Saturday, July 27, 2024

07/27 Links: Hezbollah rocket kills 12 children and teens in Golan Druze town, injures 38; The Terrifying Lebanon Scenarios; Middle East threats endanger American democracy

From Ian:

Hezbollah rocket kills 11 children and teens in Golan Druze town, injures 38
Eleven children and youths were killed and at least 38 were wounded when a Hezbollah heavy rocket hit near a soccer field in the Israeli Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights on Saturday evening.

“The Hezbollah terrorist organization is behind the rocket launch at a soccer field in Majdal Shams which caused multiple civilian casualties, including children, earlier this evening,” the Israel Defense Forces said.

The rocket strike at 6:18 p.m., part of the third barrage fired from Lebanon that evening, was carried out by the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization, according to an IDF situational assessment and intelligence information.

“All the fatalities are children, aged 10 to 20. We share in the grief of the families and embrace the Druze community in its difficult time,” IDF Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told reporters at a briefing.

“In the past hour, Hezbollah has been lying and denying responsibility for the incident. Our intelligence is clear: Hezbollah is responsible for the murder of innocent children,” he added.

At least 34 casualties with wounds of varying degrees were evacuated to hospitals by Magen David Adom first responders and IDF helicopters.

“We arrived at the soccer field and saw destruction and items on fire,” MDA medic Idan Avshalom said. “Victims were lying on the grass, and the scenes were difficult. We immediately began triaging the injured.

“During the incident, there were additional [rocket] alerts, and medical treatment for the injured is still ongoing,” added the first responder. Ambulances evacuate injured people from the site of a Hezbollah rocket attack in Majdal Shams, July 27, 2024. Photo by Ayal Margolin/Flash90.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu moved up his return flight from the U.S. following the incident in northern Israel, his office said.

“The prime minister will convene the Security Cabinet immediately upon his return to Israel,” the Prime Minister’s Office said.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, Northern Command head Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin, Operations Directorate head Maj. Gen. Oded Basiuk, Air Force commander Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar and other members of the General Staff were conducting a situational assessment.

President Isaac Herzog tweeted following the incident, “The terrible and shocking disaster in the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the north of Israel is truly heartbreaking. There are no words that can comfort the families of the young victims who lost their lives through no fault of their own.”

He continued, “Hezbollah, armed and funded by Iran, does not distinguish between child or adult, soldier or civilian, Jew or Muslim, Druze or Christian.”
Jonathan Schanzer: The Terrifying Lebanon Scenarios
The Israelis have wanted to respond to Hezbollah since the first weeks of the war. The Biden White House has restrained the Benjamin Netanyahu government. But after today, Team Biden is not likely to restrain the Israelis any longer. It’s also notable that Biden is now a lame duck, which means that he holds considerably less sway over Israel’s military calculus.

Without knowing exactly what Israel’s response might be, here are some potential scenarios we might expect.
1. Israel Responds, Hezbollah Absorbs: While there could be some tough hours or days ahead, there is a chance that Hezbollah restrains itself. Perhaps more accurately, there is a chance that Iran restrains Hezbollah. This would be the rational decision. But it would require Tehran and its most powerful proxy to believe that they would pay a price for any further escalation. While this is certainly possible, it seems unlikely. Thanks to weak American responses after nine months of Iranian aggression, and an Israeli government that has yet to make a consequential decision related to the undeclared war in the north, the Iranian axis is not deterred.

2. A Hostage Deal Dials Everything Back: We continue to hear about efforts by the CIA, Mossad, Egyptian intelligence, and the Hamas-financing government of Qatar to reach a hostage deal. Hezbollah has indicated for months that if there is a ceasefire in Gaza—one that results from a hostage deal or is struck under other terms—the group would cease firing upon Israel. A deal is far from certain, and even if one is reached, it is likely still several weeks away. Thus, the chances of a hostage deal dialing back a wider war in the north seems unlikely right now.

3. Amos Hochstein Prevails: For the last several months, the White House has deployed energy envoy Amos Hochstein to try to reach a diplomatic deal between Israel and Lebanon/Hezbollah to prevent a wider war. Hochstein brokered a 2022 maritime gas deal between Israel and Lebanon that yielded Lebanon the Qana gas field. That deal was supposed to prevent escalations like the one we are witnessing now. But with the benefit of hindsight, Hochstein’s effort should be seen for what it is: a failed attempt to appease Hezbollah. His current stab at haggling with the government of Lebanon with the goal of convincing Hezbollah to withdraw from south Lebanon to territory north of the Litani River and halting its aggression, are ongoing. But the Lebanese regime is a caretaker government that wields no power in a failing state controlled by Hezbollah. The terms that Hochstein is trying to reach are already spelled out in UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which should have been implemented nearly two decades ago. Iran and Hezbollah have refused. The Lebanese government has not even tried to change the equation. And the West has stood by and watched. Of course, the fear of a devastating war could yield a situation in which cooler heads prevail. But it’s hard to believe that Hochstein has the answers.

4. A Limited War in Southern Lebanon: The conventional wisdom holds that neither Hezbollah nor Israel want a full-blown conflagration, given the devastation that such a war would likely leave in its wake. This is not wrong. The estimates suggest that thousands of Lebanese and Israeli citizens would die, with billions of dollars of damage incurred on both sides. This is why my Lebanese friends are convinced that there would be some sort of gentleman’s agreement in the war to come. Israel would only strike Hezbollah assets and infrastructure south of the Litani River, and Hezbollah would only strike Israeli assets in the country’s northern third. Unfortunately, the likelihood is low that both sides willingly exercise restraint in the event of an escalation. This is simply not how wars work—particularly between these two foes. Their wars have long been marked by escalation through miscalculation.

5. A Big War in the North: This may be the most likely scenario if things escalate quickly. And it’s not pretty. Hezbollah has 200,000 rockets in its arsenal, thousands of drones, and an estimated 1,500 precision guided munitions that can strike military assets or even strategic infrastructure in Israel. To be clear: skyscrapers could fall. Hezbollah’s Radwan forces are highly trained and lethal; they have trained alongside the Russian and Iranian militaries. They could try to cross into Israel to conquer Israeli towns. The Israelis know what’s coming. They have plans to deal with all of it, and the future of Lebanon looks bleak as a result. But the Israeli forces are tired from nine months of fighting, the nation’s arsenal is depleted to one extent or another from the Gaza war, and there are concerns that this new war could be long and brutal. Israeli officials say privately that they would prefer to wait a year for this war. Hezbollah knows this. So does Iran. And they may believe that a war right now would be one they have the best chance of winning. This is likely yet another grave miscalculation on the part of the Iranian Axis—once again they will have started a conflagration Israel cannot afford not to win—and one that could have grave consequences for the region.

6. The Ring of Fire: There are no guarantees that a war in the north stays in the north. It’s not often acknowledged, but Israel is currently at war on no less than seven fronts. Iranian proxy forces in Gaza, Lebanon, West Bank, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen continue to attack Israel with various levels of intensity. And don’t forget that the Iranian regime fired more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel in mid-April. The activation of this “ring of fire” might be more likely if Hezbollah finds itself on the ropes in a war with Israel. Indeed, Iran is not likely to simply watch from afar if its most valued proxy is in mortal danger. It’s a fair bet that under this scenario, Israel would get help from British, US, Jordanian and Saudi missile defense—as we witnessed when Iran attacked Israel. But that may be of little consolation if there is a steady stream of incoming projectiles from across the Middle East. To be clear, this scenario is a regional war.

7. Nuclear Breakout: There is a school of thought in Israel which holds that there is only one reason Iran would deploy its most powerful proxy to wage war against Israel. Specifically, Hezbollah would only engage in a fight to the finish with Israel to prevent Israel from striking Iran as it endeavors to dash to a nuclear bomb. We continue to hear estimates from various agencies and officials that Iran is weeks away from what it needs to build a bomb. Assessing Iran’s calculus for such a dangerous move is not simple. But such a scenario cannot be dismissed.


FDD: Children Among Dozens of Dead, Wounded as Hezbollah Rocket Strikes Soccer Field in Majdal Shams
Latest Developments
At least nine children were reported to have been killed in a Hezbollah rocket attack on the Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights on July 27. The children were among dozens of casualties incurred after the rocket struck a soccer field where they were playing, with numerous critical injuries reported as well. The attack was part of a barrage of some 40 rockets fired by Hezbollah on northern Israel on Saturday evening. Amateur video captured near the scene showed a heavy impact on the soccer field, followed by a large blaze of fire. “We arrived at the soccer field and saw destruction and items on fire. Victims were lying on the grass, and the scenes were difficult,” Idan Avshalom, a medic with the Magen David Adom emergency service told the Jerusalem Post. “We immediately began triaging the injured. Some of the injured were taken to local clinics, and our teams were directed to those clinics as well. During the incident, there were additional alerts and medical treatment for the injured is still ongoing.”

Hezbollah denied that it was behind the attack, declaring in a statement that it rejected “all false allegations.” Citing intelligence sources, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) roundly rejected Hezbollah’s denial of responsibility, saying that “the terror group Hezbollah is behind the launch of the rocket that hit the soccer field in Majdal Shams and caused many civilian casualties, including children, earlier this evening.” Located at the base of Mount Hermon, the vast majority of Majdal Shams’s residents are members of the Druze minority.

Expert Analysis
“This monstrous attack is proof that every Israeli – Druze, Jewish, Arab – is a potential victim of Hezbollah’s ongoing campaign of terror. It is also a consequence of the international community’s miserable failure to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701, passed nearly twenty years ago after the last war between Hezbollah and Israel, which calls for Hezbollah’s disarmament. This Iranian-backed terrorist organization must now pay a heavy price for this latest atrocity.” — Mark Dubowitz, FDD CEO

“Hezbollah denying it is responsible for killing civilians in mass at Majdal Shams is utterly preposterous. With its Resistance Axis partners, Hezbollah engaged in war crimes against Syrians during the civil war and perpetrated untold acts of violence against Lebanese civilians with little to no repercussions. This attack has indisputably crossed a critical red line for Israel, and a retaliatory response seems inevitable.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst at FDD’s Long War Journal

Hezbollah ‘Crossed All Red Lines,’ Israeli Foreign Minister Says
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said shortly after the attack that he had spoken with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu without divulging details of their conversation. “There is no doubt that Hezbollah crossed all red lines,” Katz told Israeli broadcaster Channel 12. “We are facing an all-out war.” Top IDF officers “are currently holding assessments on the attack, the deadliest by Hezbollah amid the ongoing skirmishes on the northern border, and will determine a response against the terror group,” The Times of Israel reported.
Israel Defense Forces: Hezbollah Rocket Kills Children Playing Soccer
“This attack shows the true face of Hezbollah—a terrorist organization that targets and murders children playing soccer on a Saturday evening.”

We are the IDF. Our purpose is to preserve the State of Israel, to protect its independence, and to stop its enemies from disrupting everyday life for Israel's citizens and residents.




PM Netanyahu to return to Israel early following Majdal Shams rocket fatalities
Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Saturday evening that the Hezbollah rocket fire on Majdal Shams, which resulted in severe civilian and child casualties, crossed all red lines and would be met with an appropriate response. Political leadership across Israel have expressed disgust and disdain after ten people were killed in a direct hit to a Druze village.

Teenagers and children between the ages of 10 and 20 were among the victims, with dozens more wounded to varying degrees, according to a statement by Magen David Adom (MDA).

The rocket hit a soccer field near a playground.

A senior official from Lebanon's Hezbollah group, Mohammad Afif, told Reuters on Saturday that the group was not responsible for the strike.

Israel's leadership reacts to deadly rocket fire
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to return to Israel urgently on Saturday night, three hours ahead of schedule, after learning about the attack.

Netanyahu stated following the attack, "Citizens of Israel, like you, I was shocked. I was shocked to see the terrible images following the murderous attack by Hezbollah on Majdal Shams. Among the murdered, small children who were playing football, and also others. Our hearts are all broken by these sights. We embrace the families, embrace the entire Druze community in its difficult moment, which is also our difficult moment.

"Since I was informed of the disaster, I have been holding continuous security consultations, and I have decided to move forward our return to Israel. I will immediately convene the security cabinet upon my arrival. I can say that the State of Israel will not go over this in silence," he added.

Moshe Davidovitch, head of the Mateh Asher Regional Council and chairman of the Confrontation Line Forum, responded to the deadly event, "I share the sorrow of the leadership of the Majdal Shams local council over the tragic harm to innocent residents and send speedy recovery wishes to the injured."

He declared, "I am outraged! It seems that until the rockets land in Caesarea, the Prime Minister and cabinet members will continue their policy of ignoring the north. I call on the government to wake up from its slumber and act immediately!"

President Isaac Herzog called the attack on Majdal Shams “truly heartbreaking.”

“Hezbollah, armed and funded by Iran, does not distinguish between child or adult, soldier or civilian, Jew or Muslim, Druze or Christian. Hezbollah terrorists brutally attacked and murdered children today, whose only crime was going out to play soccer."

"They did not return. The world cannot continue to sit in silence in the face of Nasrallah’s terror attacks, which come at the behest of the empire of evil in Iran. The State of Israel will firmly defend its citizens and its sovereignty.”

Foreign Minister Israel Katz said after the attack, “We are approaching the moment of an all-out war against Hezbollah.”


UN officials call for ‘maximum restraint’ on all sides after Hezbollah strike kills 12
The United Nations special coordinator for Lebanon and the head of a UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon call for all sides to show “maximum restraint” in the aftermath of a Hezbollah strike that killed at least 12 children and teens in the Druze town of Majdal Shams in northern Israel.

The officials warn that the near-daily clashes on the Israel-Lebanon border have the potential to “engulf” the region in “catastrophe beyond belief.”

Hezbollah began attacking Israel on October 8 in what it said was a show of support for Hamas and Gaza following the October 7 terror assault in southern Israel.


Emily Schrader: Middle East threats endanger American democracy
Make no mistake: the constant threats made by Hezbollah and Hamas – both proxies of the Islamic Republic of Iran – are not solely focused on Israel, rather they seek to expand their terrorist tactics to the entire West, eventually taking on the “Great Satan” – America.

This isn’t a new threat. Hezbollah slaughtered 241 American soldiers in Lebanon in 1983, and today 5 American citizens remain in Hamas captivity in Gaza. But the threat is becoming greater than ever before because of the increasing aggression from the Islamic Republic of Iran, and their disinformation campaigns.

While a huge part of that campaign is taking place online, the fingerprints of the Islamic regime as well as Qatar (ironically a Sunni “enemy” of Shia Iran) are all over these anti-Israel protests in the United States. At many of these protests, we see Hamas and Hezbollah flags waving in the crowd, accompanied by chants in support of the Houthis, another proxy of the Islamic Republic, as well as justification for the murder and rape of Israeli civilians.

In multiple cases, we have seen the burning of American flags, as well as the replacement of American flags with Palestinian flags. This is not merely a protest against Israel, it’s a coordinated campaign against the United States.

These actions should not be taken lightly. Knowingly or not, these “protesters” are doing the bidding of the Islamic Republic. It is for this reason the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei, praised the protests and regime insiders have discussed creating a new proxy group composed of these radicalized students. It was also recently revealed that the Islamic regime had funded some of these protests.

These are not peaceful protests, they are violent campaigns orchestrated by the Islamic Republic and their allies, meant to desensitize the American public to antisemitism in the wake of Israel’s war against Hamas. This is a national security threat.

Today, the Islamic Republic is significantly richer and more integrated in the West through its terrorist tentacles and as a result of weak policy by the Biden Administration. The Biden Administration has been catastrophically horrendous on Iran, literally propping up the Islamic Republic and refusing to endorse regime change when hundreds of thousands of Iranians took to the streets demanding it.

Biden’s Iran policy decisions have also been marred by numerous scandals including the employment of alleged spies of the Islamic Republic in the State Department, as well as alleged security breaches of senior officials like Rob Malley, the former special envoy for Iran who was dismissed for mishandling classified documents.

When the U.S. government could have led the world in a Western-allied campaign against the Islamic regime in support of democratic values, they instead chose to unfreeze billions of dollars including $6 billion in a prisoner exchange which encourages further kidnappings by the regime, and $10 billion in previously frozen assets held in Iraq. In doing so, the Biden administration has strengthened terror proxies and supported the brutal oppression of the Iranian people.

Evidence also shows that when the Islamic regime in Iran is emboldened, there is more bloodshed both internally in Iran, and around the world. Under the U.S. appeasement of the Biden Administration, executions in Iran skyrocketed. In addition to executions, Iranian oil exports have exploded under President Biden’s appeasement and nonenforcement of sanctions, especially in comparison to the Trump era. Regime military spending has also increased, as has uranium enrichment reaching all-time high levels of 60% enriched uranium and only weeks away from a nuclear weapon. The regime has never been more emboldened than under President Joe Biden, and it has never been more critical that this regime is stopped.

The appeasement policies of the Biden Administration, in conjunction with Europe’s failure to crack down on the Islamic Republic, have emboldened the regime to the point they are unafraid of even carrying out attacks on European soil. Just days ago they threatened to attack an EU member state, Cyprus, if they assisted Israel in the fight against Hezbollah, the terror proxy of Tehran which has been bombarding northern Israel with thousands of rockets for 8 months and counting. But don’t be deceived, this isn’t about Israel alone for the Islamic Republic. They have already destabilized or contributed to the destabilization of Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. Now, their sights are set on Europe and the United States.

It was only a matter of time before this insidious violent hatred made its way to the United States, the question now is what will Americans do about it?
John Podhoretz: Kamala Harris proves she’s no real friend to Israel
What has numbed people to the suffering is the misdirection of the blame away from those who started the war and hide among the civilians and steal the food aid and hide in the tunnels.

Israel was at a very cold peace with Hamas and Gaza on October 6. It did not know that Hamas was systematically planning a very hot war — and that part of the strategy of the war Hamas began the following morning would be an attempt to blacken Israel’s name by forcing it to fight in an urban battlefield in which its fighters and leaders had woven themselves both aboveground and below-ground.

Well, mission accomplished.

Kamala Harris has clearly bought into the idea that Israel has caused too much death, too much killing, too much “food insecurity” — notwithstanding the fact that across its border Israel has allowed the delivery of food aid amounting to 3,000 calories per day per person in Gaza. (As any dieter knows from the lectures we get, more than 2,200 calories a day ingested puts you in danger not of starving but of getting fatter.)

Her words make it clear she believes the onus here is on Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu to bring the war to an end.

And she explicitly made it clear she is on the side of those who do not want Israel to secure victory: “So to everyone who has been calling for a ceasefire, and to everyone who yearns for peace, I see you and I hear you.”

She wants it done, she wants it over, she wants the hostages, she wants a Palestinian state, she wants Arab votes in Michigan . . . oh, wait, she didn’t say that part out loud.

But she’s as transparent as the anti-Israel bias she has now made explicit, and the challenge that bias now poses to all sensible people of good will who know this war was visited upon Israel — as are the hundreds of missiles being fired from Lebanon by Hezbollah — and will never actually end if Kamala Harris has her parlous way.


Terrorists open fire on IDF post bordering Nablus, wounding soldier
An IDF combat soldier was lightly injured from shrapnel this morning after terrorists opened fire upon a military outpost on the outskirts of Nablus, according to reports by Israeli media outlets.

The terrorists likely fired on the outpost from within the city itself, according to reports. The wounded soldier has since been treated at a nearby hospital while the IDF conducts a search for the instigators.

Security forces operated on Saturday in the Balata refugee camp in Nablus, Kan News reported. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) targeted armed terrorists who fired at soldiers from the Kfir Brigade's 90th Battalion.

At least one was reported dead, and several others were wounded from IDF fire and the UAV strike, Walla reported, citing Palestinian media. Terror attacks in the West Bank last week

On Thursday, two IDF soldiers were moderately and lightly wounded by shots from a passing vehicle on Route 55. On the spot, another person was slightly injured by a bomb. On Tuesday, an Air Force aircraft was attacked by terrorists in Tulkarm.

Five terrorists were killed in this incident, including, according to the IDF, Ashraf Nafe, the commander of Hamas in Tulkarm. The commander of Fatah's military wing was killed in the attack, Kan News reported, citing Palestinian reports, in addition to two young women, one of whom was disguised as a paramedic and was armed.


Iran increases its attacks in Syria, Iraq against US forces
Iran is increasing its use of militia proxy groups to attack US forces in Syria and Iraq. This comes after several months of a lull in such attacks. Iranian-backed militias had increased attacks after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.

Iranian media is taking credit for an attack in Syria on July 26. “Resistance groups have reportedly targeted a US military base with missiles in Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria,” Iran’s IRNA said.

In January, the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah killed three US soldiers in an attack on Jordan. The group recently also threatened the US and Saudi Arabia, claiming it could escalate attacks due to the war in Gaza. At the same time, the Houthis did escalate, targeting Tel Aviv on July 19.

Now, Iran is operationalizing its militias in Syria to increase attacks on the US. This is all part of a well-planned and orchestrated attempt by Iran to exert its own maximum pressure on the US and to open up a multiple-front war against Israel.

Pro-Iran media claimed that “the resistance fighters [Iranian-backed militias] targeted the US base in the Koniko gas field in Syria,” according to Al Mayadeen. IRNA in Iran published the same report. “The missile attack hit the military base and the sound of explosions were heard in the nearby villages,” IRNA noted.

The report also claimed the US had retaliated. Iran also has used its militias in Iraq to begin new attacks on US forces in Iraq. There was an attack targeting US forces at Asad base in Iraq on July 24. It is one of two recent attacks in Iraq that illustrate Iran has ordered its militias to return to targeting the US.

“Regional resistance groups have repeatedly targeted US and Israeli interests in the region since the onset of the US-backed Israeli war on the Gaza Strip last October,” IRNA noted.

Why is Iran returning to attacks on the US in Iraq and Syria?
Why is Iran returning to attacks on the US in Iraq and Syria? It comes in the context of the Houthi escalation against Israel and the escalation by Hezbollah against Israel. There is also escalation by Iranian-backed groups targeting the Golan. Iran calls all these groups an “axis of resistance.”

In Iraq, for instance, the Iranian-backed groups have claimed to be coordinating with the Houthis in “joint” attacks. The Iraqi militias recently claimed to target Eilat with a drone attack. Similarly, the Houthis made numerous claims since July 20 that they would retaliate for Israeli airstrikes on Hodeidah on July 20. Israel was retaliating for the Houthi attack on Tel Aviv.

Iran’s escalation comes as it senses the US is focused on domestic political issues. It may also want to try to take advantage of US President Joe Biden pulling out of the race for President, and Iran may want to test Vice-President Kamala Harris, who has been elevated to the likely Democratic candidate in the US.

The US may want to try to reduce tensions via talks in Oman or elsewhere. Iran also knows that hostage talks continue between Israel and Hamas. Iran wants to improve its position on the regional chessboard before any ceasefire.


Couple who lost legs on Oct. 7 walk down the aisle together
A couple who both lost their right legs during the Hamas October 7 attack on southern Israel were married on Thursday after spending months in rehabilitation together.

Ben Binyamin and Gali Segal’s journey of recovery was originally reported upon by Channel 12 in November, and the network revisited the couple as they embarked on their special day.

In November, Segal told Channel 12, “We want to come to the wedding walking. Only then will we get married.”

The pair met at a bar six years ago along with friends, after each went through a breakup. He took her phone number, and after a few months they began dating.

The two, who became engaged a week before October 7, were attending the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im — partly to celebrate their engagement — when Hamas terrorists stormed the Gaza border and began their massacre at the rave.

When the rocket barrages began at the start of the attack, the couple fled along with a friend and encountered a police officer who motioned for them to enter a roadside shelter near Alumim Junction, where many other rave attendees had gathered.

After a short while terrorists arrived at the scene and began firing at the entrance. Binyamin and Segal were toward the back of the structure and were not hit. But then the terrorists hurled grenades inside, at which point they both lost consciousness. Miraculously, the terrorists did not kill them afterward.
Ex-Knick Eddy Curry fights to free 1-year-old Israeli boy Kfir Bibas from Hamas captivity
Former New York Knick Eddy Curry has a new opponent: antisemitism.

The ex-NBAer, who played five seasons with the Knicks and won an NBA championship with the LeBron James-led Miami Heat in 2012, has been advocating for the release of 1-year-old Kfir Bibas, the Israeli boy who has spent the bulk of his life in Hamas captivity.

Bibas was kidnapped along with his brother Ariel, 4, and their parents, Shiri and Yarden Bibas, by the terror group during the Oct. 7 attack.

Curry, 41, recently traveled to the Holy Land with his wife and met with members of the Bibas family as part of the Sports Speaks Up campaign for Project Max, an organization that fights antisemitism, racism and intolerance through sports.

Curry, who was drafted in 2001 by his hometown Chicago Bulls, “adopted” Kfir Bibas and has made the infant’s release a priority.


Four survivors told authorities they were sexually assaulted on October 7 – report
Four people have told authorities that they were sexually assaulted by terrorists on October 7, Channel 12 reported Thursday, adding to a growing body of evidence of the systematic sexual assault committed by Hamas.

Unlike most of the previous evidence of sexual assault on October 7, which was largely based on eyewitness testimony, the Channel 12 report is notable because it is based on the firsthand accounts of victims.

Firsthand testimony of such crimes has been rare, as most of the victims were killed, a fact that some October 7 deniers have used to sow doubts about the allegations.

According to the report, the four individuals approached the Welfare Ministry with their accounts of what happened to them during the Hamas onslaught, which also saw some 1,200 people killed and 251 kidnapped.

The report followed a separate Channel 12 story on Wednesday that provided first-hand testimony from a man who said he was raped by terrorists at the Supernova Festival, where hundreds of people were killed.

Israeli police have been collecting survivor testimony, physical evidence, and confessions of sexual assault by terrorists on October 7 since the immediate aftermath of the attack.

A February report by the United Nations Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict found that “there are reasonable grounds to believe that conflict-related sexual violence occurred during the 7 October attacks in multiple locations across the Gaza periphery, including rape and gang rape, in at least three locations.”

The report also testified to “clear and convincing” evidence that hostages were raped while being held in Gaza, and that those currently held captive are still facing such abuse.


Triggernometry: Pro-Palestine Protest Public Interviews at UCLA - Francis Foster
American University campuses have been a hotspot for protests & Pro-Palestine encampments since October 7th. In this video, Francis Foster explores a HUGE protest at UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) featuring students blockading entry to the entire library building and a lone counter-protestor wielding the star spangled banner...




Greens staff lead Palestine protest movement, voice support for vandalism of Jewish MP’s office
A group co-led by a Greens staffer promoted demonstrations outside the offices of Labor figures including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, while another party adviser justified the vandalism of Melbourne MP Josh Burns’ office, at which kerosene was found and fires lit, on the basis that he is an “‘Israeli’ occupation-supporting MP”.

New evidence about the activism of Greens staff exposes the links between the minor party and the wave of protests in Australia since Hamas’ October 7 attacks in Israel. It also hints that a Greens staffer, who was an organiser for environmental protest group Extinction Rebellion, had information about how protesters were able to breach security and gain access to the roof to drape a Hamas-linked symbol underneath Parliament House’s coat of arms. The Greens deny knowledge of the security incident.

The offices of Albanese and other Labor MPs have been disrupted and vandalised in recent months, prompting Labor accusations that demonstrators were blocking citizens from accessing services and thwarting the operation of representative democracy.

In January, NSW Greens senator David Shoebridge hired Amal Naser, an organiser and spokesperson for the Palestine Action Group. The protest group leads the weekly pro-Palestine rallies that are not located at MPs’ offices. But the group has also promoted on its social media pages a demonstration outside the prime minister’s office, organised a speaking event outside Education Minister Jason Clare’s office, and promoted protests outside the venue of an Albanese speech and a Labor conference.

Some of those events took place at the same time as leaked screenshots of parliament’s intranet showed Naser working for Shoebridge in a part-time community organising role, which ended in May. At the same time as her employment, she was being quoted in the media as a spokeswoman for the protest group.

Her hiring by the Greens offers a glimpse into the connection between the minor party and a movement that has won support within the activist left and tarred Labor, but attracted criticism for flouting parliamentary protest conventions and platforming figures accused of hate speech.

At a rally last month, Naser advocated for “armed resistance” to win Palestinian liberation. She also said rebel senator Fatima Payman was misguided to support Palestinian statehood because that step was part of the “failed” two-state solution.

“We will fight and we will resist until Israel is completely de-recognised,” she said.

Naser told this masthead that her call for armed resistance was consistent with the “International Court of Justice [finding] Palestinians may legally use force to resist Israel’s illegal occupation”. Asked on Channel Nine on October 20 if she supported Hamas, she said: “No”.


Palestinian man shuts down anti-Israel protesters at Holocaust play
A Palestinian man stopped three anti-Israel protesters from disrupting the off-Broadway show ‘The Trial of Eichmann’ at the Center for Jewish History in New York on Friday.

The protesters began their disturbances before the start of the David Serero play, when the Consul General of Israel Ofir Akunis introduced the show and shared his personal memories of the famous Nazi trial.

Adolf Eichmann was a famous member of the Nazi's Schutzstaffel and a major organizer and participant in the atrocities committed against Jews during the Holocaust.

When the General Consul ended his speech, Serero requested the protestors leave the venue - a request the protestors refused. This led to security being brought to the venue.

Serero later told The Jerusalem Post, "I'm grateful of the words of... Akunis for what he said about the show, that it was terrific and reflect[s] what it was during the original trials."

Serero probed the protesters, insisting, “One innocent life was taken from whatever side is one life too much,” before he questioned them, "You wish to lecture people on humanity? Where were you on October 7?"

As the situation became more inflamed, a man from the audience became involved - quickly quelling the incident.

The man, directing himself to the protesters, said, “Hello, I’m a Palestinian. I came to see a play. This is not the place for protest. If one person would need to complain about the Palestinians, it would be a Palestinian, and I am telling you this is not the place”.

The man was applauded by the audience.





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