida claimed that Hamas began planning the operation in 2022 and conducted extensive analysis of Israeli forces and the terrain throughout the planning process. IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency recirculated reporting that the Palestinian resistance has prepared itself for a long-term battle, including offensive operations in Israeli territory.[6] Ubaida stated that the objective of the operation was to destroy the IDF Gaza Division and facilitate further attacks into southern Israel.[7] Hamas’ militant wing has continued attacks on Israeli territory as far north as the Haifa District and has called on Palestinian militants in the West Bank to mobilize.

West Bank

Small arms clashes between Palestinian militants and Israeli forces increased slightly across the West Bank on October 12, as Palestinian militias try to stoke conflict there.[8] Clashes occurred in around 21 locations.[9] Leaders from Hamas, PIJ, and the al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade separately issued calls on October 11 and 12 urging individuals in the West Bank to mobilize and join the fight against Israel, highlighting their desire to expand the war geographically to the West Bank.[10] PIJ spokesperson Abu Hamza boasted that the West Bank has entered the fight and called for militants to increase the rate of attacks against Israeli forces.[11] Iranian state media recirculated these calls and celebrated the ongoing clashes.

Hamas has called for a surge in anti-Israel activity on Friday, October 13, which risks driving further clashes.[13] The West Bank-based Lions’ Den militia previously succeeded in mobilizing supporters to hold marchers and clash with Israeli forces on October 11, as CTP-ISW previously reported, suggesting that Hamas may see similar success.[14] It is furthermore common for public participation in marches and protests in the Middle East to increase on Fridays, as such activities often follow Friday prayers.

South Lebanon and the Golan Heights

CTP-ISW recorded three rocket strikes into Israeli territory from Lebanon on October 12.[15] This level of rocket fire is consistent with previous days’ levels of kinetic activity around Israel’s northern border.

The IDF conducted airstrikes on the Damascus and Aleppo international airports on October 12, disrupting critical nodes through which Iran funnels military equipment and personnel into the Levant.[17] The IDF struck the airport runways. The Syrian Arab Army conducted a mortar strike into the Golan Heights after the attacks, possibly as symbolic retaliation.[18] The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has long used commercial airliners affiliated with the Iranian regime for military transports to Syria throughout the civil war there.

A Mahan Air flight was en route from Tehran to Damascus around the time of the IDF airstrikes and then changed course back to Iran.[20] The United States has sanctioned Mahan Air for transporting military personnel and materiel on behalf of the IRGC Quds Force to Syria to support the Iranians' efforts to defend the Bashar al Assad regime and entrench the Iranian military influence around the Levant.

Iran and the Axis of Resistance

Unidentified Iranian officials implicitly threatened to direct proxy attacks against US forces in Iraq and Syria if the United States re-freezes Iranian financial assets abroad. These Iranian officials told UK-based Amwaj Media that the August 2023 prisoner swap deal between the United States and Iran involved a broader understanding in which Iran would pause proxy attacks against US positions in exchange for the United States allowing the release of $6 billion worth of frozen Iranian financial assets in South Korean banks.[22] Western media reported similar details on this broader understanding at the time.[23] South Korea has gradually transferred that money to Qatari banks for Iran to access since the agreement was reached. Western media has reported that the United States and Qatar have reached an agreement to refreeze the Iranian financial assets in response to the Hamas ground and air attack into Israel.[24] CTP-ISW is updating its chart on Axis of Resistance red lines based on these reports.

Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian is conducting a diplomatic tour to Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria, possibly to coordinate politically with senior leaders in the Axis of Resistance. Abdollahian traveled to Baghdad and met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al Sudani and National Security Adviser Qassem al Araji on October 12.[25] Abdollahian stated that Israel cannot commit “war crimes” against Gaza civilians "without expecting a response” during his meeting with Araji.[26] Abdollahian additionally commented on the possibility of the opening of a new front against Israel during his meeting with Sudani, stating that “everything depends on [Israeli] actions in Gaza.”[27] Abdollahian will travel to Beirut and Damascus in the coming days. Abdollahian recently met with Syrian President Bashar al Assad in Damascus on August 31.[28] Abdollahian also met with Lebanese Hezbollah (LH) Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) Secretary General Ziyad al Nakhalah, and Hamas Political Bureau Deputy Chairman Saleh al Arouri in Beirut on September 1.[29] Supreme Leader International Affairs Adviser Ali Akbar Velayati additionally held separate phone calls with Haniyeh and Nakhalah on October 11.[30] Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei commonly uses Velayati as his personal envoy abroad and especially to members of the Axis of Resistance and Palestinian groups.

Iran is conducting a diplomatic campaign to unite Muslim countries against Israel. Senior Iranian officials conducted a flurry of phone calls to foreign leaders on October 11 and 12 to discuss the war in Israel. President Ebrahim Raisi held separate phone calls with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and Syrian President Bashar al Assad.[32] The call with Mohammad bin Salman is particularly noteworthy given that it is the first call between them since Iran and Saudi Arabia normalized ties in March 2023. Foreign Affairs Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has held phone calls with his Emirati, Egyptian, Filipino, Hungarian, Iraqi, Omani, Qatari, Russian, and Turkish counterparts since October 7.[33] Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has held phone calls with his counterparts in Algeria, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Syria, Turkey, and the UAE.[34] Tehran has historically sought to rally Muslim countries against Israel and frame itself as a champion of the Palestinian cause. Iran conducted a similar diplomatic campaign to this end when tensions rose between Israel and the Palestinian militias in April 2023, which CTP previously reported.
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-october-12-2023

HAMAS HORROR QUICKLY REVEALS THE BIGOTS WITHIN OUR MIDST

NYPost By Douglas Murray

Sometimes a flare goes up in the darkness and you can see where everyone is standing.
That has certainly been the case since the appalling massacres in Israel last Saturday.
The bodies of all the young festival-goers, pensioners and beheaded babies hadn’t even been found before people began making excuses for their murder.
And even praised the mass slaughter.
On Sunday, just 24 hours after the atrocities, Hamas terrorists were still killing Jews in Israel.
And radical extremists were gathering in Times Square to celebrate their actions.
I went over to Times Square to see that “Pro-Palestine” rally.
But it wasn’t “pro-Palestine.”
It was just pro-massacre.
One woman in a headscarf stood in front of the crowd proudly waving a home-made sign.
It read “Zionist nightmares” and then listed the date in 1973 when all of Israel’s neighbors tried to wipe it out, and then 10/07/23.
The date of last Saturday.
The date when Hamas terrorists machine-gunned young people and shot pensioners at bus-stops.
“Long live the Intifada” this hideous woman’s sign concluded, with a Palestinian flag.
And wow, was she pleased with herself, as she cheered and punched her fist in the air.
Israel had not made one military strike in retaliation at this point.
Like the rest of the crowd she was not there opposing Israeli retaliation.
She was there to celebrate.
“From the river to the sea” many of the more formal banners said.
Which is a Palestinian battle cry which means “Destroy Israel” (because if a Palestinian state ran “from the river [Jordan] to the sea” there would be no Israel).
Other banners said “Resistance Is Justified.”
Others added “By any means necessary.”
Really?
By any means?
Like beheading some 40 babies, in a single kibbutz alone.
The Times Square rally certainly seemed to think so.
While a small group of Jewish and pro-Israel counter-protestors gathered on the other side of the street, the Palestinian protestors taunted them.
They screamed at them and waved their murderous signs even more in their faces.
You have to take a moment to consider the implications of that.
Imagine if this had been done to any other group of people, other than Jews.
Remember back to 2015 when an evil young man called Dylann Roof walked into a church in South Carolina and started shooting black congregants?
It was one of the worst shootings in recent American history.
And condemned by everyone.
An unforgivable act.
But imagine if there was a group in the US so sick — so utterly depraved — that after that shooting they got together outside other black churches.
And waved flags and signs praising the shooter in front of black Americans.
Such people would be condemned by everyone.
It wouldn’t be difficult.
It really wouldn’t.
So why do so many people seem to find it so hard when the victims are Jews?
Ask Rep Rashida Tlaib, who was silent on Tuesday when asked by a Fox Business reporter if she had anything to say about Hamas beheading babies and burning children alive.
It isn’t a difficult one, that.
Or at least it shouldn’t be.
Rep Tlaib could have just said “I am against these things.”
But she couldn’t.
It took clear pressure from her party to subsequently issue a statement saying that she was anti baby-burning in general.
Her fellow “squad” member, Rep Ilhan Omar performed a related trick.
She was one of those radical leftists and sectarians who decided to get straight onto condemning Israel’s response, rather than the terrorism itself.
Perhaps Rep Omar finds the atrocities of last weekend a bit much.
But she doesn’t want to give Israel an inch.
So she sits out the first part of the conflict and comes in just in time to condemn any Israeli counter-move.
“Gaza doesn’t have shelters” she said, so “please pray for them.”
Perhaps somebody could tell Rep. Omar that Gaza certainly does have shelters.
But Hamas uses them to store their rockets and bombs in.
If it wanted to protect the citizens of Gaza, Hamas could have spent more time building bunkers for its citizens and less time digging tunnels to try to break into Israel and murder Jews.
Rep. Omar must know this.
Just as she must know what she is doing when — along with Reps. Tlaib and Cori Bush — she used the massacre of Israelis to again call for cutting off US aid to Israel.
Everywhere, across America, other people have also given away precisely where they stand.
Think of the BLM group in Chiacgo which sent out a tweet praising the sick terrorists who flew into the Israeli music festival on hang-gliders.
Who could have imagined that anyone involved with BLM could be pro-violence?
It’s the same with all those radical professors and students who have been hiding in plain sight.
They are suddenly lit up for all to see.
Consider Yale University Professor Zareena Grewal.
In the wake of the atrocities in Israel she tweeted out “Prayers for Palestinians. Israel is a murderous, genocidal settler state and Palestinians have every right to resist through armed struggle.”
Keep up with today's most important news
Stay up on the very latest with Evening Update.
Wow.
“Every right.”
Like burning whole families to death, intentionally?
That’s quite a right for anyone to have.
MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan has spent the last week trying to talk about Israeli “war crimes” but hasn’t told his followers about his own radical views.
Such as his view — expressed in a mosque sermon many years ago — that all non-Muslims are like animals.
Within no hours of the atrocities the American left was full of similar grossness.
People like Ryna Workman, president of NYU’s student bar association.
Workman claims to be “non-binary.”
She also wrote this week that the terrorists of Hamas have “my unwavering and absolute solidarity.”
I, for one, doubt that the terrorists of Hamas would have much use for Ms. Workman’s “solidarity.”
Were she ever to visit Gaza she would probably not be welcomed.
Hamas kills Palestinians it suspects of being gay.
And they sent the past weekend raping women beside the bodies of their dead friends.
So this dim “non-binary” woman might find her solidarity is tested to the limits.
But as I say, a flare has gone up in the night sky.
And it reminds us that we have many people in this country who rejoice in the deepest darkness.

Three Jewish schools in Amsterdam are also closed today.

Rishi Sunak condemns 'disgusting' rise in antisemitic incidents
The UK prime minister has condemned a "disgusting rise" in antisemitism in the UK, in comments to journalists made during a visit to Sweden.

"There's been a quite frankly disgusting rise in antisemitic incidents over the past few days, that's not right," Sunak said.

"We will absolutely not tolerate people inciting hatred or violence or racist activity, intimidating or threatening behaviour will not be tolerated. It will be met with the full force of the law."

It comes as the Metropolitan Police said it had seen a "massive increase" in the number of hate crimes in London, with 105 anti-semitic incidents and 75 antisemitic offences being reported from 30 September to 13 October. This is a huge rise on the same period last year.

Three Jewish schools in north London were closed on Friday as a safety precaution.

Young Israelis queue to board a flight to Tel Aviv at the Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima, Peru 10 October 2023.
‘I don’t really have any other choice’: Young Israelis around the world return home after Hamas attacks
Protests erupt across US college campuses after Hamas attacks
Opinion: I studied deadly pogroms as a history professor. Then I lost my daughter in one
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Hamas trained a mile from Israel's heavily fortified border

Updated: Today, 10:45Today, 09:48abroad _

It was a complete surprise attack and yet Hamas had been preparing for a long time. This is evident from various images showing how Hamas practices in a replica Israeli city.

According to a CNN analysis, the training camp was very close to the pedestrian crossing between Gaza and Israel, the place where Hamas was also able to enter Israel last weekend. Another video, taken just over a year ago, also shows Hamas militants conducting paraglider exercises. The same method that was applied on Saturday, October 7. Then Hamas also invaded Israel. According to CNN, Hamas is said to have trained for that attack in at least six places in Gaza.

Two of the sites, including the barren training camp seen in the two-year-old video, were about a mile from the most fortified and patrolled part of the Gaza-Israel border. Of the remaining locations, one is in central Gaza and three others are in the far south of Gaza.

According to CNN, satellite images show that no offensive Israeli military action was taken against any of the six identified locations. According to the satellite images, some areas have been converted from agricultural land to a barren area for training in the past two years.

There were already many questions surrounding Israel's intelligence services and how the country with the most ingenious military equipment could miss such an attack. That Hamas could train so openly, in full view of Israel, raises even more questions.

When CNN asked the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment, international spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus that the findings were “nothing new.” He added that Hamas “had many training areas” and that the Israeli army had “hit many training areas over the years in the various rounds of escalation.”

Conricus also said that Hamas made the facilities look “civilian.” According to CNN, five of the locations - the sixth is an airstrip - have no civilian characteristics. They are all surrounded by huge earthen berms, which are taller than the buildings in the camps. The buildings - most of them without a roof - are almost all made of concrete blocks and cement. Some camps have gates and fences, while others have curbs but no paved roads.

In three of the training camps they even recreated Israeli tanks consisting of what looks like a large shell around a truck. Fighters practice an attack on it with RPGs and other explosives.

Ali Baraka, the head of the Lebanon-based Hamas National Relations Abroad, told RT Arabic after Saturday's attack that the terror organization had been planning the attack for two years.

Hezbollah: completely ready for war with Israel
Modified: Yesterday, 11:03 PMYesterday, 11:01 PMabroad _

BEIRUT - Calls from other countries and international organizations will not stop Hezbollah from joining the battle between Israel and Hamas. The second man Naim Qassem said this from Lebanon.

“The conversations we are having behind the scenes with major powers, Arab countries and representatives of the United Nations who are directly and indirectly telling us to stay out of this will have no effect,” said Qassem. “Hezbollah knows its duties well. We are prepared and ready, completely ready.”

Since violence between Israel and Hamas flared up last week, there have also been several clashes between Hezbollah and the Israeli armed forces at the border. Yet the organization is not yet fully participating in the fight. “We will make our own plans with our contribution to this confrontation,” Qassem said at a protest meeting with hundreds of attendees.

Samidoun justifies atrocities: club banned in Germany strongly supports Hamas
Hezbollah's top boss, Hassan Nasrallah, has discussed the war between Hamas and Israel with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian. The minister has announced that Iranian allies will ensure that Israel suffers the consequences of the "crimes" against the Palestinians. Hezbollah is perhaps even more feared in Israel than Hamas, because the terrorist movement is said to have thousands of missiles ready with the help of Iran.

they have radwan force
i still don't know if they will send me to fight them in lebanon or stay here in the border of gaza...
i'll know in the next days i guess

If Hezbollah joins they know Israel will destroy Lebanon, don't forget Israel has also nuclear weapons, but it has not acknowledged its nuclear forces.

The Mossad is also very capable to assassinate enemies around the world even deep inside Iran.

israel will never use nuclear weapon.
china and russia will use it the next second too and we have ww3

but if hezbollah will attack then yes lebanon will be in a huge problem.
but if iran will attack then israel will be in a huge problem...

scary days ahead...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvvBnEdWazU

the problem israel is worried is not their forces but rather more is the missiles, which they have around 150K according to our intelligence
this could destory israel because we are small country and iron dome is not 100%.

so the air force will have to act fast and bombed most of lebanon in couple of days or else we are screwed

Gaza war puts Arab governments in an uncomfortable position.The military operation in Gaza and the increasing number of Palestinian civilian deaths are testing pro-Western governments in Israel's neighboring countries.

Two fronts will be bad and Hamas wants Israel to infiltrate Gaza to fight Israel has the best tanks in the world but it will be an operation for many months.

I'd just continue to pound Gaza with bombs and artillery from above, and eventually destroy many of those tunnels with so-called "Bunker Busters" --- way before I'd send even one foot soldier in there.

If they're hiding in buildings or even subterranean tunnels, many will be killed this way, and many of those who survive the bombs will die anyway through suffocation because the remaining tunnels will collapse or seal entrances/exits.

Then go in when Gaza is literally reduced to rubble...

It'll be much safer that way for the Israeli soldiers.

iran are threatening to join in too
this could be a huge problem for us.... huge problem.../

it's gonna be all of the arab muslim world israel
although we already won couple of times in the past and fucked them all
it's a different story today...

I hope the US gets new leadership and we join in with you in Israel and defeat the Evil forces that hate us both.

Don’t worry Brother, Evil will be defeated.

Hamas transformed itself into an effective guerrilla fighting force and got the better of one of the world's strongest armies.

Hamas is not alone: ??who are their allies? And how do other major players in the region respond?
Political parties Fatah, led by Mahmoud Abbas (left), and Hezbollah also play a dubious role in the explosive region.

The radical Palestinian Islamic group Hamas wants to trigger a chain reaction with the large-scale surprise attack, with other parties joining in, such as Fatah or Hezbollah. Other parties play more of a role behind the scenes. Who are the main players? And what can we expect from them?

Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at 1:38 PM

FATAH
? What is their relationship with Hamas? The political movement, literally 'the liberation army of Palestine', was founded in 1959 by Yasser Arafat, among others. The organization has long been at odds with Hamas because the latter wants a strict Islamic state and Fatah strives for a free and socialist Palestine. But in 2017 they decided to work together.

? What role do they play in the region? Mahmoud Abbas (87) has been president of the Palestinian Authority - the administration of the Palestinian territories - since 2005, a position that has been disputed since 2009. In that position, he and his Fatah party also control the Gaza Strip.

? What is their military strength? The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade – which is said to be directly related to Fatah (although the latter denies this) – is responsible for suicide bombings, armed robberies and shooting incidents in Israel. The group is regarded as a terrorist organization by Europe, the US and Israel.

ISLAMIC JIHAD
? What is their relationship with Hamas? Islamic Jihad is a radical Palestinian Islamic resistance organization, which is mainly active in the Gaza Strip and is closely affiliated with Hamas. Compared to Hamas, the movement has much closer ties with the Iranian regime. On Saturday, the group immediately joined Hamas' surprise attack on Israel.

? What role do they play in the region? Like the military branch of Hamas, Islamic Jihad is known for extreme violence against Israel, ranging from suicide bombings to bomb and rocket attacks. It would also regularly engage minors for this purpose.

? What is their military strength? According to Western intelligence services, the organization has about 1,000 members.


HEZBOLLAH
? What is their relationship with Hamas? Hezbollah is a political party in Lebanon, which borders Israel, that fights against the Jewish state. The organization openly supports the Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah and considers Israel its arch enemy. In response to Hamas's invasion of Israel, Hezbollah militias fired several rockets into Israel this weekend. The group is threatening many more attacks if the Israeli army launches a ground offensive against Hamas.

? What role do they play in the region? In Lebanon it is a political party, outside of it Hezbollah is considered a terrorist organization by many Western countries. The organization also intervened in the Syrian conflict on the side of the Syrian government.

? What is their military strength? Observers estimate that Hezbollah has about 4,000 troops. But perhaps even more importantly: according to security experts, the war in Syria left a lot of modern equipment, including very sophisticated drones.

EGYPT
? What is their relationship with Hamas? In the far south, the Gaza Strip – where Hamas has power – borders Egypt. For a long time, fighters and weapons were smuggled in or out via this border, and especially a huge tunnel network under it, which was tolerated by the then pro-Hamas Egyptian government. Until Egypt, with a new government in charge, closed most of the tunnels about ten years ago.

? What role do they play in the region? Egypt mainly wants to prevent violence from spreading to its own country, such as several Jewish tourists who were murdered this weekend in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. This weekend it called on both Israel and Hamas to exercise the utmost restraint. Egypt regularly tries to hold talks to end the unrest between Israel and the Palestinians.

? What is their military strength? The Egyptian armed forces number about 450,000 soldiers. However, it is impossible that the Egyptian government would intervene militarily in any way.


SAUDI ARABIA
? What is their relationship with Hamas? Hamas and Saudi Arabia are at odds, given the close contacts between Hamas and Iran, an arch-enemy of Saudi Arabia. Nevertheless, Hamas leaders recently visited the Saudi kingdom, presumably to learn about Saudi Arabia's rapprochement with Israel.

? What role do they play in the region? Wealthy Saudi Arabia has long been one of the main backers of the Palestinian Authority, which is mainly in charge of the West Bank. But through American mediation, rapprochement attempts are underway between Saudi Arabia and Israel. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman previously told Fox News: “Every day we get closer to a normalized relationship with Israel.” But that rapprochement is in danger of being seriously disrupted by the events of this weekend.

? What is their military strength? Saudi Arabia has a very modern and well-equipped army, given the tensions with Iran. However, it is impossible that Saudi Arabia would intervene militarily in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

IRAN
? What is their relationship with Hamas? Iran has been Israel's absolute archenemy for years. The country therefore openly supports the actions of Hamas, although the Iranians themselves claim to have had nothing to do with it. However, experts agree that Iran at least helped plan the attack and probably also supplied material.

? What role do they play in the region? It is sometimes said that if there is trouble in Iran, there will be trouble in the rest of the Middle East. Iran is a political heavyweight that has been trying to control the region for years. In this context, the country often clashes with Western powers and with Saudi Arabia, the other major country in the Middle East. Iran therefore has every advantage in thwarting the recent rapprochement between Israel and the Saudis.

? What is their military strength? In the annual ranking of the strongest armies in the world, compiled by the website Global Firepower, Iran currently ranks 17th. One place above Israel. This makes it the largest military power in the Middle East.

SYRIA
? What is their relationship with Hamas? Syria and Hamas were allies for years until Hamas suddenly supported the street protests against the government of Syrian President Assad in 2012. After more than ten years of silence, it was announced last year that Hamas has restored ties with Syria. The Syrian Foreign Ministry called last weekend's attack "an honorable action" against "Zionist terrorism."

? What role do they play in the region? The Arab Spring has transformed Syria into a turbulent country, but Syria still plays a crucial role in the geopolitical balance of power in the Middle East. It owes this to its military power, but also to its geographical location between Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Israel and Lebanon. Historically, the country has been one of Israel's most ardent opponents and a staunch ally of Iran.

? What is their military strength? Syria is ranked 64th among the strongest armies in the world. Their total number of military personnel is estimated at 150,000.

Def the Western World will never be defeated !