Israel Gaza attack
Israeli warplanes have launched a series of airstrikes against the besieged Gaza Strip, targeting several locations across the coastal territory. The Israeli military claims the strikes have hit several sites belonging to Hamas resistance movement. According to Palestinian sources, the Israeli strikes targeted positions in north and south of Gaza Strip, including near Gaza City and east of Khan Yunis. An observation post east of Gaza City and farmlands were hit in Israel’s nocturnal attacks. In response, Palestinian groups fired salvoes of rockets at Israeli settlements in the occupied territories in addition to anti-aircraft missiles. As a result, sirens sounded in the occupied territories near Gaza. Tel Aviv claims airstrikes were in response to earlier rockets fired from Gaza. Hamas resistance movement reacted to the attack, saying Israel was fully responsible for the consequences of its aggression against Gaza. A Hamas spokesman also said Israel will pay the price for its crime in the al-Aqsa Mosque and its aggression against the Gaza Strip.
Call for OIC meeting
Iran has called for an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to discuss Israel’s aggression against Palestinians in the occupied territories. Iran's president Ebrahim Raeisi made the call in a phone conversation with his Indonesian counterpart, Joko Widodo. He said defending the rights of Palestinian people is an unchanging principle for the Islamic Ummah. Raeisi added that unity of the Muslim world is necessary to counter Israel’s crimes and acts of aggression. He also called for more convergence among Muslim nations and further deepening of relations among them. Iran's foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian also talked to secretary general of the OIC, Hissein Brahim Taha, calling for an emergency meeting of the organization. Taha said the OIC will hold an emergency meeting of the Executive Committee on Saturday to discuss Israel’s attacks on the al-Aqsa Mosque.
US Afghanistan withdrawal
The White House has released a redacted report on the US chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, admitting to a massive intelligence failure in the process. The report said the US intelligence services failed to understand the strength of the Taliban and the weakness of the Afghan government's forces. It, however, blamed the failure on a deal struck between former US president Donald Trump's administration and the Taliban. The report claimed the deal put President Joe Biden’s administration in an impossible position, because it had a date for withdrawal but no plan for executing it. Thirteen US troops and 170 Afghans were killed during US pull-out from Afghanistan in August 2021.