Israel Israel

2024-05-09

As Israel prepares to celebrate its 76th Independence Day, the nation's population stands at a staggering 9.9 million, marking a remarkable increase from the 806 thousand people recorded at the establishment of the state in May 1948.  This growth signifies a more than 12-fold expansion in the population over the past seven decades. Presently, 73.2% of Israel's residents identify as Jewish, while 21.1% are Arab. According to data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics on Thursday, Israel's population comprises 7,247,000 Jews (73.2%), 2,089,000 Arabs (21.1%), and the remainder (5.7%) belong to other specified groups. Over the past year, the population has grown by 189,000 individuals, marking a 1.9% increase since the last Independence Day. During this period, approximately 196,000 births were recorded, alongside the arrival of about 37,000 new immigrants, while approximately 60,000 individuals passed away. Furthermore, as of the end of 2022, approximately 45% of the global Jewish population resided in Israel. Israel's demographic profile reflects a youthful population, with approximately 28% under the age of 14 and around 12% aged 65 and above. Looking ahead, projections based on CBS data indicate that by 2030, Israel's population is expected to reach 11.1 million, rising to 13.2 million by 2040. On the occasion of Israel's 100th Independence Day in 2048, the population is forecasted to reach 15.2 million. ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-05-09

The Defense Ministry said on Thursday that officials from the Israeli Defense Ministry and their German counterparts convened in a joint meeting at Israel Airospace Industry (IAI) to discuss the production of the Arrow 3 Weapon System for Germany.  The ministry said the working meeting was the first of its kind to be held, adding that it occurred symbolically during the week of . Arrow 3 is part of the broader Arrow Weapon System (AWS), which was developed jointly by Israel and the United States. The AWS includes Arrow 2 as well and is intended to intercept long-range ballistic missiles. The ministry emphasized that the AWS operated with great success during on April 14, in which some 300 aerial targets were launched at Israel.  Israel’s Defense Ministry said Mr. Moshe Patel, head of the Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO), led the meeting. Colonel Carsten Koepper, head of the Arrow 3 project for Germany, and Mr. Guy Bar Lev, head of the IAI's Missiles and Space Division, also participated.  ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-05-07

The announced the deaths of two reservists killed via drone strike in Metula in northern Israel on Tuesday morning. The soldiers were identified as St.-Sgt.-Maj. (Res.) Dan Kamhaji, 31, from Kfar Oranim, and St.-Sgt.-Maj. (Res.) Nachman Nathan Hertz, 31, from Elazar. Hezbollah said the same day that it carried out a drone attack on an Israeli military position near the northern Israeli town. Iran-backed Hezbollah also said it had sent dozens of rockets towards military targets across the border with Israel. Israel and Hezbollah, which has amassed a formidable arsenal since 2006, have been engaged in daily cross-border strikes over the past six months, in parallel with . An Israeli military observation post overlooks Israel's border with Lebanon, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in northern Israel March 19, 2024. (credit: CARLOS GARCIA RAWLINS/REUTERS) has so far restricted its attacks to a strip of northern Israel, seeking to draw Israeli forces away from Gaza. ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-05-06

Walid Omary, Al Jazeera’s Jerusalem bureau chief, confirmed in a conversation with The Media Line that Israeli police arrived Sunday at a hotel where the network’s would have broadcasted from and confiscated broadcast equipment, closing off access to the room. “This is a very big mistake,” said Omary. “There are no security reasons; there are internal political reasons for this within Israel. Israel can no longer say it shares Western values and respects those values of democracy, liberalism, human rights, freedom of press and expression.” Israel’s government ordered the local offices of satellite news network to close on Sunday, bringing a long-standing dispute between the two to a climax. For years, Israel has voiced its dissatisfaction with the Qatari network, blaming it for incitement. Since the eruption of the war between Hamas and Israel this past October, the Israeli government has repeatedly threatened to shut down the network’s operations in the country. On Sunday, the Israeli cabinet approved the decision. “Al Jazeera correspondents have harmed the security of Israel and incited against IDF soldiers. The time has come to eject Hamas's mouthpiece from our country,” said Israeli after the decision had been made. A man walks near an Al Jazeera building in Doha, Qatar, May 5, 2024. (credit: Reuters/Arafat Barbakh) The measure will be in place for 45 days and can then be renewed. The move is believed to be the first time Israel has shut down a foreign news outlet. The channel’s various outlets are now blocked from being viewed in Israel; its website is inaccessible from the country. The move came as Qatari-mediated negotiations for a deal between Hamas and Israel on the release of Israeli hostages and a cease-fire in Gaza entered a critical phase. The main offices of Al Jazeera, located elsewhere in Jerusalem, were already shut down a while ago due to what Omary described as “long-time incitement” by members of Israel’s current far-right government. As a result of the recent government order, the network has stopped all work within Israel and is currently operating out of the West Bank territories under Palestinian Authority control. According to Nitzan Chen, director of the Israeli Government Press Office, a decision regarding the revocation of Al Jazeera journalists’ press accreditation has yet to be made. “The issue is subject to legal clarification,” Chen told The Media Line, refusing to answer any other questions on the sensitive matter that has sparked criticism of Israel. The network has 16 staffers currently unable to work in Israel. Al Jazeera employees a total of 57 people in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. While Israel claims that the network poses a security risk to the country, it has not released any evidence to back this claim. Israeli media reported that the heads of the national security services voiced their reservation regarding the timing of the move, as it could negatively impact the truce talks currently being mediated by Qatar. The station has differentiated itself from others in the Arab world, both by allowing for the expression of views contrasting those broadcast in state-run and closely censored Arab channels and by frequently interviewing Israelis—officials and others—whose voices were previously never heard in the Arab world. Omary denies the Israeli government’s claims about Al Jazeera posing a threat to Israel’s security. Part of the cabinet deliberations on the order to shut down the network are sealed from public access, making some of Israel’s accusations difficult to prove or disprove. “Al Jazeera glorifies Hamas and aids it by reporting on Israeli troop movements,” said David M. Weinberg, senior managing fellow at the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy. “It constantly seeks to drum up terrorism against Israelis during Ramadan, calling daily for West Bank Palestinians to rise up against Israel in sympathy with the Hamas in Gaza.” According to Omary, “This is all a lie. We constantly broadcast everything from Israeli officials—from government spokespeople to Israeli military spokesmen. We are always ready to have Israeli officials come and express their points of view. We do not incite against Israel and have never violated the law, including military censorship. The government knows very well they have no real accusations against us, this is being done for political reasons,” he added. Hours after the cabinet meeting, there were reports that the talks between Hamas and Israel had essentially collapsed and intense efforts by US officials were underway to salvage them. “Israel is trying to pressure Qatar in order to reach a deal on the hostages—this is the major reason,” said Omary. “It’s clear that Israel has delayed acting against Al Jazeera until now because of the role that Qatar was playing in the attempts to cut a hostage deal with Hamas,” Weinberg said. “Given the fact that the Qatari efforts seem to have failed, there is no longer any good reason to delay acting against Al Jazeera,” he reasoned. Meanwhile, there has been no official announcement from any of the parties involved in the talks that they have ended in failure. The move has been widely criticized both in Israel and internationally, coming under fire as a move that curtails the freedom of the press. “This is a dark day for the media,” read a statement from the Foreign Press Association in Israel. “With this decision, Israel joins a dubious club of authoritarian governments to ban the station.” The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) has petitioned the Supreme Court, requesting to cancel the order. “There is a wide variety of effective measures Israel has at its disposal in order to protect its national security from media outlets who are accused of incitement long before closing down a network,” said Hagar Shechter, a lawyer at ACRI who is a signatory to the appeal. “The complete shutting down of a network is undemocratic and is reserved for dictatorships,” Shechter told The Media Line. “It may well be that Al Jazeera expresses a narrative that is uncomfortable for Israelis to hear, but during times of war, there is even greater importance to hear different narratives.” Journalists from Israel sometimes rely on Al Jazeera for their reports on the Arab world. The network reports and stories are often quoted by Israeli media outlets, also as a window for Israelis to see and hear Arab sentiment on pressing issues, including the current war. Earlier in the war, Israel shut down the Al Mayadeen network associated with the Lebanon-based Hizbullah terrorist organization, claiming that the network was causing “substantial harm to national security.” Israel accuses the Qatari news channel of bias against it. Relations between Al Jazeera and Israel have always been tense but took a turn for the worse two years ago when a prominent journalist from the network, Palestinian-American Shireen Abu Akleh, was killed by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank, an incident the Israeli military later apologized for. During the current war, a cameraman for the network was killed by an Israeli airstrike, and several other staffers were wounded. Al Jazeera and other networks have accused Israel of deliberately targeting journalists, a claim Israel denies. Not everyone is opposed to the move. “This is long overdue,” Weinberg told The Media Line. “The network hosts the most antisemitic, anti-Western, radical Islamic preachers who poison the minds of millions against Israel and the West.” Israel is not the first country to clash with Al Jazeera. In 2013, Egypt stopped the English broadcasting of the channel, accusing it of incitement and detaining several of its journalists. Iraq also closed the station that same year. In 2017, Saudi Arabia blocked the network’s website, claiming it was favoring Iran as a regional power. “Israel should ask other dictatorships how well it worked out for them when they banned Al Jazeera,” said Omary. Throughout the years, several US officials have also criticized the network for having an anti-US bias, but no major move has ever been taken against it. ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-05-05

Danny Ayalon, former Deputy Foreign Minister and Israeli Ambassador to Washington, called the recent pro-Palestinian protests on campuses "an Islamist agenda that did not start today." Ayalon stated, "They have already influenced the public opinion in Europe in their favor and are trying to replicate the process in the US. From this perspective, they are succeeding, and they are, in fact, trying to influence not only Biden and the government but also members of Congress. Currently, in at least five states. Everything is subject to the American electoral system." Ayalon continued, "There are two axes through which Americans have been operating from the beginning of the war until today: the strategic axis, strong support for Israel, Israel's strength is a clear American interest, and not to expand the war, and on the other hand, Biden's political interest. He wants quiet; he wants stability. He would, of course, prefer to see a breakthrough. If he could run these elections on an agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia, that would be his dream. It is not beneficial for Biden to encourage escalation of the fighting." Ayalon also noted that "From all the conduct of Hamas, the IDF controls 90 percent of Gaza, and they are negotiating as if they hold the upper hand. They think they have the advantage and need to hold out as long as possible until the American elections."Danny Ayalon (credit: YOAV ARI DUDKEVITCH/FLASH90) "The prominent guiding line is the evident interests of . There are about five key states where this conflict will be decided by the electoral system. In some states, like Michigan, there is a relatively large Arab Muslim concentration, and a small percentage one way or the other can shift the entire state from one side to the other. That's exactly Biden's dilemma," Ayalon concluded.  Edited by Shani Romano for 103FM radio. ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-05-01

The BBC recently reported on southern Lebanon where it said it saw “air strike destruction in deserted towns.” The report sought to downplay the role Hezbollah has had in bringing this disaster on southern Lebanon. However, reading between the lines, one can get a sense of how Hezbollah’s thousands of attacks on Israel since it joined the war in support of Hamas on October 8 have harmed civilian life in Lebanon. Hezbollah is an Iranian-backed terrorist group that illegally occupies southern Lebanon and has illegally stockpiled more than 150,000 missiles. It has also acquired anti-tank missiles in the thousands and several thousand attack drones in recent years, as well as precision guided munitions. Some of its weapons are developed locally, while other are trafficked from Iran. Hezbollah has festooned southern Lebanon with weapons, moving them into villages and building networks of bunkers, observation posts, launch sites and other illegal terrorist infrastructure in Lebanon. After the 2006 war the UN and Lebanon were supposed to keep Lebanon from creating a state within a state in southern Lebanon, and returning to the border, however, the group is exponentially more powerful today than in 2006. Similar to Hamas, the international community has sought to enable Hezbollah’s threats, or pretend not to notice them. The result of ignoring Hezbollah’s threats has now become apparent. The group began attacks on Israel on October 8 and has now launched thousands of missiles and rockets at Israel. Israel has responded proportionately, often targeting Hezbollah launch sites or observation posts, meaning that, in general, Hezbollah’s fighters simply move from place to place to attack again. Hezbollah has lost some fighters, more than 200 in the six months of attacks. The BBC report, one of the few on southern Lebanon, includes details on how Hezbollah’s war has driven civilians out of southern Lebanon. According to the report, more than 70 civilians have been killed, and the conflict has turned “parts of the south into ghost towns. Residents have fled, leaving their homes at risk of destruction. The BBC went on patrol with the UN's peacekeeping force there to see what has happened.” A supporter of Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah holds his picture during a rally commemorating the group's late leaders in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon February 16, 2024. (credit: MOHAMED AZAKIR/REUTERS) The report said, "in every town near the line, there are similar sights: buildings levelled or vanished into craters; next to them, buildings which have been damaged, then rows of houses intact - followed by more craters.” Southern Lebanon is a beautiful and diverse, with hills rising from the coast. It could be a tourist center, like Italy or Greece, but it with checkpoints and turned the area into a military camp. Although the UN is present in southern Lebanon and is supposed to monitor what is happening there, Hezbollah threatens the UN and has attacked its vehicles if they go off certain designated roads that Hezbollah has approved them to use. For instance back in December 2022 five members of Hezbollah murdered an Irish UN peacekeeper named Sean Rooney. Those who goes to southern Lebanon are monitored by Hezbollah and journalists are likely closely controlled by the group, to see what it wants them to see. Therefore the BBC report doesn’t include mention of seeing any Hezbollah members around, despite the fact the group carried out daily attacks on Israel. Nevertheless, the report is an insight into what Hezbollah has done to Lebanon due to its war on Israel. “In Alma el Shaab, about 4km west of Yarine, stand the remains of what appears to have been a gated villa with parked cars - destroyed, apart from a fence now surrounding a pile of rubble. The windows of houses nearby were all smashed from the force of the explosions,” the BBC report notes. "We are paying the price of all of this," a 75-year-old resident told the reporters. This means the elderly resident would have been born in the 1950s and grown up at a time before the Lebanese civil war. Lebanon was once a nice thriving state, full of diversity, with numerous Christian and Muslim groups and Druze making up the country. However, an influx of Palestinians led to destabilization and Palestinian terrorists hijacked Lebanon to attack Israel, just as Hezbollah did decades later. The Saudis helped end the war in 1989 but Syria occupied the country until 2005 when Hezbollah murdered former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri. Israel had left Lebanon in 2000 after almost twenty years of war there. Instead of bringing peace, Hezbollah stockpiled more weapons and launched a war on Israel in 2006, much as Hamas would do after Israel left Gaza. This is the Iranian-backed plan, getting Israel to leave and then hollowing out areas and filling them with weapons and extremist groups to fight Israel. For the elderly Lebanese they remember a time when they were not held hostage by the PLO and then by Hezbollah. But they also know that they are paying the price for these groups that they can’t oppose. "Everything is lost, the house, the belongings, and the cars. But I will return as soon as I can, even if I were to live in a tent there,” the resident told the BBC. Lost because of a war they have no power over, hijacked by a group that they can’t control and which the UN and international organizations and world powers have foisted on them. “Right now, there is no sign of life in many southern villages. People have fled, leaving towns deserted. About 90,000 Lebanese have become displaced, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). On the Israeli side, about 80,000 people have been evacuated,” the BBC notes. Israel had to evacuate the border because of on October 8 and fears Hezbollah might try to replicate the Hamas attack of October 7. The report goes on to note that “The Lebanese town of Aita el Shaab - just 700m (2,300ft) from Israel - has suffered the heaviest damage so far. On the day of our visit, Israel said it launched 40 strikes on the town.” It also notes that one resident who was interviewed had left the town in October, when the fighting began, and is now living near Beirut. "We didn't expect it all to last that long. We thought it would just be a couple of days," a woman told the BBC. "We know it will still take a while." According to the report there is a civil defense group that operates in these deserted towns and the mayor of the town has remained. A UNIFIL officer told the BBC, “the next challenge for the UNIFIL is to help and support the local population in returning to their homes." It is unclear how the UN will be able to do that, especially considering the fact that the UN has enabled Hezbollah to grow exponentially in southern Lebanon. Basically, from the moment the UN has been there, and certainly after the 2006, Hezbollah has thrived. In essence the international community has midwifed Hezbollah and Hamas to extraordinary power, enabling the groups to grow more powerful militarily than many small countries under the watchful eye of UN organizations and international organizations. War by the numbers: IDF struck 4,500 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, Syria (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT) Israel has been systematically misled over the years about how much Hezbollah is deterred and whether Hezbollah feels impunity to attack. For instance it appeared that the 2006 war had bought some quiet, but it now appears it is Israel that is deterred by the Hezbollah threat, rather than Hezbollah. In the fall of 2022 Hezbollah threatened Israel with war if Israel didn’t sign a maritime deal with Lebanon that would potentially enable Qatar, which hosts Hamas, to partner on energy deals in Lebanon. At the time US envoy Amos Hochstein said after his meeting with Lebanese President Michel Aoun earlier Thursday that the agreement will create stability on both sides of the border and an economic horizon for the Lebanese people,” Axios noted on October 27, 2022. In fact the agreement led to instability and the current war and now 150,000 Israeli and Lebanese civilians had had to leave the border.  ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-04-24

Hezbollah is trying to save face amid 201 days of conflict with Israel. Hezbollah joined in the Hamas attacks after , essentially trying to open a limited two-front war with Israel. This has now stretched on longer than Hezbollah likely anticipated. The Iranian-backed terrorist group has lost hundreds of its fighters, many of whom are difficult to replace. The group has a large arsenal of rockets, missiles, and drones. However, Hezbollah is also “too big to fail” in the Iranian proxy context. Iran cannot afford to bring it into the conflict, lest it be destroyed. On the other hand, Iran wants to keep it like a Sword of Damocles, hanging forever over Israel, threatening but not falling on Israel. This presents a dilemma. Unleash Hezbollah, and it will have shot its bolt. But if it is kept there, then Iran is doomed to forever wait and play a limited war game. This is likely in Iran’s interest. It wants to change the equation with Israel. It wants to attack Israel forever with impunity from multiple fronts. It wants to slowly weaken Israel. Hezbollah has other interests. It continues to escalate attacks on Israel. On April 23, it targeted areas along the coast near Acre with drones, setting off alarms that forced around a quarter million Israelis to seek shelter. On April 24 it has also claimed numerous attacks on Israel. Israel has also responded with numerous attacks. Hezbollah, Iran, and the region see the conflict as functioning along certain guidelines or “rules.” Al-Ain media in the Gulf wondered whether the exchange of fire on April 24 could possibly be lifting the curtain on a change in this equation. “Have the rules of engagement collapsed,” the Gulf-based online magazine wondered. “Hezbollah has intensified its targeting of military sites since last week,” the report notes. “Wednesday's strikes came the day after an Israeli bombing targeted towns in southern Lebanon, resulting in the killing of two civilians from one family,” the report claims. Israel said it struck a key Hezbollah commander, who Al-Ain referred to as “Hezbollah missile unit engineer Hussein Azqul.” Two other members of the Hezbollah Radwan force have also been killed in the last several days. This brings the total Hezbollah death toll to at least 252. Last week, Hezbollah also wounded 14 Israeli soldiers and several civilians in an attack on Arab al-Aramshe on the border. Activists of the terrorist organization Hezbollah (credit: AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES) The question on Wednesday, April 24, regarding the escalation is whether the rules of engagement have indeed changed. Is the conflict potentially entering a new phase. Iran will want to keep the Hezbollah powder reasonably dry up until there is an . This is because Iran always wants to have the option to open a two-front war against Israel. Hezbollah is now designed as a deterrent against Israel’s actions. Iran uses Hezbollah this way. However, a deterrent force only works if it remains a force. It doesn’t work if it is weakened. Hezbollah must remain strong in its position in order for it to fulfill the role Iran wants it to fulfill. Hezbollah faces other challenges in this respect. It has to balance its daily attacks on Israel with its interests in Lebanon. Many Lebanese do not like Hezbollah. Unlike Hamas's control of Gaza, which was complete and total and was empowered by backing from Western allies in Doha and Ankara, Hezbollah does not have key Western allies in its corner. Hezbollah is thus weaker than Hamas in some respects. Its leaders don’t reside in Doha, and fly to Turkey and Iran so easily, for instance. Hezbollah has local Shi’ite constituents and must navigate Lebanon’s complex sectarian political landscape. Hamas, by contrast, controls Gaza at the street level and has deep tentacles within international organizations that work in Gaza. Hezbollah has deep tentacles in Lebanon, but it has to balance them against other factors. Hezbollah will need to weigh this as it weighs escalation against Israel. Israel has said in the past that Hezbollah should pay attention to Gaza as a message to Beirut and has said that Israel is prepared in the north. Hezbollah has been watching Gaza and watching it drag on. This may empower it. However, it has also seen some of its key commanders eliminated over six months.  ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-04-19

Israel's capability to strike Iran without specific military facility operations is a key question. Can the Israeli government effectively navigate the shifting regional political-security landscape that aligns with the US and other nations to craft a response limited to harsh sanctions against ? Foreign reports surfaced early morning across Iran, the US, and other media, detailing attacks in Iran, Iraq, and Syria. Focus quickly turned to an Iranian military airfield in Isfahan, from which unmanned Iranian aircraft reportedly departed for an attack on Israel. Israel found itself compelled to mount a military response to Iranian aggression between Saturday and Sunday. With diplomatic pressures from the US and others, it's become clear that Israel, under such pressure, would seek to "send a message" without escalating to a direct and prolonged confrontation with Iran. Analyzing foreign reports on the relatively secretive operation—where heavy drones struck an Iranian military airfield in response to an attack on an Israeli military airfield in the Negev—it appears to be a simple tit-for-tat equation. However, Israel's focused, limited strikes against Iranian targets aim to allow room for Iranian denial and avoid triggering an escalated response. US restraint and continued focus on the further constrain Israel's actions. Opening a new theater of war would counter Israel's interests at this time. An anti-missile system operates after Iran launched drones and missiles towards Israel, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel April 14, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN) Israeli concerns also stem from the intelligence community's failure to properly assess changing Iranian aggressiveness amid a deepening alliance with Russia. The Iranians' decision to escalate the inter-state conflict into open confrontation adds to Israeli worries. With every tough or surprising action against Iranian interests, Israel's security establishment must consider a direct Iranian response. And in this new equation, Israel may need to introduce a new player to deter the regime. Another pressing question arises: how will Israel leverage international pressure to prevent a broad attack on Iran? Such an attack could escalate the region into a conflagration, prompting a coalition against Iran imposing harsh economic sanctions and hindering its nuclear and missile projects. Without such a coalition, Israel and Iran face a dangerous confrontation. Israel's message, as per foreign reports, is clear: it knows how to inflict damage on Iranian facilities without sending fighter jets on a 1500 km flight path. This sets a new equation: Iran must extend its reach to strike Israeli territory, while Israel can retaliate even without special operations. ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-04-15

Israel's repelling of a massive salvo was fully coordinated with the Pentagon, which had a US operational liaison officer in the control room of the Arrow ballistic air defense system, a senior Israeli official said. The United States, along with Britain, France and Jordan, helped Israel intercept the bulk of the weekend barrage and potentially stave off escalation between the . At least half of the hundreds of pilotless one-way planes, and surface-to-surface missiles, which Israel said carried a total of 60 tonnes of explosives, were shot down by Israeli warplanes and aerial shields, according to local media. Israeli officials said much of the work was done by their Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 high-altitude defense systems, which were developed jointly with the Pentagon and Boeing Co. Arrow's interceptor missiles cost between $2 million and $3.5 million a piece, according to Israeli industry sources. An Arrow II missile interceptor is displayed in front of journalists at an Israeli air defence command in the Palmahim military base south of Tel Aviv May 12, 2011. (credit: VIA REUTERS) Moshe Patel, director of missile defense at Israel's Defense Ministry, said Arrow and lower-altitude interceptors were synced with counterpart US systems in the region. "The systems share information, for a joint picture of the sky, and the sky was certainly busy," Patel told Channel 12 TV. "Afterward, there is also coordination in battle doctrine. An American officer sits in the control room of the Arrow weapons system and essentially conducts the coordination with the US systems, shoulder-to-shoulder." There was no immediate comment from US Central Command, which oversees Middle East operations. On Sunday, it said US forces destroyed more than 80 of the drones and at least six of the ballistic missiles aimed at Israel. Israel said 99% of all the projectiles were downed in time, limiting the toll to injuries to one person and damage to one military base. That surprised even Zvika Haimovitch, a retired brigadier-general who formerly commanded Israel's air defenses. "(This was) well-synchronized and coordinated between all the elements – the air, the ground forces - and, yes, to be honest it is a great percentage and much more than we expected if you would have asked me three days before," he told Reuters. "But we need to be sure that we will be ready for the next time because for sure there’ll be a next time," he said. "We need to take as an assumption that the Iranians will do their homework next time and will try to challenge our systems. That means we need to be one step before and not after our enemies." Daniel Gold, director of weapons development at Israel's Defence Ministry, told Channel 12 television that work was already under way on more advanced Arrow models 4 and 5. Arrow 3 shoots down incoming ballistic weapons above the atmosphere, using a detachable warhead that slams into the target in space. The Maariv newspaper reported that Arrow 3 downed 110 missiles outside Israeli air space, at a potential cost of up to $385 million. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on that. Asked on Army Radio how much the interceptions had cost Israel, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he did not know. Mindful of the need for thrift in the face of foes on several fronts, Israel in 2022 said it was developing a laser-based missile shield to deliver shoot-downs as cheap as $2 each. "I believe that the laser will be in the next few years one of our main solutions in dealing with a variety of threats – rockets, missiles, drones, UAVs and more," Haimovitch said. ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-04-06

Iran vowed revenge on Israel in the wake of an which killed Mohammed Reza Zahedi, an Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps general. The airstrike took place on Monday, April 1. Iran has been messaging about “punishing” Israel for almost a week. This is also the last week of Ramadan and Iran was hosting “Quds Day” events on Friday, an annual event designed to inflame the region about the Palestinian cause. Now Iran appears to have set a course on its messaging and response. The US had said on Tuesday, April 2, that it was not involved in the airstrike. The airstrike hit a building next to in Damascus. Iran views that as an attack on Iranian soil and a major breach of the concept of consulates being off limits from attacks. The Iranian Revolution took place amid the storming of in Tehran and the taking of hostages by the Tehran regime, but Iran doesn’t apparently see that as similar. Be that as it may, Iran’s regime has a message for the US, Israel and the region. The message is this: Iran wants to punish Israel, and it wants the US to be deterred. On Friday and Saturday the IRGC continued to claim that it would respond. The IRGC claimed that the Quds Day event show that “the issue of Palestine remains the first issue of the Muslim world and that of the awakened non-Muslim societies. It reaffirms the righteousness of the Palestinian people including the oppressed Gazans.” Iran’s Chief of Staff of Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri claimed that the US is also responsible for the strike on Iran’s consulate. Iran thus continues to threaten the US and claim that it is an accomplice in the attack. “General Baqeri reiterated the US should be held accountable for the Israeli regime’s carnage in Gaza and other crimes the regime is committing in the region out of desperation,” Fars News reported.Iranian Military Chief of Staff General Mohammad Baqeri. (credit: TURKISH MILITARY/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS) Iran’s top commander also claims that Israel has become “bogged down” in Gaza. He compared this to how Israel was portrayed before October 7, when it was seen as projecting power throughout the region. Iran wants Gaza to become a “quagmire” for Israel. Israel has been fighting Hamas for six months. Iran’s Baqeri is openly saying that the October 7 attack was the “tip of the iceberg regarding the prowess of the Palestinians,” Fars News says. The attempt to drag Israel into a long Gaza war and to isolate Israel in the region is Iran’s plan. October 7 was one part of the plan. Now Iran is also pushing proxies to attack Israel on multiple fronts. For instance it has prodded Iraqi militias to target Eilat with drones. As Iran tries to isolate Israel, and still hold out the chance it could retaliate against the US for the Damascus incident, it also had a message for Washington. “Iran Advises US not to fall into Israeli trap,” the same Fars News said on Saturday, October 6. “Tehran has warned Washington to stay away from any potential clash between itself and the Zionist regime, while the United States has cautioned Iran against targeting American facilities and interests.” Iran is trying to distance the US from Israel. In the wake of October 7 the US turned around an aircraft carrier and sent it back into the Eastern Mediterranean to deter Hezbollah or Iran or others from joining a major war on Israel. Hezbollah did join the war, but primarily in firing a small number of rockets a day. This has now become more than 2,500 rockets, but nevertheless the full power of Iran’s proxies has generally been held back, their powder dry. Iran wants to isolate Israel, distance the US from Israel or make the US feel deterred, and then it will be able to carry out more attacks on Israel. Iran sees this as a “ring of fire” strategy to surround Israel and also to open multiple fronts. It also thinks October 7 exposed Israel’s weaknesses. Iran’s long-term goal is to weaken the US in the region and get the US to leave, but until that happens it wants the US deterred. Iran challenged the US via 200 attacks by proxies in Iraq and Syria and also killing three US service members in Jordan in January.  Iran is now portraying itself as in dialogue with the US. It says it has warned the US and Iran says the US has “US asked Iran not to target American facilities.” Iran sees this as a major propaganda victory. Iranian propaganda has long been designed to put out messaging in the West that tries to characterize US backing of Israel as potentially leading to a US-Iran war. For instance in the lead-up to the Iran deal, pro-Iran lobbyists in the West put out hundreds of messages about how the US had to choose between a deal or “war.” Later, during the Trump administration, Iran’s foreign minister used to put out messaging talking about the US and Israeli “B team” and portraying the Trump administration as being led by Israel into more war in the region. As such, Iran seeks to prey on talking points in the US that prefer isolationism, or talking points that also argue that the “Israel lobby” has influenced US policy to be “anti-Iran.” Tehran is cognizant of how these messages play and it uses them selectively. Now it calls the current conflict in the region an Israel “trap.” It knows US elections are coming and it would like to prey on this issue.  Iran wants a US-Israel rift to grow. It can then also invest in its nuclear project while it tries to distract the region with the Gaza war. Iran is exploiting US messaging after the Damascus attack as well, trying to show that there is daylight between the US and Israel. This is how Iran is angling to exploit the airstrike in Damascus to influence things in the region.  ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-04-03

Tensions between Israel and Iran are increasing following the , a senior member of the Quds Force of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). Meanwhile, Arab media sources are still trying to understand possible ways the Islamic Republic will react. Ali Nouri Zadeh, a commentator on Iranian affairs, was interviewed on Wednesday by news network Al Hadath, which is affiliated with Saudi state-owned broadcaster Al Arabiya. Zadeh said that despite Iran's threats in the past, Tehran is well aware that Israel is prepared for any confrontation. According to him, " has already threatened Israel in the past that he will strike Haifa and Tel Aviv in mere minutes if Israel kills senior Iranian officials. But this has not happened. After the death of Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Iranian IRGC, threatened severe revenge, and we heard expressions like 'destroy Israel,' 'destroy Tel Aviv,' and 'destroy this or that area.' However, this did not happen because the Iranian regime is well aware that Israel is prepared for this confrontation and that wishes for this confrontation to happen." He also claimed that "Israel has collaborators in the most sensitive ranks of the IRGC, with them even managing to steal 50,000 without any resistance. As for striking diplomatic sites, Iran was the first to do so. It destroyed the US embassy in Beirut. It seized the US embassy in Tehran. This is the meaning of violating the embassies' immunity. Israel took advantage of this in particular because the Iranian military command was established in the Iranian consulate." He concluded his remarks by saying, "Today, demonstrations were held in Palestine Square in Tehran. This is the Islamic Republic of Iran's reaction, and perhaps some of the proxy organizations operating under it will launch some missile or drone." Iranian hold pictures of the late Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, during a gathering in support of Palestinians, in Tehran, Iran, October 7, 2023. (credit: Majid Asgaripour/WANA/via Reuters) "Still, Iran will not enter into a direct conflict with Israel. Israel is well aware of this, and therefore, it will use any Iranian escalation to respond because Israel will then make excuses to the US that it is under attack and that Iran wants to eliminate Israel, which will provide it justification to defend itself. There are wise men in Iran who are content with lashing out with harsh and inflammatory threats, but we won't see such actions coming true any time soon." ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-03-24

IDF Maj.-Gen. (res.) Israel Ziv, former head of the IDF's Operations Directorate, recently spoke with Udi Segal and Anat Davidov on 103FM radio, discussing important topics such as the conduct of the war in Gaza, the debate with America about the operation in Rafah, and the . Ziv explained the actions at Shifa Hospital "means that in practice, Hamas remains in control of the area and that this situation in Shifa is probably similar in other hospitals. There are other hospitals in northern Gaza. Hamas's military capabilities have indeed been damaged, undoubtedly eliminated by the IDF, but they still have thousands of terrorists. The territory in terms of civilian control remains in the hands of Hamas; the organization is alive and is still kicking." To the question of whether it was right to withdraw most of the , Ziv replied: "In the absence of a policy, what is the IDF supposed to do? We are over five months into this war without any predictable political goal. Let's say we stayed until now. What is next? Even if we stayed and declared that we were occupying, we would become the new government in Gaza. Israel would need to establish civil, police, and security systems and take care of the various services. What happened to us is not just the Hamas situation. The lack of decision-making on our part is the most serious thing." Ziv later commented on Canada's decision to stop arms shipments to Israel, "Israel is in the middle of a very serious international crisis. I don't remember one like this before. It is a result not only of the lack of advocacy but also that Israel is in a deep crisis as a result of the lack of policy. Everything points to the fact that the government does not make policy decisions, and not only do we not know what the best decision is, but the world does not know either. "The world does not show the photos of Channel 12 showing how the IDF does one heroic action or another in Shifa; they only show photos of the humanitarian crisis, the demolition, and the destruction. Because of this, the public opinion in the world is against us. The point here is that in the end, the US will not be there for us either because there is a limit to what they are willing to contain." The activity of the forces at Shifa Hospital (credit: IDF SPOKESMAN’S UNIT) He further stated, "If Israel is going to return to being a nation on its own, maybe we can last a few months. Without the backing from our allies, we will not be able to continue and defeat Hezbollah in the North, and militarily, we will be hurt. I think we are already in a very serious situation, and Israel must make a decision. A continuation of this streak is national irresponsibility from a security point of view and in general." "If we don't solve the problem in the South, the situation in the North won't be able to be solved politically either, and the US won't push for it. America doesn't work for Israel. They have worked with Israel until now, but with Israel's policy, so why would America go to all kinds of effort? It will not happen. So Israel will remain rooted in its own troubles, and if we are such great heroes - let's see," Ziv continued. Towards the end of his remarks, Ziv was asked if Israel plans to convince America of the necessity of the action in Rafah, and he replied: "No. We ourselves are not convinced. If Rafah is so important, why didn't we enter already? The main military problem was in Gaza, by the way. After what happened on October 7, we proceeded cautiously and with an excess of force, we did not act with exceptional sophistication and we did not create control." Ziv concluded, "It is impossible to conduct a war like this, and it is being conducted from within itself. The IDF knows what to do, but the war is being lost. It has no goals, no direction. If you agree with the path of this government, the problems will continue. If not, please make room for someone else." ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-03-20

Rami Igra, the former Prisoners and MIA Division, was interviewed on Wednesday morning by Udi Segal and Anat Davidov on Radio 103FM.  In the interview, he discussed the hostage deal materializing between Israel and Hamas. He expressed his opinion as to why this deal is bad for Israel. "The State of Israel must change the paradigm of hostage-taking. Anyone who has blood on their hands and is released in the framework of a hostage deal must meet their death shortly after their release," Igra stated. "On the day of his [the prisoner's] release, he will decide what is better - three meals a day or to die in another two weeks. Around a year ago, Palestinian detainees in Israeli hospitals were set to be released to Gaza. No one wanted to go because it was better to die here than there." "You must remember, this release is not just about people - this release is political," he said and explained: "What we did in the Shalit deal is that we colossally strengthened Hamas among the Palestinian population, both in the and Gaza. What will happen in the next deal is that if, among other things, we bring our loved ones home, it will result in Hamas becoming very, very strong, and this has implications and a price paid in blood, as was the case with the Shalit deal."  Mossad Director David Barnea giving a speech to the anti-terrorism institute at Reichman University, September 10, 2023. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/MAARIV) Igra added that "a survey recently conducted on social media in Gaza shows that Hamas is getting stronger. Hamas is looking at its basic goal, which is to survive and return to its condition on October 6th, so it can become stronger, rebuild itself, and fulfill its goal of the destruction of Israel." "Israel must not agree to pause the war, to allow the return of residents to as Hamas demands - both women and children - because it will mean loss of Israeli control of the territory. Until the day after the war, the situation in Gaza must not be changed. That day will come; we must remain patient. We, as the public who are concerned with freeing the remaining hostages, must remain patient; it takes time. The other side is not waiting for a deal, but rather using the Israeli public and the hostages against us - and it's working," he explained. Igra expressed his opinions on how Israel must act: "wisdom, not necessarily popularity." "The State of Israel, in its actions, is submitting to the will of the Americans, to the will of Israelis who want a deal - hocus pocus. After all, what is this about? The release of a tiny portion of the total hostages and the release of murderers strengthened Hamas in a very significant way in Gaza and the West Bank. The Palestinians will learn that only by force they can engage with Israel. And most dangerously - hostage-taking becomes a Palestinian national sport." Despite this, he said that, in his opinion, Hamas is not interested in a ceasefire and negotiations: "I suggest everyone look at the basic situation. In the bigger picture, it is clear that Hamas has no real interest in reaching a deal with Israel, certainly not at this stage." "This word, 'now,' is what the public asks for. Another 'deal' is a word I abhor. Hamas will agree to deals with a price. It is unclear why all this is being carried out and who is conducting this negotiation because Israel is acting in the direction of 'we will release the not important [prisoners], and Hamas will continue and wait for the continuation of the war,' this is what Israel is asking for - it will not happen."  Igra went on to explain, "Hamas sees that the whole world is starting to put pressure on Israel, European countries are sitting on these decisions on a demand for a humanitarian ceasefire, and from there, the end of the war completely. Canada announced yesterday that it will stop exporting weapons. So Hamas looks at this from the other side, from the situation in Gaza. They are waiting for the world to stop the war, for the State of Israel to bring it upon itself, and they will conduct hostage negotiations from a completely different position, from the position of a survivor." ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-03-08

The IDF announced on Thursday that they had rescued a girl trapped under the rubble in Khan Yunis two days prior. IDF Arabic Spokesperson published a series of videos and pictures showing a girl trapped under rubble to X on Thursday. قصة إنسانية واحدة هي أكبر من كل أكاذيبهم: لقد قامت قوات جيش الدفاع قبل يومين بانقاذ الطفلة الفلسطينية من قلب منطقة القتال بخان يونس، بعد ان حُوصرت بين أنقاض المبنى حيث تمكن جنودنا بعد أعمال شاقة من رصد موقع الطفلة بعد فقدان الاتصال بها، حيث قاموا بأعمال إنقاذها وسط… "One human story is bigger than all their lies," Adraee said. "Two days ago, IDF forces rescued a Palestinian girl from the heart of the combat zone in Khan Yunis after she was trapped in the rubble of the building," Adraee wrote on X. "Our soldiers were able, after arduous work, to monitor the child’s location after losing contact with her." The rescue was carried out during ongoing field operations and was coordinated with the Palestinian Red Crescent. She was given first aid at the scene and then transported to the hospital for further treatment. Adraee concluded by saying, "These are our soldiers - fighting like lions to dismantle Hamas and always relying on humanitarian principles." The rescue comes amid ceasefire discussions in Cairo between Hamas and Israel. Israel has regularly been accused of not doing enough to protect Gazan civilians during this conflict. Which led to the in the International Court of Justice. ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-03-02

The sun is about to set off of Israel’s coast. In the distance, several long cargo ships sit at anchor. They are all black against the horizon. Just before the sun dips below the horizon, they switch on their lights. In front of the black shapes, a more sleek boat chisels its way through the water. Eventually, it comes into view, about 90 feet (27 m.) long, with a gun platform at the bow and a cockpit in the middle, and another gun at the back. This is one of Israel’s Dvora-class patrol boats. As we watch the patrol boat come closer, we are standing on another patrol boat off the coast of Israel. These two sister ships now circle each other, like some sort of courting ritual at sea. They are getting ready for a mission at night. Our ship is the Dvora 837, and its symbol is a clown. Not just any clown, but a kind of scary one, with a white mask and a red nose. There is apparently a story behind the mascot, but the crew does not elaborate. All the patrol boats have a nickname. One is the Lions, one the Knights. It goes along with their personalities somehow. These are key to protecting Israel. Israel has three squadrons of them. One is based in Haifa, another in Ashdod, and a third in Eilat. AN ISRAELI Navy patrol boat at sea off the coast of Ashdod. (credit: SETH J. FRANTZMAN) Squadron 916 in Ashdod has been playing a key role in the fight against Hamas and terrorism since Oct. 7. When Hamas attacked Israel on that day, the squadron sent dozens of fighters by sea in rubber boats to attack the beach near Zikim, just north of the Gaza border. Hamas naval commandos sought to storm the beach and massacre people. Israel’s patrol boats were scrambled and fought them for days. Now they have seen four months of war, and they are doing training at sea. It’s not the only training the Israel Navy is doing. In mid-February, it carried out a readiness drill to prepare for escalation in northern Israel with Hezbollah. Some of the larger ships in the missile ship flotilla took part. The missile ships are one of the elements of Israel’s relatively small navy. The navy has expanded in recent years to include four new state-of-the-art corvettes built in Germany, the Sa’ar 6-class of ships, and also a number of submarines. The patrol boats, like the one we are on, with its clown flag, are the workhorse of the navy. Squadron 916 is responsible for coastal security from the Egyptian border. Usually, several patrol boats are at sea at a time, with the dozen men serving on them making the boat their home for several days. The squadron in Ashdod has a difficult task because the threats in Gaza are complex. The boats also patrol off the coast and can help ships that end up in distress or can help secure Israel’s gas platforms. However, their main role is close to the coast. The boats are relatively simple in their layout. On deck there is a stabilized 25-mm. Typhoon gun that can lob a shell far into the distance. Behind the gun is the cockpit of the ship, where the captain can stand and control the boat, perched basically one deck above the gun. From the cockpit, stairs lead down below and also to the stern of the ship. At the stern is another gun, a .50 caliber machine gun. Next to where the captain stands to steer the boat, there is an area where several soldiers can stand. There are two machine guns on the sides, and a place to stand for a sailor to use a searchlight. Down below, there is a chart room and several plush seats where sailors can sit and control the Typhoon gun, as well as check radar and see screens with other information. For instance, the ship has a camera that can function at night with thermal imaging and other types of electro-optics. All this helps the ship find targets and investigate possible threats. WE BEGIN our journey from the squadron’s base in Ashdod. Ashdod is a large industrial port with huge towering cargo ships. The cargo ships make our patrol boat feel like something small and vulnerable. But these boats are here to secure all this cargo and make sure no harm comes to the coast of Israel. At the squadron’s base, there is an outdoor gym, but otherwise it’s quite bare-boned. There are several slips for the ships to dock at and be tied off, each perpendicular to a long jetty that arcs out to sea for several hundred meters. Here the patrol boats can be refitted and supplied with food and ammo. We leave before sunset for the rendezvous with one of the sister ships of the Clown boat. After saying goodbye to the coastline, we head out to sea, northwest, so that after a while, as the darkness sets in, we can see the lights of Palmahim and even Tel Aviv far in the distance. But eventually, even those lights grow dim. The goal of our mission is to conduct a night training. Israel’s navy, like the IDF in general, likes doing missions at night. Night affects us and the enemy alike, but at night we have advantages, the crew notes. Advantages come from technology. The training this evening is designed to test the two boats working together, managing the crew and firing at a target in the water. It’s winter, and there was a storm last week. These men were tossed around by the waves that peaked at almost two meters. They would have had to suffer through gusts of wind some 20 to 30 knots. Tonight, though, there is a breeze, but the water is calm. As the boat heads out, slashing through the water, I take time to go down below and check out the kitchen. Every army marches on its stomach, and the navy is the same. Ships have cramped quarters for the crew, though. There are small bunk beds to sleep in, and a toilet – or as it’s called in ships, a “head.” There is a table at which to eat, but it seems to accommodate only several sailors at a time. It is also packed with equipment and monitors, so it’s impossible for the whole crew to be there at the same time. There is a place to wash up and to cook. Fresh vegetables bulge from cases, and there are a number of M4 rifles along one wall. These sailors are soldiers at sea; their role is to also be able to fight from this boat, almost the way one would fight on land. The men eat from plastic containers, some kind of salad with kohlrabi in it. Other than that, the food choices are few this evening. Behind the kitchen, there is an engine room, humming away. While outside the wind is lashing those on deck because the boat is moving so fast, down below it’s quite comfortable and cozy. DURING THE first week of the war, this ship was at sea and was involved in fighting Hamas. The captain tells of how he rushed to the port when the attack occurred at 6:30 a.m. He arrived along with others who responded to the emergency. They put to sea and were among the first to encounter the enemy and confront the threat. Their training had prepared them, but they also learned a lot in the first weeks of the war. After sinking the Hamas rubber boats that attacked the coast, they also had to watch for Hamas naval commandos and frogmen who sought to infiltrate over the coming days and weeks. The men on the patrol boat – the crew is all males – describe how they also saw terrorists trying to go back to Gaza on October 7 and 8. The terrorists had used a tractor to break through the security fence near Zikim. Some of the enemy were trying to bring back goods they had looted and even cart off dead bodies they had desecrated and wanted to kidnap. What Hamas didn’t know was that the navy was ready, and it went to work eliminating them with naval gunfire. After the battle with Hamas, the boats began to work with the IDF ground forces that gathered north of Gaza to prepare for the offensive against Hamas. From the sea, one can view Gaza in a different way. The buildings are stark against the sky. Threats can be seen from the sea, and terrorists eliminated. The ground forces, such as tanks of the 401st Brigade that struck Hamas along the beach, were able to get support from these boats. There was so much fighting between October and December that the men on the ship expended more ammo than they would ordinarily during a whole year. The navy is an intimate world of men in a small space for days on end. It’s different than being buttoned up in a tank because the boat is always lurching back and forth. People get seasick. But they get used to it, the captain says. There is also a lot of camaraderie and humor in this unit. The officers say that it’s important to have levity a bit, to bond with a crew. The war has also created bonding with other IDF units. The navy has been working at an unprecedented scale with the ground forces and air force to knit together all the sensors Israel can bring into play to take out threats in Gaza. In the first two weeks of the war, Israeli tanks churned up the road and sand dunes near the beach, heading south along the coastal road and crossing near Shati camp, a former refugee camp in Gaza that is named for the “beach” where it was built. It’s a hotbed of terrorists. The tanks and infantry of the 162nd Division defeated terrorists in Shati and went farther south to the Port of Gaza, linking up with the IDF’s 36th Division, which had marched across Gaza. The navy was there at all times to help the ground forces. For instance, on Thursday, February 22, the IDF said, “Overnight, Israeli naval forces targeted and destroyed a number of vessels used by the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations in southern Gaza.” To knit together the navy and the ground forces, members of the navy went to meet with elements of the ground forces they would be working with so they could learn their “language” of war fighting and assist better in countering the enemy. Similarly, the ground forces sent soldiers to meet and embed with their seagoing peers. AFTER AROUND 40 minutes of sailing out to sea, the captain tells the sailors to put on their helmets and prepare their weapons. Ammunition is now brought from storage and fed into the starboard (right side) machine gun. Another sailor prepares a grenade launcher that has flares in it. The two boats now maneuver together, our sister boat advancing to the north of us. The goal is to coordinate fire at a target. It’s nighttime, though, and the boats are close, so all this has to be done with precision and safety. Live rounds are being used. The two boats make a practice run, passing near the target and pretending to engage. Orders are relayed, there is a shout by the captain, and confirmation. Then the boats veer off, heading south again, and the target disappears. We head away a few kilometers and make another approach. Now it’s time for the real thing. The guns are cocked. A sailor with the 12.7-mm. machine gun, which is mounted just behind the captain on the side of the ship, places the butt of the gun firmly into his shoulder. He has gloves on and gets ready to fire. Before he fires, the captain gives the order to use the main Typhoon gun on the bow. There are loud bursts from the weapon, and the ammunition streaks into the distance. Each round is red, and both ships are shooting at the same time. It’s dark, so all that can be seen are these little red orbs flying into the distance several hundred meters away, and there is a feint red-and-green glow from the navigation lights the ship has lit on the sides. After a few seconds of using the main gun, the ship turns so its side faces the target, and the order is given to let loose with the machine gun. The man with the grenade launcher shoots a flare in the air, a yellow light that hangs in the sky and lights up the ocean. The gunner pulls the trigger, and dozens of rounds stream into the distance, churning up the water with little spouts. After half a minute, the “battle” is over and the boats once again drive away from the target. They make one more pass, and then the drill is over. The deck is now full of casings of ammunition that need to be swept up. Now the two boats head east, back toward port. The lights of Ashdod come back into view, the cranes of the harbor, the huge cargo ships at berth. It’s getting late as we arrive. Ropes are thrown to the dock to secure the boat. I disembark, but others will stay here to eat and get ready for the next mission. The men have been at sea for days. They will want to be on land for a short period before their next multi-zday patrol begins. For the navy, like the tide, there is an ebb and flow.  ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-02-22

Six Israelis were wounded, including three severely, after gunshots were fired on Highway 1 near Ma'ale Adumim in central Israel, Israel Police confirmed early Thursday morning. The two terrorists were killed on the scene of the attack, police said. Paramedics are currently on the scene providing treatment for the wounded. This is a developing story. ...قراءة المزيد

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2023-11-22

on Wednesday met separately with Israeli relatives of hostages held by Hamas and Palestinians with family in Gaza and said the conflict had gone beyond war to become "terrorism". Speaking in unscripted remarks at his Wednesday general audience in St. Peter's Square shortly after the early morning meetings in his residence, Francis said he heard directly how "both sides are suffering" in the conflict. "This is what wars do. But here we have gone beyond wars. This is not war. This is terrorism," he said. so that both sides would "not go ahead with passions, which in the end, kill everyone". Both groups were holding separate news conferences later on Wednesday. Israeli rescue and recovery unit search damaged cars for human remains and other evidence, following the October 7 attack by Hamas from the Gaza Strip, on a field near Netivot in southern Israel, November 1, 2023 (credit: AMIR COHEN/REUTERS) The meetings and the pope's comments came hours after Israel's government and Hamas agreed to silence the guns in Gaza for at least four days, allow in aid and release at least 50 hostages captured by terrorists in exchange for at least 150 Palestinians jailed in Israel. Israel has placed Gaza under siege and relentless bombardment since a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli tallies. Advertisement Since then, more than 13,000 Gazans have been killed, about 40% of them children, according to Hamas medical officials in the territory, figures deemed reliable by the United Nations. ...قراءة المزيد

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