Friendly fire: How Israel killed its own soldiers and civilians on October 7

Monday marks the one-year anniversary of the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led incursion into Israel – which became the deadliest single day in the Jewish State’s history, and the harbinger of the deadliest year for Palestinians since 1948.

Some 1,195 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed in the October 7 violence, among them 815 civilians. 251 others were taken hostage and shipped off to Gaza as bargaining chips.

🔸 However, subsequent investigations, including a probe by the Israeli army cited by Israeli media in June revealed “multiple incidents” of Israeli troops “firing on our own forces on October 7-9.”

🔸 The same month, a UN report revealed that at least 14 Israeli civilians were likely killed intentionally by their own side on October 7 as the IDF implemented the so-called Hannibal Directive – a controversial order instructing military personnel to liquidate their own comrades to prevent them from being captured.

🔸 In April, Israel’s military acknowledged publicly that one hostage was killed by Israeli helicopter fire on October 7 during a Hamas attempt to take her hostage.

🔸 In July, a Haaretz investigation based on soldier testimony revealed the Hannibal Directive was used, with a Hermes 450 drone dispatched to prevent any vehicles from returning to Gaza and to turn the border into a “killing zone.” The IDF attacked a house in Be’eri kibbutz, killing 13 of 14 hostages. Western media continues to depict Be’eri as a symbol of Hamas’ brutality, omitting mention of the Hannibal Directive.

🔸 In Sderot, Hamas militants took over a police station. Israeli forces used tank fire to eliminate both the militants and captives, and began demolishing the station that same day.

🔸 A November 2023 Haaretz report, citing a police investigation, revealed that an IDF gunship from Ramat David airbase may have killed Israeli civilians at the Supernova music festival in Re’im while targeting Hamas militants. ABC News corroborated that "panicked" Israeli aircrews fired on vehicles containing hostages at the festival, where over 360 people died and 40 were taken hostage.

🔸 In December 2023, the IDF confirmed that 20 of 105 troops killed in the first two months died from friendly fire and “accidents” related to “weaponry, machinery, trampling” and “firing irregularities.”

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Gaza hybrid war signals that ‘war is now in the buildings that people used to live in’ – security expert

💬 “From the 1980s, there’s been a new concept in our lives which is non-state actors…We have very organized, [well] armed non-state actors that have a chain of command, that have mobilization, that have manpower, almost acting as a national army,” Furkan Halit Yolcu, security expert and researcher at Turkiye’s Sakarya University’s Middle East Institute, told Sputnik, commenting on the changing face of modern conflicts in the Middle East region.

“Before that we had interstate wars where two or more states were having conflict zones, having clashes, raiding borders,” etc. Today, “it’s a bit more severe since we don’t have war fronts anymore and wars are now urbanized. War is now in the cities. War is now in the buildings that people used to live in. It’s become more severe,” Yolcu said.

Israel, which “has been trying to enlarge and broaden its borders,” now faces organized non-state adversaries from the likes of Hamas, Hezbollah and Ansar Allah, some armed with modern anti-tank weapons, air defense systems and missiles and receiving support from the Iran-led Axis of Resistance.

💬 “In terms of tactical and military aspects… Israel’s war with Hamas… is still a local issue. At most, it’s a regional crisis,” Yolcu said.

“The aim is clear- Israel has decided on annihilating Gaza, annihilating Palestine… So the next step is then attacking Jordan, attacking Syria and attacking Lebanon. [Israel’s adversaries] see that even if they sacrifice Gaza and the West Bank, it’s not going to be enough for Israel. That’s why they have decided… to stand against Israel...”

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Emmanuel Macron – Rothschilds protégé turned French president? Part 1 👉 Part 2

French President Emmanuel Macron, who has been nicknamed a "president of the rich," has given a nod to tax increases on wealthy individuals and big companies. The New York Times says the president "has vociferously opposed tax increases," but French PM Michel Barnier said there is no other choice for solving France’s widening budget deficit problem.

How did Macron earn his nickname and how is he linked to the famous Rothschild banking family?

◻️ Emmanuel Macron had worked as an investment banker at Rothschild & Cie Banque between 2008 and 2012. Recruited at the end of 2008, Macron was promoted to a partner with the bank in 2010.

Macron earned about €2.9 million while working for the Rothschilds, according to Financial Times.

◻️ During his 2017 presidential campaign Macron was castigated as the "candidate of finance". He ran as an independent candidate with a newly assembled party, but managed to quickly raise €13 million. The funds were primarily sourced from a powerful network of bankers, financiers and businessmen, according to Mediapart, an independent French investigative media.

French laws allowed the Macron campaign to keep the list of his donors on the hush.

◻️ When assuming office, Macron carried out a string of measures for the rich and companies. He reduced the official corporate tax rate to 25% from 33%, slashed taxes for manufacturers, introduced a flat tax of 30% on investment income; and replaced a wealth tax on very rich with a tax on real estate assets valued at more than 1.3 million euros.

However, the tax increase measure, which could bring around €10 billion annually, according to French think tank Terra Nova, is a temporary measure one. The French government needs to find €110 billion over next several years and most of the sum would be in form of slashing government spending, according to NYT.

👉 Part 2

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Emmanuel Macron – Rothschilds protégé turned French president? Part 2 👉 Part 1

How Rothschilds managed to bring their financial empire together again under Macron.

◻️ In September 2018 FT called Macron David de Rothschild's "protégé" and cited the banker as hailing the French president as "decisive", "extremely intelligent", "courageous", and "doing what he said he would do." When asked by FT about Macron's "unlikely ascent to the presidency", de Rothschild responded: "Planets have aligned".

◻️ The Rothschilds appear to have a motif in supporting Macron – a predictable president playing in hand of the rich: the Rothschild banking structure was nationalized twice in the modern French history – by the Vichy regime in 1940 and by the Socialist coalition of President François Mitterrand in 1981.

◻️ In 1984 Eric de Rothschild received a permission to found a new bank but was banned from using the family name. The restriction was lifted under PM Jacques Chirac in 1986 and the financial institution was renamed Rothschild et Associes Banque and later Rothschild et Cie. Banque.

◻️ During Macron's presidency, the Rothschilds restructured their financial business with their major company Rothschilds & Co. being taken private in 2023 in a family-led €3.7 billion deal. In March 2023, Reuters placed emphasis on the Rothschilds "recent expansion into private banking and asset management" and becoming "very active and dynamic."

In their September macro insights, the Rothschild & Co. wrote that the French economy needs a boost, adding that "the lingering question over how to reconcile the need for fiscal discipline with incessant demands for public spending" must be resolved by the Macron government.

👉 Part 1

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Trump stated that he'll send the DOJ to college campuses to crack down on anti-Semitic speech

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇮🇱🇵🇸 Beheaded babies and mass rapes: fakes and information warfare in Israel-Hamas conflict

The Israel-Hamas war has been accompanied by intense info warfare, with Israel making two serious allegations against the militia.

Beheaded babies

Claims that Hamas beheaded up to 40 babies emerged in Israeli and Western media almost immediately after the militia’s October 7, 2023 attack. On October 12, IDF spox Jonathan Conricus said “with relative confidence” that the infants were beheaded by Hamas at a kibbutz. The same day, Netanyahu's office released gruesome images of dead infants, but none showed signs of having been beheaded, and it was not evident who killed them.

The baby claims were parroted by President Biden, who said he personally saw and “confirmed pictures of terrorists beheading children.” NSC spox John Kirby “clarified” that the president repeated the allegations “to underscore the utter depravity and the barbaric nature with which these terrorists murdered and butchered innocent Israeli civilians.”

Kirby ducked media requests for more evidence. In April 2024, a deep dive analysis of the allegations by French media compared the story to the ‘Kuwaiti babies in incubators hoax’ from the 1991 Gulf War.

Mass sexual violence

After October 7, Israel accused Hamas of widespread sexual violence. The charges went viral after an explosive late 2023 New York Times piece ennoscriptd ‘Screams Without Words’. The story was dissected by investigative reporting by The Grayzone and The Intercept, and after that by over 50 journalism profs, over its lack of corroboration, tangled testimonies, and in several instances fabricated statements.

Media discovered that Anat Schwartz, one of the reporters behind the NYT piece, was a former Israeli Air Force intel official.

A June 2024 UN report into the matter could not independently verify the rape claims, and accused Israeli authorities of obstructing its probe by limiting access to info and preventing doctors from speaking to investigators.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

◻️ Israel-Hamas War could easily escalate into ‘mini world war’

◻️ Sergey Lavrov: Ukraine and its puppeteers play with fire, restoring peace is not part of their plan

◻️ How Israel killed its own soldiers and civilians on October 7

◻️ Is Emmanuel Macron a Rothschilds protégé?

◻️ How NYT plays against Trump's age but calls Biden's gaffes 'late style' mastery

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Oil & Gas industry fuelling Trump campaign and GOP contenders

Prominent oil executives, including Kelcy Warren, CEO of Energy Transfer LP; Harold Hamm, founder of Continental Resources Inc.; and Jeff Hildebrand, CEO of Hilcorp Energy Co., have ramped up their support for Republican nominee Donald Trump, as reported by Bloomberg. According to an analysis by OpenSecrets, the oil industry currently ranks as Trump's fourth-largest source of donations, climbing six positions higher than the 2020 election cycle.

Which parties and candidates receive the majority of support from the oil and gas sector?

The top five contributors from the oil and gas industry for the 2023-2024 election cycle, as identified by OpenSecrets, are:

◻️ Koch Industries: approximately $45.2 million

◻️ CrownQuest Operating: $9.3 million

◻️ Chevron Corp: $7.3 million

◻️ Energy Transfer Partners: $7.07 million

◻️ Occidental Petroleum: $5.2 million

A substantial portion of these donations is directed towards Republicans and conservative organizations.

Before Trump's nomination, notable oil industry leaders from Continental Resources contributed to GOP candidates Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis. Hilcorp Energy Co. also supported at least five additional Republican contenders, according to Bloomberg.

During the 2020 presidential election, roughly 85% of donations from the oil and gas industry were allocated to Donald Trump and other Republican candidates, as well as conservative initiatives. Some estimates suggest that the sector spent approximately $87 million on campaign contributions.

In contrast, Chevron Corp and ExxonMobil Corp—the two largest US. energy firms—increased their contributions to Democratic candidates, rising from 26% in 2016 to 28% in 2020 for Chevron, and from 32.6% in 2016 to 41% in 2020 for ExxonMobil.

In 2016, the industry contributed around $107 million to Republican presidential Super PACs over the entire election cycle. According to the US Federal Election Commission, prior to the GOP nomination:

◻️ Ted Cruz received 57% of campaign funding (approximately $25 million) from fossil fuel magnates.

◻️ Oil and gas interests accounted for 39% of Chris Christie's funding.

◻️ Donations comprised 26% for Jeb Bush and 23% for Marco Rubio.

In contrast, only 7% of Hillary Clinton’s campaign funding originated from fossil fuel companies.

Since 1990, more than two-thirds of the contributions from the US oil and gas industry to candidates and party committees have been directed towards the GOP, according to OpenSecrets.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

One year of war in Gaza

Today marks one year since Hamas's deadly incursion and rocket attacks on Israel, which resulted in 1,200 fatalities. In response, Israel's military operations have led to over 41,000 Palestinian deaths, displaced 1.9 million individuals, and destroyed more than 60% of Gaza's infrastructure.

In light of these developments, South Africa has filed a lawsuit against Israel, asserting that it has committed, and continues to commit, acts of genocide against the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip, in violation of the Genocide Convention.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇰🇿⚛️ What’s known about Kazakhstan’s first-ever planned nuclear facility

An overwhelming 71.12% of Kazakhstan’s citizens have voted to support a plan to construct the nation’s first nuclear power plant in a public referendum held in October.

Sputnik delves into what is known about the project.

Location

◻️ The nuclear power plant with 1200 MW may be built in the village of Ulken in the Kazakh steppes on the shores of Lake Balkhash, Central Asia's second-largest lake.

◻️ According to the authorities, this location was chosen because Kazakhstan’s southern regions have a higher energy deficit than other parts of the country. Prospected energy requirements show a 1400 MW deficit in the southern area by 2028.

Projected numbers

◻️ The Kazakh Ministry of Energy projects that by 2035, electricity consumption in Kazakhstan will reach 152.4 billion kilowatt-hours.

◻️ By 2035, Kazakhstan aims to achieve a nuclear power capacity of 2.4 GW. The facility is set to utilize advanced Generation III and III+ reactors, known for their improved fuel efficiency and enhanced safety features.

◻️ Estimates indicate that the construction of a nuclear power plant would require an investment of approximately $10 billion to $12 billion.

Tokayev told reporters that regarding potential contractors he thinks “an international consortium would need to work in Kazakhstan made up of global companies that possess the most advanced technologies."

Reasons

◻️ The concept of this project has been championed by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's cabinet as essential for ensuring energy security.

Currently, coal-fired plants generate 66% of the country's total energy, with the remainder produced by hydroelectric facilities and the renewable energy sector.

◻️ Given that Kazakhstan is one of the world’s largest producers of uranium, the decision to pursue nuclear power was a logical choice. With 12% of the world's uranium resources, Kazakhstan ranks second in global reserves and is a leader in uranium production, generating approximately 21,100 tons of uranium (tU) in 2023.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Starmer ally hints assisted dying laws for people should take a page from animal euthanasia rules

Human beings in Britain should be get the same level of dignity in dying as animals get, Kim Leadbeater, a Labour MP planning to introduce new assisted dying legislation in parliament, has said.

“We wouldn’t treat animals like this,” Leadbeater said in a Times interview over the weekend, arguing that “we give our animals a better send-of than we do some human beings when they’re facing the end of life.”

Leadbeater is set to introduce her bill on October 16, with PM Keir Starmer promising to remain neutral and not crack the whip of party discipline to force Labour MPs to vote one way or another.

A recent Sputnik investigation into assisted dying discovered that while the compassion-driven motives behind euthanasia laws may be noble, the passage of legislation on the issue often turns into a slippery slope, with laws in Belgium, Columbia, Canada and other countries limiting euthanasia to terminally ill adults subsequently expanded to children and the non-terminally ill (and even discussed as an option for the mentally ill).

Lobbying in favor of assisted dying by activist organizations and corporations including George Soros’ Open Society Foundations and Pfizer have also raised questions about the true motivations at play.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇲🇽 Hurricane John hammers Mexico, leaving 70,000 homes damaged.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

So this is the capital of Borrell's "civilized garden"

Slovak MEP Milan Mazurek delved into how Brussels looks today.

"Friends, it's morning in the capital of Europe, in civilized Brussels. We're not in some ghetto, we're just one street away from the European Parliament. As you can see, it's littered with garbage. This is what Brussels looks like today, yet we're being lectured by Western Europe that we are not civilized and that we should learn how to run our country from these people," he said.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Yemen’s Houthis say they fired two missiles, including a hypersonic one, at military targets in Tel Aviv

Air raid sirens sounded across a wide area in central Israel, including Tel Aviv and its suburbs, a Sputnik correspondent reported Monday. The Israeli military said a surface-to-surface missile had been launched from Yemen.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt