Israel has supported a draft bill to extend the retirement age of reservists due to 'high volumes' of soldier deaths in Gaza | The Israeli army is facing significant difficulties in confronting the Palestinian resistance across the Gaza Strip, Hebrew news outlet Channel 12 reported on 16 June. Hamas’ Qassam Brigades and other groups are “still waging war in the Gaza Strip, and are capable of harming Israeli army soldiers,” military sources told the outlet. The sources added that in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah particularly, the army has not been able to eliminate the Qassam Brigades or its military capabilities, and that Tel Aviv may end the operation there without achieving its goals.

■ Benjamin Netanyahu Dissolves Israeli War Cabinet (Financial World)

Western naval missions have failed dramatically at stemming Yemen's pro-Palestine operations, with officials describing the battle as the 'most sustained combat that the US Navy has seen since World War II' | The leader of Yemen's ruling Ansarallah resistance movement, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, revealed on 13 June that the Yemeni armed forces targeted 145 ships linked to Israel, the US, and the UK since the start of Sanaa's pro-Palestine operations in November. ● The number includes 11 naval operations and two military operations “deep inside Israel” conducted over the past week, which used “31 ballistic and winged missiles, drones, and military boats.” ● The most recent of these operations took place on Thursday, when Yemeni cruise missiles struck the M/V Verbena commercial bulk cargo carrier in the Gulf of Aden, reportedly setting it on fire and wounding at least one crew member.

The process towards peace in Ukraine needs Russia to be involved, Swiss President Viola Amherd said opening the conference in Burgenstock. | Switzerland is hosting a conference on Ukraine in the resort town of Burgenstock on June 15-16. Bern has invited more than 160 delegations, including from the G7, G20 and BRICS countries. However, the organizers announced ahead of the gathering that the delegations were not sent by all of them, as 91 countries, the Serbian province of Kosovo and eight international organizations are attending. Fifty-five countries have fielded their heads of state or government to take part. The collective West’s countries outnumber the others in Burgenstock, which leaves little hope for a balanced discussion.

■ At "Peace Conference" in Switzerland, Poland **PROPOSES** Breaking-up Russia into 200 Ethnic states (H. Turner)
■ Kremlin has nothing to say to participants of Swiss summit on Ukraine (TASS)
■ President of Russia Vladimir Putin’s speech at the meeting with senior staff of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Moscow, June 14, 2024 (Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin)

The British foreign minister has global sanctions ambitions | The West must show Moscow that it stands “completely” behind Ukraine by sanctioning everything Russian, Britain’s foreign secretary David Cameron has said.

💬 “We will show [Russian President Vladimir] Putin that we are completely behind Ukraine: we will chase the money and the oil, we will stop the gas, we will stop the ships, we will do everything we can to stop the Russian war machine and show Putin the folly of his actions,” Cameron told the Italian outlet. ● The UK is “hunting” companies that do business with Russia “all over the world,” he said. “We will sanction companies in China, in Türkiye, in Kyrgyzstan, even in Israel, that we believe are supplying dual-use material” to Russia, he added.

Cameron spoke at a press conference in London as British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government announced new sanctions against Russia. His remarks were published on Friday, by the Italian daily Corriere della Sera.

■ Why Do Brits Hate Russians? (Israel Shamir)

Hal Turner | NATO Nitwit, Jens Stoltenberg, announced that NATO rejects the peace proposal put forth by Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday. Stoltenberg's body language - stuttering, stammering, folding his arms - seemed to show even HE doesn't believe his own words. | The process his body language went through during that was incredible...All the way to defensively folding his arms...He flaked out towards the end when he started stuttering, gesturing around, folded his arms and stuttered a bit more. Something's not right. You could tell he didn't believe a damn thing he was saying, lol...Why is NATO defending a non-NATO country like they know what's best for them? If he loves fighting Russia so much let him go to the front lines. Most Ukrainians don't even want to fight Russia let alone be fed into a NATO meat grinder.

■ Rejection of Putin's Peace Offer 'Exposes' True Motivations of NATO's Proxy War in Ukraine (06/15/24)
■ President of Russia Vladimir Putin’s speech at the meeting with senior staff of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Moscow, June 14, 2024 (Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin)

Yemeni forces are attacking Israeli commercial ships and US and UK naval destroyers in the Red Sea in response to Israel's genocidal war on Palestinians in Gaza | The US military says it has spent about $1 billion in an unsustainable campaign to fight the Ansarallah-led Yemeni armed forces in the Red Sea, the Wall Street Journal reported on 15 June. Since November, Yemeni forces have attacked Israeli-linked commercial ships traveling through the Red Sea, the world’s most important commercial sea route, in response to Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza. After US and UK naval warships began carrying out attacks on the Yemeni navy and sites in the capital, Sanaa, Yemeni forces began attacking the warships as well. To defend against Yemeni attacks, the US Navy has conducted more than 450 strikes and intercepted 200 drones and missiles in a campaign that US officials worry is not sustainable.

The United States is once again stepping up support for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia as well as for the Israeli government’s bloody war on the Palestinian enclave of the Gaza Strip. | On June 13, U.S. President Joe Biden and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky signed a 10-year security agreement on the sidelines of the G7 summit in southern Italy. Biden said that the goal of the agreement was “to strengthen Ukraine’s defense and deterrence capabilities.” Meanwhile, Zelenskyy said that the signing made for a “truly historic day,” but he also wondered about the durability of support from the U.S. and other allies. The agreement does not commit U.S. troops directly to Ukraine’s defense against Russia or offer the country any new money. However, it includes a commitment by the U.S. to work with Congress on a source of sustainable funding for the future.

Jonathan Cook | Israelis dance in the streets, the White House hails a ‘daring’ operation, Rishi Sunak expresses relief. How carnage in Gaza has become the new normal | Israel hasn’t just crossed the Biden administration’s pretend “red lines” in Gaza. With its massacre at Nuseirat refugee camp at the weekend, Israel drove a bulldozer through them. ■ On Saturday, an Israeli military operation to free four Israelis held captive by Hamas since its 7 October attack on Israel resulted in the killing of more than 270 Palestinians, many of them women and children. The true death toll may never be known. Untold numbers of men, women and children are still under rubble from the bombardment, crushed to death, or trapped and suffocating, or expiring slowly from dehydration if they cannot be dug out in time. ■ Many hundreds more are suffering agonising injuries – should their wounds not kill them – in a situation where there are almost no medical facilities left after Israel’s destruction of hospitals and its mass kidnap of Palestinian medical personnel. Further, there are no drugs to treat the victims, given Israel’s months-long imposition of an aid blockade. ■ Israelis and American Jewish organisations – so ready to judge Palestinians for cheering attacks on Israel – celebrated the carnage caused in freeing the Israeli captives, who could have returned home months ago had Israel been ready to agree on a ceasefire. Videos even show Israelis dancing in the street.

■ ‘Israel’ effaces all signs of joy, ability to celebrate Eid in Gaza (Al Mayadeen)
■ UK's chief rabbi gives his blessing to war crimes in Gaza (Jonathan Cook)

John Miles | The Russian president has again insisted the country is open to pursuing peace with Kyiv, but a cessation of hostilities runs counter to the interests and objectives of Western elites. | Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated the country’s conditions for an end to the Ukraine conflict during a lengthy address at the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Friday. ■ Moscow’s central demands are the same as those put forth during previous rounds of negotiations sabotaged by the United States: Ukraine must become a neutral state not aligned with Western powers’ crusade against the Russian nation. Additionally, Kyiv must be demilitarized and de-Nazified, Putin stated, and the country must formally renounce plans to join NATO. ■ The offer was rejected almost as soon as it was extended, leading Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova to jokingly ask whether it had even yet been translated into Ukrainian. “With such statements, they want to deprive the citizens of Ukraine of a real chance for peace,” said the Russian official. ■ But a deeper analysis of the conflict and its history reveals why a peaceful resolution remains so elusive. Sputnik’s The Critical Hour program hosted a series of guests to discuss the Russian president’s proposal, breaking down the context of the Ukraine crisis and Western elites’ deep-seated interest in its continuation.

👉 Four conditions for negotiations with Kyiv: what Putin said at Foreign Ministry (TASS)
👉 President of Russia Vladimir Putin’s speech at the Russian Foreign Ministry, Moscow, June 14, 2024 (Russian MFA)
■ Russia makes another real peace proposal to Kyiv — Putin (TASS)
■ Putin: The West is Pushing World "To the point of no return" - Lays out Terms for Ukraine PEACE (Hal Turner)
■ Putin names conditions for Ukraine peace talks (06/14/24)
■ Kyiv rejected the ultimatum -Russia: 'There will be only a narrow strip of land left of the former Ukraine (E. L.)

Israeli media outlets are reporting a "difficult" event in Rafah, explaining that eight soldiers were burned to death in the Gaza Strip. | The Palestinian Resistance killed eight Israeli occupation soldiers who were reportedly asleep in an Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) in the southern Gaza Strip, Israeli media outlets reported on Saturday. The news has emerged as Israeli occupation forces are launching an invasion into the western neighborhood of al-Sultan in Rafah. ● Relating a slightly different course of events but with the same end result, the al-Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement in which it announced that on the morning of the day of Arafat Day, its freedom fighters carried out a complex ambush against Israeli vehicles penetrating the area of ​​the Saudi neighborhood in Tal al-Sultan, west of the city of Rafah. The cab of a D9 military bulldozer, according to the Resistance group, was targeted by an al-Yassin 105 shell, causing it to catch fire and resulting in casualties among its crew. Immediately upon the arrival of the rescue force, a Namer APC was targeted with an al-Yassin 105 shell, which led to its destruction and the killing of all its crew members.

■ Palestinians ‘denied protection, dignity’ as 28 killed in attack on homes (Al Jazeera)
■ 'You just want to cry': Ex-Israeli cmdr. says Galilee lost to Hezbollah (PressTV)

Kiev must withdraw its troops from Russia’s new territories, the president has said | Ukraine must remove its troops from Russia’s new regions before any meaningful peace talks can begin, President Vladimir Putin has said. ● Moscow rejects Kiev’s claims of sovereignty over five formerly Ukrainian regions, four of which have joined Russia amid the ongoing hostilities. People in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics and Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions voted for the transition in late 2022, though hostilities continue in all of them. ● Ukrainian troops must be removed from these territories, Putin said on Friday at a meeting with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and other senior Russian diplomats.

👉 Возможны ли дальнейшие переговоры? Да, возможны. (Дмитрий Медведев)
■ S-500 Deployed Earlier Than Expected; Posture Now Consistent with Nuclear First-Strike (Hal Turner)
■ Ukraine rejects Russia's peace proposal offered by President Putin (aNews)
■ Biggest danger to EU is the US – Putin (RT.com)

BRICS countries are abandoning the greenback because it is being used as a political tool, Vyacheslav Volodin has said | Washington has completely undermined trust in the US dollar as a global reserve currency by using it as a political tool to impose “illegal” sanctions on Russia, State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin has said. ● The US government announced a new batch of sanctions against Russia on Wednesday, targeting the energy, metals, and mining industries, as well as the Moscow Stock Exchange and major lenders Sber and VTB. The measures, which cover 300 additional individuals and entities, are aimed at impacting trade between Russia and its partners in China, Türkiye, and Kyrgyzstan, as well as other nations in Central Asia, the Middle East, and the Caribbean.

■ The Collapse of the Petrodollar: Exposing the End of U.S. Dollar Dominance and the Rise of BRICS Power (MEDIA)
■ The Petrodollar Ended On June 9th; Sauds No Longer Ally w. U.S. (Eric Zuesse/Paul Hoffman)
■ Do the new US sanctions mark Russia’s final divorce from the dollar? (Henry Johnston)
■ U.S. Empire Is Now Falling Apart (Eric Zuesse)

The Israeli occupation continues to intensify its aggression against the Gaza Strip, killing and injuring more Palestinians. | Israeli warplanes continue raiding Palestinian homes across the entirety of the Gaza Strip on day 252 of the genocidal war the occupation has launched against Palestinians, killing more martyrs and injuring more civilians. ● According to Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza, the occupation intensified, over the past few hours, its bombardment of the al-Zaytoun, al-Daraj, and al-Tuffah neighborhoods in central Gaza, as well as Jabalia in northern Gaza. ● During the early hours of Friday, Israeli warplanes targeted the entrance to the al-Bureij camp in central Gaza. Local Palestinian media reported that a child was killed, while other Palestinians were injured when "Israel" struck their home in al-Bureij. The child martyr and the injured were all transported to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah.

■ Child dies from malnutrition as 'famine-like conditions' return (MEE)
■ LIVE: Boy dies of malnutrition in Gaza amid Israel’s ‘normalised brutality’ (Al Jazeera)

The US-built port has delivered very little actual aid to starving Palestinians while the area next to it was used as part of the Israeli operation to massacre hundreds of Palestinians and rescue four captives | The US military is considering temporarily dismantling the pier it constructed off the coast of Gaza and moving it back to Israel amid concerns that rough seas could once again break it apart, CNN reported on 14 June. ● Earlier this month, the fragile pier and causeway system, known as Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS), broke apart due to heavy waves and had to be towed to the Israeli port of Ashdod to be repaired. It was moved back to Gaza last week, and operations resumed on Saturday. However, were paused again on Monday and Tuesday due to heavy seas. Poor weather and rough waters are again expected this weekend. ● Meanwhile, the World Food Programme’s (WFP) aid distribution operations at the pier have been suspended. WFP Director Cindy McCain announced on Sunday the organization was pausing its work there after the Israeli army used the area next to the pier to extract by helicopter four Israelis rescued from Hamas captivity in Gaza.

The spokesperson of the YAF says that the Verbena cargo ship was targeted and hit in the Arabian Sea, leading to a fire erupting onboard. | The Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) targeted three ships in the Red and Arabian Seas as part of the operations in support of Gaza, and in retaliation to the US-UK aggression on Yemen, spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree stated on Thursday, as the ongoing Israeli genocide in the Strip has now surpassed 250 consecutive days. ● The first operation was carried out by the YAF's missile force against the Verbena cargo ship in the Arabian Sea, Saree said, confirming that it was hit, leading to a fire erupting on board.

■ Houthis Attack Three More Ships In Gulf Of Aden, Red Sea (South Front)

As the world focuses on the arrival of a Russian Naval group on a "visit" to Havana, Cuba, the United States has sent the USS Helena, a Los Angeles Class, Fast-Attack submarine, to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba...for a...visit. | US Southern Command announced: 💬 "The fast-attack submarine USS Helena is in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba as part of a routine port visit as it transits the U.S. Southern Command geographic area of responsibility while conducting its global maritime security and national defense mission. The vessel's location and transit were previously planned."

Hal Turner: So now, all those Russian surface vessels, can be torpedoed by the USS Helena. The Helena can be torpedoed by the Russian Submarine "Kazan" which accompanied the Russian surface group. And all of them are in Cuba, right now. No big deal, what could go wrong?

■ Russian Ships Arrive in Cuba in Latest Blow to US Hegemony (Sputnik News)

Mohamad Hasan Sweidan | Facing internal resignations and significant military setbacks, Israel is at a crucial tipping point: it must choose between stopping its war on Gaza and cutting its losses, or escalating conflict in Gaza and Lebanon and risking further strategic defeat. | On the evening of 9 June, Israeli war cabinet ministers Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot announced their resignation from the emergency government. This is not a step two war ministers in a government heading for victory would take. On the contrary. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, they say, is “preventing us from advancing toward true victory.” ■ By resigning, Gantz and Eisenkot aim at two main objectives. First, they want to alleviate the pressure on Netanyahu to accept a deal to stop the war, a strategy likely coordinated with Washington.  ■ Second, being among the most informed Israeli officials on the state of the war, they chose to jump ship, anticipating that Netanyahu’s continued insistence on prolonging the war would only lead to further disaster. In military terms, this means they have assessed that Israel’s Gaza operations have “peaked.”

■ Hezbollah Shells Israeli Military Sites, Settlements (Videos) (South Front)
■ Fierce Hezbollah strikes hammer Israeli army HQs, key defense factory (The Cradle)
■ North 'under massive attack': Hezbollah unleashes rocket barrage on northern Israel (The Jerusalem Post)

The Collapse of the Petrodollar: Exposing the End of U.S. Dollar Dominance and the Rise of BRICS Power | The Dawn of a New Economic Era. The end of the petrodollar, a system that has anchored global oil transactions to the U.S. dollar since the 1970s, signals a monumental shift in the global economic landscape. This change, rippling through international finance and geopolitics, could redefine the very foundations of global trade and economic power. As the petrodollar crumbles, the world stands on the brink of a new economic era, one marked by volatility, transformation, and unprecedented shifts in power dynamics. ● To grasp the magnitude of this shift, it’s crucial to understand the origins and significance of the petrodollar. The petrodollar system was born out of the 1973 oil crisis when the U.S. struck a pivotal deal with Saudi Arabia. In exchange for military and economic support, Saudi Arabia agreed to price its oil exclusively in U.S. dollars. This arrangement ensured a steady global demand for the dollar, cementing its status as the world’s primary reserve currency.

■ Developments to Dethrone Petrodollar Already Underway (Sputnik News)

The new measures target companies in countries such as China in a bid to “discourage” trade with Moscow | The US Departments of State and Treasury on Wednesday sanctioned 300 additional individuals and entities in Russia and elsewhere, which it accuses of having links to Moscow’s “war economy.” ● According to the Treasury Department, the latest measures target individuals and companies suspected of enabling Moscow to evade the Western embargo. [...] Wednesday’s measures target more than $100 million in trade between Russia and its foreign partners. Companies and individuals in China, Kyrgyzstan, and Türkiye made the sanctions list, with the US going after targets in east and central Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the Caribbean, the Treasury Department claims. [...] The two departments have issued a new interpretation of existing executive orders that prohibit US citizens from providing anyone in Russia with “IT consultancy and design services,” as well as “IT support services and cloud-based services for enterprise management software and design and manufacturing software.”

■ West has declared ‘war without rules’ on Russia – Medvedev (RT.com)
■ Вот и новые американские санкции. Скоро будут и новые европейские. Надо ли на них реагировать? (MEDIA)
■ Moscow exchange suspends trading in dollars and euro (RT.com)
■ Restrictions on Moscow Exchange and banks, fate of the ruble: Key takeaways from new US sanctions (RT.com)
■ EU agrees to give Ukraine $1.6 billion in proceeds from Russia’s "frozen assets" (RT.com)
■ MAJOR: Russia Officially Becomes World's 4th Largest Economy, Passing Japan (Simplicius)

Dmitry Medvedev (Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council) (Дмитрий Медведев) |The one who has inflicted the injury must suffer the same injury. | Here come the new American sanctions. Soon there will be new European ones. Should we respond to them? It seems not, their number is already measured in the tens of thousands. We have learned to live and develop with them. ■ But on the other hand, we need to. Not only the authorities, the state, but all our people in general. Everyone who loves our Motherland—Russia. After all, they—the United States and its shitty allies—have declared war on us without rules! ■ How to react? I have already talked about this once, but it bears repeating. Every day we should try to do maximum harm to those countries that have imposed these restrictions on our country and all our citizens. Harm in everything that can be harmed. Harm their economies, their institutions, and their rulers. Harm to the well-being of their citizens. Their confidence in the future. To do this, we must continue to look for critical vulnerabilities in their economies and hit them in all areas. We'll be causing damage in all places, paralyzing their companies and government agencies. Find problems in their critical technologies and hit them mercilessly. Destroy their energy, industry, transportation, banking, and social services. Fear the imminent collapse of all necessary infrastructure.

 ● Are they afraid of handing over our weapons to the enemies of the Western world? We should give them all possible weapons except nuclear weapons (for now)!
 ● Are they afraid of anarchy and the explosion of crime in the big cities? We need to help disorganize their municipal government!
 ● Do they fear war in space? Then they'll get that too. Let them stop everything, let everything go bad, let everything go to hell!
 ● Are they afraid of social explosions? Let's give them a social explosion! Let's throw all their worst night terrors into their media sphere, and use all their creepy phantom pains. No more sparing their psyche! Let them shiver in their cozy homes, let them shake under their blankets.

They're yelling about our use of fake news? Let's turn their lives into a continuous crazy nightmare in which they can't distinguish wild fiction from the realities of the day, infernal evil from the routine of life. And no rules about the enemy! Let them get everything in full for the harm to Russia and as painful as possible! Everyone can do their part! Remember: Quid pro quo! Tit-for-tat! "Fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. The one who has inflicted the injury must suffer the same injury." (Leviticus 24:20). (DeepL + Grammarly) [Editor: The above does not reflect the view of this blog.]

The investigation also determined that Israeli leaders are responsible of 'weaponizing' starvation against Palestinians in Gaza and 'instigating' a pattern of settler attacks in the occupied West Bank | The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI) on 12 June concluded that Israeli authorities are guilty of “war crimes and crimes against humanity” committed during the eight-month-long campaign of genocide in Gaza. ● During its investigation, the COI found that Israeli authorities are responsible for “the war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare, murder or willful killing, intentionally directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects, forcible transfer, sexual violence, torture and inhuman or cruel treatment, arbitrary detention, and outrages upon personal dignity.”

■ Israeli Aggression Continues on 250th Day: Gaza Strip Suffers More Martyrs and Wounded (Al Manar TV)
■ Israel launches air, land, sea strikes against so-called safe zone in Gaza Strip (PressTV)
■ World witnessing ‘unique level’ of death, destruction in war-torn Gaza Strip: UN chief (PressTV)

● Gaza officials say 15,694 children killed and 17,000 are without parents after 250 days of Israel’s war on Gaza.
● WHO chief warns of “catastrophic hunger” in Gaza, with 8,000 children under five years old suffering acute malnutrition in the war-torn territory.
● In the north of the Gaza Strip, food shortages have reached a crisis point as most food commodities have run out, official tells Al Jazeera.
● Hamas said it has shown “full positivity” in efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement with Israel, while US Secretary of State Blinken says some changes to the deal proposed by Hamas are not workable.
● At least 37,202 people killed and 84,932 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 7. The revised death toll in Israel from Hamas’s attacks stands at 1,139, with dozens of people still held captive in Gaza.

One in 69 people worldwide remains forcibly displaced as a result of conflict, violence, persecution and human rights violations. | At least 117.3 million people, or one in 69 individuals worldwide, remain forcibly displaced, according to a report released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today. ● Forced displacement as a result of conflict and violence, persecution and human rights violations, has continued to rise in the first four months of 2024 and is likely to have surpassed 120 million by the end of April 2024.

Nahida Izzat: An excellent video by Max Blumenthal. He tells 99% of the story, he describes the crimes of the Jewish state with immaculate precision and perfect details. However, he omits to mention some most crucial parts, namely the real perpetrators and the reason and motivation behind their crimes. The perpetrators are not just “israelis”, They are Jewish “israelis”. Furthermore, there are about 1.5 million Palestinians who live in Palestine occupied in 1948, who are forced to be called “israelis” and those Palestinians have nothing to do with the genocidal crimes of Jewish “israelis”. Moreover, violent Jewish American supremacists are not necessarily “israelis”, they are simply Jewish Americans. Violent Jewish American supremacists are not necessarily “israelis”. The second missing point in the video is the Jewish ideology that animates the perpetrators of these atrocities. A third one is the wanton destruction of schools, hospitals, historic and religious building such as churches and mosques.

The European Union announced on Tuesday that more than 2,000 trucks carrying humanitarian aid and commercial goods are stranded on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip. | The Directorate General of the European Union for Humanitarian Aid said in a tweet on the "X" platform on Tuesday: The intensive Zionist military operations still prevent the opening of the Rafah crossing. More than 2,000 truckloads of humanitarian aid and commercial goods are waiting in Egypt and ready to enter Gaza. ● The European Union called for sustainable, safe and unhindered humanitarian delivery. The directorate published a short video on "X" showing a large number of trucks carrying foodstuffs, lined up on a large area of land, which the directorate said were on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing. ● On the sixth of May, the Israeli army announced the start of a military operation in Rafah, ignoring international warnings of the repercussions on the lives of the displaced in the city. The next day, the enemy army announced its control of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, the only land access for the residents of the Gaza Strip to the outside world.

Israel committed crimes against humanity during the war in Gaza, including the crime of "extermination," an independent UN investigation concludes. | Israeli authorities are responsible for "war crimes and crimes against humanity committed" during the military attacks in Gaza since October 7, 2023, a UN-backed commission said in a new report. ● The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry found that Israeli authorities are responsible for "the war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare, murder or wilful killing, intentionally directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects, forcible transfer, sexual violence, torture and inhuman or cruel treatment, arbitrary detention and outrages upon personal dignity." ● The commission found that "the crimes against humanity of extermination, gender persecution targeting Palestinian men and boys, murder, forcible transfer, and torture and inhuman and cruel treatment" were also committed.

■ Videos show Israeli soldiers executing Gaza civilians in Rafah 'safe zone' (The New Arab)

On Wednesday, a squadron of Russian ships, including a frigate capable of firing hypersonic missiles will arrive in Cuba as part of an international partnership program. A nuclear-powered and capable submarine will also be making the trip, along with support vessels. | The decision to send Russian ships to Cuba is giving America a taste of what they do to the rest of the world, international relations and security expert Mark Sleboda.

💬 “I think we can definitely see this as a direct Russian reply to the general US declaration of conducting what it calls ‘Freedom of navigation’ exercises. Although, as far as we know, no one has challenged the freedom of navigation,” Sleboda explained. “They patrol their navy up and down off Russia’s and China’s and Iran’s coast, saber-rattling and threatening as part of their policy of containment.” [...] The Russian trip to Cuba is “a reminder to the US… that two can play this game,” explained Slaboda. “It needs to be said that in [BALTOPS 2024] the US sent B-52 Stratofortress bombers from the United Kingdom. They conducted– according to Russian reports– a simulated nuclear attack on the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.”

The United States has frequently run “military exercises” off the coast of its nominal adversaries, including China, North Korea, Iran and Russia. Earlier this week, NATO kicked off BALTOPS 2024 in the Baltic Sea, the largest exercise in the program’s history.

■ Russian Military Ships to Visit Cuba on June 12 (Sputnik News)
■ US Is Shadowing Russian Warships Heading to Cuba (Antiwar.com)

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has backed the German government’s decision to approve the use of German weapons to strike Russia, he told the DPA news agency. | “It makes sense to allow Ukraine to use these weapons, especially against military targets near Ukraine,” TASS quoted him as saying. It is specified that he was referring to the Kharkiv region. In late May, Scholz said that Berlin had reached its limit in helping Kiev. Earlier, the German Defence Ministry said that the country had a confidential agreement with Kiev on the use of weapons.

Pepe Escobar | In the year of the Russian presidency of BRICS, the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) had to deliver something special. | And deliver it did: over 21,000 people representing no less than 139 nations – a true microcosm of the Global Majority, discussing every facet of the drive towards a multipolar, multinodal (italics mine), polycentric world. ■ St. Petersburg, beyond all the networking and the frantic deal-making – $78 billion-worth clinched in only three days – crafted three intertwined key messages already resonating all across the Global Majority.