Middle East

China urges end to foreign occupation of Syria, Israeli strikes

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China’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations has called on Israel to cease its illegal attacks on Syria, urging foreign forces to also end their military presence in the Arab country. 

Speaking at a UN Security Council briefing on the situation in Syria on Wednesday, Geng Shuang emphasized the importance of upholding Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

He said that a stable political process in Syria cannot be achieved without a favorable security environment. 

Beijing, he added, supports the Damascus government’s intensified efforts against terror and calls on the international community to join forces in line with international law and Security Council resolutions to combat terrorists operating in Syria. 

Geng further said that unilateral sanctions and the illegal plundering of Syria’s resources “must be stopped immediately” as the measures have seriously weakened the country’s ability to recover economically and develop socially.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011, with Western states and their regional allies aiding terrorist groups that are wreaking havoc there.

Syrian forces, backed by Iran and Russia, have managed to win back control of almost all regions of the Arab country.

However, Syria’s northern parts are still controlled by militants and foreign occupation forces.

China urges donors to guarantee humanitarian projects in Syria

Also in his remarks, the Chinese envoy pointed to the humanitarian situation in Syria, saying thanks to the joint efforts of Damascus and the UN, the cross-border relief mechanism has been in stable operation in the Arab country.

He further called on donors to continue their aid commitments and to guarantee that humanitarian projects throughout Syria are adequately funded.

Meanwhile, Geng noted that China supports UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen’s efforts to continue to work with all parties in line with a Syrian-owned and Syrian-led political process.

Addressing Wednesday’s meeting via video-link, Pedersen said Syria has not been spared from the current escalating tensions across West Asia, citing Israel’s deadly aerial assaults in Homs, Hama, and Dera’a provinces.

He also raised concerns about a surge of attacks by the Daesh terrorist group in Syria, calling for an immediate and sustained de-escalation of hostilities and a cooperative approach to countering terror outfits. 

Middle East

Iran calls for global action to stop Israeli crimes in Gaza

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In reaction to the Zionist regime’s invasion on the West Bank, Nasser Kan’ani called for the responsible international bodies to stop the Israeli genocide against Palestinians.

The brutal attack of the criminal Zionist regime on the Palestinian cities and refugee camps in the north of the West Bank, the brutal destruction of urban and municipal infrastructures, and even the armed and violent entry into the medical centers and hospitals indicate the continuation of its genocidal war in Gaza Strip, and malicious intention of the apartheid Zionist regime to expand the scope of crime and massacre against the Palestinian citizens, Kan’ani emphasized.

He went on to say that the escalation of the Zionist regime’s military attacks on the West Bank, and the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque clearly indicate the sinister and racist intentions of this fake regime for the entire geography of Palestine and the Palestinian citizens.

Lauding the resistance of the heroic nation of Palestine and the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Group against the war machine of the criminal Zionist regime in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, Iranian foreign Ministry spokesman called on the responsible international bodies, especially the United Nations Security Council, to take necessary actions for stopping the genocidal war of the child-killing of Israeli regime against Palestinians.

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Middle East

Aug 28: ‘Axis of Resistance’ operations against Israeli occupation

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By Press TV Website Staff

Amid Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed at least 40,602 Palestinians so far– the majority of them women and children– resistance groups in Palestine and across the region continue their operations against the Tel Aviv regime and its Western backers.

The major operations carried out by the Palestinian and regional resistance groups on Tuesday, August 28, are as follows:

Al-Qassam Brigades’ operations on August 28:

  • In coordination with other resistance factions, engaged in intense clashes to repel the ongoing Israeli aggression in Al-Fara’a Camp, Tulkarem and Jenin in the occupied West Bank, using machine guns and explosive devices.

  • Sniped two Israeli soldiers who were barricaded in a building behind Al-Nujoom Hall, south of the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City.

Al-Quds Brigades’ operations on August 28:

  • Detonated a high-powered pre-planted explosive barrel bomb targeting a military vehicle that had infiltrated Al-Sikka Street in the “Triangle Area” of the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, east of Gaza City.

  • Targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers and their military vehicles in the vicinity of Ibn Al-Uthaymeen School in the Al-Satar Al-Sharqi area of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, with a barrage of mortar shells.

  • Detonated several pre-prepared explosive devices on Israeli military vehicles attacking the Jalabouni Axis in the city of Jenin, occupied West Bank.

Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades’ operations on August 28:

  • Targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers and their military vehicles stationed around the Rafah crossing with two 107mm rockets and heavy-caliber mortar shells.

  • Targeted Israeli forces with explosive devices in the regime’s incursion axes in the city of Jenin and its refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

  • Targeted an Israeli military infantry force with a high-powered explosive device in Al-Fara’a camp, Tubas, occupied West Bank.

  • Targeted the Israeli military’s command and control headquarters in the “Netzarim” axis, south of Gaza City, with a barrage of mortar shells.

  • Engaged in fierce clashes with Israeli occupation forces storming Balata camp in Nablus, occupied West Bank, using machine guns and explosive devices.

  • Targeted Israeli military forces that had penetrated the axis of Al-Damj neighborhood in Nour Shams camp, Tulkarem city, occupied West Bank, using powerful explosive devices.

  • Engaged in intense clashes with Israeli forces that had penetrated Nablus Street and multiple axes in Jenin, occupied West Bank, using machine guns and explosive devices.

  • Ambushed an Israeli military force in the Al-Damj neighborhood in Nour Shams camp, Tulkarem city, occupied West Bank, and engaged in close-range clashes using machine guns and explosive devices.

  • Targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers and their military vehicles that had penetrated the eastern line area north of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, with a barrage of mortar shells.

Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades’ operations on August 28:

  • Targeted Israeli forces infiltrating the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank with several explosive devices and followed by intense clashes with the occupation forces.

  • Carried out a rocket strike targeting Israeli military gatherings in the “Netzarim” axis from the southern part of Gaza City and the northern part of the central governorate.

Mujahideen Brigades’ operations on August 28:

  • Engaged in fierce clashes with occupation forces in the city of Jenin, occupied West Bank, using appropriate weapons.

  • Detonated an explosive device on an Israeli military D9 bulldozer near Al-Assir Mosque in the Al-Jabriyat neighborhood in Jenin, occupied West Bank.

  • Targeted an Israeli military “Namer” vehicle in a pre-prepared ambush on Haifa Street in Jenin, occupied West Bank.

Hezbollah’s operations on August 28:

  • Targeted the newly established headquarters of the Western Brigade south of the Yaara settlement with drones.

  • Attacked the Ruwaysat al-Alam site in Kfar Shouba, Lebanon, with rockets.

  • Targeted the Samaka site in Kfar Shouba, Lebanon, with rockets.

  • Struck the Biyada site in Blida with appropriate weapons.

  • Targeted military buildings in the Manara settlement with appropriate weapons.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

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Middle East

Iran Paralympic team parades in Paris

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Thousands of athletes paraded down the famed Champs-Elysées Avenue to Place de la Concorde in central Paris.

About 50,000 people watched the ceremony in stands built around the iconic square, which is the biggest in Paris and is visible from afar because of its ancient Egyptian Obelisk. Accessibility for athletes in wheelchairs was facilitated with strips of asphalt laid along the avenue and placed over the square.

More than 4000 athletes with physical, visual and intellectual impairments will compete in 22 sports from Aug. 29 until Sept. 8.

Iran has participated in the Games with 65 athletes in 10 sports.  

 Female runner Hajar Safarzadeh and male shooter Mohammadreza Mirshafiei carried the flag. 

French President Emmanuel Macron and International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons, attended the Ceremony.

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Middle East

Houthi warns Muslims of 'dangerous situation' in conflict with Israel

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The leader of Yemen’s Ansarullah resistance movement has described reconciliation with Israel as “impossible,” stating that the regime openly flouts all international law and regulations and does not commit itself to any fundamental principle.

“Israel is an enemy with which no one can make peace with, as it crosses all red lines and violates all principles and regulations,” Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said in a televised speech broadcast from the Yemeni capital Sana’a on Thursday afternoon. 

He said anyone who is not moved by the scenes of Israeli soldiers ripping up pages from the Muslim holy book of the Qur’an and burning them at the Bani Saleh Mosque in northern Gaza does not have an iota of faith.

“Whoever does not devote full attention to sanctities may overlook his reputation, honor and even his national identity. This is a dangerous situation, which Muslims should seriously take into consideration,” he said. 

“The continued crimes of the Zionists at such levels of ruthlessness, cruelty and viciousness is a disgrace for the entire international community,” Houthi said.

The Ansarullah chief said what is more dangerous than the extremist Jewish settlers’ frequent incursions into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Israeli-occupied Old City of al-Quds is the latest remarks by far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir about his plan to build a synagogue at the site.

He stated that Muslims must take on their religious duties and confront such a scheme.  

“Genocide in the Gaza Strip coupled with the raids across the West Bank show the true nature of the Zionist regime and reveal its danger. The Zionists feel entitled to trample upon the rights of other peoples systematically.

“Muslims will lose big if they fail to assist downtrodden Palestinians. Any Muslim who thinks he would benefit himself and appease Israel with his silence is gravely mistaken,” Houthi noted.

The Ansarullah leader said the US has long been providing political support to Israel and deceiving the public opinion to contain retaliatory strikes from the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement as well as the Islamic Republic of Iran.

He said the United Nations has failed to resolve the longstanding Palestinian issue and its statements equate the victim with the oppressor.

“The US is putting in a great deal of efforts to protect the Israeli enemy so the latter can continue its genocidal war in Gaza. The US does not hesitate to provide Israel with the most lethal weapons to kill Gazan women and children,” Houthi said.

“Hezbollah has dealt heavy blows to the Israeli enemy, the results of which are fairly open for evaluation. Hezbollah wields great influence and is humiliating the Zionist enemy, something which Israeli authorities have acknowledged,” he added.

The Ansarullah leader also pointed to retaliatory operations by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq against Israeli targets in the occupied Palestinian territories, stating that the umbrella group of resistance factions struck targets at the ports of Haifa and Eilat this week.

Houthi also said Iran’s response to the Zionist regime in retaliation for the assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran is inevitable, emphasizing that Washington is in a state of great alertness to curtail its fallout.

The US is trying to bring some Arab regimes on board to contain Israel’s response to Israeli atrocities, he said.

Commenting on Yemeni Armed Forces’ maritime operations against Israeli-affiliated merchant vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, Houthi said the strikes will continue unabated.

Yemeni naval units courageously carried out a major operation this week, and struck a Sounion oil tanker as it was sailing in the Red Sea waters, he stated.

The footage of the attack on the Greek-flagged oil tanker is available, which documents the US failure in stopping Yemeni forces’ anti-Israel operations, the Ansarullah chief said.

Houthi stressed that Yemeni forces are trying to expand their military capabilities to conduct more pro-Palestine operations.

The Ansarullah chief finally called upon all walks of the Yemeni society to take to the streets on Friday in a strong show of solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza amid the relentless Israeli ground and aerial offensives.

Middle East

Engagement, expanding ties with all countries Iran’s policy

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He made the remarks in a telephone conversation he received from Prime Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr Støre on Wednesday night where he also stated, “If Iran is forced to do something by sanctions and pressure, the country’s approach and behavior will definitely be pushed in another direction.”

Referring to the historical background of the relations between Iran and Norway, President Pezeshkian stated that Islamic Republic of Iran is interested in expanding interactions with Norway, and it is hoped that these constructive talks will further strengthen and consolidate the relations between the two countries in line with establishing peace and stability and increasing security in the world.

Emphasizing the key role of Iran in creating security in the region and the world, the president said that Islamic Republic of Iran has always tried to spread peace and friendship and condemns any aggression anywhere in the world. He also said that Tehran is ready to cooperate to stop violence and insecurity in the world.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Pezeshkian lashed out at the US government’s violation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or the JCPOA, and complained about the inaction of the European countries that failed to live up to their commitments to the agreement.

Islamic Republic of Iran fulfilled all its obligations within the framework of JCPOA, but it was the United States that withdrew the JCPOA unilaterally in May 2018, he criticized. 

In addition to withdrawing US from the JCPOA, it is a matter of regret to say that the European countries did not implement one signle of their obligations under the JCPOA, Pezeshkian asserted.

The prime minister of Norway, for his part, expressed his concern about the escalation in the region, especially the attacks of the Zionist regime against Palestinian people in Gaza Strip, and said that Norway condemns Israeli attacks against Palestinians in Gaza and its disastrous consequences.

Norway, along with Ireland and Spain, was one of the first European countries that recognized the Palestinian people in the formation of an independent state, Gahr Støre said, further hoping that Israeli aggression against Palestinians will end as soon as possible.

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Middle East

Gruesome photos of US Marines massacre of Iraqi civilians spark global outrage

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The recently disclosed images from the 2005 massacre by US Marines in the Iraqi town of Haditha have shocked the world, igniting a wave of outrage and condemnation on social media.

Under the Freedom of Information Act and after years of legal battles, The New Yorker magazine obtained and released the images of the carnage that killed 24 civilians, including a three-year-old girl. 

The graphic photos, which have been kept hidden for nearly two decades, show the victims, many of them shot in the head at close range.

The carnage, whose perpetrators never spent a day behind bars, adds to the long list of atrocities committed by the US occupation forces in Iraq, including those at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison.

Social media users are denouncing the bloodshed as a stark reminder of the numerous war crimes committed by the US forces in Iraq and across the region, as well as the lack of accountabilty for those involved. 

“This,” journalist Murtaza Hussain reminded the world, “is what the US military was doing in Iraq.”

Activist Greg J Stoker said in an X post, “This is big. US interventionism must end now.”

American journalist Max Blumenthal said the photos of the US massacre “are indictments of the contemporary US political establishment, including the current president who whipped the vote in support of invading Iraq.”

 

Another user highlighted Washington’s efforts to conceal the truth, while others drew a parallel between the Haditha massacre and the Israeli genocide in Gaza. 

 

The United States invaded Iraq in 2003 based on false claims about Baghdad possessing weapons of mass destruction, leaving a trail of destruction, death, and chaos in the Arab country.

The US and its allies re-launched a military campaign in 2014 to supposedly fight off the Daesh terrorist group.

The US military claimed to be ending its combat mission in Iraq in 2021, but said it would retain some 2,500 troops in the country as alleged advisors, although Baghdad and its allies had decisively defeated terrorists in late 2017.

In 2020, the Iraqi parliament voted in favor of the expulsion of the foreign forces after a US drone strike assassinated Iran’s top anti-terror commander, General Qassem Soleimani, and deputy commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) counter-terrorism force, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, outside Baghdad International Airport.

Middle East

34 Palestinians martyred in Israeli attacks on Gaza Strip

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In the latest attack of the Zionist regime’s forces in the Gaza Strip, three Palestinians were martyred and several others were injured in the drone and artillery attack of the Zionist regime on civilians in Al-Zaytoun neighborhood in the south of Gaza City.

Five Palestinians were martyred and 10 others were injured in the airstrikes of the occupying regime of Israel on the refugee camp in the town of “Abasan al-Kabira” in the east of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip.

A Palestinian was also martyred in an airstrike by the Zionist regime on a residential complex in “Beit Lahia” in the north of the Gaza Strip, and several others were injured.

Accordingly, the number of Palestinians martyred by the Israeli forces in Gaza Strip has increased to 40,602 and the number of wounded increased to 93,855.

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Middle East

Day 2 of West Bank carnage: Israeli forces kill more, destroy homes

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The Israeli military is pressing on with its largest military onslaught across the occupied West Bank in more than two decades despite widespread international condemnation.

The death toll from Israel’s major assault on the occupied West Bank, which started on Wednesday, rose to at least 18, Palestinian official Wafa news agency reported on Thursday. 

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said in a statement that a Palestinian man lost his life in eastern Jenin early Thursday.

It came shortly after five Palestinians were killed by Israeli army fire inside a mosque in Nur Shams refugee camp in the northern city of Tulkarem.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said 12 Palestinians were killed on the first day of the raids and assaults.

Israel began coordinated raids in the early hours of Wednesday. Columns of Israeli armored vehicles backed by troops and warplanes were sent in before soldiers encircled refugee camps in Tubas and Tulkarem, as well as Jenin.

The situation in the occupied West Bank is deteriorating dramatically.

Local Palestinian media reports say Israeli occupying forces have burned several homes and inflicted extensive destruction to infrastructure in the Nour Shams refugee camp, east of Tulkarm.

Electricity and internet services have been cut in some areas of the West Bank.

The violent raids have caused significant destruction, especially in Tulkarem, whose governor described the raids as “unprecedented” and a “dangerous signal”.

The authorities reported widespread damage to infrastructure, including to water and sewage networks.

Media footage showed bulldozers ripping up the asphalt from streets in the city as a precaution against concealed explosives.

The Hamas resistance movement has slammed Israel’s siege of hospitals in Jenin and Tulkarm which is continuing to prevent injured people from entering the health facilities.

Some media reports quoting witnesses said Israeli forces had withdrawn from the al-Farra refugee camp in Tubas, where several Palestinians were killed on Aug 28.

But clashes were still taking place in Jenin, where a drone was seen flying overhead.  Israeli soldiers were also still operating in Tulkarem.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club said at least 45 people had been arrested since the start of the Israeli operation in the northern West Bank.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) presidency condemned Israel’s assault and warned it could usher in “dire and dangerous” results. Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas returned early from a visit to Saudi Arabia.

The United Nations expressed concern over the Israeli offensive across the occupied territories.

In a statement, UN chief Antonio Guterres condemned the loss of lives, including that of children, and urged Israel to protect civilians and ensure their safety.

“These dangerous developments are fueling an already explosive situation in the occupied West Bank and further undermining the Palestinian Authority,” he added.

The United Nations says Israel’s raids and assaults on the occupied West Bank risk “seriously deepening” an already “catastrophic situation” there.

Violence by settlers and raids by Israeli forces have surged in the West Bank since Israel launched its barbaric military campaign in the besieged Gaza Strip in early October 2023.  

Israeli assaults on refugee camps and towns in the West Bank are a near-daily occurrence and have intensified since October 7.

Since then, Israel has killed at least 40,534 people and wounded another 93,778 in the besieged Gaza Strip

It has killed 662 Palestinians and injured about 5,400 in the West Bank during that same period.

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, al-Haq and Al Mezan Center for Human Rights have warned of escalating violence in the West Bank and the use of tactics by Israeli forces that the world has witnessed in its war on Gaza.

In a landmark opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East al-Quds.