Tag: perpetual war

Scenes of devastation after Israel bombs Lebanon 100 times in 10 minutes

Israeli strikes rained down on residential areas and estates in central Beirut today without warning, hours after a ceasefire was announced between the US and Iran.

Israel has said the agreement does not extend to its conflict with the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah in Lebanon, however.

Today, the IDF launched more than 100 strikes on Hezbollah targets within 10 minutes in Beirut, southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa valley.

At least 254 people have been killed by Israeli strikes across Lebanon today, according to civil defence authorities.

The highest death toll was ⁠in the capital Beirut, where Israeli strikes killed 91 people. These tolls are expected to rise.

Black smoke towered over several parts of the seaside capital, and booms interrupted the honking of traffic on what had been a blue-sky afternoon, as ambulances raced toward open flames.

At least one apartment building was struck as emergency responders searched charred vehicles. There was no sign of Hezbollah launching strikes against Israel in the first couple of hours after the attacks.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that the airstrikes hit at least five different neighbourhoods in Beirut’s central and coastal areas.

Lebanon’s minister of social affairs, Haneed Sayed, said the strikes were in the ‘heart of Beirut’ where half of the internally displaced people had been.

She said Lebanon’s government is ready to enter into negotiations with Israel for an end to hostilities, an offer that the president previously made.

Israel has not responded.

Hezbollah had fired missiles across the border days after the US and Israel attacked Iran, resparking a lengthy regional conflict.

Israel responded with widespread bombardment of Lebanon and a ground invasion, and claims to have killed hundreds of Hezbollah fighters.

Israel has killed more than 1,530 people in Lebanon, including more than 100 women and 130 children, in the attacks. More than one million people have been displaced in Lebanon.

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Justice Department Counters Russian Military Intelligence Unit Attack On US Targets

The Justice Department and FBI on Tuesday revealed they have conducted a court-approved technical operation to neutralize part of a network of small office and home office routers in the United States that become commandeered by a unit of Russia’s military intelligence.

Russian Military Unit 26165—also known as APT28, Sofacy Group, Forest Blizzard, Pawn Storm, Fancy Bear, and Sednit—is part of Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff and has compromised routers to execute malicious Domain Name System (DNS) hijacking operations across the planet.

They targeted individual U.S. military members, the U.S. government, and critical infrastructure in which the Russian government expected to gain intelligence.

U.S. Attorney David Metcalf for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said critical data had been commandeered.

“In the face of continued aggression by our nation-state adversaries, the U.S. government will respond just as aggressively,” Metcalf said. “Working with the FBI—and our partners around the world—we are committed to disrupting and exposing such threats to our nation’s cybersecurity.”

Assistant Director Brett Leatherman of FBI’s Cyber Division said U.S. and global routers had been compromised and that the FBI will continue to use its authorities to identify and impose costs on state-sponsored actors who target the American people.

“Given the scale of this threat, sounding the alarm wasn’t enough,” Leathernan said. “The FBI conducted a court-authorized operation to harden compromised routers across the United States.”

The FBI operation, called Operation Masquerade, is the most recent U.S. action to undermine continuous Russian state-sponsored cyber threats that exploit everyday consumer devices.

Since 2024, GRU actors have attacked known vulnerabilities in TP-Link routers worldwide to steal administrative credentials. They then obtained unauthorized access to devices and changed their settings to redirect DNS queries to GRU-controlled malicious resolvers.

The actors set up automated filters to identify high-value traffic before intercepting it. The malicious resolvers returned fraudulent DNS records that appeared to be legitimate services, including Microsoft Outlook Web Access.

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Israeli MPs furious over Trump’s ceasefire with Iran

A ceasefire deal struck by Washington and Tehran is a “disaster” and “failure,” several prominent Israeli politicians have said. Israel was left out of the equation, they argued, calling it a strategic mistake on the part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

US President Donald Trump announced a two-week pause to the US-Israeli war on Iran to negotiate a long-term solution to the conflict on the basis of a 10-point plan put forward by Tehran. It reportedly includes Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz, acceptance of its uranium enrichment, the lifting of sanctions, and the cessation of war on all fronts, including Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

Netanyahu’s office said on Wednesday it “supports” Trump’s decision while maintaining that Israel would continue its military campaign against the Iran-linked Hezbollah group in neighboring Lebanon.

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Israeli-Backed Militia Launches Deadly Attack on Gaza Refugee Camp Under Cover of Airstrikes

The dead and wounded were brought to Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah by car, truck, ambulance, and motorized rickshaw following a brutal attack by an Israeli-backed Palestinian militia supported by airstrikes on Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza on Monday.

Inside the hospital morgue, young men wept openly as they gathered around the lifeless bodies of their relatives lying on blankets on the floor. “Don’t leave me brother,” one man screamed as he put his head on the chest of his dead relative before grabbing his limp hand and putting it to his lips in grief. At least 10 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in the assault, according to the WAFA news agency.

The attack began when members of an Israeli-backed militia raided the eastern part of Al-Maghazi refugee camp, multiple eyewitnesses told Drop Site News. The area was just 50 meters from the “yellow line,” where Israeli troops withdrew after the October “ceasefire” agreement, effectively cleaving the Gaza Strip in half.

“We were shocked when Abu Nasira’s forces—or the militia—entered the neighborhood and began firing at people’s homes and at the children inside those homes,” Ahmed Al-Maghari, a resident who witnessed the attacks, said in reference to an Israeli-backed militia. “Some residents of the neighborhood were forced to go out and defend the area and their community, so they began firing back at the militias that were there,” he said, adding that the area was then targeted by Israeli aircraft with multiple airstrikes.

“There were three or four injured people just three to four meters away from our homes, and we were unable to reach them because of the direct gunfire from the militia,” Al-Maghari said. “Whenever anyone tried to approach to provide aid to the injured, they were immediately targeted by the aircraft.”

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Coming Soon – Federal Red Ink Barfing Skyward Like You’ve Never Seen

Self-evidently, the news has been overwhelmingly focused on Washington’s current endeavor to unload $200 billion of imperial destruction upon Iran and its neighbors around the Persian Gulf. Well, and also upon all other users of petroleum products, LNG, LPGs, nitrogen fertilizer, food, helium, semiconductors, manufactured goods and most everything else anywhere on the planet.

Accordingly, comparatively scant attention has been given to another recent milestone on America’s headlong dash to fiscal disaster. To wit, the public debt crossed the $39 trillion mark and nearly in the blink of an eye, too. Just four years ago, we were at the $29 trillion level and nine years ago at the $19 trillion mark.

Needless to say, the “peacemaker” in the Oval Office has played no small role in this skyward ascent of the public debt. During his first term, the public debt grew by a staggering $8 trillion and already another $3 trillion has been racked-up during his second go-round.

Stated differently, the King of Debt has surely earned his place in the history books. The $11 trillion of new debt on his watch to date already accounts for 28% of all the public debt incurred in America since George Washington!

Then again, he still has got nearly three years to go, and the debt impact of both the OBBBA and the impending financial and human bloodbath in the Persian Gulf are just getting started.

Indeed, as to the latter it’s as clear as the orange glow around his cranium that the Donald is doing another round of fake rope-a-dope negotiations with the Iranians. That’s to buy time to get the 82nd Airborne, various amphibious landing ships and other invasionary forces in place for his next “win”.

That’s right.The fool in the Oval Office is actually going to attempt to seize the Alamo Kharg Island. That will mean military chaos in the Gulf, unprecedented turmoil in the global economy and soaring military expenditures, which will make the pending $200 billion DOD supplemental look like a mere down-payment.

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Lebanon excluded from US‑Iran ceasefire deal because of Hezbollah, Trump says; Israel hits 100 targets

Israel carried out its most intense air campaign on Lebanon since the outbreak of the current conflict, striking more than 100 Hezbollah targets across Beirut, the Bekaa Valley, and southern Lebanon in roughly ten minutes, the Israeli military said. The assault came hours after the announcement of a temporary two‑week US–Iran ceasefire. Meanwhile, in a brief exchange with a PBS correspondent, US President Donald Trump confirmed that Lebanon was excluded from the truce because of Hezbollah.

Israel struck Hezbollah targets across Beirut, the Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon within about ten minutes, the Israeli military said. Earlier, Israel had also made clear that the truce did not extend to its operations against the Hezbollah in Lebanon. Lebanon’s health ministry said the strikes killed dozens and wounded hundreds, with ambulances unable to keep up with the wounded and emergency responders tackling fires and collapsed vehicles across the country.

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Automatic registration for US military draft to begin in December

Eligible men will automatically be registered into the military draft pool by December as part of an effort to streamline the previous process of self-registration and save money.

The Selective Service System (SSS) — the government agency that maintains a database of men to be called up to serve in the case of a national emergency — submitted a proposed rule to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on March 30, according to the office’s website.

Most men between the ages of 18 and 25 are already required to register with the Selective Service, but automatic registration was mandated in December 2025 as part of the fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act.

The change, which was meant to save money, “transfers responsibility for registration from individual men to SSS through integration with federal data sources,” according to the website.

The proposed rule is currently under review by the regulatory affairs office and awaiting finalization.

The U.S. has not had a draft since the Vietnam War, with military service being voluntary since 1973. 

But former President Jimmy Carter in 1980 reinstated the Selective Service in the event of a “national emergency,” where the registry could be used to “provide personnel to the Department of War and alternative service for conscientious objectors, if authorized by the President and Congress.”

Many have questioned whether a U.S. military draft could take place amid the war in Iran, which is currently in a tenuous two-week ceasefire. 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt in March said that while a draft is “not part of the current plan right now,” President Trump “wisely keeps his options on the table.”

Trump alone cannot bring back the draft through executive action, as Congress would need to pass legislation to amend the Military Selective Service Act to authorize the president to induct personnel into the military.

Still, failure to register in the draft is considered a crime and can prevent people from receiving state-funded financial aid and employment in numerous states, cause ineligibility for many federal employment opportunities and job training under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, and can carry a fine of up to $250,000 and jail time for up to five years.

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Report: Trump Considers Pulling Troops Out of NATO Countries Deemed ‘Unhelpful’ to Iran War Effort

The Trump administration is considering a plan to “punish” NATO countries that the president has deemed “unhelpful” to the US-Israeli war effort against Iran, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

The potential plan would involve withdrawing US troops from those NATO countries and placing them in the territory of other allies that the administration believes were helpful to the US-Israel war, far short of President Trump’s suggestion that he may leave NATO altogether.

The most notable NATO member opposing the US war with Iran was Spain, which took steps to block the use of its territory and airspace for any military activity related to the Middle East conflict.

Italy also blocked a US aircraft from landing at an airbase in Sicily before it headed to the Middle East, and officials from several NATO countries were very critical of the war, including in Germany. The largest opposition party in Germany, the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD), recently called for the removal of the tens of thousands of US troops stationed in German territory.

The Journal report said that Trump’s plan could involve closing a military base, either in Germany or Spain. It could also lead to the US placing more troops in countries closer to Russia, such as Poland, Romania, and Lithuania.

Trump was unhappy that no NATO allies heeded his call to help the US military open the Strait of Hormuz and was expected to discuss the situation with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Wednesday.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked if the president would bring up the idea of the US leaving NATO and said, “It’s something the president has discussed, and I think it’s something the president will be discussing in a couple of hours with Secretary-General Rutte.”

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AOC: Iran Deal “Changes Nothing” on Need to Impeach Trump for Genocidal Threat

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) has reiterated that the call for President Donald Trump to be impeached or removed from office remains as urgent as ever after his genocidal threat toward Iran, regardless of the president’s announcement of a temporary ceasefire on Tuesday evening.

In a post on X, Ocasio-Cortez said the deal “changes nothing.”

“The President has threatened a genocide against the Iranian people, and is continuing to leverage that threat,” the lawmaker wrote. “He has launched a massive war of enormous risk and of catastrophic consequence without reason, rationale, nor Congressional authorization — which is as clear a violation of the Constitution as any.”

On Tuesday, just an hour and a half before his deadline to decimate Iran’s civilian infrastructure, Trump announced that the U.S. and Iran had agreed to a two-week ceasefire, with the potential to negotiate a long term end to the bombardments. During the pause in fighting, the U.S. would cease its bombardments of Iran, while Iran would reopen traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

The announcement came after Trump had, earlier on Tuesday, threatened to destroy all of Iran. “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” he said.

The statement was swiftly met with a deluge of calls for Trump to be impeached or removed via the 25th Amendment, which allows the president’s cabinet to declare him unfit. Over 70 lawmakers joined the calls, with the comment being so alarming that even far right figures like Candace Owens and Alex Jones called for Trump’s removal.

But the calls seemed to lose momentum after the threat didn’t come to pass on Tuesday, and as Democratic leaders declined to demand his removal. Some Democrats and liberal commentators even mocked Trump, taunting him with the “TACO” insult, standing for “Trump always chickens out,” or criticized him for the deal after it was announced.

Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Arizona), who is Iranian, said that it was callous to taunt Trump for not following through on his threats of genocide.

“I do not appreciate anyone — Democrat or Republican — taking this moment to make TACO jokes to say Trump ‘chickened out,’” Ansari said. “The president was threatening genocide against 90 million Iranians. I’m grateful there’s a ceasefire & scores of innocent people didn’t die tonight.”

Ocasio-Cortez said that it’s important that Democrats keep their foot on the gas. She said that Trump’s corruption and profit-seeking are also clear cases for Trump to be ousted.

“All of these incidents, and plenty more, have clearly driven our country past the threshold for impeachment or invocation of the 25th amendment. We cannot risk the world nor the wellbeing of our nation any longer,” she wrote. “Whether by his Cabinet or Congress, the President must be removed from office. We are playing with the brink.”

Ocasio-Cortez was one of the lawmakers calling for Trump’s removal on Tuesday, saying that his “civilization” threat was a “threat of genocide” that “merits removal from office.”

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Trump Calls Factual CNN Report on Iran Ceasefire Statement “Fake News”

n Tuesday evening, following the announcement of a tentative ceasefire agreement with Iran, President Donald Trump accused the news network CNN of falsely reporting a statement from some of Iran’s leaders that claimed victory over the United States in the war that has been waged over the past month.

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump made a promise to engage in additional war crimes and genocidal attacks against Iran unless an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz was reached.

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” Trump said, giving Iran until 8 p.m. ET to comply.

Ninety minutes before that deadline, Trump then announced via Truth Social that a two-week ceasefire deal had been reached. Wrote Trump:

Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, and subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks.

Trump also said the U.S. received a 10-point proposal from Iran that “is a workable basis on which to negotiate.”

Trump shared a statement from Iran’s minister of foreign affairs, which read, “If attacks against Iran are halted, our Powerful Armed Forces will cease their defensive operations.”

That same evening, CNN reported on a statement from Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, which was much more forceful in its telling of events.

“The enemy, in its unfair, unlawful, and criminal war against the Iranian nation, has suffered an undeniable, historic, and crushing defeat,” that statement read. “Our hands remain on the trigger, and at the slightest mistake by the enemy, a full-force response will be delivered.”

The reporting of that statement upset Trump, who claimed on Truth Social that it was “a FRAUD” and a fake news story emanating from Nigeria. Trump provided no evidence for his assertions, but suggested the reporting by CNN could be criminal.

“Authorities are looking to determine whether or not a crime was committed on the issuance of the Fake CNN World Statement,” Trump wrote. He added:

CNN is being ordered to immediately withdraw this Statement with full apologies for their, as usual, terrible ‘reporting.’ Results of the investigation will be announced in the near future.

In a later post, Trump also claimed CNN was “inflaming a very delicate situation” rather than reporting on the facts of a statement from Iran.

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