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☆ Crypto prices are back. So are the TV ads.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewOne sign we're in a crypto revival: Crypto prices are roaring again. Another sign: Crypto companies are advertising on TV again. Crypto.com isn't the only one pushing crypto on TV again. It makes perfect sense to run it side-by-side with ads telling you how fun it would be to bet on the very game you're watching (unless you're an NBA player). All that said, the 2024 crypto revival still seems more like an echo of the last boom than a replay.

Persons: —, you've, it's, Eminem, Matt Damon, Damon, Crypto.com, Coinbase cheekily, Crypto, Jack Dorsey, Kitty Organizations: Service, NBA, Business, UFC, GameStop

☆ Putin replaces longtime defense minister in surprise move; Russia claims gains as fighting rages in northeast Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. Russian President Vladimir Putin has moved his longtime ally Sergei Shoigu from the defense ministry to Russia's powerful Security Council amid a government reshuffle. Russian economist Andrei Belousov will be Russia's new defense minister, while Shoigu will replace Nikolai Patrushev, another long-standing Putin ally, as the secretary of the powerful Security Council. Shoigu had headed the defense ministry since 2012, going in to the role with no military experience, and oversaw Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In other news, Russia's Defense Ministry on Sunday claimed more advances in the Kharkiv area of Ukraine after Russian forces launched a new offensive in the northeastern region.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Staff Sergei Rudskoi, Andrei Belousov, Shoigu, Nikolai Patrushev, Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Belousov Organizations: Staff, Armed Forces, Sputnik, Security Council, Wagner Group, Kremlin, Russia's Defense Ministry, Sunday Locations: Ukraine, Rostov, Don, Russia, Kremlin, Russian, Kharkiv

☆ Israel’s return to areas of Gaza it said were clear of Hamas raises doubts about its military strategy
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —The Israeli military has renewed its fighting in northern Gaza where it previously claimed to have dismantled Hamas’ command structure. The Israeli military also began operating in the area of Zeitoun in central Gaza, as it continues its offensive in eastern Rafah and near the Rafah crossing with Egypt. “Israel’s strategy is not a good one,” said Danny Orbach, a military historian at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Others say the re-emergence of Hamas “pockets” is not unusual, and that the Israeli military will have to keep re-entering areas in Gaza until no more fighters emerge. “This process will happen again and again,” Amir Aviv, former deputy commander of the Gaza Division of Israel’s military, told CNN, until all “pockets of resistance” are removed.

Persons: Israel’s, Biden, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Israel, Khan Younis, ” Blinken, Israel “, Dawoud Abo, ”, Danny Orbach, Netanyahu, Netanyahu “, ” Orbach, Phil, General Herzi Halevi, Tamir Hayman, Hayman, ” Amir Aviv, “ Organizations: CNN, CBS News, Israel, Dawoud Abo Alkas, Getty, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Palestinian Authority, West Bank, Israel Defense Forces, Staff, Institute for National Security Studies Locations: Gaza, Palestinian, Zeitoun, Rafah, Egypt, Israel, United States, Rafah –, Washington, ”, Gaza City, Anadolu, East Jerusalem, Tel Aviv

As the Israeli military stepped up pressure on what it calls Hamas’s last stronghold in Gaza, fighting elsewhere in the Palestinian enclave on Sunday led to warnings that the militants might remain a force for a long time to come. Close-quarters ground combat between Hamas fighters and Israeli troops raged in parts of northern Gaza over the weekend, both sides said on Sunday, even as the world’s attention was largely focused on the southern city of Rafah, where Israel escalated military operations last week. It has become a familiar scenario in the Gaza Strip over the course of the seven-month war: After pitched battles, Israel declares an area clear of Hamas, only to return after the militants reconstitute their forces. On Sunday, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said he was concerned that Israel’s failure to lay down a template for the governance of Gaza meant that its victories might not be “sustainable” and would be followed by “chaos, by anarchy and ultimately by Hamas again.”

Persons: Hamas’s, Antony J, Blinken, ” Organizations: Hamas Locations: Gaza, Rafah, Israel

☆ Ukraine's pilots are flying high-risk 'wild weasel' missions first developed in the Vietnam War by the USAF, says defense analyst
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Cameron Manley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Eastern Ukraine, a Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29 Wild Weasel fires off an AGM-88 HARM towards a Russian radar. (Summer ‘22) pic.twitter.com/IOeu7hzUxW — OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) February 8, 2024The US Air Force pioneered SEAD tactics in the Vietnam War. The term "wild weasel" originated from Project Wild Weasel. This US Air Force anti-SAM strategy used direct attacks to suppress enemy air defenses, according to the National Museum of the US Air Force. But, he added Ukraine's tactics "go far beyond the classic wild weasel missions of Anti-Radiation Missile equipped aircraft."

Persons: —, UkrAF Su, McDonnell Douglas, Stuart Lutz, Gado, Seaman Anthony N, Frederik Mertens, Mertens, William LaPlante, Justin Bronk, Bronk, Russian SAMs, James Hecker, Kajsa Ollongren, Putin Organizations: Service, Ukraine's, US Air Force, Radiation, Business, Ukrainian Air Force, Air, National Museum of, US Navy, US, U.S . Navy, Communication, Hague, Strategic Studies, Radiation Missile, Defense, Washington DC, Wild, Technology, Royal United Services Institute, Russian SAM, United States Air Forces, Air Force, Space, Rygge Air Force Base, OLE BERG, Getty, Dutch Defense Locations: Ukraine's Soviet, Eastern Ukraine, Russian, Ukraine, Ukrainian, treetop, Vietnam, Libya, Iraq, Yugoslavia, London, Europe, Romania, Norway, AFP, Netherlands, Vilnius, Denmark, Crimea, Kerch

☆ US F-16s could play a vital role in isolating Crimea and humiliating Putin, says defense analyst
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Cameron Manley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

US F-16s will have a big impact in helping Ukraine reclaim Crimea, an analyst told BI. AdvertisementThe delivery of US-made F-16s could play a crucial role in Ukraine's attempts to take back occupied Crimea, a defense expert told Business Insider. In the latest blow on Monday, Ukraine used an exploding naval drone to destroy a Russian military speedboat in Crimea. Explosion causes fire at the Kerch bridge in the Kerch Strait, Crimea on October 08, 2022. There are signs that these attacks are forcing Russia to rethink its use of the peninsula and the Kerch bridge.

Persons: —, Ukraine's, Frederik Mertens, Mertens, Putin, Vera Katkova, Molfar Organizations: Service, Hague, Strategic Studies, Kharkiv, US, The New York Times, Army Tactical Missile Systems, Sea, Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, AP, Fleet, Anadolu Agency, Getty Locations: Ukraine, Crimea, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, France, Romania, Kerch, Ukraine's, Russian, Russia, The, Sevastopol

☆ How the Israeli Air Force once destroyed over 60 enemy jets and dozens of Soviet missile systems in battle without losing a single fighter
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Constantine Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The Israeli Air Force achieved an unmatched air combat victory in the 1982 Lebanon War. The battle, known as Operation Mole Cricket 19, saw over 60 enemy aircraft eliminated without a single Israeli loss. The fourth-generation Israeli jets were also made much more lethal by the AIM-9L Sidewinder missile that could be fired from any angle. This allowed Israeli jets, with targeting assistance from UAVs, to destroy the SAMs using anti-radiation missiles. A picture taken on June 28, 2016 shows an Israeli Air Force F-16 fighter jet preparing to take off at the Ramat David Air Force Base located in the Jezreel Valley, southeast of the Israeli port city of Haifa JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty ImagesAdditionally, Israel had superior Command, Control, and Communications (C3) capabilities.

Persons: —, SAMs, Haifa JACK GUEZ, hadn't, Israel, Organizations: Israeli Air Force, Mole, Service, Palestinian Liberation Organization, Soviet Union, Soviet, Syrian Air Force, IAF, AIM, 9L, Ramat David Air Force Base, Getty, Syrian SAM, Kippur, Command, Communications, Grumman, RAND Corporation Locations: Lebanon, Beqaa, Israel, Syria, Soviet, Vietnam, Jezreel, Haifa, AFP, Syrian

☆ Ukraine was a magnet for foreign fighters. After 2 bruising years, many are disillusioned or dead.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Cameron Manley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Zelensky's International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine (ILDU) was born, echoing the International Brigades that fought fascism in the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s. According to Ukrainian officials, dozens of Ukrainians were killed and more than 100 foreign volunteers injured, ending their campaigns before they began. AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, FileUkraine originally said 20,000 foreign volunteers had signed up to fight. That could prove "very enticing" for some foreign volunteers, Bocchese said. AdvertisementAn April 2024 increases payments for Ukrainian volunteers, adds new punishments for draft dodging, and seeks to compel Ukrainian men living abroad to come home.

Persons: —, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Carl Larson, Marco Bocchese, Rodrigo Abd, Bocchese, Matteo Pugliese, Pugliese, Larson, Oleksandr Shahuri, Zelenskyy, Lukatsky Organizations: Ukraine's, Service, Legion of Territorial Defense of, Brigades, Royal United Services Institute, International Legion, Legion, Webster Vienna Private University, AP, Washington Post, 59th Motorized Brigade, Company, University of Barcelona, Georgian Legion, International, Army, Green Beret, Navy SEAL, State Department, National Guard, Bolivar Battalion, Associated Press Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine, Spanish, Ukraine's, London, Iraq, Kharkiv, Alabama, Russian, Lviv, Bucha, Kyiv, Austria, Montenegro, Kosovo, India, Latin America, Ukrainian, Lyman, Bolivar, Venezuela, Ecuador, Argentina, Colombia, Venezuelan

☆ Hattan Alsaif: ‘When I fight, I can feel my soul alive,’ says Saudi Arabia’s groundbreaking MMA star
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( George Ramsay | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Alsaif is acutely aware of her status as a trailblazer for female MMA fighters in Saudi Arabia and takes such a responsibility seriously. I feel I’m alive when I train, when I fight, in the gym – I can feel my soul alive. “When I breathe after the rounds, when I feel sick, when I feel tired, when I feel courage, when I feel scared, those moments, every part of that, it makes me feel alive. It’s something that means a lot to me.”Alsaif (right) competed in Muay Thai prior to MMA. Sadaa, coach of Saudi Arabia’s Muay Thai national team, has been central to Alsaif’s success, though his influence extends far beyond a sporting sphere.

Persons: Hattan, Saudi Arabia –, – Alsaif, “, ” Alsaif, I’m, “ It’s, Egypt’s Nada Faheem, Alsaif, ”, it’s, Abdullah Al, Feras Sadaa, Sadaa, Claressa Shields, Kelsey De Santis, ’ ” Organizations: CNN, CNN Sport, Professional Fighters League, wasn’t, Professional, League, Thailand –, Combat Games, Saudi Games, International Federation of Muaythai, Muay Thai, Al, SRJ Sports Investments Company, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund Locations: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Saudi, Thai, Thailand, East, North Africa, MENA

☆ The Debate Over Rafah
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( David Leonhardt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At the heart of the dispute between President Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu over invading Rafah is a larger disagreement about what Israel can reasonably hope to accomplish against Hamas. Israel’s military has already made progress, having dismantled at least 18 of Hamas’s 24 battalions since the Oct. 7 attacks. But Hamas’s top leaders and thousands of fighters have survived, many evidently fleeing to tunnels under Rafah. “Ending the war without clearing out Rafah is like sending a firefighter to extinguish 80 percent of the fire,” Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s war cabinet and Netanyahu’s chief political opponent, has told U.S. officials. The Wall Street Journal editorial board, which tends to support Netanyahu, has called Rafah “the crucial city for the terrorist group’s future.”

Persons: Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, I’ll, Netanyahu, ” Benny Gantz, ” Organizations: U.S Locations: Rafah, Israel

☆ Opinion: Netanyahu and his extremist allies are endangering Israel’s long-term security
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Opinion Richard J. Davis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

“My commitment to the safety of the Jewish people, the security of Israel, and its right to exist as an independent Jewish state is ironclad. The former was appointed finance minister and was given responsibility for West Bank settlements. After the October 7 terrorist attack, Netanyahu had an opportunity to remove Smotrich and Ben Gvir from their posts when the first offer from the opposition for a unity government involved their elimination from the cabinet. It also gives license to followers of these extremists to, as we have seen, attack Palestinians in the West Bank and even to attack a Jordanian aid convoy. At the same time, Israel has continued with significant expansion of settlements on the West Bank.

Persons: Richard J, Davis, Joe Biden, “, ”, Richard Davis, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Israel, Bezalel Smotrich, Itamar Ben Gvir, Ben Gvir, Yitzhak Rabin, Netanyahu’s Organizations: Treasury, CNN, US, Capitol, West Bank, New York Times, Israeli Defense Forces, Twitter, Facebook, United Locations: Carter, Israel, West Bank, Gaza, Oslo Peace, Jordanian, United States

☆ Biden Is Not the First U.S. President to Cut Off Weapons to Israel
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Peter Baker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

He ordered aides to get the Israeli prime minister on the phone and then dressed him down sharply. “It is a holocaust,” Mr. Reagan told Mr. President, I know all about a holocaust.”Nonetheless, Mr. Reagan retorted, it had to stop. Twenty minutes later, he called back and told the president that he had ordered a halt to the shelling. “I didn’t know I had that kind of power,” Mr. Reagan marveled to aides afterward.

Persons: Ronald Reagan, Reagan, Menachem Begin, Mr, Begin, “ Mr, Reagan marveled Locations: Lebanon, Palestinian

☆ U.S. Military’s Plea to Israel: Do More to Protect Gazans in War Zone
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Helene Cooper | Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For months, the Biden administration has pleaded with Israel to do more to protect Palestinian civilians, who have borne the brunt of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s campaign in Gaza to destroy Hamas. But now, on the eve of Israel’s long-threatened major assault on the city of Rafah, the gulf between what the United States is recommending and what Israel appears intent on doing could not be wider. The Biden administration’s list of suggestions is lengthy. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said this week that the United States wanted Israel to carry out “more precise” operations, and that the 2,000-pound bombs it has been using in densely populated Gaza “could create a lot of collateral damage.”American officials also want Israel to lean more toward sending special operations troops in to conduct targeted raids of Hamas leaders and fighters, instead of relying on aerial bombing campaigns and tanks.

Persons: Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Israel, Lloyd J, Austin III Organizations: Defense Locations: Israel, Gaza, Rafah, United States

☆ Biden’s threat to halt weapons deliveries sparks anger and infighting among Israeli officials
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The comment from Biden to CNN is a major setback for Israel’s war. The US is by far Israel’s most important and most powerful ally, and without its support, Israel’s firepower and ambitions in Gaza would be weakened. Despite mounting international pressure, the Biden administration has stood firmly with Israel, delivering weapons and other forms of support. Biden comments have sparked significant anger among some Israeli politicians. Other top Israeli officials also criticized Ben Gvir.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, Biden, CNN’s Erin Burnett, Gilad Erdan, Benjamin Netanyahu, ”, Netanyahu, Miki Zohar, Itamar Ben Gvir, Hamas ❤️ Biden, Isaac Herzog, Ben Gvir, Yair Lapid, Merav Michaeli, “ Netanyahu Organizations: CNN, United Nations, Likud, Twitter, National Security, Hamas, Yesh, IDF, Israeli Labor Party Locations: United States, Israel, Rafah, Gaza, State

☆ Promoters of Mike Tyson-Jake Paul Netflix fight offer $2 million VIP package as ticket, bettor interest spike
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Jessica Golden | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In this composite image a comparison between Former Boxer Mike Tyson (L) and Jake Paul (R). Mike Tyson's return to the boxing ring to fight Jake Paul this summer is already seeing soaring ticket prices and strong bettor interest. The two previously achieved the first ever sold out women's headline boxing event at Madison Square Garden. Most Valuable Promotions also has a unique offer for the fight — a $2 million VIP package. The odds show Jake Paul as the current favorite (-145), but 70% of the money is being bet on Tyson.

Persons: Boxer Mike Tyson, Jake Paul, Tyson, Paul, Mike Tyson's, influencer, Katie Taylor, Amanda Serrano, Nakisa Bidarian, Bidarian, BetMGM, Jake Paul haters, Alex Rella, We're Organizations: T, Netflix, Madison Locations: Arlington , Texas, BetMGM, U.S

☆ A US ally is forging ties with China's air force but probably won't get its J-20 stealth fighter
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Paul Iddon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The UAE is boosting ties with China's air force. Major General Saleh Mohammed bin Mejren Al Ameri, commander of the UAE's Joint Operations, met with the commander of China's People's Liberation Army Air Force on April 23 to promote closer air force cooperation. Another even speculated Abu Dhabi may eventually seek China's premier stealth fighter: the fifth-generation J-20 Mighty Dragon. I don't see this relationship developing into something similar to what the UAE Air Force has with France or even Russia anytime soon." Furthermore, the Emirati air force fighter fleet is already large for such a small country, making it unlikely the L-15s will serve any combat role.

Persons: —, General Saleh Mohammed bin Mejren Al Ameri, China's, Abu Dhabi, Abu, Abu Dhabi's, Ahmed Aboudouh, Aboudouh, Washington's hesitance, Fred Tanneau, Sebastien Roblin, Roblin, haven't, Russia's Su, Robin Organizations: Service, United, Liberation Army Air Force, Dassault Rafales, Chatham House, China Studies Unit, Emirates Policy Center, Rafale, Dassault Aviation, UAE Air Force, UAE, China hasn't, FC, Korea's KF, UAE . The Emirates, KF Locations: UAE, Washington, Beijing, United Arab Emirates, China, United States, Abu Dhabi, UAE's, France, Abu, Russia, Saudi, Pakistan, Ukraine

International humanitarian officials said the military operation had halted the flow of aid from Egypt into Gaza, exacerbating extreme hunger and privation in the besieged territory. “The situation is catastrophic in every sense of the word,” said Dr. Suhaib Hems, the head of Kuwait Hospital in Rafah, adding that 27 bodies and 150 wounded people had been brought to his facility since Israeli tanks entered the city. The Israeli military said it had killed about 20 people in Rafah, describing the dead as Hamas militants. Hamas said it had fired on Israeli soldiers on Tuesday at another vital aid crossing, near Kerem Shalom, along Gaza’s southern border with Israel. The Israeli military said that four mortar shells and two rockets had been launched toward Kerem Shalom from Rafah but that no injuries or damage were reported.

Persons: ”, Suhaib Hems Organizations: International, Kuwait Hospital Locations: Rafah, Gaza, Egypt, Kerem Shalom, Israel, Shalom

☆ Hamas says latest cease-fire talks have ended. Israel vows military operation in 'very near future'
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The latest round of Gaza cease-fire talks ended in Cairo after "in-depth and serious discussions," the Hamas militant group said Sunday, reiterating key demands that Israel again rejected. The defense minister claimed Hamas wasn't serious about a deal and warned of "a powerful operation in the very near future in Rafah and other places across all of Gaza." The Israeli military reported 10 projectiles were launched at the crossing in southern Israel and said its fighter jets later struck the source. Hamas would start by releasing female civilian hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Israel blames Hamas for civilian deaths, accusing it of embedding in residential and public areas.

Persons: Israel, Israel didn't, Yoav Gallant, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Ismail Haniyeh, Kerem Shalom, Cindy McCain, Attar, Abu Youssef al Organizations: Hamas, Food, NBC, Najjar Locations: Deir Balah, Gaza, Israel, Cairo, Rafah, Egypt, Qatar, Qatar's Al Jazeera, U.S, Israeli, Lebanese

☆ Turkey suspended trade with Israel pending a permanent cease-fire in Gaza. Here's what that could mean for Israel.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Turkey has suspended trade with Israel, demanding a cease-fire in Gaza. AdvertisementTurkey halted trade with Israel last week, demanding a permanent cease-fire in Gaza and criticizing Western influence in the war. That's a significant portion of Israel's trade, according to recent trade data. Though they didn't name the United States, Turkish leaders also called out the West's tolerance and support of the war. The United States abstained from the vote, sparking sharp dissent from Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu.

Persons: Israel, —, Tayyip Erdogan, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Joe Biden, Erdogan Organizations: Service, Israel, Israel Defense Forces, Reuters, MIT Media Lab, United Nations, United Locations: Turkey, Israel, Gaza, Rafah, That's, China, United States

☆ Steve McCurry’s photo of Shaolin monks training captures their incredible acrobatics
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Amy Gunia | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

A young Shaolin monk runs horizontally across a wall, intense concentration, and perhaps a hint of astonishment, visible in his face. Four other trainees at a martial arts academy near the Shaolin Temple in China’s Henan province lounge nonchalantly, seemingly unaware of the gravity-defying action taking place above their heads. “There’s this high-level action,” photographer Steve McCurry told CNN of the photo’s composition in a video call from his home in Philadelphia. The Shaolin Temple – which was founded in AD 495 on the slopes of the sacred Mount Song – is said to be the home of Chan Buddhism. Today, Shaolin kung fu is widely known, and the monks’ feats in athleticism have been emulated in popular movies.

Persons: Steve McCurry, ’, doesn’t, McCurry, –, ”, Jeremy Horner, LightRocket, It’s, “ Organizations: CNN, Jet, Pennsylvania State University, Geographic, Shaolin Locations: Shaolin, China’s Henan, Philadelphia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Soviet, Peshawar, Niger, India, Pennsylvania, Dengfeng, Zhengzhou

Al-Bursh was arrested along with 10 other medical workers in December during the Israeli military ground invasion of the Jabalya refugee camp, CNN previously reported. He was taken away while treating patients in Al-Awda Hospital, according to the statement. Earlier on Thursday, Israel released dozens of Gaza detainees via the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel. The seven-month bombardment of Gaza has killed more than 34,600 people, according to the Gaza health ministry. Concerns are also heightened over an anticipated Israeli military operation in southern Gaza’s Rafah, prompting renewed calls for a ceasefire.

Persons: Adnan Al, Bursh, Israel, Marwan Abu Saada, ”, “ Dr, Adnan, ” Saada, “, –, Ismail Khadr Organizations: CNN, Shifa, Palestinian Prisoners ’ Society, ’ Affairs, Al, Awda, Israel Defense Forces, IDF, United Nations Locations: Gaza, Al, Gaza City, ”, Israel, Gaza’s Rafah

☆ The US spent so much time fighting insurgents that it forgot 'what it means to actually fight a war,' a US vet in Ukraine says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Read previewAn American veteran who fought in Ukraine said the US military spent so long focused on fighting insurgents that it forgot "what it means to actually fight a war." Libkos/Getty Images"We've gotten so used to the idea of just fighting guerilla wars and fucking fighting terrorists and everything else that we kind of forgot what it means to actually fight a war," he said. Some Ukrainian soldiers trained abroad said the training they received was not suited to the kind of fighting needed for this war. Ukraine is fighting in conditions very different from what the US and its NATO allies have fought through in recent decades. He said that fighting to clear Russian trenches made him feel like he was "fighting World War I."

Persons: —, Libkos, it's, I've, haven't Organizations: Service, Business, NATO, Russia, Army, REUTERS, State Emergency Service, US, US Army Locations: Ukraine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kharkiv, Bakhmut, Europe, Russia, China, Ukrainian, Ukraine's Kharkiv, readying, Avdiivka, Ukraine's Donetsk

☆ Opinion: Unable to ‘win’ in Gaza, Israel sets its sights elsewhere
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Opinion Hussein Ibish | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —An eerie relative calm has descended on the Middle East — Gaza obviously excluded — since a highly alarming exchange of missile, rocket and drone attacks by Israel and Iran in recent weeks. Now, the recent exchange of direct military attacks with Iran might have sealed Lebanon’s fate, unless team Biden can restrain Israel. On April 1, Israel struck an Iranian diplomatic facility in Damascus, killing a number of senior Iranian officials including Brig. As Israel’s forces moved south through Gaza, obliterating Hamas brigades with relative ease, its thinking relatively quickly turned north again. If this happens, a primary US goal regarding the Gaza war — conflict containment — would be shattered not by Washington’s adversaries, but ironically by its closest regional partner.

Persons: Hussein Ibish, Read, Biden, Israel, Mohammad Reza Zahedi, Haji Rahimi, Hossein Amirollah, Louai Beshara, Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, Charbel Mallo, Israel —, Joe Biden Organizations: Gulf States Institute, Israel, CNN, Biden, Hezbollah, Brig, Iran’s, Quds Force, Getty, Iranian, Israeli Locations: Washington, East, Gaza, Israel, Iran, Lebanon, Iranian, Damascus, Brig, Syria, AFP, Tehran, United States, Kafr Kila, Lebanese

On a visit to Israel on Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken put the onus squarely on Hamas to accept the proposal. But Israeli officials have said, consistently and emphatically, that the offensive will take place. The number of Palestinians Israel is offering to free in exchange is unclear. More than 100 were released in a weeklong cease-fire in November, and Israeli officials say they believe that more than 30 — possibly many more — are dead. Gazan health officials say that Israel’s subsequent bombing and invasion have killed more than 34,000 people, and injured far more.

Persons: Osama Hamdan, Al Manar, —, Antony J, Blinken, wouldn’t, ”, Yair Lapid, Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr, Hamdan, Biden, Netanyahu’s, ” Mr, Netanyahu, Israel Organizations: Israel, Hezbollah, Hamas, United Nations Locations: Jerusalem, Washington, Gaza, Lebanese, Israel, United States, Qatar, Egypt, Rafah, masse

☆ Blinken Presses Hamas to Accept Israel’s Latest Cease-Fire Proposal
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Genevieve Glatsky | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

One of the Israeli officials said those returning to the north would be subject to no inspections or limitations, while the second said there would be nearly no restrictions, without elaborating. It was not clear whether Hamas would accept the most recent Israeli proposal, which is part of negotiations that the two sides are conducting indirectly through mediators from Egypt and Qatar. The cease-fire talks were a focus of Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken as he visited Israel on Wednesday. The Israeli offer, according to one of the Israeli officials, doesn’t include language that refers explicitly to an end to the fighting. On Monday, The New York Times reported that, as part of its proposal, Israel had reduced the number of hostages Hamas would need to release in the initial phase of a deal.

Persons: hadn’t, Antony J, Blinken, we’ve, ” Mr, Isaac Herzog, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Netanyahu, Bezalel Smotrich, Mr, doesn’t, ”, “, Aaron Boxerman Organizations: Hamas, The New York Times, Mr, Finance Locations: Israel, Gaza, Egypt, Qatar, Rafah

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