Middle East & North Africa

Netanyahu accuses Israel officials of helping US prevent attack on Rafah

20 March 2024; MEMO: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday accused Israeli officials of cooperating with the US to prevent a ground attack in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, Anadolu reported.

“Some in Israel are cooperating with the Americans to prevent entry into Rafah,” Netanyahu told a meeting of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee. He did not name the officials involved.

Israel's Eilat Port to lay off half of its staff

20 March 2024; MEMO: Half the workers at Israel’s Eilat Port are at risk of losing their jobs after the seaport took a major financial hit due to the crisis in Red Sea shipping lanes, Reuters reported officials saying today.

Eilat sits on a northern tip of the Red Sea and was one of the first ports to be affected as shipping firms rerouted vessels to avoid attacks on Israel-linked vessel by the Houthis in Yemen.

Israel using fake social media accounts to target UNRWA, report reveals

20 March 2024; MEMO: An online Israeli influencing campaign employing fake social media accounts has been attacking the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), according to a recent report by a disinformation watchdog cited by Haaretz.

Israel opposes Qatar’s participation in building, operating Gaza pier

20 March 2024; MEMO: Israel yesterday announced that it has informed the United States of its opposition to Qatar’s involvement in building and operating a floating pier in the Gaza Strip that will bring humanitarian aid into the Strip.

Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said the US had invited Qatar to be involved in constructing the pier in spite of Tel Aviv’s objection.

Iraqi resistance targets Tel Aviv airport again

Tehran, IRNA- The Islamic Resistance in Iraq says it has targeted Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, in a latest of attack on Zionist targets deep inside Israel in a show of support for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

IRNA, citing the media of the Iraqi Islamic Resistance War said that the attack in the early hours of Wednesday was carried out using several drones.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties from the strike on the airport that has been targeted by the resistance group several times in recent weeks.

Today's Billionaire Raj more unequal than British Raj: Cong slams govt over income inequalities

New Delhi, Mar 20 (PTI) The Congress on Wednesday attacked the government over a report on income and wealth inequalities in India over a century, alleging that "Narendra Modi's Billionaire Raj" is now more unequal than even the British Raj.

Party general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said that on March 18, leading global economists, including Thomas Piketty, published the report titled "Income and Wealth Inequality in India, 1922-2023: The Rise of the Billionaire Raj." with some extremely concerning findings.

Israel lost war against Hamas in Gaza: ex-military commander says

18 March 2024; MEMO: Israel has lost its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, a former Israeli military commander said yesterday.

“You can’t lie to many people for a long time,” Yitzhak Brick, a former major general, said in an article in Maariv newspaper, according to Anadolu.

“What is happening in the Gaza Strip and against Hezbollah in Lebanon will blow up in our faces sooner or later,” he warned.

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