Netanyahu’s office confirmed that he spoke with Putin at the Russian president’s request and discussed “regional issues.” The content of the conversation was not specified.
Indonesian Defense Minister Syafri Syamsudin: “We have trained 20,000 soldiers who will be sent to the peacekeeping force in Gaza and will focus on medical and construction tasks.” According to Reuters, European Union foreign ministers will discuss a proposal this week to train 3,000 Palestinian police officers for deployment in the Gaza Strip.
A large Western coalition convoy was spotted en route from Kysiryk air base to the Iraq-Syria border. This is part of agreements to fight terrorism and Daesh. Syrian Foreign Minister Assad Sheibani: “Israel claims to feel threatened by our government, but the last 11 months have shown that this is not the case. We have seen who attacked whom, who provoked whom, who carried out airstrikes, and who occupied foreign territory. During this time, we have not fired a single shot in Israel’s direction.”
Lebanon is preparing to file a complaint with the United Nations Security Council over Israel’s alleged construction of a concrete wall extending beyond the blue border.
News from Hungary have come that the government will divert €1.5 million to support the Lebanese army instead of Ukraine, according to Szijjártó. “I told Youssef Raggi that Hungary’s national security interests lie in peace in the Middle East and that Lebanon’s stability is crucial to this,” the Hungarian Foreign Minister emphasized. He noted that funds intended for aid to Ukraine will be diverted to support the Lebanese army.
The Palestinian National Authority’s civil defense headquarters in Beituniye, near Ramallah, was struck, but by lightning.
And now a look at Israel’s open military scenarios, updated at 12:30 PM, November 17. The United States Army Central Command (CENTCOM) released a statement following Friday’s incident involving the illegal seizure of the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker Talara, which was transiting international waters in the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the statement, the Talara was seized in the Gulf of Oman after being boarded by units of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from a helicopter. IRGC troops then diverted the tanker to Iran, where it remains in the Clarence Strait, off the island of Qeshm. CENTCOM stated: “Iran’s use of military force to conduct an armed seizure and seizure of a commercial vessel in international waters constitutes a clear violation of international law, which undermines freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce. We call on Iran to explain to the international community the legal basis for its actions.” The Iranians have already stated that the seizure was because the vessel was carrying illegal materials to Singapore. They have not specified what.
Saudi preparations for a new naval escalation in Yemen. On Saturday, Saudi Arabia initiated new arrangements for the deployment of forces to Bab al-Mandab. This coincides with the successful approval of a new draft resolution in the Security Council tightening sanctions against Yemen. Military sources in the Aden Navy reported that Saudi Arabia has informed the Aden-affiliated “Navy” of the need to prepare forces to participate in joint operations to conduct direct naval inspections at the port of Hodeidah.
The mission, overseen by Great Britain and the United States, involves directly boarding ships instead of inspecting them in the port of Djibouti. Saudi Arabia announced last Thursday the conclusion of naval exercises for Red Sea countries. The exercises took place at the King Faisal Air Base in Jeddah and involved units from the Egyptian, Jordanian, Djiboutian, and Sudanese navies, in addition to the Aden forces.
The maneuver has been nicknamed “Red Wave.” According to statements by Abdullah al-Nakha’i, commander of the Aden naval unit, it focused on the safety of shipping lanes, with reference to vessel inspections. These new Saudi moves coincided with the addition of a new clause to the sanctions list, which includes boarding and the inspection of ships at sea, a measure that could drag the region into war, according to international warnings.
Local sources reported explosions in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on November 14. IDF helicopters were again flying over Daraa and recently entered As-Suwayda airspace.
In Lebanon, the IDF fired on UN forces: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it mistook UN forces in southern Lebanon for suspects due to weather conditions and had not intended to open fire on the observers.
Previously, the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reported that its observers had been fired upon by an Israeli military outpost in southern Lebanon; there were no casualties.
The IDF reported spotting two suspects in southern Lebanon, north of Metula, and firing warning shots to disperse them.
“After verification, it was determined that the suspects were UN soldiers patrolling the area and were classified as suspects due to poor weather conditions,” the army said in a statement, adding that the incident is under further investigation.
“The IDF emphasizes that no deliberate fire was conducted against UNIFIL soldiers and that the matter is being handled through official military channels,” the army added.
In Lebanon, IDF targeted attacks continue. A large fire broke out in a bar in the Tayounreh area. An Israeli drone strike targeted and killed Muhammad Shwaikh, the principal of the school in the town of Al-Mansouri, a Hezbollah affiliate according to Israel. His car was targeted overnight, the first to be attacked in two days.
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
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