Eurasia

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted an airstrike on an underground bunker in Beirut on October 3. The airstrike targeted a meeting of senior Hezbollah officials, including the presumed successor to Hassan Nasrallah, Safi ed Din.[i] Neither the IDF nor Hezbollah have provided any information on the outcome of the …

The only way that it could have worked was if Poland rounded up draft-aged Ukrainians. Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz admitted last week that the “Ukrainian Legion” that his country promised to form last summer after these two neighboring countries clinched their security pact has flopped. In his words, “The …

Israel has assassinated the leader of Hezbollah and killed many of its members by way of booby-trapped pagers and walky-talkies. After a blitzkrieg bombing campaign, Israel once again invaded Lebanon this week to escalate its campaign against the paramilitary-cum-political party. Meanwhile, it continues to wage war against Hamas in Gaza. …

Russia is close to seizing all of Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region, according to an updated assessment, although it would likely be a victory more for Moscow’s propaganda war than a game-changing win for Russia along the front lines in the embattled east of Ukraine. As of October 3, Russian troops …

Israeli conducted strikes near the Syrian coast this morning, with explosions reported in the vicinity of the Russian-operated Khmeimim Air Base, near the city of Latakia. At this stage, it’s not clear if the Russian airfield was actually hit, deliberately or otherwise — which would be a first. Either way, …

And with Tehran threatening to respond to such moves with even greater force, the scope and scale of the looming Israeli operation could determine whether or not the Middle East ultimately slides into an all-out war after a year of tit-for-tat escalations. Sima Shine, a former head of Mossad’s Research …

Analysis: Whether indiscriminate mass bombing, forced displacement, or targeting civilians, Israel is employing the same tactics in Lebanon as it did in Gaza. As Israel officially began its invasion of south Lebanon this week, a sense of déjà vu immediately struck people who have been living through or observing Israel’s …

Though there had been hopes that some kind of agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan could be initialled or signed by November this year, the situation looks increasingly uncertain as Russia once again enters the fray Four years after the start of the 44-day-war between Armenia and Azerbaijan and a year …

The Houthis could seek to bolster their status after Nasrallah’s killing, having already played an oversized regional role since Israel’s war on Gaza began. When Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, delivered televised speeches over the past year during Israel’s war on Gaza, Yemenis would watch him transfixed. Listening closely …

Analysis: Israel’s decision to escalate a multifront war has left Iran with a dilemma in how to respond, with the Middle East bracing for what comes next. On 27 September, Israel levelled several high-rise apartment buildings in the Lebanese capital. Felt dozens of kilometres away, these Israeli airstrikes produced the …