Beijing tests ‘strike capabilities’ in South China Sea

FILE PHOTO: Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) navy drill in the South China Sea.
©Getty Images/VCG/Contributor

China has conducted a combat patrol near disputed territory in the South China Sea, following military maneuvers there by the Philippines along with the US and other Western allies.

According to media reports, the Chinese military’s Southern Theater Command announced on Wednesday that it had carried out air and sea combat patrols near Scarborough Shoal to test “strike capabilities.”

Scarborough Shoal, known as Huangyan Island in China and Panatag Shoal in the Philippines, is claimed by both Beijing and Manila. It is about 220 kilometers (120 nautical miles) west of the Philippine Island of Luzon.

The Chinese maneuvers tested the reconnaissance and early warning capabilities of its troops, according to Beijing.

“All military activities that disrupt the South China Sea, create hotspots, and undermine regional peace and stability are all being controlled to the best extent,” it stressed.

The combat patrol has reportedly been carried out in response to same-day military drills conducted by the US, Australia, Canada and the Philippines.

In a joint statement, military chiefs of the four countries vowed to “uphold the right to freedom of navigation and overflight,” and other uses of the sea and international airspace allowed under international law.

They said the two-day exercises were being held to uphold unhindered passage in the Asia Pacific region. The South China Sea is the subject of numerous overlapping claims by countries in the region. Apart from China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei claim parts of it. The waterway sees significant volumes of commercial traffic and serves as the key conduit for the foreign trade of South Asian nations.

Tensions in the region have been further aggravated by the activities of the US and its allies, which routinely send in so-called “freedom of navigation” missions through the area claimed by Beijing as its exclusive economic zone.

Last week, the Philippines and Japan conducted their first joint maritime drill in the South China Sea.

China has repeatedly cautioned the Philippines against strengthening military cooperation with the US, saying it will be used to serve Washington’s geopolitical agenda to the detriment of Manila’s own security.

Relations between the two Asian countries have worsened since Philippines’ President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who took office in 2022, allowed American forces and weapons access to four additional Philippine military bases. Some of those bases are located near the disputed waters.

Washington had been “stirring up trouble” in the South China Sea, undermining efforts by China and its neighbors to maintain peace and stability in the disputed waters, the Chinese embassy in Manila has argued.

Standoff

Beijing and Manila have been locked in a tense standoff in recent months, as China continues to press claims to almost the entire South China Sea, despite a 2016 international tribunal ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.

Scarborough Shoal is 240km (150 miles) west of the Philippines’ main island of Luzon and nearly 900km (560 miles) from the nearest major Chinese land mass of Hainan.

China seized the shoal, a triangular chain of reefs and rocks that form part of a rich fishing ground, after a months long stand-off in 2012. The shoal had long served as a safe harbour for Filipino fishermen.

There have also been confrontations at Second Thomas Shoal where the Philippines makes regular resupply missions to sailors living on board a warship that Manila grounded there in 1999. Second Thomas Shoal, which lies about 200 kilometres (124 miles) from the western Philippine island of Palawan, and more than 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) from China’s southern Hainan island.

In June, Chinese coastguards armed with knives and axes boarded Philippine naval vessels near the strategic reef with one sailor losing a thumb and Philippine equipment seized or destroyed.

Beijing blamed the escalation on Manila and maintained its actions to protect its claims were legal and proportional.

Last month, the US said it would provide $500m in additional military funding to the Philippines to combat Beijing’s growing assertiveness in the region.

Beijing said in response that “wooing countries from outside the region to provoke confrontation… will only undermine regional stability and aggravate tensions”.

The investment “will only lead to greater insecurity” for Manila, it warned.

In addition to China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also claim parts of the sea, which is regarded as a potential flashpoint and a delicate fault line in the US-China regional rivalry.

The US military has deployed navy ships and fighter jets for decades in what it calls freedom of navigation and overnight patrols, which China has opposed and regards as a threat to regional stability.

Russian warships make strategic port call in India - Video

Russina Ships at Kochi Port

A group of Russian warships has called at the Indian port of Kochi on the southwestern coast, the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation said.

“The Guards missile cruiser “Varyag”, holder of the Order of Nakhimov, and the frigate “Marshal Shaposhnikov” of the Russian Pacific Fleet have made a strategic port call at Kochi, India, in the Arabian Sea,” it said on Tuesday.

The ships will resupply their stocks at the port in India, go sightseeing around the city, and participate in friendly drills with Indian sailors. “This visit underscores the strong maritime cooperation between Russia and India,” it emphasised.

Cochin is a large port city in Kerala on the coast of the Arabian Sea.

The Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement that the visit to the port of Kochi is made within the tasks of the Pacific Fleet’s ships during a long-distance mission.

A few days earlier, the detachment of ships left the port of Salalah, Oman. The long-distance mission of the Pacific Fleet’s detachment began on 22 January 2024. During this time, the Pacific sailors conducted dozens of training sessions in combat training and organised the ships’ daily activities at sea.

The crews also made business calls at the ports of countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Iran, Qatar, and Eritrea.

Maritime Partnership Exercise (MPX)

On 30 July, Indian Navy’s frontline frigate, INS Tabar conducted Maritime Partnership Exercise (MPX) with the Russian Navy Ship Soobrazitelny on departure from St. Petersburg after participated in 328th Russian Navy Day Parade celebrations.

Participation of Indian Navy Ship Tabar in the Russian Navy Day Parade and conduct of MPX marks a significant milestone in the maritime cooperation between India and Russia, reinforcing the commitment of both nations to maintain peace, stability and security in the region, according to the Indian Navy. The MPX involved a series of complex naval manoeuvers, including communication drills, Search and Rescue tactics and Replenishment at Sea serials. Ships from both navies demonstrated high levels of professionalism and interoperability.

The Indian Navy remains committed to fostering partnerships with navies across the world. The MPX with the Russian Navy reinforces the strong bilateral naval ties, further strengthening our resolve and commitment towards ensuring enhanced cooperation in the maritime domain.

Two Russian Navy vessels have docked at Cochin Port in southern India, Moscow’s embassy in New Delhi announced on Tuesday.

The ships included missile cruiser ‘Varyag,’ holder of the Order of Nakhimov, and the frigate ‘Marshal Shaposhnikov’ of the Russian Pacific Fleet, the embassy stated, describing the port call as “strategic.”

“This visit underscores the strong maritime cooperation between Russia and India,” the embassy added in the statement.

A video released by the embassy shows Russian sailors interacting with their Indian counterparts in the control area of one of the ships.

The visit was reported days after Indian Navy frigate INS Tabar traveled to Russia’s St Petersburg for a four-day visit to participate in the 328th Russian Navy Day Parade celebrations. The Mumbai-based Talwar-class ship was originally built at St Petersburg’s Baltic Shipyard and commissioned by the Indian fleet in 2004.

Defense has traditionally been the main pillar of the India-Russia partnership and the navies of the two countries often conduct joint drills. Last November, India and Russia held joint naval exercises in the Bay of Bengal, off India’s eastern coast.

The drills, Moscow said at the time, will help the two navies to “jointly counter global threats and ensure the safety of civilian shipping in the Asia-Pacific region.”

In 2003, the two countries began Indra, a biennial exercise tasked with boosting cooperation and interoperability that also includes naval drills. The most recent edition of Indra took place on August 4, 2021, at the Prudboy Ranges in Volgograd, Russia. Notably, Russia is also India’s largest supplier of arms.

Watch Ukrainian Column Get Wiped Out By Russian Iskander Missile Strike

Ukraine’s last-ditch attempt to stave off its seeming defeat by launching a foray into Russia’s Kursk region led to predictable consequences as the Russian military moved to address the threat.

Russia's Ministry of Defense released footage of a column of Ukrainian military vehicles being destroyed by an Iskander missile strike near the border with the Kursk region today.

The video arrived as the Russian Armed Forces continue to hammer the Ukrainian military and wipe out whatever troops and gear may be lurking near the Russian border.

WATCH Russian cluster munitions hit Ukrainian armor

The Russian Defense Ministry on Wednesday released a new video of a missile strike on a Ukrainian armor column amassed in a wooded area, amid an ongoing incursion by Kiev’s forces into Russia’s Kursk Region.

The video, shot by a surveillance drone, shows multiple Ukrainian armored cars parked by a wooded stretch between two fields. The ministry said the strike was conducted on “amassed combat and special vehicles” located in an “area bordering Kursk Region.”

Kiev’s forces launched a large-scale incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region early on Tuesday, with resulting hostilities continuing near the Russian town of Sudzha. According to the Russian military, the Ukrainian advance deeper into the country’s territory has already been halted, with the troops now seeking to push Kiev’s forces back and inflict a “full defeat” on them.

The Russian defense ministry said the region has been attacked by a force of up to 1,000 Ukrainian servicemen, backed by dozens of armored vehicles. The advancing troops have already lost around 300 soldiers killed or wounded, with some 54 vehicles destroyed, including at least six tanks.

Ukraine spreading ‘terrorism’ around the world – Moscow

The Ukrainian government has become a terrorist organization acting on behalf of Western nations and their “deep state structures,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has claimed.

The official condemned Kiev in an interview on Wednesday, after Ukrainian troops launched an incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region one day previously and several civilians were killed by Ukrainian strikes.

FILE PHOTO: Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
©Sputnik/Sergey Bobylev

“This is an act of terrorism. It was obviously directed against peaceful people. There is no doubt about that,” the spokeswoman told Sputnik Radio.

Zakharova brought up Mali’s decision earlier this month to cut diplomatic relations with Kiev, after Ukrainian officials claimed credit for an ambush on Russian military contractors by Tuareg militants. A spokesman for the Ukrainian military intelligence called it a “successful military operation” by his agency, but Bamako described it as support for terrorism in the Sahel region of Africa.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has since denied Kiev’s involvement in the incident, while neighboring Niger joined Mali in condemning Ukraine and breaking ties with it.

“Things will get worse in terms of Ukrainian terrorism spreading across the planet. It’s not a joke,” Zakharova warned.

People in power in Kiev have turned their country into a “terrorist gang” doing the dirty work for Western nations and their “deep state structures,” the diplomat claimed. She also asked what it would take to convince the American people that by bankrolling Ukraine, their government was sponsoring terrorism.

Ukrainian troops have been launching attacks against settlements in the border areas of Kursk Region as they try to push their way inside Russian territory. On Tuesday evening, acting Governor Aleksey Smirnov reported that the civilian death toll from the hostilities had increased, after a Ukrainian kamikaze drone hit an ambulance near the town of Sudzha, one of the primary targets of the attacks. The strike killed the driver and an elderly paramedic, and left a doctor injured, he said.

Previous updates confirmed three civilian fatalities. Meanwhile, local health officials reported on Wednesday that at least 28 people had been injured by Ukrainian strikes.

Zakharova cited a deep fake video of Smirnov, in which the governor urged all men in Kursk Region to go to conscription centers and take arms, as evidence that Ukraine’s military activities were primarily meant to disturb Russian civilians. The clip was apparently based on an actual video statement made by the governor on Tuesday, which urged citizens to keep calm and prioritize their safety.

Russian military issues update on border fighting

© Sputnik / Evgeny Biyatov / Go to the mediabank

Ukraine has lost around 260 troops and 50 pieces of heavy weaponry over the past 24 hours following its failed attempt to breach Russia’s Kursk Region, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has reported.

The Ukrainian operation was launched early on Tuesday and has resulted in civilian casualties in the border areas of the Russian region, particularly in the town of Sudzha, according to the regional government.

The military update said Kiev’s troops had been unsuccessful in their attempts to advance into Russian territory, with the fighting taking place on the Ukrainian side of the border.

The Ukrainian force was met with airstrikes, as well as rocket and artillery fire, and Russian maneuvers, the statement said. Ukrainian reserves were hit near ten Ukrainian settlements in Sumi Region, the report added.

The ministry listed the types of weapons that were destroyed in the hostilities, including seven tanks, eight armored personnel carriers, multiple infantry fighting vehicles, including two Western-donated Stryker IFVs, as well as two Buk surface-to-air missile launchers.

Earlier in the day, acting Governor Andrey Smirnov reported that his government had helped around 200 people to evacuate from the territories affected by the hostilities. Several thousand civilians fled on their own and were provided necessary support, he added.

Emergency officials have set up shelters for 2,500 people in response to the security crisis, with more than 300 places already occupied by refugees, Smirnov said. Other Russian regions have also offered to host Kursk residents, if necessary. Meanwhile, health authorities in Moscow have sent a team of doctors to beef up the region’s healthcare system and help local medics to deal with the surge of casualties.

Putin comments on Kursk Region incursion attempt

Ukraine has conducted its latest large-scale provocation against Russia by launching an attempted incursion into Kursk Region, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin.
©Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel

Ukrainian forces “are conducting indiscriminate fire from various types of weapons, including rocket weapons, at civilian buildings, homes, ambulances,” Putin said at a government meeting.

The president said he is regularly briefed on the situation by the Defense Ministry and other relevant governmental departments. He is also in touch with acting Governor Andrey Smirnov and has pledged additional support for the Kursk Region administration to help it deal with the emergency.

Earlier in the day, the governor said that Moscow has dispatched a team of skilled medics to help his region’s healthcare system tackle the surge in injuries caused by Ukrainian fire. Kursk emergency services will also be bolstered by additional hardware necessary to address the damage.

More than 2,000 people have fled the border areas, some with the assistance of rescuers, since the crisis broke out on Tuesday morning, Smirnov said. Authorities have provided emergency shelters for those who need them, while neighboring regions also offered their help to the refugees.

The Defense Ministry has claimed that Russian troops had inflicted serious damage on the Ukrainian forces deployed for the attempted cross-border operation. The military says Kiev has failed to achieve its goal of securing a foothold in the Russian region, losing hundreds of fighters and dozens of pieces of heavy weaponry in the process.

What’s Known About Ukraine’s Botched Attack on Russia’s Kursk Region?

The Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Wednesday that an operation to neutralize Ukrainian forces who earlier tried to cross into Russia’s Kursk region is under way.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called the situation in the Kursk region a "large-scale provocation by the Kiev regime," which he said "is conducting indiscriminate shooting, including from missile weapons, at residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, as well as ambulances."

The statement came after the Russian Ministry of Defense stressed that Russia's air, missile and artillery strikes have prevented Ukrainian forces from advancing deep into Russian territory.

Kiev has already lost 200 soldiers and 50 armed vehicles, including seven tanks, during the incursion, according to the Ministry.

This followed the region's Acting Governor Aleksey Smirnov writing on his social media that the situation in the Kursk region, which "is heroically resisting attacks by Ukrainian [neo-] Nazis," is under control.

Several thousand people have left the shelling and combat zone over the past 24 hours, with more than 300 people, including over 120 children, being placed in temporary accommodation centers, Smirnov added.

At least five civilians have been killed and 24 more injured, including six children, as a result of Ukraine’s shelling, Russian Health Ministry spokesman Aleksey Kuznetsov, for his part, confirmed.

This followed the region's Acting Governor Aleksey Smirnov writing on his social media that the situation in the Kursk region, which "is heroically resisting attacks by Ukrainian [neo-] Nazis," is under control.

Several thousand people have left the shelling and combat zone over the past 24 hours, with more than 300 people, including over 120 children, being placed in temporary accommodation centers, Smirnov added.

At least five civilians have been killed and 24 more injured, including six children, as a result of Ukraine’s shelling, Russian Health Ministry spokesman Aleksey Kuznetsov, for his part, confirmed.

Russian security units, together with the border troops of the Federal Security Service, repelled the attacks and inflicted fire damage on Kiev's forces.

Head of the Russian Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin has meanwhile ordered the opening of a criminal case in connection with the attacks, while Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Sputnik that the shelling is "yet another terrorist attack aimed against civilians" from Kiev.

Bawang Putih, Minyak Goreng hingga Ikan Kembung naik Pagi ini

©flickr Pasar anyar bogor - keadaan di sepanjang jalan pasar anyar

Badan Pangan Nasional (Bapanas) mencatat harga sejumlah pangan di tingkat pedagang eceran secara nasional rata-rata naik, bawang putih tembus Rp44.880 per kilogram (kg) dan minyak goreng kemasan sederhana Rp20.220 per kg, per 7 Agustus 2024. Tidak hanya itu, ikan kembung juga melonjak 4,28 persen menjadi Rp38.520 per kg, dan ikan tongkol naik 2,87 persen ke harga Rp31.940 per kg.

Berdasarkan data dari Panel Harga Bapanas yang dilansir Rabu, pukul 06.30 WIB, harga pangan rata-tata melonjak naik seperti beras premium naik 1,29 persen atau Rp200 menjadi Rp15.750 per kg.

Sedangkan beras stabilitas pasokan dan harga pangan (SPHP) Bulog turun tipis 1,67 persen atau Rp210 menjadi Rp12.370 per kg; sama halnya dengan beras premium juga turun tipis 1,32 persen atau Rp180 menjadi Rp13.410 per kg.

Sementara itu harga komoditas bawang merah naik hingga 15,01 persen atau Rp3.950 menjadi Rp30.270 per kg; sedangkan bawang putih bonggol turun 12,79 persen atau Rp5.090 menjadi Rp44.880 per kg.

Kemudian harga komoditas cabai merah keriting naik 8,28 persen atau Rp3.670 menjadi Rp48.020 per kg; sedangkan cabai rawit merah turun 5,43 persen atau Rp3.800 menjadi Rp66.170 per kg.

Berikutnya harga daging sapi murni naik 2,19 persen atau Rp2.960 menjadi Rp138.280 per kg; begitu pun daging ayam ras naik 11,85 persen atau Rp4.140 menjadi Rp39.080 per kg; telur ayam ras juga naik 13,39 persen atau Rp3.880 menjadi Rp32.860 per kg.

Selanjutnya, kedelai biji kering (impor) terpantau naik 12,04 persen atau Rp1.440 menjadi Rp13.400 per kg; sementara itu gula konsumsi juga naik 6,30 persen atau Rp1.130 menjadi Rp19.060 per kg.

Selanjutnya, minyak goreng kemasan sederhana naik 12,15 persen atau Rp2.190 menjadi Rp20.220 per kg; sedangkan minyak goreng curah turun 5,79 persen atau Rp930 menjadi Rp15.130 per kg.

Berikutnya harga tepung terigu curah terpantau turun 1,65 persen atau Rp170 menjadi Rp10.110 per kg; begitu pun tepung terigu non curah juga naik 8,63 persen atau Rp1.150 menjadi Rp14.470 per kg.

Sementara itu, jagung di tingkat peternak terpantau naik 23,60 persen atau Rp1.350 menjadi Rp7.070 per kg; sama halnya dengan garam halus beryodium juga naik 4,69 persen atau Rp540 menjadi Rp12.050 per kg.

Sementara itu, harga ikan kembung naik hingga 21,33 persen atau Rp7.880 menjadi Rp44.820 per kg; ikan tongkol juga naik 26,63 persen atau Rp8.270 menjadi Rp39.320 per kg; begitu pun ika bandeng naik hingga 35,18 persen atau Rp11.580 menjadi Rp44.500 per kg.

US-Backed Leader to Take Over Bangladesh

©AFP 2023/ABU SUFIAN JEWEL

Muhammad Yunus, 84, has reportedly agreed to serve as the leader of the military-controlled government. The banker and scholar, who is beloved by the US, has faced more than 100 lawsuits under his predecessor's rule, which he has accused of being politically motivated. Hasina once accused Yunus of “sucking blood from the poor”.

Bangladeshi media reported Tuesday that the “Nobel Prize-winning” economist Muhammad Yunus has been appointed as Bangladesh’s transitional leader following mass protests which forced the former prime minister to resign and flee. Organizers of student protests had ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and stormed her residence Monday as the country has fallen under military control.

Hasina had been the longest serving female prime minister in the world, having served from 2009 until now and previously from 1996 to 2001. According to British media Hasina’s term showed success in delivering developmental and economic growth, but critics claim the wealthy benefited disproportionately. Hasina was taken from Dhaka to India and will reportedly seek asylum abroad.

KJ Noh, a scholar, journalist and analyst who specializes in the geopolitics of the Asia-Pacific, joined Sputnik's Political Misfits Tuesday to discuss Yunus’ sudden rise to power.

“I [do not think it’s] credible that a group of students could bring down a government in such a short time. We do know that the NED has been pouring millions of dollars to NGO groups in Bangladesh – $4 million in 2021 alone,” Noh explained. “That in itself is necessary, but not sufficient.”

Noh added that the US has voiced its opinions publicly regarding the political system in Bangladesh. In early January of this year the US said Bangladesh’s election was “not free or fair” after Hasina won her fifth term.

“Yunus [has] never had any electoral success or really any experience as a political leader. He's just been essentially a banker, an economist and a professor. So the call for him to lead the interim government is already highly suspect, but it starts to take on another dimension when you realize that Yunus is a US favorite,” Noh explained.

“[Yunus] had a Fulbright scholarship. Anybody who knows about Fulbright scholarships in the third world, you know that that's where the CIA screens for potential bright young future prospects,” the analyst said. “He had US training, US university positions and tenure, US connections, US medals of honor – presidential and congressional. And, most importantly, he reinforces US geo-economic policy with microlending.”

According to the US State Department Yunus was offered a Fulbright scholarship to study in the US in 1965. He then received his PhD in economics from Vanderbilt University in the US state of Tennessee through its graduate program in Economic Development (GPED) in 1971. In 2006 he and his colleague received the Nobel Peace Prize for “efforts through microcredit to create economic and social development from below.[sic]”

“The pretext of microlending is that you're going to do poverty alleviation by saddling the poor with more debt. Now, that already is wrong headed. But essentially what you're doing is you're kind of introducing debt into the poor sectors of society. It's like a granular micro INF for the really, really poor,” Noh explained. “It's a form of micro loan sharking and it is extraordinarily, you know, vicious. But it fits in the logic of this kind of alienation of capitalist contradiction.”

“And this is why the ruling imperial neoliberal class love him. You know, he was named and described favorably in WikiLeaks documents. You can see that the US consul general is [seeking] him out for potential. And, now it seems like his time has come. He's come of age. So I think he's definitely the favorite. It's very strange that these students who are supposed to have Islamist propensities are asking for Mr. Microfinance,” he added. “Because, remember [...] microfinance is not halal. You know, it's usury.”

President Mohammed Shahabuddin has dissolved Parliament by the deadline demanded by protestors. At least 99 people were killed in protests between Monday and Tuesday, a US news outlet reported. The estimated death toll now stands at over 400 following the violent protests.

Yahya Sinwar as new Hamas leader after Ismail Haniyeh’s killing

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar [File: Mohammed Saber/EPA]

Hamas says it has chosen Yahya Sinwar, its top official in Gaza, as the new leader of its political bureau.

The selection of Sinwar follows Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination in Tehran on July 31, the Palestinian group said on Tuesday.

“The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas announces the selection of Commander Yahya Sinwar as the head of the political bureau of the movement, succeeding the martyr Commander Ismail Haniyeh, may [God] have mercy on him,” the group said in a brief statement.

Sinwar, 61, is seen by Israel Terrorists as the mastermind behind the October 7 attack by Hamas inside Israeli territory, in which more than 1,100 people were killed and more than 200 others taken captive.

"The appointment means that Israel needs to face Sinwar over a solution to Gaza war," said a regional diplomat familiar with the talks brokered by Egypt and Qatar, which are aimed at bringing a halt to the fighting in Gaza and a return of 115 Israeli and foreign hostages still held in the enclave.

"It is a message of toughness and it is uncompromising."

Sinwar, who spent half his adult life in Israeli Terrorists prisons, was the most powerful Hamas leader left alive following the assassination of Haniyeh, which has left the region on the brink of a wider regional conflict after Iran vowed harsh retaliation.

Israel Terrorists has not claimed responsibility for the assassination but it has said it killed other senior leaders, including Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri, who was killed in Beirut, and Mohammed Deif, the movement's military commander.

CEASEFIRE TALKS

In a sign that the movement had united around the choice of Sinwar, Khaled Meshaal, a former leader who had been seen as a potential successor to Haniyeh, was said by senior sources in the movement to have backed Sinwar "in loyalty to Gaza and its people, who are waging the battle of the Flood of Al-Aqsa".

The White House declined to comment on Sinwar's appointment. But a person familiar with Washington's thinking said the selection suggested that Hamas could toughen its position in ceasefire negotiations and make it harder to reach a deal.

They added, however, that Israel Terrorists was already aware that even before his formal appointment Sinwar would have the final word on any agreement to halt the fighting, and the announcement merely set the seal on that.

Ten months since the surprise attack by thousands of Hamas-led fighters who swarmed into Israeli Terrorists communities around the Gaza Strip in the early hours of the morning of Oct. 7, the war has turned the Middle East on its head and threatened to spiral into a wider regional conflict.

Some 1,200 Israelis and foreigners were killed and more than 250 taken hostage into Gaza. In response, Israel Terrorists launched a relentless campaign that has so far killed almost 40,000 Palestinians and left the densely populated enclave in ruins.

Attempts at reaching a ceasefire that would give the exhausted population a respite and enable the hostages remaining in captivity to be brought home have foundered amid mutual recriminations from Hamas and Israel Terrorists.

Hamas official Osama Hamdan told Al Jazeera that the movement remained committed to reaching a deal and the team that handled the negotiations under Haniyeh would continue under Sinwar, who he said was following the talks closely.

Haniyeh’s assassination, almost certainly carried out by Israel, sent shockwaves through the region and was seen by many as an effort by the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to scuttle efforts to negotiate a ceasefire, in which Haniyeh was a key figure.

Analysts have said his replacement by Sinwar, who has gone largely unseen since the October 7 attack was an indicator of the central place that Gaza occupies in the group’s political vision.

“He [Sinwar] has skyrocketed to an influential position in Hamas, leading it in Gaza. The choice of Hamas to name him leader of the movement now puts Gaza front and centre of, not just the events on the ground, but certainly of the dynamics in the Hamas movement,” Nour Odeh, a Palestinian political analyst based in Ramallah, told Al Jazeera.

“And it really sends a signal, as far as negotiations of a ceasefire is concerned, that Gaza calls the shots.”

Hezbollah welcomed Sinwar’s appointment late on Tuesday, calling it a strong message to Israel and the United States, and showing that Hamas is united in its decision-making.

"Selecting the brother Yahya Sinwar from the heart of the besieged Gaza Strip – who is present the frontlines with resistance fighters and between the children of his people, under the rubble, blockade, killings and starvation – reasserts that the goals the enemy is seeking by killing leaders have failed,” the group said in a statement.

Sinwar was born in a Gaza refugee camp, south of Khan Younis, and was the former head of the Al-Majd security apparatus, tasked with eliminating Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israel Terrorists. He became the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip in 2017.

Sinwar is one of several Hamas leaders for whom the International Criminal Court (ICC) sought an arrest warrant over allegations of war crimes committed on October 7.

Warrants were also sought for some Israeli Terrorits leaders, including Netanyahu and Israeli Terrorists defence chief Yoav Gallant, for alleged war crimes in Gaza.

But despite Terrorist Israel’s promise to wipe out Hamas, and a military campaign that ranks among the most destructive in modern history, the Palestinian armed group has continued to hold out against Israeli Terrorists forces in Gaza.