PDB Afternoon Bulletin | October 18th, 2024: Hamas Reacts To The Death Of Its Leader & China's Alleged Covert Russian Drone Program
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It's Friday, 18 October. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. All right, it's a little bit of a late afternoon bulletin today, but still, the afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. First...

We'll have the latest fallout from the death of Hamas leader and 7 October mastermind Yahya Sinwar. As Hamas vows to keep fighting and Iran warns that the killing will only serve to strengthen their so-called axis of resistance. Now, I don't think the word strengthen means what they think it means.

Then, the US has hit Chinese and Russian entities with a batch of sanctions over their involvement in making and shipping attack drones to Russia for use in Ukraine. The sanctions came with a warning to China to halt their apparent growing involvement in the war, activity that the CCP shockingly denies as Western propaganda. But first, our afternoon spotlight.

We'll begin with the latest developments from the death of Hamas leader and 7 October mastermind Yahya Sinwar in southern Gaza, as reactions begin to pour in from the terminated terrorist leader's allies, who have vowed to continue their efforts to destroy Israel.

Officials with Hamas, who remained silent throughout Thursday, surfaced on Friday to both confirm the fate of Sinwar to their followers and to pour cold water on any hopes that his death would prompt the remaining Hamas fighters to sue for peace.

As we discussed on this morning's program, Western leaders and officials in Israel had hoped that Senwar's elimination might provide an opportunity to close the door on the 13-month conflict that was started by Hamas and secure the release of the remaining hostages. But the Biden administration confirmed Friday that no new negotiations are currently scheduled. As it turns out, well, hope isn't much of a strategy when it comes to dealing with terrorists and the Iranian regime.

Sinmor's Qatar-based deputy, oh look, he's living the life of luxury in Qatar while the Palestinian civilians in Gaza suffer. Well, he struck a defiant tone on Friday, saying that the group will not release any of the hostages until they receive a favorable ceasefire deal that forces all Israeli troops to withdraw from the battered enclave. Until then, he said, the militant group would continue to fight throughout Gaza. In a

In a separate statement on Telegram, Hamas's collective leadership lauded Sinwar as a martyr and also vowed to keep the war going until the, quote, establishment of the Palestinian state on the entire Palestinian national soil with Jerusalem as its capital, end quote.

Hamas's regional allies, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, also promised to continue to support Hamas with attacks on Israel. And meanwhile, Iran, which of course is the instigator, creator of all this regional chaos, condemned the killing of the 7 October architect, which they claimed would only lead to the strengthening of resistance forces in the region.

Iran's mission to the United Nations said, quote, when Muslims look up to martyr Sinwar standing on the battlefield, he wasn't actually standing in combat attire and out in the open, not in a hideout facing the enemy. The spirit of resistance will be strengthened. End quote. Good Lord. Maybe they should also look at the Hamas leadership's bank accounts. Yeah, I don't think that that would strengthen their resistance.

While Iran and Hamas are eager to paint Sinwar as a martyr who was unafraid to die for the cause, well, the reality was far different. As we've discussed, Sinwar spent the last 13 months of the conflict largely hiding inside Hamas's sprawling tunnel networks underneath Gaza, letting the Palestinian population take the brunt of the Israeli response to the 7 October attacks.

Israeli officials estimated on Friday that Sinwar spent up to 90% of his time since the war began underground, often surrounded by Israeli hostages as human shields. Furthermore, Israeli intelligence said it appears Sinwar was attempting to flee from Rafah to a humanitarian zone along the coast.

to hide himself among the civilian population when he bumped into a patrol of IDF soldiers on Wednesday who ultimately terminated him. As Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gant put it, quote, End quote.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu promised to keep the pressure on Hamas until every last one of the remaining 101 hostages are returned to Israel. In an address on Thursday evening, Netanyahu said, "...the war is not yet over. We have before us a great opportunity to stop the axis of evil."

Israeli officials added that the death of Sinwar will not impact their looming retaliation against Iran for their ballistic missile attack in early October. As we've been tracking on the PDB, that response is expected to come before the U.S. presidential election occurs on 5 November.

Given the rhetoric from Hamas following Sinwar's death, an anonymous Lebanese diplomat told Reuters, quote, We had hoped, really, throughout this, that getting rid of Sinwar would be the turning point where the wars would end, where everyone would be ready to put their weapons down. It appears we were once again mistaken, end quote. Coming up...

The U.S. has hit Chinese and Russian entities with a fresh batch of sanctions over their involvement in making and shipping attack drones to Russia for use in Ukraine. I'll be right back.

Stay informed. Stay engaged. See you there.

Hey, Tim Pool here. My new show, The Culture War, dives deep into the most controversial issues of our time. No topic is off limits. And I bring on guests with unique perspectives to explore the cultural landscape in today's politically charged climate. If you're looking for real conversations and bold insights, this is the show for you. Tune into The Culture War on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your shows and get ready for the tough discussions.

Welcome back to the Afternoon Bulletin. The United States is cracking down on Chinese companies following reports that they are manufacturing advanced attack drones for the Kremlin to use in their war on Ukraine.

The U.S. Treasury Department announced on Thursday a wave of new sanctions targeting two China-based drone suppliers and their alleged partners in Russia, marking the first time that the U.S. has formally penalized China for supplying complete weapons systems to Moscow. That's according to a report from CNN.

As we've previously discussed on the PDB, China has been walking a very fine line in their economic and technology support for Russia's war effort ever since the conflict began back in early 2022, providing the Kremlin with computer chips, advanced software, and tech components that have military applications.

But now, the U.S. sees growing evidence that the CCP, the Chinese Communist Party, is allowing companies to directly supply the Putin regime with lethal aid, something that the CCP had pledged not to do. What? Whoa. Color me shocked. The Chinese Communist Party not living up to a pledge to the international community. Hmm.

Specifically, the U.S. Treasury Department said Chinese companies have collaborated with Russian defense firms to develop long-range attack drones, which they've said have already been used to strike both military and civilian targets inside Ukraine, often with devastating effect.

The drones reportedly include upgraded versions of Russia's Garpia-1 drone that incorporates the designs of Chinese specialists. It's thought to be able to travel up to 1,240 miles while carrying a munitions payload of up to 110 pounds. Now, that far exceeds the current capabilities of Moscow's domestically built drone fleet. The

The new drones, dubbed the G3, are reportedly more comparable to the Shahed drones provided to Russia by Iran.

A spokesman for the State Department said, quote, We've seen for some time Chinese companies providing components to Russian companies that Russian companies then use to turn into machinery, weapons, other components that Russia can use in their war. This was the first time, they said, that we actually saw a Chinese company manufacturing a weapon itself that then was used on the battlefield by Russia, end quote.

U.S. officials warned the CCP to halt any further cooperation with the Kremlin that directly supports their war effort. Well, that should do it. Typically, they always heed those warnings. In addition to the two Chinese-based manufacturers, the sanctions also targeted Russian defense firm TSK Vector, which they say is quarterbacking the operation for the Kremlin. Boy, that's a solid name for an evil company if you wanted to come up with an evil company. TSK Vector. That's a solid name for an evil company.

That company was previously sanctioned by the U.S. in December of 2023 over their efforts to help Moscow acquire attack drones. Now, it may not surprise you to learn that the CCP has denied all the allegations. What? We have no idea what you're talking about.

In a statement, the Chinese embassy in Washington accused the U.S. of spreading unfounded propaganda. The embassy said, "...the U.S. makes false accusations against China's normal trade with Russia, just as it continues to pour unprecedented military aid into Ukraine. This is the typical double standard and extremely hypocritical and irresponsible."

As a reminder, Xi and his Chinese regime have attempted to position themselves as a neutral party and mediator ever since the war broke out, but have maintained a close alliance with Russia through strong economic ties, while also advocating for a peace deal that heavily favors Moscow. Back in February of 2022, just days before Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine, China and Russia agreed to what they referred to as a "no-limits partnership."

And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Friday, 18 October. If you have any questions or comments or suggestions, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. Of course, as you probably noticed when waking up this morning, it's Friday.

And if it's Friday, that means that this evening at 10 p.m. on the first TV, a new episode of our extended weekend show, the PDB Situation Report, will launch. Also available on our YouTube channel. Check that out. It's at President's Daily Brief. And, of course, on all podcast platforms. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back over the weekend with our PDB Situation Report. Until then, well, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.