Satellite photos taken yesterday suggest an apparent Israeli retaliatory strike targeting Iran’s central city of Isfahan hit a radar system for a Russian-made air defence battery, contradicting repeated denials by officials in Tehran of any damage in the assault.
The strike on an S-300 radar in what appears to have been a very limited strike by the Israelis would represent far more damage done than in the massive drone-and-missile attack Iran unleashed against Israel on 13 April.
The satellite images by Planet Labs PBC taken near Isfahan’s dual-use airport and air base, some 320km south of Tehran, showed an area nearby that served as a deployment point for the air defence system. Burn marks sit around what analysts including Chris Biggers, a consultant former government imagery analyst, previously had identified as a “flap-lid” radar system used for the S-300.
Meanwhile, a US State Department 2023 human rights report on Monday cited allegations of war crimes by Israel, Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups.
The report noted that “human rights groups reported extensive and in many cases unprecedented conflict-related abuses and alleged the commission of war crimes by Israel, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and other Palestinian militant groups”.
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Israeli military intelligence chief resigns over Hamas massacre failures
The Israeli military has said its head of intelligence has resigned over failures surrounding Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack.
Major General Aharon Haliva has become the first senior Israeli figure to step down after Hamas breached the country’s defences, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, taking roughly 250 more captive, and sparking the war against Hamas in Gaza.
The official said shortly after the attack in October that he shouldered the blame for not preventing the assault.
The Israeli military said in a statement that the military chief of staff accepted Maj Gen Haliva’s request to resign and thanked him for his service. His resignation could set the stage for more of Israel’s top security officials to accept blame for not preventing the attack and step down.
Maj Gen Haliva wrote in his resignation letter, which was provided by the military: “The intelligence directorate under my command did not live up to the task we were entrusted with. I carry that black day with me ever since, day after day, night after night. I will carry the pain with me forever.”
Ilhan Omar’s daughter claims she’s ‘homeless and hungry’ after Columbia suspension over pro-Palestine protests
Isra Hirsi said that she and two of her classmates from Barnard College at Columbia were the first of nearly 100 students to be suspended over pro-Palestine protests.
Namita Singh23 April 2024 06:45
What’s behind Columbia University protests?
The university’s president moved classes online on Monday due to tensions, while one rabbi called for Jewish students to leave campus over fears of antisemitic violence and harassment on Monday, the first day of Passover.
For the past week, hundreds of pro-Palestine student activists have demanded that Columbia divest its financial ties with Israel due to the country’s war in Gaza, launching street demonstrations and building a massive encampment on the college campus, leading the school to call in the New York Police Department (NYPD).
Here’s everything you need to know about the protests at Columbia, and other major US universities.
Namita Singh23 April 2024 06:30
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