Tom Dale

Global politics and conflict, especially MENA. Writing, conflict analysis and civilian protection. Previously from Egypt, Syria, Libya, Lebanon, Palestine.

[Daniel Hannan @DanielJHannan]

I believe that this impressive chap was first cousin to the father of the Tory minister (and now peer) Henry Bellingham. Which means that Jude, like Henry, is a direct descendant of John Bellingham who, in 1812, became the only man to have assassinated a British prime minister.

[Humanoid History @HumanoidHistory]

Historian Michael Wood takes us to a coffeehouse in Kars, Turkey, where a traditional bard (aşıks) performs the “Epic of Köroğlu.” As seen in 1979’s “In Search of the Trojan War.”

[FreeMarwanNow @FreeMarwanNow]

Statement from Fadwa Barghouti after Marwan Barghouti was shot in the leg with rubber bullets by Israeli prison guards and subsequently targeted in an inflammatory Israeli Prison Service report.

“In a new attempt to target Marwan, the Israeli Prison Service issued an inciting report at a time when the international campaign “Free Marwan, Free Palestine” continues to expand, attracting prominent global figures and leaders and receiving significant official and public support around the world.

At the same time, one of the prison guards fired a rubber bullet into Marwan’s leg, causing him to bleed and suffer a painful injury—another episode in the ongoing series of assaults against him.

What the occupation has failed to understand throughout the past quarter century—and still fails to understand today—is that Marwan has never wavered in his conviction that freedom is a fundamental right and that occupation is destined to end.

He has rejected both surrender and despair, believing that resisting occupation while striving for a just peace that brings it to an end is both a national and a moral responsibility. He believes in the unity of the Palestinian people and their land. Marwan’s foremost concern has always been to spare every Palestinian child the suffering of occupation and the devastation of war, and his enduring goal has been to secure a life of freedom and dignity for his people.

[Michael Kofman @KofmanMichael]

While Ukraine is doing well across much of the front line, on missile defense the trend is negative. Russia is using more ballistic missiles, they are getting more out of those capabilities, and the number of interceptors being provided to Ukraine is not tangibly increasing.

[Black Bird Group @Black_BirdGroup]

According to our data, in June the net gains of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine were approximately minus 9km².

This is the second net-negative month for the Russians in 2026. Before this, the previous net-negative months (within Ukraine) were in 2023.

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[Alex Crawford @AlexCrawfordSky]

Calls grow for the release of Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of a major Gaza hospital who has been held without charge and imprisoned by Israel since 2024. He is in immediate life-threatening danger, Physicians for Human Rights said Saturday, after his lawyer reported a severe deterioration in his condition. His lawyer said Abu Safiya struggled to breathe and speak, appeared extremely weak and seemed close to losing consciousness several times during the visit
https://t.co/4GuVWa0FKZ

[Andrew Lebovich @tweetsintheME]

I’ve spent my career trying to contextualize and not be alarmist about security issues in the Sahel, for a host of reasons. But it still baffles me that a widespread insurgency that directly threatens 3 regional states, impacts 3 more, and indirectly threatens 5 others…

[Sam Heller | سام هيلر @AbuJamajem]

Important @HaidHaid22 on recent strikes at private-sector businesses outside Damascus and prospects for labor activism in new Syria: https://t.co/okWWtD1Yt8

[Nick Mark MD @nickmmark]

Of course a plane full of people who have never read a book has a bookshelf of fake books with titles like “Library”

[OSINTtechnical @Osinttechnical]

New, incredibly clear footage of a Ukrainian Flamingo cruise missile slamming into Russia's Titan-Barrikady missile plant last week.

[Drop Site @DropSiteNews]

As Palestinians held a funeral for a 1-year-old baby girl, a fresh Israeli strike killed a 10-year-old boy and two men, while wounding several others, including a young girl in western Khan Younis this evening, local media confirmed.

Young children continue to be killed daily in Israeli attacks, including by direct gunfire.

(Photos and reporting by @Ahmed_A1Najjar)

[Mairav Zonszein מרב זונשיין @MairavZ]

Israel is laying groundwork for a major op in Gaza, which I believe will happen over the summer/before elex.

IDF says Hamas rebuilding power through IEDs and rockets, recruiting many young men and planning not only guerrilla but offensive ops against Israeli troops. /1

[Tom Dale @tom_d_]

Dr Soon-Shiong should be reinstated by @pressfreedom immediately.

[Dr. Nika Soon-Shiong @nikasoonshiong]

I have been informed that I'm no longer a member of the Committee to Protect Journalists board. Below is the email I sent the board last night.

[Thomas van Linge @ThomasVLinge]

Tankies will see this, then look you straight in the eye and say the French presence in the Sahel was worse and Russia 's presence is actually an improvement.

[Alex Crawford @AlexCrawfordSky]

One of the killings involved a ten day old baby being shot by an Israeli sniper in broad daylight whilst the baby was being breastfed : an independent UN Commission says Israeli authorities and security forces deliberately targeted Palestinian children resulting in genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza, and war crimes in the occupied West Bank

[Sarah Leah Whitson @sarahleah1]

Very important to note that the UN Commission of Inquiry's conclusion is not only that Israel is indiscriminately killing children in Gaza, but *deliberately* targeting them.

In all my years covering conflicts in the Middle East, I've never before seen armed forces *deliberately* targeting children. But the receipts are there for all to see...

https://t.co/JZ9sOhQU6q

[Martin Konečný @MartinKonecny]

🇳🇴Norwegian government issues a draft bill to ban trade with Israel's illegal settlements.

Covers import & export of goods, buying real estate, providing certain services & acquiring businesses in settlements.

If Norway can do it, why not others?
https://t.co/WbQrWHTfAO

[Tom Dale @tom_d_]

@michaeldweiss The US benefits much more from the US-UK relationship than from the US-Israel relationship, and the relationship has less tension. But Israel get far more US support - diplomatic, economic and military - than the UK.

[Maximilian Hess @zakavkaza]

So instead of paying a toll, Iran's latest requirement for crossing the Strait of Hormuz is that shippers acquire Iranian insurance!

FYI, since 2022 Turkey has required shippers show they possess adequate insurance but no req it be from Turkish firms.

https://t.co/jImiEIlkuV

[Tom Dale @tom_d_]

They are quite aware of this. Example:
https://t.co/dpgwWkUTLQ

[Clash Report @clashreport]

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich:

The war should end with a political declaration expanding Israel's borders.

You want to engrave the price of defeat into the Middle East. Take territory.

Whoever attacks us must pay painful, irreversible prices.

[Tom Dale @tom_d_]

Israel has seized more than 1,000 square miles from its neighbours since 2023.

Because it has no intention of recognising Arab democratic rights or security interests, the only (potentially) permanent victories it can hope to achieve are territorial.

https://t.co/vhJcSqzcWt