Israeli Tanks Shell Hamas Posts in Gaza

Palestinian militants attach a fire bomb to inflated plastic bags and condoms before launching it across the Gaza border into Israel- AFP
Palestinian militants attach a fire bomb to inflated plastic bags and condoms before launching it across the Gaza border into Israel- AFP
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Israeli Tanks Shell Hamas Posts in Gaza

Palestinian militants attach a fire bomb to inflated plastic bags and condoms before launching it across the Gaza border into Israel- AFP
Palestinian militants attach a fire bomb to inflated plastic bags and condoms before launching it across the Gaza border into Israel- AFP

Israeli tanks shelled Hamas military positions in Gaza early Saturday, the army and Palestinian security sources said, hours after a rocket was launched at southern Israel.

A statement from the military said the Israeli "tanks targeted Hamas military posts in the southern Gaza Strip" in response to the Friday fire.

The rocket, which set off sirens in southern Israel, was intercepted without causing any casualties or damage.

Gaza security sources said the Saturday tank fire targeted Hamas observation posts east of Rafah and east of Khan Yunis, causing no casualties, AFP reported.

Israel has bombed Gaza almost daily since August 6 in retaliation for the launch of balloons fitted with fire bombs, or, less frequently, rockets.

On Thursday night, Gaza militants fired a dozen rockets at Israel, which responded with air strikes on a rocket manufacturing plant and underground infrastructure.

Meanwhile, an Egyptian delegation was trying to broker a return to an informal truce.

According to a source close to Hamas, the movement wants the extension of an industrial zone in the east of Gaza, and the construction of a new power line.

Hamas also wants the number of work permits in Israel issued to Gazans to be doubled to 10,000 once anti-coronavirus restrictions are lifted, the source said.



US Demand to Dismantle PMF Fuels Debate in Iraq, Iran

3 January 2023, Berlin: Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Prime Minister of Iraq, speaks during a press conference at the Federal Chancellery. (dpa)
3 January 2023, Berlin: Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Prime Minister of Iraq, speaks during a press conference at the Federal Chancellery. (dpa)
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US Demand to Dismantle PMF Fuels Debate in Iraq, Iran

3 January 2023, Berlin: Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Prime Minister of Iraq, speaks during a press conference at the Federal Chancellery. (dpa)
3 January 2023, Berlin: Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Prime Minister of Iraq, speaks during a press conference at the Federal Chancellery. (dpa)

The United States’ demand for the dismantling of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Iraq has fueled debate in Baghdad and Tehran.

Iranian Ambassador to Iraq Mohammad Kazem Al-Sadegh said US President Donald Trump’s recent message to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei included a demand to dismantle the Tehran-backed PMF and other armed factions.

In televised remarks on Thursday, Al-Sadegh said the dismantling or merger of the PMF in the armed forces is “unacceptable for Iran and Iraq.”

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani later responded to his remarks, saying the US made no such demand.

In a television interview, he stressed that the dismantling of the armed factions is linked to ending the deployment of the US-led international coalition to fight ISIS in Iraq.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein declared that his country is not part of the “Resistance Axis” of armed groups across the region that are loyal to Iran.

He warned that Israel may attack Iran should Tehran fail to reach an understanding with the US.

“Iraq does not agree with the ‘unity of arenas’,” he added in a television interview.