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Monday, July 14, 2025

07/14 Links Pt1: Those demanding a ceasefire know nothing about the evil of Hamas; Anti-Israel UN Commissioners Resign En Masse After Trump Sanctions

From Ian:

Richard Kemp: Those demanding a ceasefire know nothing about the evil of Hamas
So what makes Hamas think it still has the muscle to dictate terms to the side that is so obviously winning the fight? It knows it is no longer popular among the citizens of Gaza. There have been some protests that were brutally smashed down.

During a recent visit to the Strip I met around 100 Gazan civilians. Many of them openly told me how much they hate Hamas and want rid of them. So strong was their feeling, cheered by those around them, that I believe it’s likely they are representative.

The dreadful truth is that Hamas gets greater encouragement to continue fighting from widespread support in the West and the misguided and unjust condemnation of Israel from many political leaders and international institutions. How often do we hear people such as Keir Starmer demanding Israel stops fighting yet never making any demand on Hamas?

The same is true of attitudes to the GHF. Starmer has also condemned them, as has the UN Secretary General, both speaking in unison with Hamas. And of course it is received wisdom in the West that the population must in no circumstances leave Gaza. Yet that would be the most humane option and should have happened long ago.

The majority of Gazans I spoke to said they want to leave as soon as possible. That’s hardly surprising given the misery, bloodshed and destruction brought on them by Hamas’s war. Acquiescing with their wishes is obvious. But many in the international community apparently would rather civilians be further endangered than voluntarily and temporarily evacuated. Again, they and Hamas almost speak with one voice.

Our leaders have helped to prolong the war and increase the killing. Instead of looking to reward terrorism by recognising a putative Palestinian state, Macron, Starmer and the rest should be helping to make Hamas give up hope and demand a ceasefire followed by a negotiated end to hostilities on Israel’s terms.
Benny Morris: Rape and the Arab Way of War
Last week, an Israeli group called the Dinah Project issued a detailed report on the rapes, sexual mutilations, and similar atrocities committed by Hamas and its collaborators on October 7. While there is hardly a lack of documentation of these depravities, the report is compiled specifically to build a case against Hamas as such—and not just the individual perpetrators—under Israeli and international law. It can be read in full here, in all its awful details.

Back in March, Benny Morris offered some reflections on this subject, in light of a then-new report from UNICEF about the widespread rape of children in the Sudanese civil war:

I believe [the UNICEF report] tells us something—which many in the West don’t want to hear—about behavioral norms of Arab combatants in wartime, even in civil wars in Arab countries.

Among the recorded rape victims were four children aged one year and one-third of the 221 recorded victims were boys. The report adds that many more cases of rape of children likely went unrecorded and many of the victims probably died. The 221 cases “represent only a small fraction of the total cases,” states the report. Sudan’s national anthem states: “We are soldiers of God (Allah), Soldiers of the Homeland.”

The report does not deal with the many hundreds, and probably thousands, of adult Sudanese women and men raped during the past fifteen months. The report states that sexual violence is used by the Sudanese combatants—and the report avoids identifying the perpetrators’ affiliations—as a “tactic of war.”

The Sudanese are not alone among the Arab world’s organized perpetrators of sexual violence. Widespread sexual violence was reported in recent years in the Yemeni civil war. . . . It is worth noting that mass sexual violence, which included thousands of cases of rape and abduction to Muslim homes, characterized [Islamic State’s] assault on the Sinjar district of northern Iraq in 2014. . . . A twenty-one-year-old Yazidi woman, Fawzia Sido, was freed from captivity by the Israeli army fighting Hamas in the Gaza Strip in October 2024. She was kidnapped as a child by IS fighters in August 2014 and was then trafficked across a number of countries.
Bereaved Oct. 7 families launch billion-shekel lawsuit against PA
The relatives of 122 Israelis murdered by Hamas-led terrorists during the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel on Sunday filed a claim against the Palestinian Authority, asking that the Jerusalem District Court hold Ramallah responsible for supporting the terror attacks.

The families’ lawsuit, filed by attorneys of the Tel Aviv-based Herzog law firm, demands over a billion shekels (approximately $270 million) in frozen P.A. tax revenues held by the Israeli government.

The claim was submitted on behalf of Israelis “tortured and slaughtered with unimaginable cruelty by terrorists, and on behalf of survivors who were left with permanent disabilities as a result of their severe injuries, during the murderous terror attack that began on Oct. 7, 2023,” it said.

Among the plaintiffs, brought together by bereaved father Itzik Shafir—his son Dor Hanan Shafir, 30, was murdered on Oct. 7 while fleeing the Psyduck festival—are families whose loved ones were killed at the two music parties near the border, as well as in towns near Gaza.

“On that dark morning, 399 young people who had been at the Nova and Psyduck festivals were murdered, and 44 were kidnapped to Gaza,” the claim states. “The terrorists conducted systematic searches, assaulting, torturing, raping, murdering and kidnapping everyone they ran into.”

If the families win the lawsuit, the money will be distributed among the plaintiffs, amounting to 10 million shekels ($2.7 million) per murdered victim and 5 million shekels ($1.35 million) per wounded victim.

The lawsuit was one of many actions taken since Knesset lawmakers approved the “Compensation for Terror Victims Bill” in March 2024.


Rabbi Abraham Cooper: GHF is actually feeding Gazans, not letting Hamas extort them — and paying a price
People of faith should recognize that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is delivering help where others have failed and doing so in the face of violence and death-threats. It deserves our support, not our suspicion. The values behind this work are not abstract. They reflect the deepest commitments of the Judeo-Christian tradition: charity, mercy and human dignity.

While the ceasefire negotiations are underway, the UN, EU and international aid organizations should publicly pledge to work with GHF. If they will not assist, they should at least stop obstructing those who will. The time for moral equivocation has passed.

Congress will soon hold hearings on the delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza, too. Lawmakers should examine not only the work the foundation has done, but also the failure of other agencies to condemn or confront Hamas. If these groups continue to undermine the foundation or turn a blind eye to violence against its staff, American policymakers should reconsider how humanitarian dollars are allocated. Those who cannot condemn terror should not be trusted to address suffering.

The tools of compassion are challenging the forces of cruelty. Feeding the hungry is a sacred duty and now, thanks to the foundation, the people of Gaza are enjoying reliable access to food.

Hamas’s opposition to feeding Palestinians must be understood. Aid organizations failing to fulfill their mission to bring aid to the people need to be named. And those who place bounties on their heads must be condemned and isolated. In a conflict filled with gray zones, this is a line the world must be willing to draw.


Israel submits third map for ceasefire negotiations, sources tell 'Post'
Israel has submitted a third map of Israeli troop deployment in Gaza throughout the period of the 60-day ceasefire, two sources told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.

The head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service, Maj.-Gen. Hassan Rashad met with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani the same day.

Rashad also reportedly held meetings with the Israeli and Hamas delegations as part of the ongoing negotiations, according to Egyptian media. Main points of contention between Israel and Hamas The main points of contention between Israel and Hamas are the withdrawal of Israeli forces during the ceasefire and the distribution of aid within the Gaza Strip.

Israel's third proposal of the IDF deployment map during the ceasefire shows even further flexibility on the position of the IDF along the Gaza-Egypt border, between the Morag and Philadelphi Corridors.

This proposal comes after Palestinian officials told the BBC that the ceasefire negotiations were on the verge of collapse on early Saturday, claiming that the Israeli delegation sent to Doha, Qatar, was sent only to buy Israel time while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Washington and had no actual decision-making power.


FDD: How Did Qatar Become Hamas’s Protector?
How did Qatar, an American ally, become the nerve center of the leading Palestinian jihadist organization? Natalie Ecanow explains.

When Jordan expelled Hamas in 1999, Qatar offered sanctuary to the group, which had already become notorious for using suicide-bombing attacks over the previous decade. . . . Hamas chose to relocate to Syria. However, that arrangement lasted for only a decade. With the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, the terror group found its way back to Qatar.

In 2003, Hamas leaders reportedly convened in Qatar after the IDF attempted to eliminate Hamas’s founder, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, following a Hamas suicide bombing in Jerusalem that killed seven people, including two American citizens. This episode led to one of the first efforts by Qatar to advocate for its terror proxy.

Thirteen years and five wars between Hamas and Israel later, Qatar’s support for Hamas has not waned. . . . To this day, Qatari officials maintain that the office came at the “request from Washington to establish indirect lines of communication with Hamas.” However, an Obama White House official asserted that there was never any request from Washington. . . . Inexplicably, the United States government continues to rely on Qatar to negotiate for the release of the hostages held by Hamas, even as the regime hosts the terror group’s political elite.

A reckoning is needed between our two countries. Congressional hearings, legislation, executive orders, and other measures to regulate relations between our countries are long overdue.


Ted Cruz Unveils Bill To Designate Muslim Brotherhood a Terrorist Organization, Anticipates Bipartisan Support
Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) is set to introduce legislation that would formally designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, financially crippling the global Islamist group and sanctioning its violent offshoots worldwide, according to a copy of the bill obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

The Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act of 2025 adopts "a new modernized strategy" for designating the organization, which preaches terrorism against Israel, the United States, and Western governments, a fact sheet the Cruz team has distributed to Senate offices states.

While past legislative efforts focused on the organization’s nebulous global operation, the new bill employs a "bottom-up" approach that systematically sanctions the Muslim Brotherhood’s violent branches around the world. The bill centers on active terrorist organizations, creating a legal framework to designate the Muslim Brotherhood writ large as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO).

Previous efforts failed, the Cruz fact sheet reads, "because not all Muslim Brotherhood branches are currently violent and wouldn't therefore meet the criteria for designation." The new bill, set to be introduced on Tuesday, instructs the secretary of state to "catalog Muslim Brotherhood branches that are designated as terrorist groups and designate additional ones that meet relevant criteria—and mandates the designation of the global Muslim Brotherhood for its support to those terrorist groups."

This approach, congressional sources told the Free Beacon, draws from President Donald Trump’s successful 2017 bid to sanction Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which employs tactics similar to those used by the Muslim Brotherhood. The Trump administration created the legal justification to designate the IRGC as an FTO by targeting the group’s violent affiliates.
Motion to expel Arab party head Odeh from Knesset fails to pass; coalition MKs heckle him
A motion to expel Hadash-Ta’al chair Ayman Odeh from the Knesset failed to pass on Monday, with only 73 out of the required 90 lawmakers voting in favor. Fifteen MKs voted against the motion, while multiple opposition parliamentarians boycotted the vote.

The petition was put forth in January, after Odeh said he was “happy for the release of hostages and prisoners,” referring to a deal with Hamas that saw some of those abducted by terrorists on October 7, 2023, freed from Gaza in exchange for Palestinian inmates held in Israeli prisons, many of whom were convicted on terror charges.

The petition clinched the required number of signatures after Odeh said during an anti-war protest in Haifa in May that “Gaza has won and Gaza will win.”

The vote to expel the Arab lawmaker required a supermajority of 90 out of the Knesset’s 120 members to pass. Last month, the Knesset House Committee approved lawmakers’ statutory 70-signature petition, which included at least 10 signatures from the opposition.

Both United Torah Judaism (a coalition party) and Benny Gantz’s Blue and White—National Unity party boycotted the vote, while Opposition Leader Yair Lapid and most of his Yesh Atid party’s MKs were absent as well.

The measure was supported by the rest of the coalition and by the opposition Yisrael Beytenu party. Left-wing The Democrats party, led by Yair Golan, voted against it.


NYPost Editorial: US aiding Palestinian terrorists, Senate’s chance to cut waste and other commentary
Two killers who stabbed and shot a security guard in a Jerusalem suburb “were Palestinian Authority police officers,” fumes The Wall Street Journal editorial board, and Ramallah’s pledge to investigate “is good for a laugh.”

In fact, the Palestinian Authority “glorifies terrorism by its security forces,” as a new Palestinian Media Watch study documents; the PA and Fatah openly “boast” about PA security officers’ involvement in terrorism.

And though the “Taylor Force Act stops direct U.S. economic aid to the PA” for paying rewards to terrorists or their families, US support for the security forces “is another matter.”

Notably, the State Department has yet to say how much exactly Washington sends the PASF, but “taxpayers and the public deserve to know.”
U.N. Report Blames Israel and Capitalism for the Conflict in Gaza
We can rest easily, folks: The inaptly named United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has closely examined the aftermath of Hamas' attack on Israel and found the culprit: It was settler colonialism and capitalism what done it! In a masterful mishmash of leftist gibberish, the report assumes Israel's culpability and combines antisemitism with hostility to free markets. The report should make Americans happy that the U.S. has disengaged from the UNHRC and bears no responsibility for its actions.

Forget Hamas, It's All About Settler-Colonialism and Racial Capitalism
"The role of corporate entities in sustaining the illegal Israeli occupation and its ongoing genocidal campaign in Gaza is the subject of the present investigative report, which is focused on how corporate interests underpin the Israeli settler-colonial twofold logic of displacement and replacement aimed at dispossessing and erasing Palestinians from their lands," asserts Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, in the introduction to the July 3 report. The document concludes, in part: "The enduring ideological, political and economic engine of racial capitalism has transformed the Israeli displacement-replacement economy of occupation into an economy of genocide."

The report comes over a year and a half after the brutal October 7 invasion of Israel by Hamas terrorists during which, as the Congressional Research Service summarizes, "more than 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals (including 46 U.S. citizens in Israel) were killed…and Hamas and other groups also seized some 251 hostages." The report references "October 2023" 30 times, but in a bizarre way. That date somehow becomes a mysterious turning point during which Israel and its corporate capitalist accessories became pointlessly meaner than ever towards the seemingly peaceful people of Gaza.

"Had proper human rights due diligence been undertaken, corporate entities would have long ago disengaged from Israeli occupation," the report asserts. "Instead, post-October 2023, corporate actors have contributed to the acceleration of the displacement-replacement process throughout the military campaign that has pulverized Gaza and displaced the largest number of Palestinians in the West Bank since 1967."

"Hamas" is mentioned only as part of the URL in a link to a Washington Post story in a footnote. There is no mention of "hostages." The word "antisemitism" is used exactly one time, in a dismissive manner when Albanese "acknowledges the vital work of students and staff in holding universities to account. It casts a new light on global crackdowns on campus protesters: shielding Israel and protecting institutional financial interests appears a more probable motivation than fighting alleged antisemitism."
‘Moral travesty,’ Israeli UN mission says of Hague Group ‘emergency summit’
U.S. American allies, including Qatar and Turkey, and several U.N. officials are scheduled to participate in a 20-country summit that proposes to take “concrete measures” against Israel.

The “emergency summit” is to take place at the foreign affairs ministry on July 15-16 in Bogotá, Colombia.

Colombia and South Africa are co-hosting the summit as co-chairs of the Hague Group, an eight-state gathering that was launched in January and that “united in the Netherlands to take ‘coordinated legal and diplomatic measures’ against Israel’s violations of international law,” according to its site.

The eight nations are Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Malaysia, Namibia, Senegal and South Africa. The group’s site states that at the summit, “states will announce concrete actions to enforce international law through coordinated state action to end the genocide and ensure justice and accountability.”

A U.S. State Department spokesperson told JNS that the United States “strongly opposes efforts by so-called ‘multilateral blocs’ to weaponize international law as a tool to advance radical anti-Western agendas.”

The Hague Group “seeks to undermine the sovereignty of democratic nations by isolating and attempting to delegitimize Israel, transparently laying the groundwork for targeting the United States, our military and our allies,” the spokesperson said, adding that the U.S. government, “will aggressively defend our interests, our military and our allies, including Israel, from such coordinated legal and diplomatic warfare. We urge our friends to stand with us in this critical endeavor.”
Anti-Israel UN Commissioners Resign En Masse After Trump Sanctions
All three commissioners leading the United Nations’ anti-Israel inquisition panel resigned this week, just days after the State Department sanctioned a pro-Hamas U.N. investigator.

The U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory's chairwoman Navi Pillay, commissioner Miloon Kothari, and commissioner Chris Sidoti all announced they are stepping down, according to the watchdog group U.N. Watch.

The exodus comes less than a week after Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced U.S. sanctions against U.N. special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese for her "illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt [International Criminal Court] action against U.S. and Israeli officials, companies, and executives."

Albanese, as the Washington Free Beacon reported earlier this month, wrote "threatening letters" to a variety of companies across the globe in which she warned them to cut business ties with Israel or face "potential criminal liability."

The mass departure could mark the end of the U.N. Commission of Inquiry, founded after a request from the Palestinian delegation and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in 2021 to probe the "root causes" of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Supporters of Israel have accused the commission of extreme bias, noting that the appointed leaders have called Israel an "apartheid" state and accused Jews of controlling the media.

While Pillay attributed her resignation to "age, medical issues, and the weight of several other commitments," U.N. Watch welcomed the departures and said the "architects of the U.N.’s anti-Israel inquisition are fleeing the ship."

"The resignation of all three commissioners is long overdue," U.N. Watch executive director Hillel Neuer said in a statement. "This was a commission born in prejudice—designed to target Israel, while ignoring Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Palestinian Authority. Its members were selected precisely for their hostility to the Jewish state."

The hostility Neuer referenced includes Pillay’s accusation of "apartheid" against Israel and Kothari’s claim that social media is "controlled largely by the Jewish lobby."
UN Watch: UN Watch Hails Resignation of Entire UN’s Anti-Israel Inquiry: “This is All Due to U.S. Sanctions on Albanese, Dominoes Are Falling”
UN Watch welcomed today’s sudden resignation of all three commissioners of the United Nations Human Rights Council’s permanent inquiry on Israel, calling it a watershed moment of accountability for those carrying out the UN’s institutionalized bias against the Jewish state.

“This week, the dominoes are falling,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch. “First, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the historic decision to sanction Francesca Albanese, the UN’s pro-Hamas rapporteur, in wake of a massive campaign led by UN Watch. Now the architects of the UN’s anti-Israel inquisition are fleeing the ship. The tide is turning.”

Navi Pillay, chair of the Commission of Inquiry (COI), announced her resignation citing “age, medical issues, and the weight of several other commitments.” However, Neuer said she seemed to be motivated by the sanctions.

Her colleagues, Miloon Kothari and Chris Sidoti, also submitted resignation letters, with Kothari referencing an “understanding” reached during a private meeting with the council president, suggesting that he was pushed out, likely for having been condemned by 18 states for antisemitism.

“The resignation of all three commissioners is long overdue,” said Neuer. “This was a commission born in prejudice — designed to target Israel, while ignoring Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Palestinian Authority. Its members were selected precisely for their hostility to the Jewish state.”

Neuer noted that the resignations follow mounting international criticism:
- In 2022, Miloon Kothari questioned Israel’s right to UN membership and evoked antisemitic tropes about Jewish control of the media—remarks condemned by 18 nations including the U.S., U.K., Germany, and France.
- Chris Sidoti trivialized the issue of antisemitism, claiming that Jews “throw around accusations like rice at a wedding.”
- Navi Pillay, chosen in July 2021 after she had lobbied government to “sanction apartheid Israel,” led a commission that generally turned a blind eye to Hamas terrorism and incitement, even after the October 7 massacre.

“This trio never should have been appointed,” said Neuer. “As documented by UN Watch, their legacy is one of distortion, demonization, and dishonor. Their departure is not reform, it’s damage control.”

UN Watch drew a direct line between the latest resignations and the political shockwaves from the U.S. decision to sanction Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur who has justified terrorism and been denounced for Holocaust inversion.

“Thanks to Secretary Rubio and the United States, the UN’s culture of impunity is starting to crack,” said Neuer. “Francesca Albanese was the tip of the spear in the UN’s war on Israel. Now that she’s been sanctioned, others are looking over their shoulders. The fear of accountability is finally setting in.”


Seth Frantzman: Hamas uses Gaza's rubble as a tactical advantage against the IDF
Recent terrorist attacks in Gaza against IDF forces have revealed that Hamas and other groups in Gaza are exploiting the landscape to carry out attacks. What this means is that Hamas may view Israel’s continued destruction of urban areas as a possible opportunity to exploit. Throughout the war, many Gazan neighborhoods have been reduced to rubble. In some cases whole towns have been razed.

The policy of razing areas has been articulated in the media and among voices in politics in Israel. Most buildings in Gaza are presented as acceptable targets because terrorists could use them.

It is also believed that many buildings conceal tunnels or tunnel shafts and entrances. The theory is that if you destroy the building, the enemy can’t use it. However, Hamas appears to be shifting tactics to take advantage of the ruins. In Khan Yunis, Beit Hanun, and other places this appears to be the tactic.

Why would Hamas use the rubble as an opportunity?
Its terrorists can hide in the ruins of buildings and move from one place to another. The group apparently believes that the IDF views ruined areas as secure. As such, it thinks that it can move more freely in these areas.

It knows that the IDF has entered and claimed to have cleared many urban areas, such as Jabaliya in Gaza. It always returns to these areas afterward. Hamas has another reason for using the rubble. The terror organization controls the central camps and Gaza City and it knows that the IDF is reluctant to enter those areas. That is apparently where the terror group is holding the 50 hostages. At the very least, Hamas knows that Israel is afraid that could be the case.
Tank explosion kills three IDF soldiers in northern Gaza, one wounded
Twenty-one-year-old St.-Sgt. Shoham Menahem, 20-year-old Sgt. Shlomo Yakir Shrem, and 19-year-old Sgt. Yuliy Faktor were killed while fighting in northern Gaza, the IDF announced on Monday.

Menahem was from moshav Yardena, Shrem was from Efrat, and Faktor was from Rishon Lezion.

All three soldiers served in the 401st Brigade of the Armored Corps.

Further, an officer from the same brigade was severely wounded in the incident.

The three soldiers were killed while inside their tank during a brigade mission in Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip aimed at defeating a local Hamas battalion and destroying terror infrastructure, according to Army Radio. The explosion occurred at around noon.

Cause of the explosion
The initial assessment by the IDF was that an anti-tank missile caused the explosion, Army Radio said. But, as of Monday evening, the IDF believes there is a high likelihood that it was an operational accident and that one of the tank's shells exploded inside. It is unclear what caused the shell to explode.

The IDF continues to investigate the circumstances of the explosion.
'Three heroes, each one a whole world': Israel mourns loss of three fallen IDF soldiers
The Efrat Regional Council said it is grieving the loss of Sgt. Shlomo Yakir Shrem, 20, who was killed alongside St.-Sgt. Shoham Menahem, 21, and Sgt. Yuliy Faktor, 19, during a brigade mission in Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip, the IDF confirmed on Monday. All three served in the 401st Brigade of the Armored Corps.

“Our hearts are with his family during this difficult time. We extend our deepest condolences to his parents, Shaul and Hindi, his sister, and his two brothers,” the council said in a statement. Shlomo will be buried on Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the Kfar Etzion cemetery.

Menahem was from Moshav Yardena, and Faktor was from Rishon Lezion.

Menahem was the son of a prisoner of war from the Yom Kippur War. Like his father, he enlisted in the 52nd Battalion of the 401st Brigade, where he served as a tank driver, Ynet reported.

His cousin, Sharon, spoke to Walla and shared his feelings about the disaster. "Shoham insisted on being in this battalion because of his father's story," he said painfully.

"He was truly the pride of his parents. He held onto the desire to contribute to the country, always saying that everything was good and everything was fine. He would help and assist everyone," Sharon added.

Israeli leaders express their condolences
Following the IDF’s confirmation, Israeli leaders expressed their condolences to the families of the fallen soldiers.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "A difficult evening. The entire nation of Israel mourns the loss of these heroic armored fighters," he wrote in a post on X/Twitter.

“Together with all the citizens of Israel, my wife and I embrace the dear families and extend our heartfelt condolences. We also pray for the full recovery of the wounded in the incident, he shared.

Netanyahu added, “Our heroic soldiers fought with boundless determination to defeat the Hamas murderers and bring back our hostages. Their sacrifice for Israel's security will be remembered forever.”


IDF slays Palestinians who murdered civilian, soldier almost 30 years ago
Israeli security forces recently killed Palestinian terrorists in Gaza who murdered a civilian and a soldier in Jerusalem almost 30 years ago, and who were exiled to the Strip in the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal in 2011, the Israel Defense Forces and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) said in a joint statement on Monday.

In total, seven members of Hamas’s “military” wing were eliminated over the past week, the statement read. Among them were Riyad Assila and Bassem Abu Sanina, who in 1998 stabbed to death Israeli civilian Haim Karman.

Karman, 28, a yeshivah student, was murdered while walking through the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City.

Terrorist Mohammed Saria, who was also killed in the IDF/Shin Bet operations, was charged in the past with killing IDF Staff Sgt. Ehud Tal in 1996, at the Dotan Civil Administration liaison office south of Jenin in Samaria. Tal was buried at the age of 21 in the cemetery of Kibbutz Maoz Haim in the Beit She’an Valley.

The three terrorists at the time were tasked with carrying out terrorist attacks in Judea and Samaria, according to the IDF and Shin Bet.

They were apprehended and sentenced to long prison terms, but were released and exiled to the Gaza Strip as part of the Shalit deal. Shalit, an IDF soldier, was kidnapped by Hamas along the Gaza border in 2006 and was freed five years later in exchange for 1,027 terrorist convicts.

All seven terrorists killed over the past week were convicted by Israel in the past for crimes with “blood on their hands.”
Hamas terrorist who invaded Israel, held Emily Damari hostage, killed in IDF airstrike
A Hamas terrorist who infiltrated Israel during the October 7 onslaught and held British-Israeli Emily Damari hostage in his home was killed in an Israeli airstrike last month, the Israel Defense Forces announced on Monday.

Nasr Ali Quneita was targeted in Gaza City on June 19, according to the IDF.

The military said Quneita was a member of Hamas’s military intelligence unit in the Sheikh Radwan Battalion, known in the IDF as the al-Furqan Battalion, and that he invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, and held Damari hostage in his home at the start of the war.

Damari, who was released in January 2025 as part of a hostage-truce deal with the terror group, responded to her captor’s killing, writing on social media: “This is what the face of evil looks like. A face I will never forget. I’m so glad he is no longer [in] our world.”

In another post, however, she added that “the real victory will be when Gali, Zivi, and the other 48 hostages return home,” referring to twin hostages abducted from her home community of Kfar Aza, who are believed to still be alive in captivity.

Meanwhile, more than 100 terror targets have been struck by the Israeli Air Force in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, the IDF said Monday morning.


IDF says ‘technical error’ responsible for deadly strike on Gaza water collection point
The Israel Defence Forces said a “technical error with the munition” caused an airstrike aimed at an Islamic Jihad terrorist to fall dozens of metres from the target, killing at least 10 people including six children at a water collection point.

Amid widespread criticism of the incident the IDF added it “works to mitigate harm to uninvolved civilians as much as possible” and “regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians”.

Officials at Al Awda Hospital said it received 10 bodies after the Israeli strike on the water collection point and six children were among the dead.

The IDF said it had opened up an investigation into the incident, and stressed it worked to fight against terrorist organisations in Gaza, and not ordinary citizens.

Footage of the incident was broadcast on television news broadcasts, including by the BBC, ITV and Sky News, with some of the scenes to graphic to shown.

Ramadan Nassar, a witness who lives in the area, told the Associated Press that around 20 children and 14 adults had been lined up to get water.

He said Palestinians walk some 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) to fetch water from the area.

Water shortages in Gaza have worsened sharply in recent weeks, with fuel shortages causing desalination and sanitation facilities to close, making people dependent on collection centers where they can fill up their plastic containers.

The strike came as Israeli aerial attacks across the Gaza Strip have escalated, with further unconfirmed accounts of deaths after a succession of strikes on residential buildings in central Gaza and Gaza City.


Urban Warfare, Truth, and the Future of the Middle East with John Spencer
In this gripping and timely episode of the J100 Podcast, host David M. Cohen speaks with John Spencer, one of the world’s leading experts on urban warfare and modern military strategy. Spencer, a retired U.S. Army officer and West Point scholar, shares powerful insights from his on-the-ground research in Gaza, his deep study of the IDF, and his analysis of the evolving face of warfare in the Middle East.

From October 7th to the Israel-Iran War, Spencer dismantles media misinformation, explores the psychological warfare of propaganda, and explains why the war against Hamas and the Iranian regime is about much more than just military objectives — it's about defending Western values and the integrity of truth itself.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to John Spencer and His Background
05:40 The Role of Misinformation in Modern Warfare
08:08 Israel's Military Strategy and Challenges
10:33 The Complexity of Hostage Situations in Warfare
13:09 Understanding Hamas and Its Current Leadership
15:39 The Dichotomy of Success and Failure in Israeli Defense
18:37 Strategic Decisions and Intelligence Failures
21:08 Iran and Hezbollah's Strategic Missteps
28:13 The 12th Day War: An Overview
32:21 America's Role in the Conflict
36:09 Leadership Decisions and Their Impact
38:37 Media Narratives and Public Perception
40:44 The Threat of Nuclear Weapons
42:32 Contrarian Views on Military Action
44:51 Risks and Realities of Military Operations
47:58 Future Predictions for the Middle East
50:04 Personal Insights and Reflections
Call me Back Podcast: PART 1: Ron Dermer, Minister of Strategic Affairs
A few days ago, Prime Minister Netanyahu and his Israeli delegation, which included Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, concluded their trip to Washington D.C., where they met with President Donald Trump and other senior American officials.

The visit came just a few weeks after the historic military success on behalf of Israel and the U.S. against the Iranian regime. Following these stunning achievements, there has been talk of future normalization with certain Arab states and the potential for a hostage-ceasefire deal in the near future.

Minister Dermer has been at the forefront of all these issues. In a conversation divided into two episodes, he and Dan discuss Israel’s standing globally and in the Middle East after the war with Iran, the future of Gaza, the hostages, and where the country is heading internally.


Ask Haviv Anything: Episode 28: The Gaza Paradox
As hostage talks seem stalled and the war grinds on into its 22nd month, doubts about Netanyahu’s strategy and intentions have become ubiquitous.

Netanyahu has given many reasons to distrust him, including his simple refusal to explain the strategy for removing Hamas and Israel’s vision for a post-Hamas Gaza.

But it isn’t enough to criticize Netanyahu’s strategy or even to argue he doesn’t have one. To offer an effective critique, critics need to suggest a better strategy for removing Hamas and securing a better future for Gaza.

So far, criticism of Netanyahu has either avoided this step or suggested that Hamas cannot, in fact, be disentangled from Gaza, that Gaza’s future is inevitably a Hamas future.

In this episode, we dive into these questions. We ask what it would mean for both Israelis and Palestinians if Hamas is, as the critics claim, unremovable.

This episode was sponsored by Bennett and Robin Greenspan of Houston, Texas, strong supporters of Israel who recognize Israel’s centrality and vitality to the Jewish world. They asked us to say that they are proud to sponsor this episode of “Ask Haviv Anything” because this podcast makes understanding the Middle East a bit easier. They have dedicated this episode to the courageous and incredibly imaginative women and men of the Mossad, who make television look boring and simplistic in comparison to their daring exploits behind enemy lines.


Erin Molan: TRUMP, BIBI & GAZA: Israel’s Top Expert PREDICTS The End of The Gaza War!
In this exclusive and eye-opening interview, Erin Molan sits down with Amit Segal, Israel’s most respected political commentator and war analyst, to break down the latest on the Gaza War.

They discuss:
0:13 Has Isreal's mission bee a success?
2:15 Why is the war in Gaza taking so long?
9:00 Understanding Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu
11:30 Donald Trump reaction to Bibi lawfare
13:30 When / how will the war in Gaza end - Prediction




Palestine Action has ‘terrorised’ Jewish communities throughout the UK
Spiked Online Chief Political Reporter Brendan O’Neill says Palestine Action is the upper-middle-class “bigoted contempt” for Israel.

The UK has deemed Palestine Action a terrorist organisation.

Mr O’Neill told Sky News Australia that Palestine Action has “terrorised” Jewish communities throughout the UK.


Coleman Hughes: Israel, Antisemitism & the Fight for Western Civilization | Josh Hammer
Josh Hammer is a political commentator, attorney, and columnist whose recent book, "Israel and Civilization: The Fate of the Jewish Nation and the Destiny of the West," argues that the flourishing of the Jewish people and the Jewish State of Israel is essential to the survival of Western civilization.

Josh and I agree on quite a bit when it comes to Israel, but we also have some significant disagreements on the role of religion in history, and on the ethics of religious intermarriage. I wanted to sit down with Josh and understand his argument that the “best bang for your buck” to secure a Jewish future is for Jews to only marry other Jews.

We also discuss why American Christianity has been more friendly to Jews than European Christianity has, how that relationship has shaped political and cultural alliances, and why Josh thinks U.S. military aid to Israel should eventually end. Josh brings a perspective grounded in both personal conviction and a strong historical lens, which made for an excellent conversation.


Erin Molan: Tucker Carlson Is DEAD WRONG – Erin Molan EXPOSES Fake MAGA Panicans!
In this epic segment of "69x Min," TV Host Erin Molan goes full Mr Beat on Tucker Carlson and his faux MAGA doom squad.

When America and Israel moved against Iran’s nuclear site, a chorus of “WWIII incoming!” roared across "conservative" media—led by the likes of Carlson. But Erin isn’t having it. With cold hard facts, and a sharp sense of timing, she dismantles each exaggerated claim and shows why the sky‑is‑falling narrative doesn’t hold water.


Jonathan Tobin: Tucker Carlson’s Jeffrey Epstein obsession is an antisemitic conspiracy theory
Carlson has no influence
There are two conclusions to be drawn from all this.

One is that, as appalling as the discourse about the Epstein case has been, it is, like the debate about Israel and Iran, further distancing the Trump administration from “woke right” antisemites like Carlson.

Perhaps Bondi will ultimately be dropped by Trump. But like the fact that he is disappointing those on the far right who imagined that “America First” meant an anti-Israel foreign policy, the White House’s determination to move on from the obsessions of Carlson and his ilk continues to demonstrate that they have very little influence on the policies and actions of Trump 2.0.

There are strong arguments to be made that, as bad as Epstein’s crimes were and as Trump himself has now said, other important threats to America and the West are higher priorities. We might like to know for sure who did what and with whom on Epstein’s plane and island. But for the government and the media to be chasing their tails seeking answers to questions that might have no conclusive answers on an old scandal is not a good use of anyone’s time.

It’s also true that it won’t stop the conspiracy theorists or the antisemites from continuing to promote the idea that the Epstein case demonstrates that Israel or the Jews were promoting sexual crimes and then hiding them. Like the assassination of John F. Kennedy and other such fodder for those who dwell in the fever swamps, the Epstein case will live on and continue to feed on itself for the foreseeable future.

There was never a chance that even the Trump administration’s admission that the case is closed was going to satisfy those who are up to their necks in wild theories. Telling them that there is no “there” there was, no matter the truth of the matter, never going to silence the doubters or stop scoundrels from seeking to link it to hatred for Israel.

As with his promotion of Holocaust denial, Carlson’s stance that he is “just asking questions” about Epstein is disingenuous. While he will claim that he is being silenced even after he shouts his unsubstantiated charges to huge audiences, the time is long past to stop speaking of him and his “woke right” associates as if they aim to seek the truth about Epstein, Israel, Iran or anything else. Like the virus of antisemitism itself, unscrupulous hatemongers may always be with us. While it will never be possible to conclusively discredit those who spread conspiracy theories aimed at harming Israel and the Jews to those willing to swallow their smears, it’s incumbent on decent people to stop treating Carlson as a credible source of information or a representative of anything but the most irresponsible elements of society.


Former Israeli PM denies Tucker Carlson claim that Jeffrey Epstein worked for Mossad
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett denied political commentator Tucker Carlson’s claim that disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein had worked for Israeli intelligence.

The former Fox News host told attendees at the Turning Point USA summit on Friday that “every single person in Washington, D.C.” thinks that the convicted child abuser, who was Jewish and committed suicide in jail in 2019, worked for the Israeli government.

“I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t think that,” Carlson said. “I don’t know any of them that hate Israel. But no one feels they can say that.”

Bennett, who served as Israel’s prime minister from 2021 to 2022, denied the claim on Monday.

“As a former Israeli prime minister, with the Mossad having reported directly to me, I say to you with 100% certainty, the accusation that Jeffrey Epstein somehow worked for Israel or the Mossad running a blackmail ring is categorically and totally false,” Bennett wrote.

“Epstein’s conduct, both the criminal and the merely despicable, had nothing whatsoever to do with the Mossad or the State of Israel,” he said.

“This accusation is a lie being peddled by prominent online personalities such as Tucker Carlson pretending they know things they don’t,” he added. “They just make things up, say it with confidence, and these lies stick because it’s Israel. There’s a vicious wave of slander and lies against my country and my people, and we just won’t take it anymore.”

Amichai Chikli, Israel’s minister of diaspora affairs, also weighed in with an open letter to Turning Point’s founder Charlie Kirk, arguing that Carlson should not have been given a platform.

“As you have noted, there is no evidence—none—that Epstein was acting on behalf of the State of Israel,” Chikli wrote. “Yet the message conveyed at your conference, with Tucker Carlson as keynote speaker just days after his sycophantic interview with the Iranian terror regime, was unmistakable: Israel was behind Epstein.”

“We have a serious problem. A wave of antisemitism—the likes of which America hasn’t seen since the 1930s—is gathering momentum,” he added. “And so I’m asking you: please stay true to your strong moral compass and speak out against antisemitism, whether it comes from the woke left or the woke right.”


Anonymous video claims Melbourne arson attack on Israel-linked company, threatens workers
An anonymous figure has claimed responsibility for the torching of several cars 10 days ago at an Australian engineering company in Melbourne, while threatening that its workers will be targeted if they continue to make weapons components that are used by Israel.

The figure spoke in a video that has been circulating on social media since its release last week, drawing condemnation from the Australian Jewish community on Monday.

Along with accusing Israel of “genocide,” the figure scorned “colonialist and imperialists” while criticizing the US, the UK, and “ethnic cleansing, and murder of Aboriginal peoples across so-called Australia.”

Police said they were investigating the clip.

In the grainy video, a masked figure dressed in black speaks with an altered voice and claims responsibility for the July 5 attack at the premises of Lovitt Technologies Australia on behalf of “an anonymous cell.”

During the attack, antisemitic graffiti was daubed on cars outside the building and on walls, and at least three vehicles were torched. The incident came hours after a July 4 arson attack at a Melbourne synagogue and the mobbing of an Israeli restaurant in the city by pro-Palestinian activists.

“This was not an accident or thoughtless act of vandalism,” the figure said. “This is a serious threat.”

It said Lovitt, which specializes in precision engineering, was targeted because it was the first Australian producer of parts for the F-35 jet, “proudly deployed in service to colonialism and imperialism” by the US, Israel, Australia, and the UK.

The figure accused “every worker” at Lovitt Technologies of complicity in “genocide” in Gaza.

“We will decide your fate, as you have decided the fate of millions,” the figure said. “For the past few months, we have been closely watching you. We have your addresses.”

“All the information we have about you will be distributed to our underground networks,” the figure said. “Stop arming Israel or else.”

“Consider this a warning.”


GMC urged to FINALLY act on ‘antisemitic’ doctor who rants about ‘Jews’
Jewish communal organisations have called for urgent action from the General Medical Council regarding a doctor who still holds a medical licence despite increasingly antisemitic rants about “the Jews” – with the GMC understood to have dropped a case into her conduct last year.

Dr Rahmeh Aladwan, who describes herself as a “part Palestinian, British NHS doctor” is believed to still hold a full licence to practice, despite social media comments about “Jewish schools” in Britain and how “the UK is occupied and controlled by Jewish supremacy.”

Aladwan, who was a Palestine Action member prior to the organisation’s proscription as a terrorist group earlier this month, regularly uses social media to share her antisemitic screeds. On Saturday she tweeted: “The total number of anti-supremacist (anti-Zionist) Jewish schools in the UK is ZERO. There are 136 Jewish schools in Britain, many of which are funded by our taxes, where 36,064 British Jewish children are taught that they are superior to non-Jews, that they have the right to colonise Palestine and are groomed through birthright trips to become colonisers, upholders of apartheid, and genocidal IOF terrorists. This has to stop.”

Last week Aladwan tweeted a “formal proposition to the Jews, especially British Jews who keep saying that I, a part-Palestinian, British NHS doctor, should be deported. Since you have access to our British medical boards, media, police, and government, and have had me investigated by the GMC and defamed in the Daily Mail, I am prepared to give up my UK medical license and British passport if you deport me. Not to my grandmother’s home in Ramallah. Deport me to Gaza. I will sign whatever you want, agreeing never to return. Get your ‘israeli’ lobbies – UKLFI, the Board of Deputies, LFI, CFI, BICOM, etc – to pressure Britain to deport me to Gaza, and I will leave instantly.”

Jewish News understands that Aladwan’s conduct was first reported the GMC last year, but the organisation subsequently closed the case, saying it did not meet the required threshold. However, the organisation is believed to have then opened another investigation early this year – but that this second investigation has now been open for some months, with no sign of action.

Jewish News further understands it is in the GMC’s power to impose an ‘interim order’, which would significantly limit a doctor’s license to practice while an investigation is carried out. However, for unknown reasons, the GMC has not exercised that option in this case.


‘Kill all Jews’: Elmo’s X account taken over by antisemitic hacker
Sesame Workshop, the company behind the popular childrens’ show, confirmed that Elmo’s X account was hacked after it shared several posts containing profanity and antisemitic hate speech on Sunday.

“Elmo’s X account was compromised today by an unknown hacker who posted disgusting messages, including antisemitic and racist posts,” the U.S. television production firm confirmed in a statement cited by Fox News, adding: “We are working to restore full control of the account.”

The now-deleted social media posts included statements such as “Kill all Jews,” as well as “Elmo says all Jews should die … Donald Trump is Netanyahu’s puppet because he is in the Epstein files. Jews control the world and need to be exterminated,” among other violent threats.

Another post called U.S. President Donald Trump a “child f**ker” and called on him to “release the files,” in an apparent reference to a client list allegedly kept by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Elmo, the “Sesame Street” character who often teaches his audiences about the importance of kindness, has almost 650,000 followers on X.

“Antisemitism is unsettlingly ubiquitous on social media,” Rep. Ritchie Torres (DN.Y.) said in response to the hack. “Anyone who denies its pernicious and pervasive presence—on digital platforms and in society at large—is willfully blind to a reality staring us all in the face,” he added.




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