Signs of rising tensions in the Middle East are growing by the minute. Iran’s State Civil Defense Organization announced that a mobile phone alert exercise was held on Friday, November 13, the first in Iran’s history. The emergency alert system was also tested in some parts of the country. Also on the subject of Iran, it was learned that an Emirati-flagged oil tanker was hijacked in the Arabian Sea and is now headed toward Iran.
Tel Aviv is seeking a 20-year military aid agreement with the United States, Axios reports. According to the portal, Israel will likely request at least $4 billion in annual aid, but fears that negotiations “will be more difficult following the Trump administration’s significant cuts in foreign aid.” According to Channel 12: “A deep internal crisis is gripping Israel, more than two years after the outbreak of the Gaza war, as thousands of soldiers seek to leave the service and take early retirement, in a phenomenon considered “the most dangerous in recent years.” Thousands of permanent soldiers have submitted official requests for rapid discharge and do not wish to continue their military service. The phenomenon affects various ranks and levels within the military. The reasons for this wave are due to a number of factors, in particular, “severe exhaustion resulting from the ongoing war in Gaza, the difficult conditions of service and long periods of deployment on the fronts, political tensions that have undermined the army’s unity, and the controversial nature of some recent military appointments.”
In Lebanon, as preparations for the upcoming elections are underway, BTR-82A armored personnel carriers from the Bangladeshi peacekeeping contingent serving as part of the UN mission are observed leaving Lebanon. According to the Al-Jumhuriya Daily: “A Saudi delegation will soon be in Lebanon… and positive consultations are underway between Aoun and Hezbollah.”
And now a look at the military scenarios updated at 1:00 PM on November 14. The British Navy reports that an oil tanker has suddenly deviated from its course and headed towards Iranian territorial waters. It was headed from the United Arab Emirates to Singapore. It crossed paths with three other vessels and is heading towards Iran, in an action that appears to be deliberate. The British Maritime Authority subsequently said: “We have received a report of an incident in the Arabian Sea.” A US Navy MQ-4C surveillance drone is currently flying over the unknown location of the incident in the Arabian Sea.
According to the SANA news agency, citing a security source: “Rogue groups are targeting the towns of Walgha, Tell al-Aqra, Tell Hadid, and al-Mazraa, in the campaign of Suwaida, with mortar fire and heavy machine guns.
The UK’s Office of Commercial Maritime Operations reports a possible incident in the Arabian Sea, near the Strait of Hormuz, approximately 20 nautical miles off the coast of Khorfakkan, United Arab Emirates.
In Hadatha, Lebanon, a loud series of explosions was heard, and there were fears of an Israeli attack, but authorities said it was the result of explosive devices and not an IDF attack.
Israeli forces continue to demolish buildings located behind the yellow ceasefire line in Gaza, contributing to the destruction of Palestinian residential areas. The 19th-century Pasha Cultural Palace in Gaza’s Old City, along with the Church of St. Porphyry and the historic Great Mosque of Omari, have been heavily bombed by Israel. Only a few walls remain. Local teams are racing against time, with limited resources, to recover manuscripts. Fragmented, carved stones, and delicate artifacts, including a centuries-old bird sculpture, preserve what remains of Gaza’s cultural heritage, shattered by Israel’s systematic destruction.
The Israeli side hands over the bodies of 15 Palestinians as part of a prisoner swap.
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
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