According to the broadcaster’s sources, Iranian Ambassador to Syria Hossein Akbari and his family members weren’t hurt in the attack | An Israeli airstrike has destroyed Iran’s consulate building in the Syrian capital of Damascus, Iran’s Al-Alam TV channel reported. ● According to the broadcaster’s sources, Iranian Ambassador to Syria Hossein Akbari and his family members weren’t hurt in the attack. ● The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported earlier that Israel had carried out an airstrike on a building in Damascus. According to Iran’s SNN TV channel, the attack targeted Iran’s consulate building and the ambassador’s residence. The Tasnim news agency, in turn, said that the airstrike had killed six people.

■ An Israeli act of aggression targets the Iranian consulate building in Mezzeh neighborhood, Damascus (SANA)
■ Israel targets Iranian consulate in Damascus in a terrorist attack (PressTV)
■ Several killed in Israeli strike on Iranian consulate in Damascus: Reports (Al Jazeera)
■ Senior IRGC chief killed in Israeli strike on Iranian consulate, Syria (Al Mayadeen)
■ Zionist regime hits Consular Section of Iranian Embassy in Syria (IRNA)
■ Iranian FM: Netanyahu Losing Mental Balance Due to Failure in Gaza (Fars News)
■ Zionist Entity Assassinates Iranian General In Syria (Moon of Alabama)

■ 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)

Eyewitnesses describe scenes of destruction as they return to the area surrounding Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital after the “Israeli” army announced withdrawing troops at the conclusion of a two-week siege and massacres on the medical complex. | Mohammed Mahdi, who was among those who returned, describes a scene of “total destruction.” He says several buildings have been burned down and that he saw a number of bodies. ● Another resident, Yahia Abu Auf, says army bulldozers plowed over a makeshift cemetery inside the hospital compound. “The situation is indescribable,” he says. “The occupation destroyed all sense of life here.” ● Palestinian medical sources spoke of hundreds of bodies of martyrs at Al-Shifa Hospital as well as in the streets and roads surrounding it. ● Meanwhile, footages taken from the scene revealed that “Israel” has executed Palestinians at Al-Shifa Hospital after shackling their limbs or running over their bodies by military vehicles.

■ French Jew Bernard Levy raises controversy by justifying the genocide in Gaza (Teller/Al Jazeera)
■ Live blog: Israel kills nine waiting for aid at Gaza aid distribution point (TRT World)
■ Israel threatens to destroy Al-Shifa Medical Complex with people inside: Gaza media office (Anadolu)
■ IOF blows up Al-Shifa Hospital specialized building in Gaza (Al Mayadeen)
■ Physicians Describe ‘Most Appalling Atrocities’ in Gaza (Libertarian Institute)

Mike Whitney | Recent developments suggest that Israel’s full-scale ground offensive in Rafah could take place at any time. [...] Once the ground forces are deployed, the Palestinians will be forced to flee to the Egyptian border where they will seek refuge from the Israeli onslaught. | [...] The expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza is not aimed at quashing terrorism but at changing the demographic makeup of the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. The fact is that one cannot preserve a Jewish-majority state without a clear Jewish majority. By annexing the occupied territories of Gaza and the West Bank, Israel will dramatically increase the number of Arabs within its borders putting that core principle at risk. [...] Clearly, what Israel wants is a Palestine without the Palestinians, and in the last six months they have done everything in their power to achieve just that. Now that the goal is within their grasp, they will do anything –even jeopardize relations with their most important ally– to reach their objective. [...] Everything from the clearing of land in the Sinai desert to the issuance of humongous loans to Egypt, to the secret meetings of Intel chiefs in Doha (CIA, Mossad, Egypt’s General Intelligence) to the blustery pronouncements of Israeli officials, to the frenetic leapfrogging of Anthony Blinken from Jedda to Jerusalem to Doha to Cairo and back again, suggests that we are about to begin the final phase of Israel’s malignant ethnic cleansing operation.

Preliminary data shows that the CHP is ahead of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the local elections for the first time in 20 years. | The opposition's mayor of Ankara, Mansur Yavas of the Republican People's Party (CHP), has so far received over 60% of the votes in the ongoing local elections, as confirmed by Turkish news media on Monday. ● Preliminary data shows that the CHP is ahead of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the local elections for the first time in 20 years. ● As of Monday morning, 99.81% of the polling stations' votes have been processed, the Hurriyet newspaper reported, as state-run news agency Anadolu reported that Yavas received 60.35% of the votes, and his AKP opponent, Turgut Altinok, garnered 31.69%. ● This shows that the opposition mayors of Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir maintained their posts.

■ ‘Turning point’ for Turkey after worst election defeat for Erdoğan in 20 years (iNews)
■ 5 things to know about Turkey’s momentous election (Turkish Minute)
■ Türkiye’s Erdoğan concedes ruling party’s electoral loss (RT.com)

Over the past decades, Ukraine has played the role of a drug trafficking hub, with illicit substances flowing to and from many regions - including Afghanistan, where ISIS and the Taliban still heavily rely on the drug business as a source of income. | Under the West's watch, Ukraine has morphed into a gangsters' paradise with all sorts of illicit drugs passing through its territory and the domestic production and consumption of synthetic narcotics booming. ● Back in June 2002, the US Justice Department emphasized Ukraine's growing importance as a transit point for heroin trafficking largely originating from Afghanistan which went through the Balkan and Northern routes. The US-backed 2014 coup in Ukraine exacerbated the problem and was followed by a spike in corruption, gang crime, and weapons smuggling. The role of Ukraine as a transit point for extremists and illicit drugs to Europe has also increased.

Thousands of people came together in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to say goodbye to a Ukrainian woman who recently converted to Islam. Tragically, Daria Kutsaryenko, 29, died in Dubai the day after she converted to Islam and observed her first Ramadan fast. | Kutsaryenko had been studying Islam for some time before to coming to Dubai in pursuit of work. At a nearby mosque in the emirate, she publicly accepted Islam as her religion, demonstrating her dedication to it. Her tragic death, however, abruptly ended her newfound journey, leaving a society profoundly touched by her tale. ● Following the Friday congregational prayers, mourners gathered at the Martyrs Mosque in Dubai for Kutsaryenko's funeral procession, which attracted sizable crowds. ● Her sudden passing and the events surrounding her conversion have spurred discussions about tolerance, faith, and the process of learning Islam. An increasing number of people are embracing Islam in the UAE, which is renowned for its openness and variety. In 2021 alone, there were over 3800 new Muslims registered.