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Is Hezbollah Joining the War with Israel?

BEIRUT (AP) — Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Friday that his powerful militia is already engaged in unprecedented fighting along the Lebanon-Israel border and threatened a further escalation as Israel’s war with Hamas nears the one-month mark. In televised remarks — his first since the Palestinian militants’ deadly Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel — Nasrallah stopped short of announcing that Hezbollah would fully enter the war, a move that would have devastating consequences for both Lebanon and Israel. The United States, Israel’s strongest backer, has warned Hezbollah and its patron Iran against entering the fray and has sent warships to the Mediterranean, a move Nasrallah said “will not scare us.” Hezbollah is prepared for all options, he declared, “and we can resort to them at any time.” The fighting would “not be limited” to the scale seen so far, he added. In recent weeks, Hezbollah has fired rockets across the border daily, mainly hitting military targets in northern Israel, but it has a substantial arsenal capable of hitting anywhere in Israel and thousands of battle-hardened fighters. Nasrallah’s speech had been widely anticipated throughout the region as an indication of whether the Israel-Hamas conflict would spiral into a regional war. “Some say I’m going to announce that we have entered the battle,”

Nasrallah said Friday. “We already entered the battle on Oct. 8.”

He argued that Hezbollah’s cross-border strikes have pulled away Israeli forces that would otherwise be focused on Hamas in Gaza. Celebratory gunshots rang out over Beirut as thousands packed into a square in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital to watch Nasrallah’s speech broadcast via video-link on a massive screen.

NN: Is this war in Israel going to spread Judge fo yourself. Here the word from the head mullah in charge of Hezbollah in Lebanon. He looks Iranian to me.

 

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Traders Buy Middle East Crude

  • Rising geopolitical risk means oil traders have been paying premiums for crude cargoes from the Middle East loading next year.
  • While geopolitical risk has added a premium in annual deals, front-month oil futures have fallen back to levels last seen before Hamas attacked Israel.
  • The Federal Reserve’s decision not to increase interest rates should have provided some support to prices, but WTI and Brent were down on Thursday.

Crude traders have been paying premiums for oil cargoes from the Middle East loading next year as geopolitical risks spiked in the past month, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing trading sources.

The Hamas-Israel war has increased not only the volatility in crude oil prices but also the risk of a wider conflict, leading to traders willing to pay up for crude supply from Oman and Abu Dhabi in their annual deals that were mostly concluded by late October, according to Reuters’ sources.

Some of the Oman cargoes and Abu Dhabi’s Murban cargoes with 0.5% operational tolerance in annual contracts—the volume that the buyer or seller can adjust at loadings depending on demand—were sold at $0.30-$0.35 per barrel above their official selling prices (OSPs). Traders are also paying premiums in deals with a lower operational tolerance of 0.2%, although the premiums for Omani crude and for Abu Dhabi’s Murban and Das grades have been lower, at between $0.01 and $0.12 per barrel over the OSP for the various grades, Reuters’ sources said. Meanwhile, the front-month oil futures have erased the gains since the Hamas attack on Israel in early October, and Brent Crude traded at around $85 per barrel early on Thursday. Markets rose after the Fed skipped an interest rate hike again, as widely expected. “We may have underestimated the balance sheet strength of households and small businesses, and that may be part of it,” Fed chair Jerome Powell said at the press conference after the latest Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Wednesday. “The hawkish tone remains in the accompanying statement,” Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey, strategists at ING, commented on Thursday on the Fed decision and commodity markets. “Lower crude oil inventory in the US and Europe also continued to be supportive of crude oil prices,” they said. NN: No less then 6 countries are are shooting rockets at each other, Including the worlds largest oil producer, The puppet master of the savages of Iran are having a never  ending orgasm over the human pain and suffering. The worlds largest aircraft carrier and a extra one plus their support vessels, for good measure are on station. All the worlds super powers have a dog in the hunt. And they would have you believe this is not a big AWH shit. Well i know where i am placing my bet. And no less then three holy books of the worlds major religions predicted a world war starting in this region. 

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Oil jumps 2.5% as clashes in Middle East heat up

The prices of oil futures surged on Thursday as tensions in the Middle East escalated, with worries over the supply of crude growing. Earlier, Israel announced that it had reached the center of northern Gaza and is currently carrying out its ground operations there. Meanwhile, the demand for oil could have been boosted due to both the United States Federal Reserve and the Bank of England deciding to maintain their key interest rates, with traders seemingly hoping that the tightening cycle has come to an end despite Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s warnings. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for deliveries in December jumped 2.56% at 1:22 pm ET and went for $82.55 per barrel. At 1:24 pm ET, Brent for January 2024 settlements surged 2.54% to sell for $86.83 per barrel.

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Yemeni Armed Forces launch ‘large batch of drones’ against Israel

The Yemeni Armed Forces said on Wednesday that it had launched “a large batch of drones during the past hours” against Israel. According to the statement issued by the spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree Qasim, “the attack was carried out against several targets” within the Israeli territory, reaching “their goals.” The spokesperson added that Houthi forces in Yemen will “continue to carry out their military operations in support” of the Palestinian people and “against the occupation of Palestine.” At the moment, Israel has not issued any statement regarding the attack. NN: The savages are at the gate. Its a battle against the civilized world against the savages and freaks. Israel is at the forefrontoif the battle for civilization. The savages say from the river to the sea. Meaning the Jordon river to the Mediterranean sea; As usual they got their coordinates wrong. Its from the Mediterranean sea to to the red sea. The boundaries that Bible believers was ordained by GOD. I frankly don’ give a shit. Like the civilized people have done through history we take the land from the savages and turn it into productive resources. .

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Netanyahu: Israel will not agree to ceasefire….. A TIME FOR WAR!

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that “Israel will not agree to a cessation of hostilities.” He stressed at a press conference that “calls for a ceasefire are calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas … to terrorism… to barbarism.” Netanyahu pointed out that “Israel will fight until this battle is won” and that “this is a time for war … for our common future.” Ground operations the Israeli military is carrying out are putting “pressure” on Hamas and could provide a “possibility of getting our hostages out” as the group would not set them free without being pressured, the prime minister noted. He reiterated that Gaza civilians should move to safe zones in the southeastern part of the enclave and that Hamas should allow them to do so. BlaskMask Blog:

A TIME FOR WAR
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Four missiles are said to have hit US base in Iraq…… Israeli tanks on the outskirts of Gaza City

Four missiles struck the Al-Asad airbase in Al-Anbar Governorate in western Iraq, an Al-Arabiya correspondent reported on Monday. The complex hosts troops from the United States. Earlier in the day, an unnamed senior US defense official told US media that its military personnel and facilities have been attacked 23 times in the Middle East since October 17. Nine attacks took place in Syria, while the remaining 14 occurred in Iraq, according to the official.

Israeli tanks on the outskirts of Gaza City

Tanks of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were seen on the outskirts of Gaza City as a major road was cut off, Hamas spokesperson, Hazem Qasem, confirmed in an interview with Al Jazeera on Monday. According to Qasem, “the Palestinian resistance attacked the Israeli tanks in Salah Al Deen road,” which passes roughly north-south through Gaza, adding that the tanks also invaded an area in the southeast. The development follows several nights of heavy fighting.  Israel continues its new stage in the war, as it tries to balance ground operations in Gaza, the West Bank and the Lebanese border with international pressures

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World Bank: Major Escalation In Israel-Hamas War Could Send Oil Soaring To $157

If the Hamas-Israel war does spill over to the wider region—causing a ‘large supply disruption’ scenario, prices could spike to as high as $157 per barrel, the World Bank said on Monday.  This quarter, oil prices are expected to average $90 per barrel – not too different from the price of oil early on Monday at just below $90, according to the World Bank’s latest Commodity Markets Outlook published today. So far, the conflict between Hamas and Israel has had limited impact on the global commodity markets, with oil prices having risen by around 6% since the Hamas attack on Israel. The bank has assessed three possible risk scenarios of oil supply disruptions based on historical experience since the 1970s.

In a “small disruption” scenario where global oil supply would be reduced by up to 2 million barrels per day, oil prices would initially increase between 3% and 13% relative to the average for the current quarter—to a range of $93 to $102 a barrel.

A “medium disruption” scenario—roughly equivalent to the Iraq war in 2003—would take up to 5 million bpd off global oil supply and send oil prices jumping by 21% to 35% initially—to between $109 and $121 a barrel, according to the World Bank.

In a “large disruption” scenario—comparable to the Arab oil embargo in 1973—global oil supply would shrink by up to 8 million bpd and push prices surging by 56% to 75% initially—to between $140 and $157 a barrel, the bank added.

“If the conflict were to escalate, the global economy would face a dual energy shock for the first time in decades—not just from the war in Ukraine but also from the Middle East,” Indermit Gill, the World Bank’s Chief Economist and Senior Vice President for Development Economics said in a statement. NN: We are literary staring into the Abys . And the Abyss is staring back.

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Chief: WHO unable to contact staff, health facilities in Gaza

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Saturday that the agency is still unable to reach its staff and health facilities in the Gaza Strip after what appears to be a total disruption of communication and internet services in the Palestinian territory. “Reports of intense bombardment in Gaza are extremely distressing. Evacuation of patients is not possible under such circumstances, nor to find safe shelter. The blackout is also making it impossible for ambulances to reach the injured,” the WHO chief wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. Previously, the Palestinian telecom provider Paltel said that the “continuous intensive bombardment” of the enclave caused complete disruption of internet, cellular, and landline services in the Gaza Strip. “Gaza is currently blacked out,” the provider announced via its X profile. NN: They want you to believe innocent Hamas murders are  victims of Israeli aggression. Please note  they are still able to launch their bottle rockets. And its reported UN and the WHO  officials cannot contact their people….. Really? I can tell you they have enrolled over 1000 Immersat2 Satellite phones that are operating. The story goes the hospitals  are unable to contact first responses.  And as far as “first responders” unable to communicate bull. All Red Crescent ambulances are supplied with  2 way radios many with telemetry  data which are working. They operate on the same frequencies as in Israel because red crescent ambulances are often allowed into Israel on humanitarian life saving cases.  AS far as internet  and cell phones.  Providers Paltell  as and Jawwal are down. But most Palestinians carry Israel cell phone  sim card which have some  coverage in Gaza, They forgot  to tell internet service is fully operational in Gaza on the Starlink system. Which is in wide proliferation since the Palestinian ISP’s were always slow and unreliable.  Elon Musk is providing starlink equipment and service for free to all public users including  the UN and hospitals.

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BREAKING: Biden orders ‘self-defense’ strikes in Syria facilities used by Iran, Pentagon says

The US has carried out an air strike targeting Iran-backed militias in Syria, in the first military action undertaken by the Biden administration.

The Pentagon said the strike destroyed “multiple facilities” and was ordered in response to attacks against US and coalition personnel in Iraq. Militia officials said one person had been killed but a war monitor reported at least 22 fatalities. Syria condemned the attack as a “bad sign” from the new US administration. The Pentagon said its strike near the Iraqi border in eastern Syria was a “proportionate military response” that was taken “together with diplomatic measures”, including consulting coalition partners. It came after a civilian contractor was killed in a rocket attack on US targets earlier this month. A US service member and five other contractors were also injured when the rockets hit sites in Irbil, including a base used by the US-led coalition. The Pentagon said the strike on Friday was launched “at President Biden’s direction”. It targeted facilities located at a border control point used by a number of Iran-backed militia groups, including Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, who are allied with the Damascus government. Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada have previously carried out or supported rocket attacks targeting US assets in the country. The US has launched retaliatory strikes. But Kataib Hezbollah has denied involvement in recent attacks against US interests. In its statement, the Pentagon said its latest operation “sends an unambiguous message”.”President Biden will act to protect American and Coalition personnel. At the same time, we have acted in a deliberate manner that aims to de-escalate the overall situation in both eastern Syria and Iraq,” it said. The US did not confirm any casualties, but an Iraqi militia official told the Associated Press news agency at least one fighter was killed and a number of others wounded.The official said the strikes hit an area along the border between the Syrian city of Boukamal and the Iraqi town of Qaim. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, said the US attack had killed at least 22 fighters from the Popular Mobilisation Forces, an Iraqi umbrella group of mostly Shia paramilitaries that includes Kataib Hezbollah. “The strikes destroyed three lorries carrying munitions,” the observatory’s Rami Abdul Rahman earlier told AFP. “There were many casualties.” Several attacks targeting US personnel have been claimed by little-known groups. But some Iraqi and Western officials say these are a front for established militias, so they can carry out attacks without being held accountable. NN: Iran’s pecker marks are all over this.  Plausible deniability is no longer plausible. My bet is things will escalate and oil supply lines will be in the fray. Especially in the Straights.

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War in Middle East spreading: US airstrikes against Iran proxy forces in Syria….

The US military has attacked Iranian proxy forces in Syria, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin confirmed in a statement late on Thursday. According to the release, the airstrikes were carried out against two facilities used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated groups and came as a retaliation for attacks on bases hosting US troops in Iraq and Syria since October 17. The “precision self-defense strikes” were directed by President Joe Biden and “were intended solely to protect and defend US personnel in Iraq and Syria.” “The United States does not seek conflict and has no intention nor desire to engage in further hostilities, but these Iranian-backed attacks against US forces are unacceptable and must stop,” noted the statement. NN: This conflict is escalating. We need to be laser focused because one day very soon you will wake up to a raging war. With strikes against oil infrastructure.