Gaza – Page 14 – Infinite Unknown

Israel Will Attack Gaza Until Hamas Can No Longer Fire Rockets, Livni Says

January 12, 2009January 12, 2009 by Infinite

The rubble of the al-Fadilah mosque sits in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, after it was destroyed by an Israeli air strike on Jan. 11, 2009. Photographer: Khaled Hasan/Bloomberg News

Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) — Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Israeli troops will keep on fighting in the Gaza Strip until Hamas rockets no longer pose a threat as representatives of the militant Islamic group headed to Cairo for more cease-fire talks.

Israel’s priority isn’t to reach a cease-fire with Hamas even though the United Nations Security Council called for an immediate truce. Instead, the goal is to reach new security arrangements with Egypt to prevent weapons smuggling into Gaza, Livni said.

“I don’t need Hamas to sign on a piece of paper,” Livni said in discussing efforts to broker a truce during an interview with Army Radio. What’s more important, she said, is that when Palestinians fire rockets into Israel, “they know they will be hurt.”

U.S. seeks ship to deliver hundreds of tons of arms to Israel

January 10, 2009 by Infinite

LONDON (Reuters) – The U.S. is seeking to hire a merchant ship to deliver hundreds of tons of arms to Israel from Greece later this month, tender documents seen by Reuters show.

Related articles:
– Israel tells Gazans to brace for war escalation (AP)
– UN human rights chief accuses Israel of war crimes (Guardian)

The U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC) said the ship was to carry 325 standard 20-foot containers of what is listed as “ammunition” on two separate journeys from the Greek port of Astakos to the Israeli port of Ashdod in mid-to-late January.

A “hazardous material” designation on the manifest mentions explosive substances and detonators, but no other details were given.

“Shipping 3,000-odd tons of ammunition in one go is a lot,” one broker said, on condition of anonymity.

“This (kind of request) is pretty rare and we haven’t seen much of it quoted in the market over the years,” he added.

The U.S. Defense Department, contacted by Reuters on Friday in Washington, had no immediate comment.

WSJ: Israel Is Committing War Crimes

January 10, 2009January 10, 2009 by Infinite

By GEORGE E. BISHARAT
Mr. Bisharat is a professor at Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco.

Hamas’s violations are no justification for Israel’s actions.

Israel’s current assault on the Gaza Strip cannot be justified by self-defense. Rather, it involves serious violations of international law, including war crimes. Senior Israeli political and military leaders may bear personal liability for their offenses, and they could be prosecuted by an international tribunal, or by nations practicing universal jurisdiction over grave international crimes. Hamas fighters have also violated the laws of warfare, but their misdeeds do not justify Israel’s acts.

The United Nations charter preserved the customary right of a state to retaliate against an “armed attack” from another state. The right has evolved to cover nonstate actors operating beyond the borders of the state claiming self-defense, and arguably would apply to Hamas. However, an armed attack involves serious violations of the peace. Minor border skirmishes are common, and if all were considered armed attacks, states could easily exploit them — as surrounding facts are often murky and unverifiable — to launch wars of aggression. That is exactly what Israel seems to be currently attempting.

Afghans sign up to fight Israeli troops in Gaza

January 10, 2009 by Infinite

KABUL (Reuters) – More than a thousand Afghans signed up on Thursday to say they wanted to go and fight Israel in the Gaza Strip, many of them blaming the United States which has some 30,000 troops in Afghanistan, for supporting the Jewish state.

Accusations by Taliban militants and some Muslim clerics that Israel and its main ally, the United States, aim to destroy Islam have a strong impact on public opinion in Afghanistan, where Washington plans to almost double its troop numbers this year.

Scores of young men crowded into the library of Kabul’s Milad ul-Nabi mosque, lined with banners reading “Death to Israel” and “Death to America,” to sign up to fight Israel.

“More than a thousand brave Afghans registered their names here to fight Israeli troops in Gaza,” said Habibullah Assam, the imam of the mosque and organizer of the campaign.

“Several hundred Afghans, including doctors and teachers, have also volunteered to give blood to help the miserable people of Palestine,” he said.

“The acts of Israel against the innocent Muslims of Gaza are barbaric and inhumane and widely helped by the Americans,” Assam said, adding that nearly 10,000 people across Afghanistan had so far volunteered to fight in Gaza.

UN: One-third of Gaza dead, injured are children

January 10, 2009 by Infinite

Palestinian relatives of a father and four of his sons from the Khalout family who were killed in an Israeli army operation, react in the family house during their funeral in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. The U.N. halted deliveries to the Gaza Strip on Thursday after gunfire from an Israeli tank killed an aid truck driver, and the international Red Cross said it would restrict activities after one of its drivers was injured in a similar incident. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

UNITED NATIONS (AP) – Palestinian children are dying at a heavy rate in the Israeli-Hamas fighting – about one of every three persons killed, according to Gaza statistics.

As of Thursday, 257 children were among the approximately 760 reported dead in Gaza. There were another 1,080 children among the 3,100 injured in the conflict, according to statistics from Gaza’s health ministry.

The U.N.’s top humanitarian official, John Holmes, described the numbers as “credible” and deeply disturbing. U.N officials say about half of the casualties were civilians.

Holmes and John Ging, head of Gaza operations for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, both expressed anger and regret at their decision Thursday to temporarily suspend aid shipments in the Gaza Strip because it was too risky for their aid workers.

“It’s particularly distressing and horrifying that the current casualties seem to be increasingly civilian casualties, with an increasing incidence of whole families being buried in houses which have been hit,” Holmes said.

Gaza bloodshed continues despite UN calls for ceasefire

January 9, 2009January 9, 2009 by Infinite

Military offensive enters 14th day as Israeli jets and naval ships fire on targets while Palestinian militants continue rocket attacks

US abstains in security council vote on ceasefire resolution Link to this video

In case you want to know why the US abstained in the security council vote:
– Paul Craig Roberts: The American Puppet State

Israeli forces pressed on with their offensive in Gaza today despite a UN security council resolution calling for an “immediate” and “durable” ceasefire.

Israel shelled Gaza Palestinians after evacuating them, UN says

January 10, 2009January 9, 2009 by Infinite

UN: One-third of Gaza dead, injured are children (AP)

Killing of 30 people in house full of evacuees ‘one of gravest incidents’ since Gaza operations began

The body of a girl who was found in the rubble of her destroyed house following an Israeli air strike on a house in Zeitoun Photograph: Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images

At least 30 people were killed in the Zeitoun district of Gaza after Israeli troops repeatedly shelled a house to which more than 100 Palestinians had been evacuated by the Israeli military, the UN said today.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said it was “one of the gravest incidents since the beginning of operations” against Hamas militants in Gaza by the Israeli military on 27 December.

OCHA said the incident took place on 4 January, a day after Israel began its ground offensive in Gaza.

According to testimonies gathered by the UN, Israeli soldiers evacuated around 110 Palestinians to a single-storey house in Zeitoun, south-east Gaza. The evacuees were instructed to stay indoors for their own safety but 24 hours later the Israeli army shelled the house with rockets. Around half the Palestinians sheltering in the house were children, OCHA said.

Israel attacks UN convoy amid ceasefire

January 9, 2009January 9, 2009 by Infinite

Israeli forces have reportedly opened fire on a UN relief agency convoy in the Gaza Strip during its 3-hour military ceasefire.

UN spokesman Adnan Abu Hasna said Thursday that Israeli soldiers attacked a relief truck even though the United Nations had coordinated the delivery with Tel Aviv and the vehicle was marked with a UN flag and insignia.

“It has resulted tragically in the death of one and the injury of two others,” said the head of the UN relief agency in Gaza, John Ging.

See also:
– UN suspends Gazan aid operation (BBC):
“The UN’s main aid agency has suspended its operations in Gaza because its staff have been hit by Israeli attacks.”
– UN curbs Gaza aid after trucks hit by Israeli fire (AP):
“The U.N. suspended aid shipments in the Gaza Strip on Thursday and the Red Cross restricted its convoys after their trucks came under Israeli fire.”
– UN agency halts operations in Gaza after attacks (AFP):
“A UN agency halted operations in Gaza after a deadly strike on an aid convoy on Thursday that prompted UN chief Ban Ki-moon to issue his second call in a week for an Israeli investigation.”

Tel Aviv declared a three-hour lull in its 13-day incursion into Gaza on Thursday to allow humanitarian aid pass into the beleaguered strip.

Must read:
– Israel shelled Gaza Palestinians after evacuating them, UN says (Guardian)
– Gaza victims’ burns increase concern over phosphorus (Times)

This comes as Israeli attacks on three UN-run schools has killed at least 43 civilians and injured over 150 others — most of whom were seeking shelter inside the school to escape the arbitrary Israeli strikes.

Red Cross: Israel breaking international law, letting children starve in Gaza

January 8, 2009January 8, 2009 by Infinite

The International Committee of the Red Cross on Thursday accused Israel of delaying ambulance access to the Gaza Strip and demanded it grant safe access for Palestinian Red Crescent ambulances to return to evacuate more wounded.

Relief workers said they found four starving children sitting next to their dead mothers and other corpses in a house in a part of Gaza City bombed by Israeli forces, the Red Cross said on Thursday.

“This is a shocking incident,” said Pierre Wettach, ICRC chief for Israel and the Palestinian territories.

“The Israeli military must have been aware of the situation but did not assist the wounded. Neither did they make it possible for us or the Palestinian Red Crescent to assist the wounded,” Wettach said.

Related articles:
– Rockets hit Israel from Lebanon (BBC)
– Agreement Reached on U.N. Resolution Calling for Mideast Cease-Fire
(Washington Post)
– Red Cross says Israel barred rescuers from shelled Gaza homes (Los Angeles Times)

The agency said it believed Israel had breached international humanitarian law in the incident.

Israel to Weigh Truce Offer After Gaza School Attack Kills 40

January 7, 2009January 7, 2009 by Infinite

A father carries his wounded daughter into the al-Shifa hospital after Israeli air strikes in Gaza City, Jan. 6, 2009. Photographer: Saleh Jadallah/Bloomberg News

Jan. 7 (Bloomberg) — The Israeli government will weigh the future of its military operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, as mounting casualties among Palestinian civilians increased pressure for a truce.

At least 40 Palestinians were killed when Israeli forces struck a school run by the United Nations in Gaza, a UN official said. Israel, which struck at least 40 more Hamas targets overnight, said it responded after its soldiers were fired at from the building.

The school deaths yesterday added urgency to diplomatic efforts aimed at reaching a cease-fire as the conflict entered its 12th day. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak proposed a new initiative last night and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has been lobbying throughout the region for a truce, said the casualties at the school demonstrate the urgent need to stop the fighting. “Time works against us,” he said.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice backed the proposal and Mubarak’s call for peace talks in Cairo, which may begin as early as today.

Occupation 101

January 7, 2009January 6, 2009 by Infinite

Added: Jun 9, 2007
Source: Google Video

Paul Craig Roberts: The American Puppet State

January 6, 2009 by Infinite

Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page and Contributing Editor of National Review.

This article is a must read.

President George W. Bush was in his stand-up comedian role when he declared that he wanted to be remembered as a fighter for human rights.

Seldom has a fighter for human rights amassed Bush’s death toll. According to Information Clearing House, Bush’s invasion and occupation of Iraq has resulted in 1,297,997 dead Iraqis. Millions more have been wounded, and millions are displaced. Bush’s legions have taken out weddings, funerals, kid’s soccer games, hospitals, and mosques.

And that’s before we come to Afghanistan.

In Afghanistan “we don’t do body counts” declared a commander of Bush’s imperial legions. But the thousands of dead civilians and school children have rallied Afghans to the Taliban, whose lightly armed fighters have retaken most of the country from the Unipower.

The Taliban doesn’t have an air force, or cluster bombs, or drones, or “smart missiles,” or tanks, or satellite capability. The Taliban has Afghan resistance to occupation.

Bush was fighting for human rights in 2006 when he prevented for one month the civilized world from stopping Israel’s massive bombing of Lebanon’s civilian infrastructure and civilian neighborhoods. Israel had intended to clear Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon in order to steal that part of the country for its water resources. When the vaunted Israeli Army was defeated and put to rout by a few lightly armed Hezbollah guerrillas, Israeli rage took the Israeli defeat out on Lebanon’s civilian population–from the air, of course. The murder of Lebanon’s civilian population was enabled by the American weapons with which Israel is flooded.

Now Israel is bombing civilians in Israel’s Gaza Ghetto. Nothing has been spared. Not the hospitals, the university, or the children. Again, President Bush, to America’s everlasting shame, is blocking the civilized world’s attempt to force a halt to the Israeli aggression against the civilian population in Gaza.

If only Bush were merely a stand-up comedian. In truth, he is a puppet. A puppet of Zionist Israel.

Israel hits UN school, nears major Gaza towns

January 6, 2009January 6, 2009 by Infinite

GAZA CITY, Gaza – Israeli forces edged closer to Gaza’s major population centers on Tuesday and attacked new sites, including a U.N. school, claiming more civilian lives after ignoring mounting international calls for an immediate cease-fire. A Palestinian rocket attack wounded an Israeli infant.

Related articles:
– Gaza clashes spark ‘major crisis’ (BBC)
– Israel ‘expands Gaza offensive’ (BBC)
– Israel Pushes into Southern Gaza (The Washington Post)
– Death toll rises as Israel encircles Gaza City (CNN)

The United Nations said three civilians were killed in the airstrike late Monday on the courtyard of its school, where hundreds of people from a Gaza City refugee camp had sought shelter from Israel’s blistering 11-day offensive against the Hamas militant group.

“There’s nowhere safe in Gaza. Everyone here is terrorized and traumatized,” said John Ging, the top U.N. official in Gaza.

Israel rejects EU calls for ceasefire

January 5, 2009 by Infinite

Israel rebuffed a call from visiting European foreign ministers on Monday for an immediate ceasefire in its Gaza offensive, as troops engaged in their heaviest clashes with Hamas fighters and the civilian death toll mounted. At least 14 children were reported to have been killed.

Speaking after a meeting with a European Union delegation that included foreign ministers from the Czech Republic, France and Sweden, Tzipi Livni, the Israeli foreign minister, said: “A necessary war on terror does not end with an agreement. We don’t sign agreements with terror; we fight terror.”

Israel rains fire on Gaza with phosphorus shells

January 5, 2009January 5, 2009 by Infinite

“White phosphorus: the smoke-screen chemical that can burn to the bone”

Artillery shells explode above Gaza City
Israeli artillery shells explode with a chemical agent designed to create smokescreen for ground forces (Patrick Baz/AFP/Getty Images)

Israel is believed to be using controversial white phosphorus shells to screen its assault on the heavily populated Gaza Strip yesterday. The weapon, used by British and US forces in Iraq, can cause horrific burns but is not illegal if used as a smokescreen.

As the Israeli army stormed to the edges of Gaza City and the Palestinian death toll topped 500, the tell-tale shells could be seen spreading tentacles of thick white smoke to cover the troops’ advance. “These explosions are fantastic looking, and produce a great deal of smoke that blinds the enemy so that our forces can move in,” said one Israeli security expert. Burning blobs of phosphorus would cause severe injuries to anyone caught beneath them and force would-be snipers or operators of remote-controlled booby traps to take cover. Israel admitted using white phosphorus during its 2006 war with Lebanon.

Related article: Bloodied and dying Gazans hunt for cover (The Age)

The use of the weapon in the Gaza Strip, one of the world’s mostly densely population areas, is likely to ignite yet more controversy over Israel’s offensive, in which more than 2,300 Palestinians have been wounded.

The Geneva Treaty of 1980 stipulates that white phosphorus should not be used as a weapon of war in civilian areas, but there is no blanket ban under international law on its use as a smokescreen or for illumination. However, Charles Heyman, a military expert and former major in the British Army, said: “If white phosphorus was deliberately fired at a crowd of people someone would end up in The Hague. White phosphorus is also a terror weapon. The descending blobs of phosphorus will burn when in contact with skin.”

Invasion a monstrosity, says UN leader

January 5, 2009January 5, 2009 by Infinite

IN AN extraordinary outburst, the president of the United Nations General Assembly has branded Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza a “monstrosity” and a marked failure for the UN.

Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, of Nicaragua, blasted the Israeli action on Saturday as the UN Security Council convened its third Gaza emergency session.

“I think it’s a monstrosity; there’s no other way to name it,” Mr Brockmann said. “Once again, the world is watching in dismay the dysfunctionality of the Security Council.”

Related articles:
– Australian Jews protest against Israel’s action (The Sydney Morning Herald)
– Israeli forces kill five Palestinian children in Gaza (The Guardian)
– Fear, shortages for civilians caught in Gaza fight (AP)
– Gaza ghetto is destroyed and the world stays silent (Sunday Herald)
– Do Israel pilots feel happy killing innocent women and children? (The Guardian)

His remarks were seen as putting a slight upon the United States, which again prevented the council from issuing an agreed statement on the crisis.

Qatar says Israel’s Gaza offensive a “war crime”

January 4, 2009January 4, 2009 by Infinite

DUBAI, Jan 4 (Reuters) – U.S. ally Qatar said on Sunday Israel’s attack on Gaza amounted to a war crime and renewed calls for an emergency summit of Arab countries.

“Our (Arab) people in Gaza are subject these days to an unjust aggression which does not differentiate between children, women and old people, and between civilians and fighters,” Qatar’s ruler Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani said.

“A war launched with such tools (modern weapons) at such targets (refugee camps) cannot be anything other than a war crime,” he said in comments aired on Al Jazeera television.

Related articles:
– EU and Britain call for Gaza cease-fire (CNN)
– In Gaza, at least 35 Palestinians killed in Israeli ground attack (Los Angeles Times)
– Israeli Forces Push Farther Into the Gaza Strip (Washington Post)
– Muslim anger grows over Israeli strikes on Gaza (AFP)

Israel’s military offensive against Gaza’s Hamas rulers has killed 500 Palestinians, including a growing number of civilians. Israel has accused Hamas of using civilians in the Gaza Strip as “human shields”, saying the Islamist group has fired rockets at Israeli towns from densely populated areas.

Ron Paul: ‘The Palestinians Are Virtually In Like A Concentration Camp’

January 4, 2009 by Infinite

Dr. Paul discusses the invasion of Gaza on January 3, 2009 and its implications for America.

Source: YouTube

France condemns Israel land offensive in Gaza

January 3, 2009 by Infinite

PARIS (Reuters) – France condemned Israel’s move to send ground forces into the Gaza Strip on Saturday as well as continued Hamas rocket attacks and urged both Israel and the Palestinian group to accept cease-fire proposals.

“France condemns the Israeli ground offensive against Gaza as it condemns the continuation of rocket firing,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Israeli Troops Launch Ground Invasion

January 3, 2009 by Infinite

“I am greatly surprised by, and I reject, the words of the Israeli foreign minister, who asks: ‘Is there a humanitarian crisis? There is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza,'” he said. “This is an astonishing thing, that after more than 450 victims and more than 2,000 injured… then it is said there is no humanitarian crisis.

Israeli troops enter Gaza. Screengrab courtesy of Sky News

Israeli tanks and troops have launched a ground invasion to reoccupy parts of the northern Gaza strip as the military escalated its assault on the Palestinian enclave in an attempt to curb Hamas rocket attacks on Israel.

With Israel’s chief military spokesman warning that the attack would take “many long days”, the Israeli Cabinet also authorised the call of thousands more reservists. As Israeli tanks and infantry crossed into northern Gaza reports began to emerge of fighting between Hamas and Israeli troops. The invasion comes after Hamas warned Israeli forces entering Gaza faced a “black destiny” and vowed that they would be defeated.

Palestinian witnesses said a small column of military vehicles moved across the border firing tracer bullets after dark. The Israeli army said the assault is intended to take control of territory in the north of the Gaza strip from where Hamas fires its rockets.

Israel okays call-up of tens of thousands of IDF reservists

January 3, 2009 by Infinite

Israel’s government has approved the call-up of tens of thousands of reservist soldiers, it was annnounced Saturday, almost simultaneously with the launch of a Gaza ground incursion aimed at halting rocket fire on Israel’s southern communities.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s office said in a statement that, in accordance with a secret cabinet discussion Friday, the government ordered the armed forces “to draft the necessary reservists, on a scale of tens of thousands of troops.”

The Gaza ground operation launched Saturday had actually been approved last week, but Olmert promised his ministers that when the time came to begin the offensive, it would first be brought for fresh approval by the security cabinet. On Thursday night, Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak held a meeting that lasted until 4 A.M., during which it was decided that that time had come.

Protests against Gaza attack sweep across the world

January 3, 2009 by Infinite

The streets in Jakarta were filled with protesters today (Adek Berry/AFP/Getty)

From Jakarta to London, a wave of protest erupted across the world today against Israel’s assault on Gaza.

More than 10,000 marched through the Indonesian capital and Israeli flags were burnt and trampled upon in Asia as the Palestinian death toll in the offensive rose above 430, including three young brothers killed this morning.

Thirty new Israeli raids struck the Gaza Strip today as thousands of Hamas supporters attended the funeral of Nizar Rayan, the most senior Hamas victim of the offensive. He was killed with his four wives and 11 of his children in another Israeli raid yesterday.

Hamas leaders responded by calling for a “Day of Wrath” to avenge the deaths as the party warned that it may resume suicide attacks against Israel for the first time since January 2005.

Bush clears way for Israeli ground operation, updates Obama (Day 8 of Gaza campaign)

January 3, 2009 by Infinite

Final preparations by Israeli troops

DEBKAfile‘s Washington source report that in a telephone conversation with prime minister Ehud Olmert, US president George W. Bush okayed Israeli air, sea and ground operations against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. He promised the US would veto a resolution condemning Israel at the UN Security Council meeting next Monday. Early Saturday morning, Jan. 3, Day 8 of Israel’s Gaza operation, US and British media described the Israeli invasion as hours away.

In his weekly radio address – brought forward by a day, the US president spoke with exceptional firmness: “Another one-way ceasefire that leads to rocket attacks on Israel is not acceptable,” he said. “This recent outburst of violence was instigated by Hamas – a Palestinian terrorist group supported by Iran and Syria that calls for Israel’s destruction.”

He noted that “Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in a coup and routinely violated an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire…” and went on to define the exit point for Israel’s military operation:

“Promises from Hamas will not suffice,” he said. There must be “monitoring mechanisms in place to help ensure that smuggling of weapons to terrorist groups in Gaza comes to an end.”

Forces mass for Israeli ground invasion of Gaza

January 2, 2009 by Infinite

New front … thousands of Israeli troops have massed in preparation for a ground assault on Gaza.

ISRAEL has thousands of troops massed for a ground offensive on Gaza that would aim to deal a hammer blow to Hamas and re-establish Israel’s military credentials with its other foes, experts say.

The number of troops and tanks along the 60km border is a military secret but Israeli leaders say the force is ready and local media say the assault is imminent.

Israel launched air strikes and a naval bombardment one week ago in response to weeks of militant rocket fire from Hamas-run Gaza.

Israeli warplanes today hit Gaza targets including a mosque and a house where three young brothers were killed.

A missile from one of 30 new Israeli raids hit a house and killed the boys, aged from seven to 10, emergency services said.

At least 430 Palestinians have been killed – including top Hamas leader Nizar Rayan – and 2250 people wounded in the raids, according to Gaza officials. About 300 militant rockets have killed four people and wounded dozens in Israel.

Iran on full alert in wake of Israeli raids

January 1, 2009 by Infinite

Israeli tanks taking position on the northern border with the Gaza Strip.

Iran’s Air Force is on alert after the country’s president envisaged major regional developments in the wake of the Israeli raids on Gaza.

The chief Iranian Air Force Commander Brigadier General Hassan Shah-Safi said on Wednesday that the ongoing critical situation in the Middle East has prompted the Iranian military to take necessary measures to ensure readiness in the event of the country becoming the target of an offensive.

“Iran’s Air Force has of late carried out 120 successful sorties along with long-range flights of 2,000 kilometers, and has also conducted unprecedented aerial missions,” Brig. Gen. Shah-Safi said.