Middle Orient

Sudanese businessman Abdelbasit Hamza — whose company holdings feature in Cyprus Confidential documents — has been accused of being “a central figure in Hamas’ investment portfolio.” An accused financier of Hamas has extensive business ties in Europe and owns a stake in a lucrative Cyprus firm that mines Egyptian gold, …

Latest Developments Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen vowed on December 19 to continue threatening international shipping in the Red Sea. “No matter how many alliances America mobilizes, our military operations will not stop,” said Mohammed Albukhaiti, a member of the organization’s ruling council. The statement came in response to the …

On December 7, 2023, Saraya Al-Quds, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), eulogized two of its fighters who allegedly were killed in south Lebanon in a combat against Israel. Citing a Quranic verse that promises heavens for “martyrs,” the statement, which was posted on the group’s Telegram …

Introduction Yemen’s Ansar Allah Houthi Movement – a delisted foreign terrorist organization (FTO) – has, since October 7, launched six rounds of aerial projectiles at Israel,[1] downed a U.S. drone in Yemen,[2] captured a shipping vessel in the Red Sea,[3] and, most recently, fired ballistic missiles and drones in the …

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on Monday Operation Prosperity Guardian, which he said was in response to “reckless Houthi attacks” from Yemen in the Red Sea. Countries joining the naval task force include the UK, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain. “The recent escalation in reckless …

Zionism is an extreme, but by no means exceptional, manifestation of the divisive logic of the nation-state. How should we understand the vicious violence that the state of Israel is unleashing indiscriminately on Palestinian children, mothers, fathers, hospitals, schools, and places of worship in Gaza? Most importantly, how does this …

How to Build a New Political Order After Israel’s Assault on Gaza After ten weeks of waging a brutal war in Gaza, Israeli leaders continue to insist that their military campaign will press ahead until Hamas has been eliminated. They have yet to articulate what that would mean in practice …

Latest Developments The Israeli military continued to target Hamas infrastructure in Gaza on December 18, seizing five million shekels in cash and targeting terror tunnels, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. “During IDF operational activity in Jabalya, IDF troops located 5,000,000 NIS worth of funds designated for terrorist activity inside …

The combat arena: The IDF integrated ground maneuver in the Gaza Strip continues, focusing on Jabalia and Shejaiya in the northern Gaza Strip and Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. The Palestinians reported intense exchanges of fire and dozens of deaths in the combat zones. IDF forces uncovered the …

Homs province: A member of ISIS and two members of the National Defence Forces were killed and three others sustained various injuries during armed clashes with machineguns between members of the National Defence Forces and ISIS members in Al-Sukhnah desert.