Benjamin Netanyahu

Iran threatens to block exports, imports in Gulf if US blockade continues

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A view shows a large billboard displayed at Vanak Square in Tehran, Iran, on April 12, 2026.[Fatemeh Bahrami – Anadolu Agency]

Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters threatened Wednesday to block exports and imports through the Gulf, the Sea of Oman and the Red Sea in response to the US naval blockade on Iranian ports.

If the “aggressive and terrorist US” continues “illegal maritime blockade actions and creates insecurity for Iranian commercial vessels and oil tankers,” such moves would be seen as “a prelude to violating the ceasefire,” Major General Ali Abdollahi, the commander of the Central Headquarters, said in a statement carried by Fars News Agency.

He warned that if the blockade persists, Iran’s armed forces “will not allow any exports or imports to continue” in strategic waterways, including the Gulf, Sea of Oman, and the Red Sea.

The US has imposed a naval blockade around Iranian ports following their rare direct talks in Pakistan, which ended without an agreement this weekend.

More than 3,300 people have been killed in US-Israeli airstrikes in Iran since Feb. 28, according to Iranian authorities.

Tehran retaliated with missile and drone strikes targeting Israel, Iraq, Jordan, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets before a two-week ceasefire was announced last week.

READ: Iran interior minister dismisses impact of blockade threats

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Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don't need people to join wars after they've already won. He's challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. He’s challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Orcas discuss rotting brain. Front Orca says "Wish someone would lock him up".
Orcas discuss rotting brain. Front Orca says “Wish someone would lock him up”.
Continue ReadingIran threatens to block exports, imports in Gulf if US blockade continues

Gaza flooded with sweets as fuel and medicine withheld, health official warns

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While preventing the entry of basic construction materials, the occupying force allows a flow of luxury goods into the Gaza market. [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

The director-general of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Munir Al-Barsh, has described a catastrophic situation in the besieged enclave, saying that it is being flooded with chocolate and soft drinks while fuel, medicine and basic food are withheld, leaving infants in incubators at constant risk of death.

Al-Barsh said that the situation is not a temporary shortage but a deliberate manipulation of aid, masking ongoing starvation and continued killings despite claims of a ceasefire.

Inside the corridors of Al-Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip, where the sounds of medical devices mix with the cries of the wounded, doctors are struggling with a harsh reality: babies in incubators need electricity to survive, yet fuel is unavailable and the aid that arrives does not save them.

READ: Newborns in Gaza face death due to famine caused by Israeli blockade

Al-Barsh summed up the scene, saying that what enters Gaza “is not aid so much as it is a cruel mockery of death”.

He added: “Trucks carrying jelly arrive, others bring chocolate and soft drinks flow in as if they are a lifeline… but the fuel needed to keep incubators running is still banned.”

At such moments, he said, chocolate means nothing to a child struggling to breathe inside an incubator at risk of shutting down. “Calories” mean nothing to a mother watching a monitor that could switch off at any moment, taking her baby’s life with it.

Al-Barsh stressed that the situation is not random but a “systematic design” creating a compounded disaster. “Flooding Gaza with non-essential goods while denying the essentials of life… this is not relief, it is silent extermination,” he said.

READ: Israeli strike on police vehicle in Gaza kills 4, including child

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don't need people to join wars after they've already won. He's challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. He’s challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Orcas discuss rotting brain. Front Orca says "Wish someone would lock him up".
Orcas discuss rotting brain. Front Orca says “Wish someone would lock him up”.
Continue ReadingGaza flooded with sweets as fuel and medicine withheld, health official warns

8 more Gazans killed by Israeli fire despite ceasefire, death toll nears 72,350

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Palestinians who lost their relatives in an Israeli attack grieve during the funeral held outside their homes at Rimal neighborhood in Gaza City, Gaza, Palestine on April 15, 2026. [Abdalhkem Abu Riash – Anadolu Agency]

Eight Palestinians were killed by Israeli army fire in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, in the latest violation of a ceasefire agreement in effect since last October, the Health Ministry said Wednesday, Anadolu reports.

Hospitals in Gaza also received 29 wounded in attacks by Israeli forces, the ministry added in a statement.

The ministry did not give details on the circumstances of the casualties, but said Israel continues daily strikes despite the Oct. 10 ceasefire.

According to the ministry, the death toll from Israeli attacks since Oct. 8, 2023 rose to 72,344, while 172,242 people have been injured.

Since the ceasefire began, a total of 765 Palestinians have been killed, 2,140 injured and 760 bodies recovered, the ministry said.

Many victims remain trapped under rubble or on the streets, as ambulance and civil defense crews are still unable to reach them, the ministry said.

The ceasefire agreement was meant to end a two-year Israeli offensive on Gaza, which has destroyed 90% of the civilian infrastructure in the enclave. The UN estimates reconstruction costs at around $70 billion.

READ: Israeli strike on police vehicle in Gaza kills 4, including child

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don't need people to join wars after they've already won. He's challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. He’s challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Orcas discuss rotting brain. Front Orca says "Wish someone would lock him up".
Orcas discuss rotting brain. Front Orca says “Wish someone would lock him up”.

Continue Reading8 more Gazans killed by Israeli fire despite ceasefire, death toll nears 72,350

Cracks in Europe’s support for colonial violence and genocide

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Special police units on the roof to remove the demonstrators from Peacefully Against Genocide staging a protest at the Berlin premises of Rheinmetall, a major German defense and automotive technology company specializing in military vehicles, weapons systems, and ammunition on March 25, 2026. [İlkin Eskipehlivan – Anadolu Agency]

Spain was recently targeted by Israel’s antisemitism narrative after an effigy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was blown up in El Burgo, during the Burning of Judas festival. “The appalling antisemitic hatred on display here is a direct result of the @sanchezcastejon government’s systematic incitement,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry stated on X, while noting that the Spanish ambassador to Israel was summoned for a reprimand.

However, the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s statement illustrates that the problem is not the burning of Netanyahu’s effigy, but rather the Spanish government’s current stance against Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its wars in Lebanon and Iran.

After decades of European blind adherence to Israel’s ethnic cleansing and colonial expansion, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has illustrated that stepping away from diplomatic normalisation of colonialism and genocide is possible. At least temporarily, Israel’s European safety net has been fractured.

The seven metre effigy of Netanyahu was filled with 14 kilogrammes of gunpowder. Burning it represented opposition to war and genocide, El Burgo’s Mayor Maria Dolores Narvaez stated.

READ: Varying degrees of silence over colonialism and annexation

There is nothing antisemitic about opposition to war and genocide. The truth is that Israel exploits the Holocaust narrative to justify Zionist colonial expansion and genocide, but it can no longer do so completely unchallenged. Netanyahu represents genocide and is wanted by the International Criminal Court. That is not an antisemitic narrative; it is based on facts.

Politically, Spain’s stance is also impacting the prior cohesion over Israel’s colonial violence and genocide, to the point that Netanyahu barred the country from participating in the Civil Military Coordination Centre in Kiryat Gat that oversees the ceasefire. Spain, according to Netanyahu, has defamed Israel and the IDF. Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described Spain as having an “obsessive anti-Israel bias under Sanchez’s leadership”.

An anti-Israel stance, however, is not an obsession. It is a reality that opposes colonialism and genocide. At the very least, it opposes military occupation and genocide. What Spain has achieved so far in its stance sets an example for the rest of Europe to emulate. It is politically viable to take a stance against Israeli colonialism, military occupation and genocide.

In other unexpected turns, less powerful that Spain but nonetheless worth noting, Germany criticised Israel’s death penalty bill for Palestinians. “The government is also concerned that such a law would likely apply exclusively to Palestinians in the Palestinian territories,” Stefan Kornelius, spokesperson to the German government, declared. “It therefore regrets the Knesset’s decision and cannot endorse it.”

READ: In Israel’s colonial ethnic cleansing, the world fails stand for decolonisation

Also, following German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s criticism over Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich reverted to Holocaust history to obfuscate the present colonial settlement expansion, warning that Germany cannot dictate where Jews should live. The comments prompted Israel’s ambassador to Germany Ron Prosor to oppose Smotrich, reminding that Germany is “our number one friend” in Europe.

Spain has certainly ignited an alternative way, and one that is exposing rifts even within Israeli politics. Whining about antisemitism over the burning of Netanyahu’s effigy may be temporarily amplified, but Spain’s stance is not about a symbolic effigy. A single, constant opposition to Israel’s genocide in Gaza had the power to expose the instability of Israel’s political reasoning, as well as the threats directed at any country opposing its actions.

If Spain can manage that stance on its own, and if Germany can coherently oppose the death penalty for Palestinians, a political stance towards decolonisation as Israel escalates its aggression against anyone opposing it is more than possible. It is imperative.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.

Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don't need people to join wars after they've already won. He's challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. He’s challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Donald Trump warns against following the Onaquietday.org blog, says that he's heard that she's a which with a black cat and a dangerous kitchen.
Donald Trump warns against following the Onaquietday.org blog, says that he’s heard that she’s a which with a black cat and a dangerous kitchen.
Continue ReadingCracks in Europe’s support for colonial violence and genocide

Palestinians confront Israeli occupiers attempting to seize West Bank home

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Israeli settlers who have seized Palestinian land are carrying out attacks in the village of Teyasir, in the Tubas governorate in the northern West Bank, forcing Palestinian farmers to leave their lands in Ramallah, Palestine on April 07, 2026. [Hisham K. K. Abu Shaqra – Anadolu Agency]

Palestinian residents confronted Israeli occupiers Tuesday who attempted to seize a home in the town of Shuyukh in the southern occupied West Bank, according to sources, Anadolu reports.

A group of armed occupiers stormed the town in northeastern Hebron and raided a Palestinian home, trying to take it by force, but residents intervened and prevented the confiscation, sources told Anadolu.

Fadi al-Ayaydeh, executive director of Shuyukh municipality, said residents were surprised early Tuesday to find occupiers had set up a tent on land belonging to Palestinians.

“We went to the site and found a large number of residents there. During that time, armed settlers confronted us and fired shots in the air to intimidate people,” al-Ayaydeh told Anadolu.

Israeli forces later arrived and fired stun grenades and tear gas to disperse the crowd, he added.

READ: UN experts urge end to attacks on Gaza shelters, forced displacement in West Bank

Al-Ayaydeh said erecting the tent was “an attempt to impose a fait accompli,” explaining that occupiers often set up tents and informal outposts, then monitor reactions and expand if there is no resistance.

He noted that residents would remain at the site to ensure the tent is removed and that people can access their land.

The official Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said occupiers carried out 497 attacks against Palestinians and their property in the West Bank in March, killing nine.

Violence by Israeli forces and occupiers in the West Bank has intensified since the genocide in the Gaza Strip began in October 2023, killing more than 1,148 Palestinians, wounding 11,750 and leading to 22,000 arrests.

Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don't need people to join wars after they've already won. He's challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. He’s challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Donald Trump warns against following the Onaquietday.org blog, says that he's heard that she's a which with a black cat and a dangerous kitchen.
Donald Trump warns against following the Onaquietday.org blog, says that he’s heard that she’s a which with a black cat and a dangerous kitchen.

Continue ReadingPalestinians confront Israeli occupiers attempting to seize West Bank home