The Quiet Before the Storm

Israel, US, Iran and others prepare for next phase of war

1. Israel Strikes Hamas, Hezbollah and Syria

2. US Strikes Iranian Targets, Militias in Syria

3. Hamas, Russia Meet for Talks

4. CIA Facilitates Ukraine Shadow War

5. Russia Continues Assault of Avdiivka

6. Overview of Iran’s Proxies in the Middle East

7. Security Council Fails to Pass Israel-Hamas Resolution

8. Islamic State Media Focuses on China

9. Podcast Recommendations

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1. Israel Strikes Hamas, Hezbollah and Syria

Israel continues preparation for what most believe is going to be a large scale ground offensive into Gaza. In addition to persistent strikes in Gaza, Israel has also targeted Hezbollah military targets in Lebanon, Syrian army rocket launch sites and Syrian airports. While all of these external strikes are getting a little more scrutiny right now, understandably so, they’re not necessarily out of the ordinary. The attacks into Lebanon and Syria are best viewed as Israel trying to show some muscle in the hopes that Iranian-backed forces in the region think twice before taking advantage of the situation and attacking Israel.

The US has continued to move resources into the Middle East. The most recent count is two carrier strike groups, a THAAD battery, multiple Patriot battalions and an unknown number of troops placed on ready to deploy orders. One argument as to why Israel has not yet gone into Gaza is that they’re allowing the US time to increase our posture in the region to deter or defeat attacks prompted by Israeli action.

For as much as is happening day to day, this is somewhat of a quiet period before the storm. All parties are still determining their responses when the eventual Israeli invasion of Gaza kicks off. At that point we can expect a flood of events across the region and hopefully enough open lines of communication to prevent a broader war.

https://www.idf.il/en/

https://www.aljazeera.com/tag/israel-palestine-conflict/

https://twitter.com/IDF

https://twitter.com/IAFsite

https://t.me/qassambrigades

2. US Strikes Iranian Targets, Militias in Syria

Overnight the US announced that they struck two facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated groups. The DoD said these were self-defense strikes in response to ongoing attacks against US personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian backed groups. Secretary Austin stated that the US does not seek conflict and has no desire to engage in further hostilities but these Iranian-backed attacks are unacceptable and must stop.

https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3570798/secretary-of-defense-lloyd-j-austin-iiis-statement-on-us-military-strikes-in-ea/

3. Hamas, Russia Meet for Talks

Senior Hamas officials visited Moscow on Thursday to discuss the ongoing war in Israel with Russian officials. According to Russian media outlet TASS, the meeting focused on the release of foreign hostages including Russian citizens from Gaza.

Hamas released a statement that the talks focused on Israeli aggression in Gaza and strategies to halt Israeli war crimes which are backed by the United States. They hailed Mikhail Bogdanov (Russia’s Special Envoy to the Middle East) for his efforts to achieve a ceasefire, reopen border crossings, and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid into the blockaded Gaza.

https://tass.com/politics/1697465

https://www.reuters.com/world/hamas-delegation-is-visiting-moscow-russian-foreign-ministry-2023-10-26/
https://t.me/HamasOnline/1322

4. CIA Facilitates Ukraine Shadow War