Gaza War

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Not since Churchill has a leader defended a country at war with the brilliance, courage, and resoluteness shown by PM Netanyahu. Despite unrelenting attacks from a hostile Biden Administration, the Democrat Party, the EU, the UK, the UN, the mainstream media, the global Left, et al, PM Netanyahu has stood firm in his determination to defeat Iran and secure the future of the State of Israel. Today, PM Netanyahu is the co-leader (with President Trump) of the free world.

<b>Hundreds reported dead as Israel and Iran trade strikes for a third day and threaten more to come</b>- <i> www.euronews.com</i>

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Over 230 people are reported dead across Israel and Iran since Israel launched its first strikes on Friday, leading to an ongoing exchange of attacks with no end in sight.

On Sunday night, emergency responders were still struggling to contain fires started by strikes on the northern port city of Haifa.

In Haifa, an oil refinery was damaged, the firm operating it said. Israel’s main international airport and airspace was closed for a third day.

Iran raised its death toll on Sunday to 224 people. Health authorities also reported that 1,277 were wounded, without distinguishing between military officials and civilians.

Claiming to operate almost freely in the skies over Iran, Israel said its attacks Sunday hit Iran’s Defence Ministry, missile launch sites and factories producing air defence components. Iran also acknowledged Israel had killed more of its top generals, including the Revolutionary Guard intelligence chief, Mohammad Kazemi.

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As the war between Israel and Iran intensifies, civilians in Tehran were caught on video fleeing the city this weekend to escape the carnage.

Hat Tip Banafsheh Zand.

Israel continued to strike Tehran on Sunday.

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According to The Wall Street Journal, the Mullahs are looking for an off-ramp, burning up the backchannels to try to get the United States to bail them out.

Iran has been urgently signaling that it seeks an end to hostilities and resumption of talks over its nuclear programs, sending messages to Israel and the U.S. via Arab intermediaries, Middle Eastern and European officials said.

In the midst of a ferocious Israeli air campaign, Tehran has told Arab officials it would be open to returning to the negotiating table as long as the U.S. doesn’t join the attack, the officials said. Iran also passed messages to Israel saying it is in the interest of both sides to keep the violence contained.

I’m not sure if what’s left of the Iranian leadership doesn’t understand how negotiations work, but they probably should have taken them seriously before Israel began its military operation to destroy their nuclear program. It took only three days for the IDF to establish air superiority over Tehran, and they are now bombing regime targets with impunity. That includes the launchers being used to shoot missiles at Israel. Once that threat is minimized, the Mullahs will have nothing left to respond with.

 

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Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) bombed Iran’s state television station during a live broadcast Monday, prompting an anchor to flee the studio as the screen filled with debris and smoke.

Footage posted online shows the moment the Israeli Air Force struck the offices of the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network (IRINN). As dark smoke enveloped the room, a male voice could be heard screaming “Allahu Akbar!”

The IRINN is part of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting corporation (IRIB), and is headquartered in the Jame Jam Park in Tehran, Iran.

Before the strike, the IDF issued an evacuation warning for the area in Tehran surrounding  IRIB’s headquarters, and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that the “Iranian propaganda and incitement mouthpiece is on its way to disappearing.”

The IDF justified the strike Monday afternoon, saying the IRIB was being used for military purposes, according to the Jerusalem Post. 

The building was used under the guise of civilian activity, covering up the military use of the center’s infrastructure and assets. The strike directly harmed the military capabilities of the Iranian Armed Forces, according to the IDF.

The military added that the “precise strike” was conducted based on intelligence, and prior to the strike, the IDF warned the surrounding civilian population, including through phone calls

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Russia is pushing itself as a candidate to hold Iran’s enriched uranium in hypothetical peace arrangements with Israel.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov offered last week to provide “services” for the “export of excess nuclear material produced by Iran” to aid a larger “negotiation process” to de-escalate the region.

Peskov reiterated the offer on Monday as his country seeks to play a mediating role between the Middle East states.

“This proposal remains on the table, it remains relevant,” Peskov said. “But of course, with the outbreak of hostilities, the situation has become seriously complicated.”

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It appears at least one side in the deadly Israel-Iran conflict is ready to tentatively wave the white flag.

And it’s not the side backed by the U.S. — though America’s looming presence apparently had something to do with it.

In a stunning report from The Wall Street Journal, it appears Tehran is ready to “de-escalate” tensions after Israel and Iran came into conflict late last week.

“A Battered Iran Signals It Wants to De-Escalate Hostilities With Israel and Negotiate,” the Journal titled its article, adding, “intermediaries seek a return to talks if the U.S. stays out of the fight.”

Of note, the specter of the United States’ might has always been on the fringes of this Middle East conflict.

As President Donald Trump personally noted on Truth, any Iranian attack on America would be met with unequivocal force:

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Russia said Sunday it had evacuated several of its citizens from Iran and halted activity at its Tehran consulate after Israeli attacks on the country sparked retaliatory missile fire towards Israel.

“Due to the current situation, the consular service of the embassy is temporarily suspending its activities. The resumption of consular services will be announced later,” the Russian embassy in Tehran said on Telegram.

Russian Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova said musicians from the Tchaikovsky Grand Symphony Orchestra were evacuated from Iran.

“The musicians crossed the Azerbaijani border. Yesterday (Saturday), Fyodor Bondarchuk’s film crew left Iran via the same route,” she said on Telegram, referring to the Russian director and actor.

Russia’s civil aviation authority ordered airlines to suspend flights to Iran and Israel and avoid their airspace — along with the airspace of Jordan and Iraq — until at least June 26, following official travel warnings issued Friday.

<b>Israel Expands Operations, Targeting Iranian Political Institutions as Netanyahu Taunts 'Weak' Regime in Tehran</b>- <i> freebeacon.com</i>

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Israel pummeled hundreds of targets across Iran on Sunday, hitting Tehran’s military leadership, government buildings, and weapons depots—significantly intensifying operations meant to cripple the Islamic Republic’s nuclear infrastructure and destroy its hardline regime. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, said “it’s possible” the United States could enter the fray.

Israel bombed multiple Iranian energy sites overnight, settling ablaze fuel depots the regime uses to feed its military and lucrative commercial oil industry. The Israeli Air Force (IAF) hit Iran’s foreign ministry compound along with the Islamic Republic’s defense ministry and other operational outposts central to the regime’s planned retaliatory strikes.

Israel has demonstrated through these operations that it is willing to target the Iranian regime’s centralized ruling architecture, not just its contested nuclear sites.

The strikes on Tehran’s leadership outposts are likely aimed at destabilizing an Iranian regime that is already on the defensive following Israel’s successful opening salvo. That regime could soon face mass unrest if its fragile governing systems break down, and while the hardline government has for years quelled protests against it, the added pressure of a full-scale Israeli assault brings complications.

“It could certainly be the result because the Iranian regime is very weak,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday after Fox News’s Bret Baier asked whether “regime change” was part of Israel’s war effort. “They certainly don’t have the people. Eighty percent of the people would throw these theological thugs out. I mean, they murder them, they oppress them for 46 years, they yearn for freedom.”

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President Trump opposed a recent Israeli plan to kill Iran‘s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, three U.S. officials told CBS News on Sunday.

The Israelis had the opportunity to assassinate Khamenei and Mr. Trump conveyed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that it wasn’t a good idea, one U.S. official told CBS News. They said the conversation between Netanyahu and Mr. Trump happened since Israel launched a massive attack on Iran last week.

Mr. Trump’s rejection of the proposal was first reported by Reuters.

 
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

 

Iranian Leader Press Office/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images

 

A senior U.S. official told CBS News on Saturday that there has been no direct contact between the U.S. and Iran. An Israeli official in Washington, D.C., told CBS News on Saturday that there is regular contact between the U.S. and Israel, with leaders having spoken Monday, Thursday and Friday.

During an interview with Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier” on Sunday, Netanyahu did not directly confirm or deny Reuters’ reporting when asked about it.

“There’s so many false reports of conversations that never happened and I’m not going to get into that,” he said. “But I can tell you I think we do what we need to do. We will do what we need to do and I think the United States knows what is good for the United States and I’m just not going to get into it.”

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QUETTA, Pakistan: Pakistan has closed all its border crossings with neighbouring Iran for an indefinite period, provincial officials said on Monday (Jun 16), as Israel and Iran trade intense strikes and threaten further attacks.

“Border facilities in all five districts – Chaghi, Washuk, Panjgur, Kech and Gwadar – have been suspended,” Qadir Bakhsh Pirkani, a senior official in Balochistan province, which borders Iran, told AFP.

Crossing into Iran “has been suspended until further notice”, said Atta ul Munim, an official at one of the crossings in Chaghi district.

However, there was “no ban on trade” activities at the border and Pakistani nationals needing to return to their country from Iran can cross, he added.

“We’re expecting around 200 Pakistani students coming today,” Atta said.

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The U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv has sustained “minor damage” after an Iranian missile landed close to the building in the early hours of Monday, said the U.S. ambassador to Israel.

Israel and Iran exchanged strikes for a fourth day into Monday after Israel launched its “preemptive” strikes on Iran’s nuclear, missile and military sites late on Thursday U.S. time.

An Iranian official said 78 people were killed and more than 300 injured in Tehran as Israel declared a state of emergency and prepared for Iran’s response.

Tehran has carried out several waves of retaliatory drone and missile strikes across Israel, as the Israeli military continues to target sites across Iran.

U.S. President Donald Trump has called for both sides to “make a deal,” but told reporters in separate remarks that “sometimes they have to fight it out.”

Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, said on Monday that “the residents of Tehran will pay the price, and soon,” after renewed Iranian ballistic missile strikes across Israel.

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At least two dozen Israelis were killed and hundreds injured in Iranian strikes over the weekend, in retaliation for Israel’s incredibly effective strikes on Iranian military targets.

The state of Israel posted on X Monday that 24 civilians, including children, had been killed in the country in the Iranian strikes over the weekend, and that 500 more civilians in Israel were also injured. The Islamic terror-sponsoring Iranian regime targets innocent lives, Israel emphasized.

Israel also posted Sunday, “A 6-day-old baby was pulled from the rubble after an Iranian missile strike on central Israel. This is what the fanatical regime targets: our children, our families. We will not stand by. We will continue to defend our people from the world’s most dangerous regime — whatever it takes.” The baby appears to have survived, as he moves his arms on video while emergency personnel hold him.

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As Townhall covered, two Minnesota state legislators were targeted in shootings in their homes late last week. State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife survived. Hortman and her husband were murdered.

In the interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Klobuchar claimed that suspect Vance Boelter, 57, had a list of targets. This included “prominent pro-choice individuals in Minnesota,” an official who has seen the list confirmed to The Hill.

“It was politically motivated, and there clearly was some through line with abortion because of the groups that were on the list, and other things that I’ve heard were in this manifesto. So that was one of his motivations,” Klobuchar said.

However, hours before being killed, Hortman was caught on video breaking down in tears after she sided with Republicans on cutting funding for illegal aliens.

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A Democratic North Carolina state representative ignited volcanic backlash after calling for the assassination of President Donald Trump on the same day that a Minnesota politician and her husband were assassinated.

On Saturday, Rep. Julie von Haefen posted a photo on social media showing a protester gleefully holding a flagpole banner with a grisly image of a bloody guillotine at the anti-Trump “No Kings” protest in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The banner bore the words, “In these difficult times, some cuts may be necessary.” The flagpole was flanked by two prop decapitated heads, one of which resembled Trump.

The other severed head had a Nazi swastika carved into its forehead. As a reminder, Democrats routinely attack Trump and other conservatives as “Nazis.”

The horrific image essentially called for Trump‘s assassination — an appalling incitement to violence considering he was nearly assassinated twice last year.

 

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Boelter, 57, was taken into custody on Sunday night after he was located by police near his home in Sibley County, Minnesota.

Suspect in the assassination of two Minnesota state lawmakers, Vance Boelter, has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder as well as two counts of attempted murder among other charges.

Boelter, 57, was taken into custody on Sunday night after he was located by police near his home in Sibley County, Minnesota.

Posting a photo of him getting arrested, the sheriff’s office wrote, “The face of evil. After relentless and determined police work, the killer is now in custody. Thanks to the dedication of multiple agencies working together along with support from the community, justice is one step closer.”

In Minnesota, second-degree murder is murder done without premeditation, however, a grand jury may indict him for first-degree murder later on, according to Fox News analyst and former congressman Trey Gowdy.

Early on Saturday morning, Boelter allegedly posed as a cop in a vehicle that he made appear as a police car and is accused of fatally shooting State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, early Saturday morning at their home in Brooklyn Park. He is believed to have critically injured State Sen. John Hoffman as well as his wife, Yvette, during the rampage.

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(The Center Square) – Legislative attorneys are meeting with the speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives to determine the next steps for a lawmaker who promoted a sign reflecting pursuit of the decapitation of President Donald Trump.

Speaker Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, spoke about the acts by Wake County Democratic Rep. Julie von Haefen in a statement Sunday evening. Members of Congress from coast to coast also weighed in as the news went viral.

“Her disgraceful behavior fails to meet the standards expected from House members and sets a dangerous precedent in an already volatile political climate,” Hall said in part. “I am examining next steps with our legislative attorneys to ensure this behavior does not continue.”

The state’s first-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, the North Carolina Democratic Party and the Democratic National Committee remained silent Monday morning, about 48 hours since the post first appeared.

The Center Square reached out to von Haefen’s office on Sunday at 2:51 p.m. At 3 p.m., she posted an explanation to her Facebook page. Increasing calls for her resignation followed, including the House speaker’s statement about three hours later.

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Egyptian authorities took dozens of anti-Israel activists into custody this past Thursday after thwarting a planned march to Gaza before deporting them, according to multiple reports.

As many as 200 activists were detained in Cairo by Egyptian immigration authorities, who reportedly confiscated passports of the Europeans who sought to carry out a “Global March to Gaza.” Other activists who were allowed to remain in the country attempted to march to Gaza and clashed with local Egyptians, who threw water bottles and used clubs while the anti-Israel activists held a sit-in at a checkpoint, according to the Jerusalem Post.

Some pro-Israel activists gloated about the incident on social media. (RELATED: WaPo Apologizes For Publishing Hamas Propaganda At Face Value)

“A group of European activists pulled a ‘Greta Thunberg goes to Cairo’ move, demanding that Egyptians break the Gaza siege,” Sarah Idan posted on X. “The Egyptian crowd responded… by breaking them instead.”

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O’Keefe Media Group (OMG) has reported that protesters were recruited and paid by a “communist” group to participate in the “No Kings” demonstrations in Los Angeles.

According to OMG, footage they obtained revealed an OMG undercover journalist speaking to a woman named “Angie” who works for Blitz Canvassing, a signature gathering organization for petitions as well as elections.

The OMG reporter told the canvasser, “Some guy came up to be yesterday and was like, ‘Hey, sign up here for a protest on Saturday.” The canvasser said that the person wanting the undercover reporter to go to the protest was from a “communist” group.

The OMG journalist said, “He got paid, and I’m like, ‘I’m trying to do that.’”

“Yeah, they do that. They go around, they pay something like 20 bucks a person,” the woman replied.

When he followed up, asking what the name of the group was since he had forgotten the name, Angie replied, “RDA, some communist group.”

In addition to talking about the communist group reportedly paying to get attendees at the protest, Angie told the undercover journalist about how much they get paid for collecting signatures on different petitions for various political issues.

Head of OMG, James O’Keefe, attended the area of the protest, where he also pointed out graffiti that said things such as “F*ck ICE” as well as “Death to America.”

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Democrat Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) is pointing fingers at President Donald Trump in the wake of a tragic shooting that left two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses dead or wounded.

Padilla is suggesting that Trump’s rhetoric is to blame for the rising tide of political violence.

Appearing on CBS’s “Face the Nation” Sunday, Padilla deflected when asked about new security measures being considered for lawmakers following the weekend attack.

“I think it’s more than appropriate to step back and say, why are tensions so high? Not just in Los Angeles but throughout the country,” Padilla told host Margaret Brennan.

“And I can’t help but point to the beginning of not just the first Trump term, but the beginning of the campaign, the tone with which the president had launched his first campaign for president, served throughout his first term, and continues in this term.”

The remarks come as Monday marks 10 years since Trump announced his first campaign for the presidency in 2015.

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The feds hit Minnesota assassin Vance Boelter with new charges after he was captured late Sunday evening.

Boelter, 57, shot and killed Minnesota State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband early Saturday morning.

Boelter also shot and wounded Democrat State Senator John Hoffman and his wife.

“John is enduring many surgeries right now and is closer every hour to being out of the woods. He took 9 bullet hits. I took 8 and we are both incredibly lucky to be alive,” John Hoffman’s wife Yvette Hoffman said on Sunday. “We are gutted and devastated by the loss of Melissa and Mark. We have no words. There is never a place for this kind of political hate. Thank you for your friendship always. Minnesotans are at our very best when we stand together.”

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A survivor of Saturday’s deadly attacks on two Minnesota lawmakers says she and her husband are both “incredibly lucky to be alive” after they were hit by 17 bullets.

State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were gunned down at their home early on Saturday morning, but lived. Melissa Hortman – the top Democratic legislator in the state House – and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed.

Yvette Hoffman said in a statement that she and her husband John were “devastated” by the Hortmans’ deaths.

Police are hunting for the suspect, Vance Luther Boelter, who wore a latex mask and posed as an officer to shoot the victims at their homes in suburban Minneapolis, before escaping on foot.

Mrs Hoffman’s statement was shared on Instagram by Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar.

“John is enduring many surgeries right now and is closer every hour to being out of the woods,” Mrs Hoffman wrote.

“He took 9 bullet hits. I took 8 and we are both incredibly lucky to be alive.