right there out 1st in from the middle east institute in washington dc. thank you. the u. s. military says several soldiers, i've been injured at any mess, a lot talk and i had base in western iraq. united states central command says the round back minutes ends launched multiple ms 1000 rockets on the outside database. it said that most of the projects i was waiting to separate, but some struck the facility. the us mitre has face to thousands of attacks by to around allies fights as rock and syria says that these are all how my support staff that in october. now those attacks in syria and your acts come i'm, it opened divisions between these are all and it's closest ally to us little guys as future when the war against how much ends is what a prime minister mean. you mean it's yahoo? repeated his a position to buy this thing and sovereignty statement issued on saturday to appear to control the suggestions from us. president joe biden documents and yahoo might accept the creation of a palestinian state as ease rose military winds down. it's a position in the north of guys,

alex alex with tanka from the middle east institute in washington dc. thank you. has paula on the israel have continued to exchange rocket fire a day after the killing of a hum us leader in the lebanese capital as bullet plains, israel for the attack, although it has remained unclaimed. israel generally refrains from commenting on strikes in other countries, but officials have previously said they would target hamas leaders wherever they are of the waving the most flag protesters in ramallah voice. the supports in tango this evening in the occupied westbank was the home town of cell a ring, a high ranking from us official was killed in a striking bay route on tuesday. well, natalie got in. defies his crazy hysterical event. newly and preventative is israel field and that he and is experiencing a kind of defeat. oh no, i'm in the mail. it knows full well. yeah, there's no victory for it. yeah, no they. so now they've got mean and decided la sala, rory was deputy, to have mazda is leda is male, hon. yeah, and the group's kaylee a's on we've has the law in lebanon si

i spoke to gerald fasting from the middle east institute in the us. they explained why that members of the reunion revolutionary got in syria. as i think that of course this has been ongoing for a really, since the beginning of the arab spring revolts and in syria in 2000 out, the iranians have been r t. i support or for bizarre, less that is your reporter said and have provided a great deal of material as well as intelligence support i to the syrians and they have also used syria as a critical transfer. uh, transmission point uh for their support for his blah, blah. and so are they, uh, they have a target of the as railways for quite a few years now. i mean, a run blames these are out for the attack. how likely is by the new opinion. i would say that given the nature of the attack, it's almost certain that it was the as rallies. i don't think anyone else in the region would have either the capacity or the goal of hitting that particular target. so i would say is 99.9 percent certain there was israel, that definitely cs i'll say about escalation. the

alex for tanka is um, a ron aspects out the middle east institute in washington. we invited him to speculate somebody who might have done this. the ball to be honest, is too early to point the finger at any one group. what we have seen so far uh, in terms of the range and announcements. we've had the re minutes of interior making the claim to the us and his real were involved. but they made this a sort of almost generic. it's almost a knee jerk reaction that you often hear from senior leaders without providing the evidence. as i said, it's a political statement, not reflecting any kind of serious investigation. one thing i do note of is that i least dominated supreme leader in his statement. reacting to the bombings did not point the finger i the united states israel or anybody else for that matter. and i think that is probably a reflection of the fact that the ringing authorities right now. a do not know who's behind it and be they don't know what their next step ought to be. but these 2 bombings did happen to the province of care mon, which is relatively in the

alex alex of a tank of from the middle east institute in washington dc. thank you. a hezbollah and israel have continued to exchange rock and fire a day after the killing of a hamas leader in the lebanese capital bank. route has bought, blames israel for the attack, although it has remained on claimed. israel generally refrains from commenting on strikes in other countries, but officials have previously said they would targets hamas leaders wherever they are. waiving the most flag protesters in ramallah voice, the supports in tango this evening and the occupied westbank was the home town of cell. a ruling high rankings from us official was killed in a striking bay route on tuesday. natalie got into cause his crazy hysterical event new need the preventative is israel field and that he and is experiencing a kind of defeat. oh no, i'm in the mail. it knows full well. yeah, there's no victory for it. yeah. and that way. so now they've got mean and decided law, a sallow re, was deputy to him. mazda is lita, is smell honey, a and the groups k liaison weed has the law in l

alex alex of a tank of from the middle east institute in washington dc. thank you. meanwhile, fairs are rising that the israel guys, a war could spread after the killing of a top. com us official in an explosion in 11 on the deputy political leader of the militant group was killed in the strike on an apartment building in b route 6. other people also died 11 on state run news agencies that the attack was carried out by israel. the is ready, government has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement. the aftermath of a deadly strike in the heart of 11 on one of her master's most senior figures was killed by an explosion in this apartment building in the suburbs of ben root, i saw the how the rudy was deputy thomas's political leader, smiled honey and a founder of the groups military wing that caught some brigades from us as designated as a tear group by the u. s. and e. u. among others. not only was on a u. s. terrace list, he had to spend years and is really prisons. at the time of his death, i don't, he was living and loving on as how mosse is keeley is

we are going to speak now to the senior fellow at the middle east institute, a think tank.nk you for coming on the program. >> my pleasure. >> what was your reaction to the speech? >> what israel is trying to do here, israel was in fact behind this estimation of a hamas leader yesterday in beirut. trying to force hezbollah's hand. they have a preference for what is referred to for his own warfare, a simmering conflict on the border, harassing it in order to help hamas but not really escalating into a full confrontation of the bladder war with israel, if you may. it is putting hezbollah in this binary choice position. you retaliate and risk a major war with israel which hezbollah does not want or you capitulate which would then allow israel to rewrite the rules of engagement. really, the rules of conflict. it opens the door open to furtr israeli assassinations on hezbollah's turf in lebanon so it was a difficult position and what weeard from the speech is that mattarella -- is that there was a lot of chest son. he said israel would pay the price, did not say how or when. hez

guest: the middle east institute is the oldest middle east focused institute in washington. nonpartisan, nonprofit organization. it is funded by a wide array of sources, all of that information is on our website, sources from the u.s., europe and middle east itself. host: let's start off going straight to the middle east, straight to the israel-hamas conflict. we know that secretary of state antony blinken is currently in the middle east. the new york times has a little bit about that visit. it says that secretary of state antony blinken is returning to the middle east this week with the goals of getting israel to curtail attacks that are killing thousands of palestinian civilians and preventing the war from spreading across the region. that sounds like quite the agenda. guest: yeah, that is a tough ticket for the secretary. the united states was urging israel and was hoping that by january, by this month, the war in gaza would be winding down and the u.s. military had advised the israelis to transition to a different type of warfare, more targeted, more specific assassinati

guest: the middle east institute is the oldest middle east focused institute in washington.partisan, nonprofit organization. it is funded by a wide array of sources, all of that information is on our website, sources from the u.s., europe and middle east itself. host: let's start off going straight to the middle east, straight to the israel-hamas conflict. we know that secretary of state antony blinken is currently in the middle east. the new york times has a little bit about that visit. it says that secretary of state antony blinken is returning to the middle east this week with the goals of getting israel to curtail attacks that are killing thousands of palestinian civilians and preventing the war from spreading across the region. that sounds like quite the agenda. guest: yeah, that is a tough ticket for the secretary. the united states was urging israel and was hoping that by january, by this month, the war in gaza would be winding down and the u.s. military had advised the israelis to transition to a different type of warfare, more targeted, more specific assassinations,

so that's important for us to alex, the tank of director of the run program at the middle east institute is the retainer . we appreciate your time and your analysis tonight. thank you. thank you for the day continues online, you'll find this on the x also known as twitter and youtube and dw news. you can follow them. be of grand golf tv. and remember what ever happens between now and then tomorrow is another day. we'll see you then everybody the inside gaza. it's been more than 100 days since the most here attacks on israel dw reporter mohammed can lose lives and works in the gaza strip. he has been documenting life there since the outbreak of the war. the humanitarian situation is catastrophic. the war and its consequences. close up. in 15 minutes, on the double, you shift your guides to life and it did to to 6. you know, the latest online trend, navigate your way through the digital jungle. global perspective will be you'll guide and show you what's possible really message to you sit in 45 minutes on the w the no. i'm just trying to have his face and make the right decision. dw news on

so that's important for us to alex, the tank of director of the run program at the middle east institute is the retainer . we appreciate your time and your analysis tonight. thank you. thank you for the day continues online. you'll find this on the x also known as twitter, and youtube and dw news. you can follow them, be of grand golf tv. and remember whatever happens between now and then tomorrow is another day. we'll see you then everybody, the maritime trade and tourism can be powerful sources of beauty, nomic growth. but they come with greater risk than before. container shipping is vulnerable to both accidents and political conflict. crew ships caused considerable environmental damage. can we still afford these enormous vessels made in germany next on d, w? they also will be stopping pounds and they make fuel lines. how aches and pains? why do we have any useful and how do they align? what we're. ready paying hope therapies are available news for modern pain research in good shape. in 60 minutes on d, w, the 1st, vantage sourcing, it's one of sam wares. and he knows how to use this,

so that's important for us to alex, the tank of director of the run program at the middle east institute. mr. battalion, we appreciate your time and your analysis tonight. thank you. thank you for the day continues online you'll find is on the x also known as twitter and youtube and dw news. you can follow me if brent dot tv have remember whatever happens between now and then tomorrow is another day. we'll see you then everybody the thinking as a network thing, as one it show about vision range and bed project, the challenges that can be tackled together for a future worth living with a king for a more united wealth next on dw, go for some 4000 pod cast fish, a large fish farm and nigeria is making a successful investment in a sustainable future. possible culture is becoming increasingly important when it comes to feeding the country's population. in 60 minutes on d, w, the suspension. it's wanted to say a word. and he knows how to use this this guy knows about energy in a way that these as much structures have no idea. it's been pretty clear, especially of late. the energy often can be

firas maksad, a senior fellow at the middle east - fellow at the middle east institute, always good too talk to ou. ., ~ i. meanwhile in tel aviv, thousands of israelis are rallying in the streets, demanding the government does more to secure the release of hostages in gaza. protesters called for elections for a new government. the protests come as prime minister benjamin netanyahu again insisted israel should retain security control over all the palestinian territories. he said this condition was "contrary" to a future palestinian state being established, defying pressure from the us and others to commit to future palestinian statehood. our middle east correspondent mark lowen reports from jerusalem. in gaza's skies, where bombs have rained down, not an israeli attack, but an israeli appeal — for information on the hostages seized by hamas. around 130 are still not home. how many are dead is unknown. the subtext from israel — "this is why we're still on the offensive." but in israel, at the prime minister's residence, angerfrom families of the missing who want him to do more to get th

correspondent who joined us in the studio now, his senior researcher, research fellow at the middle east institute national university of singapore. thank you so much for your time. the conflict is so complex and there are so many moving parts in the region, can you break down why this is happening and why it happening now?— happening now? there are different — happening now? there are different things _ happening now? there are different things at - happening now? there are different things at the - happening now? there are. different things at the same time and is what we are seeing, both local issues that have not been solved, in yemen, we have a conflict that has been going on since 201a, between the houthi's and government which was supported by saudi arabia. at the same time, you have levin on where you had sent to,000 and six, a situation where was more or less stable which was not sold between hezbollah backed by iran and israel on the other side. —— levin on. when the war in gaza started in october, this triggered all this conflict to escalate. so, iwouldn�*t triggered all this conflict t

so that's important for us to alex, the tank of director of the run program at the middle east institute is the retainer. we appreciate your time and your analysis tonight. thank you. thank you. or for the day continues online, you'll find this on the x also known as twitter and youtube and dw news. you can follow me if brent dot tv have remember what ever happens between now and then. tomorrow is another day. we'll see you then everybody. the other 77 percent coming to you from monrovia checking on a relationship between this and paid our teeth. it's recently based. we have some controversial views about the role of women in liberia. yeah, ruth was surprised to min both men and women, women's potential. it's way beyond just taking care of the 77 percent next on d, w thinking as a network thing, as one a show about vision raised a big project together for a future worth living. working for a more united world. the 60 minutes on d w. the faithful encounter in the late 19 seventy's former concentration comes inmates, no most meisner meant the man who had to maintain him. go stop bogged, kn

we have to wait and see how these photographers from the middle east institute in washington are the leader of the lab. and on based has belong militia, has promised retaliation over the killing of a how mass tough officially by routes on wednesday, as blog blames as well for the attack. although there has been no claimant responsibility. israel generally doesn't comment on strikes and other countries, but officials have previously said that they would target how much leaders, wherever the hell i'm asked, is classified as i tied a risk group by multiple countries. waiving the most flag, protest is in ramallah voice. the supports in tango this evening and the occupied westbank was a certain town of cell, a ruling high ranking. some official was killed in a striking by roots on tuesday. well, natalie got into the cause is crazy. hysterical revenge. you know, need the preventative is israel field and that he and is experiencing a kind of defeat. oh no, i'm in the mail. it knows full well. yeah, there's no victory for it. yeah, no, they so 90 got mean and decided la salo, rory was deputy

the tanka director of the run program at the middle east institute in washington dc. mister tank. it's good to have you with this, this, this growing involvement of iran, proxies what is driving all of it? is it all about the war in gaza? you know, i think in many ways we really need to go back to the creation of this nomic republic back in 1979 and i told the home and he came to power. he kind of create an agenda that this is his successor. it's a lot, harmony was being powers is $89.00, have been pursuing, which is basically the 2 colors of this regional agenda as to end the state of israel as we know it and to push the united states out of the region. and i think, you know, this island republic is to be pretty fateful and sticking to this agenda at a very high cost. so the radian nation of people, but that's what we are at. now. having said that, on the one hand, well they do want to push the united states out of the region and confront israel. as we've heard the radio supreme didn't say himself in many of occasions since october 7 arrived is not in the business of confronting

firas maksad, a senior fellow at the middle east institute. good to have your analysis. thank you.is using north koeran ballistic missiles against ukraine. it says russia used the missiles in at least two attacks this week. the us also says russia is also engaged in talks with iran to obtain close—range ballistic missiles. white house national security council spokesman john kirby condemned the moves. this is a significant and concerning escalation and the dprk support for russia. in return principle we assess that pyongyang is seeking military assistance from russia including fighter aircraft, surface—to—air missiles, armoured vehicles, ballistic missiles production equipment or materials and other advanced technologies. the most effective response to the russian horrific males against ukrainian people is continue providing you create with vital our defence capabilities and other military equipment and to do that we need congress to approve out supplemental request for ukraine without delay. republicans in congress have blocked president biden's $61 billlion request for aid to ukr

firas maksad is a senior fellow at the middle east institute think tank, and an adjunct professor at university. i spoke to him a little earlier about the spreading regional unrest from the conflict in gaza. i'd like to start with the killing of the deputy hamas leader in beirut. and that impacting on the hezbollah stronghold. the leader of hezbollah hassan nazrallah spoke yesterday, he said that this would not go unpunished but he seemed ambiguous as to exactly what a response could be. what do you think hezbollah might do, if anything? hassan nasrallah did not give it away yesterday, he will talk again tomorrow, and we will all tune into that, and perhaps it will reveal some more. it's important to point out that the current status quo that has prevailed over the past 2.5 months since the conflict in gaza started suits hezbollah very well. hezbollah and their iranian sponsors very much prefer a grey zone warfare, taking the fight to israel in the form of cross border skirmishes and harassment, forcing it to divert resources and soldiers up to the northern border away from gaza, a w

earlier, i spoke with firas maksad, a senior fellow at the middle east institute.begin by putting this in context for us. israel says it doesn't usually, it doesn't comment on its operations abroad, but there is a background to this in terms of the military presence of iran in syria. explain that to us firstly. absolutely. killing a senior intelligence commander, a iranian senior commander in damascus, syria, has all the hallmarks of an israeli operation. they have done it before. recently israel dealt a blow to iran by assassinating its top commander for syria, lebanon, and arrive. so although israel has a tradition of not outright admitting its role in such an assassination, it certainly has all the hallmarks of israel being behind it. after that, very swiftly, we heard from iran vowing to have a response, vowing revenge. what do you anticipate we could potentially see here? i think to say that this is an israel versus hamas conflict is to be missing the forest for the trees. this is no longer an israel hamas conflict. this is a conflict between iran, its allies

live now to firas maksad, senior fellow at the middle east institute.tion to the speech? i programme. what was your reaction to the seech? ., programme. what was your reaction to the seech? ~ ., programme. what was your reaction to the seech? ~ . , ., , the speech? i think what israel is t in: to the speech? i think what israel is trying to do _ the speech? i think what israel is trying to do is — the speech? i think what israel is trying to do is to _ the speech? i think what israel is trying to do is to assume - the speech? i think what israel is trying to do is to assume israel i the speech? i think what israel is i trying to do is to assume israel was in fact behind the assassination of the hamas leader yesterday in peru, is trying to force his brother's hand. really having a preference to warfare, really the simmering conflict keeping israel engage, harassing in order to help hamas but not really escalating into that full confrontation of a broader war with israel, if you may. yesterday's assassination really putting his brother and his binary choi

for the region, we turn to the director of conflict resolution and dialogues program at the middle east institutes me from beirut. tell us a little more about the man who was assassinated. what should we know about him and what is his death mean? >> he was the deputy chair of the political arm of hamas. he was also in charge of hamas operations in the west bank. he was one of the founders of that wing of hamas. more importantly, he is someone who has been closely involved in the relationship between iran, hamas, and hezbollah. there has been a rift between hamas and iran and hezbollah. after the beginning of the civil war in syria. the hamas decision to side not with the regime but with the opposition. hamas left damascus at the time. over the last five years, he has been involved in leading negotiations between hamas, iran, and hezbollah. >> what is the impact of his death on hamas as an organization? >> it can survive his death. it has survived in the past the death of other leaders who were assassinated over the years by israel. it will be in the short term an organization that will be difficu

he is a senior fellow and director of the iran programe at the middle east institute.ews, mr vatanka. why suddenly is this iran—backed militia committing to not attack us forces any more? have they done it themselves or on iranian orders? i think the reason is they fear major american retaliation and that is why they have come out and basically promised to suspend these attacks which have been going on since october the 18th. to date we are talking around 166 attack in iraq and syria. this time, as we havejust heard, we had iraq and syria. this time, as we have just heard, we had three american soldiers killed. so we entered a new chapter and that is why there is an element of panic, notjust among the iraqi militants behind the attack, but in the islamic republic of iran which seems to be responsible and behind many of these groups. the iranians are very busy trying to create distance between themselves and the iraqi militant groups. ketaib hezbollah said it was "to prevent embarrassment of the iraqi government". help us udnerstand that? that could well be the case, bu

nadia was born and raised in yemen and is a scholar at the middle east institute in washington, d.c. thank you for being was. and how will the u.s.-led strikes against houti targets in yemen? how will that affect the litant groups moving forward in your view? >> well, the houthis have surviveed intense air strikes from the saudis and amradis and they survived that and emerged stronger than before. so air strikes might neutral lies the houthi threat shipping but that will be temporarily. >> what impact will these air strikes have? >> they are concerned about these air strikes because they lived the horrors of air strikes for eight years. and these air strikes caused a lot of civilian casualties a lot of destruction but also they made the houthis stronger. so yemenies don't want to go through another episode of air strikes that only benefit the houthies at the expense of the yemenies. houthis are extremely unpopular. but they're using the gaza war and the war with israel and america, that they're at war with israel and america, they're using that to oppress the population and silence c

geoff: ndaw al-sware is is a non-resident scholar at the middle east institute in washington. >> thankou for having me. ♪ amna: today marks 97 days of the war in gaza and the humanitarian toll on its population has been devastating. according to the un, 90 percent of gazans are displaced. more than one in four are starving. there's not a single hospital there that is fully functional. communications are severely limited. earlier today, ali rogin was able to speak with a representative from the un's relief agency through a shaky internet connection for an update about what's happening on the ground. >> the world food program recently tweeted that everyone in gaza is hungry. can you give us a sense of how dire the situation is right now? >> there are proximlly 1.4 million currently displaced people here. the only food most people have is what comes in through crossing over, not enough to accommodate the basic needs for this many people. i have seen a convoy where people are chasing the convoy down the street because they are desperate to get any food they can. we did have a convoy that m

for more on this, i spoke to nadwa al—dawsari, a yemeni conflict analyst at the middle east institute, and asked her would the strikes against houthi target would produce required results 7 short answer no. the houthis have endured five years of air strikes by the saudi led coalition and they emerged stronger. the houthis have probably already stashed most of their weapons in in storage weapons in storage facilities that the us and the uk cannot reach or detect. we've seen also from the development how the houthis are also showing no sign of willingness to stop these areas. these attacks in the red sea. what do you think the international community should be doing? well, i think the international community should be strategic. the houthis have proven to be a strategic threat to not only to international shipping, but also to security in the region. and the houthis control 70% of the yemeni population. they recruit children. they indoctrinate children. so the houthis plan is long term, and the houthis are a transnational movement with a religious fundamentalist agenda. their goal is to

us ambassador to yemen under president 0bama who's now a distinguished senior fellow at the middle east institutee conflict to the wider region. i think the reality is that the houthi movement is really about 25 years old. they were initially a political movement, a religious revival movement, became a conflict with the former government for a number of years before, of course, the events of 2011, the arab spring, and then their overthrow of the transitional government and the beginning of the civil war. so this is a group that has grown in strength and significance over the years. i don't think that it was possible to turn them back because they really tapped into some very real issues within yemen, and now more broadly in the region. does america bear some responsibility for their rise, and now their power within the region? their original position that really raised their profile was anti—americanism in the period after 2001, the global war on terror, and the impact that that had in yemen. so, you know, there is a us components, if you will, to the growth of the houthi movement, no doubt about

us ambassador to yemen under president 0bama who's now a distinguished senior fellow at the middle east institutew this conflict that we just the report about, is spreading in the entire region, especially given your experience. the rise of the houthi has been incredible in the last three years but could there rise have been prevented? it’s three years but could there rise have been prevented?— three years but could there rise have been prevented? it's a pleasure to be with you _ have been prevented? it's a pleasure to be with you tonight _ have been prevented? it's a pleasure to be with you tonight i _ have been prevented? it's a pleasure to be with you tonight i think- have been prevented? it's a pleasure to be with you tonight i think the - to be with you tonight i think the reality is that the houthi movement, israeli, about 25 years old —— is really about 25 years old, the geopolitical movement, irreligious revival movement, became a confit with the former government for a number of years before, of course, the events of 2011 among the arab spring, there overthrow of the transitional governm

us ambassador to yemen under president 0bama who's now a distinguished senior fellow at the middle east instituteconflict to the wider region. it seems that the us is increasingly getting swept up increasingly getting swept up in this conflict. how is that likely —— what's the response likely —— what's the response likely to be to that? it’s likely -- what's the response likely to be to that?— likely to be to that? it's a very complicated - likely to be to that? it's a | very complicated situation likely to be to that? it's a i very complicated situation in the red sea. the administration had three priorities in dealing with what's happening with the red sea. 0ne with what's happening with the red sea. one was to protect the right of innocent passage for commercial vessels that were sailing through the red sea. secondly was to avoid expanding the conflict beyond gaza. and the conflict beyond gaza. and the third was not to undermine prospects for political resolution — the yemen conflict. as we've gone farther, the need to address the threat to shipping has become the highest priority for the admi

latest developments in the middle east, i spoke with gerald feierstein, former us ambassador to yemen and distinguished senior fellow on us diplomacy at the middle east institutenow president biden has now decided on taking action but we do not know what it is and what it will look like but given your experience in the region, what would you expect him to do? a, what would you expect him to do? �* , . , what would you expect him to do? ~ , ., , ., what would you expect him to do? �* , ., , ., , what would you expect him to do? a pleasure to be with you toniuht, do? a pleasure to be with you tonight, katrina. _ do? a pleasure to be with you tonight, katrina. what - do? a pleasure to be with you tonight, katrina. what i - tonight, katrina. whati anticipate is that the us will focus its response on those groups it believes are responsible. these other pro—iranian militias that are operating in iraq and syria. and perhaps to expand beyond that, to after some of the iranian revolutionary guard personnel, who are aiding and assisting these groups to carry out these attacks. i do not think, as the president said, i don't think the administration is really looking at

our yemeni conflict analyst at the middle east institute in washington, and asked her would the strikesthi target would produce required results. no, they have air strikes. they emerged stronger. these have probably stacked most of their weapons in storage facilities that the us and uk cannot reach or detect. we have seen also from the development how the houthis also showing no sign of winning or to stop these attacks in the red sea. what do ou think attacks in the red sea. what do you think the — attacks in the red sea. what do you think the international- you think the international community should be doing? 1 think they should be community should be doing? i think they should be strategic. houthis have proven be a strategic threat to not only to international shipping but also to security in the region. the houthis control 70% of the yemen population. they recruit children, indoctrinate children, indoctrinate children, so their plan is long—term. the houthis are a transnational group with a religion list fundamental sector. their goal is to establish a theocracy in yemen. from ther

and highland, i'm getting the senior fellow at the middle east institute in washington dc. i wanna thank you both for joining me today. then i'm going to start with you since october 7th, israel has consistently reiterated about to destroy from us. it's estimated that from us has 30000 fighters at least, uh, and by these really armies own records in its own account. the air strikes me attacks of killed somewhere around $1.00 to 2000 have mass fighters, given the level of destruction that we see so far a given the current situation on the ground is a military victory for is really impossible. you know, but that's not what they watch it from the beginning mark their idea of destroy him . us is code for destroyed casa, and anybody who's been watching those knows that this is what exactly what is real means. and that's why you see that the vast majority, 62 percent of those have been killed, are pulse any and children under the age of 18 and women. and so all along with their attempt has never been to destroy him, ask because they know that that's not achievable. and this is no

live now to firas maksad, a senior fellow at the middle east institute.u with us on the bbc, begin, if you would, by putting this in context for us, israel says it does not usually comment on its operations abroad, but there is a background to this in terms of iran military presence being targeted in syria. explain that to us, firstly. targeted in syria. explain that to us. firstly-— to us, firstly. absolutely, the operation _ to us, firstly. absolutely, the operation today, _ to us, firstly. absolutely, the operation today, killing - to us, firstly. absolutely, the operation today, killing a - operation today, killing a senior iranian intelligence commander in damascus, syria, has all the hallmarks of art assassination. they have done this many times before, recently, israel dealt a significant blow to iran by accessing it in its top commander at fort syria, lebanon and iraq month by all means, if israel has an tradition of not outright admit and its role in such a tradition, it has the hallmarks of israel being behind it. after that, swiftly we heard fr

feierstein, former us ambassador to yemen and distinguished senior fellow on us diplomacy at the middle east instituteyou forjoining us on bbc news. we knowjoe biden has now decided on taking action, we don't know what that is what it will look like, but given your experience in the region, what would you expect him to do? fix, would you expect him to do? pleasure to be with you tonight. what i anticipate is that the us will focus its response on those groups that it believes are responsible, these are the pro iranians militias operating in iraq and syria and perhaps to expand beyond that to go after some of the irani and revolutionary guard personnel who are aiding and assisting these groups to carry out these attacks. i don't think, as the president said, the administration is looking at going directly into iran. understanding that would risk much expanded conflict with the iranians.— risk much expanded conflict with the iranians. what sort of tar: ets with the iranians. what sort of targets with — with the iranians. what sort of targets with a _ with the iranians. what sort of targets with a be _ wi

general philip breedlove, former nato supreme allied commander, a distinguished chair at the middle east institute. general, thank you very much for being here this afternoon. as you listen to the president say that he has a plan for retaliation, what goes through your mind, what do you think should happen at this point in what has become an increasing difficult messy situation? >> well, thanks for having me on. i am absolutely sure by this time the centcom commander has delivered a range of actions to the president. those will include very impactful actions all the way down to the sort of regular actions that we've been taking for some time now. now it will be up to our president to decide which of those he chooses and how he chooses to send a clear message now to iran because it's apparent they haven't heard him yet. >> martha: so when you look at the options that are on the table here, you know, the "wall street journal" has said that they need to go directly after the assets of iran. they say there's been an iranian spy ship going through the red sea. they suggest one option would be to put th

middle east conflict or a direct conflict with iran. otherwise, house for us that can be how it could. thank you. well, if you're as much so there's a senior fellow at the middle east institute, he says this rails one goes that has resulted in why the geo political tensions between the us and the wrong. i've been saying for some time now that the, the, the say that this is now is where else from us war is the missed the forest for the trees. this is now and iranian american compet taishan. that's the result of the default that's fell apart between the 2 countries and it fell apart under the pressure and the burden is the war a casa. so yes, what's happening in guns are, is reverberating throughout the region. the american iranian, because that was a cheap, didn't last may that a lot for moving of these various theaters of conflict across the region and the non understanding of the threshold of which one is allowed to enrich uranium that has now completely come apart. so we need to see some kind of resolution to the conflict in jobs at the beginning, winding that down in order to start the escalated called complex password. israel has returned the bodies of ac palestinians ki

so we have sarah of visor bundy from the giga institute of middle east studies still with us. and we just heard in that report there a little bit of context about your runs proxies about this so called access of resistance. and so i'd like to get your view. i mean, when we're looking at groups like how moss and has the law, how much is iran are really calling the shots here? a yvonne tends to detach itself on this. if you look at other speeches of, by the supremely, the, by all the senior officials inside the or on the praise, the actions. but they don't, they don't really take responsibility. they don't shy responsibility. but in fact, we know that for decades these groups have been supported by you around in 2018. the us treasury and ition did a calculation and estimate of how much iran is at injecting, investing financially in only one group has bought a lot of medium $1000000000.00 in that one single. yeah. was invested by iran in his paula paid by you around directed to us by letting various forms so that you cannot have a group that you support on invest this amount of m

i earlier put that to sorrow buzzard bond, a fellow at the giga institute of middle east studies and homework. it's unfortunate the know the short answer is no, because of when looking at the who is, he's under actions in that region. one needs to really reflect on the idea of logical framework that they are working with in under political project. the ideological framework is that they are exactly like every other as long as drive, because those movement that we've seen in that part of the world and globally, in fact, they are off the establishment of the worldwide is low, make culture fit with its capital being based insurance and so they have multiple goals to achieve. the most important is to destroy the state of israel. and if they believe that the pulse to achieve that ultimate holy goal is a long lasting war. and they are proposed on they have shown that resilience and pad missed before that they are not going to step down from the ambition their political project is also to establish is they the, is she a do a logically, a structured political establishment like they had for

here to help answer these questions is brian, senior vice president of policy at the middle east institute? >> a group that basically sprung up in the 1990s in opposition to the former president, and they were part of a political process in the early 2010s, but they have a lot of arms and they did the sort of thing if you remember january 6th over here, they took over in 2015, and for almost the past decade or so, they took over key parts of yemen but there's been this complicated civil war, multiple civil wars there, but they're pretty extremist. i met some of their leaders before, and they're not the kind of people you don't want to have a beer with. not because they don't drink alcohol. they have the slogan, death to america, death to israel. curse to the jews. they really have this anti-imperial, anti-western, also in the middle east, and i go to the middle east quite a lot for my job. they're against sort of the sense of stability in the region. that's why they're attacking a lot of these ships that are going through the red sea. and basically, the red sea has been shut down for comme

fatima abo alasrar is a nonresident scholar at the middle east institute and a former adviser to then. shejoins me now. thank you for joining us here on bbc news, fatima. first of all, what you make of the latest developments in this and the last 2a hours or so? 50. latest developments in this and the last 24 hours or so?— last 24 hours or so? so, the us air strikes, coordinated _ last 24 hours or so? so, the us air strikes, coordinated air _ last 24 hours or so? so, the us air strikes, coordinated air strikes - strikes, coordinated air strikes with the uk and other coalition members in the region on houthi sites are a tactical response to the houthi escalation in the red sea, but they also send a strong message to iran, that their influence over the houthis is not unnoticed, it is a strategic move urging iran to de—escalate the situation, and containing its threats to regional stability and safeguarding the vital international maritime routes. so it is a new move. it has been unexpected, but it also signals that the united states is isn't a strong alliance in support of israel. —— u

now the directive of golf fast and government relations at the middle east institute. thank you. the russian strikes have hit keith on all the ukrainians cities. 8 people were killed and moved in 70 were injured. and michelle attacks damaged residential buildings, reducing some of them to rumble. rum mcbride has the latest from case this latest early morning attack targeted cities across ukraine with the biology of ballistic and cruise missiles. the countryside defense is claimed to have shot down around half of them, but folding themselves and debris caused widespread damage and casualties in residential areas such as here in key. the emergency services responded to calls in several districts. yes, and this was shifted to you. i was doing my bed and there was a boom. i'm living in this building. it was terrible. i was shaking all over. i, for the 1st time since the start of the war, i had to highlight. it was very scary. ukraine 2nd city. hurricane was also hit by multiple missile strikes, destroying a number of homes you're not born with. so when the messiah tech started, i too