//The Wire//2130Z April 15, 2024//

//ROUTINE//

//BLUF: CHRISTIAN BISHOP STABBED IN SYDNEY DURING SERVICES. WORLD AWAITS ISRAELI RESPONSE TO IRANIAN COUNTERATTACK.//

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-International Events-

Australia: Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel of Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Sydney was stabbed by an assailant during a livestream of Bible Study services Monday evening. During the stabbing attack, four people were also reportedly injured while counterattacking the assailant. The Bishop remains hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries and is in stable condition. This attack follows another stabbing attack in Sydney that left 6x dead on Saturday. AC: As Bishop Mar Mari is very well known throughout the area (and is internationally famous as well), civil unrest resulted immediately following the incident. An extremely large crowd of several thousand people gathered outside of the Church following the attack, many of which appeared to have the intent to confront the assailant (who by that time was in the care of police).

Middle East: The situation throughout the region remains volatile following the Iranian drone swarm attacks Saturday evening. AC: Most details of the attack are impossible to verify with any reliability due to the information warfare engaging in by both sides. Iranian forces appear to have targeted remote Israeli military bases, complicating efforts to assess battle damage in a heavily influenced information space.

-HomeFront-

USA: This morning pro-Palestine protesters blocked the entrances to Chicago O’Hare International Airport, causing thousands of passengers to either walk to their terminal or miss their flight. Similar disruptions were also reported on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. AC: As evidenced by the higher-level organization and logistics present at these demonstrations, this is part of a much larger and more coordinated pro-Palestinian movement. Dubbed the “A15 Day of Action”, this is one of the many “days of action” that have become routine around the world among pro-Palestinian populations. Most of the regular demonstrations are carried out in Europe, but more deliberate and organized efforts have been growing throughout the United States over the past few weeks.

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Analyst Comments: Diplomatically, the nature of the Iranian counterattack was likely intended to respond directly, while still allowing fairly effective defensive actions. Regardless, the world awaits further actions as the ball is now in Israel’s court. It is hard to imagine Israel not reacting militarily, despite the one-and-done nature of the Iranian attack (and the losses taken in Gaza). However, a response is expected due to the original strike in Damascus almost certainly intending to elicit this very response from Iran.

Analyst: S2A1

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