Lebanon

2025-03-17

أفادت وزارة الصحة اللبنانية، اليوم الاثنين، بمقتل شخص في غارة إسرائيلية على منطقة يحمر الشقيف جنوب البلاد. وقال مركز عمليات طوارئ الصحة العامة التابع لها، في بيان، إن «غارة العدو الإسرائيلي على سيارة فان في بلدة يحمر أدت في حصيلة أولية إلى سقوط شهيد». https://x.com/mophleb/status/1901589203890131416 https://x.com/MTVLebanonNews/status/1901588048833401164 وفي 8 أكتوبر 2023، بدأت إسرائيل عدوانا على لبنان تحول إلى حرب واسعة في 23 سبتمبر 2024، خلّفت 4 آلاف و115 قتيلا و16 ألفا و909 جرحى، بينهم عدد كبير من الأطفال والنساء، إضافة إلى نزوح نحو مليون و400 ألف شخص. ومنذ سريان اتفاق وقف إطلاق النار ارتكبت إسرائيل أكثر من ألف انتهاك له، مما أسفر عن 87 قتيلا و285 جريحا على الأقل، وفق إحصاء لوكالة «الأناضول»، استنادا إلى بيانات رسمية لبنانية. وتنصلت إسرائيل من استكمال انسحابها من جنوب لبنان بحلول 18 فبراير الماضي، خلافا للاتفاق، إذ نفذت انسحابا جزئيا وتواصل احتلال 5 نقاط لبنانية رئيسية، ضمن مناطق احتلتها في الحرب الأخيرة. وتزعم إسرائيل أن سبب بقائها في 5 تلال هو عدم قيام الجيش اللبناني بواجباته كاملة ضمن اتفاق وقف النار، وعدم قدرته على ضبط الأمن على طول الخط الأزرق. بالصّورة: الغارة الإسرائيلية استهدفت "فان" في يحمر الشقيف — MTV Lebanon News (@MTVLebanonNews) على صدر عن مركز عمليات طوارئ الصحة العامة التابع لوزارة الصحة العامة بيان أعلن أن غارة العدو الإسرائيلي على سيارة فان في بلدة يحمر أدت في حصيلة أولية إلى سقوط شهيد. — Ministry of Public Health - Lebanon (@mophleb) ...قراءة المزيد

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2025-02-17

القاهرة- مصراوي استهدف جيش الاحتلال الإسرائيلي، اليوم الاثنين، سيارة مدنية قبالة مبنى نقابة المهندسين، وبالقرب من مركز للجيش اللبناني، مما أدى إلى سقوط شهيد وعدد من الجرحى. وأفادت الوكالة الوطنية للإعلام اللبنانية، أنه تم انتشال الجثمان من السيارة التي استهدفتها الغارة بعد أن تمكنت فرق الإطفاء من إخماد النيران التي اشتعلت في السيارة. وأعلن جيش الاحتلال، استهداف محمد شاهين، المسؤول العسكري في حركة حماس في لبنان خلال هجوم على صيدا. This is Mohammed Shahin who was toasted by a drone. A senior Hamas figure in Southern Lebanon who was planning attacks against Jewish targets outside the region. وقال جيش الاحتلال في بيان له، إن الهجوم، جاء من خلال تنفيذ عملية مشتركة بين الجيش الإسرائيلي وجهاز الأمن العام (الشاباك) بتوجيه من الاستخبارات، والتي أسفرت عن اغتيال شاهين. وكان شاهين يشغل منصب رئيس قسم العمليات في الحركة، وقد تم استهدافه في منطقة صيدا جنوب لبنان بواسطة طائرات مقاتلة تابعة لسلاح الجو الإسرائيلي. ووفق زعم الجيش الإسرائيلي، كان شاهين قد خطط مؤخرًا لشن هجمات ضد إسرائيل باستخدام دعم وتمويل من إيران، انطلاقًا من الأراضي اللبنانية. وأوضح البيان أن شاهين كان مصدرًا مهمًا للمعلومات داخل المنظمة وكان مسؤولًا عن العديد من الهجمات، بما في ذلك إطلاق قذائف صاروخية على إسرائيل. بدورها أفادت هيئة البث الإسرائيلية بأن الاستهداف كان موجهًا لمحمد شاهين، وكان يقيم منذ مدة في لبنان، ومقربًا من دائرة صالح العاروري التي تعمل في لبنان، وعلى صلة وتنسيق مع حزب الله. كما أوضحت مصادر إسرائيلية أن محمد شاهين كان مسؤولًا عن الجيش العام لعز الدين القسام، الجناح العسكري لحماس في لبنان. وكشفت الصحف الإسرائيلية أن رئيس الوزراء الإسرائيلي، بنيامين نتنياهو، قد خرج من جلسة محاكمته للمصادقة على عملية الاغتيال. ...قراءة المزيد

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2025-02-17

نفذت طائرة إسرائيلية بدون طيار هجومًا دقيقًا استهدف سيارة مدنية على المدخل الشمالي لمدينة صيدا في جنوب لبنان، وفقًا لما ذكرته وسائل إعلام لبنانية. وقامت مسيرة إسرائيلية بـ  في مدينة صيدا اللبنانية، وذكرت «وكالة الوطنية للإعلام» اللبنانية الرسمية، أن الشخص الذي تم استهدافه في الضربة الإسرائيلية هو محمد شاهين، القيادي في الجناح العسكري لحركة حماس.    This is Mohammed Shahin who was toasted by a drone. A senior Hamas figure in Southern Lebanon who was planning attacks against Jewish targets outside the region. كما أفادت الوكالة أنه تم انتشال الجثمان من السيارة التي استهدفتها الغارة بعد أن تمكنت فرق الإطفاء من إخماد النيران التي اشتعلت في السيارة. وأفادت هيئة البث الإسرائيلية بأن الاستهداف كان موجهًا لمحمد شاهين، وكان يقيم منذ مدة في لبنان، وكان مقربًا من دائرة صالح العاروري التي تعمل في لبنان، وعلى صلة وتنسيق مع حزب الله. كما ذكرت مصادر إسرائيلية أيضا أن محمد شاهين كان مسؤولًا عن الجيش العام لعز الدين القسام، الجناح العسكري لحماس في لبنان. وكشفت الصحف الإسرائيلية أن رئيس الوزراء الإسرائيلي، بنيامين نتنياهو، قد خرج من جلسة محاكمته للمصادقة على عملية الاغتيال. يأتي الهجوم الإسرائيلي في وقت حساس، حيث يصادف اليوم الذي يسبق الموعد النهائي الجديد لانسحاب قوات جيش الاحتلال الإسرائيلي من جنوب ، والذي كان قد تم تمديده حتى 18 فبراير.  وكان الموعد الأصلي للانسحاب في نهاية يناير، ولكن تحت ضغط من إسرائيل، وافق لبنان على تمديد الموعد. ...قراءة المزيد

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2025-02-14

أكدت وسائل إعلام لبنانية، انتشار عناصر الجيش اللبنانى قرب مطار بيروت لمجابهة احتجاجات عناصر حزب الله الذين قاموا بحرق سيارة تابعة للأمم المتحدة على طريق مطار رفيق الحريرى فى بيروت. Reports from Lebanon: Hezbollah supporters set fire to a UNIFIL vehicle on the road to Beirut International Airport, in protest of an Iranian plane being prohibited from landing. The IDF recently accused the Iranian regime of using civilian aircraft to smuggle cash to Hezbollah. — Aleph א (@no_itsmyturn) أكدت رويترز إصابة فردين من قوات حفظ السلام بعد إضرام محتجين النار في سيارة تابعة للأمم المتحدة. تأتى هذه الاحتجاجات فى ضوء عدم سماح السلطات اللبنانية بهبوط طائرة إيرانية قادمة من طهران لبيروت. Reports from Lebanon: Hezbollah supporters set fire to a UNIFIL vehicle on the road to Beirut International Airport, in protest of an Iranian plane being prohibited from landing. The IDF recently accused the Iranian regime of using civilian aircraft to smuggle cash to Hezbollah. — Aleph א (@no_itsmyturn) ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-05-09

Senate Majority Leader and House Speaker Mike Johnson penned a letter to on Wednesday where the leaders questioned the in-progress reviews of Israel's wartime conduct following the announcement of a to Israel pending its operation in Rafah.  McConnell and Johnson said they have not been able to obtain pertinent information from the Department of State or the Pentagon regarding the ongoing review of Israel's assurances that it's following US and international law.  The State Department was slated to release its review of Israel's assurances to Congress on Wednesday but said the report will be out "in the coming days." The letter said the American public deserves to understand the "nature, timing and scope of these reviews." McConnell and Johnson called for the White House's response by the end of the week on the timing of the report, if other shipments will be similarly delayed, what office is responsible for conducting the review and when the review is anticipated to end to allow the arms assistance to move forward.   Iron dome anti-missile system fires interception missiles as rockets fired from Lebanon, as it seen over Kiryat Shmona, March 5, 2024. (credit: AYAL MARGOLIN/FLASH90) "Israel faces an existential and multi-front threat as recently demonstrated by the direct attack by Iran and Iranian-backed terrorists, and daylight between the United States and Israel at this dangerous time risks emboldening Israel's enemies and undermining the trust that other allies and partners have in the United States," the letter said. The Republican leaders noted that while the assistance funded by the supplemental appropriations bill will not be impacted, security assistance to Israel is an urgent priority that must not be delayed.  "These recent press reports and pauses in critical weapons shipments call into question your pledge that your commitment to Israel's security will remain ironclad," the letter said.  The leaders said they expect the Biden administration to push "departments, agencies and industry" to expedite contracting, production and delivery of weapons and munitions "critical to defense of the United States and free world." Earlier Wednesday, during the Senate Republican leadership's news conference, McConnell said he spoke to both Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan in the past 24 hours to express his concern that delaying the shipment of weapons to Israel is just another way of trying to govern how an ally conducts its war.  "This is obviously an extremely challenging situation," McConnell said. "I think the last thing we ought to be doing is telling our Democratic allies you ought to have an election or you ought not to conduct this war in a certain way." ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-05-08

The administration of President Joe Biden is pressuring Israel and the mediators, , to agree on a ceasefire in Gaza because it sees it as a strategic key to achieving the immediate and long-term goals of the United States. The Biden administration believes that a ceasefire will allow the release of the most vulnerable hostages, promote the formation of a governing alternative to Hamas that will distance it from Gaza, end the conflict on the border with Lebanon, allow the American mediator, Amos Hochstein, to renew his efforts to achieve a solution that will keep Hezbollah away from Israel's border, and will promote normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which will complete a powerful military and political axis against Iran and its affiliates. In addition, a ceasefire may reduce the severe riots on American college campuses, which are hurting Biden's election campaign. Recently, Biden has taken several contradictory moves and eliminated almost all pressure levers on Yahya Sinwar. is the cause of the delay in Rafah, threatened to limit the supply of weapons to Israel, considered whether to impose sanctions on an IDF unit, damaged the international legitimacy of the war on Hamas, and frequently expressed unwarranted criticism that Israel does not transfer enough humanitarian aid to Gaza. In addition, the administration did not do enough to condemn and act firmly against the anti-Semitic riots by Hamas and Palestinians supporters on American campuses and did not sufficiently warn the International Criminal Court in The Hague against issuing arrest warrants against Israeli officials. These moves encouraged Sinwar to believe that time was working in his favor and allowed him to make fun of the United States and the mediating countries. Benjamin Netanyahu talks with Joe Biden (credit: PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE) The United States, together with Israel, Egypt, and Qatar, formulated an agreement for a ceasefire and the release of the hostages. Israel accepted the deal. Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken even defined it as "very generous" on the part of Israel and put all the responsibility for its implementation on Hamas. Blinken said that if Hamas cares about the residents of Gaza, it should accept the agreement. This is a puzzling argument because it has been evident that Sinwar and Hamas do not care at all about the residents of Gaza. Paradoxically, it was precisely the renewed Israeli threat to operate militarily in Rafah that created leverage for Sinwar. The Biden administration told Sinwar that if he rejected the agreement, Biden would not stop Israeli military action in Rafah. It was also announced that in the event of a rejection, Qatar would consider expelling Hamas's political leadership from its territory. Sinwar knows how to maneuver well in these situations. Biden and Israel have created the impression that this is a "take it or leave it" agreement and not as a basis for negotiations. The protesters and are young, Muslim, and "progressive". They are Democrats and threaten Biden that if he does not stop supporting Israel, they will not vote for him in the November 2024 presidential elections. This is why, until a few days ago, Biden refrained from condemning these students and taking action against them. He did this only last week in the face of their violent campus takeover and out of the fear that it would strengthen Trump, who accuses him of being responsible for chaos on campuses and surrendering to the radical left. Biden is trying to balance the American attitude towards Israel and the conditions of the upcoming elections. He estimates that a ceasefire, release of hostages, and normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia will help him in the election process. Biden must see through these events before the elections reach the last round. It is not certain whether this challenging balance interests Sinwar or Netanyahu, but perhaps Biden alone. Prof. Gilboa is an expert on the United States at Bar-Ilan University and a senior researcher at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security. ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-05-08

General Assembly (UNGA) is expected to upgrade the Palestinian status at the UN, granting it almost all statehood rights within its plenum short of allowing it to vote. The United Arab Emirates is expected to submit a resolution, a draft text of which was seen by The Jerusalem Post, calling on the United Nations Security Council to grant Palestine full membership status in the UN. The text, which is likely to have majority support, states that “Palestine is qualified for membership in the United Nations in accordance with article 4 of the Charter and should therefore be admitted to membership in the United Nations.” The Palestinian Authority, through the UAE, turned to the General Assembly after the United States vetoed its membership application to the (UNSC) last month. The US is one of five permanent UNSC members with veto power. The UAE resolution “recommends” that the Security Council “reconsider the matter favorably,” but in essence, its text seeks to circumvent the UNSC's sole power to determine UN membership. A child waves a Palestinian flag as Muslim scholars take part in a protest in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, organised by supporters of the Islamic Group in Lebanon and Hamas, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Beirut, Lebanon, October 29, 2023. (credit: Amr Alfiky/Reuters) UNGA resolutions, however, cannot be vetoed, and the PA has automatic majority support in the UNGA, where some 140 of its members already independently recognize Palestine as a state. The UNGA does not have the formal power to grant Palestinians UN membership, but it can provide them with de-facto recognition that allows them to operate as a state within the UN system. In 2012, the UNGA voted 138-9 to grant the Palestinians the status of a non-member observer state. This move allows them to participate in UN forums and sign many of its statutes and treaties, including the Rome State, which governs the International Criminal Court. According to the current draft of the resolution, this Friday, the UNGA would grant Palestine the right to operate within its plenum as a member state, granting it almost everything but the right to vote, which would need UNSC approval. The resolution affirms “the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including the right to their independent State of Palestine.” In practice, the State of Palestine could be seated among the member states and be granted broad rights to address the plenum on its behalf or that of groups. The Palestinians could submit resolutions, proposals, and amendments on their own behalf or on behalf of groups within the UN system. If the resolution is approved, the Palestinians could also participate in high-level meetings and international conferences, where they would have voting rights. Western states, especially the United States, have opposed unilateral recognition of Palestinian statehood, believing that it should be granted upon completion of a final status peace agreement for the two states. Given that negotiations for a two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have been frozen for a decade and in light of the Gaza war, there is growing support among Western states for unilateral Palestinian statehood. Israel’s government has opposed Palestinian statehood, but in stating unilateral Palestinian statehood, it agreed that such statehood should only be achieved through a negotiated process. It has argued that Palestinian recognition, in the aftermath of the Hamas attack on southern Israel in which over 1,200 people were killed and another 252 seized as hostages, was a reward for terror. “Recognizing a Palestinian State after October 7 means for murdering over 1,000 Israelis,” Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a post on X on Wednesday. Recognizing a Palestinian State after October 7 means rewarding Hamas for murdering over 1,000 Israelis. It means giving a prize to the Iranian Regime. It means living with the possibility of another October 7. The only way to promote peace is through direct… “It means giving a prize to the Iranian Regime. It means living with the possibility of another October 7. “The only way to promote peace is through direct negotiations within the framework of a regional normalization process,” he said. ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-05-08

Gal Moreno, a soft-spoken 25-year-old, is too young to be a widow. Her husband Itay, 24, was serving in the IDF’s Maglan commando unit and was killed fighting Hamas terrorists on Zikim Beach on October 11. He was the nephew of Emmanuel Moreno, a revered Sayeret Matkal commando killed fighting in Lebanon in 2006 at the age of 35, whose photograph has never been published because the IDF said the operations he took part in were too sensitive. A few days after her husband’s death, Gal wrote the following post on Facebook: “My Itay, my heart, my first and only love. You spread light everywhere you entered. How am I eulogizing you and speaking about you in the past tense? I was privileged to be by your side from age 17 until your last day…. Your dream was a family and children, a little kingdom of our own.” Six months later, Gal went to the Secret Forest wellness & spa resort in Cyprus with a group of more than 40 bereaved widows on a trip sponsored by, a Jerusalem-based nonprofit organization that seeks to bring together Israel’s victims of terror into “one, national, self-supportive family.” “I was really afraid to come because it’s the first time I did anything like a vacation alone,” she told The Jerusalem Report. “I was nervous about coming into the room, but I feel like the women here understand me even without saying anything, and everyone made me feel so comfortable.” Gal Moreno in a moment of contemplation. (credit: TAL LEVY) The four-day retreat at the Secret Forest brought together 45 women who have all lost their husbands since October 7. It was a mix of therapeutic discussion circles, activities such as mindfulness dance, a massage in Cyprus’s largest spa, and a chance for these women to simply be together. Moreno said she had been to other events sponsored by OneFamily and liked the way they were organized.“All of the meetings and activities they’ve done so far were done with tact and sensitivity, and they made me feel really comfortable,” she said. Over the four days, the coordinators for OneFamily did whatever they could to support the participants. If a woman was sitting alone, she would soon be joined by a coordinator, sometimes just keeping her company, sometimes starting a conversation. If someone was crying, a coordinator would sit with her and offer a hug. “I’m kind of like your Polish aunt who shows up at the shiva and then won’t leave you alone,” Mindee Levinger, the bubbly coordinator for the Jerusalem area, told The Jerusalem Report. “Your children will become like my grandchildren. And once I ‘adopt’ one of the women, I’m there for life.” Most of the women on the retreat were mothers of young children, although there were a few who had been married just a year. One woman found out she was pregnant with her first child during the shiva for her husband. “The surviving spouse must remain a rock of stability for the children throughout his or her own mourning process and face the challenges of raising children as a single parent,” Chantal Belzberg, the CEO of OneFamily, told The Jerusalem Report. “Often, the widow focuses all her energy on the children and is unable to deal with her own sense of loss. Some find it challenging to find the strength to maintain a daily routine for the family – managing the household, caring for the children, going to work – when they feel completely broken. OneFamily supports the widows and widowers from the initial time of the attack and are in close connection, accompanying them through the years at every stage of their journey.” Dana Cohen, 40, a mother of six, said that the retreat helped her realize that she needs to make time for herself in order to manage her grief and help her family. Cohen is from Shlomit, a small community just 750 meters from the border with Egypt. Her husband, Aviad, was the head of the small security team of their community. On October 7, he and a few others ran to help a nearby community that had been overrun by Hamas terrorists. He was killed in fighting that day. Cohen and her children, who range in age from 3 to 17, were evacuated to the Cramim, a luxury hotel on the outskirts of Jerusalem, where they lived for four months. A month ago, they returned to their home in Shlomit, and it was only then that they could really start their mourning process, she said. The weekend at the Secret Forest had been transformative for her, she said, and made her realize that she needed to take some time for herself. “I came here feeling that I needed to take a break and get refilled with energy, especially ,” she said. “Every holiday just reminds me of not having Aviad. This weekend and the whole process I went through gave me energy. I got out of my day-to-day routine and could look at my life from the outside and meet other women going through the same thing. The discussions, the massage, it all gave me strength.” A mindfulness dance workshop by the lake. (credit: TAL LEVY) That is exactly the point, according to Secret Forest owner Yoni Kahana. A Chabadnik, he bought the beautiful complex in the Cyprus mountains last year. On October 6, just before the war, the resort hotel was booked solid for the next few months. On October 7, everything changed. Kahana started hosting survivors of the Supernova festival massacre, offering a therapeutic environment, mountain hikes, and a place for them to de-stress. Since October 7, he’s hosted more than 1,000 survivors of the Supernova and hundreds of bereaved parents for retreats like this one. The complex is beautifully designed and encourages contemplation. I am an early riser, and when I sat outside on my balcony sipping coffee, the only sounds I heard were the birds chirping. One morning I took a walk in the forest with OneFamily board member Michal Cotler-Wunch. There is a Wellness Center that offers yoga, Pilates, and meditation. There is a fantastic spa with thermal water pools both inside and outside, and excellent massages. And the food. I am a big foodie, and Secret Forest has a farm-to-table dairy and fish menu, where almost everything is local. The cheeses are made in the village next door. The vegetables are grown in the hydroponic greenhouse. The food was plentiful, well prepared, and quite healthful. There are no soft drinks served at the resort, so the free-flowing wine did compensate somewhat. “It’s all about rejuvenation,” Kahana said. “It’s about connecting with nature, connecting with others and, most importantly, connecting with yourself. People come here with their battery at 10 percent and leave with it full – at 100 percent.” OneFamily brought therapists to the retreat as well. The widows were divided into three groups based on the ages of their children. There were three therapeutic sessions over the weekend, which was only for the widows themselves. Throughout the weekend, OneFamily gave the women little treats – chocolate, a sweatshirt, cookies – to make them feel special. Some of the most important healing happened in the informal conversations that took place among the women in their free time. There was a lot of laughter together, as well as tears. “OneFamily makes my heart full because you see there are people working 24/7 just doing good and trying to comfort us,” Cohen said. “It’s like a big hug .” OneFamily, a unique community of professionals, volunteers, and supporters standing together to rekindle love and restore hope, is a nonprofit organization recognized in Israel, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. As a non-governmental organization, it is funded through private donations from around the world.■ The writer was a guest of OneFamily in Cyprus. ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-05-08

It’s a tale of two Joe Bidens that has some Jews and Israel supporters scratching their heads, marveling at apparent inconsistencies. There is the tale of Biden marking on Tuesday in the White House, exuding empathy toward Jews and Israel in a speech decrying swirling antisemitism on campuses and elsewhere. “No one should have to hide or be brave just to be themselves,” he said in one poignant sentence, after earlier in the speech referencing Jews forced to “hide their kippahs under baseball hats, tuck their Jewish stars into their shirts.” The president’s empathy was not reserved only for the Jews but also for the Jewish state, which he said saw the “ancient hatred of Jews” reenacted with horrific savagery on October 7. “Now, here we are, not 75 years later [after the Holocaust] but just seven and a half months later [after October 7], and people are already forgetting. They’re already forgetting that Hamas unleashed this terror, that it was Hamas that brutalized Israelis, that it was Hamas who took and continues to hold hostages. I have not forgotten, nor have you, and we will not forget.” US president Joe Biden released four-year-old hostage Abigail Idan. April 25, 2024. (credit: Screenshot/Instagram via potus) That is one tale of Biden, the tale of a US president with a deep sympathy for the State of Israel born of what he heard of the Holocaust around his father’s table in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and strong friendships with Jews he established over the years such as late congressman Tom Lantos, a Holocaust survivor. Yet on the same day that Biden delivered this heartfelt speech, The Wall Street Journal reported that for the first time since the Gaza war began, the US is delaying sending precision weapons to Israel. The Washington Post quoted a US official saying this should be seen as a shot across Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bow to underscore the seriousness of US concerns about a Rafah invasion. That, too, is a tale of Biden. How to reconcile the two? The first Biden, strongly supportive of Israel and fully aware that for the current war, with the second Biden, the one delaying weapons to Israel, a move that – if extended – could curtail efforts to defeat Hamas and harm Israel if a wider war erupts in Lebanon. Biden said that he had not forgotten Hamas’s atrocities. But that is not the only thing he has not forgotten. He has also not forgotten, in his telling and the telling of his spokespersons, the civilian fatality rate in this war. And he has also not forgotten that his administration is coming under intense pressure from protestors on college campuses and the progressive wing of his party to pressure Israel to stop the war and to distance itself from the Jewish State. In short, Biden is walking a tightrope, balancing his instinctive support for Israel and the Jews with genuine concerns about civilian casualties and the fear of how those casualties will impact his reelection chances, which right now can be categorized as “iffy.” A MURAL in Tel Aviv depicts US President Joe Biden as a superhero defending Israel against the Iranian attack. On the strategic level, Israel suffered a whopping loss as Iran pierced American and Israeli deterrence frameworks with apparent impunity, the writer maintains. (credit: MIRIAM ALSTER/FLASH90) One of the basic political assumptions in the US in recent months – an assumption that has gained ground during the highly publicized anti-Israel protests on dozens of campuses around the country – is that Biden’s policies on Israel will alienate Arab voters and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez-style progressives, a demographic he will need to win in crucial swing states like Michigan. But there is a flip side to that coin. If Biden is not seen as supportive enough of Israel, or if moderate Democrats get spooked by the protests, sometimes violent, filling their television screens night after night, that could push them out of the Democratic camp in November. It’s not as if Biden only wins votes by turning on Israel, and everything else stays static. Being seen as too tough on Israel could cost him dearly among Jewish and pro-Israel supporters in a close election, and there are states out there beyond Michigan, with its large bloc of Arab voters, that he needs to win – swing states – in which the shift of a few percentages among Jewish or pro-Israel Democrats could make a huge difference. For instance, polls show that Biden is significantly behind Trump in the battleground states of Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, which all have substantial Jewish populations. But there is more to the story than that. While the media’s focus on the Gaza war makes it seem as though this is the main issue driving the conversation in the US and will be the central issue of importance for American voters in November, that is far from the truth. In American elections, foreign policy issues are traditionally way down the list of the problems that the electorate prioritizes, with the top issues generally being issues such as the economy, abortion, immigration, and gun control. Even among the country’s youth, the “conflict in the Middle East” is a low-priority issue, something that runs counter to the impression one might walk away with having watched campuses all over the country explode over the issue. Axios reported this week on a Generation Lab poll of 1,250 US college students that found that only 13% of them ranked the Middle East as their most important issue, ninth on a list of nine that was topped by healthcare reform, educational funding and access, and economic fairness and opportunity. Even among the country’s youth, the “conflict in the Middle East” is a low-priority issue, something that runs counter to the impression one might walk away with having watched campuses all over the country explode over the issue. Axios reported this week on a Generation Lab poll of 1,250 US college students that found that only 13% of them ranked the Middle East as their most important issue, ninth on a list of nine that was topped by healthcare reform, educational funding, and access, and economic fairness and opportunity. Speaking of the college protests, it is worth noting that the last time the campuses were in such an upheaval was some 56 years ago when students protested, marched, and conducted sit-ins against the Vietnam War in colleges across the country. Like 2024, 1968 was an election year. In that election, Richard Nixon, running on a law and order ticket that resonated loudly for many reasons – including because of the anti-war protests – defeated the Democratic candidate Hubert Humphrey. Four years later, Nixon defeated another Democratic candidate, George McGovern. One lesson from that period was that the “silent majority” – middle America – was turned off and frightened by the rebelliousness and lawlessness that they saw in the campus protests and in race riots that plagued that era. Will history repeat itself, and Biden get hurt in the upcoming election because of scenes of chaos and lawlessness on some campuses? Jonathan Chait wrote an article this week in New York Magazine headlined “Biden is Losing the Election in the Center, Not the Left.” According to Chait’s argument, the more significant threat to the president's reelection chances is moderate voters defecting from Biden rather than Arab American or youthful progressives. The protests on campus, he argued, are “contributing to the sense of chaos and failure that is harming Biden and helping Trump.” The reason the is close, and Biden is trailing in the polls, is not because he is hemorrhaging far-left voters, but rather moderate ones who, among other problems, they have with Biden’s domestic agenda, are frightened by the chaos and anarchy the protests represent. “The people he needs to win back are not occupying college campuses,” Chait wrote. This helps to explain the tale of two Bidens: a president who has to appeal to all sides. He needs to retain Jewish and pro-Israel voters, as well as Arab voters and anti-Israeli progressives. He also has to ensure that the Democratic middle holds. In the process, he often sends mixed signals and contradictory messages: threatening to reassess policy toward Gaza if Israel does not alter its course in the war on the one hand, helping Israel shoot down hundreds of Iranian missiles and drones on the other; holding up arms sales to Israel on one day and passionately expressing support for Israel and Jews the next. ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-05-08

In the policy world, every now and then very sophisticated people make arguments which underneath rely on a foundation of blatantly circular logic. The West’s critique of Israel’s policy – a policy which will need to be fundamentally reevaluated after Tehran’s k - has recently run into this issue. On one hand, many in the West have criticized Israel for assassinating Iran Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander for Syria and Lebanon, Mohammed Reza Zahedi, on April 1. But at the same time, these same critics have urged Israel not to attack the Islamic Republic’s nuclear weapons program. In the end, Israel heeded these critics somewhat, with Sports Minister Miri Regev confirming an Israeli attack on Iran’s S-300 anti aircraft missile system – a warning to Iran of the damage Israel could have done, but not actually doing any deep long-term damage. The S-300 missile system is seen during the National Army Day parade ceremony in Tehran, Iran, April 17, 2024. (credit: Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters) It is far from clear that Israel’s limited action made it safe from future direct attacks from Iran. In any case, those who slammed Jerusalem for removing Zahedi from the board said he was too high ranking and it destabilized the region. They add that Israel itself was surprised that Tehran was furious enough at his death that it retaliated with around 350 aerial threats in its first-ever direct attack on the Jewish state. This is brought as further proof that attacking him was overly aggressive. Some of these same critics then urged Israel not to attack Iran back so as to avoid the conflict deteriorating into a regional war. Most importantly, to avoid regional war, they urged Israel not to touch Iran’s nuclear weapons program. One way to summarize these critics' advice to Israel is to sit back and wait for the ayatollahs and their proxies to do their worst against Jerusalem and to just always play defense. Zahedi was not killed in a vacuum the way that much of the global media have reported it – as if the conflict between Israel and Iran started with his unprovoked death on April 1. Rather, he has been directing a relentless terror campaign against Israel for years from both Syria and Lebanon. Hezbollah in Lebanon have fired on Israel thousands of times with rockets and anti-tank missiles since October 7, and militias in Syria have likely fired on Israel hundreds of times. But for around a decade before October 7, the IRGC, led by Qasem Soleimani or Zahedi, or both, was rallying Hezbollah and Syrian militias to attack Israel and to develop a huge threat buildup of rockets and militias on Israel’s borders to ready for an invasion or multi-front war, such as the current one. Israel has been trying to hold Iran, its proxies, and Zahedi at bay with thousands of its own strikes on attempts by Tehran to smuggle more advanced weapons to the border with Israel, either from the Lebanese or Syrian side. All of this is in the context that Israel has nothing against Iran at all if the ayatollahs ever just left the Jewish state alone. There are no land disputes between the countries – they are around 1500 kilometers apart. And if Iran simply stopped trying to l, Jerusalem would not order strikes on anyone Iranian because it would not be the Jewish state’s business. When Israel decided to kill Zahedi it was to send Iran a message that its years of pressing Hezbollah, Syria, and Hamas in Gaza to attack and wear down Israel, would not be free. Hamas chose the date to invade Israel, but it could not have invaded the Jewish state without Iranian funding, planning, weapons, and training. So Israel had plenty of reasons to want to remove Zahedi, and killing him was far from unprovoked. When Israel decides in the future whether it would be willing to kill Zahedi’s successor to some other similarly very high ranking IRGC official, it will not need to weigh whether it is worth the risk. But the risk it will be analyzing will not be in a vacuum, but by comparison. A man stands next to the apparent remains of a ballistic missile, as it lies in the desert near the Dead Sea, following a massive missile and drone attack by Iran on Israel, in southern Israel April 21, 2024 (credit: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun) Will Israel be more endangered by a backlash of another Iranian direct aerial attack to avenge the death of one of its top IRGC officials or will it be more endangered if it does nothing and allows the Islamic Republic to slowly attack it and surround it with more and more deadly weapons with impunity? This is not a simple balancing act, but it is a balancing act which Israel will need to weigh, as opposed to the simplistic formula of some Western critics acting as if “restraint” by itself is a strategy that could . And how would those advising Israel not to strike Iran’s nuclear program have had it respond to the around 350 aerial attack threats which could have killed thousands of Israelis, and made Hamas’s October 7 massacre look like a warm-up? Iran’s attack also could have eliminated Israel’s F-35 squadrons which would have hampered Israeli national offensive and defensive power for the next decade. Critics don’t want Israel to attack the nuclear program and they don’t want Israel to attack Iranian officials in Lebanon and Syria who are organizing terror campaigns against Jerusalem. Do they really think that the Islamic Republic won’t fire missiles, rockets, and drones at Israel again because the Jewish state showed it was magnanimous? How far will a US guarantee to defend Israel from future massive Iranian barrages go to deter Iran from attacking when the worst thing that could happen to Tehran is that its missiles will not get through and its “best” case scenario is killing thousands of Israelis. Israel may have missed a unique opportunity to set back Iran’s nuclear program as part of a “retaliation” for Tehran’s massive attack. But the US and the West pressed it not to, so it found a middle ground that did not draw blood and essentially let Iran off the hook without bloodying it too much. From the US perspective, in the short term maybe it saved Israel from itself: from rushing into an unnecessary intensified regional war. But Israel needs to live in this region long after the US loses focus or interest and will eventually need to recalibrate how it can both prevent Iran’s proxies from raining down a “ring of fire” on it as well as prevent Tehran from breaking out to a nuclear weapon which could endanger Israel on an existential level. Balancing the risks for retaliating is necessary, but constant restraint as a complete strategy for dealing with a hardened adversary like Iran would eventually be more dangerous than acting. ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-05-08

Iran has sought to increase the use of to attack Israel in the wake of the Rafah offensive. However, Iran’s proxies have so far not been very successful. Several drones were launched by pro-Iranian militias in Iraq, for instance. In addition Iran continues to use the Houthis in Yemen to attack ships. Overall, the Iraqi militias attacks generally involve the launch of singular drones and although the drones could do damage if they impacted something, they usually fail to get to Israel or are intercepted. At the same time the Houthis face off against in the Red Sea. According to US Central Command, on May 6 “Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists launched three uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) over the Gulf of Aden from Houthi controlled areas in Yemen. A coalition ship successfully engaged one UAS, US Central Command (USCENTCOM) forces successfully engaged the second UAS, and the final UAS crashed in the Gulf of Aden. There were no injuries or damages reported by US, coalition, or merchant vessels.” Then on May 7 the Houthis launched a ballistic missile into the Gulf of Aden. Pro-Iranian media had suggested that if , this would create a “perfect storm” and Israel would face threats from multiple fronts. So far the threats have not materialized the way Iran envisioned them. For instance, Hezbollah did increase attacks between May 5 and 8, launching dozens of rockets. At 11am on May 8 Hezbollah targeted areas in the Galilee.An Israeli air defense system intercept rockets fired from Lebanon as it seen from the Israeli side of the border, on November 7, 2023. (credit: AYAL MARGOLIN/FLASH90) Then, half an hour later, it targeted areas near Shlomi, not far from Nahariya. These are areas Hezbollah has often targeted. Hezbollah is thus using the same playbook. The major deviation were a series of drone attacks by Hezbollah on May 6 and May 7. Hezbollah’s attacks killed two IDF soldiers on Monday. This is a serious escalation. However, Hezbollah appeared to climb down from more escalation on May 8. Hezbollah appears to prefer the kind of proportional attacks that it has carried out for seven months, destroying Israeli communities in the north, but not yet leading to a wider war. Iran’s goal of escalation amid the Rafah offensive has therefore not come to the fruition that Iran wanted. It remains to be seen if Iran and its proxies will increase their attacks over the weekend. ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-05-08

The extent of Iranian involvement in Hamas's decision to initiate the has not yet been fully disclosed - and according to various sources in the Arab media and the Iranian opposition, it is possible that the connection between the Revolutionary Guards and Hamas was even deeper and wider. Dr. Hassan Hashemian, an Iran expert based in Washington, argued in an interview with the Saudi channel Al-Hadath, "I believe that everything that happened on October 7 was managed and planned during the era of Qasem Soleimani," referring to the commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, who was killed in an operation attributed to the United States and Israel. He added, "The issue of the tunnels and the funds invested in their construction, all the weapons accumulated by Hamas, and even the planning of the operation itself, were all conducted during Soleimani's tenure. But the implementation itself was carried out by Ismail Qaani, Soleimani's successor." "Qaani wanted to prove himself," Hashemian continued, "because it is known that Soleimani is a different figure from him. Within Hamas, within the , and even in the government offices in Tehran, and even among many agents abroad, it is believed that he does not measure up to the stature of Qasem Soleimani." According to Hashemian's claim, official responses from Iran cannot be relied upon, stating that Tehran was not involved in Hamas's planning. The S-300 missile system is seen during the National Army Day parade ceremony in Tehran, Iran, April 17, 2024. (credit: Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters) Iran maintains vocal support for Hamas and the Palestinian cause, yet officially denies any involvement in attack planning. Nevertheless, doubts arise regarding the plausibility of such decisions being made without the Revolutionary Guards' knowledge, particularly that of Qaani. criticized Israel for the collapsed prisoner exchange deal, stressing the imperative of swift action against enemies. He underscored, "With the enemy, one cannot act with patience," further stating, "Israel would not dare to commit the crimes it perpetrates against the Palestinians without the support it receives from the United States." On Sunday, former IDF Chief of Staff Prof. Yaakov Nagel read in a special article published in Maariv, "to move from words to actions" in Gaza and Lebanon given the escalation in tensions with Hamas. "When Israel finishes dealing with Hamas, the interests of Israel, Hezbollah, and Iran to postpone the fighting in the north will likely be caught for a short time," he argued. "It is imperative not to misjudge the challenges of confrontation with Iran. Israel must continue to act forcefully against Iran's aggressive behavior and its desire to break into the nuclear field. Iran remains Israel's central problem.” "In light of the developments, from which Hamas's priorities can clearly be understood," he added, "Israeli priority must be to complete the mission in Gaza, strive for a temporary solution in the north that will allow residents to return home safely, and continue covert and overt activity against Iran to ensure it does not exploit the opportunity to break into the nuclear field and continue attacking Israel. Normalization with Saudi Arabia is very important but can wait." In a recent article published by Maariv, former IDF Chief of Staff Prof. Yaakov Nagel urged for a shift "from words to actions" in dealing with the escalating tensions in Gaza and Lebanon. He cautioned that after addressing the Hamas issue, there might be a brief moment where the interests of Israel, Hezbollah, and Iran align, emphasizing, "It is imperative not to misjudge the challenges of confrontation with Iran." Nagel stressed the need for Israel to maintain a robust stance against Iran's aggressive behavior and its nuclear ambitions, stating, "Iran remains Israel's central problem." Addressing Hamas's priorities, Nagel asserted, "Israeli priority must be to complete the mission in Gaza," and advocated for pursuing a temporary solution in the north for residents' safety. He emphasized the importance of continuing covert and overt actions against Iran to prevent it from exploiting opportunities to advance its nuclear program and attack Israel. While acknowledging the significance of normalization with Saudi Arabia, Nagel suggested that it could be deferred, stating, "Normalization with Saudi Arabia is very important but can wait." ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-05-08

An alleged airstrike on an emergency relief center in in March 2024, was made using US-manufactured weaponry, according to a Tuesday release from the organization Human Rights Watch (HRW.)  The strike was reportedly made using Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) guidance kit and an Israeli-made 500-pound general purpose bomb.  Some seven aid workers were reportedly killed in the strike, according to HRW. HRW described as unlawful, claiming it was on civilians and that Israel failed to take all necessary precautions. If the attack on civilians was carried out intentionally or recklessly, it should be investigated as an apparent war crime, the organization claimed.  The strike, which occurred after midnight, hit a residential structure that housed the Emergency and Relief Corps of the Lebanese Succour Association, a nongovernmental humanitarian organization that provides emergency, rescue, first aid training, and relief services in according to the release.  The assassination of a senior Hamas official in Lebanon - Ali Muhammad Mustafa (credit: IDF SPOKESMAN’S UNIT) HRW claimed to have found no evidence of a military target at the site.  “Israeli forces used a US weapon to conduct a strike that killed seven civilian relief workers in Lebanon who were merely doing their jobs,” said Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Israel’s assurances to the United States that it is abiding by the laws of war ring hollow. The US needs to acknowledge reality and cut off arms to Israel.” It is the position of HRW that the United States should immediately suspend arms sales and military assistance to Israel given evidence that the Israeli military is using US weapons unlawfully. The organization also expressed the belief that Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry should move forward with filing a declaration with the International Criminal Court, enabling it to investigate and prosecute alleged crimes within the court’s jurisdiction on Lebanese territory since October 2023. In October 2023, Hamas launched a massive terror attack which resulted in more than 1200 people being killed and over 250 more kidnapped. Hezbollah, a Lebanese-based terror group, began launching rockets toward Israeli residential communities and Israeli military bases in the north, resulting in the IDF conducting strikes against Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanese territory. A number of Hamas terrorists have also been eliminated during the strikes in Lebanon. In a Telegram post on March 27, the Israeli military said that “fighter jets struck a military compound in the area of al-Habbariyeh in southern Lebanon” and that “a significant terrorist operative belonging to the ‘al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya’ [an Islamic terrorist group] organization who advanced attacks against Israeli territory was eliminated along with additional terrorists who were with him.” A parliament member representing The Islamist terror group, a Lebanese Islamist political party whose armed wing, the Fajr Forces, has been engaged in cross-border hostilities with Israel, told Human Rights Watch that no fighters from the group were killed in the strike, and denied any affiliation with the Emergency and Relief Corps of the Lebanese Succour Association. HRW later interviewed six people from Habbarieh, including the parents of three people killed, the owner of the house, a member of the emergency and rescue team who left the center shortly before the strike, a resident who was at the site shortly after the attack, and a local official. In addition, HRW representatives spoke to the head of the Emergency and Relief Corps at the Lebanese Succour Association, a member of parliament representing the Islamist terror group, and two people at the General Directorate of the Lebanese Civil Defense, including the head of the civil defense team that pulled the bodies out of the rubble. Photographs of weapon remnants found at the site were also reviewed, after photographs and videos of the site before and after the attack shared online by journalists, news agencies, and rescue workers; and the footage was shared directly with researchers.  Footage of weapons remnants found at the site of the strike, and shared with Human Rights Watch, included a metal remnant marked “MPR 500,” confirming it was a 500-pound class general purpose bomb, made by Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems, and remnants of the strake and a tail-fin belonging to a JDAM guidance kit, produced by the US-based Boeing Company. Based on the above investigation, HRW claimed to have sent a letter with findings and questions to the IDF and the US State Department on April 19 but state that they have not received a response as of time of publishing. The HRW investigative team concluded that there was no evidence of a military target. The IDF’s Telegram post about targeting the center was said to indicate, at a minimum, failure to take all feasible precautions to verify that the target was military and avoid loss of civilian life and damage to civilian objects, making the strike unlawful. An official from the terror group admitted that some Islamist terror group supporters are volunteers in the Lebanese Succour Association, however, they claimed they do not include any fighters from its armed wing, the Fajr Forces.  Two people killed in the strike were likely supporters of the group, HRW acknowledged. In one case, the person posted four photographs to his Facebook page with the banner and imagery of the Islamist terror group between 2016 and 2018. Another photograph posted on social media showed a third person holding an assault rifle while wearing camouflages fatigues. The person’s mother claimed that her son, like other men in the village, used rifles for hunting and was not affiliated with any armed group.  “We turned every stone,” Hamdan said. “Everything we found were emergency and medical equipment and devices. Overalls, helmets, gauze, first aid kits. That’s it.” “The uninterrupted and unconditional flow of arms despite Israel’s systematic violations of the laws of war and impunity for those abuses facilitate the continued unlawful killing of civilians, including aid workers.” Kaiss said. “Israel's conduct in Gaza and Lebanon violates US and international laws, and President Biden needs to stop the flow of weapons as a matter of urgency to avoid further atrocities.” ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-05-07

A report in Al-Ain media in the UAE claimed to reveal an interesting development in Yemen. The report claims that Hezbollah has “confiscated” funds in Yemen from the Houthis and that Hezbollah is playing a role in Yemen. The report leaves many questions that are impossible to confirm, but it likely reveals some details that are worth analyzing. First of all, it reflects a concern in and the Gulf about the increased ties of the Houthis to Iran and other Iranian proxies. It reflects concern that the Houthis are being operationalized to do proxy work for Iran. Iran has been active in backing the Houthis in their war on Saudi Arabia since 2015 when Saudi Arabia and other countries intervened in Yemen to prevent the Houthis from taking Aden. There was a ceasefire in Yemen in 2022, and Saudi Arabia and the Houthis appeared to be on a track toward peace because Riyadh and Tehran were patching things up with China’s backing. Now, the Houthis have directed resources to join Hamas in the war against Israel. The Houthis are playing their role by attacking ships. This raises concerns about how Iran may use the Houthis in the future. The report at Al-Ain says that the news organization learned that the Houthi militias received "directives from Hezbollah to allocate the largest portion of the financial revenues it earns from the Yemeni governorates in the north to military operations and military industrialization." Hezbollah in Lebanon apparently now supervises some of what the Houthis are doing and works as a “mastermind” behind operations. “The sources revealed that Hezbollah addressed the militia leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, by transferring the process of managing the financial resources that the Houthi militias earn from revenues, royalties, and taxes from areas under their control to a special committee headed by one of Hezbollah’s experts present in Sanaa, whose nickname is ‘Abu Radwan.’” The name Abu Radwan, if it’s real and not just a made-up name, is possibly linked to the , who are portrayed as the elite force of Hezbollah. The Radwan force takes its name from the late Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyeh who was known as al-Hajj Radwan. This was his “war name” or nom de guerre. The fact that a mysterious man in Yemen who is linked to Hezbollah has taken on the name Abu Radwan is entirely plausible, but it’s only plausible in the context of knowing who the original Hajj Radwan was and what is meant by Radwan in the Hezbollah lingo. Armed Houthi followers ride on the back of a pick-up truck during a parade in solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and to show support to Houthi strikes on ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, in Sanaa, Yemen January 29, 2024. (credit: KHALED ABDULLAH/REUTERS) The article claims that Abu Radwan in Yemen is now “supervising the revenues of the communications and Internet sector under the control of the Houthis.” But not only that, he has done this for years and was linked to Hezbollah for years. He is “directly linked to the leadership of Hezbollah and experts from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards to finance military activities and arming the militias.” Hezbollah now plays a greater role in deciding where the Houthis allocate funds. A committee now exists that received input from Hezbollah about where to target financial resources and “how the process of military spending and armament will be carried out.” There is some kind of cheeky irony in this story because the article claims the source said that the goal of Hezbollah in Sinai is to kind of put the Houthi leadership on a diet of finances, “ending the extensive financial privileges enjoyed by the Houthi leadership, including military and security, drying up corruption, transferring funds for the benefit of military operations, and preparing for any future developments." In essence, Hezbollah has been brought in to bring some austerity here and clean up the Houthi books. The Houthis are like one of those large corporations like Office Space, and someone has to come in as efficiency experts and ask the Houthis, “What exactly do you do here”? At the same time, it seems Hezbollah has sought to squeeze the populace by sending taskmasters to go out and farm more money for the bosses in Sanaa. “The sources confirmed that Hezbollah asked the Houthi militias to intensify the financial collection process and raise the rates of customs, taxes, port fees, and communications costs by no less than 40% during the coming months until the end of the current year.” And it gets worse if you’re a Yemeni who thought peace might bring a peace dividend. It turns out Hezbollah wants a 70/30 split in terms of where the money goes. Seventy percent for guns and only thirty percent for food. This “guns or butter” equation is not in favor of what is good for Yemen. However, the article reveals the reason for this squeeze. It turns out that the Houthis are not getting as much money from Iraq or Iran, or perhaps Hezbollah is not getting as much from Iraq and Iraq. A new “council of experts” has been formed in Sana’a, and it has been “granted absolute powers for military and security decisions, controlling even the civilian sector, carrying out bombing or targeting operations inside and outside Yemen’s borders, and even naval attacks against cargo ships.” According to the report, this council is now in charge of military operations, and the Houthi's own ministry of defense has been sidelined. If this is true, it points to outsourcing some operations in Yemen to Hezbollah. It’s not the first that has been heard of Iran’s IRGC playing a role in overseeing Houthi actions, but it is the first time Hezbollah’s role has appeared so prominent. It is also known that in early October, after the Hamas attack, the Houthis created a “joint operations room” to coordinate with the rest of the Iranian axis to threaten Israel. Now, it seems this has grown into this “council” and taxation committee. If the report is accurate, then it spells more troubles in the region as Hezbollah grows in its role within the Iranian hierarchy. ...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

National Unity MK Michael Biton said in an interview on the Knesset TV channel on Sunday that his party would leave the government “soon” and would bring forward a bill to disperse the Knesset and in September.National Unity joined the government on October 11 due to the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. It has repeated since then that it would remain in the government as long as it felt it was influencing .Neither of the party’s leaders, namely, Ministers-without-Portfolios , indicated that they were close to leaving the government. Benny Gantz, Gadi Eisenkot (credit: TOMER NEUBERG/FLASH90)Eisenkot last week made a rare statement in which he criticized the government’s far-right ministers for attempting to “politically extort” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu so he would shoot down a hostage deal that included what they considered to be unacceptable concessions. Then, on Saturday, Gantz made a statement urging the prime minister not to become “hysterical” over reports that Hamas was considering accepting the deal. Gantz’s statement came after a “diplomatic official,” widely believed to be the prime minister, sent out a statement earlier on Saturday saying that under no condition would Israel agree to halt the war completely.The wording in Gantz and Eisenkot’s statements was uncharacteristically sharp. The two have refrained from speaking publicly since Passover. While this could be coincidental – Eisenkot rarely spoke in public in any case, and Gantz is recovering from surgery on his ankle after a bicycle accident – it is hard to miss the sense of exasperation expressed in their statements’ tone.Some 80 family members of approximately 30 hostages demanded in a letter on Monday that Gantz and Eisenkot “tell the truth” about whether political considerations were a part of Netanyahu’s conduct.Nevertheless, as long as there remains a chance for a hostage deal, Gantz and Eisenkot will likely bite the bullet and remain in the government. Ideally, the two would prefer to remain until after the front with Lebanon is resolved as well.But as their frustration grew, Biton’s comments may have revealed the party’s position—its departure could indeed come “soon.”  ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-05-06

A kamikaze drone launched from Lebanon exploded near the town of Metula in northern Israel on Monday afternoon, critically injuring two Israelis. The drone, which penetrated Israeli airspace, detonated near a building in Metula, causing severe injuries to two individuals.  In response to the attack, Israeli Air Force (IAF) fighter jets targeted 15 military structures and terrorist infrastructure within a Hezbollah military camp in the Arab al-Lawiza area of southern Lebanon, specifically targeting structures belonging to the Radwan Force, a unit within Hezbollah. Earlier in the day, approximately 30 rockets were launched at the southern Golan Heights, causing minor damage to several homes in Kidmat Tzvi and agricultural fields. There were no reported injuries from these attacks. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for launching ten Katyusha rockets toward what it described as a "military position in southern Lebanon."  The group asserted that these launches were in retaliation for an alleged Israeli attack in the a-Sefari area, located approximately 100 kilometers north of Metula. ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-05-06

The Iranian-backed terrorist group to target Israel with “dozens” of katyusha rockets on May 6. The attack targeted the Golan where sirens were heard in several areas in the central Golan. Hezbollah said it had targeted the “Golan division headquarters” in a statement to Al-Mayadeen. The report on the attack said that “the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon - Hezbollah announced that it had targeted, on Monday morning, the headquarters of the Golan Division (210th) at the Nafah base with dozens of ‘Katyusha’ rockets.” This is part of a series of Hezbollah escalations in the last days. It also attacked Kiryat Shmona on May 5 with 20 rockets and carried out an additional attack in the north with around 40 projectiles on May 5. Hezbollah its attacks are in “response” to Israeli actions. In this case, Hezbollah blamed Israel for an “attack that targeted the Bekaa region.” The Hezbollah escalation comes as Iran is likely watching the developments in Gaza amid Israeli calls for civilians to evacuate eastern Rafah. This means that Iranian-backed proxies and terror groups may increase their attacks. An Israeli anti missile system intercept rockets fired from Lebanon as it seen from the Israeli side of the border, on November 7, 2023. (credit: AYAL MARGOLIN/FLASH90) Iran has recently prodded groups in Iraq and Bahrain to carry out attacks. However, the claims of the attacks cannot be verified because they consist largely of the groups putting out claims without much evidence. For instance, the terrorist group may not even be operating from Bahrain. Bahrain is a member of the Abraham Accords, along with the UAE. It is less likely that a group could operate there even with Iranian backing. Therefore it is worth considering that some of the reports in pro-Iran media relate to statements more than they relate to reality. On the Hezbollah front, however, things are different. The group has a large arsenal, and when it says it carries out attacks, it generally does not exaggerate.  ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-05-05

The mayor of , Avichai Stern, expressed outrage after a barrage of dozens of rockets hit his city on Sunday, warning that residents of the north would make the anti-government protests in Tel Aviv look like "child's play" if the government didn't act soon. "Those who have been talking about a cease-fire and an agreement between Israel and Hezbollah in recent days received a crushing answer today about the value of talks and agreements with terrorist organizations," said Stern. "The latest barrage launched in the afternoon towards Kiryat Shmona caused great damage and direct hits on destroyed houses. Imagine what would happen if there were families with children in those houses," added the mayor. "For us to stop seeing things like this, I call on the Israeli government to start doing what is good for the Jews and not what the Gentiles want. Anyone who thinks that the residents of Kiryat Shmona will return to the city to be sitting ducks is seriously mistaken." "If there is no clear decision, the Kaplan Street protests will be child's play compared to what we are planning soon," warned Stern. At least two people were wounded after Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets toward Kiryat Shmona on Sunday, with several of the rockets hitting buildings and vehicles throughout the city. Israeli security forces at the scene where a rocket fired from Lebanon into Northern Israel hit the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona, May 5, 2024 (credit: David Cohen/Flash90) Organizations representing residents of northern Israel issued a joint statement on Sunday, expressing concerns about a ceasefire agreement reportedly being discussed between Hezbollah and Israel. "In recent days, reports have been coming in that a political arrangement is being formulated to end the activity on the northern front, without guaranteeing a real change in the security reality in the north," said the organizations, stressing that the reported outline violates both UN Security Resolution 1701 and of the government's resolution to evacuate residents of the north. The organizations issued three demands: a change in the security situation and the removal of the threat on the border, an end to decisions being made over citizens' heads, and for all local leaders to unite and work to represent all the residents of the cities, local councils, and regional councils. Moshe Davidovitz, the head of the Mateh Asher Regional Council and chairman of the Line of Confrontation Forum, warned that "there is a for human life here." "Some of the residents have already lost hope and will not return, the businesses have collapsed, and they are groaning under the burden of the debts that are accumulating," said Davidovitz. "It is the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day in the State of Israel, and I am calling on the Israeli government to act with a determined and clear plan in the north!" added the regional council head, warning of "the loss of trust, the uncertainty, and the feeling of insecurity" among the public. Gabi Naaman, head of the Shlomi local council, added that "whoever thought that an arrangement could be reached with Hezbollah is wrong and misleading. The IDF must take significant action and drive Hezbollah away." "Talk to them in their language and keep them away from the fence. The sooner the better. It is necessary to do this as soon as possible because we want to start the next school year here. The settlement and agreement with Hezbollah mean one thing: strengthening Hezbollah and leaving the residents of the north to the invasion of Nasrallah's killers and the events of October 7 will be small compared to what these human monsters want to do to us," added Naaman. In recent days, Lebanese and Israeli media have reported that France has presented a proposal to Lebanon and Israel which would aim to lead to an end of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Part of the proposed deal would include negotiations to settle disputes concerning several locations along the Lebanese-Israeli border, as well as a commitment by Hezbollah to withdraw a few kilometers away from the border, according to the reports. Last week, French visited Lebanon and Israel to discuss the efforts to deescalate the situation. On Friday, the speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri told Asharq Al-Awsat that he would respond to France's proposal over the weekend, saying that the proposal included "some acceptable points and others that were not and must be amended." Berri added that the proposal had been written in English instead of in French, "which came as a surprise." A source from the Hezbollah and Amal movements told Asharq Al-Awsat that Berri's position concerning the French proposal has received "unconditional" support from Hezbollah and Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati. ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-05-04

An Iranian-backed terrorist group in Bahrain claims to have targeted Israel a second time. JPost on May 2 that the “Islamic Resistance in Bahrain, Saraya Al-Ashtar” claimed it had targeted Israel. The group alleged via pro-Iran media such as Al-Mayadeen that on April 27 it had targeted an Israeli company in Eilat. There is no evidence that the group’s attacks, which it claims involved drones, have taken place or been successful. The group posted an undated video showing a drone being launched. Now Iran’s IRNA reported on May 4 that the group said it had carried out a second attack targeting Eilat. “The Bahraini resistance group,, has announced its second attack on Israeli positions in support of the Palestinian people in war-ravaged Gaza,” IRNA claimed. The group has been sanctioned as a terrorist group by the US. Bahrain is a member of the Abraham Accords. Bahrain has a Shi’ite minority and Iran has often sought to influence the Shi’ite community in Bahrain and stir up trouble in the Kingdom. Iran has done the same among Shi’ites in Saudi Arabia. Iran likely is pushing the Bahrain group to make these claims during the 15th Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in , where Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian is pushing countries to cut ties with Israel. As such Iran appears to be trying to operationalize a new “front” against Israel. Iran already uses Hamas in Gaza, Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the West Bank, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and militias in Iraq and Syria to attack Israel. Iran also attacked Israel on April 13-14. Iran’s foreign minister met with his Saudi counterparts in Gambia on may 4. Iran may be trying to send a message it can destabilize Bahrain, a close ally of Saudi Arabia, and it is pushing this terrorist proxy to make these claims in that light. THE SECRETARIES-GENERAL of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (left) and the Arab League, with Saudi Arabia's foreign minister between them, hold a news conference at the joint Arab-Islamic summit in Riyadh, on November 11 (credit: AHMED YOSRI/ REUTERS) According to IRNA, the “Al-Ashtar Brigades stressed in its statement that it will continue attacks against the Israeli regime until it stops its war on Gaza and lift its blockade of the Palestinian territory.” The Iranian media also claimed that the “Bahraini resistance group carried out its first anti-Israel attack on April 30, targeting Eilat Port with drones.” The April 30 date appears different than the April 27 date that the group claimed on Thursday. It is not clear why Iranian media has now reported two different dates. The Iranian media admitted that other groups in the region, “including those in Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon have also hit Israeli targets in the past months in an effort to force the regime to halt its genocidal war on Gaza.” Iran is clearly trying to set the region aflame and using its proxies to do so. It is admitting this openly as part of its goal to change the regional order and use the October 7 attack as part of a shift in the new world order that Iran believes is arriving.  ...قراءة المزيد

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