Brazil's Foreign Ministry condemned in the strongest terms Israel's deployment into parts of Lebanese territory Monday which left 492 people dead and 1,645 wounded. Itamaraty also deplored Tel Aviv's declarations in favor of the military operations urging Lebanese civilians to evacuate their homes in those regions as people fleeing southern Lebanon caused traffic jams.
By Gwynne Dyer
The exploding pagers that killed at least 12 people and injured 2 800 others in Lebanon and adjacent places on Tuesday were mostly just a new wrinkle on the exploding cell-phones that Israel has used to assassinate its opponents in the past, but there was one major innovation.
The Chilean Government of President Gabriel Boric Font announced Friday that the South American country had joined South Africa's filing before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Israel for its alleged breach of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide against the Palestinian community.
A joint statement from the leaders of United Kingdom, Germany and France called for an immediate end to fighting Gaza, the release of Israeli hostages and the prevention of further escalation, especially on the part of Iran and its allies.
The Government of Argentina admitted Tuesday that it had received a security alert from Israel about a possible Iranian attack. Cabinet Chief Guillermo Francos said Israel expected “a very strong attack from Iran against targets that are friends.” Argentina has already suffered two anti-Jewish attacks in the 1990s.
A full-scale Iranian attack against Israel is deemed imminent both in Tel Aviv and Washington DC alike in retaliation for last week's killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh while in Tehran. US President Joseph Biden was to convene his national security team while Israeli authorities are considering the possibility of switching from a defensive to an offensive strategy.
Bolivia's oil company YPFB announced Sunday that with the arrival of at least 50,000 cubic meters of diesel from Brazil and Paraguay this week, the fuel shortage would be solved for the time being to meet domestic demand. The State-run organization explained that the supply problems stemmed from bad weather at the Chilean port of Arica, which prevented the unloading of fuel from four ships.
Wednesday's speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the US Congress seemed to herald the foundations around which Western civilization will revolve soon. As he described the world for when victory over the pro-Palestinian terrorist group Hamas has been achieved, supporters of the other faction in the ongoing Middle East conflict vandalized adjacent areas in Washington DC, particularly Union Station.
Paraguayan President Santiago Peña confirmed Wednesday in Buenos Aires that his country would be relocating its Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. During his appearance at a World Jewish Congress event in the Argentine capital, Peña confirmed that Paraguay “will once again move its embassy to Jerusalem, capital of the State of Israel,” one of Paraguay's strategic allies. Following Peña's decision, Israel would be reopening its mission in Asunción. Paraguay has had its embassy moved to Jerusalem once but backtracked on its decision citing political inconveniences.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken Monday kicked off his new Middle East tour in Cairo. He is believed to be seeking a ceasefire in Gaza eight months into the conflict triggered by the terrorist group Hamas' invasion of Israel killing over a thousand people and taking some 250 others hostage, of whom about 50% have been either rescued or handed back over to their land. It is yet to be known how many of them are still alive. Blinken reportedly plans to broker their release.