news

Meatball is campaigning via the Gaza war.

Emphasis mine.

Florida cargo flights arranged by DeSantis carried drones and body armor for Israel

The Israeli government procured the equipment and asked the state of Florida for help transporting it overseas, a source with knowledge of the arrangement told CNN. The supplies were included on two cargo planes that left Florida for Israel on October 17.

DeSantis’ office previously said the cargo flights carried “medical supplies, clothing items, hygiene products and children’s toys” that had been donated to help Israel in the aftermath of the attack by Hamas earlier this month, but it did not mention that the state was also carrying equipment for Israel that could be used in response to the war effort.

The governor’s office confirmed to CNN on Thursday the inclusion of the additional equipment.

“At the request of the Israeli Consul General in Miami, cargo planes contracted by Florida were used to transport healthcare and hospital supplies, drones, body armor, and helmets that first responders can use,” Jeremy Redfern, a spokesman for the governor’s office, said in a statement.

Redfern said that the governor’s office also worked with the Israeli consul general to “help get weapons and ammunition to Israel through private parties.” However, the source said Florida did not transport those supplies, and it’s unclear how the state aided Israel in the movement of munitions.

[Continues]

https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-10-26-23/h_234c329652009146b0a95177fb2fcdfb

Siemens Energy shares plunge as it seeks government bailout

The German government is in talks to provide a multibillion-euro bailout to the engineering company Siemens Energy to shore up its balance sheet amid increasing problems at its wind turbine division.

Shares in the company, one of the world’s biggest makers of wind turbines, plunged by almost 40% to all-time lows on the German stock exchange, wiping €3bn from its market value, after reports emerged that it was in talks to secure government guarantees as part of a €15bn rescue package.

A bailout could result in the German state taking responsibility for 80% of an initial €10bn funding tranche, while banks would be liable for the remaining 20%, according to reports in the German press.

The engineering group’s parent company, the industrial firm Siemens, has reportedly been asked to guarantee a second tranche of the remaining €5bn.

The talks were confirmed by a German government spokesperson who described them as “close and trustworthy”.

Shares in Siemens Energy have fallen by almost 70% since June when it revealed there were escalating challenges in its wind turbine arm, Siemens Gamesa, caused by a string of technical problems as well as higher costs due to the inflation.

The cost of correcting the technical faults, which have affected its newest onshore wind turbine models, are expected to drive the company to a €4.5bn loss this year. It is reportedly concerned that the scale of the losses means it may struggle to secure guarantees needed to support a growing order book from its usual banking partners.

Siemens Energy said the company was “evaluating various measures” to strengthen its balance sheet and was in preliminary talks with stakeholders including banks and the German government.

It added that the wind business was “working through the quality issues”.

It expects its order intake and revenue to be lower than market expectations for the 2024 fiscal year while it pauses new work on onshore wind orders and is selective about offshore wind orders. Meanwhile, net losses and cash outflow are expected to be higher than market forecasts.

Breaking news from Italy:

Giorgia Meloni is newly single, now is the time for any daring posters to fix her and Italy.

Emphasis mine. I love how the NYT doesn't even bother to explain. But in so doing for libs who are actually thinking the settlers seem like a direct extension of the Israeli state.

Four more Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in the Israeli-occupied West Bank overnight into Friday as violence continues to rise, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Since Oct. 7 at least 110 Palestinians have been killed and another 1,900 wounded in clashes with Israeli forces or attacks by settlers, the ministry said.

The U.N. Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said it had recorded a significant increase in Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians and their property in the occupied territory since Oct. 7, with at least 146 such attacks. The agency added that amid the increase in violence at least 82 Palestinian households, comprising 607 people, have been displaced from their homes.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/10/27/world/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news/939bf05a-51a2-5fab-8741-6982f76d295e?smid=url-share

https://streamable.com/if98x0

🇵🇸❌🇮🇱 — On October 21, 2023, the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), published a propaganda video, threatening the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) against a ground invasion of Gaza

During the footage, Al-Quds Brigades fighters are seen moving inside the underground tunnels of Gaza, as well resting and reading the Quran preparing for a possible battle inside the Bunkers that exist under Gaza strip

According to War Noir (https://t.me/war_noir/13525), PIJ fighters are armed with AK-103-2 rifles (from 🇱🇾 Libya), 🇷🇸 Yugoslavian M70B1 rifle with a rare silencer/suppressor, RPG-7 Launchers with PG-7V/M rockets, 🇨🇳 Chinese Type 56-1 rifles, PKM/Type 80 machine guns, AKM rifles and explosives/grenades.

The mysterious tweet of Muhammad Ali Al-Houthi, one of the senior members of Yemen's Ansarullah

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Artforum Fires Top Editor After Its Open Letter on Israel-Hamas War

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/26/arts/artforum-editor-fired-david-velasco-palestine-gaza.html

The cover this month is the Black Panthers

Here was the original letter, signed but a ton of people, now featuring an edit to make clear that WE CONDEM HAMAS.

https://www.artforum.com/columns/open-letter-art-community-cultural-organizations-518019/

The Artforum response is as lib as possible

https://www.artforum.com/news/a-statement-from-artforum-s-publishers-518836/

https://www.artforum.com/columns/response-open-letter-october-19-518144/

Honestly a parade of liberal "We CoNdEm AlL vIoLeNcE but Hamas is evil so they're worse"

Simplicius' recent piece on Ukraine and a little on Israel.

My summary:

I never really know how much stock to put in the reports by certain Ukrainian soldiers and such (the plural of anecdote is not data after all) so I'll leave most of it out, though there is a report by a soldier in the 47th brigade - which was rotated away from the Zaporozhye front after taking such high losses that there were fears that the soldiers would mutiny, and sent to try and stop Russia around Avdeevka - that the casualties that they're experiencing are the most horrific in the entire conflict. Considering the absolute killing ground that Zaporozhye was and is, one shudders to think.

Anyway, over in Avdeevka, Russia has continued their very slow and steady advance, taking a slag heap and planting their flag on it, which the Ukrainians got pissy about and fired drones at the flag. Russia wants to gain control of the coal coke plant as it's a good position to watch over a large chunk of the battlefield here, so that'll be next on the agenda probably. Comparisons are being made by both sides to Bakhmut, and again to the appalling strategy of hold-territory-at-any-cost-to-prevent-embarrassment. A representative of a DPR brigade said that the town will fall "soon", which in Russian speak is "hopefully within this decade".

Ukraine is trying to make their Kherson D-day happen, but it's not going to happen. The logistics simply are not there. They aren't being sneaky ninjas, undercutting Russian defences by daringly finding a weak spot to cross the river and then continue onwards - they are being pounded on marshy river islands.

Rumors continue, as they have for the last month or two, of a new front soon opening up from Belgorod. Apparently Russia has withdrew most of their troops from Belarus and so an assault on Kiev isn't in the cards, but something around Kharkov might well be. Reports that Ukrainians are using 14-15 year olds now on that front to try and have some presence there but I don't really know how much stock to put in it. Russia may be trying to form some kind of south-bound offensive on the west side of the Oskil river, which doesn't mean that Kharkov itself has to be threatened, but we shall just have to wait and see.

Simplicius talks about Russia's Orlan reconnaissance drone, and how Ukraine is having a massive amount of trouble dealing with the extensive information that they give to Russia, so much so that Simplicius calls it “the single most successful combat drone in the history of warfare," far surpassing the Reapers and Predators that the US uses to bombard Afghani weddings. Tens of thousands of objects have been destroyed thanks to the Orlan. It is cheap, flexible, durable, and versatile - all things that the US can no longer make, and that Russia has generally excelled at. The anti-drone Volnorez jammers that Russia is putting on more and more armored vehicles are also briefly mentioned. Russia continues to repel fairly large (by Ukraine's standards) drone and missile attacks on Crimea without breaking much of a sweat. And Russian air defence is reportedly well on its way to figuring how to counter ATACMS.

In more international news, Russia has conducted their final tests on the Burevestnik missile, which is nuclear-powered and thus can essentially travel forever. This is causing some in the United States to freak the fuck out, because the problem is that their radar and missile detection is located along the logical places that they would expect Russia to strike from, and not, say, around the Mexican border, but now this missile gives Russia the ability to fire a missile, send it on its merry way skirting around known missile detection sites, do a loop-de-loop a dozen times over the Pacific ocean for funsies, and then land it through the US's southern border and hit their military factories - of which they already have pretty few. So US arms companies are scouting out places to put new radar sites.

Simplicius describes Israel as in a lose-lose situation. Israeli commanders have said that the operation will take 3 months, though it could be much more drawn out than that. If Israel stops, then the damage done to Gaza will only give Hamas more and more angry recruits and strengthen them, far from weakening them. If Israel goes in, then they might face horrific losses that the demoralized state might not be able to withstand. A former CIA chief has warned Israel about this. And this is just Gaza - Hezbollah could also cause extremely major problems. Regardless, it seems that Ukraine will be going through a bullet and artillery famine as deliveries to Israel are prioritized.

It seems like the US has been trying to pull Israel back from the brink and stop - or at least stall - the ground operation to try and get things set up. The US has a total of 4 THAAD batteries and 50 Patriot batteries, and they're sending a quarter of those to the Middle East. The US is even drawing up a plan to evacuate all American citizens from the region if worst comes to worst. Meanwhile, the Resistance has been busy too, with the Hezbollah-Israel border clashes amping up, the strikes on US bases in Iraq, and Yemen firing those missiles towards Israel that were shot down. There is a rumor that Russia is allowing Iran to use one of their military airbases in Syria to land their planes to facilitate arms transfers given that Israel keeps knocking Aleppo and Damascus airports out. Meanwhile, Lavrov went off to Iran, and Russia's deputy defence minister met with Iraq's ambassador and talked about the conflict.

Israeli tanks were briefly in Gaza.

Here’s the latest on the war.

The Israeli military said on Thursday that it had briefly sent tanks into the northern Gaza Strip overnight as part of preparations for the next stage of fighting, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated that a ground invasion of the enclave was likely.

It was at least the second time in the conflict that Israel had conducted a limited ground raid in Gaza, after it said some troops had briefly entered the territory two weeks ago. The military said in a Telegram post that it had hit multiple targets and “operated to prepare the battlefield,” without offering details.

[Continues]

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/10/26/world/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news/heres-the-latest-on-the-war?smid=url-share

Rocket hits Tel Aviv building, 3 injured

A rocket has hit a building in Tel Aviv, injuring at least three people, according to Israel’s ambulance service and media reports.

A 20-year-old man was moderately injured with head and limb injuries and was taken to Ichilov Hospital, the Magen David Adom ambulance service said on X.

Two more people were mildly injured.

Israel’s Channel 12 has said that at least eight other rockets launched towards Tel Aviv were intercepted.

Israel is preparing for a "multilateral operation" from the sea, ground and air, defense minister says

Israel is preparing for a "multilateral operation" on Hamas from the "air, ground, and sea," Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a video statement released Monday.

Gallant has completed a tour of the Ashdod Navy base, where he said he "conducted a situation assessment of naval operations" and "toured the shores on Israel’s southern border together with Navy Commander VADM David Saar Salama," according to the Ministry of Defense on Monday.

He commended the work of soldiers and commanders in "thwarting many attacks that would have taken place" against Israel, Gallant said in a video statement filmed during the visit.

“My message to the soldiers – well done, you did an excellent job! Keep preparing for our operation, it will come soon. We are preparing thoroughly for the next step – a multilateral operation in the air, ground, and sea," Gallant added. "Do your work, get ready. We will need you.”

https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-10-23-23/h_419603129343e9e4f686bb5b6268359e

Deadly Israeli raids continue in occupied West Bank

Israeli forces raided many cities here in the occupied West Bank overnight. The three Palestinians killed by the Israeli forces overnight were shot in three different locations. The main, and the largest, raid was in Nablus, where lots of reinforcements were brought in close to the Askar refugee camp.

We have seen Palestinians using improvised home-made explosive devices to deter the Israeli forces, which was unsuccessful. Also in Jenin, we have seen Israeli forces raiding the city centre where there was a protest in support of the Palestinians in Gaza.

- Al Jazeera

anyone got that stamp to put a hexbear logo on a meme?

I wonder what the fuck the IDF is up to.

‘Humanitarian efforts to expand in southern Gaza’: Israeli army

The Israeli army’s top spokesperson has urged once again residents of Gaza City and northern Gaza to move south of the Wadi Gaza river to “safer areas” where they would receive humanitarian aid, including water, food and medicine. “Tomorrow, the humanitarian efforts to Gaza, led by Egypt and the United States, will be expanding,” Daniel Hagari also said in a video message recorded on Saturday.

An other military spokesperson confirmed to Al Jazeera that the widening of humanitarian efforts would take place on Sunday. He wouldn’t elaborate on the nature of such efforts. Since the start of the war, 87 trucks have been allowed into the besieged enclave through the Egypt-controlled Rafah border crossing.

They carried water, food and medicine with UN agencies warning that it was a fraction of what was needed. By comparison, in pre-war time an average of 100 aid trucks used to enter in Gaza everyday, according to UNRWA. No agreement has been reached yet on letting fuel into Gaza causing great difficulties for life-saving humanitarian operations there.

- Al Jazeera

Jordan asks US for Patriot air defense system amid fears of regional escalation

Close US ally Jordan has asked Washington to deploy Patriot missiles to strengthen its air defenses at its borders, a Jordanian military spokesperson told state media on Sunday.

The request comes at a time of heightening tensions in the Middle East due to the war in Gaza as well as clashes on the Lebanon-Israel border between Hezbollah and Israeli forces.

"We asked the American side to strengthen our defense system with Patriot missiles. This system is expensive and cannot be employed with local capabilities, and we need a strategic partner," Jordan army spokesman Brig. Gen. Mustafa Al-Hiyari said on Al Mamlaka TV.

Al-Hiyari said Jordan is facing ongoing threats, including ballistic missiles, from the north, east and west and the Patriot air defense system is “the best weapon to confront such a threat.”

Jordan is also requesting a system to combat drones that are used on drug smuggling, as they “have become a threat to all our fronts,” Al-Hiyari added.

CNN has reached out to US officials for comment.

https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-10-29-23/h_12e32673d67bf20ac3a232be3583c7e6

US forces are not taking any part in Israeli ground operations in the Gaza Strip.

An official representative of the American Defense Department commented on the publication of the Iranian Tasnim agency. The post states that "about 5,000 US troops are participating in the ground operation that the Israeli army launched in Gaza on Friday night."

“This message is not true. No US forces are participating in ground operations in Gaza,” the Pentagon emphasized.

Just come across this article about the Swedish "Left Party" sending funds to DFLP in Gaza.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20160808/sweden-left-party-revolution-1044046709.html

Not sure how accurate or true it is but if true critical support to the Swedish tax payer and their funding of the Al Aqsa Flood operation I suppose?

I wonder if it’s taboo to take political stances on things in other countries like it is in America (my experience anyway)

In high school, I can remember no one taking a stance on anything and defaulting to the “middle” instead, even if they were the furthest thing from a centrist. Very much radiates not discussing your salary energy

Godamnit people need to talk about all the elephants in the room I swear to god because how else do you build coalition? Friends, sure, but why aren’t these things normalized

BREAKING - Israel has reportedly detected launches from Yemen towards Israeli Territory.

Israeli Jets scrambled.

if china does nothing im becoming a fucking maoist

Al Jazeera...

Let’s bring you up to speed with the latest

It’s almost 16:30 (14:30 GMT) in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel. Here’s a recap of the latest developments in the past few hours:

• UN human rights chief warns that thousands more civilians could die if Israel’s large-scale ground operations in Gaza continue.

• Telecommunications blackout continues across Gaza, adding to residents’ anxiety and hampering rescue efforts.

• Israel says its troops are still in the field in Gaza, after the army widened its air attacks on the enclave.

• The Israeli military has reissued a call for residents in the Gaza Strip to evacuate the northern part of the enclave

• Entrepreneur Elon Musk has announced that his satellite-based system Starlink “will support connectivity to internationally recognised aid organisations in Gaza”.

• There have been more detentions in Israel’s campaign of mass arrests in the occupied West Bank since the war began three weeks ago.

• The Hostage and Missing Families Forum, a platform representing families of Israelis taken captive during Hamas’s attack on October 7, says they expect to hold a meeting with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence minister Yoav Gallant as early as Saturday evening.

• A heavy exchange of fire continues along the Israel-Lebanon border. Israel says mortars and antitank guided missiles have been launched from southern Lebanon at its military positions, setting off sirens.

Huge UAW victory against Ford.

Thank you President Biden for standing with the workers!

A week or so ago there was a quote from an idf commander or the Israel defence minister about how they would conduct strikes etc. against gaza as though hostages weren't there. Does anyone have a link to that?

It's been almost an hour with no responses so I am going to rephrase my request in newsthread terms: "I am urgently requesting materiel support to own the libs. Hexbear represents the arsenal of postocracy. Your support is critical to maintain the beach head against imperial apologia and represents a defence of the post based international order. Please clap. "

🇪🇬⚡️Military spokesman in Egypt: Our air forces are intensifying the work of securing our entire airspace