‘We don’t fear martyrdom’: New
Hamas political chief issues
first message
July 21st, 12:41pm
(PressTV)
Khalil al-Hayya, the newly elected head of Hamas's political bureau,
has declared in his first message as leader that the Palestinian
resistance will not be intimidated by the killing of its sons
or the martyrdom of its commanders.
"We tell the occupiers that we are the owners of a cause. Neither
the killing of our children nor the martyrdom of our leaders will
frighten us or instill fear in our hearts," Hayya said.
The veteran Hamas leader was elected on Monday,
succeeding Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by
Israeli forces in Gaza in October 2024.
Hayya, a close associate of Sinwar, had served as Hamas's
chief negotiator during ceasefire talks and was seen as a
central figure in the movement after the martyrdom of
Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh.
A native of Gaza born in 1960, Hayya has been part of Hamas
since its founding in 1987 ....and holds a doctorate in
Islamic studies.
Hayya served as Sinwar's deputy and took over leadership
of the movement in Gaza in October 2024.... after
Sinwar's killing.
He has been Hamas's chief negotiator during ceasefire and
captive-release talks, leading delegations in indirect
negotiations with Israel through mediators in
Egypt and Qatar.
Hayya ---- has survived multiple
Israeli assassination attempts.
In September 2025, he survived an Israeli strike that
---- targeted a meeting of Hamas leaders in Doha,
killing five lower-level members of the group,
including one of his sons.
In 2007, an Israeli airstrike on his family home killed eight
relatives. Two more of his sons were killed in previous
Israeli attacks, and a fourth was killed in an Israeli
strike in Gaza in May.
Another son.... Hamza, a field commander in the
Qassam Brigades, was killed in clashes in 2008.
He takes over at a time of intense Israeli aggression
against Gaza, as Hamas continues to resist
the occupation.
__________________________________________
Day 285 of Gaza 'ceasefire':
'Israel' burns alive a
family of six
July 21st, 11:35am
(Al Mayadeen English)
The Israeli occupation continues violating the Gaza ceasefire,
killing Palestinians in strikes across the Strip, including an
entire family in a Gaza City apartment.
The Israeli occupation forces continue to violate the ceasefire
across the Gaza Strip on its 285th day, killing 13 Palestinians
and injuring several others over the past 24 hours,
according to local sources.
In one of the deadliest attacks, Israeli occupation forces struck
a residential apartment belonging to the al-Masri family near
al-Samer Junction in central Gaza City with three missiles,
killing a mother, her son, three of her daughters, and her
husband. The strike also sparked intense fires at the
site, which Civil Defense crews struggled - to bring
under control.
The death toll from an Israeli strike - on the Yemen Al-Saeed shelter
centre in Jabalia refugee camp also rose to four. The victims were
identified as Jamil Hammad Abu Shaqfa and his daughter Noor,
along with Noor Issa and Noor Hamdi Matar.
In central Gaza, Israeli occupation aircraft --- targeted a motorcycle,
killing Muhannad Abu Ghazal, a resident of the Al-Maghazi refugee
camp. Earlier, an Israeli drone struck a Tucson vehicle near the
British Hospital in southwestern Al-Mawasi, Khan Younis,
killing three Palestinians and injuring several others.
Nasser Hospital identified the victims as Alaa Mohammad Shaat,
director of a security company operating in southern Gaza,
Hamada Abu Nahia, and Mahmoud Ibrahim Al-Farra.
Seven others were injured in the attack.
Meanwhile, Mahmoud Saleh Abu Mohammad succumbed to wounds
sustained in an Israeli strike on a vehicle near al-Ghafari Junction
in Gaza City. The attack injured 14 Palestinians, three of whom
remain... in a critical condition.
Over 1,000 Palestinians
killed since 'ceasefire'
According to the daily statistical report on casualties resulting from
the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, hospitals across Gaza
received the bodies of 10 Palestinians over the past 24 hours,
including nine newly killed Palestinians and one who
succumbed to previously sustained injuries.
A further 42 Palestinians were treated
for injuries.
The report warned that several victims remain trapped beneath
the rubble or stranded on roads, while ambulance and Civil
Defense crews remain unable to reach them.... due to
the ongoing Israeli obstruction.
Since the so-called ceasefire began on October 11, a total of 1,168
Palestinians have been killed and 3,798 injured, while 802 bodies
have been recovered from beneath the rubble.
Since the beginning of the Israeli genocide on October 7, 2023, the
cumulative death toll in Gaza has reached 73,293, while 173,906
Palestinians have been injured.
"They Lied to You."
Launched on July 16 in Arabic and English, the campaign
brings together journalists, aid workers, children from
#Gaza, and supporters worldwide -- to challenge the
perception that Gaza's suffering ended with the
Oct. 10, 2025 ceasefire.
Source: Al Mayadeen English + Gaza Health Ministry
_____________________________________________________
Commander: Yemen turned into major
regional power, ready to enforce new
deterrence against Saudi Arabia
July 21st, 10:21am
(PressTV)
Yemen’s coastal defense commander - says the Arab country
has become a major regional power with military capabilities
that enable it to impose a new deterrence balance, stressing
that a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia .........has already
taken effect.
In a statement on Tuesday, Major General Mohammed al-Qadri,
the commander of Yemen's Coastal Defense Forces, warned
Saudi Arabia that it must either end its years-long blockade
and intervention against Yemen or face the consequences
of a further escalation.
“The decision to ban shipping for the Saudi enemy came into force
immediately on Monday afternoon,” he said, stressing that the
Yemeni armed forces possess the naval combat capabilities
needed to enforce the measure and prevent Saudi vessels
from transiting the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, “just as
we did with the Zionist enemy.”
Yemen has become a powerful regional force with military
capabilities that allow it to impose a new deterrence
balance, the commander emphasized, saying that
Riyadh now has only two options, “either lift the
blockade and end its intervention or continue
escalating, a course that will carry
a heavy price.”
Qadri further stressed that “we are fully prepared to enforce the
equation: blockade for blockade, airport for airport, and port
for port,” while slamming the Arab kingdom - for spending
the four years of the UN- and Omani-mediated ceasefire
delaying implementation of the agreements reached.
The commander added that “economic security is no longer
separate from military security,” stressing that Yemen's
options remain unlimited and that its forces are at
the highest level of readiness.
Separately, Yemen's foreign ministry also said in a statement
that Saudi Arabia continues to treat Yemen - “as though it
were a territory under its control.”
It added that the Saudi regime "arrogantly deals with the Yemeni
people as if allowing ships carrying food and medicine to enter
their ports were a favour,” condemning Riyadh's approach to
the humanitarian situation.
The ministry stressed that Saudi Arabia must withdraw from Yemeni
territory and end its military campaign and blockade, warning that
otherwise “it should prepare itself for what lies ahead,” in a
reference to the consequences of maintaining its
current policies.
“Saudi Arabia tries to hide behind its mercenaries, but the 250,000
Saudi airstrikes carried out against Yemen over the past 12 years
reveal the reality of what has taken place”, the ministry said,
noting that the scale of the campaign - exposes Riyadh's
direct role in the conflict.
In its statement, the ministry further asserted that Saudi Arabia
should recognize that “the status of Riyadh Airport should be
the same as Sana'a Airport,” adding that the ports of Yanbu,
Jizan and other Saudi ports should likewise face conditions
comparable to those imposed on Yemen's Hudaydah Port.
“The list of Saudi Arabia’s crimes and the suffering inflicted on the
Yemeni people during this period of aggression and criminal acts
is very long,” the ministry noted, adding that Riyadh would find
“returning to the path of reason, fairness and justice far less
costly than persisting in aggression.”
Yemen imposes naval blockade against
Saudi Arabia in tit-for-tat move
Yemen has declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia,
with the country’s military spokesman stressing that it will
come into effect - immediately.
Concluding its statement, Yemen's foreign ministry warned that
“Saudi Arabia’s deception, obstinacy and arrogance will bring
it no benefit; they will only add to its list of crimes and
injustice - and ultimately - lead to its downfall.”
“Yemen’s demand - is clear: full independence, uncompromising
sovereignty and its legitimate rights, nothing more and nothing
less, and the Yemeni people will accept nothing short of that,”
it further stressed.
Tensions flared between Riyadh and Sana’a earlier this month when
Saudi Arabia bombed Sana’a International Airport to prevent the
landing of an Iranian plane carrying a delegation of Yemeni
officials. The plane, however, landed safely in the port
city of Hudaydah.
Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched the blockade on Yemen, as
part of a full-scale war in March 2015 ----- with military, political, and
logistical support from the United States and other Western states.
The war has killed tens of thousands of Yemenis, while falling short
of its main objective of restoring power to Yemen’s former Riyadh-
friendly regime.
The government ....had fled the country amid a power struggle,
prompting Ansarullah, Yemen’s popular resistance movement,
to start running state affairs.
Following a fragile UN-brokered ceasefire in 2022, the US, UK,
and the Israeli regime waged many rounds of wholesale
aggression against Yemen.
The attacks sought to cripple Sana’a’s capability to stage
solidarity strikes against Israeli targets in response to
Tel Aviv’s war of genocide on the Gaza Strip.
___________________________________________
IRGC declares ‘dark night for US radars’;
Army ---- strikes three bases in Kuwait
July 21st, 6:21am
(PressTV)
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says it has destroyed
multiple US military radar and communications facilities in the
region, while the Army reports drone strikes --- on three US
bases in Kuwait, in ongoing retaliation for US violations.
The announcements were made in a series of statements issued
early on Tuesday, describing the latest phases of the IRGC’s
Operation Nasr- (Victory) 2 ....and the Army’s Operation
Sa'eqeh (Lightning), in response to the US' renewed
aggression against the Islamic Republic.
In its first statement, the IRGC said the second phase of wave 24 of
Operation Nasr-2 targeted infrastructure supporting US military air
defense operations in Kuwait. The Corps said the latest phase
was staged “to clear the way by eliminating obstacles to
large-scale air and missile operations” ---- against US
targets in the region.
According to the statement, missiles and drones -- struck and
destroyed - a long-range radar site, a communications centre,
satellite reception systems, and a missile defense radar
belonging to the “child-killing US military” stationed
in Kuwait.
The IRGC also said an MQ-9 drone hangar at Ali al-Salem Airbase
was hit in the country, adding that several drones were either
destroyed or severely damaged as a result.
Addressing the Iranian nation, the Corps vowed, “The punitive
operation carried out by your sons [in the IRGC] continues.”
In a second statement issued later, the IRGC said it had carried out
another strike against US air defense assets at Ahmad al-Jaber
Airbase in Kuwait. The statement said an early warning radar,
a missile defense radar system, an FPS-117 radar, a Patriot
air defense system, and a satellite communications
system supporting air defense operations --
were struck and destroyed.
IRGC released footage of Kheibar Shekan, Fateh-110, Zolfaghar,
and Emad missiles launched during waves 21 and 22 of
Operation Nasr 2, targeting US positions in the region
with precision tactical strikes.
“The brave sons of a powerful Iran delivered crushing blows to the
desperate enemy. As the dark night continued for US radar and
air defense systems across the region,” the Corps stated.
“Following this radar suppression operation, the enemy should
prepare for more decisive and heavier waves... of drone and
missile attacks.”
‘Region no place for US aggressors’: IRGC asserts
as it announces destroying F-15 warplane
Later, the Corps announced the latest stage of its efforts to
incapacitate the US regional radar capabilities, describing
yet another strike that “destroyed a missile-defense radar
system at a US base in Jordan and destroyed an F-15
fighter aircraft inside its shelter.”
“This region is no place for the American aggressors.
The child-killing US military must leave our region
to prevent further casualties.”
Separately, the Army's Public Relations Office said the 19th
phase of its Operation Sa'eqeh targeted three US military
bases in Kuwait, using loitering attack drones.
According to the statement, the operation ---- targeted the
administrative buildings and direction-finding antennas
at Camp Arifjan, plus the helicopter parking area at
al-Udairi Camp, and the troop accommodation
building at Ahmad al-Jaber Airbase.
The Army said the operation was carried out “in response
to repeated acts of aggression and repeated breaches of
commitments by the ‘Great Satan (the United States).’”
Concluding the statement, the Army lamented that regional
security had been compromised by the hostile actions of
US forces, adding that Iran's Armed Forces were
seeking, through their confrontation with the
United States, to restore security and
stability to the region.
The United States has perpetrated numerous violations against
Iranian territory since April 7 when US President Donald Trump,
ordered a ''unilateral ceasefire'' in the latest bout of US-
Israeli aggression --- targeting the Islamic Republic.
The violations continued even after Washington and Tehran signed
a Pakistan-mediated memorandum of understanding last month,
whose first clause clearly mandates a cessation of aggression
on all fronts.
The US has also been trying to help vessels evade the maritime
route designated by the Islamic Republic for safe and legal
passage through the Strait of Hormuz by seeking to
escort trespassing vessels .......through an
illegal passageway.
Iran's Armed Forces, have staged uncompromising retaliation
in the face of each instance of a violation, including those in
support of illegal vessel movements in the Strait of Hormuz.