Recent media reports have said that the Taliban has requested for the nations of Iran, Iraq and Jordan to allow the group passage to Israel so it can "conquer Jerusalem."
A widely circulated online statement that reportedly came from the Taliban's foreign office read as follows: "If the Muslim countries neighboring Israel grant us the right of passage, we will conquer Jerusalem."
The Taliban rules Aghanistan with Islamic law, prevents women from attending school, and has held control since Biden's botched withdrawal from the nation in August 2021. The US left millions upon millions of dollars in equipment behind during a hurried evacuation with saw 13 servicemembers of the US Armed Forces lose their lives to attacks.
The US invaded Afghanistan during the Bush administration following the attacks of September 11, 2001, and the fight with the Taliban was bolstered by further funding and investment from the Obama administration. The war lasted nearly 20 years and resulted in a stronger, more dedicated Taliban that is now emboldened enough to declare their intention of eradicating the Jewish state of Israel, to which the US is a staunch ally.
This comes after a surprise attack that Palestinian terror group Hamas launched against Israel overnight, with killed and wounded hundreds, with many more missing. Israel reported that 5,000 rockets had been fired at the country by Hamas.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an official statement that the nation is "in a war" and promised to his citizens that "Our enemy will pay a price the type of which it has never known."
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant made similar remarks, saying that "The State of Israel will win this war."
Images of horror and brutality surfaced on social media.
Hamas has said it has taken 53 "prisoners of war," including several senior officers from the Israeli Army, according to the Daily Express. Officials from Israel have denied that any major general belonging to the Israeli Defense Forces has been taken hostage.
In the United States, former President Trump slammed the Biden administration after the attack, suggesting that its foreign policy decisions were in part to blame for the attack.
"These Hamas attacks are a disgrace and Israel has every right to defend itself with overwhelming force," Trump said Saturday morning. "Sadly, American taxpayer dollars helped fund these attacks, which many reports are saying came from the Biden Administration. We brought so much peace to the Middle East through the Abraham Accords, only to see Biden whittle it away at a far more rapid pace than anyone thought possible. Here we go again."
