Six Russian crewmembers, three Russian servicemen and 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed in a Ukrainian surface-to-air missile attack targeting an Ilyushin Il-76 strategic airlifter over Belgorod region last Wednesday. The plane was on route to a planned prisoner exchange, which was subsequently cancelled. | The Russian Il-76 transport plane full of Ukrainian PoWs downed over Belgorod region on January 24 was targeted using an American-made Patriot missile system, Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced, citing the findings of Russian investigators. 💬 "The plane was shot down by the American Patriot system. This has already been established for certain in an expert review," Putin said, speaking to election campaign surrogates in St. Petersburg on Wednesday. Putin accused authorities in Kiev of trying to provoke Russia into a retaliatory response, but emphasized that Russia would not stop prisoner exchanges in spite of the provocation. ● Earlier on Wednesday, Russia's Defense Ministry announced that another 195 Russian servicemen had been returned from Ukrainian captivity and brought to Moscow for treatment and rehabilitation in exchange for 195 Ukrainian PoWs.

■ Russia Returns 195 Soldiers From Ukraine-Controlled Territory - MoD (Sputnik News)

31 January 2024: The bodies of 30 Palestinians have been discovered from under rubble at a school ground in the city of Beit Lahia, the northern Gaza Strip, reports said. | Al Jazeera Arabic and Palestinian media reported on Wednesday that the Khalifa bin Zayed elementary school witnessed the discovery following the withdrawal of Israeli troops. There were black body bags tied with plastic cables bearing Hebrew writing. When the Palestinians were killed is unknown. ● In a statement, the Palestinian Prisoners Club confirmed 💬 “the discovery of the bodies of 30 martyrs inside one of the schools that was besieged by the occupation.” “They were handcuffed and blindfolded, that is, they were under arrest, which is a clear indication that the occupation carried out a field execution against them,” the statement said. The school served as a shelter for thousands of displaced Palestinians before it was bombed and besieged by Israeli forces in early December.

[RE: image on the right: We wouldn't be the least bit surprised if it turned out that the bodies in the bags were the very same men that were abducted on 19 December 2023 (PressTV). Their number would seem to be about the same. - Ed.]

■ New Israeli war crime uncovered: 30 decomposed bodies in Gaza school (Al Mayadeen)

The chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has warned that Iran “will not leave any threat unanswered” as the United States seeks to escalate tensions in West Asia already inflamed by Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip. | Major General Hossein Salami made the remarks on Wednesday, after US President Joe Biden said he had decided how to respond to a deadly attack on a US occupation base, for which he held Tehran responsible. “Sometimes, the enemies make threats. And these days too, we hear some threats in the US officials’ rhetoric,” he said at the final session of the national congress of 24,000 martyrs of Tehran Province.

■ No to war but finger on the trigger (Shahrokh Saei)

Israeli occupation undercover forces raided a hospital in the West Bank’s Jenin city on Tuesday, killing three patients in cold blood. | The occupation forces disguised as Palestinians, some appearing to sport fake beards and others dressed as Muslim women, raided Ibn Sina Hospital in Jenin and shot dead three Palestinians while in bed. An extraordinary CCTV footage showed many undercover forces scouring the hospital corridors while carrying guns or, in one case, a wheelchair. ● Palestinian media reported that the Israeli occupation forces entered the medical center at 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday, dressed as doctors, nurses and Palestinian women, headed to a hiding room on the third floor, and shot the three patients dead with guns equipped with silencers before escaping the building unscathed. Local media identified the three youths as Mohammad Jalamneh and two brothers Mohammad and Basel Ghazawi.

■ IOF assassinate 3 Palestinians inside Ibn Sina Hospital in Jenin (Al Mayadeen)
■ As of day 116 in Gaza: 26,751 Palestinians martyred, 65,636 injured (Al Mayadeen)

Israeli troops will “very soon go into action” near the country’s northern border with Lebanon, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Monday, as tensions surge amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. | Gallant told troops near the border with the besieged Gaza Strip that others were being deployed to Israel’s north. 💬 “They will very soon go into action… so the forces in the north are reinforced,” Gallant said. “The forces close to you… are leaving the field and moving towards the north, and preparing for what comes next,” he said. He added that reservists would be gradually released “to prepare and come ready” for future operations.

■ They are sending armed forces to the border: The war is about to break out? (b92.net)

Alex MacDonald | As a number of Israel's allies cut funding to the refugee body, MEE looks at its turbulent history with the international community | Claims by Israel that 12 employees of the United Nations agency for Palestine refugees (Unrwa) took part in the 7 October attack on southern Israel have prompted a number of countries to pause funding to the agency. ● The nine donors, namely the US, UK, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Finland, Australia, and Canada, cut off support for the agency on Saturday following the allegations, prompting warnings from the body that it will lose the ability to provide aid to the 2.2 million people that use its services after February. ● It has long been a claim of Israel's that Unrwa - first established in 1949 to accomodate the Palestinian refugees forcibly displaced from their homes during the creation of the state - is effectively a hub for Palestinian militancy.

A Russian military transport Il-76 plane carrying 74 people was shot down by Ukrainian troops over Russia’s Belgorod Region bordering Ukraine on January 24 | The data retrieved from the cockpit voice and flight data recorders of the Ilyushin-76 military transport plane shot down by the Ukrainian military over the Belgorod Region confirm an external impact, an official source told TASS. "The data from the black boxes exclude all possible versions of the Ilyushin-76 crash and confirm that the plane was subjected to an external impact. In other words, it was shot down in the air. Everything is obvious," the source said.

■ Debris of Russia's Il-76 Downed by Ukraine Being Removed From Site (Sputnik News)

Early results of the operation have been “promising,” the billionaire entrepreneur said | Elon Musk has said his biotech company Neuralink has successfully implanted one of its brain chips in a human for the first time, claiming the recipient is in good condition following the surgery. The firm hopes to create an interface allowing people to control devices using their brain alone.

Prosecutors have argued that the politician mishandled a classified cable sent to Islamabad by the country’s ambassador to the US | A Pakistani court has sentenced former prime minister Imran Khan to ten years behind bars. He has been charged with leaking state secrets, according to the spokesman for the politician’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI). ● The charges relate to the so-called cipher, a classified cable sent to Islamabad by the Pakistani ambassador to Washington in 2022, shortly after the start of the Ukraine conflict. The document allegedly suggested that the US wanted to remove Khan over his neutrality regarding the hostilities. ● The ex-Pakistani PM called the cipher case on Tuesday “false,” adding that it “is being completed in violation of constitutional requirements and legal regulations.” “This is not a trial but a fixed match outcome of which was predetermined,” he added.court has sentenced former prime minister Imran Khan to ten years behind bars. He has been charged with leaking state secrets, according to the spokesman for the politician’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI).

The Sabreen News Telegram channel affiliated with the resistance forces reported that American warplanes targeted areas in the northern Yemeni province of Sa’ada. | America’s CBS news network quoted US officials saying that the new round of attacks on Yemen included sites that were prepared to attack the United States forces. ● A UN Security Council Resolution allowed for maintaining the security of the Red Sea after the Yemeni army launched its operations against Israeli or Israeli-bound ships in the strategic waterway. ● Yemenis have targeted over two dozen Israel-bound ships and vowed to keep their operations unless the regime stops its bloodshed in Gaza and ends its blockade on the Palestinian territory.

■ 100 vessels take longer route around Africa to avoid Red Sea tensions (Al Mayadeen)
■ Yemeni Navy Strikes US Ship Lewis B Puller in Gulf of Aden (Al ManarTV)

Amir Saeed Iravani made the comments in a letter addressed to the UN Security Council's president on Monday. | The letter came three days after his American counterpart, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, wrote a letter to the Council, alleging that "militia groups affiliated with the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Armed Forces" were involved in "actions against US personnel and facilities in Iraq and Syria." Iravani asserted unequivocally that 💬 "there is no group affiliated with the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Armed Forces, whether in Iraq, Syria, or elsewhere that operates directly or indirectly under the control of the Islamic Republic of Iran or acts on its behalf." "Therefore, the Islamic Republic of Iran is not responsible for the actions of any individual or group within the region," Iran's UN ambassador added. Over the past years, Iraq's Resistance groups have been staging numerous strikes against military bases housing American occupation forces in Iraq and neighboring Syria.

■ NATO chief levels baseless accusations against Iran (Mehr News Agency)
■ Crime in Gaza and Punishment in Jordan (Tehran Times)
■ Iran strongly denies baseless US claims of involvement in Jordan op. (Al Mayadeen)
■ Biden ordered: The army is going to war? (b92.net)

Three US army soldiers were killed and at least two dozen service personnel injured after an overnight drone attack, which struck the living quarters of a small US outpost in Northeast Jordan, say officials | Three US army soldiers were killed and at least two dozen service personnel injured after an overnight drone attack, which struck the living quarters of a small US outpost in Northeast Jordan, say officials. They were the first troops to be killed amid months-long airstrikes against US soldiers across the Middle East by Iranian-backed groups during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. ● "US President Biden" condemned the killings in a statement, saying the attack "was carried out by radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq." The deaths were confirmed by the US Central Command this weekend, mourning 25 service members who were injured during the "one way" drone attack that was dealt to the base, which is located near the border with Syria. [...] The attack took place in the northeast of Jordan near the Syrian border, US Central Command said. American troops have long used the country as a basing point - with some 3,000 soldiers typically stationed there.

■ Iran reacts to attack on US troops on Jordan border (Mehr News)
■ Senators Call for US to Bomb Iran in Response to Drone Attack in Jordan (antiwar.com)
■ Biden May Order Direct Strike on Iranian Officials After Drone Attack Against US’ Jordan Base (Sputnik News)
■ Biden given chilling nuclear warning over attacking Iran after kamikaze drone kills troops (The Mirror)
■ U.S. Sorties Six (6) KC-135 Strato-tankers to UK; for Middle East. BIG Operation coming (Hal Turner)
■ The Tower-22 Strike in Jordan Triggers US, Israel Into All-Front War – The Arabs and Iran Are Ready, the Russians Too (John Helmer)
■ World War 3 Has Already Started; USA Moving Nuclear Weapons to UK; The Real Satanic Power is Zionism; Top Russian Leaders Say They’re Fighting the Antichrist (BattleForWorld)

■ APPLICATION OF THE CONVENTION ON THE PREVENTION AND PUNISHMENT OF THE CRIME OF GENOCIDE IN THE GAZA STRIP (ORDER OF 26 JANUARY 2024) (.pdf) + APPLICATION INSTITUTING PROCEEDINGS (.pdf)
■ The Expression of Hatred for Gentiles (Richard Edmondson/Nahida Izzat) (10/04/14)

"Our determination that puzzles you, is inspired by the high morale and steadfastness of our people trapped under the savagery of your bombs. Our defiant spirit that they cannot fathom or crush out of existence, is a reflection of our faith. Faith in an Ultimate Just, Ultimate Merciful, Ultimate Loving, Ultimate Wise, Ultimate Graceful Creator." [...] Stunned, the world stood solemnly in silence before the small unconscious boy, on his deathbed, proclaiming “Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar“, teaching the misinformed world the true meaning of “God is the Greatest“. – Nahida Izzat

According to the report, the building was allegedly sheltering displaced persons who had fled the fighting | A school run the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), located in the Rimal District west of Gaza City, came under fire by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Al Jazeera television reported. ● According to the channel, at least ten people were killed in the strike. The building was allegedly sheltering displaced persons who had fled the fighting in other sections of the embattled Gaza Strip. ● Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 after militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion on Israeli territory, killing many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border and abducting more than 240 Israelis, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ aggressive actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria, as well as a ground operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank.

■ Day 115 in Gaza: 26,637 killed, 65,387 others injured (Al Mayadeen)

After using ATGMs as sniper weapons, the Resistance today employs the 500kg Burkan rockets as the to-go-to artillery shells. | Starting today's operations 20 minutes after midnight, the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon - Hezbollah announced targeting a number of Israeli military sites using the Resistance's trademark Burkan rockets. The Military Media released statements, detailing the operations. After using ATGMs as sniper weapons, the Resistance today employed a number of the 500kg Burkan rockets as the to-go-to artillery shells. Following the operations, the IOF announced that two Israeli soldiers were injured and transferred to the hospital for treatment.

Myriam Charabaty | Genocide in occupied Palestine isn't a mere mistake to correct; it's an enduring Israeli policy, bolstered by its allies. The time has come to stand for justice. | We have all heard the question “What do you think would be a proportionate response to what happened on October 7?” But let us step away from the reductive perspective where every event is dealt with as an isolated incident disconnected from the root cause from which it was birthed. ● The real question, in the face of occupation, is: “What is a proportionate response to the colonization of the Middle East and the occupation of Palestine?” To be able to have that conversation, we must first bring forth the numbers of what truly happened in 1948 when Palestine was occupied. The occupation of Palestine is also often referred to as the great catastrophe known in its Arabic translation only: The Nakba. ● The Nakba resulted in the displacement of 957,000 Palestinians out of 1.4 million in 1,300 villages and towns. The majority ended up in neighboring Arab countries, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and other nations. Thousands who stayed in Israeli-occupied areas were driven from their homes and lands. This period also witnessed over 51 massacres, with more than 15,000 Palestinians martyred.

Ali Abunimah | Israel losing war in Gaza, commanders admit | Israel is losing its war against the Palestinian resistance in Gaza, senior commanders have told The New York Times. 💬 “After more than 100 days of war, Israel’s limited progress in dismantling Hamas has raised doubts within the military’s high command about the near-term feasibility of achieving the country’s principal wartime objectives: eradicating Hamas and also liberating the Israeli hostages still in Gaza,” the newspaper reported on Saturday. “Israel has established control over a smaller part of Gaza at this point in the war than it originally envisaged in battle plans from the start of the invasion, which were reviewed by The New York Times,” the paper added. The Israeli military leaders admit, according to the Times, that their advances have “been stymied by a Hamas infrastructure that was more sophisticated than Israeli intelligence officers previously assessed.”

Several United Nations officials have released statements condemning the move to defund UNRWA, saying it heightens suffering among Palestinians. | The United Nations' Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, affirmed in a post on X that the decision of some countries to suspend funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza is a form of collective punishment that puts Palestinians in more dire situations amid the genocide. Albanese slammed the countries partaking in this move, and accused them of "violating their obligations under the Genocide Convention."

■ Iran condemns Israel’s 'malicious' move against UNRWA staff in Gaza (PressTV)
■ Norway, Ireland support UNRWA in defiance of other western donors (TRT World)
■ UNRWA’s lifesaving aid may end due to funding suspension (UNRWA)

January 27 marks the 80th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) from the Nazi siege. The blockade began on September 8, 1941, and lasted almost three years. | In the midst of the fascist siege, the city's industries continued to operate, and the people of Leningrad toiled in defense factories and served in divisions of the People's Militia. Over 2.5 million residents were trapped in the besieged city, including 400,000 children. According to various estimates, between 600,000 and one million citizens died during the blockade, most of them from starvation. ● The blockade was broken in January 1943 during Operation "Iskra". As a result of intense fighting, an 11-kilometer-wide corridor was created. A 33-kilometer "Road of Life" was built along the southern shore of Lake Ladoga, and a crossing over the Neva River was constructed in just 18 days. ● In February 1943, trains carrying food, raw materials, and ammunition finally reached Leningrad. The blockade was officially lifted on January 27, 1944, and to commemorate this historic event, a 24-gun salute echoed through the city, marking the end of the fascist attack.

■ An anniversary West would rather forget (M. K. Bhadrakumar)

The rising cost of living is taking a toll on countless people across Europe.

Under the threat of eviction in Spain, 84-year-old Antonio emerges from his quiet retirement to fight for housing rights in the country. Watch the full film by @RodrigoHdzT and @Adriana__CN:… pic.twitter.com/1mNRqj4t52

— Witness Docs (@AJWitness) January 22, 2024

Naval forces of the Houthi movement in Yemen attacked a British oil ship in the Gulf of Aden on Friday, and the vessel caught fire after it was hit by a missile, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said. 💬 "Yemeni naval forces carried out a targeting operation on the British oil ship (MARLIN LUANDA) In the Gulf of Aden, using a number of appropriate naval missiles, the strike was direct, and resulted the burning of the vessel," the spokesman wrote on his Telegram channel. The tanker Marlin Luanda operated by the freight company Trafigura from Denmark has deployed firefighting equipment to suppress a fire reportedly caused by a Houthi missile when the ship was crossing the Gulf of Aden, the company said in a statement to Sputnik.

■ CREW ABANDONS SHIP -- SINKING . . .REPORTS: British Oil Tanker Hit By Yemen; "Massive Fire, Sinking" (Hal Turner)
■ Houthis attack U.S. warship, strike British tanker (Long War Journal)

[■ Houthis attack tanker carrying Russian oil product – reports (RT.com)]

INGThe United States intends to once again station nuclear weapons in the United Kingdom amid increased tensions with Russia, The Telegraph reported on Friday. | The United States intends to station nuclear warheads at the Royal Air Force’s Lakenheath base, the report said, citing Defense Department documents. Washington removed its nuclear weapons from the United Kingdom in 2008 after having stationed them there during the Cold War. ● The United States is expected to station B61-12 gravity bombs, which are three times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, at the Lakenheath base, the report said. ● Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said that the Kremlin would view the deployment of US nuclear weapons in the United Kingdom as an escalatory action.

■ NATO’s planned drills near Russian borders increase risk of military incidents — MFA | "The maneuvers [of Exercise Steadfast Defender 2024] are openly provocative in nature. For several months, a 90,000-strong group of forces from 31 NATO member countries, as well as Sweden, will be actively operating near Russian borders on the territory from Norway to Romania. This step is deliberately aimed at escalating things. It increases the risk of military incidents and could ultimately lead to tragic consequences for Europe," she said. (TASS)

The United Nations' top court said on Friday that at least some rights sought by South Africa in its genocide case against Israel's war in Gaza are plausible. | With the reading still ongoing, the court said it recognises the right of Palestinians in Gaza to be protected from acts of genocide. Palestinians appear to be a protected group under the genocide convention, the court said. Friday's ruling at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) does not deal with the core accusation of the case - whether genocide occurred - but will focus on the urgent intervention sought by South Africa.

■ APPLICATION OF THE CONVENTION ON THE PREVENTION AND PUNISHMENT OF THE CRIME OF GENOCIDE IN THE GAZA STRIP (ORDER OF 26 JANUARY 2024) (.pdf) + APPLICATION INSTITUTING PROCEEDINGS (.pdf)

■ Israeli top officials outraged by 'antisemitic' ICJ genocide ruling (Al Mayadeen)
■ World reacts to ICJ ruling on South Africa’s genocide case against Israel (Al Jazeera)
■ Global reactions to ICJ ruling on Gaza genocide case against Israel (TRT World)
■ Live blog: UN rapporteur laments ICJ did not order Gaza ceasefire (TRT World)
■ Germany says Israel must comply with UN court’s Gaza ruling (Anadolu)
■ Palestine vs. Israel: "There Has Never Been Such a Clearcut Case of Good vs. Evil" (Kevin Barrett)
■ ICJ orders Israel to prevent genocide in Gaza and allow in aid (MEE)
■ ICJ rules Israel must ‘take all measures within its its power’ to avoid Gaza genocide (Jewish News)
■ ICJ criticizes Israel strongly but does not rule on stopping Gaza war (Jerusalem Post)
■ US to supply F-35, F-15 fighter jets to Israel amid Gaza war (Anadolu)