Israeli troops shelled Lebanon with US-supplied white phosphorus, according to the report

Israeli Defense Force (IDF) troops firing across the border at targets in Lebanon is far from uncommon, especially amid the ongoing escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, a recent report has claimed that Tel Aviv had no qualms about using white phosphorus ordnance in such attacks in October.

According to the Washington Post, remnants of three 155mm artillery shells fired at the village of Dahaira in southern Lebanon not far from the Lebanese-Israeli border were found by one of their journalists.

The three white phosphorus shells were reportedly fired by Israeli forces at Dahaira on October 16 during an attack that was later dubbed as the “black night” by the locals and which resulted in at least nine people being injured and at least four residences getting “incinerated.”

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US aid programs to Ukraine and Israel are behind the growing gunpowder shortage, retired US Air Force Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski told Sputnik.

Kwiatkowski, who also served as an analyst for the US Defense Department, noted the conflicts have resulted in manufacturers switching their focus to military-grade gunpowder instead of civilian and hunting powders. She also blames American manufacturing moving overseas due to regulations from the Occupational Health and Safety and Environmental Protection Agency.

The disconnect of the American elite from reality is typical of leaders in a declining empire, she added.

“The US elite today is not the elite of the Industrial Age – they study influence, propaganda and control, they know little about innovation, production and solid investment. Increasingly they are as disconnected from reality as any other elite class experiencing late stage empire – they cannot evaluate how they got where they are, and they cannot see what is coming,” Kwiatkowski explained.

The US and Ukraine are developing a new military strategy as Pentagon is ready to send Lieutenant-General Antonio Aguto to Kiev, but there is still no consensus on its content, the New York Times has reported, citing unnamed officials.

According to the publication's sources, US and Ukrainian officers hope to work out the details of the new strategy during the war games scheduled for January in Wiesbaden, Germany.

While the Ukrainian side favours offensive action, US advisers are pushing a more restrained option focusing on holding onto existing territories and building up forces.

But the training of Ukrainian soldiers in the American manner has been unsuccessful, the NYT adds, citing the same sources. In Germany, the Ukrainian forces were allegedly trained to break through much less dense defences than the one they eventually encountered.

The publication, citing unnamed US officials, also claims that many Ukrainian top-brass do not realise how unstable further US funding is, and they have unrealistic expectations about what exactly the US will supply. For example, they are asking for "millions of rounds of artillery from Western stockpiles that do not exist."

At the same time, a large number of Republicans in the US Congress have said that they will not vote on any additional spending on Ukraine until they see the new strategy.

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❗️ A Ukrainian "Tochka-U" tactical missile was downed over the Belgorod region by air defense systems on duty, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The "Tochka-U" missile can carry a cluster munition with a variety of destructive elements. This makes it particularly dangerous for civilians.

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'This is false': US shoots down reports troops being sent to Israel-Lebanon border

Reports that the United States is deploying troops to the Israel-Lebanon border is false and Washington is not preparing to take such action, a White House National Security Council spokesperson told Sputnik.

Citing sources, the Al-Hadath TV channel earlier reported that US troops would be deployed on the Israeli side of Israel's border with Lebanon.

"This is false. The US is not preparing to deploy troops to the Israel-Lebanon border," the spokesperson said.

Days after Hamas' October attack, the US put some 2,000 service members on high alert over concerns the conflict would spread further into the region. However, officials have noted any deployment would not put troops into direct combat positions but on an advising role.

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📹 A Russian Ka-52 destroys Ukrainian strongholds in the Krasny Liman region as part of a strike group, according to footage released by the Defense Ministry.

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🇺🇸 US Senator says will not take orders from Zelensky amid leader’s trip to Washington

Mike Lee said in a statement that he will not take orders from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as the leader visits Washington in an effort to rally support for further Ukraine aid.

“So no one could possibly have a legitimate reason to disagree with Zelensky? I can think of plenty of legitimate reasons,” Senator Lee said, amid a trip by the Ukrainian president to the United States. “It isn’t Zelensky’s job to worry about America’s interests. But it is ours — and we won’t be taking orders from him.”

US Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene also used Zelensky’s visit to highlight the US’ lack of willingness to support a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.

“With Zelensky in town and Ukraine money running dry, why doesn’t anyone in Washington talk about a peace treaty with Russia??... Answer: Washington wants war, not peace,” Greene said in a statement via social media platform X.

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Republican US Senator JD Vance called Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky's visit to the United States a 'disgrace'.

"Zelensky comes to town and demands that the taxpayers give him another $61 bln, and by the way, if you want to secure your border first, you are actually a 'Putin puppet'. I think it's disgraceful. I think it's grotesque."

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The US Army has received its first Precision Strike Missiles following a successful test in New Mexico, Lockheed Martin announced in a press release.

“Thanks to the close collaboration between Army and Lockheed Martin teams, we accelerated PrSM’s development program on an aggressive schedule to deliver this next-generation missile faster than ever before,” Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control Precision Fires Control Vice President Jay Price said in the release.

To meet the Army’s PrSM Early Operational Capability (EOC), Lockheed Martin is using digital tools including ARISE advanced modeling and simulation, data analytics, and software factory to advance development and improve producibility, quality and performance, the company said.

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🥴 Grandpa Joe's all confused again

While congratulating Jews on Hanukkah at the White House, the US President said that 65 years had passed since the Hamas attack, mistaking days for years.

But that's not all...

Reading from a teleprompter, the president recounted how "his father" (who died over 20 years ago) survived the October 7 Hamas attack.

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🇯🇵 Japan's plans to increase defense spending by raising taxes have defined the kanji of the year

The 'tax' kanji received the most votes as public attention was drawn to the ruling party's intention to increase defense spending by raising taxes on legal entities.

In 2022, the kanji for 'war' was chosen as the character of the year.

Kanji are the logographic characters taken from the Chinese noscript used in Japanese writing, typically one character symbolizing one word.

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❗️Pentagon confirms a Norwegian-flagged tanker was hit by a cruise missile fired from Houthi-controlled area of Yemen.

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📹 Fighters of the Novorossiysk Guards Mountain Airborne Forces using FPV drones and quadrocopters destroy a group of infantrymen of the Ukrainian forces in the Zaporozhye region.

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❗️Putin signed a law on ratification of an agreement with Belarus providing for the creation of joint combat training centers.

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Space is a domain the US military needs to win if it wants to compete in future wars, Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Matthew Glavy said at the Association of Old Crows conference.

“Space is the most resilient capability we have,” Glavy said. “I’m telling you right now: We don’t win the space domain? Don’t even bother.”

Space-based military technologies currently include spy satellites, communication relays and navigation aids used by the military in every other domain. The US Space Force was created by the Trump administration in 2019, a sign that the US military is taking the space domain more seriously.

The United States’ dominance over space has been challenged in recent years, with several countries, including China, Russia, India and others, all launching scientifically significant missions in 2023, including in August, when India became the first country to land a spacecraft near the Moon’s south pole.

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🇦🇹 The Austrian Chancellor opposed the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU under the current terms.

In his opinion, Ukraine should not be favored against the background of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is also negotiating its accession.

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🇮🇱🇵🇸 Latest updates on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict:

▪️ The IDF announced the suspension of hostilities until 14:00 local time in one of the districts of the city of Rafah, located in southern Gaza near the Egypt border;

▪️The Health Ministry of the Gaza Strip said that Israeli troops are storming the Kamal Adwan hospital in the north of the enclave. Israeli troops are currently gathering men, including medical staff, in the hospital courtyard, the ministry added;

▪️ "Over the past day, the IAF struck a number of launch posts used to fire rockets at Israelis across the country from inside the Gaza Strip. IDF troops in Jabalya identified a post launching rockets toward the city of Sderot. In response, the forces directed an aircraft that struck the launch post," the IDF announced;

▪️ Israeli forces killed four Palestinians in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday, the Palestinian Health Ministry reported. The ministry did not provide further details about the deaths, while the Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported they were killed in a drone strike in the Old City;

▪️ Lavrov discussed the situation in Gaza with his Iranian counterpart, the importance of a ceasefire was stressed;

▪️ At the moment there is no news about a possible humanitarian pause in Gaza, Palestinian Ambassador to Russia Abdelhafiz Nofal told Sputnik;

▪️ Around 270 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli shelling and attacks in the West Bank, according to Palestinian officials, as violence in the territory has escalated since the outbreak of war on October 7, when Hamas, the militant rulers of Gaza, invaded Israel murdering civilians and military personnel.

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🗣 Bureaucrats in Brussels do not represent the European people - Viktor Orban

The Hungarian prime minister made the statement on his X account (formerly Twitter), noting that most Europeans support the end of hostilities in Ukraine and the immediate start of the negotiation process between Russia and Ukraine.

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❗️The Israeli army announced the destruction of the headquarters of Hamas' elite Nuhba unit, which contained documents with plans for the October 7 attack.

As part of the operation, the soldiers demolished the residence of the Nukhba unit, which was preparing to attack IDF soldiers. The residence served as a Hamas command center and contained combat-related documents and laptops belonging to the military wing, which contained operational plans for the October 7 massacre.

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