I don't want to bash orgs like PVDA-PTB in Belgium, their logos look good visually but... they just don't have the same flare y'know? I wouldn't be willing to die for the PVDA flag, it just doesn't click in the same way Hezbollah's does. Maybe it's just that Arabic is an objectively superior alphabet, or something. You could never have good Latin text on a flag, only thing that came close was the RSFSR's flag and that's fucking Cyrillic. I hope someone can prove me wrong
I don't want to bash orgs like PVDA-PTB in Belgium, their logos look good visually but... they just don't have the same flare y'know? I wouldn't be willing to die for the PVDA flag, it just doesn't click in the same way Hezbollah's does. Maybe it's just that Arabic is an objectively superior alphabet, or something. You could never have good Latin text on a flag, only thing that came close was the RSFSR's flag and that's fucking Cyrillic. I hope someone can prove me wrong
check the side panel and search for broadcasters if you want to watch it
If you're confused about how the qualification system works just look at this wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification_(AFC)#Fourth_round
If they win they advance to the 4th round and play in a group stage with 2 other teams, 1st place is automatic qualification and 2nd sends you to the 5th and final qualifying round
Israeli arms exports hit a record $14.8bn last year, despite calls for arms embargo as Israel faces accusations of genocide
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Israel’s Ministry of Defence announced on Wednesday that arms exports by Israeli companies reached an all-time high in 2024, totalling $14.8bn.
“The unprecedented operational achievements, combined with the combat experience gained through Israeli-developed technologies during the war, have generated significant demand for Israeli defence systems among numerous countries,” the ministry stated, attributing the surge in exports to the ongoing military offensive on Gaza, which began in October 2023.
According to TheMarker, arms exports rose by 13 percent compared to 2023, when exports stood at $13.1bn. The 2024 figure represents roughly 10 percent of Israel’s total exports of goods and services, according to data published by the outlet.
This marks a record year for Israeli arms exports, which have more than doubled over the past five years; in 2019, total exports amounted to $7.3bn.
Europe emerged as the primary destination for Israeli arms, accounting for 54 percent of total purchases – up nearly 20 percentage points from 2023, when European countries made up 35 percent of Israel’s arms export market.
In 2024, European states bought nearly $8bn worth of Israeli military products, compared to $4.6bn in 2023, according to the Ministry of Defence.
Beyond Europe, another significant destination for Israeli arms in 2024 was the group of countries that normalised relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords. Combined arms sales to the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan reached $1.8bn – equivalent to 12 percent of Israel’s total arms exports.
In contrast, there has been a marked decline in exports to Asian and Latin American countries. In 2024, Asian nations purchased $3.4bn worth of Israeli weapons, down from $6.3bn the previous year. According to TheMarker, the drop is attributed to major arms deals signed in 2023 with India and Azerbaijan that were not repeated in 2024.
The surge in arms exports comes amid Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza, now approaching its 20th month, which has resulted in the deaths of over 54,000 Palestinians and destroyed most of the Palestinian enclave.
In recent months, Israel has faced mounting international criticism – particularly from European partners – over Gaza, including allegations of using starvation as a weapon of war and of committing genocide.
A recent survey conducted in the UK found that a majority of the British public supports a full arms embargo on Israel. According to the poll, 57 percent of respondents backed a government-imposed embargo, while only 13 percent were opposed.
On Tuesday, it was reported that the Spanish government had cancelled a $327m arms deal with Israeli defence company Rafael. The contract involved the purchase of offensive weaponry, including 168 firing posts and 1,680 anti-tank missiles.
Yair Coles, head of the International Defense Cooperation Directorate, the Ministry of Defence division overseeing Israeli arms exports, told Israeli news outlet Ynet: “We are facing a serious challenge. Members of parliament are openly calling for a halt to arms purchases from Israel because of the images coming out of Gaza, and this is having an effect. Today, customers are telling us this directly.”
Coles added: “Sales to France and the UK are very low. Two forces are currently at work: military establishments that want to buy the best equipment from us, and political forces holding back. I hope that necessity will prevail over politics.”
According to defence ministry data, nearly half (48 percent) of Israel’s arms exports consist of air defence systems, missiles and rockets. Other categories, including military and armoured vehicles, radar systems, manned aircraft and satellites, each account for between 8 and 9 percent of total exports.
Israeli human rights lawyer and arms trade monitor Eitay Mack told TheMarker that Israeli arms exports could rise further in 2025.
“Due to escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, we may see a spike in arms deals with India,” Mack said. “Additionally, the effects of the increased security budgets in Europe – driven by shifting relations with the United States – will likely be felt only in 2025.”
However, Mack cautioned that some countries may shift away from Israeli weapons in favour of American arms as part of efforts to improve trade balances with the United States.
“In the context of the tariff war declared by [US President Donald] Trump, some countries may prefer to buy from the US rather than from Israel,” he added.
Defence Minister Israel Katz praised the export figures, calling them a national achievement. “In a year of war, under complex and difficult conditions, Israel has broken its all-time arms export record,” Katz said.
He attributed the success to Israel’s battlefield performance: “This is a direct result of the IDF’s and defence industries’ achievements against Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, the Ayatollahs’ regime in Iran, and other enemies.”
Katz added, “The world sees Israel’s strength and wants to be part of it.”
Defence Ministry Director General Amir Baram echoed the sentiment.
“Israeli arms exports reflect, more than anything, a growing global appreciation for Israeli technology. Our systems have made a resounding impact across the Middle East over the past year,” he said.
Coles also credited the collaboration between the defence sector and the military. “The unique link between Israeli arms companies, the Ministry of Defence, and the IDF creates a distinct competitive edge in global markets,” he said.
According to Coles, during the war in Gaza, Israel’s defence industries demonstrated that they could “meet the IDF’s operational needs while simultaneously responding to growing international demand”.
Shouldn't be surprising to anyone, amazes me how willingly they tell on themselves. Makes sense considering the fact that they're proud of it
Senior Israeli officials have rejected a report on Channel 14 that claimed Israel's military advocate general prevented an air strike on a building where four soldiers later died
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**Israeli military officials have said there are no restrictions on bombing homes in Gaza, days after a prominent right-wing TV channel claimed that the country's military advocate general prevented an air strike on a building - where four soldiers later died - due to the risk of killing Palestinian civilians.
On 6 June, four Israeli soldiers died after the building they entered in Khan Younis collapsed due to an explosive device.
The Israeli army is still probing the cause of the blast and has yet to determine whether the device was a booby-trap set up by Hamas or if it was unexploded Israeli ordinance.
But within hours of the deaths, Israel's Channel 14, a right-wing network favoured by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, claimed that Israel's military advocate general bore responsibility for the deaths.
The channel, which has repeatedly portrayed Palestinians in Gaza as "animals" who must be "exterminated", reported that the army had sent the soldiers into the building rather than target it with an air strike because Military Advocate General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi had changed army protocol to prohibit striking the structure.
In its televised report, Channel 14's Noam Amir spoke with a senior Israeli officer who claimed that the building had been designated as a Hamas compound but Tomer-Yerushalmi prevented the country's air force from bombing the structure due to the risk of "collateral damage",
The Israeli army tends to use the term "collateral damage" when referring to Palestinian civilians who are killed by Israeli forces for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"We knew the infrastructure, we knew who was there, and we didn't strike, each time for a different reason - high collateral damage," the officer said.
Following the report, the Israeli army's chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, launched a scathing attack on Channel 14, saying he rejected the "false, repeated, and baseless attacks regarding the conduct of the Military Advocate General."
"There was no directive from the Military Advocate General not to strike the building that collapsed and led to the deaths of four soldiers in Khan Younis on Friday," he said.
"The claims made in this context are false, malicious, and entirely unfounded."
He added that Israeli forces operating in Gaza have complete "operational freedom to remove threats".
Ben Caspit, a senior Israeli journalist who has repeatedly clashed with Netanyahu, also slammed the report, suggesting it was a blood libel.
"This despicable report, which titles itself with pride as an 'expose', is bloodshed, libel at the highest level, a crazy fable that has nothing to do with reality," Caspit wrote on X.
Citing military sources, Caspit said that there were "no orders" being issued by Tomer-Yerushalmi, and that Israeli soldiers were freely "blowing up" homes in the war-battered enclave.
"They [Israeli soldiers] are blowing up Gaza, house by house, compound by compound, without any interference by any Chief Military Advocate," Caspit added.
Since declaring its war on Gaza in October 2023, Israel has obliterated most of the Gaza Strip, reducing entire neighbourhoods, including schools, businessess and medical facilities to rubble.
Israeli soldiers and combat engineers have laid explosives and triggered controlled demolitions inside countless homes, while armoured bulldozers have systematically levelled building after building.
Last week, a senior army commander operating in Khan Younis said that Israeli forces were instructed to decimate the city, reducing the likelihood that Palestinians would remain in the Strip once the war ends.
"Part of the operation is to go in thoroughly and deeply, which may seem slow, but it protects our forces, and unlike before, it literally destroys the zone," the officer told the Israeli news outlet Ynet.
"After we finish here, they won't be able to come back here for years," added the officer about Khan Younis, which was one of the largest cities in the Gaza Strip before the war.
In the wake of the criticism, Channel 14's Amir fumed that a "reckless" Zamir had had failed to "substantively" address the claims laid out in the report.
"When the war began, the [Israeli army] acted even when there were non-combatants in the area. There were no legal guidelines at all," Amir wrote.
"Only at a later stage did the Chief Military Advocate arrive, formulated the procedures, and determined when it is permissible to attack and when it's not," he added.
Meanwhile, several members from Netanyahu's coalition requested a meeting with the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee regarding guidelines on when air strikes can and can't be carried out.
Since reneging on a ceasefire deal with Hamas, Israeli forces have killed at least 4,600 Palestinians in attacks targeting tents, hospitals and school-turned-shelters.
According to the Gaza health ministry, at least 54,981 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since October 2023, including more than 28,000 women and girls.
The figure also includes at least 1,400 health sector professionals, 280 UN aid workers - the highest staff death toll in UN history - and nearly 190 journalists, the highest number of media workers killed in conflict since the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) began recording data in 1992.
Do y'all like this format?
The self-appointed interim President of Syria Ahmed Al-Sharaa says
Ahmed Al-Sharaa during an interview with the Jewish Journal stated that Israel and Syria share “common enemies” and said he is ready to engage with Tel Aviv if there is “a clear path to coexistence.”
“The era of endless tit-for-tat bombings must end. No nation prospers when its skies are filled with fear. The reality is, we have common enemies — and we can play a major role in regional security,” Sharaa, formerly known as Al-Qaeda leader Abu Mohammad al-Julani, told the Los Angeles-based publication.
“Peace must be earned through mutual respect, not fear. We will engage where there is honesty and a clear path to coexistence — and walk away from anything less," he added.
Sharaa also voiced support for reviving the principles of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement (Dofa Accord), calling it a possible framework for “mutual restraint and protection of civilians.”
The statements from the de facto president come amid reports in western media saying Israeli and Syrian officials have been engaged in face-to-face talks over recent weeks aimed at “preventing another flareup along their shared border.”
After extremist armed groups led by Sharaa took over Syria in December, Israel promptly destroyed the country's military capabilities and occupied large areas of Syrian territory in the Golan Heights, Quneitra, and Deraa.
“There are indirect talks with Israel through mediators to calm and attempt to absorb the situation so that it does not reach a level that both sides lose control over,” Sharaa said earlier this month, also describing Israel's continued airstrikes of Syrian land as “random interventions."
He also said Damascus was talking to states that communicate with Israel to “pressure them to stop intervening in Syrian affairs and bomb some of its infrastructure.”
Didn't think about it that way, makes a lot more sense now