Thursday, July 17, 2025

07/17 Links Pt1: Hypocrisy and double standards over the massacre of the Druze; US news outlets served as 'megaphones' for Hamas in Gaza war

From Ian:

Melanie Phillips: Hypocrisy and double standards over the massacre of the Druze
Yet this slaughter elicited no condemnation from those who, day in and day out, signal their own supposed virtue by falsely accusing Israel of war crimes. Faced with the evidence of a horrific attempt to exterminate the Druze, demonstrators who have been screaming about Israel’s “genocide” for the past 21 months were conspicuously absent from the streets and campuses.

The likes of Amnesty and Human Rights Watch were silent. Al-Julani’s troops reportedly slaughtered the entire staff at Suweida’s hospital along with their patients. Yet from those who falsely accuse Israel of targeting hospitals in Gaza in order to kill patients and staff—and who wickedly ignore the fact that Hamas has turned them into terrorist hubs and thus made them into legitimate military targets—there was only silence.

Astoundingly, these people instead blamed Israel—the only country that went to the aid of the Druze—for attacking Syria. António Guterres, the U.N. secretary-general, posted on X that he condemned the killing of any civilians, omitted to place responsibility on al-Julani’s forces and instead blamed Israel for defending the Druze.

Various media outlets reported these atrocities as “tit for tat” skirmishes between the Druze and Bedouin tribes. Even the Trump administration bafflingly described what happened as a “misunderstanding” between Israel and Syria that had somehow gotten out of hand.

The perversity of all this reaction was hardly surprising. Much of it was wrapped up in a deep animus against Israel and the Jewish people, which is its own dark and terrifying story.

Something else, however, was at work here—and that was the rush that took place to embrace al-Julani, a former member of Al-Qaeda and ISIS who had been imprisoned by the Americans from 2006 to 2011, as a force for good.
Israel Rescues Syria’s Druze
To understand what set off the latest round of sectarian conflict in southern Syria, I suggest reading this very brief and useful summary by Carmit Valensi and Amal Hayek. The two note that, as in previous rounds of fighting, “internal pressure from the Druze community in Israel spurred Israeli military involvement.” But Amit Segal argues that this incident was different from its predecessors:

[T]he Druze area acts as a buffer for Israel. It’s like a shield against Syria, which is essentially [part of] a Turkish empire, something that deeply disturbs Israel. But there’s one more thing that’s changed in recent months. Israel is acting as a regional power for the first time, and only history will judge if this was wise or a mistake.

When Israel sees situations such as what’s happening in Syria, it intervenes. This has never happened before. Israel says it’s not just about immediate interests, but also about allies.

There is also here a moral element, that goes beyond what some see as Jerusalem caving to domestic pressure from its Druze citizens. After all, no other country has lifted a finger to protect Middle Eastern minorities from slaughter. Seth Mandel writes:

It has not gone unnoticed that Israel is striking the government forces of a country with which it is also negotiating mutual recognition. But there is no contradiction there: peace is the goal, and recognition is worthless without it. Israel wants recognition because it wants coexistence, not the other way around. And the Jewish state is unwilling to sell out its values to get it: “Israel is committed to preventing harm being inflicted on the Druze in Syria, owing to the deep covenant of blood with our Druze citizens in Israel and their historical and familial link to the Druze in Syria,” Prime Minister Netanyahu explained.
MEMRI: Articles In Palestinian Authority Press Following Israel-Iran Ceasefire: When Will Hamas Realize That Eliminating Israel Is A Ludicrous Idea And Move To End The War In Gaza?
Following the ceasefire between Israel and Iran announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on June 24, 2025, papers affiliated with the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank published articles that called on Hamas to draw lessons from the Iran-Israel war. The articles urged Hamas to understand that Iran – which it regarded as an ally and as the leader of the "resistance axis" – proved to be a "paper tiger" in the confrontation with Israel, a country that cares only for its own interests and cannot be relied upon to assist the Palestinians. According to the articles, the fact that the war ended with a ceasefire under the patronage of the U.S. – without realizing Iran's vision of eliminating Israel, without the participation of the other members of the resistance axis, such as Hizbullah, the Houthis and the Iraqi militias, and without any Iranian demand for a ceasefire in Gaza – shows that Hamas can no longer count on Iran to help it in the Gaza war. One of the articles concluded that "the Iranian axis has ended and its slogans have evaporated under the Israeli and American blows."

The following are translated excerpts from these articles:
PA Daily: Hamas Must Acknowledge That Iran Cared Only For Itself And That The Resistance Axis Is Done For

The June 25, 2025 editorial of the PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida urged Hamas to learn from the outcomes of the Iran-Israel war by realizing that the discourse about the "unity of the fronts" and the "resistance axis" is hollow and that it can no longer rely on Iran's assistance in the Gaza war.

The editorial said: "…It took Tehran only 12 days to realize that missiles do not win wars and that the U.S. does not and will not allow Israel to be defeated. Those 12 days clarified the character and boundaries of the conflict… Tehran, the capital of the resistance axis, concluded an agreement for a full and comprehensive ceasefire… We do not believe that Tehran will continue to be [the leader of] an axis… Clearly, it also forgot all the discourse about the 'assistance fronts' and the 'unity of the fronts' when it concluded the ceasefire agreement with Israel. It made no mention of Israel's war on Gaza, neither explicitly nor implicitly – [even though it was] Israel who started that war on the pretext of [retaliating for the Al-Aqsa] Flood [operation] that Hamas launched based on an Iranian decision.

"Here's the truth: there is no 'resistance axis' and no 'assistance front,' because states [are guided by] pragmatic policies, interests, [diplomatic] relations and the power balance, not by populist discourse, revolutionary boasting, hollow declarations and Muslim Brotherhood-style shows [of strength]. Hamas must acknowledge this reality and deal with it without denying the truth…"[1]

Former PA Minister: The Iranian Axis Has Proved To Be A Paper Tiger; Israel Can Be Defeated In The Diplomatic Arena, Not In The Military One

In his June 25 column in the Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam, Ashraf Al-Ajrami, a former PA minister for prisoners' affairs, urged Hamas to draw lessons from the Iran-Israel war and understand that eliminating Israel with the help of Iran and the resistance axis is a ludicrous plan. He wrote:

"…Iran is the big loser in this war, for the scope of the destruction and losses in Israel cannot be compared to [what happened] in Iran… This country and its allies in the region were delusional and chanted big slogans [about] destroying, eliminating or burning Israel, when they were not just incapable of realizing them but incapable of exacting a heavy price from Israel.

"The 'resistance axis' has proved to be a paper tiger… We fell under the influence of the failed Iranian axis, which used our [Palestinian] organizations – such as Hamas and the Islamic Jihad – as tools in a plan that had nothing to do with our interests… The Palestinian arena split into two camps: the national one, which maintained ties with the major Arab countries, and the other [camp], affiliated with Iran, which is at odds with the Arab regimes. We paid an unbearable price for realizing the Iranian enterprise and chasing failed, empty slogans in the name of the 'resistance' and its ideology…

"Now the Iranian axis has ended and its slogans have evaporated under the Israeli and American blows… The war in Gaza continues and we have been left on our own… What is needed [now] is a rational approach, in order to deal with this reality and change it through an in-depth study of the power balance. [We must] understand how it can be wisely amended without falling for mistaken and destructive considerations, as we did in the past decades, most recently in the October 7 attack.[2]

"The idea of defeating Israel militarily or destroying it is a kind of fantasy that bears no connection to reality. However, Israel can be defeated on the diplomatic level… Non-violent popular resistance is internationally accepted and supported, whereas violent struggle is not accepted and causes damage far greater than any conceivable benefit. Will the Palestinian movements draw a lesson from what happened in the region and rethink their considerations?"[3]


Study claims US news outlets served as 'megaphones' for Hamas in Gaza war
A new study by the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) alleges that major U.S. and European news outlets served as uncritical megaphones for Hamas-linked narratives during the war with Israel in Gaza, amplifying claims that ultimately undermined a U.S.-backed food relief operation while shielding the terrorist group from scrutiny.

The 102-page report, titled "The 4th Estate Sale: How American and European Media Became an Uncritical Mouthpiece for a Designated Foreign Terror Organization" concludes that outlets including MSNBC, CNN, The Washington Post, and Reuters published or promoted unverified claims sourced from the Gaza Health Ministry without disclosing that it is controlled by Hamas, a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization.

These narratives, according to the study, falsely blamed the U.S.-based Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) for deadly incidents and fed conspiracy theories that spread across global media and social networks.

"We need to audit the media," a senior researcher at NCRI and lead author of the study who wished to remain anonymous told Fox News Digital. "What we found is not just bias — it’s the laundering of information warfare. When a terrorist-linked health ministry makes a claim, and that claim becomes the basis for international headlines without independent verification or source transparency, that is not journalism. That is narrative laundering, and it puts real people at risk."

Rev. Johnnie Moore, president of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, told Fox News Digital that the report validates what he and his team have been enduring on the ground since launching aid operations in 2025.

"On one level, I wasn’t surprised by the findings because I’ve been experiencing the effect of these lies for weeks," Moore said. "But — on the other hand — I was shocked by the sheer scale of it all. Let’s be clear: media outlets in the United States, the UK, and in continental Europe are literally doing the work of terrorists. They have become the default press secretaries for designated terrorist organizations. As absurd as that sounds, that’s exactly what has happened."

According to GHF, the group has delivered over 70 million meals to Gazan civilians since May 2024, without a single aid truck being looted. The NCRI report cites this as a direct threat to Hamas’s control over Gaza’s traditional aid economy, which has long relied on systems that the terror group can exploit, divert and weaponize.

"They write papers and letters and sign documents, and yet we’re doing it," GHF interim executive director John Acree said in response to NGO criticism. He implored those groups to "please, come. Come and help us."

"We believe Hamas made over one billion dollars last year just from manipulating the system of aid managed by the United Nations and others," Moore said. "They take free food, then sell it. They hoard it for their fighters. They use it to recruit. So when we came in and disrupted that pipeline, Hamas saw us as a threat to their business model and their control."


Hamas losing iron grip on Gaza as US-backed group gets aid to Palestinians in need
The humanitarian situation in Gaza has been a central focus of international debate since Hamas’ war with Israel began in 2023. Longstanding aid organizations and new ones have rushed to provide Palestinians with critical support. But one group in particular has received backlash for trying to deliver food to the Strip, the U.S.- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

"The big difference between GHF and other aid organizations such as the U.N., for example, is that effectively GHF undercutting Hamas or keeping Hamas out of the loop here when it comes to aid," Joe Truzman, a senior research analyst and editor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Long War Journal, told Fox News Digital.

Despite the criticism and accusations of violence against Palestinians seeking aid at its distribution sites, GHF has delivered over 76 million meals since its operation began in late May. Truzman said that Hamas has taken notice — and is reacting — to the GHF’s success, as the terror organization has been unable to control the aid coming from them.

Truzman believes Hamas’ reaction to the GHF is telling and could signal that the group is losing access to a key tool in its arsenal for maintaining control in Gaza. He told Fox News Digital that Hamas uses "a social welfare program" to keep its grip on the population.

"So, for instance, charities that are controlled by Hamas, mosques that are controlled by Hamas, schools that are controlled Hamas and aid that is controlled by Hamas. Now they use it to either feed the community — Palestinians — and by doing that they gain this leverage over Palestinians," Truzman said. "Palestinian civilians need this aid to obviously survive and they count on Hamas to do it. So, this is how Hamas could control the population."

Hamas’ diversion of aid was something that concerned the U.S. when it began backing GHF as a way to provide Palestinians with what they need without letting terrorists get ahold of it. In June, when the U.S. announced $30 million in funding for the GHF, State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott touted the organization’s work distributing aid "while preventing Hamas looting."

"If GHF wasn't around right now, I think we'd be back to the same old distribution where Hamas would control it, all right, or other Palestinian terrorist groups. I think that's a problem that nobody's really been able to figure out just yet," Truzman told Fox News Digital.


Lessons from the War between Israel and Iran
The 2025 conflict between Israel and Iran reaffirmed the centrality of alliances, psychological operations, and precision targeting, while also highlighting the evolving role of strategic deterrence and information warfare in shaping outcomes. The successful targeting of Iran's nuclear facilities proved that well-executed, pre-emptive action can yield measurable delays in adversarial weapons development. These strikes were not only militarily effective but psychologically disorienting, undermining confidence within Iran's defense establishment and signaling Israel's reach, capability, and intent.

Strategic communication, public diplomacy, and psychological operations neutralized panic at home, destabilized enemy cohesion, and helped shape global narratives. Equally critical was the role of strategic partnerships. Without U.S. intelligence, missile defense assets, and military coordination, Israel would have struggled to execute a campaign of such scale and precision. Success depends on interoperability, trust, and shared strategic objectives among allies.

The conflict was a glimpse into the future of warfare. It showcased the fusion of conventional and unconventional tools, the necessity of operational resilience, and the unpredictability of asymmetric threats. The real measure of success lies in whether enduring security, stability, and deterrence have been achieved or whether this was merely the opening salvo in a new era of protracted confrontation.
Lessons for the Gulf States from the Iran Conflict
What lessons may be drawn from the 12 days of conflict that brought the region to the brink of a scenario long dreaded by many in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)? It was notable that the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities were carried out by bombers that flew from the U.S. and by cruise missiles fired from a submarine, rather than by any of the military assets positioned in the Gulf states. Similarly, the U.S. and UK launched their 2024-25 strikes against Yemen's Houthis from aircraft carriers and submarines as well as from bases in Cyprus rather than from facilities in the Gulf.

While the U.S. decision not to use Gulf-based military assets was mindful of regional dynamics, it has led some in the U.S. to ask why the forces are stationed in the Gulf if they cannot be used in such missions and are sitting ducks for retaliation. Iran did respond to the June 21 U.S. attack with its carefully managed June 23 launch of missiles against the al-Udeid base, the largest and most important American base in the Middle East.

Excitable commentary about the potential for Iran to "close" the Strait of Hormuz to shipping was hollow. Iran does possess the capability to harass shipping passing through the strait, but a full-scale disruption was never in the cards, not least because closure would have hit Iran's main oil export terminal at Kharg, inside the Gulf, as much as it would have affected the Gulf states, including Kuwait and Qatar, whose oil and gas cargoes are almost wholly reliant on passage through Hormuz. Shipments of Iranian oil to China, its largest consumer, would also have been affected by action in the strait.

Israel's campaign largely bypassed Iran's oil and gas infrastructure along the coastline of the Gulf, apart from a June 14 Israeli strike on a natural gas processing facility linked to operations at the South Pars gas field, which could have led to Iran's targeting the Gulf states' own energy infrastructure. There is thus a sense that the conflict between Iran and Israel could have been worse, at least from the Gulf states' perspective. GCC states will now engage with an Iran weakened by its inability to prevent Israel and the U.S. from penetrating its air defenses and by the steady dismantling of key elements of the "Axis of Resistance."
Why the Muslim World Failed to Come to Iran's Defense
Most Muslim countries did not stand with Iran when it was being pounded by Israeli bombs. This says a lot about how much the theocratic regime in Tehran has been distanced from the rest of the Muslim world. The apathy of the Muslim world towards the regime shattered the myth that its brand of Islam and its pan-jihadism is accepted and supported by a majority of Muslim nations.

In truth, this has never been the case. Many countries in the region believe the Iranian mullahs pervert Islam to further their own political ends and are angry over last year's strikes against Pakistan and the more recent targeting of a U.S. military base in Qatar. The Iranian regime is hated both at home and abroad due to its internal oppression (especially of women) and external aggression. This shatters the myth that Muslims across the board are jihad-loving, regressive populations.
Through Trial and Error, Iran Found Gaps in Israel's Air Defenses
Over 12 days, Iran pierced Israel's defenses with increasing success, showing that even the world's most advanced systems can be penetrated.

While most of Iran's missiles and drones were knocked down, Tehran changed tactics and found gaps in Israel's armor through trial and error.

Tehran began to launch more advanced and longer-range missiles from a wider range of locations deep inside Iran, according to missile-defense experts.

The regime also altered the timing and pattern of attacks and increased the geographic spread of targets.

In the first half of the conflict, 8% of Iran's missiles slipped through Israel's defenses. By the second half, 16% got past Israel's interceptors, according to data from the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA).

On June 22, two days before the end of the war, 10 out of 27 missiles hit Israel, according to JINSA.

During the conflict, the Israeli military said it was intercepting 90-95% of Iran's missiles. After the ceasefire on June 24, the military said it had intercepted 86% overall.

"We are both on a learning curve," said Yehoshua Kalisky, a missile-defense expert at Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies. "They're trying to improve their attacks, and we, our defense."


The UN’s anti-Israel inquisition is falling apart – finally
Neuer added: “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.”

Not before time. For decades, the UN has traded upon its global reputation for authority to peddle the very worst Israelophobic propaganda.

As long ago as 1975, after nearly a decade of Arab and Soviet lobbying, the UN passed General Assembly Resolution 3379, which enshrined the central Soviet agitprop motif that “Zionism is racism”.

As the Spectator journalist Goronwy Rees lamented at the time: “The fundamental thesis… was that to be a Jew, and to be proud of it, and to be determined to preserve the right to be a Jew, is to be an enemy of the human race.”

The resolution, after which the British Students’ Unions banned Jewish societies on campuses, was not repealed until 1991.

For years, the Kremlin had been trying to convince the world that Zionism was an expression of Jewish racial superiority, a contemporary version of a supposed “chosen people” attitude.

That deplorable UN resolution of 1975 was a huge win, and the public perception of Zionism today is a depressing testament to the success of this propaganda campaign.

It hardly ends there. The UN has no fewer than seven formal bodies investigating Israel, including the Division for Palestinian Rights; the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People; the United Nations Information System on the Question of Palestine; the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967; the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories; and the United Nations Register of Damage Caused by the Construction of the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

The UN’s notorious 2001 anti-racism conference in Durban descended into open antisemitism. The next time it convened, in 2009, the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was the only head of state allowed to speak.

In his address, he disgraced the Holocaust by referring to it as an “ambiguous and dubious question” that was used as a “pretext” for the mistreatment of Palestinians, and described Israel as “totally racist”. Which was a bit rich.

In his memoir, Danny Danon, Israel’s former ambassador to the UN, wrote: “I knew about the hostility at the UN and I was prepared for that, but nobody can prepare for the volume of attacks against Israel.”

The UNHRC is the latest inheritor of this deeply Israelophobic spirit. The fact that it can wear its double standards so brazenly, from Item Seven to the “permanent inquiry”, is a mark of how normalised Israelophobia has become at the supposedly enlightened UN.

It is good news, of course, that American sanctions are finally shining a light into the darker corners of the international institution. But it raises a sobering question.

If these people have been sent scurrying for the exits so easily, why wasn’t action taken sooner?
Israeli envoy condemns ‘glaring silence’ from UN agencies
Reut Shapir Ben-Naftaly, political coordinator for the Israeli mission to the United Nations, criticized several U.N. agencies during a U.N. Security Council meeting on Wednesday, including the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which she said “has continued to abandon all semblance of neutrality and impartiality.”

“The glaring silence of this council about Israeli children, about hostages, murdered toddlers like the Bibas boys, on traumatized survivors who will never see their parents again, on children running for shelter as Iranian missiles rained down on civilian population centres, is more than a technical mission,” the Israeli diplomat told the council. “It is a moral failure.”

Ben-Naftaly told the council that Tom Fletcher, U.N. under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, neglected to mention Tzeela Gez, an Israeli who was murdered in a terror attack in May en route to the hospital to give birth, when he discussed Palestinian casualties in Judea and Samaria. (Gez’s baby son, Ravid Chaim, died of his wounds two weeks later.)

The Israeli diplomat also said that Catherine Russell, executive director of the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF), failed to mention Israeli children, whose fathers remain hostages in Gaza.

“Roni and Alma Miran are 4- and 2-and-a-half years old. Like many kids their age, they regularly make pretend phone calls on their telephones,” Ben-Naftaly told the council. “But unlike most children their age, when their mother asks them who they’re speaking to, their answer carries a deep pain.”

“The answer is always the same. Abba. Dad,” she told the council. “They ask, ‘Where are you, Daddy? Are they letting you return to us?’”

The two kids hug and kiss a photo of their father, Omri Miran, held by terrorists in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023. “For those two young girls, that’s nearly their entire lives without their Abba,” Ben-Naftaly said.

The Israeli diplomat also shared stories of other children awaiting the return of their fathers.

“These children were victims of an evil that this council seems unwilling to address or condemn: Hamas,” Ben-Naftaly said. “We are presented with a narrative that forces Israel into a defendant’s chair, while Hamas, the very cause of this conflict and the very instigator of suffering of Israelis but also of Palestinians, goes unmentioned, unchallenged and immune to condemnation.”


Slovenia to ban Smotrich, Ben-Gvir for 'genocidal statements' against Palestinians
Slovenia will ban Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon announced after a cabinet session on Thursday.

Fajon stated that the two will be declared personae non grata following accusations against them inciting "extreme violence and serious violations of the human rights of Palestinians" with "their genocidal statements."

Slovenia will become the first member of the European Union to ban the two ministers.

Recent sanctions against Ben-Gvir, Smotrich
In June, Britain joined Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and others in sanctioning the two ministers over comments regarding Gaza and Palestinians that British Foreign Secretary David Lammy described as “monstrous.”

US Ambassador to the UK Warren Stephens wrote in response: "The United States stands firmly in support of Israel. The United States is deeply concerned by the recent decision to impose sanctions on democratically elected officials of the State of Israel.
Oxfam GB holds panel event with Gazan who cheered Hamas massacre
A Gazan who on 7 October talked of the “unprecedented reaction of the Ezzedeen Al-Qassam brigades, which Insha’Allah will bode well for the long-waited liberation” appeared this week at a panel event held inside the House of Commons, alongside the head of Oxfam GB and SNP MP Brendan O’Hara.

Abubaker Abed told attendees: “Palestine will resist. We will resist until the liberation. Even if our old and young are dying… we are seeds and will grow and bloom.”

The young man writes regularly for outlets including Al Jazeera, Middle East Eye and Iranian State channel Press TV, announcing six months ago that he was “proud to be named Press TV journalist of the year.”

The panel took place in a Commons committee room, with parliamentary branding visible and a large Oxfam GB banner displayed behind the speakers. Oxfam’s chief executive, Halima Begum, was seated to Abed’s left throughout, and Brendan O’Hara MP, the SNP’s foreign affairs spokesperson, appeared on his right. Several other panellists also took part in the event but have not yet been publicly identified.

The event has drawn scrutiny after it emerged that on 7 October 2023, as Hamas’s assault on Israel began, Abed posted on social media: “I hope that the unprecedented reaction of Al-Qassam Brigades will bring the long-awaited liberation.”

The Al-Qassam Brigades are the core military strength of Hamas, a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK.

In January of this year Abed tweeted: “I am a Holocaust survivor. Alhamdulillah” – a statement widely criticised online as trivialising Holocaust identity.

During the panel, Abed told attendees: “I actually don’t ask my killer to help me,” in response to a question from an MP about the UK government. In a follow-up post, he wrote: “This palace was built on our blood, colonialism and imperialism. We have to dismantle this empire.”


Senior Hamas commander altered appearance to hide from IDF, Arabic spox. says
Izzadin Haddad, the commander of Hamas's Gaza City Brigade, appeared to have altered his appearance in an attempt to hide from the IDF, IDF Arabic Spokesperson Col. Avichay Adraee stated on Thursday.

Haddad is considered to be the IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency)'s most-wanted Hamas terrorist who remains in the Gaza Strip, given his role as their highest-ranking military commander remaining in the enclave.

The decision by the IDF to publish the image showing Haddad's seemingly altered appearance appears to convey a message to Hamas and is likely an attempt to gain intelligence regarding his whereabouts with the aim of eliminating him.

This photo was found in a terror tunnel under Khan Yunis's European Hospital, Adraee stated.

"The noticeable changes he made to his well-known face, as shown in the image, indicate his cowardice and choice to alter his external identity. It also shows that the false 'hunger' narrative that Hamas markets to the world apparently hasn't reached Haddad," Adraee continued.

"Haddad is the last survivor" of Hamas's terrorist leadership that "brought disaster to Gaza," Adraee added.

"Perhaps the shame stemming from the destruction Hamas brought caused him to significantly alter his appearance?" Adraee asked.


IDF probing strike said to have hit Gaza City church
After an initial investigation into reports that a Catholic church was hit by Israel in Gaza City, the Israel Defense Forces said on Thursday that “fragments from a shell” hit the church “mistakenly” following airstrikes near the site.

“The IDF directs its strikes solely at military targets and makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and religious structures, and regrets any unintentional damage caused to them,” it said.

Three were killed and nine injured, with extensive damage to the site, according to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem in a statement on its website.

The injured included Argentine citizen Father Gabriel Romanelli, the church priest, who “sustained light injuries,” according to the press release.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) issued a statement expressing Israel’s deep regret about the “stray” shell that hit the church.

“We share the grief of the families and the faithful. We are grateful to Pope Leo for his words of comfort. Israel is investigating the incident and remains committed to protecting civilians and holy sites,” the PMO said.

The PMO released the statement following a phone call between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump.

“It was not a positive reaction. He called Prime Minister Netanyahu this morning to address the strikes on that church in Gaza,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday, Reuters reported.

“And I understand the prime minister agreed to put out a statement. It was a mistake by the Israelis to hit that Catholic Church. That’s what the prime minister relayed to the president,” Leavitt said.


Seth Frantzman: Israel's decisive Syria strikes highlight need for intervention in preventing genocides
Israel’s decision to take decisive action in Syria in an effort to deter attacks on the Druze community has shown that it is possible for countries to work to preempt massacres or genocide.

In the wake of the fall of the Assad regime, Israel has been vocal about protecting the Druze in Syria. The IDF has acted several times when clashes in Syria between armed groups and Druze fighters led to the killings of Druze.

The attacks in Damascus on Wednesday included high-profile airstrikes near the presidential palace and targeting a military headquarters.

In addition, Israel carried out strikes near Suwayda against Syrian government forces and others who were involved in killing Druze.

It was not known yet how effective this campaign has been. Nevertheless, it clearly resulted in the Syrian government taking a step back to consider a ceasefire and also hinting it might withdraw from parts of Suwayda.

There is a lesson here. Countries can do more than just make statements when it comes to genocide and ethnic cleansing. This means other genocides could have been prevented if countries were willing to take action.

In 2014, the Yazidi minority in Iraq was subjected to a brutal genocide by ISIS. ISIS terrorists massacred Yazidis in the northern Iraqi area of Sinjar.

After conquering many Yazidi towns and villages in August 2014, the ISIS terrorists separated the Yazidi men, women, and children. They massacred thousands of men and sold the women into slavery.

This was done while the international community largely looked on and made statements but didn’t do much to prevent the killings.

The US did intervene to fight ISIS and eventually built a large coalition against the group. But it was too late to save many of the Yazidis. Instead, the Yazidis were saved by Kurdish forces linked to the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), who helped them flee.

The massacre of Yazidis didn’t take place suddenly. ISIS had invaded large parts of Iraq in June 2014. It had captured Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city in June 2014.

ISIS had expelled Christians and minorities from Mosul. It also captured more than 1,000 Shi’ite Iraqi military cadets at Camp Speicher in June 2014 and then proceeded to massacre them.

It did this publicly, and many of the images made their way around the world. ISIS supporters celebrated on social media.

ISIS planned the massacre of Yazidis between June and August. There was time to prevent the genocide. As it was ongoing, there was time to do more. But many countries preferred to wait and watch.
'We’ve seen this movie with Hamas': Druze Spiritual leader speaks out after violence in Syria
Druze leader Sheikh Muwafaq Tarif said on Thursday that Israeli Druze are distrustful of interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

"It was a mistake to lift the sanctions; he hasn’t changed his stripes," Tarif noted.

In light of the ceasefire achieved last night between the Druze and the new regime in Syria, Tarif spoke with Nissim Mashal and Geula Even-Saar on 103FM.

The Druze leader said that even though a ceasefire was reached overnight on Wednesday, Sharaa's forces still raided Druze houses.

"We need to know who we're dealing with. These are beasts," said Tarif. "Al-Julani dresses with a tie and jacket, but his actions are different. They talked about a ceasefire and then continued the massacre, the cleansing, going from house to house. This happened last night until midnight. He says one thing, and these foreign people, these jihadists, do other things."

Syrian forces engage in 'pure cleansing' of Syrian Druze
"What happened in Syria? They raped a five-year-old girl, they entered a holy place where women were hiding to avoid being harmed, and they burned them alive. They killed, beheaded, it was pure cleansing. This is only because they are Druze and do not believe as they do," he stated.

'We’ve seen this movie with Hamas, they are the same people, let’s not get confused. They didn’t let ambulances pass; the bodies were in the streets."

The spiritual leader said that until this morning, ambulances weren't allowed to pass to collect the dead. He added that he believes there were thousands of people injured.
Netanyahu’s strategy in Syria: Demilitarization and Druze protection
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clarified Israel’s two-pronged strategic goal in Syria on Thursday—ensuring southern Syria is demilitarized and protecting the Druze of that region.

Netanyahu defined southern Syria as an area running from the Golan Heights to Jabal al-Druze, a region encompassing nearly all of the Sweida governorate, recently the site of massacres perpetrated by regime-linked Syrian forces against the Druze community.

The Syrian regime violated both red lines, Netanyahu said. “It sent troops south of Damascus into an area that was supposed to remain demilitarized, and it began massacring Druze. That was something we could not accept under any circumstances.

“Therefore, I instructed the IDF to act—and to act with force. The Air Force struck both the murderous militias and the armored vehicles. I also added a target—to strike the Ministry of Defense in Damascus,” he said.

The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday attacked the entrance to the Syrian regime’s military headquarters in the Damascus area in response to atrocities against Druze civilians.

“As a result of this intensified action, a ceasefire was established, and the Syrian forces withdrew back to Damascus,” the prime minister said. “This will continue to be our policy—we will not allow military forces to move south of Damascus, and we will not allow harm to come to the Druze in Jabal al-Druze.”

Netanyahu said that the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel, Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, reached out to him, saying: “During the Holocaust, when they were slaughtering you, the Jews, you called for help—and no one came. Today, they are slaughtering us, the Druze, and we are calling for help from the State of Israel.”


Jonathan Sacerdoti: Britain's Military Knows the TRUTH About Gaza – So Why Do Our Leaders Lie? Col Richard Kemp
Colonel Richard Kemp is a former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, counterterrorism expert, and outspoken defender of Israel. In this gripping and unapologetic conversation with Jonathan Sacerdoti, Kemp tears through the lies surrounding Gaza, the two-state delusion, and Britain’s moral failure in the face of jihadist threats.

From London to Jerusalem, Kemp draws on decades of military and intelligence experience to explain how anti-Israel propaganda has infected the media, politics, and even the armed forces. He exposes the cowardice of Western leaders, the silence of the BBC, and the dangerous electoral calculations fuelling appeasement.


Jonathan Sacerdoti: “October 7th on Steroids” Inside Syria’s Brutal War on the Druze — Khalifa Khalifa explains
Khalifa Khalifa is an Israeli Druze activist, veteran of Israel’s Special Forces, and outspoken voice for his embattled community. In this urgent and emotional conversation with Jonathan Sacerdoti, Khalifa reveals the full horror of the jihadi onslaught currently engulfing Syria’s Druze population—massacres, beheadings, forced conversions, and hospital executions—while the world looks away.

As jihadist forces loyal to Syria’s new regime wage a genocidal war in Sweida, Khalifa offers a firsthand account of what’s happening on the ground—and calls for moral clarity, Western courage, and immediate action. This is a cry for help, and a warning: the forces slaughtering the Druze today will not stop there.


Ask Haviv Anything: Episode 29: Can Israel make peace with Joulani? A conversation with Druze activist Rania Fadel Dean
The clashes in Sweida in southern Syria this week focused world attention on the plight of the Druze and questions about the nature of the new Syrian government. Videos and claims of atrocities drove hundreds of Golan Druze to rush into Syria to the rescue of their brethren. Israeli strikes in Damascus against Syrian forces raised the stakes and led to questions, including in Israel itself, about how Israel can protect the Druze while not sacrificing an expansion of the Abraham Accords.

Rania Fadel Dean comes from a prominent Israeli Druze family. Her organization, Covenant, seeks to teach Americans about the Druze community. She joins us to share an Israeli Druze perspective, including what she's hearing from friends and family members in Sweida.

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 to dedicate this episode to lone soldiers serving in the IDF.


Triggernometry: Our Honest Opinion on Israel - Konstantin Kisin and Francis Foster

AIJAC deeply disappointed by linkage of antisemitism plan decision to upcoming Islamophobia report
The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) today expressed its deep disappointment at statements from Education Minister Jason Clare regarding Antisemitism Envoy Jillian Segal’s Plan to Combat Antisemitism, apparently linking the Government’s response to it to a forthcoming report on Islamophobia.

Clare told reporters yesterday, “I don’t intend to look at this report in isolation. Next month the Government will receive a report from the special envoy in combating Islamophobia… We wait to see his recommendations.”

AIJAC Executive Director Dr Colin Rubenstein said, “AIJAC is deeply disappointed with Minister Clare’s statement linking the implementation of the antisemitism plan the Government itself commissioned with the completely unrelated forthcoming report on Islamophobia. These comments suggest a flawed approach and lack of seriousness on the Minister’s part in tackling the antisemitism crisis in the country that Ms Segal’s report identified, and proposed a series of measures to remedy.

“First of all, while no one denies that Islamophobia is a serious problem, or that government action to do more about it is warranted, there is absolutely no reason to conflate the antisemitism crisis with this separate issue. Doing so risks giving the impression that politics, not best policy outcomes, are motivating the Government’s response to the antisemitism plan.

“Secondly, the antisemitism crisis remains urgent in this country, as both the statistics on hate crimes and events in Melbourne two weeks ago illustrate. Any suggestion that the Government will wait for another unrelated report, and consider that before making decisions about implementing Ms Segal’s plan, implies delay and hesitation that neither the Australian Jewish Community nor broader Australian society can afford.

“Finally, we thought we were over the days when some in the Government seemed incapable of talking about the antisemitism crisis without also talking about Islamophobia in the same sentence. The two problems are not the same and not related, and insisting on bracketing them together frankly implies a lack of seriousness about either. Surely antisemitism is a pressing enough problem to warrant consideration on its own.”
‘Not leadership’: Australian government’s response to antisemitism questioned
Executive Council of Australian Jewry Co-CEO Peter Wertheim says “kicking the can down the road is not leadership” regarding the Australian government’s handling of antisemitism over the past two years.

“It’s back to the bad old days of 21 monfths ago when every time antisemitism was mentioned the government felt the need to bracket it with islamophobia,” Mr Wertheim told Sky News host Danica De Giorgio.

“Kicking the can down the road is not leadership.”


Hate preacher Wissam Haddad ordered not to have corrective notices 'deliberately buried' on social media after breaking law
Jihadi preacher Wissam Haddad has been ordered on Thursday to “pin” corrective notices acknowledging he had broken discrimination law at the top of his social media accounts.

Earlier this month the Federal Court found the Sydney-based Islamic cleric breached 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act after a Jewish organisation sought legal action, citing inaction by Australia’s “responsible authorities”.

Mr Haddad or speakers at his Al Madine Dawah Centre called Jewish people the descendants of “pigs and monkeys” who would drown if people spat on Israel.

According to The Australian, Mr Haddad, also known as Abu Ousayd, had attempted to evade the full extent of the court's ruling by arguing he should not be required to pin posts admitting fault online.

Justice Angus Stewart on Thursday accepted expert advice that such posts should be held at the top of Mr Haddad’s profile so they could not be “deliberately buried” underneath other social media posts.

“In short, the ‘pinning’ and ‘featuring’ of the posts will prevent them from disappearing from view in a short period of time, and it will prevent them from being deliberately buried by way of successive further posts,” Justice Stewart said.

“I do not regard it as disproportionate to the nature and extent of the wrong committed to require redress of that nature.”

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Peter Wertheim said the court order was an “essential part of counteracting the harm” his antisemitic speeches caused.

“We welcome the Federal Court’s further orders requiring Mr Haddad and the Al Madinah Dawah Centre to publish a Corrective Notice on their social media pages advising viewers of the findings of unlawful conduct and orders made against them by the court, and requiring the notice to be featured and pinned on those pages,” Mr Wertheim said.

“We see this as an essential part of counteracting the harm that was caused by their online promotion and reproduction of Haddad’s antisemitic speeches.”
Palestinian Propaganda EXPOSED. The Gaza Victim Videos Are Fake!!!
Palestinian media is full of viral videos meant to trigger emotions, but many of them are fake. In this video, we expose how children, medical scenes, and war imagery are manipulated to spread disinformation. Watch before you believe what you see online.

00:00 – The “Hero Ambulance” Video They Want You to Believe
00:21 – It’s All Fake: Palestinian Propaganda Exposed
01:16 – Viral Gaza Videos That Lied to Millions
02:18 – Fake Death, Real Dubai
03:54 – Syria, Yemen... and the Stolen Suffering
05:44 – Using Sick Children to Blame Israel
07:15 - Why they lie?






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PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

    
 

 



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Elder of Ziyon - حـكـيـم صـهـيـون



This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For 20 years and 40,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going.

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