New US sanctions on Iranian-backed militia groups

The death toll from the Hamas massacre at the Re’im music festival on October 7 has been revised to 364, representing almost a third of all deaths during the attack in Israel.

Washington: The United States announces new sanctions against Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS) and its Secretary General, Hashim Finyan Rahim al-Saraji, labeling them as Specially Designated Global Terrorists. “The KSS’s terrorist activities have threatened the lives of both U.S. and Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS personnel in Iraq and Syria,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

Six individuals linked to the Iran-linked militia group Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH) have also been sanctioned by the US Treasury Department.

“Iran, through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its external operations force known as the Qods Force, has supported KSS, KH and other Iran-affiliated militias with training, funding and advanced weapons – including increasingly accurate and lethal unmanned aerial systems,” Blinken said.

“KSS, in coordination with other US-designated organizations, including KH and Harakat al-Nujaba, planned and supported attacks on US personnel.”

“Iran is the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism. “The United States remains committed to using all available tools to counter Iranian support for terrorism and to degrade and disrupt the ability of Iranian-backed groups to conduct terrorist attacks,” Blinken added.

Death toll at Re’im music festival

In the latest update, the death toll from the Hamas massacre at the Re’im music festival on October 7 has been revised to 364, representing almost a third of all deaths during the attack in Israel, The Times of Israel reported. quoting Channel 12.

Surprisingly, the research shows that forty festival goers were taken hostage in Gaza, providing new insights into the scale of the tragedy. Initial counts put the death toll in Re’im at 270, indicating a significant increase in the revised figures.

The security establishment’s current assessment suggests that Hamas was reportedly unaware of the music festival that preceded the massacre, The Times of Israel reported, citing Channel 12 reports.

IDF does not want to keep soldiers in Gaza after the war

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated that the IDF has no intention of keeping soldiers in Gaza after the war, even if Israel retains security control over the Gaza Strip for the foreseeable future. ‘I’m not sure I can keep the troops in. And in fact it is not particularly necessary because it is very small,” Netanyahu told NPR. As for who will rule Gaza after the war: “We need a cultural change in every civilian administration in Gaza. It cannot commit itself to financing terrorism,” Netanyahu said in a swipe at the Palestinian Authority.