In this photo released by Iranian Red Crescent Society, rescue personnel, police officers and some other people gather around the site of a coal mine where methane leak sparked an explosion on Saturday, in Tabas, some 335 miles (540 kilometers) southeast of the capital Tehran, Iran, Sept. 22, 2024. (Iranian Red Crescent Society, via AP)
A gas explosion in a coal mine in Iran’s South Khorasan Province killed at least 51 people and injured 20, Iran’s state media said on Sunday.
The accident on Saturday evening was caused by a methane gas explosion in two blocks, B and C, of the mine run by the Madanjoo company, state media said.
State TV broadcast footage of ambulances and helicopters arriving at the scene of the incident to transport the injured to hospital.
Online footage carried by IRNA showed bodies of some of the victims, wearing their work uniform, carried out of the site on mining carts.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in remarks carried state TV before departing for the UN General Assembly in New York, offered his condolences to the families of the victims and ordered a probe into the deadly incident.
“Unfortunately, we learned that an accident occurred in one of the coal mines in Tabas and a number of our compatriots lost their lives. I offer my condolences to their respected families,” Pezeshkian said.
A handout picture provided by the Iranian Red Crescent (RCS) shows Red Crescent ambulances at the scene of a blast at a coal mine in Tabas in Iran’s Khorasan province on September 22, 2024 (Iranian Red Crescent / AFP)
His first vice president, Mohammad Reza Aref, spoke with cabinet members to ensure “emergency follow-up” and support for the victims and their families, IRNA said.
“76% of the country’s coal is provided from this region and around 8 to 10 big companies are working in the region including Madanjoo company,” the governor of South Khorasan Province Ali Akbar Rahimi told state TV.
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The rescue operation in block B has been completed. Of the 47 workers who were in the block 30 died and 17 were injured, Rahimi said.
Rescue operations in block C have started. Methane density in the block is high and the operation will take around 3-4 hours, he added.
There were 69 workers in the blocks at the time of the explosion, state TV reported.
Oil-producing Iran is also rich in a variety of minerals. Iran annually consumes some 3.5 million tons of coal but only extracts about 1.8 million tons from its mines per year. The rest is imported, often consumed in the country’s steel mills.
This is not the first disaster to strike Iran’s mining industry. In 2013, 11 workers were killed in two separate mining incidents. In 2009, 20 workers were killed in several incidents. In 2017, a coal mine explosion killed at least 42 people.
Lax safety standards and inadequate emergency services in mining areas are often blamed for the fatalities.
Home Front Command personnel arrived at the scene and conducted searches in cooperation with the Israel Police, the Fire and Rescue Authority, MDA, and local authorities.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFUpdated: SEPTEMBER 22, 2024 10:52Commanding Officer of the Home Front Command, Major General Rafi Milo visits Kiryat Bialik in northern Israel, September 22, 2024.(photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)
Two houses were hit in Kiryat Bialik following a fourth wave of rocket and drone attacks from Hezbollah into Israeli territory on Sunday morning, according to Israeli media.
Three people sustained light wounds, Magen David Adom (MDA) reported, and fires have broken out in the area.
Two 70-year-old men were wounded by shrapnel, one in moderate condition and the other in mild condition, MDA stated early on Sunday. Additionally, a 16-year-old girl was lightly wounded, also due to shrapnel.
The Commanding Officer of the Home Front Command, Major General Rafi Milo, visited the site of the Hezbollah attack in Kiryat Bialik, the IDF stated on Sunday morning.
Damage in Israel’s North following multiple Hezbollah rocket barrages on September 22, 2024 (credit: MDA SPOKESPERSON)
The military noted that Home Front Command personnel arrived at the scene and conducted searches in cooperation with the Israel Police, the Fire and Rescue Authority, MDA, and local authorities.
The continuation of fighting until Sinwar is eliminated, the hostages are freed, and Hamas is defeated—will constitute a total victory, and this is within reach.
By MOSHE POZAILOVAn IDF soldier operating in the Gaza Strip on September 21, 2024.(photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)
Many of the same military officials and commentators who previously claimed that “Hamas is deterred” now assert that Hamas has been defeated.
According to them, its brigades, commanders, and parts of its leadership have been eliminated, and its “military” structure has ceased to exist.
At the same time, they do not deny the reality that our forces encounter armed terrorists daily and that rockets are still occasionally fired, including at Ashkelon. However, they firmly state that if we can create a political alternative to Hamas, the mission will then be complete.
This week, the IDF published a document sent by the Khan Younis brigade commander to Yahya Sinwar and his brother Mohammed in May of this year.
The letter indicated that although Hamas is in severe distress, it is still functioning at various levels and is working to recover and rearm.
IDF soldiers from a mixed-gender combat battalion seen near the Egyptian border, southern Israel, September 19, 2024 (credit: CHEN SHIMMEL/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Channel 11 reported earlier this month that the pace of Hamas’s recovery in Gaza, especially in the northern part of the strip, is “faster than the dismantling of its capabilities.” What is clear from the letter is that Hamas has not yet been defeated.
The letter describes the organization’s dire situation: “We have lost 90-95% of our rocket capability; we have lost 60% of our personal weapons; we have lost at least 65%-70% of our anti-tank capabilities; and most importantly, we have lost at least 50% of our fighters, and now only 25% remain.”
A complex reality on the ground
While the document seems to show that the organization’s forces are in crisis, possibly on the verge of collapse, the reality on the ground is more complex:
Hamas continues guerrilla warfare, operating from command and control centers disguised as civilian institutions such as humanitarian shelters, schools, and hospitals, which they have set up in the heart of civilian areas.
The organization tirelessly works to refresh its ranks and recruit new activists, especially youth. Crime families and clans collect taxes, distribute humanitarian aid, and work for “public order” while receiving salaries from Hamas in return.
Hamas is recovering, primarily in areas where the IDF is not currently operating, including the northern Gaza Strip, Khan Younis, and Mawasi. Additionally, the organization has returned to the Shifa Hospital.
Hamas continues to exploit the residents of Gaza, charging them about 20% of the humanitarian aid that enters the strip. According to estimates, Hamas has accumulated about half a billion dollars in this manner.
Hamas uses brutal force on the population to instill fear, including public executions of thieves or those suspected of collaborating with Israel, as well as Gazans who dare to protest against Hamas rule.
In May 2005, then-Brigadier General Gadi Eisenkot wrote in his end-of-duty report as commander of the Judea and Samaria Division that “it is appropriate to remove the concept of strategic and systemic defeat from the terminology of the conflict.”
This did not prevent Benny Gantz from declaring that “Hamas has been defeated” just before he and Eisenkot left the cabinet and before the IDF entered Rafah and the Philadelphi Route.
In contrast, the war cabinet takes a different approach—a perspective aligned with the philosophy of the late Professor Yehoshafat Harkabi, former head of the Military Intelligence Directorate, who defined defeat as “a state in which the enemy’s capability has been eradicated, leaving him in a state of helplessness, and he surrenders” (War and Strategy, 1990).
General Douglas MacArthur, commander of US forces in World War II and the Korean War wrote about abandoning the idea of defeat: “There is no substitute for victory. Defeating the enemy is a moral and military necessity in which we must bring the enemy to a state of utter despair.”
Yehoshafat Harkabi was right: Despite the IDF’s impressive achievements, as long as Hamas retains the ability to harm Israel and hold our sons and daughters hostage, Hamas has not been defeated.
At this point in time, it is impossible to determine who might serve as a governmental alternative to Hamas.
What must be clear to whoever follows Hamas—and to any future governing mechanism, whatever it may be—is that the trauma and memory of the destruction caused by those who challenged our very existence and massacred our citizens and all their accomplices must be ingrained for generations to come.
The reality test proves that there will be no alternative—local, regional, or international—to Hamas until it is first defeated.
After Hamas is defeated, a worthy alternative can take shape. The defeat of Hamas (and Islamic Jihad), the only branch of the Muslim Brotherhood still in power in the Arab world, will strengthen the Abraham Accords, which are successfully passing the test of war in Gaza. Defeating Hamas will provide a crucial foundation for their expansion.
It is important to emphasize that military defeat alone is insufficient for Hamas. A psychological component must be added, in which Hamas loses both the ability and the will to continue the struggle.
Replacing the regime requires a complex and broad process incorporating elements of security, society, and economy. Only after these two goals are achieved can a stable and significant outcome be ensured, one that will affect the regional environment for many years to come.
The continuation of the fighting until Sinwar is eliminated, the hostages are freed, and Hamas is defeated—will constitute a total victory, and this is within reach.
Moshe Pozailov, Misgav Institute for National Security. Former senior Shin Bet official.
