Monday, June 17, 2024

06/17 Links Pt1: The Famine Has Been Canceled; It's Time to Start Using the Term 'Palestinian Civilian' Correctly; IDF has destroyed half of Hamas forces in Rafah

From Ian:

Seth Mandel: The Famine Has Been Canceled
Hamas’s desire to maximize Palestinian suffering is well known, but there’s an easy way to tell whether supposed pro-Palestinian advocates share that revolting instinct: How do they react to good news?

For example, thanks to a report issued quietly earlier this month by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification’s Famine Review Committee (quite the name), we now know there is no famine in Gaza. Yet you will only see this discussed among pro-Israel Jews online. The vast digital army of Twitter martyrs is quiet. Western media appear to be experiencing a self-imposed blackout. The Palestinian cause seems nothing less than deflated at the news that children will not be dying of hunger.

As of this morning, two weeks after the UN agency that monitors “food insecurity” debunked its own hysteria, the closest thing to a reference in the New York Times is an item in a running liveblog that mentions Israel’s latest humanitarian pause. The Times says this brief pause could help “alleviate a severe hunger crisis.” But —hilariously—those words link to the paper’s April report warning that a famine would set in by May. Which is to say, there’s no mention of the fact that famine has been averted. But the Times does mention its own past report, which has been discredited by actual subsequent events.

The cherry on top of this agitprop sundae comes when the Times quotes a British activist complaining, “This is not what a famine response looks like.”

In fact, according to the international organizations that beat the steady drumbeat of famine, this is exactly what a famine response looks like. Sorry to disappoint the pro-Palestinian movement, but it appears the children will live.

The Famine Review Committee “does not find the [famine prediction] analysis plausible given the uncertainty and lack of convergence of the supporting evidence.” As Avi Bitterman, who spent months predicting there would indeed be no famine based on the available evidence, points out: “The food trucks FEWS NET used for its analysis is significantly less than reported by other sources. One of the reasons for this is the complete exclusion of private sector food trucks (something the UN currently still does, by the way — take note @UN). They also excluded [World Food Programme] deliveries to bakeries in northern Gaza in April.”




Arsen Ostrovsky and John Spencer: It's Time to Start Using the Term 'Palestinian Civilian' Correctly
Under international law, it is a sacrosanct principle that civilians enjoy special protection, and the intentional targeting or harming of them during hostilities, is a grave war crime. But one should not need to be a legal scholar to understand that if you are a journalist or physician holding hostages, you are no longer a "civilian." In fact, the Geneva Convention makes it unequivocally clear that civilians lose that protection when they take direct part in the hostilities.

In other words, when you hold hostages captive, you become a legitimate military target and should not be surprised when the Israel Defense Forces come knocking on your door.

And it wasn't just these four hostages. In addition to the four Israeli hostages rescued from Nuseirat in central Gaza, there have been countless reports from hostages returning to Israel describing being held captive by ordinary Gazans, including families, doctors, teachers, and even U.N. employees.

It is also well known that civilians in Gaza willingly joined Hamas en masse on October 7 and took part in the massacre, rapes, and abductions on that day.

How many Gazan "civilians" helped Hamas move and store rockets? How many "civilians" offered up their homes to hold hostages captive or keep guard to make sure they did not escape? How many have been the willing accomplices and collaborators of Hamas in the worst massacre and crimes against the Jewish people since the Holocaust?

These questions are crucial. Yet the international community is failing to ask these questions.

Instead, lawmakers, journalists and diplomats are blindly accepting reported casualty figures from the Gaza Health Ministry, as if it were Moses delivering the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. Apparently, eight months into this war, it still has to be repeated that the Gaza "Health Ministry" is no more than a propaganda arm of the Hamas terror group.

A group that murders, massacres, rapes, beheads, and abducts people, and has a relentless history of fabricating stories, inflating casualties, and using their own civilians as human shields, is not exactly the world's most trustworthy source.

This has not stopped the international community from using the Hamas figures as evidence to maliciously accuse Israel of genocide, call for embargoes, or seek arrest warrants for Israeli leaders.

It's all nonsense.

Even if you accept Hamas's figure of 30,000 reported deaths in Gaza during Israel's war, the ratio of Palestinian non-combatants to terrorists killed has been estimated to be one to one, a level unprecedented in modern warfare. Meanwhile, the actual number of civilian casualties was recently significantly altered when the U.N. acknowledged that over 10,000 of the reported casualties were missing, not verified deaths; they also halved their demographic estimates of men versus women and children. With these updates, the already questionable figures become much lower. It would be lower still if those who have been reported as "civilians" were in fact combatants or, as we saw this week, holding hostages captive.

For Hamas, civilian death is their strategy; Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has called civilian deaths a "necessary sacrifices."

As long as the press and world leaders fail to ask these questions, continuing to push false narratives and unsubstantiated casualty figures, they are only enabling and empowering Hamas and perpetuating the violence and suffering they claim to seek to end.


‘The Story You’re Not Supposed to Cover’
An Israeli incursion into the central Gazan refugee camp of Nuseirat earlier this month left Abdallah Aljamal, a journalist publishing frequent dispatches from the war-torn Strip, dead in his home. The catch? The raid was actually an operation to free three Israeli civilians abducted by terrorists on October 7, and Aljamal, a known Hamas affiliate, was one of their captors.

That a self-proclaimed journalist was holding Israelis hostage came as no surprise to Israeli officials, who have long warned about Hamas’ manipulation of the media in Gaza. Nor did Aljamal’s regular contributions to a U.S.-based media outlet, the Palestine Chronicle, one of many websites spreading pro-Hamas propaganda in America and abroad. But his involvement—and its limited coverage by major international news agencies—may be indicative of a larger problem: Hamas’ weaponization of the press and the role of journalists as both witting and unwitting accomplices.

“Hamas sees press, and especially press that is stationed inside Gaza, as a tool in its war,” Maj. Nir Dinar, an Israeli military spokesman, told The Dispatch. “The only goal is to survive, and [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar knows that the only way in which he can survive is creating international pressure on Israel.”

For the Palestine Chronicle, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization registered in Washington state, generating anti-Israel sentiment under the guise of independent journalism appears to be the guiding mission. The outlet’s website states that its team “consists of professional journalists and respected writers and authors who don’t speak on behalf of any political party or champion any specific political agenda.” Yet a closer look at the digital footprint of the organization’s contributors reveals clear pro-Hamas sympathies among the Chronicle’s international and U.S.-based staff members, including Aljamal and its editor-in-chief, Ramzy Baroud.

The former, who was identified by the freed Israeli hostages as one of their captors, made several Facebook posts exposing his support for Hamas. In 2021, for example, Aljamal shared an image featuring the funeral procession of a man draped in the Hamas flag and being carried by Hamas fighters. In 2023, he posted two photos of a young boy wearing the terror group’s garb and wielding toy weapons at what appears to be a Hamas training camp. On October 7, Aljamal thanked God for the attack in which nearly 1,200 Israelis—mostly civilians—were violently murdered by Gazan terrorists who breached the border into southern Israel.
Rescued hostages were held by families with known ties to Hamas, says report
The hostages rescued from the Gaza Strip by Israeli forces last week were held by two families with widely known links to the Hamas terror group, according to report published Sunday.

The IDF said last week that three of four hostages rescued by special forces from the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip were held at the home of Abdallah Aljamal, a Palestinian journalist and member of the Hamas terror group. The fourth hostage was kept in a building just 200 meters away.

The Wall Street Journal reported that it was “common knowledge in Nuseirat” that Aljamal’s family had close ties to Hamas, but said “few people in the densely populated area in central Gaza knew of the secret locked in the small, darkened room in the family’s apartment.”

Aljamal was previously a spokesman for the Hamas-run labor ministry in Gaza and contributed to several news outlets in the past.

Amid the war in Gaza, numerous articles by Aljamal were published by the Palestine Chronicle outlet, and while hostages Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv were being held captive in his home. In an article published days before the hostage raid headlined “My House Will Always Be Open,” Aljamal claimed he was willing to take in those displaced by the war from other areas of Gaza.

Aljamal was open in his support of Hamas. On October 7, the day terror group led a devastating cross-border attack on southern Israel, Aljamal posted to Facebook “Praise be to God…Oh God, guide us…Oh God, guide us…Oh God, guide us…Oh God, grant us the victory you promised,” the Journal report said.

During the attack, terrorists killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages to Gaza amid acts of brutal atrocity.

Aljamal’s wife Fatma, and his father Ahmad Aljamal were killed during the hostage rescue mission. Residents told the Wall Street Journal that the family’s children survived.

Ahmad Aljamal — whose brother serves as a Hamas lawmaker on Gaza’s legislative council — was a physician in the area and also served as imam at a local mosque, the kind of key institution controlled by Hamas. During the months the hostages were held in the home he continued treating patients in the Nuseirat camp and at his private clinic, locals reported.

A neighbor told the Journal that Ahmad Aljamal went about his business as usual during the war, though his son Abdullah was hardly seen.

Ali Bkhit, a social media consultant, told the outlet that the father “was a nice character; his smile never left his face.”

Some residents quoted in the report said they were surprised that the Aljamals held hostages at their home, while others said they were “furious” that Hamas had put them in danger by holding the captives there rather than in the terror group’s extensive network of tunnels under Gaza. The narrow streets of the area meant that a military operation was bound to have high casualties, residents noted.

“Hamas should give us a map of the safe zones we can stay in, because if we knew there were hostages in the neighborhood, we would have looked for another place,” said Mustafa Muhammad, 36, who fled from Gaza City to Nuseirat.


After Gantz exit, Netanyahu disbands War Cabinet
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has informed members of his government of his intent to dissolve the War Cabinet set up after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack.

The premier told ministers on Sunday that the powerful forum, which was established when National Unity Party leader Benny Gantz joined the wartime government in October, had become obsolete following the latter’s June 9 decision to return to the opposition.

Discussions on the war will continue to take place in a small forum with the participation of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Shas Party chairman Aryeh Deri, Kan News reported. The latter two have served as War Cabinet observer members in the past months.

Announcing his decision to exit the government last week, Gantz accused Netanyahu of preventing the Israel Defense Forces from reaching “true victory” on the southern and northern borders.
Gallant to Congress members: We’re fighting for Western civilization
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met on Monday with a bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation visiting the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv on a trip organized by AIPAC’s American Israel Education Foundation.

The nine-member group consisted of Reps. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), Jake Ellzey (R-Texas), Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa), Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Glenn Ivey (D-Md.), Greg Landsman (D-Ohio), Lucy McBath (D-Ga.), Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) and Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), Gallant’s office said.

According to a readout of the meeting, Gallant briefed the lawmakers on developments on Israel’s southern and northern borders as Jerusalem “continues to pursue its goals in the war against the Hamas terrorist organization and defends its citizens from daily attacks by Hezbollah.”

Gallant told the delegation, “Israel is engaged in a war against Iranian proxies—a war on Western civilization. U.S. support in all its forms is critical not only to Israel’s victory, but also to the deterrence of our common enemies across the world.”

The Israel Defense Forces has been fighting a ground war in the Gaza Strip since October, when Hamas-led terrorists murdered some 1,200 people, mainly Jewish civilians, in southern Israel in the deadliest antisemitic attack since the Holocaust.

Meanwhile, Iran-backed Hezbollah has attacked northern Israel nearly every day since joining the war in support of Hamas on Oct. 8, killing more than 20 people and causing widespread damage. Tens of thousands of Israelis remain internally displaced due to the violence.
White House stresses Gazan pain on Islamic holiday, contradicts Israel’s war aims
President Joe Biden on Sunday wished Muslims in the U.S. and the world best wishes on Eid al-Adha, a Muslim holiday, taking the opportunity to stress his sympathy for the “suffering” of Gazan civilians and reiterating policy positions at odds with Israeli war aims.

“This year, Eid al-Adha comes at a difficult time for many Muslims around the world. In Gaza, innocent civilians are suffering the horrors of the war between Hamas and Israel,” the president said in a statement.

“Too many innocent people have been killed, including thousands of children. Families have fled their homes and seen their communities destroyed. Their pain is immense,” he added.

The president said his administration is “doing everything” it can to end the war, a goal in opposition to Israel’s stated war aims, which include the complete destruction of Hamas, the Gaza Strip-based terrorist group responsible for the mass murder of some 1,200 Israelis and the kidnapping of more than 250, of which roughly 120 remain in captivity.

Biden also emphasized his administration’s commitment to the two-state solution, also in opposition to Israel’s position that a Palestinian state would be a reward for terrorism.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Israel last week amid the Biden administration’s efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and avoid a wider war against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, as well as President Isaac Herzog, former War Cabinet member Benny Gantz and opposition leader Yair Lapid.

According to a U.S. readout of the meeting with Netanyahu, Blinken “reiterated that the United States and other world leaders will stand behind the comprehensive proposal outlined by President Biden that would lead to an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages, and a significant and sustained increase in humanitarian assistance for distribution throughout Gaza.”
Caroline Glick: IDF Announces Pause in Fighting As 11 Soldiers Die
Tragedy strikes over the weekend as the war against Hamas claims 11 soldiers' lives; the IDF announces a pause in fighting to deliver humanitarian aid in Rafah and Israel's entrenched leadership tells the people to take a win and go home.




IDF has destroyed half of Hamas’s fighting forces in Rafah
Around half of Hamas’s battalions in its last bastion of Rafah in southernmost Gaza have been dismantled during the current military operation there, the Israel Defense Forces said on Monday.

Furthermore, soldiers from the Armored Corps’ 162nd Division have killed at least 550 terrorists and destroyed some 200 tunnel shafts since tanks first rolled into Rafah in early May, taking control of the border crossing with Sinai and the eastern section of the city, before expanding activities to other areas, eventually securing the entire Gaza border with Egypt, known as the Philadelphi Corridor.

According to the IDF, many more terrorist operatives were killed in strikes on buildings and tunnels, while an unknown number of terrorists fled Rafah when the battle started.

Out of the four Hamas battalions in Rafah before the IDF ground incursion into the Gaza Strip, two—Yabna (south) and east Rafah—have been almost completely dismantled, while the other two—Tel Sultan (west) and Shaboura (north)—have been moderately broken down as the army continues to fight in these two neighborhoods.

Along the 8.7-mile Philadelphi Corridor, Israeli forces have located hundreds of rockets, including dozens of long-range rockets aimed at central Israel. The tunnels unearthed led to many underground routes, including at least 25 tunnels reaching the Egyptian border, some of which likely cross into Sinai and were used by Hamas to smuggle weapons. The IDF is further investigating these tunnels.

Israeli forces have gained operational control of the NPK neighborhood after intense fighting there over the past week, both above and below ground. It contained the headquarters of Hamas’s Rafah Brigade.
Hamas devolving from terror army to guerrilla force
As the Israel Defense Forces ground offensive rolls on in northern, central and southern Gaza, and most of Hamas’s organized battalions are already dismantled, Hamas is undergoing a significant transformation from a structured terror army to a decentralized guerrilla force.

This shift is marked by a move away from rapid battlefield engagements against the IDF in favor of guerrilla hit-and-run tactics by localized terror cells that seek to prolong the conflict and exploit urban warfare dynamics, observers in Israel and the United States tell JNS.

According to Professor Efraim Inbar, president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS), the shift in Hamas’s combat approach was inevitable from the beginning of the conflict, when it faced coordinated Israeli military operations.

“Hamas has no chance of standing against the IDF’s power on the battlefield, and therefore shifted to guerrilla tactics,” he said.

Inbar noted that the IDF’s extensive air cover for ground forces in particular forced Hamas to seek shelter in Gaza’s extensive tunnel network and within supportive civilian populations, drawing a parallel to the jungle warfare tactics seen in Southeast Asia.

From these hiding spots, said Inbar, Hamas fighters launch attacks on Israeli forces, aiming to inflict casualties and avoid direct confrontation.

“Hamas, like other guerilla forces, does not think it can defeat the IDF, and hence is strategically managing attrition to prevent the [Israeli] political echelon from declaring victory in the war, and to weaken the home front in order to erode Israeli determination,” said Inbar.


JPost Editorial: Israel and Lebanon are engaged in war, all but in name
The Biden administration has become increasingly concerned that the situation in the North between Israel and Hezbollah could spread throughout the region, US media reported over the weekend.

US diplomatic adviser Amos Hochstein is heading to Israel on Monday with the reported purpose of trying to de-escalate tensions.

Unfortunately, instead of encouraging the IDF to take care of business and make the North safe again so that its residents can return, the plan seems to be to press Israel to mute its response to the Hezbollah onslaught.

In its attempt to restore quiet in the North, the fig leaf that the US presents of a hostage and ceasefire deal in the South is, of course, far from realistic, since Hamas has rejected the US and Israeli-backed proposal that is on the table.

“There has to be an agreement that allows Israelis to return to their homes in the North with security guarantees that it is not October 6 of Hezbollah…sitting right on the blue line,” a US official told CBS News.

Although the official likely didn’t intend it, his statement means that Israel must go into Lebanon and push Hezbollah back so that it is no longer a border threat.

With Israel’s North burning up and its residents adamant about not returning to live there until Hezbollah is no longer breathing down their necks, it’s apparent to all that a major conflict is pending.

Once that happens, we’ll hear the international bodies calling for an immediate end to the Israeli aggression on a sovereign country. There will be protests in major American cities, and news agencies will write harrowing reports about the suffering civilian population of Lebanon.

Nobody will remember that for eight months, Israel was being attacked daily by Hezbollah while being told by the US and the EU to hold tight and not make things worse.

Well, they’re about the worst they could be, and the waiting is over. Israel must do what any country would do when its borders are being breached and its citizens targeted: fight back.
‘War with Hezbollah inevitable, but perhaps not imminent’
According to Spyer, although war with Hezbollah is inevitable, it is not necessarily imminent. “It’s not unimaginable that this thing will end not with a bang but with a whimper. It is possible that if the war in Gaza ends, then the firing from Lebanon will die down and then maybe some people will begin trickling back.

“Not everyone will come back at that point,” he said. “People will be terrified to come home and there would be a real scenario of another October 7, but on a much larger scale, taking place in the north. Some of these communities exist meters from Hezbollah fighters. It could just end in confusion and mess. If that’s where we end up then the question of the viability of the Israel border will have been posed by Hezbollah and not answered by Israel,” Spyer said.

Despite the seeming necessity of an Israeli campaign in Lebanon, there is massive international pressure to stop the IDF from going in. “At this point we’re damned if we do, and were damned if we don’t. If we go in, it will incredibly inflame international tensions. American support for a pre-emptive invasion is very tenuous,” Freilich said.

“A war in Lebanon would come with a flood of negative media coverage and increased media pressure. Israel will have even less control of the coverage in Lebanon than we do in Gaza,” Spyer added.

Another issue preventing Israel from fully committing to an offensive in Lebanon is a clear definition of war aims. The military establishment is hesitant to militarily control swaths of Southern Lebanon. In the aftermath of the First Lebanon War of 1982-85, Israel seized a large security zone in Southern Lebanon to prevent threats to the Galilee and the Golan. This buffer arrangement ended up being unrealistic and ultimately led to an Israeli withdrawal in 2000, creating a vacuum that was almost immediately filled by Hezbollah.

On the other hand, capturing but not establishing long-term control of territory, in a similar tactic to the one currently being pursued in Gaza, is also a problematic strategy. Furthermore, there is a broad lack of confidence that Israel will pursue an all-out war of annihilation against Hezbollah like the one it claims to be waging against Hamas.

“The full-scale destruction of Hezbollah is just not on the agenda, so our best goal, in this case, is to strongly deter it and to establish new rules of the game for how Hezbollah is allowed to operate in Southern Lebanon,” Spyer said.

“Retaining troops across the border is not realistic; Israel must have the ability to engage quickly and effectively across the border. We need to shift the area of conflict entirely into southern Lebanon,” he added.

The source: Iran
In the broadest scene, any long-term strategy for dealing with Hezbollah has to go back to the source of the issue: Iran. This perspective has increasingly been gaining traction among certain elements of Israel’s political and military establishment.

Dubbed the “Octopus Strategy” by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, this perspective seeks to supplement aggressive actions against Iran’s proxies with direct actions against the mother country.

“To truly resolve this issue what must happen is a broad all-out political and military strategy to roll back Iranian influence in the Middle East,” Spyer said. “If Iran sets fires on Israel’s border, we must set fires of our own around Iran. Bring the fight to the enemy and keep it there.”

So far, the conflict on the northern border has resulted in 10 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 15 IDF soldiers and reservists.
Seth Frantzman: What a BBC article tells us about Israel’s Lebanon challenge
An article published by the BBC on Saturday can shed some light on the town of Alma al-Shaab – sometimes spelled “Aalma El Chaeb” – located across the border from the Israeli community of Hanita, which has been a frequent target of Hezbollah attacks.

Alma al-Shaab is a Christian village and shares a similar name with Ayta ash-Shaab, a different town located 17 km. to the east, which is a frequent target of IDF strikes due to Hezbollah’s presence.

The article is titled “Why 800 people fled a sun-kissed Mediterranean village,” and is written by Ali Abbas Ahmadi. “Why, why us?” asks Milad Eid, a resident of the village. “An hour earlier, he was dousing a fire at a house that had been hit by an Israeli missile. While he was there, a bomb struck another one,” reads the article.

It sketches out a story of a town whose residents had to flee due to the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. Since October 8, Hezbollah has launched thousands of rockets, missiles, and drones at Israel in support of Hamas after the attacks on October 7. This has plunged the poor people of the border villages of Lebanon into a war zone.

These are people who have no say in the fact Hezbollah uses their lands to hide weapons. Hezbollah has a massive arsenal of 150,000 rockets, it has missiles and drones and effectively functions as an army – an army large enough and similar enough to that of other established states.

However, it is also a terrorist group. The international community has long tolerated Hezbollah’s illegal role in hijacking Lebanon, the same way it tolerated Hamas taking over Gaza. One conclusion could be that the international community recognizes some sort of benefit to having these groups growing in power on Israel’s borders. Instead of focusing on trying to curtail them, some see them as helpful proxies.

Yet these groups have brought destruction to Gaza and Lebanon. IDF Spokesman R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari warned on Sunday, “Hezbollah’s increasing aggression is bringing us to the brink of what could be a wider escalation – one that could have devastating consequences for Lebanon and the entire region... Israel must defend the people of Israel. We will fulfill that duty – at all costs.”


Nasrallah, Israel knows where you are hiding
An Iranian envoy landed in Beirut immediately after the assassination of Taleb Sami Abdallah, the commander of Hezbollah's Nasr unit in southern Lebanon. However, instead of heading to Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah's office, he met with Nasrallah’s close associates in a closed room. The main topic: Iran's concern—shared by Hezbollah—that Israel is now targeting Nasrallah himself.

For years, it was understood that Hezbollah believed Israel did not intend to eliminate Nasrallah. Over his 32-year tenure as leader of the world's largest, most armed, skilled, and disciplined terrorist organization, Israel has learned to anticipate his speeches and monitor his health.

While Nasrallah remains the senior figure, a new generation of commanders is emerging within the terror group. Reports occasionally naming his potential successors likely annoy Nasrallah, who suspects—correctly—that Israel is leaking this information to weaken him and create internal tension within Hezbollah's leadership.

The Mossad appears to know Nasrallah's exact location at all times. Even if he changes addresses, "our people" are well-informed. Nasrallah himself believes Israel can reach him but is holding back. Although security around him has been tightened, former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen recently revealed unequivocally, "We know the exact location of the Secretary-General of the terrorist organization, and we can take him out at any moment." He added, "If a decision is made to settle the score with Nasrallah, Israel can do so at any given time."

The assassination of senior Hezbollah military officer Taleb Sami Abdallah was a significant blow. Only a few outside Hezbollah had heard of the commander responsible for the southern region, from the Litani River to the Shebaa Farms, an area with no defined borders between Syria, Lebanon, and Israel.

Terrorists from the "Nasser Force," commanded by the late Abu Taleb, instantly vowed to launch "immediate retaliation." As a result, 215 rockets were fired at Tiberias, Safed, and Kibbutz Sasa, causing no casualties.

Taleb, his close aide, and two commanders were killed in the town of Jouaiya, 25 kilometers from the Israeli border. Hezbollah's spokesperson stated that the four were in a work meeting planning a shooting attack on Kfar Blum. Now, Hashem Safi al-Din, head of Hezbollah's advisory council, asserts that the more Israel kills Hezbollah members, the stronger the terror group becomes. In contrast, the Hezbollah-affiliated daily Al-Akhbar acknowledged in a bold headline, "Israel dealt a painful blow by assassinating Taleb Sami Abdallah."


FDD: U.S. Envoy Arrives in Israel Amid Growing Focus on Hezbollah Escalation
Latest Developments
White House special envoy to the Middle East Amos Hochstein arrived in Israel on June 17 amid skepticism in the Israeli media that he would be able to rein in the growing threat posed by Hezbollah on the northern border. “Hochstein is unlikely to prevent an escalation despite his upcoming efforts. His influence on Hezbollah is considered relatively limited,” Ynet noted ahead of Hochstein’s meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, former war cabinet member Benny Gantz, opposition leader Yair Lapid, and President Isaac Herzog.

Expert Analysis
“Hochstein is repeating his mistakes from the October 2022 deal delineating the maritime border between Israel and Lebanon, which was achieved in the shadow of Hezbollah’s threats. His current ceasefire proposals would, at best, achieve only a deceptive quiet along the Blue Line that, like his ostensible accomplishment from 2022, will only whet Hezbollah’s appetite to use violence to extract more concessions from the international community. Thus, the proposals will set the stage for a far more destructive conflict with Israel in the future.” — David Daoud, FDD Senior Fellow

“Hezbollah has been incrementally increasing its attacks on Israel in May and June. The terrorist group senses that Israel will not respond with overwhelming force and it is trying to pick up the slack of reduced Hamas capabilities in Gaza. Hezbollah’s attacks are designed to slowly turn up the heat on Israel while making it harder for Israel to escalate without risking a larger war.” — Seth J. Frantzman, FDD Adjunct Fellow

Hezbollah Refusing to Cooperate With UN Security Council
Hezbollah’s increasing aggression risks a wider escalation, IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said on June 16. Hagari asserted that Hezbollah’s continued attacks on Israel “could have devastating consequences for Lebanon and the entire region.” The Iranian-backed terrorist group has “fired over 5,000 rockets, anti-tank missiles, and explosive UAVs from Lebanon at Israeli families, homes, and communities,” Hagari added. He noted that Hezbollah still refuses to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 1701, passed in the wake of the 2006 war, which mandates Hezbollah’s full disarmament. “Israel will take the necessary measures to protect its civilians — until security along our border with Lebanon is restored,” Hagari concluded.

Hochstein’s arrival coincided with reports that Hezbollah’s escalation has caused hundreds of people to flee southern Lebanon, including Christians from small villages near the Israeli border. Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met with a bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation on June 17, telling the lawmakers pointedly that “Israel is engaged in a war against Iranian proxies – a war on Western civilization.”


In conference, ex-hostages recount beatings, fears during Hamas captivity
Former hostages open up about their experiences in Hamas captivity to a crowd of journalists and social media influencers in Sderot, at a conference organized by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

Danielle Aloni, 44, who was released during a weeklong truce in November, recalls that Hamas terrorists brought her and other residents of Nir Oz down to Gaza’s subterranean tunnels on the morning of October 7, when invading terrorists killed over 1,200 people and kidnapped 251.

“I wasn’t injured, though I was beaten on the way,” she adds.

“That definitely qualifies as an injury,” panel host Reshef Levi interrupts, prompting Aloni to clarify she had seen “really appalling injuries — exposed flesh, violent injuries.”

Louis Har, who was freed by the IDF in a rescue operation in February after 129 days in captivity, says that he worried each time he heard Israeli planes overhead.

He recalls that “glass broke, the entire floor shook” when bombs fell in Gaza, and he and other hostages “didn’t know when it would fall on us.”

When asked if she experienced any additional fear as a woman in captivity, Aloni explains that she and her 5-year-old daughter, who was abducted with her, were most afraid that their captors would kill them, “that they would lose their patience as the days progressed.”

“We already know the terrorists aren’t a homogeneous group. They don’t get notes on how to treat the hostages,” she says.


Call Me Back PodCast: Divisions in Israeli society – with Dr. Micah Goodman
Hosted by Dan Senor
As for today’s episode, as we discussed at length in our last episode — “Haviv Unplugged!” — the issue of a military service exemption for Haredi Jews (ultra-Orthodox Jews) is coming to a head right now, as Israel is at war. Or maybe it’s coming to a head with such ferocity precisely because Israel is at war, and it’s raising all sorts of questions about whether Israel has the manpower to fight a continued war in Gaza and possibly other fronts that could open up. It does seem like Israel is in an entirely new military environment, across multiple fronts. Also, are some parts of the Israeli population paying a disproportionately high price?

These are questions that are being considered right now by Israel’s government. These are questions that are weighing especially heavy on society after 12 soldiers over the past few days. Dr. Micah Goodman is our guest today, to help us unpack all of this. Micah is on the speed-dial of a number of Israeli political leaders – from right to left, but especially on the center-left and the center-right. He is a polymath, a podcaster and one of Israel’s most influential public intellectuals, having written books ranging from biblical lessons for the modern age to Israel’s geopolitics. One book in particular, had an outsized impact in terms of its framing of the conundrum that Israel has been in with the Palestinians since 1967. That book is called “Catch-67: The Left, the Right, and the Legacy of the Six-Day War”, Not only have all of his books been bestsellers in Israel, he essentially created a new genre; books that bring core texts of Jewish thought to a general, secular audience.

In his new book – called “The Eighth Day”, which Micah wrote in a four-month sprint after October 7th – Micah tries to understand the implications of the nation’s trauma and what it means for the other ‘day after’ (not the ‘day after’ in Gaza, but the ‘day after’ inside Israel). What does this moment mean for Israelis? How will 10/07 re-shape Israeli society…and its politics?

Micah Goodman’s books:
Catch-67 The Wondering Jew
The Commentary Magazine Podcast: Israel’s Deadly Weekend, Biden’s Sad One
Hosted by Abe Greenwald, Christine Rosen, John Podhoretz & Matthew Continetti
Israelis are getting killed in greater numbers as the Rafah mission continues, while Netanyahu ends the war cabinet and another Biden envoy travels to the region to “do something” about missiles striking Israel from Lebanon. Good luck. Meanwhile, Joe Biden has to be guided off stage by Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton pops up at the Tonys to remind people that the kind of people who like her also like the Tonys. Give a listen.
FDD Morning Brief | feat. Mosab Hassan Yousef (Jun. 17)
FDD Senior Vice President Jonathan Schanzer delivers timely situational updates and analysis on headlines of the Middle East, followed by a conversation with Mosab Hassan Yousef, ex-Hamas terrorist-turned-covert Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) agent and son of Hamas co-founder, Sheikh Hassan Yousef.


Douglas Murray - Great Men Will Save the West | The Restoration Podcast 001
Douglas Murray is a best-selling author and prescient thinker. He has long been a leading defender of the West. In his books, The Strange Death of Europe (2017), The Madness of Crowds (2019), and The War on the West (2022), he identified the threats facing the West, both internal and external, and has suggested how we might defend ourselves. He is also a friend.

It was a pleasure talking with him and it was encouraging to hear his message of hope for our society. Enjoy the discussion!

0:00 Intro
1:42 Siding with the enemy?
5:38 Student protests and radical Islam
14:26 What are you going to do about it in the West?
26:10 Demoralizing western populations - the Global Majority
32:45 Have we re-entered the age of polytheism?
36:10 Emulating the Saints
41:53 The Great Man view of history
1:02:25 Gratitude, Stewardship, and Hope




‘Insidious forces are at work’: ‘Inaction’ by government on Jew hate speech is ‘capitulation’
Sky News host Chris Kenny says inaction by the government on hate speech against Jewish people is “capitulation”.

“All this hatred directed at Jewish Australians ... staggeringly has led to zero arrests, zero response from our political and law enforcement authorities,” Mr Kenny said.

“This is not only a direct threat against Jews and their supporters, it’s a threat against our values, against pluralism, liberalism, tolerance and democracy.

“Insidious forces are at work, and silence is complicity, and inaction by governments is capitulation.”


Pro-Palestine encampments demonstrate the ‘bankruptcy’ of universities
New York Times columnist Bret Stephens says pro-Palestinian encampments and protests in the US have largely been “confined” to some of the most elite universities.

“It’s not a phenomenon you’ll find at the University of Nebraska or Purdue University,” Mr Stephens said.

“It’s confined to specific places that have been teaching a particular kind of ideology and cultivating a worldview ... that has very little room for nuance or critical thinking.

“It really actually demonstrates, more than anything else, the bankruptcy of some of these institutions of higher learning.”


‘Great deal to answer for’: Western media slammed for quoting ‘Hamas propaganda’
Australian media has a “great deal to answer for” as reporting from the Western world has “quoted uncritically Hamas propaganda” since the beginning of the Israel-Gaza war, says Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin.

“They have laundered what is effectively a band of rapists and murderers and thugs into resistors,” he told Sky News host Sharri Markson.

“They call people who relentlessly dox and harass and intimidate Jewish Australians as peace activists.

“Disinformation is being spread at levels we have not seen before.”


Jerry Seinfeld heckler reaction shows people are ‘getting sick’ of protests
Broadcaster Dee Dee Dunleavy says people are “getting very sick” of protests as pro-Palestine demonstrations rage on across the globe.

Jerry Seinfeld has mocked an anti-Israel protester after being heckled during his comedy show in Sydney at Qudos Bank Arena on Sunday night.

“The thing that I found really interesting with that clip that we’ve seen was the reaction from the audience,” Ms Dunleavy told Sky News host Rita Panahi.

“What that does is sum up the way people are feeling.”




Israeli arms sales break record for 3rd year in row, reaching $13 billion in 2023
Annual Israeli arms sales reached a new record in 2023, for the third consecutive year, amounting to nearly double the value of exports compared to five years ago, according to Defense Ministry figures released Monday.

The ministry’s International Defense Cooperation Directorate, known as SIBAT, said defense exports totaled $13 billion last year, up from $12.5 billion in 2022 — the previous record high. Between 2018 and 2020, that number hovered between $7.5 billion and $8.5 billion.

With the outbreak of the war on October 7, the Defense Ministry said it began operating in an “emergency mode,” with defense contractors being drafted to the war effort by manufacturing weaponry and equipment for the Israel Defense Forces around the clock, alongside previous orders for foreign clients.

“Despite the war, 2023 amounted to a new record and was characterized by significant export deals,” the ministry said.

Air defense systems made up the largest chunk of exports at 36% — up from 19% in 2022. This was largely due to Israel’s €4 billion sale of the Arrow 3 anti-ballistic missile system to Germany.

Exports of radar and electronic warfare systems amounted to 11% of arms sales, and weapons launchers made up another 11%.
Israeli Defense Industry Sees Surge in European Demand
European countries are increasingly purchasing Israeli defense technology due to regional security concerns

In the past few years, there has been a notable surge in global interest, orders, and sales within the Israeli defense industry. These have mainly been driven by changes in the European security landscape rather than conflicts in the Middle East. Israel’s three primary players, Rafael, Elbit Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), say they have witnessed significant growth as European countries are increasingly looking to invest in reliable weapons and technologies to adapt to the evolving security environment.

“Definitely, the arms race in Europe has been amplified by the war between Russia and Ukraine,” a representative of one of the companies told The Media Line on condition of anonymity.

Seth Frantzman, author of Drone Wars: Pioneers, Killing Machines, Artificial Intelligence, and the Battle for the Future, confirmed this sentiment. “Everyone understands the future in this century is going to be a lot more war, and I think most countries are arming themselves two or three decades after the end of the Cold War. You are going to see the defense industry globally grow, and Israel will benefit from that,” he said.

The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas is expected to fuel further growth in the local defense industry, Frantzman added.

Although Israel is only the size of New Jersey, its unique security challenges have driven substantial investment in its defense industry. Over the past 75 years, this investment has transformed Israel into a critical player in the global arms market, supplying advanced weapons and defense systems that protect nations and people worldwide.

So, it was a shock when the French government last month announced it would bar Israeli firms from participating in the June 17-21 defense exhibition Eurosatory 2024, citing the Israeli government’s conduct in Gaza. However, a spokesperson for Rafael told The Media Line that while the exhibition is important, it is only one exhibition, and he does not expect the move to have a ripple effect.

“We respected the decision, and we are not fighting it and not trying to circumvent it,” the spokesperson said. A representative from one of the other companies suggested the move may have been commercially driven rather than political.

Instead, Israeli companies were just at the ILA Berlin Air Show from June 5 to June 9, where German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met them to discuss weapons collaboration.

Frantzman noted that while buying Israeli weapons may become more controversial in some places until the war is over, Israel’s use of these weapons against Hamas and Hezbollah demonstrates their effectiveness, likely increasing global interest in them.




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This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For over 19 years and 40,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going.

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