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Recent Appearances...

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Matan Zangauker’s mother says Edan Alexander provided sign of life from son

2025-05-17

[IsraelTimes] Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is held captive in Gaza, said Friday she had received proof from freed hostage Edan Alexander that her son is still alive in Gaza.

Alexander was freed from captivity on Monday as part of an agreement between the US and Hamas, to which Israel was not a party.

During an interview at a “Friday Culture” event, Zangauker said, “Matan is still alive. We received this information due to the return of Edan Alexander.”

But she said the good news may be for nothing if her son is eventually killed by the “military pressure implemented since Edan returned.”

According to Zangauker, “The military pressure killed hostages. The only way to bring back my Matan and all the hostages is with a complete agreement for the end of the war. [Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] is dragging us toward an endless political war.”

Petulant, pissy, loudmouthed, self-aggrandizing fool, who places her personal politics above the fate of her son and the nation. She endangers her son and all the other still-living hostages every time she opens her mouth.

Alexander, a US-Israeli IDF soldier kidnapped on October 7, 2023, was freed by Hamas after 584 days in captivity in what the terrorist organization said was a gesture toward the Trump administration.

He was released from Ichilov Medical Center in Tel Aviv on Friday after completing a medical checkup. Channel 12 reported earlier in the week that Alexander had returned with injuries sustained from torture at the hands of his captors, as well as flea bites.

Matan Zangauker, 24, was kidnapped on October 7, 2023, from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz alongside his girlfriend, Ilana Gritzewsky. Gritzewsky was released on November 30, 2023, as part of a temporary ceasefire deal brokered by Qatar and the United States between Hamas and Israel.

Zangauker’s mother, Einav, has become one of the most recognizable relatives of hostages. The former Netanyahu supporter has led protests and made media appearances in which she has repeatedly demanded a ceasefire-hostage deal and slammed the government and the prime minister.

When it was revealed that Hamas planned to release Alexander, Zangauker said she feared that would leave Matan alone in captivity.

“The two of them are in a dark tunnel without any other hostages. If Matan is left alone in the tunnel, Netanyahu is deciding to murder my boy; instead of releasing all of the hostages, he has become my private angel of death,” she said in a previous statement.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum

…they’ve done some good, supporting the families moved away from the Gaza border for the duration, after they were shamed into it. But mostly they have worked to overthrow Bibi’s conservative government — in the midst of a shooting war they continued the effort that has gone for the past quarter century whenever the conservatives controlled the Knesset — because they are offended that their beloved Labour Socialists are not still running things...

said on Friday that Israel was losing the “opportunity of the century” as it intensifies operations in the Gaza Strip, instead of reaching a deal to return hostages and joining diplomatic initiatives led by US President Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, the Tikva Forum, a hawkish organization of hostages’ families, said reports of widespread airstrikes in Gaza meant the war was heading in the “right direction,” and urged more military pressure they argued would secure the release of their loved ones.

“The justification for the military activity is solely for the release of all our abductees together, without selection and without stages,” the forum said, urging the complete defeat of Hamas.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Israel’s new unmanned bulldozers ‘changing the paradigm’ of war in Gaza

2025-04-21

;Go on, Besoeker — you know you want to do, and nobody does it better.[IsraelTimes] The Robdozer, the robotic version of the D9 bulldozer, has begun limited deployment in the IDF’s operations against Hamas; ‘This is the future,’ says one military expert

At first glance, there is nothing unusual about the bulky bulldozer turning up soil at a testing site in central Israel, but as it pulled closer it became clear: the driver’s cabin is eerily empty.

This is the Robdozer, a fortified engineering vehicle manned remotely, and in this case operated from a military expo halfway across the globe in Alabama.

Army engineers and military experts say that the Robdozer — the robotic version of Caterpillar’s D9 bulldozer — is the future of automated combat.

The Israeli military has used D9 for years to carry out frontline tasks like troweling roads for advancing troops, removing rubble and flattening terrain, but since war in Gaza broke out in October 2023, and later in Lebanon, the Israeli military has increasingly deployed this robotic version in a bid to enhance its field operations and reduce the risks to its troops.

“The idea is to eliminate the person from the cockpit of the dozer,” said Rani, whose team at the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries developed the Robdozer.

During the Gaza war, the military has increasingly opted for the unmanned version, which can carry out a full range of tasks “even better than a human,” said Rani, using his first name only for security reasons.

While such vehicles and other systems are currently operated by humans, future versions could be autonomous, raising ethical and legal concerns over the unchartered future of warfare being shaped by the Israeli military in the Gaza war.

‘CHANGING THE PARADIGM’
Israel’s increasing use of advanced technology on the battlefield, from air defense systems to a broad range of AI-driven intelligence tools, has been well-documented but also criticized for inaccuracies, lack of human oversight and potential violations of international law.

Analysts say the growing Israeli deployment of the Robdozer reflects broader global trends toward automation in heavy combat vehicles, like remote-controlled personnel carriers that operate much like drones.

An Israeli military official, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, told AFP that the army has been using “robotic tools for over a decade, but in very small numbers. Now it is being used in large-scale warfare.”

Troops can now operate machinery without having to enter enemy territory, said the official.

Andrew Fox, a retired British army major and a research fellow at the London-based Henry Jackson Society, said the Israeli military was likely the first force to use remote-controlled combat machinery in an active war zone.

“It’s a really big development” that is “changing the paradigm” of warfare, carrying out tasks as effectively but at a far reduced risk to personnel, he said.

A NEW ERA OF WAR
“This is the future,” said John Spencer, chair of urban warfare studies at the US military’s Modern War Institute at West Point.

Many “have been experimenting with it, but nobody has seen direct deployment into active modern combat,” he added. “It is very unique.”

But beyond ethical and legal drawbacks to such advanced technology, there is also the need for an overriding human presence to make decisions particularly in unusual situations.

The October 7, 2023, attack — when some Hamas terrorists breached the high-security border to invade southern Israel, where it killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, starting the Gaza war — was a disastrous example for that, said Tal Mimran of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

“I think that October 7 showed us that you can build a wall that may cost $1 billion, but if you do not patrol the border, then someone will infiltrate your country,” said Mimran, a lecturer and researcher of international law who has been closely following the Israeli military’s technological developments.

“We must take note of the opportunities and of the risks of technology,” he said. “This is the era in which artificial intelligence is exploding into our lives, and it is only natural that it will also have a manifestation in the security field.”

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Tehran warns it will strike US bases in region if Trump takes military action against Iran

2025-03-30

[IsraelTimes] Tehran will strike US bases in the region if Washington follows through on its warning of military consequences for Iran in the absence of a new nuclear deal, the speaker of the Iranian parliament says.

US President Donald Trump said earlier this month that he had sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warning that “there are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily, or you make a deal.”

“If the Americans attack the sanctity of Iran, the entire region will blow up like a spark in an ammunition dump,” Parliament Speaker Mohammad Qalibaf says.

“Their bases and those of their allies will not be safe,” Qalibaf says in a live speech at the annual Al-Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day, that marks the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan.

Khamenei called Trump’s message deceptive, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday that talks would be impossible unless Washington changed its “maximum pressure” policy. Iran had thoroughly examined Trump’s letter and had sent “an appropriate response” through Oman, Araqchi said.

Earlier today, Araqchi was reported by state media as saying that while Trump’s letter contained threats, it also left the door open to diplomacy. He did not elaborate.

Western powers accuse Iran of having a clandestine agenda to develop nuclear weapons capability. Tehran insists its program is wholly for civilian energy purposes, although a UN nuclear watchdog report last month asserted that it is the only non-nuclear weapon state to produce such high quantities of nuclear materials.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

'Voluntary Relocation': Israel Prepares New Occupation of Gaza

2025-03-29

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Kirill Semenov

[REGNUM] For the second year in a row, the world day of Al-Quds, as Jerusalem is called in the Islamic world, is celebrated under the explosions of bombs and shells. And this means that the Muslims of Gaza also fast during the second holy month of Ramadan under the strikes of the Israeli Air Force: Al-Quds Day is celebrated on the last Friday of Ramadan, this year it fell on March 28.

Hamas has called on Arab and Islamic leaders to shoulder historic responsibility as Israel commits what the Islamic resistance organization calls heinous crimes against Palestine.

"They must take decisive action to stop this war, lift the siege of Gaza and maintain peace for our people on their land," the statement said.

It also calls on preachers and Islamic scholars around the world to dedicate Friday as a global day of support for Palestine, Gaza, Al-Quds and Al-Aqsa, strengthening the resilience of the Palestinians and protecting their lands and holy places:

"Let the mass events, marches and sit-ins continue in the coming days until this aggression ends and the massacre and genocide stops."

In turn, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) Masoud Pezeshkian called on the people of the country to take part in the march dedicated to the International Day of Al-Quds and express their condemnation of the “Zionist regime,” as Israel is called in the IRI.

“I call on the people to take to the streets tomorrow (Friday – Ed.) and express their hatred of the Zionist regime,” the president said at a meeting of governors at the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

"The Zionist regime has committed the most murders in front of the world and then calls others terrorists. They talk about peace but commit such brutal crimes," the Iranian leader added.

A NEW STAGE OF WAR
Of course, the issue of international support for Palestine is now especially important not only for Hamas, but for all Palestinians, since the hope that peace could return to Gaza after the ceasefire came into effect on January 19 has not come true.

On March 18, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a new operation, codenamed "Power and Sword," unilaterally violating the agreement with Hamas, which was reached with the support of American and Qatari mediators.

Its goal is to finally resolve the Palestinian issue and, at the first stage, expel the Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. After which it will be possible to proceed with the annexation of the West Bank (where military activity is also increasing) and the expulsion of the Palestinians from there.

The IDF's campaign last year was ineffective because of disagreements between political and military leaders over tactics and strategy, Amir Avivi, a former deputy commander of the army's Gaza unit, told The Washington Post.

It was also hampered by concerns from the previous US administration about high casualties among Palestinian civilians.

But he said the advent of the Donald Trump administration and changes in Israel's defense establishment have loosened those restrictions.

"Now we have new [IDF] leadership, support from the US, and we have enough ammunition, and we have completed our main operations in the north and can focus on Gaza, " Avivi said. "The plans are decisive. There will be a full-scale attack, and the IDF will not stop until Hamas is completely destroyed."

Indeed, the first day of the new military campaign was one of the bloodiest: more than 400 Palestinians were killed, including 263 women and children, adding to the more than 50,000 Gazans killed.

Not counting those trapped under the rubble and still missing, at least 100 civilians have been killed in Gaza every day since then.

At the same time as the military efforts against Hamas are being stepped up, the Israeli leadership is taking steps to move to the practical phase of expelling the Palestinians from Gaza.

Thus, on the evening of March 22, the security cabinet approved a proposal by Defense Minister Israel Katz to create an administration to facilitate the “voluntary movement of Gazans to a third country.”

Katz said the structure is being created "in line with the vision of US President Trump."

The administration will report to Katz and will be responsible for “preparing and ensuring the safe and controlled transit of Gazans for their voluntary departure to third countries, including ensuring the safety of their movement, establishing the route of movement,” and so on.

INVASION AND OCCUPATION ARE COMING
However, in order to move on to the practical implementation of the plan, it will first be necessary to reoccupy the sector and move 2.2 million people to a “humanitarian zone” along the Mediterranean coast, the Financial Times reports.

Officials note that Gaza will be ruled by the military, which would effectively mean its reoccupation.

Israel had already captured the enclave during the 1967 war and controlled it for nearly four decades until 2005.

The new and more aggressive tactics, Israeli experts say, will likely also include direct military control of humanitarian aid, targeting more civilian Hamas members and officials, and evacuating women, children and screened non-combatants from residential areas into "humanitarian bubbles" and locking in those who remain.

It is a more intense version of the tactics used last year in northern Gaza.

Such a plan does not seem so far-fetched at the moment, given that Hamas is left alone with its enemy.

The movement still has about 20,000 experienced fighters capable of putting up serious resistance, but the main problem is access to weapons and ammunition.

So far, only the Yemeni Houthis from the Ansar Allah movement are capable of providing real assistance to the Palestinians.

Despite being subjected to American bombing, the Houthis find the opportunity to launch their ballistic missiles and drones towards Israel almost every day.

While the military impact of such attacks is minimal, the psychological factor is important, allowing Palestinians to feel at least someone's support when air raid sirens force half of Israel's population to take refuge in bomb shelters.

But in any case, the current stage of the confrontation between Hamas and the IDF seems to be the most difficult for the Palestinians.

Israel can bring its full military might to bear on the Islamic resistance in Gaza. Previously, significant resources were diverted to the Lebanese front to contain Hezbollah; now all these forces can be used in Gaza.

In fact, the plans revealed by the Financial Times envisage the IDF deploying several divisions to launch a second invasion of the enclave and take control of all territories previously held by Hamas.

A full-scale invasion and occupation would require up to five army divisions. And the IDF is now able to concentrate them against Hamas, something it could not previously do.

However, the deployment of such a group in Gaza could make other areas vulnerable.

While the Syrian and Lebanese fronts do not yet pose a threat to Israel, numerous risks still come from Iran, which has twice attacked Israeli territory with hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones in support of Hamas.

Tehran now appears weakened after Hezbollah retreated across the Litani River and the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Damascus. But its resources and capabilities, including continued support for Hamas, should hardly be underestimated.

"THE ONLY TRUE WAY"
“The Islamic Republic supports Palestine on the basis of Fiqh and Sharia,” the Iranian embassy in Moscow told Regnum.

According to the embassy, Imam Khomeini, as the inspirer of the Islamic Revolution, played a key role in supporting Palestine. He called for the unification of all Muslims in the struggle for the liberation of Al-Quds while still in exile, considering it an important religious aspect. It was he who, after the victory of the revolution, designated the last Friday of Ramadan as Al-Quds Day, and it is now celebrated throughout the Islamic world and beyond.

Let us recall that the problem of Palestine and, above all, the question of Jerusalem's belonging from the point of view of Islam is not only a national matter for the Palestinians. The liberation of Al-Quds - Jerusalem, which is the third holiest place of Islam along with Mecca and Medina from Israeli occupation is becoming the duty of all Muslims.

It is precisely on the basis of religious principles that the Islamic Republic considers it its duty to support the Palestinian resistance in the matter of returning Jerusalem to Muslims.

The Embassy of the Islamic Republic in Russia emphasized that Iran, which itself is under difficult conditions of sanctions and pressure from the new US administration, is the only country that has supported and continues to support the oppressed people of Palestine not only in words but also in deeds.

“Unlike many other Muslim states, such as Turkey, for example, from which one can hear only slogans.

The Iranian representative office also continues to believe that Hamas' armed struggle for the liberation of Palestine is the only correct path.

“Hamas understands that there is no other way to liberate its land except through resistance, even though the movement is paying a high price for the liberation of Palestine,” the embassy noted.

As Iranian diplomats emphasized, “as long as international organizations do not work, rules do not exist, and force and cruelty dominate, there is no other way out except resistance, and this is in accordance with the principles of Islam, since Muslims will not live under oppression.”

THERE ARE ENOUGH FIGHTERS
Last month, Israel's defense minister said the war with Palestinian groups in the occupied West Bank could last another year as Tehran refocuses its efforts after the Gaza war on supporting Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in that part of Palestine.

At the same time, as Shlomo Mofaz, head of the Meir Amit Center for Intelligence and Research in Israel, noted in a March 23 interview with Iran International: “It is possible that something is being smuggled into Gaza, either with food or from Egypt on UAVs, but mainly they have a problem” with weapons.

He also confirmed that Iran's "main focus is now on the West Bank, where there are several ways to support Hamas and other groups, mainly from Jordan, where there is a long border and no fences in many places."

At the same time, Hamas itself has found a way to restore its stockpiles. To do this, the movement uses unexploded Israeli ammunition.

"Unexploded ordnance is the main source of explosives for Hamas, " Michael Kardash, a former deputy chief of the Israel National Police's bomb disposal unit and a police consultant, told the NYT. "They cut up bombs from Israel, and many of them are used, of course. "

According to Hamas videos and inspections of captured weapons, the weapons used by the organization's military wing (anti-tank explosives, RPG warheads, thermobaric grenades and improvised devices) are indeed made from Israeli ammunition.

And if Hamas' arsenal continues to grow, the movement will have enough manpower to thwart Israel's plans to expel the Palestinians from Gaza.

Support for Hamas remains very high, despite recent demonstrations against the movement in the Gaza Strip.

The protests were directed specifically at the group's political wing, whose leaders live abroad and, according to some Gazans, are not doing enough to achieve peace.

At the same time, residents have no complaints about the Hamas military forces, the al-Qassam Brigades. Gazans very clearly distinguish between the military and political wings of the movement.

HOPE FOR PEACE
Amid ongoing attacks on Gaza, fragile hopes for peace remain as negotiations and consultations continue.

But their latest round has once again reached a deadlock. On Wednesday, Egyptian mediators told Hamas that Israel had rejected all proposals presented last week, even though they had been agreed upon with the United States.

Later on Wednesday, Hamas said ceasefire talks were ongoing and the movement was open to discussing any proposals.

Hamas spokesman Basem Naim said "no one will accept a situation in which the agreement will only be a temporary period of calm, with those taken prisoner released in exchange for food and drink, and then the fighting will resume along with plans for expulsion."

So once again everything will depend on the ability of the Palestinian movement to survive in the new conditions of war, unless, of course, Donald Trump intervenes with his unpredictability.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Day 2: Israel threatens to intensify Gaza strikes unless Hamas resumes ‘genuine’ talks

2025-03-19

[IsraelTimes] As ceasefire collapses, Hamas says over 400 people killed in Israeli strikes, including senior terror leaders; reports say mediators scrambling to resume hostage negotiations

Israel on Tuesday vowed to intensify its attacks on terrorist targets in the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
Strip unless Hamas
Hamas

..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
returned to "genuine" negotiations to free the remaining hostages, as the military continued its large-scale bombing campaign that began in the early morning hours.

The strikes, killing at least 400 Paleostinians according to Hamas health authorities, including several top members of the terror group, brought a fragile ceasefire in Gaza to an end after nearly two months of relative calm in the war-torn Paleostinian enclave.

After a large wave of overnight ~~Arclight~~ airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s on Hamas and Paleostinian Islamic Jihad
...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah...
targets, the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security agency said on Tuesday afternoon the strikes during the day had targeted cells of terror operatives, rocket-launching positions, weapons, and other military infrastructure.

The weapons and infrastructure were to have been used by the terror groups in planned attacks on Israel, the military added.

The IDF also announced that it had eliminated the de-facto prime minister of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip and several other brass hats in the terror group in strikes on Tuesday.

The military released footage of some of the overnight strikes, which according to the IDF targeted mid-level Hamas commanders, members of the terror group’s politburo, and its infrastructure. Islamic Jihad members and infrastructure were also targeted.

The initial wave of airstrikes lasted less than 10 minutes, according to the military.

At 2:10 a.m. the order was given, and fighter jets dropped their bombs on numerous targets within two minutes, while drone and attack helicopter strikes took another eight minutes. In all, the IDF says some 80 targets were struck.

The strikes were planned in advance, and the IDF said it took into account the hostages being held by Hamas. Military representatives spoke with the families of hostages overnight and updated them on the developments.

The IDF has repeatedly said amid the war it does not target areas in Gaza where it suspects hostages are being held. Still, some hostages have been killed by Israeli strikes, according to the IDF’s own investigations.

NEW RULES
Earlier today, Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Hamas that Israel’s actions would "intensify."

Defense Minister Israel Katz said that "the murderous Hamas needs to understand: If they do not release all our hostages, our blows will intensify."

The remarks, provided by his office, were made during an assessment with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, and other officials on Tuesday morning.

Later in the day, during a visit to the Tel Nof Airbase, Katz said that Israel would not end the fighting against Hamas until all of the hostages were returned.

"Hamas must realize that the rules of the game have changed, and if it does not immediately release all the hostages, the gates of hell will open, and it will find itself facing the full intensity of the IDF in the air, sea, and land, until its complete elimination," he said.

"We will not stop fighting until all the hostages are returned home and all threats to the southern residents are removed," he added, according to remarks provided by his office.

An Israeli official told The Times of Israel that Jerusalem has a concrete plan "to move forward" with its military campaign in Gaza, adding that "if at any point the other side decides to go back to genuinely negotiating, and we go back to genuine talks, then we’ll stop [the offensive]. At the moment, we’re left without any choice."

A separate Israeli official told the Israel Hayom newspaper that Israel’s goal in the renewed air campaign in Gaza is to push Hamas to agree to the original "Witkoff proposal" for hostage talks.

The outline, attributed by Israel to US special envoy Steve Witkoff, would see half the hostages released at the beginning of an extension of the ceasefire, which would extend till after Passover in mid-April. The rest would be released if an agreement is reached on ending the war.

"Without small releases of hostage and without games, the goal is to get everyone out," the official said.

"Israel waited three weeks for Hamas to begin serious talks on the Witkoff outline," the official added. "That didn’t happen."

Israel’s return to fighting in Gaza was "fully coordinated" with the United States Israeli government front man David Mencer said at a press briefing Tuesday, adding that "Israel has thanked President [Donald] Trump and his administration for their unyielding support."

Speaking in Jerusalem to members of AIPAC’s board of directors, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said the decision to resume attacks in Gaza was made "several days ago," adding that the strikes would continue beyond Tuesday.

Witkoff "made two different proposals and Hamas rejected both of them," Sa’ar said. "We found ourselves at a dead end, with no hostages released and no military action. This is a situation that cannot continue."

"This is not a one-day attack," Sa’ar emphasized, adding that the operation would continue "over the coming days."

Hundreds killed, including senior Hamas officials, Islamic Jihad front man

According to the Hamas-run health ministry — which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. — the corpse count from the past day of Israeli strikes in Gaza reached 404 and at least 562 people were maimed, as a front man for the Red Thingy said that many medical facilities in the Gaza Strip are "overwhelmed" after Israel resumed its bombing of the territory.

The figures could not be verified.

"What we heard from Paleostine Crescent colleagues this morning is that many medical facilities are literally overwhelmed across Gaza," Tommaso Della Longa, front man for the International Federation of Red Thingy and Red Islamic Thingy Societies, said at a briefing in Geneva.

While Hamas claimed that Israel’s resumption of attacks constituted a "massacre" of civilians, the group confirmed that at least four bigwigs were killed in the IDF strikes overnight.

Hamas announced the deaths of Issam Da’alis, the head of the governmental activity monitoring committee, a position roughly akin to prime minister; Ahmad al-Khatta, the director-general of Hamas’s justice ministry; Mahmoud Abu Watfa, who headed the terror group’s interior ministry, responsible for Hamas’s police and internal security services in Gaza; and Bahjat Abu Sultan, head of Hamas’s internal security forces.

In a statement, the IDF said it targeted and killed those four senior Hamas officials, as part of the wide-scale bombing campaign against dozens of targets in the Gaza Strip since early Tuesday morning.

The IDF said the strikes were aimed at "causing a blow to the military and governmental capabilities of the Hamas terror organization, and remove a threat to the State of Israel and its citizens."

Da’alis, the de-facto Hamas prime minister, had replaced Rawhi Mushtaha following his killing by Israel in July 2024.

The military said that as part of his role, Da’alis was "entrusted with the functioning of the Hamas terror regime in the Gaza Strip" and coordinating all the branches of the organization.

The IDF said it could also confirm that al-Khatta, Abu Watfa, and Abu Sultan were killed in airstrikes on Tuesday.

Additionally, the spokesperson for the military wing of the Paleostinian Islamic Jihad terror group, known by the nom de guerre Abu Hamza, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the central Gaza Strip on Tuesday, the terror group announced.

Abu Hamza, whose real name is Naji Abu Saif, was killed alongside his wife and several members of his family.

Despite the resumption of fighting, the IDF Home Front Command said it was easing some restrictions on civilians in southern Israel.

Following an assessment, the Home Front Command adjusted the activity scale in the Gaza border communities and some towns in the Western Negev and Western Lachish regions from "limited activity" to "partial activity."

This would allow schools and workplaces to operate as usual, provided an adequate bomb shelter can be reached in time.

Gatherings were also now limited to 100 people outdoors and 500 people indoors, though beaches remain closed, according to the latest Home Front Command guidelines.

’I HAVEN’T SLEPT A SINGLE MINUTE SINCE YESTERDAY’
Following the collapse of the ceasefire and the ongoing strikes on Gaza, one Paleostinian civilian told The Times of Israel: "I’m more scared today than I have been in the past year and three months of war. The airstrikes seem more random today than they were before," he said.

One Paleostinian described the early Tuesday strikes as "terrifying."

"There were airstrikes all night. I don’t understand which side broke the ceasefire, some say it was Hamas, others say it was Israel," he told The Times of Israel. His only wish, he added, is "to have a ceasefire. We want peace. We want to live a life of dignity."

Until you have suffered as much as the remaining hostages, we are uninterested. And you had the chance for a ceasefire, but Hamas insisted on playing games. Now your only choice is complete and abject surrender.

The man, who wished to remain anonymous, is originally from northern Gaza but relocated to central Gaza with his close family at the start of the war, following IDF evacuation orders.

On Tuesday he told The Times of Israel he is considering returning north due to the renewed strikes. "It’s not safe there, but I want to be with my family and friends, to be near them." However,
a woman is only as old as she admits...
he noted that many others are attempting to move to safer areas within Gaza due to the escalating strikes.

Another Paleostinian, Basel al-Qaran, originally from Gaza but who had lived in Israel for the past 12 years before being recently deported back to Gaza,

…one notes that Israel only would deport him to Gaza if he broke the law…

shared his experience: "I’m in al-Shuka, Rafah, near the Israeli border. Everyone has already left the area. I have no food or water; I’m fasting. I haven’t slept a single minute since yesterday. I have no one, I’m completely alone."

On Tuesday morning, the IDF issued evacuation warnings to Paleostinians living on the edges of the Gaza Strip. Footage showed some residents leaving their homes in eastern and northern Gaza.

Regarding the strikes, al-Qaran added: "The noises were unbearable. The light from the airstrikes was incredibly close to me last night. I’m seeing things I’ve never seen before. There was an airstrike on a house near me with 21 people inside — only two made it out alive. I’m still in shock."

Another Paleostinian in Gaza who wishes to remain anonymous told The Times of Israel: "The situation in Gaza is terrifying and difficult. We have nothing to do with this escalation—we are civilians."

If you have not overthrown Hamas and organized a surrender to Israel, you’ll have to wait until Israel handles that for you.

Much of Gaza now lies in ruin after 15 months of fighting, which erupted on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led button men attacked Israeli communities around the Gaza Strip, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, amid horrific acts of brutality, and abducting 251 hostages into Gaza.

The Israeli campaign in response has killed more than 48,000 people, according to Paleostinian health authorities, and destroyed much of the housing and infrastructure in the enclave, including the hospital system. Israel says it has killed some 20,000 combatants in battle as of January and another 1,600 faceless myrmidons inside Israel on October 7.

More strikes reported in Gaza, as death toll said to mount

Gazan sources report ongoing airstrikes in several areas of the Strip, as an overnight bombardment appears to continue apace.

Attacks by Israeli aircraft are reported around Khan Younis in Gaza’s south, as well as several areas south of Gaza City near the northern end of the Strip.

At least 10 deaths are reported in the strikes. Quds news, a Gazan outlet linked to Hamas, says the death toll in the renewed Israeli offensive is up to 429. Hamas-controlled health authorities had earlier put the death toll at 408.

Neither figure can be confirmed.

There is no comment from the Israeli military. Israeli officials said Tuesday that the army was only firing on terror

More strikes reported in Gaza, as death toll said to mount
[IsraelTimes] Gazan sources report ongoing airstrikes in several areas of the Strip, as an overnight bombardment appears to continue apace. Attacks by Israeli aircraft are reported around Khan Younis in Gaza’s south, as well as several areas south of Gaza City near the northern end of the Strip. At least 10 deaths are reported in the strikes. Quds news, a Gazan outlet linked to Hamas, says the death toll in the renewed Israeli offensive is up to 429. Hamas-controlled health authorities had earlier put the death toll at 408. Neither figure can be confirmed.

There is no comment from the Israeli military. Israeli officials said Tuesday that the army was only firing on terror targets.

Three hours earlier:

Fresh airstrikes reported across Gaza
[IsraelTimes] Gaza-based sources report a fresh wave of Israeli strikes from the air on areas around the Strip, including attacks from helicopter gunships near Khan Younis in southern Gaza. Airstrikes are also reported in al-Bureij in central Gaza and in the al-Tuffah area east of Gaza City in the Strip’s north. There is no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the reported strikes.

Israeli captive killed, two others injured in renewed Israeli aggression on Gaza
[HodhodYemenNews] An Israeli captive was killed in Gaza and two others were wounded, following the renewed Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, which began at dawn Tuesday, and which resulted in hundreds of martyrs and wounded among Palestinian civilians.

A Hamas leader told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper that an Israeli captive was killed and two others were injured in the Israeli bombardment of Gaza. The unnamed leader emphasized that Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s main goal is to get rid of the Israeli captives.

“The Movement agreed to the proposal of the American envoy Adam Boehler, and was surprised by (Steve) Witkoff’s proposal,” he said, stressing that Hamas has fulfilled all commitments since the beginning of the ceasefire agreement.

The Israeli occupation army resumed its aggression on the Gaza Strip at dawn Tuesday, in a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement, as air strikes targeted various areas in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 342 Palestinians and injuring hundreds of others, on the 58th day of the ceasefire agreement.

In the latest field developments, medical sources reported the martyrdom of more than 342 martyrs, including 179 from Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip – in a preliminary toll – and dozens of casualties in Israeli air strikes targeting several areas in the Gaza Strip.

Zionist airstrikes kill Al-Quds Brigades spokesman in Gaza
[HodhodYemenNews] Naji Abu Saif, also known as Abu Hamza, the spokesman for the Al-Quds Brigades, the military arm of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, has been killed in a fresh wave of Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.

The strikes also killed his wife and several family members in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.

The movement condemned the “treacherous and spiteful assassination,” accusing the “Nazi-Zionist criminal entity” of carrying out the attack with the support, encouragement, and funding of the US administration, while the world remained in “cowardly silence.”

“The martyred spokesperson was known as a voice of the resistance, fearing no reproach in his devotion to Allah, eloquent in his speech, and courageous in his heroic positions in defense of the resistance and the rights of our people, never wavering in his stance,” the movement said in a statement.

It added that the attack “will only strengthen our determination to continue defending our people and their rights until the goals of this aggression are completely thwarted.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Day 2: Over 1,000 killed and injured in Gaza as Israeli airstrikes resume after two months of ceasefire

2025-03-19

[PUBLISH.TWITTER]

Over 1,000 killed and injured in Gaza as Israeli airstrikes resume after two months of ceasefire. UN and regional powers warn of catastrophic escalation. #Gaza #Palestine #Israel #MiddleEastCrisis https://t.co/PoEBoDDi5v
— NORTH PRESS AGENCY - ENGLISH (@NPA_English) March 18, 2025

Israel threatens to intensify Gaza strikes unless Hamas resumes ‘genuine’ talks
[IsraelTimes] As ceasefire collapses, Hamas says over 400 people killed in Israeli strikes, including senior terror leaders; reports say mediators scrambling to resume hostage negotiations

Israel on Tuesday vowed to intensify its attacks on terrorist targets in the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
Strip unless Hamas
Hamas

…one notes that Israel only would deport him to Gaza if he broke the law…

If you have not overthrown Hamas and organized a surrender to Israel, you’ll have to wait until Israel handles that for you.

Three hours earlier:

The view from Yemen:

Israeli captive killed, two others injured in renewed Israeli aggression on Gaza
[HodhodYemenNews] An Israeli captive was killed in Gaza and two others were wounded, following the renewed Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, which began at dawn Tuesday, and which resulted in hundreds of martyrs and wounded among Palestinian civilians.

A Hamas leader told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper that an Israeli captive was killed and two others were injured in the Israeli bombardment of Gaza. The unnamed leader emphasized that Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s main goal is to get rid of the Israeli captives.

“The Movement agreed to the proposal of the American envoy Adam Boehler, and was surprised by (Steve) Witkoff’s proposal,” he said, stressing that Hamas has fulfilled all commitments since the beginning of the ceasefire agreement.

The Israeli occupation army resumed its aggression on the Gaza Strip at dawn Tuesday, in a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement, as air strikes targeted various areas in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 342 Palestinians and injuring hundreds of others, on the 58th day of the ceasefire agreement.

In the latest field developments, medical sources reported the martyrdom of more than 342 martyrs, including 179 from Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip – in a preliminary toll – and dozens of casualties in Israeli air strikes targeting several areas in the Gaza Strip.

Zionist airstrikes kill Al-Quds Brigades spokesman in Gaza
[HodhodYemenNews] Naji Abu Saif, also known as Abu Hamza, the spokesman for the Al-Quds Brigades, the military arm of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, has been killed in a fresh wave of Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.

The strikes also killed his wife and several family members in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.

The movement condemned the “treacherous and spiteful assassination,” accusing the “Nazi-Zionist criminal entity” of carrying out the attack with the support, encouragement, and funding of the US administration, while the world remained in “cowardly silence.”

“The martyred spokesperson was known as a voice of the resistance, fearing no reproach in his devotion to Allah, eloquent in his speech, and courageous in his heroic positions in defense of the resistance and the rights of our people, never wavering in his stance,” the movement said in a statement.

It added that the attack “will only strengthen our determination to continue defending our people and their rights until the goals of this aggression are completely thwarted.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Captive surveillance troops were held in Gaza tunnel days before IDF bombed it, Iair Horn struggles to walk and see

2025-02-19

[IsraelTimes] The recently freed female surveillance soldiers were moved from a tunnel in Gaza days before it was bombed by the IDF amid the intensive aerial campaign that followed the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror onslaught, according to Channel 12 news.

The network says around a month later, Hamas repaired the tunnel and moved the captives back there. The report doesn’t say why Hamas initially decided to move the women out of the tunnel to a site aboveground.

Released hostage Iair Horn struggling to walk and see, but he’s completely focused on freeing his brother, relative says

[IsraelTimes] Released hostage Iair Horn is struggling with walking and with vision problems after being kept in tunnels for 498 days, but all he cares about right now is getting his younger brother Eitan Horn home, says Dalia Cusnir, the sister-in-law of the Horn brothers, in a meeting with journalists.

As Horn was meeting with doctors about his care, says Cusnir, "he stood up and stopped everyone. ’You asked what I need,’ said Iair Horn. ’The only thing I need is for you to bring me my brother.'"

Cusnir says Horn was initially held with his brother Eitan and then separated but they don’t know how long ago they were separated. Eitan Horn was visiting Iair on Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7 when they were taken hostage by Hamas
Hamas

..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
terrorists.

"Being with Eitan was very significant," says Cusnir of Iair’s captivity. "It gave him a reason, a purpose to fight and struggle and to wake up and stand up every morning. He had to keep going because of Eitan."

Eitan Cusnir has a severe skin disease that requires medication and has led to infections in the past, and the lack of hygiene in the tunnels is highly problematic with his disease and frightening to his family.

As the eldest son in the family of three brothers, who used to sleep in the same bedroom growing up in Argentina
...a country located on the other side of the Deep South. It is covered with Pampers and inhabited by Grouchos, who dance the Tangle. They used to have some islands called the Malvinas located where the Falklands are now. They're not supposed to cry for Evita...
and followed one another to Israel as teens, Iair Horn feels tremendous responsibility for his brothers, who Cusnir says are like triplets.

Eitan Horn is not on the list of 33 hostages to be freed in the first stage of the current hostage deal.

Iair Horn hasn’t shared many details about his captivity, says his sister-in-law. He has mentioned a little bit about physical and psychological torture and that the worst day was October 7, when they were kidnapped with severe violence.

"They are counting the minutes and the seconds," says Cusnir, "knowing that if they arrive at the end of the day and are still alive, that’s a miracle, and who knows what’s next."

Iair Horn was unaware of what was happening with the other hostages, and thought that all the women and kiddies were released in November 2023. He also didn’t know what happened to Nir Oz, where one in four people were killed or taken hostage, nor of the vast destruction in the community that day.

"He asked to see a list of all the hostages from the other kibbutz and the Nova festival," says Cusnir. "He said that’s his task, and he wanted to go to the [hostage] rally yesterday [marking 500 days of captivity.] He said, ’I’m going to be on the stage to talk to everyone,’ and we had to tell him the doctors wouldn’t allow it yet."

Cusnir adds, "He said that as long as there are hostages in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
, he is still a hostage."

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades and Islamic Jihad's Saraya Al-Quds handed over three Israeli captives to the Red Cross in Khan Younis as part of the sixth phase of the prisoner exchange deal

2025-02-16

[PUBLISH.TWITTER]

🚨 Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades and Islamic Jihad's Saraya Al-Quds handed over three Israeli captives to the Red Cross in Khan Younis as part of the sixth phase of the prisoner exchange deal https://t.co/Gs3K3z0k6f pic.twitter.com/ckb9Y64loR
— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) February 15, 2025

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

IDF soldier who escaped war crimes investigation in Brazil arrives in Israel

2025-01-09

[IsraelTimes] Yuval Vagdani was subject of probe for allegedly filming himself destroying residential building in Gaza; says having to flee Brazil ‘felt a little like a bullet in the heart’

The Israeli soldier who was forced to flee Brazil after the country’s Federal Court ordered police to open a war crimes investigation into him has returned to Israel, according to Hebrew media reports.

The soldier, who was named as Yuval Vagdani, landed in Israel Wednesday morning after he was forced to hurriedly end his vacation in Brazil. He spoke to the Kan broadcaster about his ordeal after he landed.

"I woke up in the morning, opened the phone and suddenly saw eight calls — the Foreign Ministry, my brothers, my mother, consuls," he told Kan. "I knew something was up."

Vagdani said he was in Brazil for his "dream trip" after a long stint in the reserves, and that he had planned the trip for over four years.

Being forced to flee Brazil "felt a little like a bullet in the heart," he said.

According to Channel 12, Vagdani was "smuggled" into Argentina
...a country located on the other side of the Deep South. It is covered with Pampers and inhabited by Grouchos, who dance the Tangle. They used to have some islands called the Malvinas located where the Falklands are now. They're not supposed to cry for Evita...
with the help of the Foreign Ministry, and from there was able to fly to Miami, and then Israel.

Upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, Vagdani told Channel 12 that he learned from his mistakes and wouldn’t upload videos from Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
. "I won’t go back to Brazil again," he added.

The Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar had ordered the ministry’s Consular Section and the embassy in Brazil to contact the man and his family, and they "accompanied him throughout the event until his swift and safe departure from Brazil."

The complaint to the Brazilian court was reportedly submitted by the Hind Rajab Foundation, which is named after a 6-year-old girl, who was killed in Gaza in January. Her death was blamed on the IDF, but an initial probe conducted by the army said that there were no troops in the area at the time.

The organization identifies IDF soldiers via social media content they post from their operations in Gaza and then alerts local law enforcement when they travel abroad in an attempt to get them arrested and prosecuted for war crimes.

Its feed on X is full of soldiers it has identified by name and photo and the locations they have traveled to.

According to the Brazilian Metrópoles news outlet, Vagdani was being investigated in Brazil under suspicion of being involved "in the destruction of a residential building in the Gaza Strip while using explosives outside of combat" in November. The Hind Rajab Foundation claims the building allegedly destroyed with the soldier’s involvement was being used as a shelter for Paleostinians who had been displaced by the war and said its complaint consisted of more than 500 pages of evidence that the soldier was complicit in war crimes.

In a post on X on Saturday night, the organization urged Brazilian authorities to arrest the soldier, claiming that it had information that the Israeli government was helping the soldier escape the country, and that "there are also indications that evidence is being destroyed."

"They wrote that I murdered thousands of children and turned it into a 500-page document," Vagdani said. "All that was there was a picture of me in uniform in Gaza."

Vagdani was a survivor of the Hamas
Hamas

..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
attack on the Nova festival on October 7, 2023, during the massive onslaught on southern Israel in which murderous Moslems killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages, starting the ongoing war in Gaza. More than 360 of the victims were murdered at the music festival.

Vagdani survived the attack by running for many kilometers until he reached safety, narrowly dodging Hamas gunfire multiple times on the way.

On Sunday, the Foreign Ministry added that it "draws the attention of Israelis to posts on social media about their military service, and to the fact that anti-Israeli elements may exploit these posts to initiate futile legal proceedings against them."

According to Kan, none of the Hind Rajab Foundation’s accusations have resulted in any arrests, although its actions are of concern to the Foreign Ministry.

Courtesy of Grom the Reflective in comments a few days ago. I wanted to put it where it can be searched in the archives.

The ex-Hezbollah terrorist behind Hind Rajab Foundation, doxxing IDF soldiers

[Jpost] A leaked Israeli Diaspora Affairs Ministry profile on Dyab Abou Jahjah described him as a "former Hezbollah operative."

Dyab Abou Jahjah,

…alternately Dyab Abu Jahjah, he emigrated to Belgium from his native Lebanon in 1991 in pursuit of higher education, then stayed on to cause trouble…

the man behind the Hind Rajab Foundation, which has been doxxing Israeli soldiers and seeking legal action against them in foreign states, admitted to joining Hezbollah as a youth and implied that he was returning to Lebanon to fight in the 2006 war, according to press releases by his previous organization and an old New York Times interview.

The Arab European League (AEL)

…while it claimed to be pan-Arabist, attachment to Shiism and Iran appeared fairly early on. Active in Belgium and the Netherlands, they harassed police in the name of preventing individual and institutional Islamophobia, led anti-Israel protests that gleefully turned into riots since 2002, and instigated attacks on Jews. At one point they teamed up with a Maoist political party to run in Belgian elections, peaking at about a quarter of a percent of the votes, which was not enough to get a seat anywhere….

that he founded, according to the Internet Archive, shared on its website a 2003 New York Times profile piece in which the activist admitted to his Hezbollah affiliation. The article related that “he said, he joined the Hezbollah resistance against Israel.”

“I had some military training, I’m still very proud of that,” he told the NYT in 2003.

Abou Jahjah also admitted that he had lied about a falling out with Hezbollah leadership when he was seeking asylum in Belgium.

“Most asylum seekers invent a story, and I said I had had a conflict with the Hezbollah leaders,” he said. “It was just a low political trick to get my papers.”

A leaked Israeli Diaspora Affairs Ministry profile on Abou Jahjah described him as a “former Hezbollah operative.”Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli said on Sunday night that Abou Jahjah had previously declared ties to Hezbollah, and claimed that he had led “Hezbollah tours in Europe.”

According to NYT, Flemish Nationalist Party member Filip Dewinter described him as “a foreign agent, directed and paid from abroad.”

The Arab European League, which its founder described in a 2005 letter as “an Arab Nationalist organization that upholds Islam as a source of inspiration,” routinely published statements from Hezbollah on its website and articles praising the group, and appeared to have published a 2007 interview with current Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem.

Abou Jahjah has a long history of support for terrorist organizations besides Hezbollah, issuing support for the October 7 terrorist attacks.

“These Palestinian resistance fighters entering these settlements are all refugees whose parents were ethnically cleansed from these villages in 1948/1967,” he wrote on X/Twitter on October 7. “Anyone neglecting this fact is not seriously engaging in a conversation but is spreading Israeli propaganda, whether willfully or not.”

Abou Jahjah and Lebanon-born Hind Rajab Foundation co-founder Karim Hassoun both signed a 2009 appeal calling for the removal of Hamas and other Palestinian groups from the European list of proscribed terrorist organizations.

This call echoed 2002 AEL statements demanding that “all Palestinian resistance groups would be taken off the terrorist list.

“The decision of Europe to extend its so-called terrorist list to include Palestinian resistance organizations is totally unfair and unacceptable,” the league said.

“It is unfair because it is criminalizing the struggle of a people that is under siege and under attack by one of the mightiest armies on earth, a people fighting for its freedom with the limited possibilities it has. If you want the Palestinian people to stop using suicide-bombings, give it the possibility to destroy the tanks that are blowing Palestinian children into pieces.

“AEL will keep on supporting the legitimate resistance of the Palestinian people until the total defeat of Zionism and the total liberation of Palestine, and the establishing of a democratic Palestinian state with Jerusalem (Al Quds) as its capital and the return of all Palestinian refugees to their homes.”

SUPPORTER OF HEZBOLLAH
CHIKLI ALSO noted on Sunday that Hassoun was also a supporter of Hezbollah, having been photographed wearing a Hezbollah hat and issuing praise of Samir Kuntar, who led the murders of members of an Israeli family in 1979.

“During his tenure as head of the AEL, the organization was convicted in a Dutch court for disseminating Holocaust denial content,” the Diaspora affairs minister said.

Related:
Karim Hassoun 09/26/2005 Generation Jihad

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Israeli strike on Kamal Adwan kills five staff members, says director of facility

2024-12-27

[GEO.TV] The director of the Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
on Thursday said five of the facility's staff, including a doctor, were killed in an Israeli strike.

No doubt whatsoever that all five will turn out to be Hamasniks, and at least one will be an emir.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment after Doctor Hossam Abu Safiya said in a statement that "an Israeli strike resulted in five deaders among the hospital staff".

The Times of Israel adds:

Palestinian media had said that the five people killed were journalists, and that the vehicle was marked as a media van and was used by journalists to report from inside the hospital and the Nuseirat refugee camp.

The Palestinian TV channel Al-Quds Today, which is affiliated with the Islamic Jihad terror group, identified those killed in the airstrike as its staffers Faisal Abu Al-Qumsan, Ayman Al-Jadi, Ibrahim Al-Sheikh Khalil, Fadi Hassouna and Mohammed Al-Lada’a.

Not Hamas, but PIJ staffers working for a subsidiary of PIJ.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

'Gazafication': The terror threat in northern West Bank is growing

2024-12-26

[Jpost] Weapons are flowing to the West Bank and enabling the growing terrorist threat, the building blocks of a kind of “Gazafication” are now in place.

Israel and the Palestinian Authority are facing growing terror threats in the northern West Bank. While this has been the case for the last two years, several recent incidents point to a disturbing trend.

The PA has attempted to carry out an operation to clear the Jenin camp of terrorists. Israeli forces have clashed with Palestinians in Nur Shams Camp in Tulkarm. Taken as a whole, the operations in the northern West Bank illustrate how the terror threat is growing and shifting.

First of all, the threat requires Israel to use more drones to carry out strikes in the West Bank. This has also become a new phenomenon in the last two years.

Overall, it means that the threat on the ground is growing so much that it is preferable to use drones and airstrikes, rather than send troops into areas. It also speaks to a decision to rely on air assets and surveillance functions they bring, in order to neutralize threats.

While this can work, history has shown that precision air strikes and drones don’t usually win conflicts. What drones can do is reduce some friction or keep enemies in check, however, they are not a substitute for boots on the ground.

A report at Maariv overnight noted that, according to the IDF, “an Air Force aircraft recently attacked a terrorist cell in Tamun, in the Jordan Valley, who had planted explosives against the forces operating in the area.”

Tamun is a Palestinian village 16 km. (10 miles) northeast of Nablus in the Tubas governorate of the West Bank. It is near the top of Wadi al-Faria, a large valley that flows down to the Jordan river.

Terrorists have tried to infiltrate this area over the last year, resulting in clashes in the summer with the IDF in this area and in Tubas. In addition, there have been clashes in Fara camp, which is not far from here.

This area should be seen as a belt of villages that are now being used by terrorists, from Balata in Nablus north via Fara to Tubas, Tamun, and other villages on the line of hills overlooking the Jordan valley.

CONCERNING DEVELOPMENTS
More concerning is a report from the IDF overnight that “during an IDF counterterrorism operation in the area of Tukaram, a David APC was hit by an explosive device. Commanding Officer of the Judea and Samaria Division Brig.-Gen. Yaki Dolf and Commander of the Menashe Regional Brigade Col. Ayub Kayouf were in the vehicle.

The report goes on to note that “the commander of the Menashe Regional Brigade was moderately wounded and was evacuated to receive medical treatment. His family has been notified.”

The battles in Tulkarm included airstrikes on terrorist cells and the discovery of explosives. Ynet reported that six terrorists were eliminated. Al-Quds Palestinian media claims eight people were killed in Tulkarm. However, the fact that a vehicle was hit with an improvised explosive device (IED) is concerning.

It is a reminder that three IDF soldiers were killed in Beit Hanoun in Gaza by an IED this week as well. It appears the terrorists are shifting tactics. This has also been a slow process, going back two years in the northern West Bank. The enemy appears to be maturing in its capabilities.

The overall picture emerging in the West Bank is concerning.

Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) are seeking to inflame local populist sentiment against the PA. They may hope that the recent victory by the opposition in Syria could pave the way to a new kind of Arab Spring. In essence, they want populist rage to grow against the PA.

It appears that Doha-linked media such as Al-Jazeera may also be fanning the flames. In addition, UNRWA in Jenin has not helped the matter by waiting days before mentioning that terrorists took over a medical facility and refusing to condemn or name the “armed groups” responsible for the growing chaos.

In Gaza UNWRA was working hand in glove with Hamas. The question is whether they’re Hamas agents in the West Bank, too, or if they’ll happily work with any group that wants to erase the Jewish state.

The building blocks of a kind of “Gazafication” are now in place in Jenin and other areas in the northern West Bank.

Hamas is likely biding its time in Gaza, refusing to make a hostage deal, hoping that it can utilize the West Bank clashes for its benefit.

These are concerning signs. The IDF raid in Tulkarm, the use of IEDs by terrorists, and the attempt by Hamas and PIJ to exploit the PA raid in Jenin are all part of a growing trend that should be seen as more than the sum of its parts.

In addition, the frequent images of young men, including teens, with M-4 and M-16 type rifles is also a major concern. Many of the rifles have modern sights and accessories, indicating that they have been recently smuggled in.

The weapons are flowing to the West Bank and enabling the growing terrorist threat.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Hamas fetes fall of Assad regime; group of Syrian rebels vow march on Jerusalem

2024-12-10

[IsraelTimes] Gaza terror groups hope Syrians will continue to back Palestinians after regime change; in footage from Damascus, rebels call for people of Gaza to be ‘patient’ for their aid

The Hamas
Hamas

..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
terror group congratulated the Syrian people on Monday for achieving their "aspirations for freedom and justice" after toppling the regime of Bashir al-Assad.

It was Hamas’s first public comment on the matter since rebel forces swept into the Syrian capital Damascus on Sunday, after a lightning advance that sent Assad fleeing to Russia following a 13-year civil war and six decades of his family’s autocratic rule.

"Hamas congratulates the brotherly Syrian people on their success in achieving their aspirations for freedom and justice, and we call on all components of the Syrian people to unite their ranks," the terror group said.

"We stand strongly with the great people of Syria... and respect the will, the independence, and the political choices of the people of Syria."

Hamas said it hoped that post-Assad Syria would continue "its historical and pivotal role in supporting the Paleostinian people."

Meanwhile,
...back at the shootout, Butch shot Black Bart's knife out of his hand......
footage from a mosque in Damascus aired by Hebrew media Monday showed Syrian rebels vowing to march on Jerusalem.

"This is the land of Islam, this is Damascus, the Moslem stronghold. From here to Jerusalem. We’re coming for Jerusalem. Patience, people of Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
, patience," vowed an Islamist rebel, surrounded by a group of button men who responded with cries of "~~holy shit!~~ Allahu akbar!" ("God is greatest" in Arabic.)

It was not clear which rebel group the fighters represented.

Also Monday, Ziad al-Nakhala
...In 1971, al-Nakhalah was sentenced to life imprisonment in Israel because of his militant activities with the Arab Liberation Front. He was one of the 1,150 security prisoners released by Israel on 21 May 1985 in an ill-advised prisoner swap under the Jibril Agreement. After his release from Israeli prison, then-PIJ secretary-general Fathi Shikaki tasked al-Nakhalah with establishing in the Gaza Strip the group’s military wing, the Al-Quds Brigades. He was detained again by Israel in April 1988 for his role in the first Intifada, and was exiled to Leb in August 1988 with other PIJ leaders. Ihe longtime Paleostinian Islamic Jhad Number Two was called back from the organization’s base in Damascus in 2018 to take over the top spot until supremo Ramadan Shalah recovers from a coma with complications caused by rigor mortis...
, head of Paleostinian Islamic Jihad
...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah...
, an Iranian-backed terror group and an ally of Hamas, said that events in Syria were "a Syrian affair."

"The Islamic Jihad hopes Syria will remain a real supporter of the Paleostinian people and their just cause, as it has always been," said Nakhala.

The Kan public broadcaster reported Sunday that Nakhala fled from his Damascus residence to Tehran ahead of the rebels’ takeover, while his deputy fled with the PIJ leadership to Iraq, to avoid potential liquidation by Israel.

Hamas publicly endorsed the 2011 Sunni Moslem street uprising against Assad’s rule and vacated its Damascus headquarters in 2012, a move that angered Iran, an ally of both Assad and the Paleostinian terror group.

Hamas, whose ideological roots stem from the Sunni Islamist Moslem Brüderbund, distanced itself from Assad — a member of the minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam — as he cracked down on the mainly Sunni Moslem protesters and rebels.

The Paleostinian terror group decided in 2022 to restore ties with the Assad government and sent a delegation to Damascus, where leaders met Assad in the hope of repairing relations.

Assad’s Syria and Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate ~~Jews~~ ~~Zionists~~ Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
formed an "axis of resistance" with Leb
...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
’s Hezbollah terror group and Paleostinian terror groups to oppose Israel.

According to the UN agency for Paleostinian refugees, UNRWA, some 438,000 Paleostinians registered as refugees resided in Syria in 2022.

Hamas’s positive response to the fall of Assad contrasted with that of Shi’ite Moslem Hezbollah, which played a major part in propping up Assad through years of war. Assad’s Syria long served as a vital conduit for Iran to supply arms to the group.

A senior Hezbollah politician on Monday described events in Syria as a "major, dangerous and new transformation."

Some among those who overthrew Assad have vowed to aid the people of Gaza, which has been locked in a war with Israel since Hamas launched its October 7, 2023, massacre of southern communities.

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