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Tuesday, July 01, 2025

07/01 Links Pt1: Trump claims Israel agreed to conditions for 60-day Gaza ceasefire; Trump Ends the Folly of De-escalation; The myth of Israel’s ‘killing fields’

From Ian:

Seth Frantzman: Israel: Now the Dominant Military Power in the Middle East?
Israel today sits astride the Middle East because of the air power of the Israel Air Force. Israel’s air defense systems are almost among the most integrated and capable in the world. In terms of ground forces, Israel may not appear to be as large as the Egyptian army on paper. However, the reality is that Egypt has not exerted significant power in the region for decades. It focuses more internally or on dealing with its chaotic neighbors, Libya and Sudan.

The Gulf countries together possess impressive armaments, and many of them have spent lavishly on their defense procurement in recent years. The UAE and Bahrain are peace partners with Israel. Saudi Arabia is expected to be a peace partner one day. This leaves the Jewish state with very few adversaries in the region.

In many ways, Israel’s success in building an impressive defense machine is due to the close partnership with the US and the collaboration between US and Israeli defense companies. Israel’s defense exports, for instance, continue to break new records.

The question for policymakers and Israel’s friends and allies is whether regional hegemony will be good for Israel. A more assertive Israel has still become bogged down in a long war in Gaza. Long wars against insurgents are not beneficial for powerful countries; they tend to erode the country’s strength. The US learned this in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The Soviet Union learned this lesson in Afghanistan in the 1980s, and Napoleon learned it in Spain.

A new sense of regional power could also lead the country not to be as flexible regarding peace talks with Syria or Lebanon. It could lead to a decision to clamp down on the Palestinians rather than work toward two states and peace with Riyadh. This is the choice Israel will face as it feels the future is up for grabs. In addition, nature always abhors a vacuum. Other countries and their influences will pour into the Middle East.

For instance, Turkey is a NATO member and has often been among the harshest critics of Israel’s policies. Ankara is also very close with the Trump administration. Doha helped with the Iranian ceasefire and hosts Hamas. It will also want a say in what comes next in the region.

These are potential challenges for the Jewish state as it weighs its newfound power.
Trump Ends the Folly of De-escalation
Donald Trump’s decision to have American B-2s strike Iranian nuclear facilities wasn’t the beginning of a war. Rather, it was a continuation of what H.R. McMaster describes as a “‘twilight war’ that the Islamic Republic of Iran has waged against the United States, Israel, and its Arab neighbors” since it first took 52 Americans hostage in 1979. McMaster explains that, for too long, the U.S. strategy in this war has been marked by an obsession with de-escalation:
Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden tended to view each of [Iran’s] attacks in isolation, rather than episodes in a long-term campaign of aggression grounded in the Islamic Republic’s foundational anti-American and anti-Israeli ideology. Iranian leaders reinforced U.S. presidents’ reluctance to confront Iranian aggression with false narratives about “moderates” within the government who could counterbalance the hostility of the “revolutionaries” if only U.S. leaders would open the door to conciliation. But these so-called “moderates” were no such thing.

Trump’s decision to strike Iranian nuclear facilities earlier this month was incredibly consequential, degrading and delaying a hostile regime’s path to the most destructive weapon on earth, as well as the missiles designed to deliver it. Those strikes—and Israel’s campaign that preceded them—also decapitated leaders who had blood on their hands from Iran’s proxy wars.

But even more importantly, the Israeli and U.S. military operations directly against the Islamic Republic and its warmaking apparatus reminded officials in Tehran that they cannot antagonize their adversaries in the region with impunity—and reminded officials in Washington that Iran’s theocratic dictatorship cannot be conciliated. “De-escalation” was never a path to peace—it was an approach that perpetuated war on the Iranians’ terms.
Andrew Fox: The myth of Israel’s ‘killing fields’
The report is also suspicious by virtue of what it ignores. Gaza remains the scene of an asymmetrical urban war. It is also a war in which IDF soldiers are confronted by an enemy – Hamas – that is known to use civilians as fodder for its aims. Infamously, it uses hospitals and humanitarian centres as military bases. Yet the Haaretz report, like much of the Western media reporting, treats the IDF as if it is policing a football match in Manchester, rather than navigating the frontline of a war in which soldiers’ lives are constantly at risk.

As someone with firsthand experience of operating firearms and firing warning shots in high-pressure environments, I can tell you what ‘firing toward’ looks like. It is shooting in the air, or far short of a crowd, or well off to the side. It is done to send a warning, not to take a life. Put bluntly, it is crowd control by intimidation. It is not an ideal tactic, and it would not be used if there were better options available. It also has plenty of scope for tragic error. Could a soldier mess it up? Yes, and when this happens, it should be investigated – as the IDF is now doing. That is not the same thing as an order to ‘open fire on civilians’.

What we have here, then, appears to be another one-sided and simplistic report. It has erased all context and difficult but critical details. It is written as though Hamas – the terror group that murdered, raped and kidnapped 1,200 innocent citizens just 20 months ago – does not exist. Nothing, it seems, is allowed to interfere, or complicate, the established narrative that Israel is the source of all evil and suffering in Gaza.

Haaretz is not speaking truth to power. It’s using lazy journalism to land cheap blows against an army doing an incredibly difficult job. It appears to be misleading the public rather than trying to inform it.

Truth is always the first casualty of war. On this front, Israel appears to be facing yet another heavy defeat.


Trump claims Israel agreed to conditions for 60-day Gaza ceasefire
US President Donald Trump claimed that "Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War," in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday night.

In the post, Trump confirmed that his "Representatives had a long and productive meeting with the Israelis today on Gaza."

"The Qataris and Egyptians, who have worked very hard to help bring Peace, will deliver this final proposal," he added.

"I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE," he continued.

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer informed US envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff that Israel has accepted the proposal for a ceasefire and hostage deal and is ready to begin close talks with Hamas to finalize the agreement, a senior Israeli official said on Wednesday.

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump had told reporters that he expects to have a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas by next week when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the US.

Qatar submitted a mediation proposal to both Israel and Hamas based on the Witkoff framework, with minor adjustments and additions, according to a source familiar with the details who spoke to The Jerusalem Post earlier on Tuesday.

Trump's Israel-Iran ceasefire currently holding
Trump successfully arranged a ceasefire between Israel and Iran last Tuesday, following 12 days of intense Israeli airstrikes on Iran and Iranian ballistic missile and drone launches towards Israel.


The IDF Reverted to Its Lightning War Tradition
The IDF reverted to its lightning war tradition against Iran, and in doing so showcased the prowess of Israel's defense industries.

The Israel-Iran war became one of the most successful and impressive campaigns in Israel's history.

For the first time since the Six-Day War of 1967, the IDF succeeded in a lightning war in neutralizing an existential threat to the State of Israel.

The ballistic missiles turned from an existential threat to a threat, and the Iranian nuclear program turned from an immediate existential threat into one that, if anything remains of it, is a problem for the distant future.

Against Hizbullah, Israel activated the exploding pagers operation, eliminated senior Hizbullah figures, and hit terrorism infrastructures so fast that Hizbullah was compelled to agree to a ceasefire.
How Israel Killed Iran's Top Nuclear Scientists
When Israel's attacks on Iran began before dawn on June 13, nine of Iran's top scientists who had worked for decades on Tehran's nuclear program were killed in near-simultaneous attacks, according to people familiar with the attacks.

11 days later, hours before a ceasefire took effect, an attack in northern Iran killed another scientist, Sayyed Seddighi Saber, who was sanctioned just weeks ago by the U.S. for his nuclear weapons-related work.

The killings were the culmination of 15 years of efforts to wipe out the top cadre of scientists who worked on Iran's secret nuclear weapons program.

Most of the people killed had hands-on experience in testing and building components of a warhead, like the detonation systems, high explosives and the neutron sources that trigger the chain reaction.
THAAD's Israel Deployment Proves Effective but Expensive
During 12 days of fighting between Israel and Iran, the U.S. carried out 60-80 interceptions from two THAAD batteries in Israel. This involved 15-20% of all THAAD interceptors in the world against Iranian ballistic missiles, costing more than $800 million.

Each THAAD interceptor missile costs $12.7 million, much more than the Israeli Arrow 3 ($2 million).

While an Israeli David Sling interceptor missile costs $700,000, a Patriot PAC-3 interceptor costs $6 million. This system was the basis of the U.S. defense at the Al-Udeid base in Qatar.
Why Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei Is Again Preparing for War
As Iran is trying to recover from the powerful military blow dealt by Israel, for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, protecting national pride and seeking revenge are guiding principles. His position is deeply rooted in ideological and religious convictions based on a perceived duty to protect the nation and the faith, including the right to have the final word - no matter the cost.

Khamenei's stance is grounded in Shiite religious doctrine, which holds that war is not merely a political matter but a religious mission. Total destruction of the enemy is part of the broader strategic and theological struggle. This prevents him from compromising even in the face of serious challenges, reflecting a deep conviction embedded in the country's leadership.

To Khamenei, the ceasefire with Israel is seen as an opportunity to regroup and devise new ways to surprise both Israel and the U.S. He regards his leadership as a divine mission and believes he alone can lead Iran on the right path.
Why Russia Fell Out with Iran
Moscow has done little to help Iran beyond rhetorical condemnations of Israel and the U.S. and offers to mediate. Russian President Vladimir Putin empowered Iran and its proxies across the Middle East for years. Still, he chose not to come to Iran's rescue during the Israeli military campaign and targeted U.S. strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.

His response is consistent with how the Kremlin views partnerships: prioritizing its own needs and avoiding over-commitment to anyone. Many commentators were quick to point out that Russia and Iran have a signed strategic partnership, but the agreement has no mutual defense clause, a point Putin himself made on June 18. Moreover, Russia no longer needs Iran for drone technology to support its war in Ukraine.

Putin would not be upset if the Iranian nuclear program were set back because it would only strengthen Russia's position vis-a-vis Iran. Russia has supported Iran's nuclear program since the mid-1990s by providing technical assistance and building nuclear power plants.
If a ceasefire leaves Hamas in power, they’ll kill Gazans like me

Huckabee says that US B-2 bombers 'need to visit Yemen' after Houthis missile intercepted
US Ambassador Mike Huckabee said that US B-2 bomber planes "need to visit Yemen" after the Houthis launched a missile towards Jerusalem on Tuesday.

"We thought we were done with missiles coming to Israel, but Houthis just lit one up over us in Israel," the ambassador wrote on X/Twitter.

"Fortunately, Israel's incredible interception system means we go to the shelter & wait until all clear. Maybe those B2 bombers need to visit Yemen!"

Huckabee's statement came after the Israel Air Force intercepted a missile from Yemen on Tuesday night. Sirens sounded in Jerusalem and the central area.

In a later statement, Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Yemen would pay for the strike.

"The law of Yemen is the law of Tehran," he wrote. "After we strike the head of the serpent in Tehran, we will also strike the tail of the serpent in Yemen."


Seth Frantzman: Did Iran order rocket, drone strikes on an Iraqi airport in Kirkuk?
Several rockets were fired at the Iraqi city of Kirkuk in the evening of June 30. This is a rare attack, and it was not clear who was responsible. In the past, Iranian-backed militias have used rockets to target the northern Iraqi Kurdistan autonomous region.

In addition, they have used rockets to target US forces in Iraq. In addition, there have been recent raids against ISIS in Kirkuk, meaning it is also plausible that ISIS could have carried out the attack.

The attack comes a week after drones targeted several sites in Iraq. The drones were likely launched by Iranian-backed militias. The drones targeted a radar site at Camp Taji north of Baghdad and also targeted a second radar site at the Imam Ali base near Nahariyah.

These are Iraqi army bases. The Taji base is a massive area, and the pinpoint targeting of the radar illustrates that this was likely an attack ordered by Iran.

The attack caused no casualties
The rocket fire is more mysterious. Rudaw media in Erbil noted that “at least three Katyusha rockets targeted the disputed northern city of Kirkuk and its airport late Monday, the governor said, injuring one person with investigations underway.”

The report said the rockets landed around 11:30 in the evening and they hit the Kirkuk International Airport. “We are waiting for the relevant authorities to carry out their work. [The attack] caused no casualties. Only material damage occurred to a house,” Kirkuk Governor Rebwar Taha told Rudaw.

According to the reports, air traffic continues at Kirkuk. “One rocket struck a residential house while the family was at home. Its owner told Rudaw that ‘we were sitting at home when a loud sound was heard. Thank God, there was no loss of life.’” Abdullah Mirwais, a member of the Kirkuk Provincial Council, told Rudaw it is not known who fired the rockets.

Kirkuk airport is also known as K-1 and is an airport and a historic air base. It used to have US personnel at the location. If the attack was carried out by Iranian-backed militias, then it fits the pattern of attacks on other Iraqi airports in the last week.

If it was carried out by ISIS, then it shows ISIS has acquired more rockets. The Katyusha-type rocket is common among Iranian militias. They often use the 107mm mass-produced rocket that can be easily fired from almost any homemade contraption.
Danish national arrested on suspicion of spying on Jewish targets for Iran, German prosecutors say
A Danish national has been arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran, with the aim of collecting information on Jewish sites and individuals in Berlin, said German prosecutors on Tuesday.

Prosecutors said the man, who they named as only Ali S under German privacy law, spied on three properties in June 2025 in preparation for further intelligence activities, including possibly terrorist attacks on Jewish targets.

He is suspected to have received his orders from Iranian intelligence services in early 2025, prosecutors said.

The suspect was targeting German-Israeli communities
According to Der Spiegel magazine, the suspect took photos of houses, including the headquarters of the German-Israeli Society, and received his orders from the Quds Force, the overseas arm of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards.

Prosecutors in Germany carried out the arrest warrant with assistance from police officers in the Danish city of Aarhus last week, they said.

After being transferred from Denmark, the suspect will be brought before an investigating judge of Germany's Federal Court of Justice, said prosecutors.


24 Iranian Jews remain in prison as government launches internal crackdown, sources say
Twenty-four members of the Jewish community in Tehran and Shiraz remain in prison as of Sunday after being arrested along with hundreds of others in a sweeping government crackdown in Iran that began as fighting ended with Israel.

The arrests took in 35 Jews originally, according to a report put out Saturday by HRANA, the Human Rights Activist News Agency, an affiliate of the Human Rights in Iran NGO. Mass arrests began early in the morning of 23 June, according to the report. Eleven Jews have been released since the original arrests, according to a former senior Iranian communal leader, who would speak only on condition of anonymity due to concerns for his contacts in Iran.

The charges filed against those being held — having contact with Israel — have the potential to ensnare many members of the Jewish community, he said. Iranian officials have been hunting alleged collaborators with Israel following Israel’s recent attacks on Iran and the United States’ bombing of the country’s most fortified nuclear facility.

The former Iranian communal leader, who remains in close touch with the community, said Iranian authorities are checking the cell phones of those they arrest, looking for records of any calls to the Jewish state.

“Most Iranian Jews have family in Israel,” explained the former high-ranking communal leader, who today lives in Los Angeles. “That’s why they call” the country. During the military conflict earlier this month, as each side targeted the other side’s cities with missiles and drones, many Iranian Jews reached out to check on the safety of their relatives.

“They are completely prohibited from any connection to Israel,” he said. But such communications were quietly tolerated over the years given the reality of Jewish family connections. In the wake of the war with Israel, the authorities are now drastically tightening their policies. Under the new rules, he said, “They can accuse anyone of being a spy for Israel.”


As Israel buries Yonatan Samerano, UN ‘buries its head in the sand,’ Israeli envoy says
Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, denounced the U.N. Security Council during its monthly meeting about Israel and the Palestinians on Monday, a week after Israeli security forces recovered the body of an Israeli, who was killed during the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and whose body a U.N. worker helped steal to Gaza.

“Yonatan Samerano’s parents had prayed every day for a miracle. Instead, last week, we received the cold confirmation of tragedy,” Danon told the global body. “The United Nations paid the wages of the man who stole Yonatan’s body and dragged him into Gaza. Where are the condolences from the secretary-general?”

Danon also noted the lack of apology from Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, given that the employee who kidnapped the Israeli’s body worked for UNRWA.

“Their silence rings louder than any empty statement they have ever offered,” Danon said.

The Israeli envoy added that Ayelet Samerano, Yonatan’s mother, had addressed the Security Council and Lazzarini.

“Now, Ayelet has buried her son, while the United Nations buries its head in the sand,” he said. “This stain will never wash out.”

Danon also denounced the global body for its criticism of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an aid group backed by Jerusalem and Washington that aims to avoid looting by Gazan terror groups.

The U.N. response to the group has been “indifference, defamation and obstruction,” Danon told the Security Council.


Eugene Kontorovich: Evangelicals beware
Albanese threatens to denounce the groups in a report to the UN Human Rights Council at its current session. Albanese has made a career condemning Israel—but now she is turning to private actors, who are more vulnerable. The groups see the use of official UN letterhead to accuse them of massive crimes as an attempt to intimidate them. Albanese sent similar letters to a few dozen major companies—banks, pension funds, and tech companies—that do business with Israel, as well as Israel Bonds. The inclusion of two small, little-known Christian groups among these billion-dollar behemoths sends a clear message of targeting the partnership that has emerged between evangelicals and the Jewish State.

Christian Friends of Israel Communities Heartland (CFOIC), based in Colorado Springs and founded in 1998, focuses on educating Christians about its view of the Biblical significance of Judea & Samaria. Christians for Israel (C4I) is a Dutch faith-based organization founded in 1979, which describes itself as a “mission to the Church—to Christians—to teach about God’s plan for the Jewish people,” according to Frank van Oordt, its executive director. They organize weekly lectures across Holland and have affiliates around the world.

“Our hearts’ desire is to really know God—and he is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” explains Willem Griffioen, C4I’s acting chairman. Referring to the depiction by progressive Christian groups of Jesus as a Palestinian, he says, “this is a perfect example of people trying to make God into their image.”

God, these Christians argue, has a deep connection with a particular place—Judea and Samaria, where most of the Bible’s stories take place. Because of this CFOIC and C4I, along with other support for Israel, make it a point to support Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria—“settlements,” as they are widely known. They provide a variety of charitable needs, from fire extinguishers for a synagogue to playground equipment. CFOIC, like many Jewish charitable organizations, has helped Jewish communities that face constant terror attacks purchase non-lethal security equipment, like radios and bulletproof vests. Albanese, without any evidence, claims that such lifesaving assistance “enables and encourages settler violence.”

Even by the standards of the UN, Albanese’s letter stakes out new territory. In essence, it claims that the mere fact of Israeli Jews living in Judea and Samaria is a war crime—and that any kind of economic assistance to them is itself illegal. By contrast, the United States regards such communities as legal, and U.S. law provides that products from Judea and Samaria be labelled “Made in Israel.” Even European governments, which are critical of Israeli governmental actions in supporting Judea and Samaria communities, regard trade and other dealings with them as entirely legal.
Trump Admin Demands UN Fire Palestinian Rights Envoy Over ‘Virulent Antisemitism and Support for Terrorism’
The Trump administration has formally requested that the United Nations (U.N.) remove Francesca Albanese from her role as the special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, citing her "virulent antisemitism and support for terrorism" as well as her misrepresentation of her legal qualifications, according to private communications between U.S. and U.N. officials obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

The U.N. reappointed Albanese—a vocal Israel critic who blamed the Jewish state for Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror spree and compared Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler—to her post earlier this year over the Trump administration’s objections. Since that time, she has penned "threatening letters" to companies across the globe, warning them to cut business ties with Israel or face "potential criminal liability," according to the Trump administration.

Albanese wrote threatening letters—which the Trump administration described as "riddled with inflammatory rhetoric and false accusations"—to some of the "most prominent American corporations in varied sectors including technology, financial services, manufacturing, and hospitality" in recent weeks, prompting the State Department to raise its concerns with U.N. secretary-general Antonio Guterres earlier this month and demand her termination.

"In her letters, Ms. Albanese makes extreme allegations, such as that the entities may be contributing to purported offenses including ‘gross human rights violations,’ ‘apartheid,’ and ‘genocide,’" acting U.S. representative to the U.N. Dorothy Shea wrote. "She wrongly asserts that recipients have violated 'preemptory norms of international law’ and face exposure to ‘potential criminal liability,’ and demands that they cease activities relating to Israel."

The threats "constitute an unacceptable campaign of political and economic warfare against the American and worldwide economy," according to the Trump administration.

Albanese’s legal warnings are meant to complement a draft report on international companies that allegedly contribute to Israel’s "international crimes and human rights violations" by doing business with the Jewish state.

That report, released late Monday, accuses Israel of fostering an "economy of genocide" and contains "fundamental legal errors" that "confirm that her work is illegitimate" and remains "baseless under established international law." Private corporations, Shea noted in her letter, have "no obligations" pertaining to human rights under international law.

"The legal errors underlying Ms. Albanese's recent allegations demonstrate [her] lack of qualification," Shea wrote. "Considered together, these facts call into question any alleged privileges and immunities of Ms. Albanese as an expert on mission for the United Nations."

Albanese, Shea noted, appears to have lied about her credentials, claiming to be "an international lawyer" even though "she has not passed a legal bar examination or been licensed to practice law." This behavior, the United States maintains, disqualifies Albanese from receiving diplomatic immunity and should result in her firing.


State Department approves $510m weapons sale to Israel
The Trump administration approved a $510 million weapons sale to Israel on Monday.

The sale includes munitions at the center of a Biden administration controversy about freezes, pauses and the slow rolling of the provision of arms to Israel.

Washington will sell Israel more than 7,000 bombs—both 500-pound and 2,000-pound varieties—and their affiliated guidance kits, per an announcement from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.

“The proposed sale will enhance Israel’s capability to meet current and future threats by improving its ability to defend Israel’s borders, vital infrastructure and population centers,” the agency stated.

“This proposed sale will increase the interoperability with U.S. forces and conveys U.S. commitment to Israel’s security and armed forces modernization,” it said. “Israel will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces.”

Critics of Israel’s use of American-made bombs allege that they have caused excessive civilian casualties in urban areas in Gaza and elsewhere.

The Israeli military has said it needs the heavy bombs to penetrate Hamas and Hezbollah tunnels and other hardened, underground structures.
UN ‘collaborated with Hamas,’ had ‘monopolistic’ aid oversight, senior US official says
The United Nations, which “has never had a competitor,” collaborated with Hamas and had several staffers who participated in the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, a senior U.S. State Department official told reporters on Tuesday.

“They’ve had a monopolistic, sort of non-competitive hold over these sorts of areas,” the official said.

The United Nations “is unhappy that we’re making them compete now in areas of the world,” the official said. “The U.N. has an institutional interest to lie, as they have repeatedly, about these things.”

The global body tends to ignore violence at U.N. aid sites, according to the official, who told reporters that there has been “a lot of aid diversion to Hamas.”

“They never want to talk about that,” the official said.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which the United Nations has denounced and said cannot replace its own efforts to deliver aid, recently stated that it has delivered 50 million meals to Gazans. The State Department said that it will give $30 million to the foundation for its work.

“We will continue to work with them to ensure that security is handled appropriately at those sites, and that they can deliver as many meals as possible,” the U.S. official told reporters.

The official spoke with reporters as the State Department is set to officially absorb the U.S. government’s foreign aid administrator. As of Tuesday, foreign aid decisions are being held through a new Foggy Bottom mechanism after the Trump administration shuttered the U.S. Agency for International Development, amid criticism of waste and abuse at the latter.
The war over Gaza fatality numbers: A new push to prove Hamas’ count is too low
The battle over the number of fatalities in Gaza began soon after October 7. On October 25, 2023, President Biden stated that he had “no confidence” in the Gaza death toll, which at the time had surpassed 6,500 according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health (MoH).[1] Two days later, the MoH published a fatality list in response to mounting skepticism.[2] From the outset, two critical data points undermined the credibility of Hamas’ reported fatality figures.

The first major example came on October 17, 2023, when Hamas claimed that approximately 500 Gazans were killed in an Israeli airstrike on al-Ahli Hospital.[3] The hospital itself was not hit; instead, the explosion occurred in the parking lot and was later attributed to a misfired rocket launched by Palestinian Islamic Jihad. This assessment was confirmed by intelligence agencies from the U.S., France, the U.K., and Canada.[4] The actual death toll was hundreds lower. Yet the MoH folded the original figure of 471 fatalities into its official casualty list the next day and never issued a correction.[5] These alleged deaths remain embedded in the MoH’s running casualty total to this day.

The second falsehood was the widely repeated claim that 70% of Gaza’s fatalities were women and children.[6] This figure circulated for months, until May 2024, when an updated fatality list showed the actual proportion was closer to 50%.[7] Since then, even analysts who generally treat Hamas’ data as credible have adjusted their estimates to the low-to-mid-50% range.[8] Yet for over six months, the 70% figure was reported as fact. Even after this blatant distortion, Hamas’ fatality reports continue to be cited by the media and NGOs as if they’re objective fact.

Over the past 20 months, a range of studies have surfaced, some claiming Hamas’ fatality numbers are riddled with errors,[9] others insisting they are reliable.[10] This essay does not aim to litigate each one. Instead, it focuses on the flawed assumptions behind the stance of what I call the “Hamas list defenders”—those who treat fatality figures from a U.S., U.K., and EU-designated terrorist organization as sacrosanct, despite Hamas’ well-documented history of deception.


GHF: Lack of UN condemnation of Hamas killing of aid workers shows body’s ‘underbelly’
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation chairman Johnnie Moore on Monday criticized the United Nations for failing to condemn the Hamas attack last month which left 12 of his staff members dead.

“I’m surprised that something so right, something so simple as feeding people, has become so controversial,” he told the Combat Antisemitism Movement’s State Leadership Summit on Antisemitism and Support for Israel in Kansas City, Mo. “We have poked a lot of bears,” he added.

While the GHF thought it was merely “poking the bear of a designated terrorist organization that wants to steal the aid from people,” the U.S.-backed NGO quickly discovered what he described as “the underbelly of the United Nations and all of these organizations around the world.”

The GHF was “told that the United Nations sent a directive to all of their agencies telling them to not work with us, despite the fact that most of the aid coming into the Gaza Strip right now is from us,” stated Moore.

“And top it all off, Hamas itself actually attacked some of our volunteer Gazan aid workers, killed 12 of them, injured others of them, piled their bodies in front of Nasser Hospital in Gaza, refusing to allow them any medical treatment at all, and the United Nations, which receives billions of dollars from the United States government and the Europeans, didn’t even … issue a statement condemning Hamas’s murder of these local Gazan aid workers,” he continued.

The two-day CAM conference in Kansas City brought together decision-makers, faith leaders, survivors of terror attacks, and Jewish community activists in an attempt to strengthen collective state-level efforts to confront Jew-hatred and work to reinforce the U.S.-Israel alliance.

The GHF said on Monday that it had distributed 29,376 aid packages at its three sites across the Strip, bringing the total number of meals it has provided since the start of operations on May 26 to 52,937,632.

“Distributions at all sites ran smoothly, ensuring the protection of all civilians present,” the foundation emphasized in the press release.

The organization added that it was aware of “credible reports” that Hamas terrorists would seek to target its U.S. and local staff again.

“The targets of Hamas’s brutality are heroes who are simply trying to feed the people of Gaza in the middle of a war,” it said. “Our U.S. security personnel—some of America’s most elite and decorated veterans—are on the ground to protect people. And our local staff, who keep these operations running, have already paid the ultimate price: twelve murdered, others tortured, and now more threats emerging by the day.”


'They shoot people deliberately': Gazans testify that Hamas intentionally targets aid sites
Gazans present at humanitarian aid distribution sites testified that Hamas carries out acts of terror, propaganda, and psychological manipulation against civilians at aid sites, COGAT (Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories) said on Tuesday.

The audio recordings released by COGAT reveal that Hamas seeks to disrupt the distribution of food packages at the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid distribution sites.

Gazans say that Hamas fires at residents near aid distribution sites and spreads false claims about IDF fire, as well as publishes "fabricated data about large numbers of casualties," through fake footage, COGAT said.

Hamas violence against GHF workers
The GHF disclosed on Monday that Hamas had placed bounties on American security workers in the enclave, and that 12 of the organization's local staff members had been murdered by Hamas.

“Hamas has placed bounties on both our American security personnel and Palestinian aid workers, offering cash rewards to anyone who injures or kills them,” the GHF statement said.

The aid organization acknowledged the reports that the Hamas terror group has been targeting its personnel, staff, and aid workers.

It announced that 12 of its local staff have been murdered, and others have been tortured.


Ask Haviv Anything: Episode 25: What is happening in Gaza?
A bombshell Haaretz report last Friday concluded that IDF soldiers were responsible for a great many of the deaths of Gazan civilians outside aid distribution centers in Gaza.

What should we make of the report? How reliable is it? And what does it tell us about the army's handling of Gaza and the progress of the war?

This episode was sponsored by an anonymous donor in memory of the seven IDF soldiers who were killed on June 24, 2025, during fighting in the southern Gaza Strip. Their names were: Lt. Matan Shai Yashinovski, Staff Sgt. Ronel Ben-Moshe, Sgt. Ronen Shapiro, Sgt. Maayan Baruch Pearlstein, Staff Sgt. Niv Radia, Sgt. Shahar Manoav, and Staff Sgt. Alon Davidov. May their memory be a blessing.


Misgav Mideast Horizons Podcast: Peace with Syria – A matter of time
Welcome to "Mideast Horizons" - a podcast from the Misgav Institute for National Security, hosted by Lahav Harkov and Asher Fredman. This episode cuts through the noise to provide fresh insights on critical developments in Israel and the Middle East.

Key topics discussed include:
Complex Dilemmas in Gaza: The podcast explores Israel's challenging decisions on ending the war in Gaza, weighing options between a temporary 60-day ceasefire (the "Wickoff option") and a "grand deal" that President Trump reportedly favors. It also addresses "three illusions" surrounding the conflict: the misconception that Hamas has been defeated, the ineffectiveness of a technocratic government if Hamas remains a dominant power, and the unlikelihood of Arab countries fighting Hamas for Israel.
Israel's Strategic Autonomy: The discussion highlights the importance of Israel moving towards greater strategic autonomy in military manufacturing and development, lessening its dependence on US military aid.
Misinformation on "Settler Violence": The hosts delve into how reports on "settler violence" are often exaggerated or miscategorized by international organizations like the UN, including incidents where Palestinian attackers are counted as victims of settler violence, or peaceful Jewish visits to the Temple Mount are labeled as "settler violence".
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF): A significant portion of the episode features an interview with Reverend Dr. Johnnie Moore, Executive Chairman of the GHF. He discusses the GHF's mission to feed Gazans by ensuring aid is not diverted by Hamas, which has historically plagued humanitarian efforts. Moore reveals that GHF has distributed over 50 million meals in its first month of operations, with not a single truck diverted, despite facing "unbelievable attack" and disinformation campaigns from Hamas, the UN, and other international organizations.
Future of Syria-Israel Peace: Reverend Moore shares insights from his recent two-and-a-half-hour meeting with the new Syrian President, expressing optimism for peace between Syria and Israel, though emphasizing the need for practical steps and trust-building.
Abraham Accords and Evangelical Support: The conversation touches on the impact of the Gaza war on people-to-people ties in the Abraham Accords countries and reaffirms the strong, biblical-rooted support for Israel among evangelicals worldwide, despite recent misinformation attempts.
Ben Shapiro: Zohran Mamdani & Glastonbury Music Festival Declare War on Western Values
Ben Shapiro breaks down how NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s anti-capitalist agenda and a UK music festival’s anti-Western rhetoric reveal just how far the left is willing to go to dismantle Western values.




Top Israel advocates tell Piers Morgan: ‘Never again’
Last Tuesday, English journalist Piers Morgan spent nearly 15 minutes of his YouTube talk show trying to prove he wasn’t antisemitic.

The effort was prompted by criticism from Israeli Cabinet Minister Amichai Chikli, whose portfolio includes combating Jew-hatred.

Chikli had accused the “Piers Morgan Uncensored” show of taking a “sharp and troubling descent into overt antisemitism” by repeatedly platforming Holocaust deniers such as Candace Owens and Dan Bilzerian.

During the June 24 interview, Morgan characteristically shouted over Chikli, repeating, “When have I been antisemitic?” and misrepresenting Chikli’s original criticism as an attack on his person.

Several pro-Israel past guests have vowed to boycott the show, citing what they described as Morgan’s growing hostility toward Israel advocates. Minister Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli speaks during a rally in support of the Israeli government, outside the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, on June 5, 2025. Photo by Canaan Lidor.

“Piers Morgan doesn’t shed light on antisemitism—he profits from it,” Shai Davidai, a Columbia University professor known for his pro-Israel activism, wrote on X Saturday. A previous guest on Morgan’s show, Davidai announced that he will not return.

Others had reached the same conclusion, including Foreign Ministry Special Envoy Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, who hosts “The Quad” on JNS-TV, and who last month decided to no longer appear on Morgan’s show.

Elica Le Bon, a British-Iranian non-Jewish Israel advocate, announced on Friday that she will never go back on, following a combative appearance the previous day. Former Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy also told JNS he will not return, recommending that other Israel advocates not do so either.

“In the days after Oct. 7, 2023, Morgan’s coverage of Israel was fairly balanced,” Chikli told JNS. “But then he began platforming antisemitic kooks like Candace Owens, offering only mild pushback.”

Chikli said he had appeared on Morgan’s show to “expose this—and it looks like it worked.”

Chikli remained calm during the interview despite Morgan’s provocations—including being told to “grow a pair” and being called “pathetic.” When Morgan mockingly asked, “Are you being bullied?” Chikli replied, “Right now, yes.”

Chikli’s appearance followed Morgan’s June 4 interview with British lawyer Natasha Hausdorff, whom he wrongly insisted was an Israeli government representative. During the show, Morgan and comedian Dave Smith, a frequent critic of Israel who regularly appears on Morgan’s and other popular shows, such as that of Joe Rogan, ganged up on Hausdorff, interrupting her around 60 times—far more than anti-Israel guests typically endure.

In a Spectator op-ed, Hausdorff recalled Morgan’s journalistic controversies, including his firing from the Daily Mirror in 2004 for defending fabricated photos. “Defending fake images in pursuit of a ‘good story’ is nothing new for Morgan,” she wrote, referencing his pushback during their interview when she cited Hamas propaganda in Gaza imagery.
Andrew Neil confronts Piers Morgan about 'holocaust denier' guest
"People like you and I actually have to hold people to account."

You need to have people on that are "unpalatable" but represent the other side, says journalist and broadcaster Piers Morgan.




Israeli settler and NGO launch legal bid to overturn UK sanctions
An Israeli settler and a right-wing nonprofit organisation operating in the West Bank have launched a legal challenge against UK government sanctions – the first case of its kind since Britain began targeting Israeli individuals and entities in 2024.

Moshe Sharvit, who runs an agricultural outpost in the Jordan Valley, and the organisation Hashomer Yosh have both submitted formal objections to the UK Foreign Office, contesting the grounds on which they were sanctioned.

Sharvit was blacklisted by the UK in February this year for his alleged role in harassing Palestinians and Israeli human rights activists. The US imposed parallel sanctions one month later.

In October 2024, the UK extended the measures to include his outpost – known as “Moshe’s Farm” – founded alongside his brother, Captain Harel Sharvit, who was killed in combat during the war against Hamas in Gaza last December.

Hashomer Yosh, established in 2013 to support Israeli farmers in the West Bank, was sanctioned by the US in August 2024 and by the UK in October. British officials accused the group of assisting unauthorised settlement outposts previously designated by the government.

Both Sharvit and Hashomer Yosh have now formally requested access to the sanctions case files held by the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), as part of their bid to challenge the designations through legal channels.

Meir Bertler, a representative of Hashomer Yosh, defended the group’s activities as purely humanitarian. “We were founded to help farmers, and that is what we do. The UK’s decision to sanction us reflects a misunderstanding of our work on the ground. We are confident that the legal process will correct this injustice.”

The group, which provides agricultural assistance, security coordination and volunteer support, says it operates across several communities facing daily threats such as crop theft and violence.
Seth Mandel: Abbott Says What Her Fellow Anti-Zionists All Think
It’s the classic Kinsley Gaffe, when a politician accidentally says something true.

As MP David Taylor told the Jewish Chronicle, “This isn’t a slip of the tongue, it’s a slip of the mask.”

Abbott’s brief moment of honesty came on the heels of the Glastonbury Festival’s own anti-Semitism controversy. As I wrote on Sunday, the music festival was turned into a blood rally as an artist led attendees in the chant of “Death, death to the IDF.” This call for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Jews was broadcast on the BBC, which may have led to countless viewers wondering if they’d accidentally switched the channel to Al Jazeera.

The tweet Abbott reposted was almost surely in the ghoulish spirit of the defense of “death to the IDF.” This sort of thing is supposed to be left to the Twitter trolls, not the MPs. No doubt many a Labour parliamentarian has since reminded Abbott that she isn’t supposed to say stuff like this out loud. Use your inside voice, Diane!

It will not surprise you to be reminded that Abbott was elevated to shadow home secretary during the years of Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party leadership. A couple of years ago, Abbott attracted unwanted attention to the party by writing a letter to the Observer claiming that Jews don’t face racism. “It is true that many types of white people with points of difference, such as redheads, can experience this prejudice. But they are not all their lives subject to racism,” wrote Abbot the supergenius. She added, for good measure, that “at the height of slavery, there were no white-seeming people manacled on the slave ships.”

Goodness, what an embarrassment to Britain this lady is. But she does not stand alone—Diane Abbott simply has less of a filter than much of her party. It’s refreshing, in a way. And it saves some of us time and energy that we don’t have to waste on explaining why people pretend to believe that “death to the IDF” is anything but a call for the mass killing of the Jews.
Calls for Diane Abbott’s expulsion from Labour after ‘Jewish Defence Forces’ tweet
The Labour Party is facing calls to expel Diane Abbott, after she tweeted that “the Jewish Defence Force is gunning down Palestinians as they queue for food”, along with the hashtag “#GazaGenocide”.

Diane Abbott, MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, which contains a substantial Jewish population, subsequently deleted the tweet. The social media post had been a comment on a quote attributed to American journalist Chris Hedges, best known in recent years for his show on Russian state television’s RT America network. Abbott has been vocally critical of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, tweeting last night that “the Israel Defence Force continues to slaughter unarmed Palestinians in cold blood.” It is unclear why she used the word “Jewish” in her tweet earlier today.

The IDF contains troops from numerous religious backgrounds, with Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Druze soldiers all serving in the Israeli military.

Russell Langer, director of public affairs for the Jewish Leadership Council, said:

“This is the latest in a series of grossly offensive remarks made by Diane Abbott towards the Jewish community. As an MP who has already had the whip suspended in the past, we expect a clear message of zero tolerance to be shown.”

A spokesperson for the Board of Deputies said:

“Diane Abbott’s disgraceful tweet this morning is the latest in her long line of anti-Jewish offences and provocations. Coming so soon after the appalling scenes at Glastonbury at the weekend, there can be no excuse, and she should now lose the whip as a Labour MP. After a long and trailblazing career, it is tragic that she will end it known mainly for her fomenting of bigotry.”

A spokesperson for the Labour Against Antisemitism Group said:

“Diane Abbott chose to make a derogatory comment on a totally unsubstantiated allegation harking back to medieval libels about Jews. This should cause the leadership of the party to question her appropriateness as an MP, particularly as so many of her constituents are Jewish.”




Buy EoZ's books  on Amazon!

"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024)

PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

    
 

 

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