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Israeli bombardments and ground offensives in Gaza have killed more than 33,600 Palestinians and wounded over 76,200, the Gaza Health Ministry says. The ministry doesn't differentiate between civilians and combatants in its tally, but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.2) From the same source:
Monday, 15 April 2024 5:56 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 15 April 2024 7:34 AM ]3) As a parallel, the US bombed the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade:
All the hypersonic missiles used in Iran's punitive strikes against Israel have hit their targets after evading the regime's air defense systems, Press TV reports.
Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) launched extensive missile and drone strikes late Saturday night on the occupied territories, marking the first time the Islamic Republic employed such weapons against real targets.
The series of retaliatory strikes, dubbed Operation True Promise, inflicted damage on Israeli military bases across the occupied territories.
Sources informed Press TV that the Israeli regime and its supporters failed to intercept any of the hypersonic missiles fired by Iran.
Iran is among few countries that posses the technology to produce hypersonic missiles which can travel at stunning speeds and hit their targets with great precision.
Iran's hypersonic missiles are highly maneuverable, enabling them to have an unpredictable flight path in order to confuse enemy's missile shields.
The chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Major General Mohammad Baqeri, said on Sunday that Iran hit a large intelligence base in the occupied lands and Israel's Nevatim Airbase, from where an F-35 jet took off to target Iran's diplomatic premises in Damascus.
He added that the strikes "reached its goals" as the regime's so-called Iron Dome system failed to deal with the Iranian missiles and drones properly.
The IRGC's operation was carried out in retaliation for a missile attack by Israel on Iran's diplomatic premises in the Syrian capital of Damascus earlier in April.
The Israeli attack on Iran's diplomatic facilities in Syria resulted in the martyrdom of Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a commander of the IRGC's Quds Force, his deputy, General Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, and five of their accompanying officers.
The terrorist attack drew categorical condemnation from senior Iranian political and military leaders, who vowed "definitive revenge."
During a speech in Tehran on Wednesday after leading the Eid al-Fitr prayers, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said the Israeli regime "must be punished and will be punished" for its deadly strike on the Iranian diplomatic premises.
The Leader added, "The evil Zionist regime committed another mistake ... and that was the attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria. The consulate and diplomatic missions in any country are considered to be the territory of that country. When they attack our consulate, it means they have attacked our soil."
On May 7, 1999, during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia (Operation Allied Force), five U.S. Joint Direct Attack Munition guided bombs hit the People's Republic of China embassy in Belgrade, killing three Chinese state media journalists and outraging the Chinese public.[2] According to the U.S. government, the intention had been to bomb the nearby Yugoslav Federal Directorate for Supply and Procurement (FDSP). President Bill Clinton apologized for the bombing, stating it was an accident.[3][4][5] Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director George Tenet testified before a congressional committee that the bombing was the only one in the campaign organized and directed by his agency,[6] and that the CIA had identified the wrong coordinates for a Yugoslav military target on the same street.[7] The Chinese government issued a statement on the day of the bombing, stating that it was a "barbarian act".[8]The Chinese still remember this action, judging from recent documentaries commemorating the 25 year anniversary of the bombing of Yugoslavia. At the time the Chinese sucked it up, they had no choice perhaps, but Iran of today in relation to Israel does have options.
Comment: The Alexes of The Duran provide a good analysis of the underlying factors:
So far it's all been a chest-beating show. And so far, everyone should be happy and drop it. As one political pundit put it: The question is, will the crazies in Israel recognize that in this instance, they are ahead? Probably not. Stay tuned . . . .