Epicenter Epoch: Israel's War, Netanyahu's Gamble, Biden's Proxy War, and the Next U.S. War in Syria?

The Israeli army "executed" civilians in Gaza, Aljazeera reported on April 2, 2024. Four foreign aid workers and a Palestinian translator were killed in an Israeli strike. This news came after Israeli troops pulled out of a Gaza hospital, leaving a wasteland in their wake.

In other news, the U.S. top diplomat is in Paris today to discuss Ukraine and Gaza amid a likely regional escalation of Israel's war with Hamas, according to U.S. and French diplomats.

Explosion in Damascus? Antony Blinken landed hours after reports killed a senior Iranian commander in Syria, setting diplomatic channels abuzz about potential retaliation from Tehran, which blamed an Israeli airstrike.

Calling it a "huge escalation," security analyst Charles Lister said the reported killing of Iranian Generals Mohammed Zahedi, Hossein Aminullah, and Haj Rahimi was more consequential than the 2020 assassination of Qasem Soleimani by the United States, and that a response by Tehran was "guaranteed." Retaliation could target Israel, American bases in the region, or both. Axios reports that the U.S. has told Tehran it "had no involvement" or advanced knowledge of the strike.

In other news, calls for peace between Russia and Ukraine are growing, but Micael T thinks Ukraine has no Plan B ("just leave, notifying nobody") and that "Ukraine's economy will ultimately lose" the war.

Turkiye's opposition party swept to victory in local elections, in a snub to Erdoğan. And in Syria, the U.S. has signed a deal to build new military bases that can serve as a launching point for attacks on Yemen and potentially Iran.

The FAA blamed "inadequate planning" and "distraction" for a crash in North Carolina that killed all 8 people on board. The pilot reported having Covid recently, and became "disoriented & confused."

Lastly, Israel accused of a deadly strike on an Iranian consulate in Syria, BBC reported.