Today’s Image
As many of you know, I have been involved with The Lone Soldier Center in Memory of Michael Levin LSC since 2010 and served as Chairman of the Board for five years, stepping down about a year ago. A Lone Soldier, as defined by the IDF, is a soldier serving in active duty without any immediate family in Israel. Because Israel is such a small country, the IDF is structured in a way that relies on family level resources for supporting the soldiers when they are on leave, for support, etc. Because these soldiers have no family, the LSC steps in. We have residences that house more than 160 Lone Soldiers. We have Community Centers in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Beer Sheva. We are so well known in Israel that communities reach out to us to partner in establishing facilities to serve the Lone Soldiers. What is not well known, is that more than half of the Lone Soldiers serving in the IDF are born in Israel. Some grew up in foster homes or orphanages. Most were a part of the ultra-orthodox community but decided for a variety of reasons to leave. When these young men and women leave the ultra-orthodox community their families treat them as if they are dead. So they find themselves literally “on the street” with no money, no clothes, no food, nothing. We help them.
The photo I posted is of a Lone Soldier, Yossi Friedman, who group up in the ultra-orthodox world, left it and served in the IDF. We helped guide Yossi throughout his struggles while serving in the IDF.
Some of you have tried to “pay” for a subscription to my substack. I have not enabled payments because I am not doing this “for the money”. BUT, should any one of you feel in a generous mood, a tax deductible donations to the LSC would be most appreciated. You can find more about the LSC and how to donate by credit card here. You would do me an honor by just mentioning my name or that you learned about the LSC from me. That would be more than enough. … Thank you!!
Hamas Gaza Rockets
For the first time in four months long range rockets were fired towards Tel Aviv. In all eight were fired. Three were downed by Iron Dome. One hit a home in Herzliya, a city on Tel Aviv’s northern border. There was minor damage and two people suffered light injuries. Further to the east, one rocket landed in an open field. You can see a video of that here. All the rockets were launched from Rafah. Then about two hours later a rocket barrage, also launched from Rafah, hit a couple communities on the perimeter of the Gaza border. One car, parked near a school, was damaged. No other damage or injuries reported. The IDF stated that the rocket launches were not surprises as it is know that there are still launch facilities intact in Rafah. From Hamas’ point of view, it is better to launch them now, before the IDF enters Rafah, finds them and destroys them. Minister Benny Gantz told troops during a meeting that the rocket barrage from Rafah proves that the IDF must continue its operation there.
Casualties
The IDF reported two IDF casualties today. Staff Sgt. Bezalel Zvi Kovach 20 (Z’’L) was seriously injured in an operation conducted in Jabaliya last Wednesday. Today he succumbed to his wounds. Staff Sgt. Sahar Sudaei 20 (Z’’L) died today, also as a result of combat in Jabaliya. Number of IDF soldiers killed in combat in Gaza is now 288.
Gaza Operations
Intense operations continue in Jabaliya. IDF troops found and destroyed Hamas’ general security headquarters there and raided the home of a top Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander. Apparently, IDF Intelligence gathered many documents and disk drives with important information at both these locations. Many combatants were encountered and fight was intense. The IDF estimates that in the past few days more than 100 armed combatants have been killed in close quarters combat. In the central market in Jabaliya, the IDF encountered several booby traps and bombs in civilian areas. And, as usual, the IDF entered an UNRWA school in Jabaliya today and uncovered about a dozen rockets, missile parts and other weapons. You can see photos here and more details.
The IDF located the tunnel, in Rafah, from which both rocket attacks were launched earlier today. Both were destroyed using airborne missiles fired from a fighter jet. The location was about 800 meters from IDF troops, and was sandwiched between two mosques. This further indicates that Hamas is launching what it can before IDF troops reach key areas of Rafah where the rocket launchers are hidden. You can see a video of the IDF mission and a map of the rocket trajectories here. During the course of operations in Rafah, the IDF is uncovering stored arms and rocket launchers in most schools and many homes. Late last week they found a large underground armory. The IDF estimates that more than 50 combatants have been killed in the past few days. There are reports that the IDF is altering its Rafah Operational plan, taking into account Friday’s ICJ ruling that insists the IDF take into account protecting non-combatants during its operations there.
Lebanon Operations
Very early this morning the IDF conducted a series of strikes on Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon using both missiles fired from fighter jets as well as artillery shelling. This morning, according to reports the Lebanese press, an IDF UAV struck a rider on a motorbike in south Lebanon. There is no indication of the identity of the rider. This afternoon a home on the Israeli Moshav, Avivim, was struck by an anti-tank missile doing severe damage to a home. A man was rescued from the rubble He did not need hospitalization but went into shock. You can see a photo of the damaged home here as well as a video of the UAV operating in southern Lebanon. An IDF UAV operating over southern Lebanon struck several Hezbollah combatants. This evening Hezbollah launched a rocket barrage of more than 10 rockets towards the city of Kirya Shmona. This is one of several barrages fired late in the day. One man, in his ‘40s, suffered light injury and was taken to the hospital.
Yemen
US Central Command announced that its forces destroyed an Houthi UAV launched over the Red Sea.
Syria/Iraq/Jordan/Egypt
A fighter jet from some country struck Hezbollah targets today in central Syria. Apparently two senior members of Hezbollah were killed in the operation.
Gaza Aid
The US build floating pier appears to be operating once again. According to the IDF more than 127 truckloads of aid crossed into Gaza using the pier all of last week. In contrast, a total of 2,065 trucks transited through the southern Kerem Shalom aid crossing in the south and the Erez West crossing in the north during the same period. This is up 2X from the previous week. And with Egypt’s agreement to transit aid through the Kerem Shalom crossing, this is bound to increase. On Friday, for example, 298 aid trucks crossed into Gaza.
Hostages
Late last night, Hamas announced that it kidnapped IDF soldiers as part of an intense battle underground in Jabaliya It. The IDF responded saying their claim was nonsense within a couple hours of the video being released on the internet. Here you can see the video in question embedded in a longer report from the Hindustan Times. Interesting to see how Hamas sees its “successful” operations in Jabaliya. But this points out a real issue and part of the reason why the IDF has been proceeding slowly AND that it goes into an area, conducts its mission and then gets out. To date, no IDF soldiers have been kidnapped during operations in Gaza.
Hamas, again today, announced that it is not engaged in any hostage/ceasefire discussions as it only intends to re-enter discussions if Israel agrees to a permanent ceasefire. The government insists that it has been flexible on many of the issues, and could consider modifying positions, but it was unwilling to agree to a permanent ceasefire. In insisting on this position, Hamas not only demands a permanent ceasefire but that it would be guaranteed by the USA, Egypt and Qatar. In Jihadi talk that means Hamas will be free to launch missiles or attacks on Israel, but Israel would not be able to attack Hamas. This is not necessarily because of some negotiated contract term, it is just that in the work of RealPolitick, Israel would face the world of International Opinion, Courts and Sanctions for retaliating. Meantime, one of the negotiators from the Israeli team leaked to the press that “this government will never agree to a hostage deal because they insist on no permanent ceasefire”. This same leaker said that “I told the prime minister that we would be able to return to fighting at any given moment.” In my eyes, that just proves that the guy is a fool.
IDF - General
Yesterday I reported on an IDF reserve soldier posting a video insisting that he, and others, would not follow orders issued by Defense Minister Gallant. Today, the IDF completed its investigation after hearing the soldier explain. As a result, the reservist was dismissed from reserve duty and is unlikely to serve in the future. The investigation continues in order to see if this is a widespread issue or not.
The IDF is dispatching a senior team to Washington DC later this week to provide details on ongoing operations and discuss priorities in both combat as well as arms shipments.
International
Spain’s Labor Minister, Yolanda Diaz, delivered a speech last week that ended with the slogan “from the river to the sea Palestine will be free”. She insists that it was an endorsement of the two-state solution. People are so stupid! You just could not make this stuff up. The European Jewish Association is insisting that she must resign. I doubt that. They will probably promote her to EU Foreign Minister for promoting such slogans.
In contrast to the idiots in Spain, we are now hosting a visit with Nikki Haley who landed in Israel today. She is getting the red carpet treatment with personalized tours of facilities in the north and south, as well as high level meetings with government officials.
It appears as if House Speaker Mike Johnson has gone public with his invitation to Prime Minister Netanyahu to address Joint Legislative bodies. It appears that House Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is also agreeing to this. I think that this is a serious mistake by Netanyahu. The fact that it has gone public suggests that arrangements are pretty far down the path. But, this is an election year in the USA. And move such as this, will only serve to antagonize one party or the other. And I do not see how it is going to sway public opinion in the USA. I hope that I am wrong…
ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan was put on the defensive today during an interview in the weekend Times of London. It is behind a paywall so I am unable to post it. He said:
I am not saying that Israel with its democracy and its supreme court is akin to Hamas, of course not. I couldn’t be clearer, Israel has every right to protect its population and to get the hostages back. But nobody has a license to commit war crimes or crimes against humanity. The means define us….There were attempts to kill Margaret Thatcher, Airey Neave was blown up, Lord Mountbatten was blown up, there was the Enniskillen attack, we had kneecappings…But the British didn’t decide to say, ‘Well, on the Falls Road [the heart of Catholic Belfast] there undoubtedly may be some IRA members and Republican sympathizers, so therefore let’s drop a 2,000 lb bomb on the Falls Road.’ You can’t do that,”
But he neglects to say that the reason Israel uses these large, but guided bombs, is because this is the only way to do severe damage to tunnels underground which are protecting the combatants. So his comparison is invalid. The Times said that Khan carries a blue wristband printed with “Bring Them Home” and a dog tag dedicated to the youngest hostage, Kfir Bibas. He goes on…
This would break anyone’s hear t… Kfir was just nine months old. But there’s no monopoly on suffering. There are Palestinian babies dying and we cannot have double standards.
Those of you following my posts for some time will recall that one of my favorite international characters in this cast of madness is the UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine, Francesca Albanese. Previously I reported what a Rapporteur does, you can look it up if you like. But as best I can tell, it is a nothing job for someone lacking in intelligence. Here is what this bright woman said today:
Be sure: Israel will not stop this madness until WE make it stop. Member states must impose #sanctions, arms embargo and suspend diplo/political relations with Israel till it ceases its assault.
Politics/Protests
Minister Gantz submitted a proposal to the Governing Cabinet for a government resolution to establish a state commission of inquiry in the events leading up to October 7, that day and the immediate aftermath. The commission is to be tasked with investigating all the political, military and intelligence decision-making. This is a very positive development, in my opinion. But, many here (including myself) worry as to whether this will get cabinet approval as there are some who do not wish to see the investigation conducted now, and some prefer to block for perpetuity. And, of course, it will critical as to who is appointed to the commission.
Ordinarily this would not merit a mention in my reporting, but I am mentioning it here because it simply shows the childishness of some of the ministers in this government. A month ago, there was a serious automobile accident in the Israeli town of Ramla that resulted from the driver of Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s automobile running a red light. It was recorded on traffic cameras. Ben Gvir denied it until he was shown the videos. No apologies to the other driver. No visits to the hospital or family in the other car. No statement of regret. Moreover, he publicly denies that his driver was responsible. And today, Ben Gvir’s bodyguards are reporting that his driver is routinely breaking traffic laws, even when there was no operational need to do so. Reports last year revealed that Ben Gvir has close to 80 traffic infractions on his record from being caught speeding, using his phone while driving, driving without a seatbelt and speeding, among a list of other infractions.
But, it is important to keep in mind Ben Gvir’s position in the government - he is the Minister of National Security. That includes the police force, responsible for enforcing traffic laws. The world is just a Gilbert & Sullivan stage, and everything is “topsy turvy”. This guy should not only NOT be a part of this government, he should probably be serving time in prison.
In Your Copious Spare Time…
I subscribe to Sam Harris’ podcasts. Here is one that really spells out the dilemma in the Western World exposed so blatantly by the October 7 massacre. You can find it on Spotify here or Apple Podcast here. It is nearly an hour long. So I suggest you listen to the first 10 minutes to see if it resonates with you. Sam defines himself as a liberal Jewish atheist. Perhaps a year ago he might have defined himself as a progressive. What he has to say, in my opinion, is very important for anyone who values Western Civilization and its future.
And here is an Op-Ed written by Sir Michael Ellis in the UK Telegraph on the long term implications of the decision of the ICC Prosecutor to request arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Gallant. He says pretty much what I said a week ago when the action was announced. Unless this decision was totally racist (i.e. antisemitic) it will have implications for any Western Democracy finding itself in conflict with a terrorist like non governmental entity that could not care less about rules of law.