Saturday, October 19, 2024

10/19 Links: Death of a fascist; Israel's attack plan on Iran leaked; Hezbollah drone targets Netanyahu’s home; UN Peacekeepers Are Hizbullah's Best Friend

From Ian:

Brendan O'Neill: Death of a fascist
This is a man who deserved to die. His crimes against the Jews were legion. He took the postwar cry of ‘Never Again’ and stomped it into the dirt. ‘Again, again’ was his preferred slogan. His violent disregard for Jewish life was a function of his deep-seated anti-Semitism – you don’t get to be leader of a terror group whose founding covenant committed it to an apocalyptic war on the Jews without being a Jew-hater yourself. Yet he was horrendously cavalier about Palestinian life, too. He let Hamas’s war with Israel drag on because he believed the ‘spiralling civilian death toll in Gaza’ would drum up global hate for Israel and global pity for Hamas. He sacrificed Jews to his racist ideology, and Palestinians to his grotesque vanity.

So Gazans also benefit from the demise of this monster. They are a step closer to liberation from the tyrannical rule of the death-mongers of Hamas. Humankind benefits, too. For Israel’s righteous slaying of Yahya Sinwar is more than justice for 7 October. It is more than a brilliant and targeted strike in a now year-long war on terrorism. It is also a message to the world. It says this: you cannot kill Jews with impunity anymore. It reminds us that those days are gone. It reminds us it isn’t the Middle Ages anymore, when the Church would reward your Jew-hunting, or the 20th century, when pogroms had the blessing of governments. No, there are consequences now to singling out Jews for special opprobrium and wicked violence. Do that today and you might very well die. Do that now and you might get your head caved in, as Sinwar did.

And here’s the chilling thing, the thing that should truly unsettle those of us who live in the West: we needed this message. Our nations needed this reminder. Our young in particular needed to be told that fascist violence is intolerable and killing Jews will be rightfully avenged. For across America and Europe in the aftermath of 7 October, unreason reigned. On our campuses, our streets, in our art world and media world, the sympathies of the privileged went not to the victims of Hamas’s pogrom, but to Hamas. Israel was offered not support but condemnation – and the most shrill, hypocritical and borderline bigoted condemnation you could imagine. ‘You had it coming’ was the subtext of the Israelophobic insanity that swept our cities after the pogrom.

We found ourselves in the horrific situation where many of our fellow citizens were seemingly content to see Jews once again loaded into trucks, burnt to a cinder and killed on account of their ethnicity. This spoke to more than a failure of sense and solidarity. It spoke to how determinedly our societies had turned their backs on the values of the Enlightenment and the virtues of civilisation, and could thus find greater common cause with the anti-Jewish, anti-modernity hysterics of Hamas than with the democratic state of Israel.

So yes, we needed to hear it. We needed to hear that the murder of Jews will be met with the severest of consequences in the 21st century. The killing of Sinwar puts flesh on the bones of the cry of ‘Never Again’ that had come to be so weakened and withered in recent years. Jew-killers everywhere will tremble now, making this not a day of death, but a day of hope.
JPost Editorial: With Sinwar gone, Israel's next move must be decisive
Hamas and Hezbollah have both suffered heavy losses over the last year, but Israel did what many thought was impossible and took down those responsible for October 7. At long last, all the ringleaders are down and out – for good.

Decisions will need to be made about what to do next, and this war is still not over. Hezbollah remains a well-armed threat against Israel and continues to regularly fire rockets, drones, and missiles into the Jewish state. Hamas still has men under arms and rockets at their disposal, and 101 hostages still remain in their possession. The Houthis in Yemen are still a threat that could strike at any moment, boasting an arsenal of ballistic missiles and drones, and their leadership remains intact. And then there is the ever-looming threat of Iran, a well-equipped nation who backs all the aforementioned actors and hosts a formidably large army of its own.

What's next?


So what comes next? Will Israel be able to start returning evacuees to their homes? Will they press for another hostage deal on favorable terms? Will the IDF turn its focus to Iran or the Houthis?

Those questions will need to be answered very soon, and it remains to be seen how Israel’s allies such as the US will want the Jewish state to proceed. But for now, we can take solace in the fact that at the very least, Israel’s archenemy over the past year is dead, and that some measure of justice has been achieved for all the people who have lost and suffered since October 7. Zman simchateinu indeed.
Abe Greenwald: Sinwar Is Gone, Hamas Isn’t Far Behind
All of this also means that Hamas’s remnants might find themselves without the Iranian funds they’d have used to try to reconstitute the organization in the future. The regime in Iran has spent billions of dollars on its terrorist proxies. This was a good investment for decades, enabling Tehran to project power abroad and attack Israel without Iran sticking its neck out. But the mullahs can’t be happy looking at the present state of Hamas (and increasingly of Hezbollah). Iran’s return on its investment in proxy armies is vanishing fast. And with Israel about to take the fight straight to the regime, Iran needs to reallocate its resources.

So who wants to fill Sinwar’s shoes now? Israel took out Hamas leader Ismael Haniyeh in July. The crown then fell to Sinwar, and now he’s dead. The list of senior Hamas members killed by Israel is long and growing longer by the day. The same, rather suddenly, applies to the senior ranks of Hezbollah. There aren’t many takers for the job of next mole to be whacked. Especially if it means getting whacked for a crumbling cause with a spare and ruined fighting force. It’s not going to be easy recruiting new members to what’s left of Hamas.

But what about Hamas’s supporters over here in the U.S.? Are they still “exhilarated” by the October 7 attack? Do they still think that it was a “gift to Allah from the world”? That “Palestine has never been as within reach”? Are they satisfied with what Hamas has wrought for the people of Gaza? And do they still think they’re on the winning side against Israel? Even if they now recognize Hamas’s strategic failure, they undoubtedly still support its aims. And they’re the kind of enemy that’s truly hard to defeat because you can’t destroy moral imbecility. On October 7, 2023, Sinwar ensured his own demise and that of his monstrous organization. But the woke jihadists of the West will live to tweet another day.

And here’s a thought for the Biden administration. The U.S. has recently threatened to withhold arms shipments to Israel over concerns about humanitarian aid getting into Gaza. The greatest gift of humanitarian aid ever received by the people of Gaza was Israel’s killing of Yahya Sinwar. His death, and the destruction of Hamas, don’t by any means guarantee that the Palestinians will one day be able to thrive in freedom. But so long as he was in charge, that would have remained a certain impossibility. And if Israel had heeded the Biden administration’s calls for a ceasefire, this massive aid package would never have been delivered. Take the win, Mr. President.


Douglas Murray: War was never going to end without death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar — may his nihilistic fanaticism die with him
What it means in the short term is that an end to the war may finally be in sight. Israel’s prime minister has made it clear since last year that he is interested only in total victory against Hamas.

Many people said Benjamin Netanyahu would not be able to achieve that goal. It seems they are the ones being proved wrong.

In the longer term, it is possible that, with Sinwar gone, Israel and its regional and international partners will finally be able to imagine what a deradicalized, postwar Gaza might look like.

But it is too early to have that discussion before any surviving hostages are returned home. And not returned as bargaining chips, but as a prerequisite to the IDF halting its operations.

For now, there is a much wider lesson for the region and indeed for America.

Sinwar wished to annihilate the state of Israel. He took his best shot at it on October 7. Hassan Nasrallah also wished to annihilate the state of Israel. Both were also fanatical enemies of the West. Sinwar has the blood of many Americans as well as Israelis on his hands. Nasrallah also believed that he was free to murder and kidnap Americans — including 241 American Marines in Beirut.

Both have now been buried in the earth.

Will their fanatical, bloody and apocalyptic worldview die with them? It is possible. Observers often say that such fanatics are inevitably replaced by another fanatic. But Sinwar — like Nasrallah — was a fairly unique figure. Irreplaceable, you might say.

But will people in the region — as well as the West — who fell for their bloody propaganda now realize that their side is the losing one? It would be the best thing possible for peace in the region if they did. Figures like Nasrallah and Sinwar are not “saviors” of the Palestinian people.

They were always the worst menaces to the Palestinian people — ensuring by their actions that peace was not achievable and war would be the only end.

Sometime in the past year, Sinwar passed a message through the tunnels in which he said, “We have the Israelis right where we want them.”

He didn’t. But now the Israelis have Sinwar exactly in the place he deserves.


Caroline Glick: Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar created Gaza genocide factory — his death could mean freedom from tyranny
Netanyahu’s message to the Gazans was simple: Sinwar is dead and Israel is winning this war. Hamas has no chance of ever defeating us. Turn on Hamas before it is too late.

His message reflected the truth that is being recognized regionwide: Israel has laid waste not only to Hamas’ regime in Gaza, but to Iran’s terror empire.

For the first time in decades, Israel is showing that victory over Islamic terror groups and regimes is not only possible, it is within reach.

Addressing what is left of Hamas’ terror army, Netanyahu said, “Your leaders are fleeing and they will be eliminated.”

“I call everyone holding our hostages: Anyone who puts down his arms and returns our abductees, we will permit to leave and live. And by the same token I say, anyone who harms our abductees will be signing his death warrant. We will settle scores with him.”

A statement like that six months ago, before Israel took over Rafah, when everyone from President Biden to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was waiting anxiously for a word from Sinwar, might have been disregarded as empty talk.

Today everyone understands that the choice is real.

Israel has killed Sinwar and Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, dozens of other terror chiefs and thousands of mid-level commanders.

Israel has overturned Iran’s chessboard. And it will win this war, ensuring its survival and safeguarding the world from the scourge of Iran’s axis of terror.
Melanie Phillips: The killing of Yahya Sinwar
Sinwar didn’t create this evil. He was the product of it, and was one of its many diabolical avatars. What created him was fanatical, genocidal Jew-hatred, the desire to remove Israel and the Jewish people from the face of the earth as an Islamic religious duty — the evil that animates the Palestinian Arab cause, the evil that has taken thousands of Jewish and Israeli lives without remission for the past century, the evil that has infused what the Palestinian Arabs have taught their children for generations: that their highest and most sacred calling is to kill Jews and take all their land.

This evil has not just corrupted the Palestinian Arabs but has also taken monstrous root throughout the west. Its media outlets pump out Hamas propaganda and blood libels demonising and delegitimising Israel through the Palestinian cause.

This cause has fried the western brain with a psychopathic, murderous narrative that masquerades as justice and compassion. It has created followers in the west with minds sealed shut against truth and morality, and turned others into shallow and confused fellow-travellers. They may believe they are supporting the rights of “oppressed” Palestinians but what each and every one of them is supporting — including, tragically, too many diaspora Jews — is a creed of murderous Jew-hatred.

This profound evil is now everywhere in the west. It is promoted throughout the institutions of civil society — in the medical and legal professions, among welfare workers, trade unions, university lecturers and students, the civil service, the literary, theatrical and artistic worlds and throughout the Church of England. It is systematically robbing Jews of their own history, obscenely turning the supreme victims of genocide into the alleged perpetrators of genocide and turning the victims of the Holocaust into the perpetrators of a holocaust — demonising Jewish victims as victimisers to delegitimise them as the prelude to erasing them from the world.

Israel’s task now is to retrieve the hostages alive or dead, finish the destruction of Hamas in Gaza and above all to neutralise the Iranian regime, thus removing for ever the evil it has inflicted upon the Jewish people and the world.

This will happen, whatever the cost. It’s just a matter of time. Israel will stay the course and will win this terrible war. It will do so because it has no alternative.

But the evil that has been unleashed in the west is, alas, a different matter.


How the IDF finally killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, after a year of hunting him
Unlike other senior terror leaders who were deliberately tracked down and eliminated by Israel, such as Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif who was killed following an airstrike on July 13, Sinwar’s death was not the result of a planned or targeted strike.

The operation was not carried out by elite commandos and was not the result of astute intelligence gathering. Sinwar was killed “by chance”, according to Kan Radio.

He was found by trainee commander soldiers from the Bislach Brigade, who were searching an area in the Tel Sultan region of southern Gaza on Wednesday, where they suspected senior figures of Hamas were located.

The troops opened fire when they saw three suspected fighters moving between buildings, leading to a gunfight during which Sinwar fled into a ruined apartment, which was then targeted with tank shells and a missile.

"He tried to escape and our forces eliminated him," Hagari told reporters in a televised briefing.

Describing the drone footage, he said: “Sinwar fled alone into one of the buildings. Our forces used a drone to scan the area”

“Sinwar, who was injured in his hand by gunfire, can be seen here with his face covered, in his final moments, throwing a wooden plank at the drone.”

Earlier yesterday, photographs circulated online showing the corpse of a man resembling Sinwar, lying in rubble with a gaping head wound, dressed in military-style vest.

Other photos of Sinwar’s belongings show that he was in possession of a passport belonging to an UNRWA teacher, who has apparently been in Egypt for the past few months, according to Israeli broadcaster Kan’s Palestinian affairs reporter.

Israel’s pursuit of the October 7 architect over the past year led him "to act like a fugitive, causing him to change locations multiple times", said the head of Israel's military, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi.

"The dozens of operations carried out by the IDF and the ISA over the last year, and in recent weeks in the area where he was eliminated, restricted Yahya Sinwar’s operational movement as he was pursued by the forces and led to his elimination," the Israeli military said in a statement.

Officials had originally thought Sinwar was hiding in one of the underground tunnels beneath Gaza, and that he was using some of the 101 Israeli and foreign hostages as a human shield.
Full text of Netanyahu’s address after killing of Hamas terror chief Yahya Sinwar

Hezbollah drone targets Netanyahu’s Caesarea home; he says ‘agents of Iran tried to assassinate me’
A drone fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon that exploded in the central seaside town of Caesarea early on Saturday targeted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private home, his office said.

The premier and his wife were not present and no injuries were reported.

The short statement from Netanyahu’s office came after the IDF said that “a building had been hit” in the upscale town famous for its swanky villas and Roman ruins and amphitheater.

On Saturday evening Netanyahu said in a statement: “The agents of Iran who tried to assassinate me and my wife today made a bitter mistake.” He said the attack would not deter him from continuing the war, and that anyone who harms Israelis will pay “a heavy price.”

“We will continue to eliminate your terrorists, we will return our hostages from Gaza, we will return our residents in the north,” he promised.

An Axios report said that the drone hit the prime minister’s house. “This is the first time since the beginning of the war that a target affiliated directly with Netanyahu has been hit,” it reported, without elaboration. The Guardian also said the house was hit and sustained “superficial damage.”

The IDF said the drone was one of three launched from Lebanon, and that the other two were shot down.

The military said it was investigating the incident that apparently saw several failures of Israel’s warning system.


Israel has shown it can defeat terrorism. Now let’s give it a free hand to deal with Iran
President Biden described the killing of Sinwar as “a good day for the world”. But this is the same President Biden who, months ago, urged the IDF not to enter Rafah. It was in Rafah this week that the IDF found Sinwar and killed him.

How could Israel follow such muddled advice from those who say they are its friends? One’s best hope must be that the Western powers know they are talking nonsense but feel they must keep up the “peace” patter for domestic reasons and to ward off international condemnation. This may indeed be the case, because that much tougher-minded side of Western governments which handles military affairs, security and intelligence knows the realities well. We and Israel are trusting and partially interdependent on such matters: even politicians know that.

Yesterday, on the BBC Today programme, Jeremy Bowen was asked to analyse the state of play after Sinwar’s death. His villain, as usual, was Netanyahu, thanks to whom “the war very much goes on”. Bowen made no suggestion that Hamas should or would down tools. Yes, he said, Sinwar had been “a big block to negotiations” but “so has Netanyahu”, as if the terrorist aggressor was the moral equivalent of the democratic leader of the nation which that terrorist attacked. Netanyahu has got his “victory picture”, said Bowen with distaste, but “to get a ceasefire and a deal you need every side really in it”. It sounded like an almost desperate plea for poor little Hamas to be kept in the game.

What are the lessons which Israelis will derive from the story so far?

One is that the West, though full of moralistic condemnation, will want to bank their success. Another is that Israel can, in military and intelligence terms, beat the terrorist proxies financed and run chiefly by Iran.

A third is that Sunni Arab countries detest the thought that Shia non-Arab Iran should control the future of the Middle East. Continuing Israeli victories will embolden them to re-engage with the genuine peace process of the Abraham Accords.

A fourth lesson is that Western countries like ours with large, sometimes angry Muslim populations may secretly welcome a situation in which Israel shows who’s boss and the extremists are losing.

A fifth is that although Western domestic audiences rightly feel uneasy about civilian suffering in Gaza and Lebanon, many are elated that men like Sinwar and Nasrallah are getting their comeuppance. Britain’s new Defence Secretary, John Healey, struck the right note by saying he would not mourn Sinwar’s passing.

Perhaps the biggest lesson concerns Iran. If its proxies lie in ruins, what is the state of the Islamic Republic itself? Perhaps Israel, with some surreptitious help, now has the power to decapitate Tehran’s own ayatollahs and politicians or even attack Iran’s nuclear weapons sites. Why shouldn’t it? This is not a rhetorical question: there may well be good reasons why such attacks would be a step too far. I should like to hear them.

But Israel, by its courage and skill, has now shifted the burden of proof on to Western countries who wring their hands. All these Bowens have been insisting since October 7 that Israel cannot win. Perhaps their real fear is that it can.
Ryan McBeth: The B-2 Strike on Yemen was really about Iran
The B-2 is a very rare and expensive aircraft. It was likely chosen for this Yemen strike as a warning to Iran that the US Air Force has global strike capabilities that far outweigh Iran's capability to counter that strike.


NYT’s Brooks: Bibi Has ‘Been Absolutely Right’ Ignoring U.S., World Opinion in Past Month, He Knows Better on Hamas
On Friday’s “PBS NewsHour,” New York Times columnist David Brooks stated that while he’s not a huge fan of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “over the last month, he’s gone against world opinion and American opinion on a whole range of issues, and he’s been absolutely right” in a way that has “served world peace” by weakening terrorist groups, and so those calling for him to declare victory in the wake of the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar should accept they don’t have the same intelligence as Israel and Netanyahu has “been making some right calls over the last month.”

Brooks said, “I’m no big fan of Bibi Netanyahu, but I have to admit, over the last month, he’s gone against world opinion and American opinion on a whole range of issues, and he’s been absolutely right. They have seriously weakened Hezbollah. They’ve now seriously taken out the leadership — now almost the complete leadership of Hamas. So, these are two Iranian-backed terror militias. And, sometimes, in war, you have to defeat your enemies. So, he’s made them weaker. Obviously, there’s still going to be Hamas. There’s still going to be a very powerful Hezbollah. But he’s made his enemies weaker. And, in my view, that’s served world peace.”

Brooks continued, “Now, is this a moment for him to turn the corner and now say, okay, we won? I have some sympathy with that view, but I confess, unless you have access to Israeli intelligence and know how much of Hamas is still there, I don’t think we can know that. And, frankly, I’m not — I don’t think any Americans could know that. And I don’t like trusting Bibi Netanyahu, but he’s been making some right calls over the last month.”

Later, Brooks argued that, on a two-state solution, Netanyahu is standing in the way of peace.
Two US intelligence documents outlining Israel's potential attack plan on Iran leaked
Senior American officials voiced serious concern on Saturday following the leak of two US intelligence documents allegedly outlining Israel’s preparations for a potential strike on Iran. These documents were published by a Telegram account linked to Iran.

While both the US Department of Defense and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment on the leaked documents, they did not deny their authenticity.

The timing of the leak comes as Israel is completing preparations for a retaliatory strike on Iran in response to the October 1 missile attack. An unnamed senior Israeli official remarked, “Israel’s defense establishment is aware of the leak and takes it very seriously.”

The leak occurred on Friday when the Middle East Spectator Telegram channel claimed it had received documents about Israel’s strike preparations from a source within the US intelligence community. This Telegram channel is known for publishing pro-Iranian propaganda, and its associated Twitter account states that its operators are based in Iran.

The documents included an alleged report from the US Department of Defense's visual intelligence agency, which had been circulated within the US intelligence community three days earlier. The report detailed alleged recent actions at Israel Air Force (IAF) bases, including the movement of advanced munitions believed to be intended for a strike on Iran. The report also noted that intelligence obtained through wiretaps indicated that the IAF conducted an exercise this week involving fighter jets and drones as part of its strike preparations.

A breach in security
The leaked documents reportedly revealed close surveillance by US intelligence on Israel’s preparations for a strike on Iran, including the use of satellites to monitor activities at Israeli Air Force bases. The alleged leak also highlights a severe security breach within the US intelligence community, allowing highly classified information to reach entities affiliated with Iran.

American officials described the incident as "extremely serious" but noted that, in their view, the leak is unlikely to affect Israel’s operational plans.
With jihadist mass murderer dead, Israel takes another stride forward
Unprecedented leverage
The death of Sinwar also provides Israel with unprecedented leverage in negotiations concerning the remaining 101 Hamas-held hostages. He was known for his hardline stance and unwillingness to compromise on his demands; his absence opens the door to possible approaches by surviving Hamas members holding the hostages.

Israel now has the opportunity to offer immunity or other deals to lower-ranking Hamas terrorists in exchange for the safe release of hostages. With their morale degraded and Israel’s determination to prevent them from retaking Gaza clearer than ever, the remaining Hamas leaders may be more willing to negotiate, offering Israel a new path to secure the return of its citizens.

While Sinwar’s elimination is a significant victory, it does not signal the end of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. The goal to prevent Hamas from regrouping and reconstituting its terrorist capabilities remains.

Col. (res.) Amit Assa, a former senior member of the Shin Bet intelligence service, stated in a call organized by Media Central that eliminating terrorist leaders is crucial, especially during wartime, when it is more difficult for an organization to replace its leadership efficiently.

Assa highlighted that Sinwar had expected Iran and Hezbollah to join Hamas in the initial Oct. 7, 2023, attack but that the timing wasn’t right for the Iranian axis to join an all-out attack. This despite the fact that Hezbollah had prepared its own mass murder ground assault from Southern Lebanon, whose infrastructure is now being destroyed by the IDF.

Sinwar’s elimination will help “people in Gaza, also terrorists, know that this is the end of the Hamas. And if it’s the end of the Hamas, they have no advantage keeping the hostages,” said Assa. “I think what will happen now is as the time will go by, we will see hostages getting free and we hope every one of them.”

Lt. Col. (res.) Jonathan Conricus, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former IDF international spokesperson, highlighted the implications of Sinwar’s death, stating, “When I scan the horizon of Hamas leadership and I look at who is next in line …, they are way down, many levels down the food chain from where Yahya Sinwar was.”

He named Sinwar’s brother Muhammad as a lead candidate to replace him.

For the broader Middle East, Sinwar’s death could serve as a catalyst for change. Without Hamas’s iron grip on Gaza, there is potential for Palestinian factions and civilians to explore new possibilities for governance and cooperation.

“I think that this poses a lot of opportunities for Israel, but most importantly for Palestinians, for those who want to seize opportunity and get free of Hamas rule and oppression of Gaza and perhaps turn the page on a better future for Gaza,” said Conricus.

Ultimately, the elimination of Sinwar is more than the death of a terrorist mastermind. It is a significant milestone in Israel’s broader fight against Iranian-backed jihadist movements that seek to destroy the Jewish state and take over the Middle East.

Israel has not only weakened its enemies; it is creating new possibilities for the wider region.
Seth Frantzman: Killing of Sinwar is huge achievement but no magic wand
The death of Sinwar is a major accomplishment in the war against Hamas. His elimination was the last in a series of targeted strikes against terror leadership in both Gaza and Lebanon.

Earlier this year, Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran, Mohammed Deif was killed in July, Marwan Issa, another key Hamas leader, was killed in March and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in September. The death of Sinwar leaves Hamas with very few leaders in Gaza. Mohammed Sinwar, the brother of Yahya, is apparently still alive. Otherwise, Hamas probably has a few battalion and brigade commanders, most of them replacements for commanders killed earlier in the war.

The death of Sinwar is an important achievement for the IDF and Israel. However, in the past, Israel has eliminated Hamas leaders and seen Hamas regrow its leadership. Every leader of Hamas that has been assassinated has seen a replacement even more hellbent on Israel’s destruction.

Sinwar was key to this recovery after the assassination of Sheik Yassin in 2004. Born in 1962 in Khan Younis, Sinwar was one of the key figures in Hamas from its founding in the 1980s. He was sentenced to prison in Israel but not before he had the chance to kill Palestinians in Gaza and help Hamas become the brutal terror group it became. Released in a prisoner deal in 2011 he quickly rose to power as other Hamas leaders moved to Doha where they lived in a gilded cage, backed by Qatar. Sinwar helped turn Hamas into a terror behemoth, replete with masses of rockets and cadres of young men ready to fight Israel. He largely failed in his early years to secure victory. However, since 2018 he honed his abilities and transformed Hamas into the group that was able to surprise Israel on October 7.

This time may be different. Hamas doesn’t have a deep bench of people to draw on to assume leadership in Gaza. It will turn to its Qatar-based Hamas leadership. This includes Khaled Meshaal, Mousa Abu Marzouk, Ghazi Hamad and Osama Hamdan. But this is risky as it will make Hamas largely an organization of exiles. It has been here before. In 1992 Israel exiled Hamas leaders to an area between Israel and Lebanon. They eventually came back due to international pressure. Meshaal was also exiled. Israel even tried to kill Meshaal in the 1990s.

Hamas knows how to operate abroad. It has increased coordination with Hezbollah in Lebanon. It has strong Iranian backing and it is backed by Turkey, Qatar, Russia and possibly even China. This means Hamas has more street credit abroad today. Does it have street credit at home. It has lost some support in Gaza, but it may have gained some in the West Bank. The ruin it has brought on Gaza likely gives Palestinians pause about what it might do the West Bank.

It is important to be wary of seeing the death of Sinwar as a magic wand. Cairo recently hosted the Iranian foreign minister and Egypt has expressed interest in a Palestinian unity deal. If the regional countries cannot be weaned of this idea of a unity deal that will save Hamas then the organisation may continue to survive. Hamas will continue to try to get a unity deal and access to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah. Hamas is a genocidal group and its October 7 massacre was designed to showcase this quality. Now is the time for Israel and its friends in the West to leverage the death of Sinwar to achieve victory.
Seth Frantzman: Sinwar’s death will hurt Iran’s ‘axis of resistance’
It’s important to look at the regional blow that Iran has suffered now. It has lost Sinwar and Nasrallah. These were major figures in two powerful groups that have been harming Israel. For most of the year, Iran felt it was winning. It had helped massacre 1,000 Israelis. It had depopulated the northern border. It carried out direct attacks with drones and long-range ballistic missiles in April and early October. The militias in Iraq have also targeted Israel with drones. The Houthis have been wreaking havoc in the Red Sea – they even targeted Tel Aviv with a drone.

However, for Iran, it was Hamas that was the pawn closest to Israel. Palestinian Islamic Jihad is a smaller proxy group. Hamas is a powerful group and a key to Iran’s plans. Hezbollah is a Shi’ite group in Lebanon. It was Hamas that Iran hoped could advance the plans to defeat Israel and destroy the two-state solution.

Now that Sinwar is dead, Iran will have to rethink the equation. Qatar had been backing Hamas and paying money to Sinwar’s Hamas. Via Qatar, Tehran hoped that they could influence the US to pressure Israel into a ceasefire. Doha had tried to get a ceasefire to preserve Hamas in Gaza and preserve Sinwar.

But Israel turned the tables by eliminating Hamas leaders. Ismail Haniyeh was killed and so was Salah al-Arouri. Marwan Issa and Mohammed Dief were killed.

Now Hamas has very few leaders. Most of them reside in Doha. Now is the time that the US can use pressure on Qatar to stop hosting Hamas. Iran is now on the back foot. It could lose in Lebanon; it could face humiliation at home. The death of Sinwar could cause other dominoes to fall in the Iranian multi-front war on Israel.

Israel must play its cards right now. It has a chance now to reverse a year of difficulty. It has a chance to remake this regional chess board. Removing the Sinwar pawn on Iran’s chessboard is important. Now is the time to take a shot at Iran’s proverbial “queen” in this game and strike at the regime itself.


'A small, ugly, and broken figure': IDF officer reflects on time alone with Sinwar's body
One of the officers in the unit that killed Yahya Sinwar, Lt. Col. Itamar Eitam, shared a post on social media Friday in which he described the minutes he spent alone with Sinwar’s body after the operation.

Eitam wrote: “I just left Rafah. Not long ago, I looked him—Sinwar—in the eyes. I had a few minutes alone with him, and I looked at him—a small, ugly, and broken figure, lying on a shattered couch."

Itam said he thought “about all the good people who are no longer here: Amishar, Banba, Roy, Tomer, Salman, Eder, Ran, and many, many more—fallen soldiers, orphans, hostages, and the wounded.

'I feel insulted on behalf of God'
"So much pain this man caused," he wrote. "I looked at the ruined city, and I even felt pain for them, but more than anything, I felt insulted—insulted on behalf of God. Because he, too, was once a baby and a child, and he had a choice, and he chose evil. He chose wickedness. What an insult that he was also a person created in Your image. How distorted. How much better the world is now. We won't be confused, and we won't give up. Together we will win. Happy holiday."

Hilit, Eitam's mother, told Walla, “Everyone is happy, thank God—less wickedness. The world is better now; the world is better.”

She added, “We live in a world of miracles all the time. My son wasn’t there alone. He was with the best forces, and we have to say thank God they succeeded. My daughter-in-law is also a hero; she has been waiting at home for a whole year for him to do his duty. I wish the people of Israel a happy holiday and hope we continue to hear good news.”


Israeli FM: UN chief leading ‘extreme anti-Israel and anti-Jewish agenda’
Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Friday slammed U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres for failing to commend Jerusalem for killing Hamas terror chief Yahya Sinwar.

Katz charged that the U.N. boss had failed to “welcome the elimination of arch-terrorist Yahya Sinwar, just as he refused to declare Hamas a terrorist organization after the October 7 massacre.

“Guterres is leading an extreme anti-Israel and anti-Jewish agenda. We will continue to designate him as persona non grata and bar his entry to Israel,” added the Jewish state’s top diplomat.


Israel, ignore Democrats’ warped cease-fire calls after Hamas big’s death
Thankfully, the Jewish state made a very different choice.

Withstanding immense pressure, not just from Washington but from its many domestic cronies in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to fight on.

Instead of agreeing to engage yet again in negotiations with two terrorist organizations, Hamas and Hezbollah, that have been brazenly violating agreements and flouting internationally imposed restrictions for decades, Netanyahu had the IDF eliminate Hezbollah’s top leadership, take out its commander Hassan Nasrallah and make sure that Hamas’ Sinwar, too, died like a dog.

In doing so, Netanyahu and Israel taught America a lesson our spineless and rudderless elites desperately need to learn: Winning is possible.

Winning is desirable.

Winning is good.

True, war comes at a terrible price.

But refusing to fight and insisting that diplomacy is the only acceptable route only serves to embolden our worst enemies, prolong the misery of innocent people on all sides and ensure that the war we’ll eventually have to fight will be much deadlier.

In killing Sinwar, Israel gave the world another reminder about not politics or military strategy, but basic human nature.

When someone marches into your home, rapes your daughter and burns your baby alive, the normal human response isn’t to weep and then slouch towards the negotiations table.

It’s to pick up a gun and go seek justice.

It’s the sort of logic Americans inherently understand, and one more reason why so many are rejecting the defeatist and delusional policies of an administration committed to absurd abstractions rather than concrete victories.

America has very real foes taking very real steps to jeopardize our national security interests, Iran first and foremost among them.

Instead of kowtowing to our murderous enemies, here’s hoping we take a page out of Israel’s playbook and refuse to budge until they’re all lying dead in the dirt.
Trump: Sinwar ‘wasn’t a good person,’ his death makes peace in Gaza ‘easier’
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said on Friday that the death of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Palestinian Islamist terror group, would make the prospect of peace easier in Gaza.

“I think it makes it easier,” the former US president told reporters as he arrived in Detroit for campaign events. “I’m glad that Bibi (Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) decided to do what he had to do.”

Sinwar, 62, the architect of the deadly October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, was killed in an Israeli operation in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday. During the onslaught last year, Palestinian terrorists killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, triggering the ongoing war in Gaza.

Trump also said he plans to talk to Netanyahu soon. He praised the Israeli leader as doing a good job while attacking President Joe Biden’s administration.

“He’s called me. I haven’t spoken to him. I’m going to speak to him probably now,” Trump said of Netanyahu. “Biden is trying to hold him back… and he probably should be doing the opposite actually.”

Biden and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, who Trump faces in a tight race for the November 5 US election, have maintained strong support for Israel in its wars in Gaza and Lebanon. Still, Washington earlier this week sent a letter to Israel demanding that it improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza or face potential restrictions on US military aid.
Commentary Podcast: The Significance of the Sinwar Killing
Eli Lake joins the podcast as we debate just how meaningful the killing of Yahya Sinwar by IDF troops is—is it a major turning point, a climactic event, one of the most important days of the 21st century, or something else? And what about the Biden administration's response to it?




IDF kills Sinwar's bodyguard, Hamas's Tel al-Sultan Battalion commander Mahmoud Hamdan
Mahmoud Hamdan, the Hamas commander responsible for guarding Yahya Sinwar and overseeing the six hostages murdered in the Tel al-Sultan area, was eliminated by the IDF on Friday.

Hamdan, the commander of Hamas’ Tel al-Sultan Battalion, was initially believed to have been killed several weeks ago based on intelligence assessments. However, it was later revealed that this intelligence was insufficient, and Hamdan continued his role of guarding Sinwar.

The encounter, during which Hamdan was eliminated, occurred approximately 200 meters from the location where Sinwar had been killed.

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed by the IDF in Tel Sultan in Rafah on Wednesday in an unplanned operation, the IDF announced on Thursday.

IDF troops suspected there were Hamas terrorists in the building area, which they eventually fired on. Afterward, they found Sinwar’s body inside.

"Sinwar was responsible for the most brutal attack against Israel in our history when terrorists from Gaza invaded Israel," IDF Chief Spokesperson R-Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a press conference.

"For the past year, Sinwar tried to escape justice. He failed. We said we would find him and bring him to justice, and we did. It was Yahya Sinwar who decided to wage war with Israel while hiding behind civilians in Gaza," he added.


FDD: Sinwar is Dead: Now What? | FDD SITREP w/ Jonathan Conricus, Hussain Abdul-Hussain & Jon Schanzer
Breaking news out of the Middle East: Israel has confirmed the elimination of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar. Hamas’s political leader in Gaza since 2017, Yahya Sinwar is considered one of the masterminds behind the October 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel.

Sinwar rose through the Hamas ranks as a fierce advocate of violence against Israel, helping establish Hamas’s military, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, and the Majd, an internal security service for the Qassam Brigades.

What does the death of Sinwar mean for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza? How does it impact the broader war that Iran’s proxies are waging against Israel? What is the reaction within Israel – and within the Arab world? How might Israel, the United States, and our allies capitalize on this strategic shift on the battlefield?

FDD hosts a live SITREP with former IDF International Spokesperson and FDD Senior Fellow Jonathan Conricus and FDD Research Fellow Hussain Abdul-Hussain, moderated by FDD Senior Vice President for Research Jonathan Schanzer.


Call me Back Podcast: EMERGENCY EPISODE: SINWAR DEAD — with Nadav Eyal & Haviv Rettig Gur
Yahya Sinwar is dead. To help us better understand what happened in Gaza over the past 24 hours, the reaction in Israeli society, and what is likely to happen next in Gaza and in Israel, Nadav Eyal and Haviv Rettig Gur join us for an emergency episode of the podcast.

NADAV EYAL is a columnist for Yediiot. He is one of Israel’s leading journalists. Eyal has been covering Middle-Eastern and international politics for the last two decades for Israeli radio, print and television news.

Haviv is the senior political analyst at The Times of Israel. He was a long time reporter for the Times of Israel. He’s also working on a book. Haviv was a combat medic in the IDF where he served in the reserves.

Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
02:33 Immediate reactions to Sinwar’s death
06:34 How was Sinwar killed?
14:06 Were hostages kept with Sinwar?
28:29 How does this development impact Palestinian society?


The Free Press: Sinwar Is Dead: Former IDF Lieutenant Colonel on the Future of the War
Michael Moynihan and Mike Pesca interview Jonathan Conricus from Tel Aviv about the future of the war.

We hope you enjoy—and that you tune in live next week on X or right here on this page for another installment with Michael, Batya, more Free Pressers, and surprise guests to discuss the news.


Tom Gross: IDF kills Yahya Sinwar – is this the end of Hamas?
Leader of Hamas Yahya Sinwar has been killed in a surprise encounter with Israeli forces. The mastermind behind the October 7 attacks, Sinwar has been Israel’s top target in Gaza for some time. Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said ‘our enemies cannot hide. We will pursue and eliminate them.’ What does the death of Sinwar mean for the wider conflict? Will this mark a winding down of operations in Gaza, with Israel turning its focus to the North? Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to ‘destroy’ Hamas when war began, with many arguing this was an impossible task. Is the death of Sinwar the beginning of the end? Assistant online editor Angus Colwell is joined by Tom Gross, Middle East expert and commentator.


Sinwar is gone, but the war is not over: Son of a Hamas founder | Cuomo
Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of a founding member of Hamas, tells “CUOMO” that the Israel-Hamas war is not over just because Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is dead. He says the U.S. should pressure Egypt to send troops into Gaza “and bring the hostages back!”




SEAL Rob O'Neill to Newsmax: Israel 'Showing Us How to Win a War'
Israel's killing of Yahya Sinwar will have a huge impact on their fight against Hamas, retired Navy SEAL Rob O'Neill told Newsmax on Thursday.

On "Carl Higbie FRONTLINE," O'Neill said, "This is huge for them. And I love that they were able to do it with soldiers. So the last thing that Yahya saw was probably the Israeli flag.

"And it's just good on them. Good for the pursuit. And just like the rest of them, you know, he died running away afraid. And the good guys finally caught up to him.

"I couldn't be happier," he said, adding that Sinwar's death "takes away a lot of" Hamas' "abilities."

"And what Israel is doing right now is they're showing us how to win a war. They're taking out the top leaders. They're going to keep doing it.

"And they're proving to everyone, including like, even right now, our president will say, 'Well, now he's dead, we can work on a cease-fire.' You don't don't let someone start a war and then whine about a cease-fire," O'Neill said, adding that Israel "did a great job, and I couldn't be more proud."


IDF shows Sinwar, with family and TV, fleeing to tunnel the night before Oct. 7 attack

Abbas’s PLO mourns ‘martyrdom’ of Hamas chief Sinwar, a ‘great national leader’
The Palestine Liberation Organization, led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and seen internationally as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, expressed its condolences Friday on the “martyrdom” of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, calling him a “great national leader” and urging Palestinian national unity.

Some of the PLO’s constituent factions also expressed condolences for the terror chief’s demise, including Abbas’s secularist Fatah party, which said Israel’s “killing and terrorism will not succeed in breaking the will of our people.”

Sinwar was the architect of the October 7, 2023 invasion and slaughter in southern Israel, when some 3,000 Hamas-led terrorists burst through the Gaza border and massacred 1,600 people in their homes, communities and at a music festival, and abducted 251 to Gaza where 97 are still held hostage. He was killed by IDF troops in Gaza’s Rafah on Wednesday.

Among the condolences quoted by WAFA, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency, were messages from the Palestinian National Initiative and the Palestinian Democratic Union, left-wing members of the PLO which, like Fatah, have expressed opposition to armed struggle against Israel.

Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held talks on Friday with representatives of Hamas and expressed condolences over the death of Sinwar, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

During the meeting, Fidan said that Turkey will “use all diplomatic means to mobilize the international community against the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza,” the ministry said.

Turkey’s relations with Israel have significantly deteriorated under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has repeatedly expressed support for Hamas and hosted its representatives in Turkey since the October 7, 2023 attacks, while comparing Israel to Nazi Germany.


IDF says Hezbollah toll at 1,500; Lebanese PM: A lesson to stay out of regional conflicts
Israel’s military chief said Friday that at least 1,500 Hezbollah operatives are believed to have been killed in Lebanon since the start of the conflict there, while adding that the numbers could be higher.

“We have taken out their entire command layer,” Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi told commanders of the Golani Brigade, referring to airstrikes that killed terror leader Hassan Nasrallah and many other top leaders. “And you are taking out the local command structure.”

Hezbollah “continues to shrink and shrink,” he said.

At the same time, Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati voiced rare criticism of the terror group that has a stranglehold over his country, saying during a meeting with Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni that “what is happening today is a lesson for all Lebanese to stay out of regional conflicts.”

Both agreed that a diplomatic solution must take precedence over violence.

Hezbollah began attacking northern Israel a day after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks on the country’s south, saying it was doing so in support of the Gaza-based terror group. But after suffering nearly a year of cross-border attacks, Israel launched a major offensive against Hezbollah in September with catastrophic consequences for the group, decimating its leadership and crippling much of its capabilities.

This month it launched a ground offensive in southern Lebanon to dismantle terror infrastructure that threatened communities near the border.

“We are very determined to hit Hezbollah as hard as possible,” Halevi said during a visit to troops in southern Lebanon.

“Hezbollah is hiding casualties, hiding dead commanders. We estimate that we have killed some 1,500 Hezbollah operatives, and our estimates are conservative. I imagine there are more that we don’t know about from dozens of strikes.”
PM after Sinwar killing: Those holding hostages will be spared if they lay down arms, release them
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar marks “the beginning of the day after Hamas.”

“The one who carried out the worst massacre in the history of our people since the Holocaust, the mass murderer who murdered thousands of Israelis, abducted hundreds of our people, was eliminated today by our heroic soldiers,” Netanyahu says in a video statement. “Today, as we promised we would, we settled accounts with him. Today, evil suffered a heavy blow, but our mission is not yet completed.”

Turning to the hostages’ families, Netanyahu says: “This is an important moment in the war. We will continue with full force until all your loved ones — our loved ones — are returned home. That is our supreme obligation. That is my supreme obligation.”

To the residents of Gaza, he says: “Sinwar destroyed your lives. He told you he was a lion, but in practice, he hid in a dark tunnel and was eliminated when he fled in a panic from our soldiers. His elimination is an important milestone in the demise of the Hamas axis of evil.”

“Hamas will no longer rule Gaza,” Netanyahu promises. “This is the beginning of the day after Hamas, and this is an opportunity for you, the residents of Gaza, to finally break free from its tyranny.”

“To the Hamas terrorists I say: your leaders are fleeing and they will be eliminated,” he continues.

He says that anyone holding hostages will be allowed to live if they lay down their weapons and release their captives.

“And at the same time I say, whoever harms our hostages, his blood will be on his head,” says Netanyahu. ” We will come to a reckoning with him.”

Netanyahu says freeing the hostages brings the end of the war closer.

Addressing the people of the Middle East, Netanyahu says there is “a great opportunity to stop the axis of evil and create a different future — a future of peace, a future in which the entire region thrives. Together we can push away the curse and advance the blessing.”

“In Gaza, in Beirut, in the streets of the entire area, the darkness is withdrawing and the light is rising,” he says, and lists Hamas and Hezbollah leaders eliminated. “Deif, Haniyeh, Sinwar, Nasrallah, Mohsen, Aqil and many of their partners are no more.”


IDF drops leaflets in Gaza showing Sinwar's body, message to Hamas
Israeli planes dropped leaflets over southern Gaza on Saturday showing a picture of the dead Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar with the message that "Hamas will no longer rule Gaza," echoing language used by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The move came as Israeli military strikes reportedly killed at least 32 people across the Gaza Strip and tightened a siege around hospitals in Jabalya in the north of the enclave, Palestinian health officials said. The statement did not differentiate how many of those were civilians and how many were Hamas terrorists. The IDF said it was unaware of the incident.

“Whoever drops the weapon and hands over the hostages will be allowed to leave and live in peace," the leaflet, written in Arabic, read, according to residents of the southern city of Khan Yunis and images circulating online.

The leaflet's wording was from a statement by Netanyahu on Thursday after Sinwar was killed by Israeli soldiers operating in Rafah, in the south near the Egyptian border, on Wednesday.

Residents and medics said Israeli forces had tightened their siege on Jabalya, the largest of the enclave's eight historic camps, which it encircled by also sending tanks to nearby towns of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya and issuing evacuation orders to residents.

Israeli officials said evacuation orders were aimed at separating Hamas fighters from civilians and denied that there was any systematic plan to clear civilians out of Jabalia or other northern areas.


Yazidi woman freed by IDF from Gaza reveals ISIS fed her babies
It is now two weeks since the rescue of the Yazidi hostage Fawzia Amin Sido from captivity in Gaza by the IDF, in a joint operation also involving the US Embassy.

Fawzia has been returned to her family in the Sinjar area of northern Iraq. This week, she sat for her first filmed interview since her liberation.

Alan Duncan, a former British soldier and volunteer fighter with the Iraqi Kurds who is now a documentary filmmaker, was part of a small group of people in Israel made aware of Fawzia’s plight in July. He was involved in subsequent efforts to lobby the Israeli authorities to act to free her. (Full disclosure: I was also a part of this group.)

Because of this involvement, the Sido family decided to grant Fawzia’s first recorded interview to Duncan.

Parts of the interview were published by The Sun newspaper, based in the UK, this week. Because of my own involvement on the matter, I have also been able to view the full two-hour recording of the conversation between Duncan and Fawzia Sido.


WSJ Editorial: UN Peacekeepers Are Hizbullah's Best Friend
The UN peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL had one job: Keep armed terrorists out of southern Lebanon, where they could shoot at Israel. It failed so abysmally that Israel has had to go to war to clear out the terrorists. UNIFIL refuses to fight, refuses to move, and blames Israel for putting its non-peacekeepers at risk.

UNIFIL has allowed Hizbullah to entrench itself in southern Lebanon, storing arms in homes and building a network of fully stocked attack tunnels and weapons depots in preparation for an Oct. 7-style assault. Israeli troops have found a tunnel 100 meters from a UNIFIL outpost. For 11 months Hizbullah fired 8,500 rockets and missiles at Israel from Lebanon, under UNIFIL's nose.

Israeli troops entered Lebanon on Oct. 1 and requested several times that UNIFIL move out of harm's way. But the peacekeepers won't budge, though there's no peace to keep. UNIFIL finally seems to have found its calling: Getting in Israel's way. France, Spain and Italy express "outrage" at the injuring of two UNFIL troops. These injuries are regrettable, but they show that it isn't safe to remain in a war zone. Where was this diplomatic energy when Hizbullah dominated the area, and used it to force the depopulation of Israel's north?
UNIFIL in South Lebanon Didn't See, Hear, or Stop Hizbullah
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, is the world's largest peacekeeping force. It has around 10,000 troops in southern Lebanon, an annual budget of $500 million, and broad international support. According to UN Security Council Resolution 1701, UNIFIL has the authority "to take all necessary action" to prevent the use of the territory south of the Litani River for military purposes, to assist the Lebanese government in exercising its sovereignty, and to implement the UN resolutions calling for the disbanding of the militias in Lebanon.

Yet the UN troops never reported the extensive military infrastructure that Hizbullah deployed along the border as part of its plan to capture the Galilee. Instead, it produces reports that include piles of bureaucratic text about the training of staff members and local officials aimed at preventing sexual harassment and abuse.

Brig.-Gen. (res.) Assaf Orion, who was in charge of communications between the Israeli army and the UN forces, calls the situation an arrangement of convenience built on a pyramid of lies. Hizbullah benefits from a human shield to conceal its activities, and also from the money that UNIFIL spends in Shi'ite villages. The Lebanese government and army receive international legitimacy and assistance, while Western governments clear their consciences and "support Lebanon."


Five soldiers KIA in Lebanon, bringing IDF toll to 745
Five Israel Defense Forces soldiers were killed fighting Hezbollah terrorists in Southern Lebanon, the military announced on Thursday.

The slain men were named as Maj. Ofek Bachar, 24, from Ness Ziona; Capt. Elad Siman Tov, 23, from Tzofim; Staff Sgt. Elyashiv Eitan Wieder, 22, from Jerusalem; Staff Sgt. Yakov Hillel, 21, from Jerusalem; and Staff Sgt. Yehudah Dror Yahalom, 21, from Hebron.

All five served in the Golani Brigade’s elite Reconnaissance Battalion.

Eight soldiers were wounded in Southern Lebanon on Wednesday and Thursday, while another sustained wounds in Gaza, the military added.


Terrorists wound two Israelis near Dead Sea
Two Israelis were wounded, one moderately and one lightly, in a shooting attack at Moshav Neot HaKikar in the northern Arava area, just south of the Dead Sea, on Friday morning.

The army killed two terrorists, and residents of the area were ordered to remain inside their homes.

The victims were taken to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva.

“IDF forces recently identified a number of terrorists who crossed from Jordan into the country south of the Dead Sea. IDF troops were dispatched to the spot and neutralized the two terrorists,” the military Spokesperson’s Office said.

Soldiers were searching for a possible third attacker who fled the scene, with the Air Force assisting from above, the military added.

Last month, three security guards at the Allenby Bridge crossing in the Jordan Valley were murdered in a terrorist shooting.

The gunman, who according to the IDF was a Jordanian citizen, was killed. He was later named as Maher D’yab Hussein Jazi, a 39-year-old truck driver from the city of Irbid.


Car rams into police vehicle in suspected West Bank attack; no casualties
A Palestinian driver swerved into a parked armored police vehicle at high speed on Saturday in a suspected car-ramming attack in the West Bank, police said.

The driver was killed in the incident, and no police officers were wounded.

Security camera footage showed the car speed toward an armored vehicle and a police patrol car, as a number of officers stood around. Right before the car rammed into the police vehicle, a seemingly unaware officer stepped out of the way of the vehicle, narrowly missing being hit.

The incident occurred on Route 60 near the Ofra settlement in the West Bank.

Police said that “during an operational activity by the police of Judea and Samaria District on Route 60 near the settlement of Ofra, a Palestinian vehicle collided with a police car, for a reason that has not yet been clarified at this stage. There were no casualties in the incident, police forces are on the scene.”

Police later stated that the attacker was a 27-year-old Palestinian from the Nablus area, and was alone in the car. They clarified that he was killed as a result of the collision.

Police said that a bomb squad was dispatched to the scene to inspect the vehicle, and that the incident was being investigated as a terror attack.
WSJ Editorial: Biden Once Pledged Gaza Aid Would Stop if Hamas Stole It
On Oct. 18, 2023, President Biden announced that humanitarian aid would move from Egypt to Gaza with Israel's consent "based on the understanding that there will be inspections and that the aid should go to civilians, not to Hamas....If Hamas diverts or steals the assistance, they will have demonstrated once again that they have no concern for the welfare of the Palestinian people and it will end. As a practical matter, it will stop the international community from being able to provide this aid."

Now, the President has demanded that Israel transfer ever more aid, even as Hamas steals it to keep power over Gaza's population. On Sunday, the Biden Administration threatened Israel in a letter from senior U.S. officials Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin: Surge aid to Gaza within 30 days or risk a weapons embargo. The timing couldn't be worse. Israel may soon retaliate against Iran for its recent missile attack, and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei needs to know that America has Israel's back.

The Biden team supports Israel, but not the moves that might deliver victory. The Administration suggests it could withhold offensive weapons from Israel - while maintaining missile defense. Under duress, Israel has signaled it will cooperate on the aid. The question is why he so often threatens Israel, and never Hamas or Iran.

The Administration's threat letter also urges Israel to keep the status quo with UNRWA and schedule Red Cross visits for Hamas prisoners in Israel, which isn't required for unlawful combatants. Meanwhile, Hamas refuses Red Cross visits to the hostages it holds.
Col. Richard Kemp: Israel is being sacrificed to hand Kamala Harris’ failing campaign a few extra votes
In the middle of a war, the White House is threatening America's closest ally in the Middle East with cutting off arms supply in 30 days if its demands are not met. The U.S. is ordering Israel to facilitate increased aid delivery. But I have witnessed first-hand the Israel Defense Forces' efforts to get aid into Gaza.

Israel's policy has been to flood Gaza with aid. Israel has created new aid crossing points and built roads inside Gaza specifically for aid delivery. I am not aware of any other conflict in which one of the combatants has taken such steps, or anything like them, to get aid to its enemy's population at the same time as it is actively involved in combat operations. But as with so much else in this conflict, different rules and standards are expected of Israel than the U.S. would even consider applying to itself or any other country.

Any shortage of vital commodities should not be blamed on Israel, but on the failure by the UN and other agencies to actually deliver the aid to the people who need it. The UN's efforts have been impeded by inefficiency, but even more by Hamas's seizure of aid. Media reports have shown Hamas terrorists proclaiming that their warehouses are full.

Blaming Israel for the humanitarian crisis rewards Hamas, empowers its continuing terrorist campaign, and will help prolong the conflict. Where are the demands on Egypt to allow refugees to cross onto their side of the border? Where are the demands on Cairo to re-open the Rafah crossing from Egypt into Gaza?
CBS’s Duthiers to IDF: How Are You Ensuring Hamas Doesn’t Steal Aid from Civilians ‘Under the Boot’ of Hamas?
On Friday, CBS host Vladimir Duthiers asked IDF Spokesman Maj. Doron Spielman how Israel is ensuring that aid going into Gaza “is actually reaching those who need it, which are not the terrorists, but the people who are trapped under the boot of those terrorists?”

Duthiers asked, “[T]he United States has asked Israel — or has warned Israel that it faces a potential of stoppage of military support if it does not do more to allow aid into Gaza in the coming weeks. Can you explain to the American people what you are doing to ensure that, not only more aid is entering Gaza to those civilians who need it, those innocent civilians, those children, but that the aid is actually reaching those who need it, which are not the terrorists, but the people who are trapped under the boot of those terrorists?”

Spielman responded, “Absolutely, we take the United States’ concerns very seriously. I, myself, take them very seriously. And Israel takes the concerns, also, of the Gazan people very seriously. We have sent in thousands of tons of aid since the beginning of this war, and we’re continuing, even today, we had over 60 trucks of aid reach into northern Gaza. The situation is incredibly difficult, because, still, whatever remains of Hamas, their first priority is to get their hands on that aid. Also, all of the humanitarian agencies — whether it be the United Nations agencies — in most cases, have not been helpful. They’ve been unhelpful about distributing that aid. And so, it’s an incredible challenge, however, we’ve taken it very seriously, we’ve ramped up as much ability as we can to allow that aid into Gaza. I don’t want to see these pictures on the screen any more than you do. This was really Sinwar’s plan. He was hoping that he would starve his own people so that world pressure would come on Israel, and, in that respect, there has been some success.”


Call me Back: Biden-Harris ‘Jekyll-Hyde’ Israel Policy - with Rich Goldberg
In the past week, the Biden-Harris administration has announced it would deploy the THAAD system to Israel — THAAD is an advanced missile defense system that can thwart short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles, as well as the U.S. military personnel to operate it.

At the same time, the Biden-Harris administration has issued a blistering letter to Israel’s government threatening to withhold military resources at the time that Israel is planning its response to the October 1st Iranian attack (here’s a copy of the letter: https://www.documentcloud.org/documen....

To help us understand what is going on with U.S. policy, Rich Goldberg returns to the podcast. Rich is a senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. From 2019-2020, he served as a Director for Countering Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction for the White House National Security Council. He previously served as a national security staffer in the US Senate and US House. Rich is an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve with military experience on the Joint Staff and in Afghanistan.

Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
03:40 What has been learned from the October 1st attack against Israel?
13:25 What are Israel’s Iron Dome and Arrow missile defenses?
17:33 How much R&D and production of these systems can be credited to Israel?
22:09 What is the THAAD system?
32:24 What is the Biden-Harris administration expressing in their letter to Israel’s government?
42:56 What does the administration mean by ‘withholding assistance’ to Israel?
49:50 How do we reconcile these two policies that are in conflict with one another?


A ‘good day for world peace’ as ‘centre of evil’ is eliminated
Vision has emerged of the ‘final moments’ before Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed in Gaza.

The IDF released footage of the mastermind behind the October 7 terror attack hiding in a building in the southern city of Rafah.

Sky News contributor Michael Kroger described his death as a “good day for world peace”.

“This man was the centre of evil in the Middle East,”

“It is a good day for the world, because there is an increased chance of peace in the Middle East because he’s gone” Mr Kroger said.


‘Extremely disturbing’: Douglas Murray hits out at UN peacekeeping force over Hezbollah
Author Douglas Murray has hit out at the UN peacekeeping force after he was shown by the IDF, two Hezbollah tunnels near the border with Israel.

A Hezbollah tunnel was revealed to be just 100 metres away from a UN peacekeeping base and observation point.

Mr Murray was taken into southern Lebanon recently and was shown by the Israeli Defence Force the tunnel close to the watch tower of the UN peacekeeping force.

“The thing about this that’s extremely disturbing among others is that all of this happened literally right under the watch towers of the so-called UN peacekeeping force,” Mr Murray told Sky News host Rita Panahi.

“They literally watched ... as Hezbollah fired thousands of rockets from that allegedly demilitarised area into Israel – it’s all there, visibly on the ground.”




UKLFI: Dr Efrat Sopher discusses opportunity for a new Middle East following death of Sinwar on LBC (audio)
Dr Efrat Sopher, UKLFI Director and Chair of the Ezri Center for Iran & Gulf States Research at the University of Haifa, discusses the opportunity for a new Middle East following the deaths of Sinwar and other terrorist leaders with Matt Frei on LBC




What the Hell Is Going On: WTH Live! The Future Of The Israel-Iran War. Elliott Abrams, David Deptula, and Eyal Hulata Explain Explicit
After a year of fighting between Israel, Iranian proxies, and now Iran itself, it’s still unclear how this war will end. Hezbollah and Hamas are militarily devastated. The Iranian regime has never looked weaker. But the Israel-Hamas war is also nowhere close to being settled, Israel is only now beginning its operations in southern Lebanon, and the world is still awaiting Israeli retaliation for Iran’s October 1 missile attack. In this episode of WTH Live! Elliott Abrams, David Deptula, and Eyal Hulata join Dany at AEI to discuss what the future of Israel’s de facto war with Iran should and will look like.

Elliott Abrams is a senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). He previously served as deputy assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor in the administration of President George W. Bush, where he supervised U.S. policy in the Middle East for the White House, and as Special Representative for Iran and Venezuela in the administration of Donald Trump.

Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula (Ret.) serves as the Dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. Gen. Deptula was the principal attack planner for the Operation Desert Storm air campaign, commander of no-fly-zone operations over Iraq in the late 1990s, director of the air campaign over Afghanistan in 2001, and has served on two congressional commissions charged with outlining America’s future defense posture. Gen. Deptula retired from the Air Force in 2010 after more than 34 years of distinguished service.

Eyal Hulata is a senior international fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Eyal previously served as Israel’s national security advisor and head of Israel’s National Security Council (NSC). During his tenure, Eyal coordinated the national effort on Iran, coordinated the maritime border agreement with Lebanon, and co-headed the Strategic Consultation Group with his American counterpart, Jake Sullivan.


“Thank You For Taking Out All These Horrible Terrorists” | Alex Phillips On Hamas Chief’s Death
Alex Phillips says she plans to send Benjamin Netanyahu a jeroboam of kosher wine and a box of celebrations following the death of Yahya Sinwar.

The Hamas chief was killed by the IDF in southern Gaza on Thursday evening following the Israeli forces raid in a war struck building.


AIJAC executive manager not ‘surprised’ by comments during October 7 rally
Australia Israel and Jewish Affairs Council Executive Manager Joel Burnie says Khaled Beydoun’s October 7 remarks are not “unfamiliar” to the Jewish community.

Mr Beydoun called October 7 a day of ‘celebration’ at a pro-Palestinian rally on the anniversary of October 7.

The Arizona State University professor reportedly had his visa revoked by the Australian government.

“His [Beydoun] comments unfortunately are not unfamiliar to my community since the horrific events just over a year ago on October 7,” Mr Burnie told Sky News host Gabriella Power.

“For someone to call it a day of celebration unfortunately not surprising.”




Dr. Phil on Pro Hamas Universities
Dr. Phil and Bill Maher agree and disagree, as per usual on a ton of topics, including on how to feel good, the importance of toeing the line in art, the challenges posed by bureaucracy and regulations, particularly in industries like entertainment and energy (solar anyone?). They get serious about stupidity on campuses, Israel, and the reactions on university campuses and moral equivalency. And fittingly, they end on the finite nature of life.


John Anderson Media: Global Instability: Rogue States, Western Failures, and Military Strategy | Tim Cross
Major-General Tim Cross joins John to discuss his experiences in the military amidst global security challenges. Reflecting on his involvement in the 2003 Iraq invasion, he acknowledges the failures of the post-war period, criticising the poor decisions that undermined lasting nation-building efforts. He also examines the growing threats from authoritarian regimes like Russia and China.

Cross argues that the West is facing a leadership crisis and must embrace morally courageous decision-making to survive. He advocates for a strategic defence posture that enhances military capabilities to address modern threats, while also defending the core democratic values that are increasingly under pressure in the West.




Hamas Leaders, Retired U.S. Officials, Academics Convene Pro-Oct. 7 Conference in Istanbul
A conference commending Hamas's Oct. 7 massacre, named "the Al-Aqsa Flood," convened in Istanbul this week.

The event was organized by the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA), headed by Sami Al-Arian, who was deported from the U.S. for providing services to Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

The opening speaker was Hamas official Osama Hamdan, who lauded the massacre and predicted a future in which Israel does not appear on the map.

Another main speaker was former Prime Minister of Malaysia Mahathir Mohamad, who stressed that Israelis and Zionists control the world.

Other speakers included Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff of the U.S. State Department under Colin Powell, who argued that the war was initiated by Israel and prophesied that Israel as a Jewish state will soon cease to exist.

Former U.S. Marines intelligence officer Scott Ritter claimed that the entire world owes Hamas gratitude for the attack.
Reporter who called Oct 7 ‘moment of triumph’ to speak at London Muslim conference
A reporter from Iran’s Press TV who described the Oct 7 attacks on Israel as a “moment of triumph” will speak at a London Muslim conference.

Latifa Abouchakra, a presenter at the banned Tehran-backed channel, is scheduled to speak at a seminar, entitled Palestinians are humans not heroes, during the Global Peace and Unity festival.

Last year, ITV was forced to apologise after platforming Ms Abouchakra as a British Palestinian concerned about prejudice without explaining her background.

The apology came after a video emerged of Ms Abouchakra praising the Oct 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas, in which the terror group killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostage, sparking over a year of conflict in the Middle East.

During a broadcast on the day of the attacks, she told viewers: “As fragile as a spider’s web, the Zionist entity is shaking with fear. In an early morning shock, Palestinian resistance factions from Gaza launched an unprecedented three-pronged attack on the entity.

“What ensued was the homecoming of at least 1,000 Palestinians from the resistance factions into the fragile Zionist entity. Over 100 settlers have been taken as prisoners of war by the resistance – the vast majority are members of the occupation forces.”

In an Instagram post on the same day, she said: “Nothing will ever be able to take back this moment, this moment of triumph, this moment of resistance, this moment of surprise, this moment of humiliation on behalf of the Zionist entity.”

In the ITV interview, Ms Abouchakra said she had been a victim of Islamophobia, adding: “I’ve been called a terrorist, I’ve been asked to go back home, I’ve had people in their cars making threatening gestures.

“Muslims and Palestinians are inherently terrorists according to the system here, according to the narrative of the media here and according to the narrative of the politicians.”

Last week, The Telegraph revealed that the Metropolitan Police had distanced itself from the Global Peace and Unity festival after it was called a “supporting partner” of the event on its website. The move was revealed by think tank Policy Exchange.
Musician who sang about stoning ‘Jewish demons’ to perform at ‘outrageous’ London Islamic festival
A singer whose songs feature lyrics like “all the Jews will pay” and “we throw stones, small and big, at the Jewish demons” is billed to perform to an audience of thousands at an “outrageous” Muslim festival at London’s Exel Centre this weekend, the JC can reveal.

Abdel Fattah Owainat, a Jordanian vocalist who posted footage of terror attacks and training with a soundtrack of one of his own songs glorifying violence after October 7, is advertised on the festival website as focusing “on themes of faith, devotion, and spirituality”.

In 2020, the musician, whose music features on a compilation album called “Jihadi Hills”, was accused of performing traditional songs “in the name of” Hamas in an academic paper published by Edinburgh University Press.

A video showing rockets being launched by militants was accompanied by his song: “Strike, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you, oh fire, make the enemies drink humiliation… The lands are forbidden to enemies… Allah is the greatest, proclaim it, all the Jews will pay.”

Another of his lyrics runs: “Know me, O Son of Zion: no matter how strong you are, for my country, blood is cheap… We throw stones, small and big, at the Jewish demons.”

The revelations add to growing concerns about the upcoming Global Peace and Unity (GPU) festival – the largest of its kind in Europe, which has previously attracted audiences of 55,000 – and the alleged connections of a number of its speakers to extremism.

The Metropolitan Police’s logo was included on GPU material as a “supporting partner” of the festival. But last week the force had it removed after a complaint by the Policy Exchange think-tank. “The organisers were never given formal permission to use the Met logo,” a spokesman said. “We have asked for it to be removed from the website and any related materials.”

In response to the JC’s disclosures, the Met pledged to scrutinise the event. “We’ve passed the material you provided to officers for further assessment,” a spokesman said. “It isn’t typical for the police to determine whether private events take place or who is invited to speak.


What happened to your support for Palestine, Bella? Hadid sister is slammed for walking in Victoria's Secret show despite brand's ties to Israel
Pro-Palestine protesters have accused Bella Hadid of hypocrisy for taking part in the Victoria's Secret's 2024 Fashion Show because the brand has ties to Israel.

The supermodel, 28, wowed as she closed the show in red lingerie set with a statement coat on Tuesday night in New York.

And while Bella has been praised for her catwalk comeback, Palestine supporters criticised the model who has been vocal in opposition to Israel's occupation of Gaza and and whose father Mohamed Hadid was born in Palestine.

Bella, and her sister Gigi, 29, - who also walked in the show - have spoken against Israel's occupation and the war in Gaza on dozens of occasions.

The younger Hadid sister has even gone as far to say she's 'not afraid to lose modelling jobs' due to her stance - which has left fans baffled as to why she walked for a brand with ties to Israel.

One of the main suppliers of Victoria’s Secret merchandise is the Israeli textile giant Delta Galil Industries Ltd.

The underwear brand also opened two new stores in Israel last year, while the country was at war.


San Francisco hit by ‘vandalism’ wave of fake ads attacking Israel
San Francisco is facing a surge of fake ads at city bus shelters attacking Israel.

The posters, which were generating comments on X last week, are disguised as ads celebrating San Francisco Fleet Week, but quickly reveal themselves to be anti-Israel propaganda.

One ad shows an image of U.S. serviceman Aaron Bushnell engulfed in flames.

The mentally ill airman set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington D.C. in February in protest over the war in Gaza.

Above his burning body a message read “Honoring Aaron Bushnell.”

A second poster showed an image of the USS Liberty.

The Navy research vessel came under attack by Israel after it was mistaken for an Egyptian ship during the six day war in 1967.

Though Israel apologized and the error did not impact US-Israel relations, the incident has become a lightening rod for anti-Israel conspiracy theorists.

The USS Liberty poster also featured a symbol of the National Cryptologic Memorial with their logo “They Served In Silence.”

Clear Channel, a company which manages bus shelters ads in the city confirmed to SFGATE that the displays were “vandalism.”

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency additionally told the outlet that they would be coming down.


This Anti-Israel Professor Blamed Israel for Hamas Terrorism. The Biden-Harris Admin Gave him $60K for His Book on 'Palestinian Self-Determination.'
On Oct. 1, the Biden-Harris administration awarded $60,000 to anti-Israel scholar Seth Anziska to write a book about "Palestinian self-determination." One day later, the University College London professor criticized the Jewish state for fighting Hamas, condemned Israel's assassination of Hezbollah's leader, and called U.S. officials "merchants of death."

The National Endowment for the Humanities granted Anziska the taxpayer-funded award on Oct. 1 for his book project focused on the "1982 invasion of Lebanon by Israel," also known as the First Lebanon War. The conflict, according to the grant description, "influenced movements for Palestinian self-determination."

The war began with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), a terrorist group, conducting a series of strikes on Israel from Lebanon. Israel eventually invaded its northern neighbor to expel the PLO after a terrorist cell attempted to assassinate the Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom, Shlomo Argov, leaving him paralyzed for life. The Jewish state withdrew after successfully driving out the terrorist organization, but Hezbollah grew in the PLO's place.

"My book project offers the first publicly accessible international history of the war, which has been elided in public discourse. At a moment of profound rupture for Israel, Palestine, and the wider region, how can the historian make sense of this contested past and its multiple legacies?" Anziska wrote in the description of his project, which he said "seeks to deepen public engagement with the past while underscoring the vital urgency of historical thinking to make sense of violence unfolding today."

But Anziska, an associate professor of Jewish-Muslim relations focused on "Israeli and Palestinian society and culture," has a history of pushing an anti-Israel bias and sympathizing with the terror groups that look to destroy it. On Oct. 2, Anziska published an essay blaming the Jewish state for Hamas's and Hezbollah's rise and criticized the United States for supporting Israel's retaliation against the terror groups.

"Decades of repeated efforts to destroy Palestinian political aspirations through recurring violence have not succeeded in stamping out the liberation struggle, nor has the Israeli army managed to contain Hezbollah absent a reckoning with Palestinian demands for self-determination," Anziska wrote in a Jewish Currents essay. "On the contrary, militant groups like Hezbollah and Hamas have emerged as byproducts of successive invasions; Israeli violence breeds military resistance like a 'cure' producing the 'disease.'"

Anziska called Biden-Harris administration officials who backed Israel's recent retaliations against Hamas and Hezbollah "American enablers."

"These are just some of our modern-day merchants of death; they have nothing to offer us but more violence," he wrote. "Israel is now a rogue state consumed by a forever war—weak where it appears strong, and dragging a constellation of Western powers with it into a battle of folly."

He also criticized Israel's assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, calling it an "extrajudicial killing," and worried that "such vigilante violence … might engender long-term instability for the entire Middle East and well beyond its borders."


“Quite Sickening” | BBC Slammed For Not Mentioning Hamas A ‘Terrorist Group’
Talk’s Mike Graham slams BBC's Jeremy Bowen for not mentioning "the fact" that Hamas is a proscribed terrorist group in his website story.

Former military intelligence officer Philip Ingram joins Mike to discuss this further.




Jerusalem man arrested for plotting terror attack at hostage rally
A resident of eastern Jerusalem was arrested for plotting a terrorist attack against Tel Aviv demonstrations in support of the hostages being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Israel Police and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) said on Friday.

The suspect, a 22-year-old from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, north of the Old City, planned to attack one the weekly rallies in Tel Aviv, as well as shooting attacks on IDF soldiers and attacks on freight trains.

He tried to contact Hamas terrorists in Samaria and recruit the assistance of the Jenin Brigades terrorist group to acquire arms for the attacks.

According to police, the suspect’s aim was to “murder as many people as possible in revenge for the people of Gaza and the terrorist organization Hamas.”

During the investigation, authorities found that the terrorist had started a social media group called “Soldiers of God,” and written a will.

The suspect was set to be indicted in court later on Friday.


Arrests made after shots fired at Toronto Jewish girls' school
The Toronto police department arrested two individuals on Thursday for firing gunshots at a Jewish girls' elementary school, the department reported.

A 20-year-old man and a 17-year-old minor were arrested in connection to shots fired at Bais Chaya Mushka Elementary School on October 12. The police said that the shots were fired from a vehicle and hit a window of the school, though there were no reports of gunfire in the area at that time.

"I’m pleased to announce the arrest of two individuals in connection with the incident that took place at Bais Chaya Mushka Elementary School on Saturday, October 12," said Deputy Chief of Police Robert Johnson. "Both males face multiple charges, including unauthorized possession of a loaded firearm—a Glock handgun modified to be fully automatic. While I can't share details on the motivation behind this incident due to the ongoing investigation, we are thoroughly exploring why these two individuals committed these crimes and any connections to the previous shooting incident at this school on May 25, 2024."

“This is the second incident at the school and it occurred on Yom Kippur, a sacred day for the Jewish community, making this even more devastating," Johnson said in a press conference Friday. “The safety of our communities remains our top priority, particularly as global tensions rise and the Jewish community observes the High Holidays.”

“The safety and well-being of our communities remains our highest priority," said Chief of Police Myron Demkiw. "Our increased police presence across the city will continue for as long as necessary, demonstrating our commitment to keeping all neighborhoods safe. As I’ve said before, our investigations are ongoing, and charges can be laid at any time—whether immediately after the incident or in the days and weeks that follow."
Polish police probe ‘Jews to the gas’ sign at building occupied by anti-Israel students
Polish police are investigating antisemitic signs that were spotted among banners that pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel students hung outside a Krakow university building that they have occupied for over six months, local media reported Thursday.

The Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper said the signs, including one reading “Jews to the gas,” were spotted Monday morning on a wall outside the Collegium Broscianum, which houses the sociology and philosophy departments of the Jagiellonian University, Poland’s oldest university, which has a long history of antisemitism.

A university spokesman apologized for the incident, saying the institution swiftly removed the signs and alerted the local police, who confirmed investigating the “incitement to hatred on national grounds.”

Academy for Palestine, the student group occupying the building, denied putting up the signs, calling them a “provocation,” the news outlet reported.

Israel’s Ambassador to Poland Yacov Livne took to X Friday to condemn the “Israel-haters” at the university who “apparently want to murder Jews by gas, as was done in nearby Auschwitz.”

“I call on the Polish authorities to look closely into the events taking place on this campus,” he added.


From Big Bang Theory to Big Bold #Zionist | EP 13 Mayim Bialik
Welcome to the 13th episode of "Here I Am with Shai Davidai," a podcast that delves into the rising tide of antisemitism through insightful discussions with top Jewish advocates.

In this engaging conversation, host Shai Davidai interviews actress and neuroscientist Mayim Bialik. The discussion covers a wide range of topics, starting with Mayim's multifaceted identity as an actor, neuroscientist, and proud Zionist. They delve into her experiences in Hollywood, where she often faced challenges due to her Jewish identity and distinctive features. Mayim shares her journey of embracing her Jewish identity publicly, despite the pressures to conform to Hollywood's standards.

The conversation shifts to the impact of social media and the role Mayim played in amplifying voices during significant events, highlighting her influence in spreading important messages. They discuss the complexities of Zionism and anti-Semitism, particularly in the context of recent global events, and Mayim's efforts to educate and advocate for Jewish civil rights.

Mayim reflects on her family history, including her connection to the poet laureate of Israel, Chaim Nachman Bialik, and how this heritage influences her activism. The dialogue also touches on the challenges of maintaining Jewish identity in the diaspora and the importance of storytelling in preserving cultural heritage.

The interview concludes with a discussion on Mayim's current projects, including a film about Yeshiva University's basketball team, and her thoughts on the future of Jewish representation in media. Throughout the conversation, Mayim's passion for her heritage and her commitment to advocacy shine through, offering viewers a deep insight into her personal and professional life.






Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism  today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424. 

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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 20 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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