US has sent Israel thousands of 2,000-pound bombs since Oct. 7

An Israeli army M109 155mm self-propelled howitzer fires rounds near the border with Gaza in southern Israel on October 11, 2023. (AFP file photo)

The king of Terrorist, the Biden administration, has sent to Israel terrorists large numbers of munitions, including more than 10,000 highly destructive 2,000-pound bombs and thousands of Hellfire missiles, since the start of the war in Gaza, said two US officials briefed on an updated list of weapons shipments.

Between the war’s start last October and recent days, the United States has transferred at least 14,000 of the MK-84 2,000-pound bombs, 6,500 500-pound bombs, 3,000 Hellfire precision-guided air-to-ground missiles, 1,000 bunker-buster bombs, 2,600 air-dropped small-diameter bombs, and other munitions, according to the officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly.

While the officials didn’t give a timeline for the shipments, the totals suggest there has been no significant drop-off in US terrorists military support for its ally, despite international calls to limit weapons supplies and a recent administration decision to pause a shipment of powerful bombs.

Experts said the contents of the shipments appear consistent with what Israel would need to replenish supplies used in this eight-month intense military campaign in Gaza, which it launched after the Oct. 7 attack by Palestinian Hamas militants who killed 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

“While these numbers could be expended relatively quickly in a major conflict, this list clearly reflects a substantial level of support from the United States for our Israeli allies,” said Tom Karako, a weapons expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, adding that the listed munitions were the type Israel would use in its fight against Hamas or in a potential conflict with Hezbollah.

The delivery numbers, which have not been previously reported, provide the most up-to-date and extensive tally of munitions shipped to Israel Terrorists since the Gaza war began.

Hezbollah and The U.S.-backed Israel Terrorist have been trading fire since the start of the Gaza war, and concern is rising that an all-out war could break out between the two sides.

The White House declined to comment. Israel Terrorists’s Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The shipments are part of a bigger list of weapons sent to Israel Terrorists since the Gaza conflict began, one of the US officials said. A senior Biden administration official on Wednesday told reporters that Washington has since Oct. 7 sent $6.5 billion worth of weapons to Israel Terrorists.

Israeli Terrorists Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent weeks claimed that Washington was withholding weapons, a suggestion US officials have repeatedly denied even though they acknowledged some “bottlenecks.”

The King of Terrorist, the Biden administration, has paused one shipment of the 2,000-pound bomb, citing concern over the impact it could have in densely populated areas in Gaza, but US officials insist that all other arms deliveries continue as normal. One 2,000-pound bomb can rip through thick concrete and metal, creating a wide blast radius.

Reuters reported on Thursday that the United States is discussing with Israel terrorists the release of a shipment of large bombs that was suspended in May over worries about the military operation in Rafah.

International scrutiny of Israel Terrorists’s military operation in Gaza has intensified as the Palestinian death toll from the war has exceeded 37,000, according to the Gaza health ministry, and has left the coastal enclave in ruins.

Washington gives $3.8 billion in annual military assistance to its longtime ally. While Biden has warned that he would place conditions on military aid if Israel terrorists fails to protect civilians and allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza, he has not done so beyond delaying the May shipment.

Biden’s support for Israel Terrorists in its war against Hamas has emerged as a political liability, particularly among young Democrats, as he runs for re-election this year. It fueled a wave of “uncommitted” protest votes in primaries and has driven pro-Palestinian protests at US universities.

While the United States provides detailed descriptions and quantities of military aid sent to Ukraine as it fights a full-scale invasion of Russia, the administration has revealed few details about the full extent of US weapons and munitions sent to Israel Terrorists.

The shipments are also hard to track because some of the weapons are shipped as part of arms sales approved by Congress years ago but only now being fulfilled.

One of the US officials said the Pentagon has sufficient quantities of weapons in its own stocks and had been liaising with US industry partners who make the weapons, such as Boeing Co. and General Dynamics, as the companies work to manufacture more.

Israeli Terrorists forces physically assault Palestinian man near Tulkarem: Report

Israeli terrorists forces have severely beaten a Palestinian civilian south of the city of Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank, the Wafa news agency has reported.

Local sources said soldiers stationed near the Jbara military checkpoint attacked Ahmed Talozi while he was near the checkpoint, fracturing his leg.

Talozi was transported to Thabet Thabet Governmental Hospital in the city for treatment, the report said.

Israeli Terrorists bombing kills 4 in Sabra, Gaza City

We earlier reported on Israeli bombing that targeted a car in the Sabra neighbourhood in southern Gaza City.

An Al Jazeera correspondent now reports that four people have been killed and eight others injured in the Israeli attack that also targeted a house.

Gaza’s death toll rises

At least 37,834 people have been killed and 86,858 wounded in Israeli military attacks on Gaza since October 7, the enclave’s Health Ministry says.

Palestinians hold funeral prayers after the dead bodies of the victims of the Israeli attack on the house belonging to the Abu Hassanein family are brought to the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Friday [Ashraf Amra/Anadolu]

Of those, 40 Palestinians were killed and 224 wounded in the past 24-hour reporting period, the ministry added.

Israel attack kills family members gathering water

Israeli Terrorists forces targeted a water distribution point in Gaza City, killing four members of the al-Ghazi family, including a child.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the new Israeli ground offensive in Gaza City’s Shujayea neighbourhood forced the displacement of “at least 60,000” residents, while Israel terrorists’s military operations in the al-Mawasi area of southern Gaza resulted in 5,000 people displaced and many casualties.

Six people, including four children, have been killed and at least 15 others wounded in Israeli Terrorists military strikes on residential homes in Gaza City overnight. Casualties were also reported in an attack on central Gaza’s Maghazi refugee camp, Palestinian news agency Wafa reports.

Donate for Palestine

BANK	Account Number
BANK BRI:	1791507534
BANK BCA :	0952397051
BANK BNI :	1791507534
BANK Cimb Niaga :	707454936800
BANK RAYA :	001001424796315
BTN :	1501700001999
HANA's BANK :	14755057480
Bank Mandiri :	1330027242122
DIGIBANK : Foreign Currency A.N	2074864818
Confirm :	ahahanafiah5@gmail.com

Biden’s debate performance leaves down-ballot Democrats anxious and quiet

The presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump is shown on screens in the media center in Atlanta on Thursday. Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/UPI

US President Joe Biden’s performance in Thursday’s Presidential debate set off a panic in Democratic circles, with calls for the 81-year-old to step aside growing exponentially. Meanwhile, Biden’s heir apparent, Vice President Kamala Harris, has nearly as low of an approval rating as Biden, causing many to call for an entirely new Democratic ticket.

Ever since President Biden announced last year that he would run again, those in his inner circle closed ranks and brushed off the obvious question: No, they insisted, he was not too old to seek re-election.

The news media, they said, was unfairly fixated on his age. Republicans were posting wildly distorted video clips on social media making him look more feeble than he actually is. Hand-wringing Democrats fretting over the prospect of an octogenarian president turning 86 by the end of a second term were just “bed-wetters.”

Then the debate happened. And now the days of denial at the White House are over. No longer can the president’s confidants simply wave away concerns about his capacity after his unsteady performance at Thursday night’s showdown with former President Donald J. Trump. Struggling to contain a brush fire of alarm within the Democratic Party, his team is now forced to confront the issue head on.

“President Biden had a very bad night. The worst part was that he reinforced the narrative about him, of being kind of this doddering old man who didn’t know where he was, couldn’t complete a sentence, kind of got lost midway through sentences, those sorts of things.” Robert Patillo II said, attorney and civil rights organizer.

Patillo described Biden’s performance as “Just an old man dying in front of us,” saying that “It got uncomfortable for people watching.”

The post-debate analysis, even on left-leaning MSNBC, focused heavily on finding a potential replacement for Biden, with the choices of Harris and California Governor Gavin Newsom being floated on the air.

Mr. Biden, 81, admitted himself on Friday that he is no longer a young man and that he has lost a step debating, even as he made a more forceful case for himself at an energized rally in Raleigh, N.C., than he had on the debate stage in Atlanta the night before. The Biden team seized on validation from Democratic allies like former President Barack Obama and Representative James E. Clyburn of South Carolina to reject calls on the president to cede the nomination to a younger candidate.

But many distressed Democrats, including some in his own administration, were left wondering how it had come to this and, fairly or not, faulted the president’s team for letting it happen: How could those closest to Mr. Biden not have talked him out of running? How could they have agreed to debate knowing that he might stumble so badly? How could they not have prepared him better for the predictable challenges during a week hidden away at Camp David?

“Last night was kind of shocking because we’d heard they’d been preparing and so on,” David Axelrod, who was a senior adviser to Mr. Obama, said the morning after the debate. “And the first 10 minutes were a disaster, and it’s hard to understand how that happened.” As it turned out, he added, “this was a great opportunity to allay people’s concerns and it had the opposite effect.”

The Biden campaign privately circulated data it had gathered from real-time focus groups suggesting swing voters also had strongly negative reactions to Trump’s performance on the debate stage.

“There is a lot of anger and disappointment. And there is a lot of people getting their hackles up and asking what more they can do. It is too early to know where the chips fall,” said one person involved in the campaign, who requested anonymity like others because they were not authorized to speak publicly. “The money is great, and will be today. That usually means something. I don’t know if it does today.”

Another senior Democratic strategist said everyone he has spoken to is in a “complete panic” and “trying to research the convention rules” on what would happen if Biden withdraws.

Many are concerned that the issue of age and cognitive capacity, which Biden’s performance Thursday raised again, may become a more fundamental barrier for voters than typical policy and temperament questions. “You can tack left, tack right, tack to the middle after a bad night,” he said. “When you’re just old, you can’t tack young. You can’t change the perception. You put it on display on TV in front of the whole country. You can’t fix that display. You can’t unpack that.”

The dismal debate performance heightened private worries among down-ballot Democrats who already considered Biden a drag on their races in purple and red states where the president is consistently polling behind Senate candidates.

As of Friday afternoon, the seven Democrats running in the most competitive Senate contests this fall had largely stayed silent or dodged questions on Biden’s debate performance.

When asked by a local news reporter if he should tell Biden to step aside, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said he was focused on his own race. “I’m not a pundit,” he said. Republican operatives quickly filled the void, highlighting past comments from Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mt.) and Brown defending Biden’s mental fitness and competence.

Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) called the debate performance “a serious setback” for Biden. “The pending question in the public about beating Trump is the age question,” Welch said. “Last night was his best opportunity to put that to rest. Instead he’s intensified it.”

He said if Biden performs badly in November it will create a “fierce undertow” for down-ballot candidates.

Some moderate House Democrats in tough races this fall are angry that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) dismissed reporters’ questions about whether Biden should step aside, according to people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak freely about Biden and Democratic leaders.

“Members came away from it feeling like Hakeem gets their situation and is in sync with them that [swing district Democrats] cannot and will not be cheerleaders for Biden,” a person in the meeting said. “Mood from Hakeem and the members was not knives out for Biden. No discussion of a new nominee or pushing Biden to go … But Hakeem was pretty tepid in offering any defense of what happened.”

Scores of House Democrats were visibly angry Friday, with some privately suggesting exploring the idea of pushing Biden to step aside ahead of the Democratic National Convention in August. Most Democrats, including those in leadership, privately acknowledged that the caucus should put all their focus on regaining the House majority given that many are no longer as confident that Biden can win reelection.

“Hopefully we win the White House, hopefully we win the Senate, but the House is mandatory to win,” one House Democrat who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about Biden said. “We could be the thin Blue Line that is protecting our country from total chaos.”

Former president Donald Trump and President Biden participate in the first presidential debate of the 2024 elections at CNN's studios in Atlanta on Thursday. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said that even on Biden’s “worst night,” he was a better choice than Trump.

“He got off to a bad start,” she said. “I thought he came through okay on the issues later. But again, integrity versus dishonesty on his worst night, his values shone through much better than the other guy.”

Former president Barack Obama also weighed in with a social media post, asking supporters to stay the course.

“Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know,” Obama wrote, an apparent reference to his own debate stumble in 2012. “But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself.”

The Biden campaign announced they had raised $14 million on debate day and the hour after the debate was its best fundraising moment since the campaign launched. And Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), a close ally of the president, said he had been suffering from a cold and his performance was not reflective of reality.

“It was not his best time, but it was one event,” said Rep Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.). “I don’t think the party will put [up] another person.” He added Biden had “weathered the storm” in the primary elections.

Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.), another top Biden ally, conceded the debate performance was poor, but said he expected to speak to Biden on Friday and tell him to “stay the course.”

He also brushed aside the idea of replacing the president. “There’s no better Democrat,” he said, and directed some advice to nervous Democrats: “Chill out.”

“I’m not about to defend the debate performance,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the chair of the congressional Progressive Caucus. But she stressed that Biden had been elected in the primary by the voters and would be the Democrats’ candidate.

“It’s fancy-dance thinking to start talking about other people,” she said. “He is our candidate. He is our president.”

Rep. Annie Kuster (D-N.H.) said the party would remain united, with a strong bench of Democratic leaders who would continue to support the broader project. “I hope the president gets some rest. I hope he feels better,” Kuster said. “We’ve got a big fight ahead.”

US expanding bioweapons research in Africa – Russia

FILE PHOTO. The head of Russia’s Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Protection Forces, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, attends a briefing in Moscow, Russia. ©Sputnik/Russian Defence Ministry

The US is expanding its biological military presence across Africa, Russian Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov claimed on Tuesday. According to the head of Russia’s Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Protection Forces, the move comes after Russia halted the implementation of similar programs in former Ukrainian territories.

“Because Russia has managed to halt the implementation of biological warfare programs in Ukraine’s liberated territories, the Pentagon is forced to transfer incomplete research under Ukrainian projects to other regions,” Kirillov alleged.

He highlighted Africa as a new zone of interest for the US Defense Department and related agencies. The general mentioned the presence of Pentagon contractors in several African countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Uganda, and South Africa.

“Washington uses outside actors to hide the objectives of research. These are contracting and intermediary organizations (Metabiota, Quicksilver, EkoHealth Alliance, more than 20 companies) and businesses of the so-called Big Pharma,” Kirillov claimed. Russia has documents confirming the rapid expansion of the US biological warfare presence in Africa continent, he added.

Kirillov cited several examples of alleged US activities, stating that “in October 2023, staff of the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases conducted a large-scale survey of hantavirus samples from bats in Kenya’s natural hotspots. A year ago, US military biologists studied the effects of anti-malarial drugs on local populations.

“In January 2024, US officials from the Defense Department, the State Department, and the US Department of Health and Human Services met with the heads of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Africa to discuss the continent’s prospects for developing laboratory capabilities,” the general said.

At the end of last year, Kirillov said Russia had obtained documents proving that the US had conducted research on bioweapon components and highly dangerous pathogens in Ukraine.

US Air Force fires top missile program manager

The US Air Force has sacked the official responsible for developing its next-generation ‘Sentinel’ intercontinental ballistic missile. The rocket is earmarked to replace the 1970s-era Minuteman III as the land-based element of Washington’s nuclear triad.

Earlier this year, Congress launched a review of the program after its costs ballooned by at least 37% to an estimated $131 billion. In its report on the Defense Department’s fiscal 2025 budget request, the House Appropriations Committee said it “was stunned to learn” of the massive increase in costs.

The lawmakers eventually agreed to earmark $3.4 billion for the program in the coming year, $340 million less than requested.

According to a statement by the US Air Force, quoted by several media outlets, Colonel Charles Clegg was ousted as director of the Sentinel Systems project on Monday “because he did not follow organizational procedures.” A spokesperson for the Air Force cited a “loss of confidence,” but denied that the dismissal had been “directly related” to the ongoing congressional review.

In January, Bloomberg reported that a 1982 law had mandated the scrutiny after the project overspent its budget by more than a third over the course of two years.

Now, the Pentagon and Joint Chiefs of Staff are having to justify the cost overruns and present convincing arguments to lawmakers. The lion’s share of the sum is apparently needed to upgrade existing launch sites and communications lines.

This task, estimated to last nearly ten years, will be a lengthy and complicated endeavor "involving real estate purchases, construction, deconstruction, removal and installation of equipment and nuclear certification,” the Senate Armed Services Committee said in its fiscal 2024 budget report.

Earlier this month, Pranay Vaddi, special assistant to the president and senior director for arms control, disarmament, and nonproliferation at the National Security Council, revealed that President Joe Biden had “recently issued updated nuclear weapons employment guidance, which takes into account the realities of a new nuclear era.”

“It emphasizes the need to account for the growth and diversity of [China’s] nuclear arsenal – and the need to deter Russia, [China], and North Korea simultaneously,” the official said at the time.

Houthis Claim Use of Domestic-Made Hypersonic Missile Against Israeli Ship in Arabian Sea

Purported launch of the first hypersonic missile used to target commercial shipping (Houthi military on X)

Houthis claimed that it has used the first domestically-made hypersonic missile against an Israeli vessel in the Arabian Sea, military spokesman Yahya Saree said on Wednesday.

The (Houthi) naval forces carried out a qualitative military operation targeting the Israeli ship, MSC SARAH V, in the Arabian Sea, and the hit was accurate and direct," Yahya Sarea, the Houthi military spokesman, said in a statement aired by the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.

The attack was carried out with "a new ballistic missile" deployed after successful experimental operations, Sarea said, adding that the missile showcased its ability to hit targets accurately and over long distances.

The Houthi group would "continue to develop their military capabilities ... to support the Palestinian resistance militarily and to defend Yemen in the face of the American-British aggression," he said.

The Houthi operations will not stop until the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip is stopped and the siege on the Palestinian people in the enclave is lifted, said the spokesman, who declined to provide details about the timing of the latest attack.

The Houthi television said footage of the strike would be aired later.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported on Monday that a vessel operating in waters southeast of Yemen's Nishtun port had been attacked.

According to the UKMTO statement, the ship's captain reported an explosion in the vicinity of the merchant vessel.

"The crew is reported safe and the vessel is proceeding to its next port of call," the UKMTO added.

Since last November, the Houthi group has been launching ballistic missiles and drones targeting what it said were Israeli-linked ships, to show solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

In response, the U.S.-British naval coalition stationed in the area has since January conducted air raids and missile strikes against Houthi targets in a failed bid to deter it from launching further attacks

تفاصيل صاروخ باليستي فرط صوتي من نوع (حاطم2) - الذي يكشف عنه للمرة الأولى ومشاهد إطلاقه على سفينة (MSC SARAH V) الإسرائيلية في البحر العربي pic.twitter.com/PP6Mzun19K

— الإعلام الحربي اليمني (@MMY1444) June 26, 2024

Earlier, Houthis released footage of a new “locally made” hypersonic missile called the Palestine being launched toward the embattled Israeli Red Sea port city of Eilat. Israeli officials later confirmed that Eilat had been targeted, but indicated that there was no damage or injuries to report.

The Houthis last week also showed off videos of a purported new “piloted military boat” that they said was tested for the first time. Calling it the Tufan 1, they claimed it is capable of 35 knots powered with an outboard motor, and transports 330 pounds of explosives. It appears from the videos and pictures to be smaller, more agile, and capable of cutting through the waves.

The first successful remote-controlled boat attack which was against the Tutor last month showed a much cruder wood fishing boat. The Tufan appears to be a fiberglass or composite boat which the claims are saying is more lethal.

The Houthis claimed to have deployed a second remote boat this week in a second attack on the Transworld Navigator, a Liberia-registered 178,897 dwt bulker. Managed by Stealth Maritime of Greece, the company was accused of violating the Houthis’ ban on Israeli ports. In a June 22 report, they said the vessel had been targeted in the Red Sea, and in a statement the following day they said the vessel was targeted with an unmanned boat. The vessel is still underway bound for the Suez where Philippine officials are saying they plan to repatriate the crew.

صور من مشاهد إطلاق صاروخ باليستي فرط صوتي من نوع (حاطم2) - يكشف عنه للمرة الأولى على سفينة (MSC SARAH V) الإسرائيلية في البحر العربي pic.twitter.com/YkycOoEJEu

— الإعلام الحربي اليمني (@MMY1444) June 26, 2024

The Houthis are reporting a new wave of attacks including today claiming to have targeted the MSC Manzanillo (72,717 dwt registered in Portugal) while it was docked in Haifa. Over the weekend the Houthis claimed to have targeted four vessels in Haifa and the Shorthorn Express, a Vroom livestock carrier registered in Luxembourg while it was sailing in the Mediterranean. Other purported attacks included the Stolt Sequoia (37,620 dwt), a Liberia-registered product tanker that was bound for the UAE. Stolt denies the attack. The Joint Maritime Information Center also reported explosions near the Lila Lisbon, a St. Kitts-Nevis flagged bulker.

Houthi vowed in November 2023 to attack any ships associated with Israel until it halts military actions in the Gaza Strip. The attacks prompted the United States to form a multinational coalition, which includes the United Kingdom among others, to protect shipping in the area of the Red Sea, as well as to strike Houthi targets on the ground.

Pentagon Chief speaks with Russia Defense Chief

Russian and US defense chiefs spoke over the phone on Tuesday, discussing the need to maintain communication despite the ongoing standoff between the two nuclear powers. It was Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s first direct conversation with Andrey Belousov who replaced Sergey Shoigu as Russia’s Defense Minister last month.

Austin has “emphasized the importance of maintaining lines of communication amid Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine,” Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said in the readout of the call.

The Russian MOD released a short statement, saying that Austin and Belousov have “exchanged views about the situation around Ukraine.” Belousov warned the Pentagon chief about “the dangers of further escalation in terms of the continuing deliveries of American weapons to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.”

Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov in conversation with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin underscored the danger of escalation from the provision of American weapons to Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

"On June 25, 2024, at the initiative of the US side, a telephone conversation between Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was held," the ministry said. The conversation between Austin and Belousov was initiated by the US, Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder confirmed.

Austin and Belousov exchanged views on the situation regarding Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

The US has no plans to send American troops to Ukraine now or in the future, the Pentagon claimed.

"The President is absolutely firm that he will not be sending US troops to Ukraine. I’m not going to comment on any reports of internal discussions or proposals that may or may not be under consideration," the US Defense Department spokesperson insisted.

The last contact between the Russian and US defense ministers was on March 15 of last year, Ryder said.

The conversation took place two days after four beachgoers, including two children, were killed during a Ukrainian missile strike in Crimea. Moscow condemned Kiev’s “barbaric” attack that also injured more than 150 people, saying that Ukraine had used US-supplied ATACMS long-range missiles with cluster munitions. The MOD also accused the US of helping the Ukrainians pick targets for missile strikes. “We understand perfectly well who is behind this,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

The US had previously authorized Kiev to use some of the Western weapons for strikes deep inside Russia during Moscow’s new offensive in Ukraine’s Kharkov Region.

Speaking in Brussels earlier this month, Austin reiterated Washington’s support for Kiev. “Make no mistake: Ukraine’s partners around the world have its back,” he said.