News Digest — 1/8/25
IDF Reports It Is Battling Newly Recruited Hamas Terrorists In Gaza
As the IDF has returned to northern Gaza to battle Hamas, Israel’s military admits that many of the terrorists they are fighting are new recruits.
The aim of the renewed campaign in northern Gaza is to eliminate terrorist infrastructure.
Galai Tzahal (IDF Radio) Military correspondent Doron Kadosh reported that many of the Hamas terrorists that soldiers are fighting against have been recruited since the war.
Officers said the goal of the current operation is to destroy Hamas’ infrastructure to make additional missions unnecessary.
Kadosh said, “We are undertaking actions that were not part of previous operations. We are advancing into areas where the IDF will not need to return. This is not a raid; it is a full-scale operation aimed at completely dismantling the enemy and its infrastructure.”
He added that although a large number of the terrorists are “veteran” Hamas members, many have been enlisted recently.
The Hamas terror organization has replaced a significant portion of its forces lost in combat with Israel since October 7, according to reports by Israeli media outlets.
According to estimates from the Israeli military, the Gaza-based group had around 25,000 fighters in the coastal enclave before the October 7, 2023 invasion of southwestern Israel.
Since then, the IDF estimates that between 17,000 and 20,000 Gaza-based terrorists have been killed, the majority of whom were from Hamas.
Additionally thousands have been rendered incapable of fighting due to injuries sustained during the conflict, and Israel has captured many others, Over 4,000 Gazans are currently being held by Israel.
Despite these significant losses, Hamas has reportedly managed to replenish its ranks, according to a report by Israel’s Channel 12.
Together with the much smaller Palestinian Islamic Jihad organization, the two terror groups now have between 20,000 to 23,000 men under arms in the Gaza Strip, the report said.
The source emphasized that regardless of the number of terrorists commanded by Hamas before the war or at present, there has been a notable decline in the quality of its forces, with large numbers of untrained teenagers filling Hamas’ ranks.
Israel To Locally Produce Heavy Bombs, Reducing Reliance On US After Shipment Holdup
The Israel Defense Ministry on Tuesday (7th) signed two major deals with Elbit Systems for the local arms contractor to supply the military with thousands of heavy bombs and establish a new facility to manufacture raw materials.
The deals were estimated at NIS 1 billion ($275 million), the Defense Ministry said.
The ministry said the agreements were “crucial for enhancing the IDF’s operational endurance and force build-up capabilities,” and represented a “central lesson learned from the war.”
Under the first agreement, Elbit is to supply thousands of heavy air munitions used by the Israeli Air Force.
This would apparently reduce Israel’s need to rely on the United States, which in late spring held up a shipment of heavy bombs.
Since the beginning of the war, the IAF has launched over 83,000 munitions in airstrikes, according to the military.
Under the second agreement, Elbit is to establish a “national raw materials plant to produce raw materials that were sourced mainly from abroad before the war.”
“The new facility will feature advanced production lines for energetic materials that Israel’s defense industry uses,” the ministry said, adding that the project is expected to “strengthen domestic manufacturing independence and reduce reliance on imported raw materials.”
Defense Ministry Director General Eyal Zamir said the deals were “laying the foundations for expanding manufacturing independence in two critical areas for the IDF’s operational sustainability: domestic production of heavy air munitions and establishing a national raw materials plant.”
“Both agreements will ensure sovereign capability in producing bombs and munitions of all types,” he said in remarks provided by the ministry.
“We initiated this historic move before the war but accelerated it during it. Under both agreements, initial capabilities will soon gradually expand until we achieve full independence in both areas,” Zamir said.
“This is a central lesson from the war that will enable the IDF to continue operating powerfully in all theaters,” he added.
The Defense Ministry said in August that the US had sent over 50,000 tons of armaments and military equipment to Israel since the war began.
The aggression against Israel throughout the Middle East, which has been described as a seven-front war, began with the Hamas October 7, 2023 massacre, which saw thousands of terrorists invade Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping some 251.
In Gaza, fierce fighting in the north continues, with Hamas still demonstrating it is still capable of firing rockets at Israel after nearly 15-months of war.
In Lebanon, a delicate ceasefire holds as Israeli forces continue to uncover Hezbollah infrastructure in the country’s north.
Meanwhile, over the past month, Houthi ballistic missiles from Yemen have repeatedly sent millions of Israelis to bomb shelters in the middle of the night.
Jerusalem Court OKs Seizure Of $5.5 Million In PA Funds By Relatives Of Huwara Attack Victims
The Jerusalem District Court recently approved the seizure of (20 million shekels) $5.5 million in Palestinian Authority funds by the relatives of slain brothers Hallel and Yagel Yaniv, who were murdered by an Arab terrorist in Samaria almost two years ago, Ynet reported on Tuesday (7th).
The suit was filed under the “Compensation for Terror Victims Law” passed by the Knesset in March. The law requires courts to award punitive damages of at least 10 million shekels per fatal casualty.
To ease the collection of potential punitive awards by victims and their families, court judgments may be enforced against any property of the defendant, including any property seized or frozen by the State of Israel.
Under agreements signed with the Palestinian Liberation Organization in the 1990s, Israel collects taxes and customs duties on behalf of the PA.
“Nothing can bring our loved ones back to us, and nothing will put our mind at ease,” Shalom Yaniv, father of the two terror victims, told Ynet. “At the same time, the move to seize the PA’s funds is the beginning of doing justice to us as a family, as well as to the victims of terrorism.”
“This is a just and correct move,” Yaniv continued. “Every family that was harmed by a terrorist incident should sue to convey the message that those who finance terror will also pay on an economic level. In addition, the State of Israel must engage in the expulsion of terrorists.”
Attorney Asher Stub, whose Justice for Terror Victims NGO helped write the bill on which the request was based, represented the Yaniv family.
“The Compensation for Terror Victims Law, which was enacted this year in the Knesset at our initiative, will result in billions of shekels in compensation for the families of terror victims,” stated Stub.
“The Yaniv family’s lawsuit achieves the dual goal of providing adequate compensation to the family and harming the economic infrastructure that finances and encourages terrorist attacks,” the attorney added.
Hallel Menachem, 21, and Yagel Yaakov Yaniv, 19, from the Samaria village of Har Bracha were hit by terrorist gunfire during a traffic jam in the nearby hostile Palestinian community of Huwara on Feb. 26, 2023.
The Israel Defense Forces said a terrorist drove to the Einabus Junction and opened fire on an Israeli vehicle. The Yaniv brothers were evacuated to the hospital for treatment, where the two were pronounced dead.
Under the PA’s “pay-for-slay” policy, Ramallah disperses monthly stipends to convicted terrorists and the families of slain terrorists. The so-called Martyrs’ Fund is enshrined in PA law, granting terrorists or their next of kin the right to receive payments as long as they live.
In October, attorneys for some 250 Israelis affected by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 massacre filed a record-breaking lawsuit against the Palestinian Authority, citing its support for terrorism through the “pay-for-slay” policy.
The terrorism victims and families of those killed during the Oct. 7 attacks, represented by the Jerusalem-based Arbus, Kedem, Tzur law firm, demanded 1.75 billion shekels ($462 million) in compensation.
The claim came on top of a 210 million shekel ($55 million) lawsuit filed some three months earlier with the Jerusalem District Court by dozens of Israelis whose relatives were killed in recent years, including in the ax attack in Elad on Independence Day in 2022 and the Oct. 7 slaughter.
Media Mainstreams A Blood Libel About Israeli “Apathy” – Jonathan S. Tobin
For 15 months, Israelis and Jews around the world have watched in horror as much of the international media flipped the narrative of the terrorist invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Even before the Israel Defense Forces launched its counterattack into Gaza to eradicate the forces that had brazenly assaulted the one Jewish state on the planet, much of the press coverage was portraying the side that started the war with barbaric atrocities as the real victims while Israelis were depicted as the aggressors.
In recent weeks, articles in the New York Times and elsewhere accused the Israeli people as a whole of acquiescence to the supposedly horrible things being done in their name in Gaza. Israelis are portrayed as having failed the test of morality set for them by the supposedly more enlightened West.
Israelis are expected to give a pass to the Palestinians for the genocidal ideology that drove them to murder, torture, rape, and kidnap Jews as part of their desire to end Israel’s existence. The charge of “deadly apathy” is a new form of an age-old blood libel in which the Jews are singled out for opprobrium (vilification) for sentiments that would be universal in any country put in a similar situation.
The overwhelming majority of Israelis have come to the rational conclusion that any sane people would embrace – that Hamas must not merely be defeated but prevented from ever having the opportunity to repeat their crimes, as they have promised they will if given the chance.
Hamas could have ended this war at any point by releasing the hostages and accepting Israeli offers in which the terrorists would be allowed safe passage out of Gaza. They hold on because they believe their propaganda will convince the West to turn on Israel and someday hand them what they want on a silver platter. Those who participate in pro-Hamas demonstrations are helping to prolong the war. (JNS)
(jns.org)
UN Watchdog Group Urges Dismantling Of UNRWA For “Enabling Crimes Against Humanity” – Carl Campanile
UNRWA , the UN relief agency that provides $1.5 billion a year to Palestinians, “is neither independent nor neutral” and should be disbanded for colluding with terrorists and “enabling crimes against humanity,” UN Watch said in a new report.
“UNRWA’s senior management not only employs individuals tied to Hamas terrorism but also allows terrorist groups like Hamas to influence and obstruct critical agency decisions and policies. UNRWA’s failure to maintain neutrality, combined with its susceptibility to influence from terrorist groups, undermines its credibility as a humanitarian agency and perpetuates conflict in the region. It is time for donors to reconsider their support, dismantle the Agency, and seek alternative frameworks to provide effective aid to Palestinians in need.”
“UNRWA is no longer a humanitarian agency – it has become a full-fledged partner to terrorist organizations like Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch. It “actively collaborates with those who glorify violence and seek the destruction of Israel…. The U.S. and the Western nations funding UNRWA need to wake up. Your money is being used to employ terrorists, indoctrinate children, and build the infrastructure of hatred and violence.” (New York Post)
