For 16 years, Israeli governments worked to manage the Hamas leaders in Gaza, not topple them. The Islamist group rejected Israel's existence and engaged in violence, but kept order over the territory. Better Hamas than chaos. The carnage last weekend, when Hamas militants killed hundreds of Israeli civilians after a sophisticated breach of the border fence, has shifted official views. Now, the aim is to destroy the organization's military capability and kill its leaders. Left unsaid in Israel but widely assumed is that, when the war ends, Hamas will no longer rule in Gaza. In announcing the formation of an emergency unity government on Wednesday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to the Islamic State organization from the previous decade, saying, "Hamas is ISIS, and we will crush and eliminate it just as the world crushed and eliminated ISIS." Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hecht, a military spokesman, told reporters on Thursday: "Right now, we are focused on taking out their senior leadership, not only the military but also their government leadership." 'Mowing Lawn' This is a change from the previous military policy of occasional invasions, harsh but limited, sometimes referred to as "mowing the lawn," meaning a task to which one is required to return repeatedly. Any operation against the militant group is destined to result in more civilian deaths and raise diplomatic dilemmas. Turkey has already signaled a shift away from the intense diplomacy that was underway to normalize ties with Israel after years of estrangement. Rulers from Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates could follow if public opinion in their countriesturns increasingly hostile to Israel. A former top military officer who remains in close touch with the army, speaking on condition of anonymity, said when the war ends, Israel may set up a temporary military regime and hand Gaza over to some international force. The head of the opposition, Yair Lapid, who didn't join the new government with Benny Gantz, another opposition leader, said this week on French television, "The endgame is there will be no Hamas in Gaza." His goal, he said, is for the Palestinian Authority, which holds power in the West Bank and recognizes Israel, would take over. Requests for comment from the prime minister's office and the defense minister weren't immediately answered. Little Mercy Israeli officials are showing no mercy for ordinary Gazans in their campaign, having cut electricity, fuel and food shipments from Israel and given residents few choices of where to hide as heavy bombings continue. At least 1,350 have been killed to date. According to Elai Rettig, an expert of the geopolitics of energy and environment at Israel's Bar-Ilan University, a power cut will result in water shortages in a week or two. That's likely to hinder access to health care or drinkable water for Gaza's 2 million people, half of whom are under the age of 18. Israeli authorities are worried about a humanitarian corridor into Egypt, saying that would allow Hamas leaders to sneak out. Rettig also said Hamas has been given aid to fix and upgrade the electrical system in Gaza but hadn't done so. Hostage Fate Nearly all analysts in Israel believe ground troops are headed in after the aerial pounding. Many of the dozens of Israeli hostages and some of the soldiers seem likely to meet their deaths. And that too is quietly discussed as a price the country is willing to pay to end Hamas's hold on Gaza and send a broader message to the country's enemies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and its Iranian sponsor. Israel's biggest deployment of reserves in its history shows its leaders are aware how difficult it might be to crush Hamas, but eliminating it from Gaza is an even bigger task. An Israeli cross-border operation into southern Lebanon to attack Iran-backed Hezbollah in 2006 ended in massive casualties following more than a month of fighting. Since Saturday's attack, Hezbollah has fired into Israel every now and then, a reminder that it may be tempted to open a new front in the war after the Gaza ground offensive begins. The direness of the rhetoric is driven by the images of inhumanity on display last Saturday and the collective memory of Jews being slaughtered in the Holocaust and in pogroms a century ago. It has made many Israelis feel this is a war for their very existence, and they must show how tough they are. Retired Major General Yaakov Amidror, who was Netanyahu's national security adviser a decade ago, said, "We cannot go back to square one. This will take a few months. How many will be killed? Many, many. It's up to Hamas, which operates from populated areas. This is the last time we allow Hamas to be strong enough to attack Israel."
Asked who will rule Gaza when Israel is finished, he replied, "The people in Gaza will have to decide what is next. That is their problem."
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Israel has ordered a full siege of the Gaza Strip and vowed to obliterate Hamas after its all-out offensive entered the next phase. Palestinian group Hamas controls the Gaza Strip, a narrow strip of land, where approximately 2.3 million people live. Despite a complete withdrawal in 2005, Israel controls the maritime, air and land borders in the Gaza Strip to keep strict vigilance on supply of weapons to Hamas in the region. The movement of people in Gaza is tightly controlled by Egypt and Israel with only two border crossings in a 365 sq km area of land. How Hamas Gets Weapons In Gaza?
As seen in the map, the Gaza Strip is surrounded by Israel from two sides and shares a border with Egypt. The Western end faces the Mediterranean Sea, where the Israeli Navy restricts the movement of people only up to 12 nautical miles. Arms smugglers drop weapons on the shore along the Mediterranean Sea, these weapons are then supplied to Hamas. Despite maritime control by the Israeli Navy, the arms suppliers succeeded in supplying weapons to the group. The arms smugglers use tunnels as an alternative route to supply weapons. Gaza shares a border with Egypt and tunnels are built to deliver weapons to the region. The tunnel network is used to send weapons such as Fajr-3, Fajr-5, and M-302 rockets from Iran and Syria. The Fajr-3 is an Iranian-built unguided surface-to-surface artillery rocket. The Fajr-3 has a range of 43 km and is found in the stockpile of Hezbollah - a group that has close ties with Iran and Syria. The Fajr-5 has an extended range of 75 km, with a 90 kg high explosive (HE). Meanwhile, the M-302 rocket or Khaibar-1 is also built by Iran and is a long-range unguided rocket used by Hamas, and reportedly supplied by Hezbollah. In the first wave of attacks on Israel, over 5,000 rockets were fired from Gaza. Over the years, Hamas has developed its crude rocket technology to extend its range and weapons reportedly supplied by Iran, were used to overwhelm Israel's nearly impenetrable Iron Dome air defence system. Iran has backed Hamas' Operation Al-Aqsa Flood but has denied any direct involvement in the war and has rejected Israel's claims that they are funding the operation. The US State Department in 2021, said Hamas receives training, funding and weapons from Iran. As per reports, 70 per cent of total funding to Hamas is received from Iran. The Taliban Connection Several reports suggest US-built weapons are being used by Hamas that are supplied from Afghanistan by the Taliban. In 2021, the US ended its operations in Afghanistan and left a stockpile of weapons that were taken by the Taliban after it took control of the country. US Carrier Battle Group In The Mediterranean The US has ordered the movement of warships and aircraft closer to Israel, a move in a show of support for its ally. A Carrier Battle Group led by USS Gerald R Ford and its accompanying warships are moving toward the eastern Mediterranean. Reports suggest the US carrier strike group will help Israel defend the seashore along Gaza to stop the supply of weapons. The United States, a major supplier of arms to Israel, has moved quickly to affirm its backing for Israel after Saturday's surprise attack from the Gaza Strip, vowing "rock solid" support and warning other parties to stay out of the conflict. Relatives of Thai workers kidnapped or killed by Hamas militants have spent the days since the attack on Israel patching together details from social media of what happened to their loved ones. Thailand is emerging as one of the nations most affected by a conflict thousands of kilometers away. Eighteen Thais are feared dead in the violence, the Thai foreign ministry said on Tuesday, with 11 more believed held hostage by Hamas, nearly all from the poor northeastern region known as Isaan. But the ministry said the numbers were unconfirmed in the bloody chaos of recent days with the Israeli Embassy in Bangkok saying a complete count is not immediately possible, given the ongoing military operations. Israel has launched a counteroffensive to the attack, which killed hundreds of Israelis. Hamas has warned it will start executing its hostages if there are Israeli strikes without warning on Gaza, where hundreds have died, including civilians. An estimated 30,000 Thais work in Israel, many at kibbutz farms near the border with Gaza, where they can earn upwards of $1,000 a month, several times higher than the wages in northeastern Thailand. "I want to assure the Thai people that Israel is committed to doing everything in its power to protect the Thai workers in our country," Orna Sagiv, the ambassador of Israel to Thailand, said in a Facebook post on Monday. "Rest assured, they will receive the same treatment and protection as every person in Israel, whether Israeli or foreign national." Devastated relatives of those feared to have been taken hostage have struggled to find information on the whereabouts of their family members, instead relying on videos shared on Facebook and TikTok by fellow Thai workers — or the militants who attacked them. "I can't breathe, I can't sleep," said Piyanus Phujuttu, 27, whose family members believe they saw her cousin, Khomkrit Chombua, being taken into the Gaza Strip by militants on Saturday on a video shared over social media. "Thai officials told me that they would talk to the Israeli government for me and the Israeli embassy in Thailand told me that they have to clear the area first before beginning the search — they've been following the situation, but they haven't confirmed my cousin's whereabouts, nor his fate," Speaking to Thai television, Suda Thepgaew said she believes her husband was one of six Thais gunned down as dozens of militants attacked the workers' dormitory near Gaza. "I just talked to him on Saturday and everything was fine, we were laughing and then suddenly there was gunfire, missile strikes and the connection was lost … his friend at the farm told me later, 'Ball has gone,'" she said, using her husband's nickname. Separately, the visibly distraught mother of a banana farm worker from Kalasin, northern Thailand, spoke about her son, Somkuan Pansa-ard, who was shot dead at Nahal Oz kibbutz in Israel. Noopa Pansa-ard held a portrait of her son as she told reporters she had tried to persuade him to remain in Thailand. She said her son had been on a five-year contract in Israel, sending home nearly $2,000 each month to his family. "I told him I didn't want the money, I just wanted him to be safe. I was just telling him how much I missed him," said Noopa Pansa-ard of her last call with her son. Thailand is among the largest sources of migrant workers for Israel, with the Thai labor ministry saying the majority are employed as farm workers who send home monthly remittances. Around 7,000 Thais may also be working illegally in Israel, the ministry added, raising fears for their safety as they may not have been recorded as missing by employers. Only Taiwan and South Korea have more Thai workers, the ministry says.
The Thai government promises to evacuate all of its citizens. Nearly 4,000 Thais have registered to leave as the situation becomes increasingly volatile, with the first flight due back to Thailand on Thursday, Kanchana Patarachok, a ministry spokesperson, told a press conference Tuesday. But some Thais still in Israel say they want to stay, putting the relatively high wages of overseas work above their safety as they try to help families back home in the rice bowl northeast, where the daily minimum wage is around $8. "I'm the eldest son so I've got to take care of my parents and my wife and two kids (aged 3 and 5)," Jakkapol Wipracha, 35, told VOA from Talmei Yosef, a settlement close to the Israel's southern border with Gaza. Each month working on a tomato farm he says he earns 5,300 shekels ($1,340). "Over nine months, I've sent most of it home." "I haven't been contacted by the Thai government yet but I'm weighing my options up right now. If I go back, I'd still need to go work overseas somewhere else. With all the debt I have, I just can't find work in Thailand that pays enough," he said. It was supposed to be an ordinary Saturday morning in Sderot, southern Israel, but David Michalowsky, a resident of the city, says they all woke up to the sound of air-raid sirens.
“This is quite normal here,” he told RT, referring to a procedure activated by Israel’s home command that’s designed to warn residents of upcoming rockets and give them the opportunity to hide in bomb shelters. In Sderot, that opportunity only lasts ten seconds. “We ran into the shelter and waited for the attack to pass but, this time, it didn’t. It was a barrage of rockets, with short intervals between them. Then, we put on the news and saw all these reports coming in. It was nerve-wracking and we didn’t leave the shelter the entire day.” Lucky Michalowsky, who has been living in Israel for 37 years and who has seen multiple confrontations and wars, says the events of the past few days have been the most traumatic. He has witnessed burnt cars, damaged infrastructure, and direct hits by rockets. He speaks of sorrow, grief, and loss mixed with constant fear and concern. But, despite all of this damage and deep psychological trauma, he considers himself lucky. He and his wife are alive, unlike many of his friends, relatives, and neighbors. He says he personally knows people who were murdered at the hands of the Palestinian terrorists, who have waged one of the deadliest attacks since the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. Or Bar-Ilan has looked death in the eyes. She has been living in Kfar Gaza, a town located just one kilometer away from the border, since childhood. On Saturday, when terrorists stormed into the community, she managed to escape. Her parents did not. They were slaughtered in front of her younger brother, who survived by covering himself with the blood of his slain parents. According to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Daniel Hagari, at least 900 civilians have been murdered by the militants of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad since Saturday morning, when scores of terrorists infiltrated the Israeli territories. Nearly 2,500 have been wounded and 130 people are believed to be held captive by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Who’s to Blame? Looking at the growing death toll, Michalowsky, like many other Israelis, says he is furious with the “colossal intelligence failure that has surpassed the debacle of the 1973 war,” when Israel was taken by surprise by Egyptian and Syrian armies. “Who do I blame for this?” He asked, almost surprised. “I only blame Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The writing has been on the wall for a long time. He had the intelligence and the army telling him that the judicial reform he was promoting was bad for the country and that it was killing the IDF. But he chose not to listen and now it is coming back to haunt him.” Since coming back to power in December 2022, Netanyahu has been advancing a judicial reform that aimed at limiting the power of the Higher Court, a move that was considered by many liberal circles as potentially damaging to Israel’s democracy. The legislation has widened the split in Israeli society. Thousands have protested against it for forty consecutive weeks. Many have refused to serve in the reserves as a result, and experts were warning that this might crack the IDF and its ability to defend the state. Those warnings have now proved to be accurate, says Michalowsky, and he also believes that the situation will only continue to deteriorate. “I think there will be a real storm before things start getting better. We are probably heading towards a full fledged war, even though they [Hamas] hold God knows how many hostages, and this might complicate matters further,” he said, referring to the 130 civilians and soldiers believed to be held by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza, something that allegedly bogs down a greater bombardment of the Strip. “But Israel is resilient. We will restore our strength and defeat the Arabs,” he concluded. Bar Ilan also thinks Israel will prevail in this war. Although still traumatized, she says she will not leave a place that she sees as her home, and promises “they will not break us.” Over the years, tens of thousands of rockets launched by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad have landed in Israeli territories, causing significant damage to infrastructure and leading to multiple deaths and injuries. The attacks have intensified since 2007, after Hamas’ violent takeover of the Gaza Strip. After Hamas's massive attack, Israel has announced an unprecedented counterattack. Air strikes have been carried out on the Gaza Strip since Saturday. Meanwhile, the army is sending tanks and other equipment to the Gaza border.
Talking hasn't been an option for Israel for a long time. There has been radio silence since it withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005 and Hamas subsequently seized power in the area. Israel is therefore looking at what it can do militarily. But all options have major disadvantages. Actually there are two options, air strikes and a ground offensive. During air strikes, Israel can attack targets from great distances. But a big problem is that you don't know where civilians and hostage Israelis are. So you run a risk there. There is also a historical lesson. History shows that you can destroy a city, but if you want to break an opponent's will to fight, that doesn't work. E.g. the bombing of Hanoi in the Vietnam War and the bombing of Berlin in World War II. "In the end, you don't win a war with that. A land offensive could allow Israel to penetrate deeper into Hamas's power base. But such an offensive carries major risks for Israel. "You then have to conquer territory house by house, floor by floor, room by room. That is a very intensive form of fighting, which leads to great losses on both sides. Moreover, Israeli soldiers would then be fighting in Hamas territory; an area where Hamas is lord and master. The reference to an earlier war that Israel fought, in 2006 against the militant movement Hezbollah in Lebanon, is clear. There too, fighting took place at house level, resulting in many casualties on the Israeli side. It shows when you start such a war, you are choosing between two evils. Earlier, Israel hit back against Hamas, hard but in moderation. Israel then often used air power to eliminate targets. Now Israel will want to go further. Israel's goal will be to break the power of Hamas to carry out such large, coordinated actions against Israel. Whatever Israel decides to do, it will be very difficult. The fact that there are Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by Hamas, also plays a role. If the Netanyahu government wants to get them all back, they will have to give something up too. That is the choice Israel must make now. A new warning Sunday that the Kremlin “is already and will likely continue to exploit the Hamas attacks on Israel” to hype its rhetoric against Western interference in Ukraine, demoralize Ukrainians and reassure Russians that the focus of the West on the Israeli crisis will deflect its attention from the war in Ukraine, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Following Hamas attacks in Israel on October 7, the Kremlin primarily blamed the West for neglecting conflicts in the Middle East in favor of supporting Ukraine, and claimed that the international community will turn its attention to the Middle East crisis and will cease to focus on Ukraine. Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, said that the United States and its allies should be "busy" with work on a "Palestinian-Israeli settlement" and not "interfere" in Russia's affairs and provide military aid to Ukraine,the ISW reports. Prominent Russian propagandist Sergei Mardan and other Russian news bloggers aim to influence their audience and to demoralize Ukrainian listeners by stating that Russia will benefit from the escalation in Israel as the world “will take its mind off Ukraine for a while and get busy once again putting out the eternal fire in the Middle East,” ISW said. The group added that the Kremlin narrative that Ukraine will lose international support is intended to reassure Russian audiences that the international society will ignore Ukraine’s war effort. Reacting to the Hamas coordinated attacks against Israel Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reminded the world during his nightly video address — to stand firm against terror wherever it emerges. “Terror has opened too many fronts against humanity. The war against Ukraine. The war in the Middle East. Terrible destabilization in Africa. Constant attempts to provoke a crisis in the world food market. Being strong in such conditions means standing up to terror. It is not enough to be a great country. It is not enough to be a rich country. It is not enough to have ambitions. To be strong is to help protect people and lives from all forms of terror. And that is exactly what it is. To help,” he said. Zelenskyy held an emergency phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Sunday, about the situation in Israel and the actions of the armed forces and law enforcement agencies to repel the attack. He expressed Ukraine's solidarity with Israel and offered condolences over the numerous victims. Fighting raged in parts of Israel and the Gaza Strip early Sunday, one day after the Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out a surprise large-scale attack against Israel.
Israeli retaliatory airstrikes on Gaza in the pre-dawn hours of Sunday destroyed Hamas locations and several residential buildings. The Associated Press reports one airstrike flattened a 14-story tower that held dozens of apartments as well as Hamas offices in central Gaza City. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s offensive will continue "without reservation and without respite." Hamas kept up its strikes overnight too, firing rockets overnight at several cities, including Tel Aviv. Much of Gaza has been plunged into darkness since the attacks. Israel maintains a blockade around the territory and Netanyahu announced that Israel will cut the electricity, fuel and other goods it supplies to Gaza. Saturday’s coordinated attack from Hamas came as a complete surprise to Israeli intelligence. Israel "didn’t have an inkling of what was going on," Efraim Halevy, the former chief of Mossad, Israel’s intelligence service, told CNN. "We had no warning of any kind and it was a total surprise that the war broke out this morning." He said the attack was the first time the Palestinians had been able to “penetrate” so deeply into Israel. The militants launched over 3,000 missiles in less than 24 hours, according to Halevy. "This is beyond imagination from our point of view," Halvey told CNN. "We didn’t know they had this quantity of missiles and we certainly didn’t expect that they would be as effective as they were today. ... As an operation, it was highly successful, unfortunately." At least 250 Israelis were killed and more than 1,000 wounded after dozens of Palestinian militants infiltrated Israel from Gaza by land, sea and air. An unknown number of Israeli soldiers and civilians were seized and taken into Gaza, an enormously sensitive issue for Israel. Palestinian health officials said at least 200 Palestinians were killed and more than 1,600 wounded in Israel’s retaliatory strikes. Netanyahu vowed to avenge what he said was a "black day" for Israel, saying the army will strike back at Hamas in Gaza with full force. "The [Israeli Defense Force] is about to use all its force to destroy Hamas' capabilities," Netanyahu said in a brief televised statement. "We'll strike them to the bitter end and avenge with force this black day they brought on Israel and its people." U.S. President Joe Biden voiced "rock solid and unwavering" support for the U.S. ally and warned "against any other party hostile to Israel seeking advantage in this situation." Hamas and Israel have fought four wars since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007. The U.N. Security Council called an emergency meeting for Sunday to discuss the latest violence. As night fell Saturday, the Israeli army said its forces were engaged in live gun battles in many locations. "There are still 22 locations where we are engaging with terrorists that came into Israel, from the sea, from the land and from the air," said army spokesperson Richard Hecht on what he labelled a "robust ground invasion." The coordinated attack began around 6:30 a.m. local time with thousands of rockets aimed as far as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, some slipping past Israel’s Iron Dome defense system and hitting buildings. Hamas fighters, using ground vehicles, motorized paragliders and boats, breached Gaza's security barrier and attacked nearby Israeli towns and military posts, opening fire on residents and passersby. Twenty people have been detained for rioting in Nanterre, a western suburb of Paris, police said on Tuesday. The unrest broke out after an officer killed a 17-year-old man during a traffic stop.
The altercation occurred on Tuesday morning. According to police, the young man was shot after failing to comply with an order and attempting to ram an officer with his car. A video filmed by a witness shows that two officers had stopped a yellow Mercedes AMG. While one officer was standing outside the window and giving orders to the driver, his colleague stood next to him and was pointing a handgun at the driver. The car suddenly moved forward, prompting the officer to fire a single shot. The Mercedes crashed into a pole and the driver died, despite efforts to resuscitate him. The prosecutor’s office said the driver was known for having previously refused to comply with a police order during a traffic stop. Hours after the incident, around 50 people held a protest outside Nanterre police station, BFM TV reported. In other parts of the neighborhood, rioters smashed bus stops, set garbage containers on fire, and torched several vehicles. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said an investigation had been launched into the shooting. A separate investigation has been launched on suspicion of attempting to cause harm to a police officer. The 'strange' admission, according to the Zionist regime’s Supreme Court president, was made on a petition to disclose materials that detail facts about the massacre committed against Palestinian refugee in the Sabra and Shatila Camp about four decades ago.
A lawyer for the ‘Israeli’ entity’s Mossad spy agency told the Zionist regime’s so-called High Court of Justice on Monday that the agency is having difficulty locating historic documents in its archives relating to ties between the agency and Lebanese Christian militias that carried out massacres at two Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon in September 1982. The Mossad lawyer, Omri Epstein, made the claim at a hearing on a petition filed by dozens of human rights advocates who have been seeking the disclosure of documents demonstrating Mossad’s links in the 1970s and 1980s to Lebanese Christian militias that committed the massacres at the Palestinian refugees’ camp. In comments to the Mossad’s claim, court president Esther Hayut, who heads the panel hearing the case, described it as “strange.”. At the hearing, Epstein alleged that the agency’s current ability to locate the documents “in the way in which they are stored, as well as the capability to locate documents for such an inclusive request spanning eight years, is limited and difficult.”. Hayut noted that the spy agency is legally required to preserve the documents, which are to be opened to the public after 90 years. “The assumption is that until the 90 years have elapsed, you need to preserve the material – so what does it mean that it’s difficult for you to locate them?” she asked. Epstein responded that behind closed doors and on an ex parte basis – meaning without the presence of the representatives of the human rights advocates – he would be able to explain at further length “how the material is maintained in the Mossad archives.”. In his petition, Eitay Mack, the lawyer representing the petitioners, alleged that about 40 years had so far elapsed “since the Mossad was responsible for ‘Israel’s’ support for murderous militias that committed atrocities in Lebanon. Nevertheless, the Mossad still believes that it is its right to conceal the information relating to them from the public.”. Mack said that the 1982 massacre “was just one of a series of massacres, executions, abductions, disappearances, dismemberment and abuse of bodies that the Christian militias carried out.” The nondisclosure of historic documents was the subject of another High Court case that was decided about two months ago, involving a request by researchers from the Taub Center for ‘Israel’ Studies at New York University to review documents in the archives related to the establishment of Zionist settlements in the West Bank and Gaza. Israel has led a 10-country simulation of a major cyber attack on the global financial system in an attempt to increase cooperation that could help to minimise any potential damage to financial markets and banks. The simulated cyber attack evolved over 10 days, with sensitive data emerging on the dark web along with fake news reports that ultimately caused chaos in global markets and a run on banks.
Participants in the initiative, called “Collective Strength”, included treasury officials from Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Thailand, as well as representatives from the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and Bank of International Settlements. The simulation featured several types of attacks that impacted global foreign exchange and bond markets, liquidity, integrity of data and transactions between importers and exporters. "These events are creating havoc in the financial markets," said a narrator of a film shown to the participants as part of the simulation and seen by Reuters. Israeli government officials said that such threats are possible in the wake of the many high profile cyber attacks on large companies, and that the only way to contain any damage is through global cooperation since current cyber security is not always strong enough. The narrator of the film in the simulation said governments were under pressure to clarify the impact of the attack, which was paralysing the global financial system. “The banks are appealing for emergency liquidity assistance in a multitude of currencies to put a halt to the chaos as counterparties withdraw their funds and limit access to liquidity, leaving the banks in disarray and ruin,” the narrator said. The participants discussed multilateral policies to respond to the crisis, including a coordinated bank holiday, debt repayment grace periods, SWAP/REPO agreements and coordinated delinking from major currencies. "Attackers are 10 steps ahead of the defender," Micha Weis, financial cyber manager at Israel's Finance Ministry, told Reuters. Rahav Shalom-Revivo, head of Israel’s financial cyber engagements, said international collaboration between finance ministries and international organizations “is key for the resilience of the financial eco-system.” The simulation was originally scheduled to take place at the Dubai World Expo but it was moved to Jerusalem due to the Omicron variant of COVID-19, with officials participating over video conference. What are the risks with Bitcoin? Bitcoin is the first and most valuable cryptocurrency and it has seen massive growth in 2017. But many people are warning about the risks associated with Bitcoin. A number of high-profile investors regard Bitcoin as a ‘bubble’ or ‘mirage’, and expect the market to crash, like the dot-com bubble. Others highlight that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin help to enable financial crime and funding of terrorism, due to the level of anonymity that digital currencies can provide to technologically adept criminals.
It seems like everybody is talking about cryptocurrencies at the moment. With apps like Coinbase making it possible to buy and trade cryptocurrencies at the tap of a button, thousands of people – from political idealists to economic opportunists – have been jumping on the crypto investment bandwagon. Cryptocurrencies are creeping into the mainstream, with even Goldman Sachs recently announcing their plans to start trading Bitcoin. 2017 saw the asset value of Bitcoin boom, amidst growing confidence in the first and most important cryptocurrency. Many cryptocurrency investors have seen the growth of Bitcoin as a win-win situation for all concerned. But are crypto-investors inadvertently paying into a system that is making the world less safe, and putting us all at risk? Since its early days, Bitcoin has had its share of ties with criminal activity. With the increased level of anonymity that it provided, Bitcoin was a popular currency on the darknet marketplace the ‘Silk Road’, where it was used chiefly to trade illegal drugs, as well as other contraband. As it crawls towards the mainstream, Bitcoin has certainly shaken off some these negative associations. But the fact remains that crypto transactions continue to afford criminals with a veil of anonymity, enabling them to evade justice – and enabling the financing of all manner of malicious activities. The problem is that, unlike conventional currencies, cryptocurrencies are decentralized, and therefore not subject to the same regulations, reviews, and monitoring as in financial institutions or banks. This means that potential criminal transactions that are processed in cryptocurrency bypass the regulatory controls that banks are legally required to perform. Jargon buster Bitcoin – a digital cryptocurrency and payment system. It is a decentralized digital currency, as it operates independently of a central bank. Cryptocurrency – a digital asset designed to function as a medium of exchange. Encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units of currency and verify the transfer of funds. Bitcoin is the first, and, at present, the most valuable cryptocurrency. Blockchain – an encrypted ledger which records the history of cryptocurrency transactions Bitcoin and terrorist funding Amongst the criminal organizations that are benefitting from unregulated cryptocurrency transactions are ISIS. In a PDF circulated on social media, entitled “Bitcoin and the Charity of Violent Physical Struggle”, one ISIS supporter explains, “This system has the potential to revive the lost sunnah of donating to the mujahideen, it is simple, easy, and we ask Allah to hasten it’s (sic) usage for us”. As academics from Macquarie University have highlighted, the utility of crypto for helping to fund ISIS terrorist operations is significant. Ghost Security Group, a hacktivist and anti-terrorism group, claimed to have identified a chain of transactions to Bitcoin wallets believed to be owned by ISIS which contained funds between $4.7m and $15.7m – between one to three percent of their estimated annual income. The group stated to news network NewsBTC that ISIS is “extensively using Bitcoin for funding their operations”. In 2015, German media company Deutsche Welle reported that one Bitcoin wallet believed to belong to ISIS received around $23m within a single month. Lora Smith COPENHAGEN, August 10 -- An explosion damaged a police station in Copenhagen early on Saturday, in the second blast to hit the Danish capital in four days. No one was injured in the blast, which happened outside a station in the Norrebro, just outside the city centre, police said on Twitter. On Tuesday (Aug 6), one person was slightly injured in an explosion outside the Danish Tax Agency's office, in what police said was a deliberate attack. Police told Reuters it was too early to say whether the two blasts were connected, but could not immediately comment further. Police were searching for a man running from the scene of the blast, Ekstra Bladet said. Serious attacks or violence are rare in the small Nordic country of 5.7 million people that prides itself on a reputation for safety and social tolerance. Lora Smith KIEV, August 7 -- Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has told reporters that he held a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Wednesday to discuss the situation in Donbass. Russia's Kremlin confirmed that the conversation between the two leaders took place. "This morning I spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin," Zelensky told a briefing following an urgent meeting with security forces, convened after four Ukrainian military were killed in the Donbass operation zone. "I called him on short notice. I said that this is not bringing us closer to peace." Kiev claims the servicemen in Donbass came under fire launched by militias. The Ukrainian president noted that he had asked the Russian leader to exert influence on the other party to "stop the killings." After Wednesday’s telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Ukrainian president plans to discuss the situation in Donbass with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "I will make another phone call from Turkey to President Macron," Zelensky told a news briefing following an emergency meeting with key military and law enforcement officials after the death of four Ukrainian servicemen in the area of the military operation in Donbass. "Also, I plan to contact Chancellor Merkel in the near future to agree on an urgent meeting." Zelensky believes that the Normandy quartet leaders should meet urgently "to look each other in the eye and bring this war to an end." On Tuesday, Zelensky called on the Normandy Four leaders — Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron — to convene a meeting as soon as possible to discuss the death of four Ukrainian servicemen, which Kiev blames on militias of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic. Donetsk has rejected the claims, stressing that the incident had occurred way beyond the contact line and not within the militias’ striking range. On August 7-8, Zelensky is to pay a visit to Turkey, where he will hold talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and meet with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and representatives of the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar communities. Pete McGee BANGKOK, August 7 -- Police investigators are rushing to try and unravel the mystery behind Friday morning’s arson and bomb attacks in Bangkok and the presumably related case of two unexploded devices found outside Royal Thai Police headquarters the day before. Officers of various precincts are studying security camera recordings and interviewing people seen with suspects, including taxi drivers. There have been four arrests so far and warrants are expected to be sought for seven more suspects. Investigators are in total probing nine bombs – six that exploded and three that were safely disposed of – and six arson attacks in six different locations. A timeline compiled by The Nation based on information from police sources begins at 3.40pm on Thursday (August 1), when two bomb-like objects were noticed in front of Royal Thai Police HQ. Police initially characterized them as fake bombs – containing full detonating equipment but no explosive material. It was later announced, however, that they were homemade bombs set to detonate between 8 and 9am on Friday. At 4.37am on Friday, Pathumwan police were alerted to fires at two department stores at the Samyan and Pathumwan intersections. Mall security and automatic extinguishers doused the flames and no one was hurt. At 4.40, Phayathai police got a call about a fire at the single-storey Sidewalk Market on Soi Phetchaburi 19 in Ratchathewi district, behind the Indra Regent Hotel. The blaze destroyed 60 clothing stalls. Officers from the Scientific Crime Detection Division found what were believed to be elements of fire bombs at the three fire locations, including timer circuit-boards attached to power banks and traces of alcohol. The fire bombs were similar to those used to cause disturbances in seven provinces in the upper South in 2016. In Bangkok, the first was set to detonate at the DD House Building half an hour before the other two. Security cameras at the malls recorded a man “planting” an object in the approximate right location at one mall, but no one was seen at the other. At 6.10am, a bomb exploded at the entrance to Building B at the Government Complex in Bangkok’s northern Chaeng Watthana district. No one was injured. Between 8.30 and 8.40, two more bombs exploded, one in front of the King Power Mahanakhon Building, injuring a security officer, the other in a carpark in front of the same downtown building, injuring an electrical technician. At 8.40, a bomb detonated in front of the Office of the Permanent Secretary for Defence in Nonthaburi’s Pakkret district. Again, no one was hurt. At 8.45, a second bomb exploded at Government Complex Building B, this time at the exit. At 9.10 there was an explosion in front of Supreme Command headquarters. No one was injured. At 11, a bomb disposal unit dismantled a second device in the same locale. |
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