News Digest — 6/28/24
Netanyahu: Defeating Hamas Is Step 1 In Stopping Iran From Conquering Middle East
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with a JINSA (Jewish Institute for National Security of America, based in Washington, DC) delegation of generals and admirals Thursday (27th) at the Kirya in Tel Aviv, saying Iran is waging a 7-front war against Israel in a bid to conquer the Middle East.
The prime minister briefed the members of the delegation about what is facing Israel on all fronts and emphasized the determination of IDF fighters and the commitment to returning all of the hostages. He also stressed that Israel’s war is the war of the free world.
He said: “Iran is fighting us in a seven-front war; obviously, Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis, the militias in Iraq, Syria, Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and Iran itself.”
“They’d like to topple Jordan. Their goal is to have a combined ground offensive from various fronts, coupled with a combined missile bombardment.”
“The first requirement is to cut that hand – Hamas. People who do this thing to us are not going to be there. We have a long battle. Maybe it’s not that long, but we’ll get rid of them,” he said.
“We also have to deter the other elements of the Iranian terror axis – we have to deal with it. The axis doesn’t threaten only us. It threatens you. It’s on the march to conquer the Middle East. Conquer. That means, actually conquer. Conquer Saudi Arabia, conquer the Arabian Peninsula. It’s just a question of time.”
Also participating in the meeting were Education Minister Yoav Kisch, the Prime Minister’s Military Secretary, MG Roman Gofman and his Foreign Policy Adviser, Dr. Ophir Falk.
Soldier Killed, 16 Injured By Roadside Bombs During Operation In West Bank’s Jenin
An Israeli soldier was killed and several others were wounded by roadside bombs in the northern West Bank city of Jenin early on Thursday (27th), the military said.
The slain soldier was identified as Capt. Alon Sacgiu, 22, a sniper team commander in the Kfir Brigade’s Haruv reconnaissance unit, from Hadera.
The Israel Defense Forces had been carrying out an overnight raid in Jenin aimed at arresting or killing members of a Hamas terror network in the city. It was part of a long series of counter-terrorism operations in the area, military sources said.
According to an initial IDF probe, a Panther armored personnel carrier (APC) used by a medical force was hit by a bomb planted under a road in Jenin during the operation, early Thursday morning (27th).
The blast slightly hurt the soldiers in the APC. As additional forces reached the scene and worked to evacuate the wounded soldiers, another bomb exploded, leading to the death of Sacgiu and the injury of additional troops.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror group claimed responsibility for the attack.
In all, 16 soldiers were wounded by the bombs – one seriously, five moderately, and the rest lightly.
The slain soldier and the more seriously wounded were all outside of their armored vehicle when the second bomb went off, according to the IDF’s initial probe. The APC was largely able to protect the soldiers inside from the initial attack, with only minor injuries from blast and smoke inhalation.
Before the APC drove along the road where the attack took place, a military D9 bulldozer and backhoe scraped the road to uncover any potential improvised explosive devices (IEDS)
Armed groups in Jenin frequently plant IEDs under roads to attack Israeli forces carrying out arrest raids, and as such, the military rips up the roads with armored bulldozers before entering with lighter-armed vehicles.
Still, the two large IEDs were not discovered , and the military believes that they were planted much deeper in the ground than usual – around 5 feet below ground. Normally, such explosives are buried one or two feet under roads.
The IDF was probing how the bombs were activated, either by wire or wirelessly. Findings at the scene indicated that both methods could have been used.
The military was also investigating how to detect such IEDs better and how to extract wounded soldiers from such incidents in a safer manner.
Tensions have been high in the West Bank amid the war in the Gaza Strip, which began on October 7 when thousands of Hamas terrorists attacked southern Israel under a barrage of rockets fired at population centers all over the country. They brutally killed 1,200 people, amid instances of torture, and rape, and seized 251 hostages.
Since October 7, IDF troops have arrested 4,150 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,750 affiliated with Hamas.
According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, more than 540 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that time. The IDF said the vast majority of them were gunmen killed amid raids or terrorists carrying out attacks.
During the same period, 21 Israelis, including security personnel, have been killed in Palestinian terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank, including the soldier in Thursday’s (27th) incident.
At Least 3 Killed In Syrian Strike Attributed to Israel, Rights Group Say
Syrian media reported an attack targeting a facility used by Hezbollah-affiliated, pro-Iranian militias in the area of Al-Sidah Zinab, south of Damascus on Wednesday night (27th), causing severe destruction.
At least three people were killed in the strike attributed to Israel, in the area of Sayyida Zaynab, south of the capital, Damascus, the UK-based Observatory for Human Rights said. Syrian media reported two killed and one soldier injured in the attack. According to the Syrian opposition “Voice of the Capital” website, the targeted facility housed pro-Iranian militias including Hezbollah officials, and was used as a weapons depot as well as a rendezvous location.
Last week, Syria said Israel struck military sites around Quneitra and Daraa in the south of the country.
Diplomatic sources and officials in the region told the Reuters news agency that Israel has increased its covert attacks in Syria against weapons depots, supply routes, pro-Iran militias and Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders in advance of a possible war against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Three sources said that on June 2, 18 people were killed, including an IRGC adviser, in an attack on a secret arms depot near Aleppo in Syria.
IAF Commander: Hamas In Gaza Will Soon Be Defeated
The 188th Israeli Air Force (IAF) Pilots Course Graduation took place at the Ovda Air Force Base on Thursday (27th), during which graduates of the course received their flight wing insignias and were awarded official ranks.
36 combat aircrew joined the ranks of the IAF on Thursday (27th), and will constitute the operational and strategic spearhead of the IDF and will lead the IAF’s missions in the coming years.
The ceremony was held in the presence of the Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi, the Commanding officer of the Israeli Air Force MG Tomer Bar, other commanders and the families of the graduates. Fernando Marman, who was rescued from the Gaza Strip about four months ago in Operation “Golden Hand,” in which the IAF took part, and who maintained continuous contact with the squadron that rescued him, was also invited to the ceremony.
The graduation ceremony was held following the conclusion of the three-year long IAF Pilots Course, during which the cadets were trained as combat officers and graduated with a degree from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
The ceremony takes place during the war, in which the aerial dimension plays a significant and central role in maintaining the security of Israel’s citizens, both in defense and offense.
Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said in his remarks, “About a week ago I met with the dear people of Nir Oz. We toured the kibbutz, house by house. Time froze on October 7th, and the difficult scenes are etched together with the words, the stories and the pain.”
“As the tour was nearing its end, I asked a kibbutz member who was there on October 7th what he thought this place would be like in five years. He took a breath, thought for a moment, and confidently answered: ‘the kibbutz will be more beautiful than ever before, better built, and with wonderful people.’”
“And I thought to myself, after all the military achievements, this will be the true victory, not before we fulfill our responsibility to investigate, study and bring about the security situation that will allow this. We have lost many soldiers and commanders, who fought bravely and with self-sacrifice alongside us. The cost has been heavy, but the goal is worthy beyond measure: to dismantle the Hamas terrorist organization, to eliminate its operatives, to destroy its infrastructure, and to not allow the continuation of its rule. We want to bring back the hostages, to return the Israeli evacuees safely to their homes in the north and south, with renewed construction and prosperity.”
“IAF Commander MG Tomer Bar said in his remarks, “We are in the midst of the longest war in our history since the War of Independence. We have been operating for nearly nine months without pause, without fatigue. Hamas in Gaza will soon be defeated. Against Hezbollah in the north, we are prepared.”
“Graduates of the course – today you stand on the ceremony ground prepared for combat – with officer ranks on your shoulders and flight wing insignias on your chests. This is the spirit of mission, determination and dedication. You have experienced it in the war, and it will serve as a command and essence throughout your years of service.”
“We will continue to act with initiative, determination and unity that will lead us to achievements in the war for our home, in this historic war for our existence here, in the land of our ancestors – forever,” said Bar.
“On behalf of all the soldiers of the Israeli Air Force, I embrace and strengthen the families of the fallen and the murdered. We will work for the return of the hostages back home, for the return of the evacuees to their land, to their homes in the south and north, and we hope for the swift and complete recovery of all the wounded, both physically and mentally,” he concluded.
The Pogrom In Los Angeles – Noah Pollak
On Sunday (23rd), a synagogue in the largest Jewish neighborhood in Los Angeles hosted a small, privately advertised event for those interested in purchasing homes or second homes in Israel. As violence across America has grown without much pushback – especially in cities where Jews live – many Jews are thinking about alternative plans, or at least exploring their options, and so are open to learning a bit about real estate in Israel. The event at Adas Torah synagogue wasn’t political and it had nothing to do with the Gaza war. But within moments it became the backdrop to anti-Semitic violence.
Over the course of several hours, with dozens of LAPD officers decked out in riot gear largely staying out of the fray, around 100 pro-Hamas activists attacked, bear-sprayed, harassed, and brawled with Jews up and down Pico Boulevard. The police occasionally stepped in, but their main activity seemed to ensure that the activists were able to successfully shut down the front entrance to the synagogue, ruin the event, and harass Jews more or less with impunity. While dozens of video clips have been posted online, there is scant footage of the police forcefully intervening in the numerous fistfights, brawls and beatings.
The same groups that promoted Sunday’s (23rd) violence had shown up at similar real estate events earlier this year in Toronto, Montreal, and Teaneck, New Jersey. The activists made no distinction between Israel proper and the disputed territories. To them, all of Israel is Palestine, all of Israel should be destroyed, and every home inhabited by a Jew on any part of this land is a crime.
Police were unwilling to confront, arrest, and prosecute bad actors. It’s important to note that this approach applies only to certain kinds of people. If a hundred masked Christians, say, had gathered in front of a Los Angeles mosque and assaulted Muslims, there would be joint LAPD-FBI task forces kicking down doors, and a national news cycle about Islamophobia and injustice in America.
Anti-Israel activists understand that they enjoy something like immunity. Criminality, including vandalism, graffiti, trespassing, and harassment, will go unpunished. The groups organizing and carrying out these regular campaigns of violence routinely break numerous state and federal civil rights and hate crime laws. They could be prosecuted under a half-dozen different statutes. But it never seems to happen. (Free Press)
Israeli Researchers Discover New Type Of Glass That Can Fix Its Own Cracks
By dropping peptide powder in water, a Tel-Aviv University-led team says it developed a material that is easier to make, more durable and more transparent than conventional glass.
Researchers from Tel Aviv University say they have invented a new way to make glass in their lab that is easier to manufacture than regular glass, can fix itself and could open the door – to a range of scientific and technological advances.
The glass was discovered by Gal Finkelstein-Zuta, a PhD student who was experimenting with peptides when she dropped some peptide powder into water. It dissolved, she told The Times of Israel. “Like making Kool Aid.”
But the next day, after the water evaporated, Finkelstein-Zuta was surprised to discover that glass had formed “spontaneously.”
Working in the lab of Prof. Ehud Gazit at Tel Aviv’s biomedicine and material sciences schools, and with other researchers in Israel and around the world, she found the glass was “self-healing” – able to repair its cracks. It is adhesive and can glue together pieces of glass. It is also more transparent than ordinary glass so it can transmit a wider range of light waves.
Researchers say the discovery could simplify the manufacturing of glass used in an array of technologies from lenses to satellite communications, according to the school.
The results of the research were published last week in the prestigious peer-reviewed scientific journal Nature.
Conventional glass is produced from raw materials such as sand and limestone that are melted together at a very high temperature and then cooled rapidly. But for the new glass, no heat or pressure are needed, just peptides and room-temperature water.
Peptides are an organic chain of amino acids, considered the “building blocks of proteins.” Finkelstein-Zuta said. “You can think of amino acids as beads and peptides as the necklace.”
By varying the amounts of water, the researchers found they can modify the curvature of the glass without grinding and polishing, a process that might make the manufacturing of optical lenses easier.
The glass can crack, as glass does. But when water is added to its surface, the glass can repair itself.
“That’s the good news,” she said. The bad news is that the glass still needs to be in lab-controlled conditions for it to maintain its shape.
“You can’t yet use the glass to drink water because the glass will melt in your hand,” she said.
Glass has been found dating back to about 2,500 BCE. This new peptide glass is still in the early stages of its development and not yet ready for commercial use.
But researchers think that it may one day have a wide-range of applications, including in technologies, involving satellites, remote sensing, communications and optics.
“We opened a new field that might be the basis for other glass materials,” Finkelstein-Zuta said.
