News Digest — 11/13/24
Netanyahu To Iranian People: ‘The Thing Iran Fears More Than Israel Is You’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video message to the Iranian people on Tuesday evening (12th) in which he reiterated that Israel is not their enemy and warned of the consequences of a third large-scale attack against Israel by the Islamic Republic.
“A few weeks ago, I spoke directly to the people of Iran. Millions of people around the world, millions in Iran itself saw that video. And after they saw it, many Iranians reached out to Israel. So today, I want to once again address the people of Iran.
Since we last spoke, the Khamenei regime launched hundreds of ballistic missiles at my country, Israel. I wonder: Did he tell you how much that attack cost? Well, I’m not guessing, It’s 2.3 billion. That’s how much of your precious money they wasted on futile attacks.
The missiles did marginal damage to Israel, but what damage did they do to you? That sum could have added billions to your transportation budget. It could have added billions to your education budget.
But instead, Khamenei exposed the regime’s brutality and turned the world against your country. He robbed you of money that should have been yours.
I want you to imagine – just imagine – how your life could be different if Iran was free. You could speak your mind without fear. You could make a joke without wondering if you’d be carted off to Evin prison. Close your eyes. Picture the faces of your children – beautiful innocent souls. Think of the endless potential they would have. Their entire lives are ahead of them.
Imagine how your children’s lives would look if billions of dollars were invested in them instead of being wasted on wars that can’t be won. They would receive world-class education. You would receive beautiful roads. Advanced hospitals. Clean water. You know, Israel has the world’s most advanced desalination system and we’d be happy to rebuild Iran’s collapsing water infrastructure. These and so many other things are the things that you could have.
But that’s what Khamenei’s regime denies you every single day. They obsess about destroying Israel, rather than about building Iran. What a shame.
Another attack on Israel would simply cripple Iran’s economy. It would rob you of many more billions of dollars. I know that you don’t want this war. I don’t want this war either. The people of Israel don’t want this war. There is one force putting your family in grave danger: the tyrants of Tehran, That’s it.
But there is also good news. Every day, that regime gets weaker. Every day, Israel gets stronger. The world has seen but a fraction of our power.
Yet there is one thing Khamenei’s regime fears more than Israel. You know what it is? It’s you – the people of Iran. That’s why they spend so much time and money trying to crush your hopes and curb your dreams.
Well, I say to you this: don’t let your dreams die. I hear the whispers: Women, Life, Freedom.
Don’t lose hope. And know that Israel and others in the free world stand with you.
The regime wants to destroy your future as they seek to destroy our state. Well, we won’t let that happen. I have no doubt that one day in a free Iran, Israelis and Iranians will build together a future of prosperity and peace.
That is the future Israel deserves. That is the future Iran deserves. Together, let us turn this beautiful dream into a reality.”
‘Weakens Its Image’: Experts Explain Why Hezbollah Stopped Announcing Terrorists Deaths Over Past Two Months
Since the war between Israel and Hezbollah began to escalate this September, the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist organization has stopped announcing its casualties through public relations channels.
Experts tell the Algemeiner this is likely because of the breakdown of Hezbollah’s command and control structure or in order to help control narratives around the conflict.
Rather than death notices being published by Hezbollah itself – as was the case from October 2023 to September 2024 – terrorists’ deaths have mainly been reported by open intelligence sources based on funeral notices and social media posts.
Israeli assessments suggest that over 2,000 Hezbollah fighters have been killed since October 2023, said Jason Brodsky, the political director of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI).
This number includes upwards of 1,000 terrorists killed since the situation in northern Israel, which borders Hezbollah’s stronghold in southern Lebanon, began to escalate just under two months ago.
This includes about 900 deaths since September. Experts estimate the number of Hezbollah fighters wounded to be three or four times higher than the death count, including the thousands of Hezbollah fighters injured in Israel’s pager attack in September, when communications devices used by the terrorists exploded simultaneously across Lebanon.
Hezbollah is widely considered to have had a pre-war fighting force of about 20,000-25,000 militiamen working full-time, with tens of thousands more in the reserves.
Hezbollah has good reason, experts say, to hide its true casualty numbers as the terrorist organization appears to still be suffering from command-and-control disruptions due to Israeli military pressure.
As a result, Hezbollah has been forced to use guerilla tactics rather than operating as a coherent military force.
While Israel has suffered almost 100 civilian and military casualties in its offensive against Hezbollah, along with relentless rocket fire and drone attacks from the Islamist organization on the country’s north – and at times in the heart of Tel Aviv – the level of damage to Israel’s home front and critical infrastructure has been far less than expected.
Max Abrahms, professor of international relations at Northeastern University explains that terrorist groups such as Hezbollah often lie.
“Sometimes they conceal information about their own losses,” he said.
“The reason why they do that,” Abrahms continued, “is because they want to create the perception that they’re more successful than they really are. And terrorist groups very often have to do that because, in general, terrorist groups are losers.”
Over the past few months, Israel has decimated the leadership of Hezbollah, with almost its entire top level of command being killed – including Hassan Nasrallah, its longtime leader.
Israel has long been worried that a war with Hezbollah could result in massive losses for the Jewish state, as the Lebanese terror group reportedly had more than 120,000 rockets over various ranges in its arsenal, primarily sponsored by Iran. Israeli estimates suggest Hezbollah now retains only 20 percent of its missile arsenal and that Israel has eliminated 70 percent of its drone arsenal, according to Brodsky.
“Hezbollah may want to cover up such losses as it weakens its image as Iran’s terror proxy crown jewel of resistance,” Brodsky added.
The usual terrorist pattern is to exaggerate the number of civilian casualties and deny the number of terrorists killed,” he said. “This is done to mask the impact of Israeli strikes on armed Hezbollah men and keep up Hezbollah’s morale.”
After Israel’s pager attack, air and ground campaign, and targeted assassinations of Hezbollah leaders, the group is struggling to keep up its rocket fire and military operations against Israel.
“Hezbollah may still have the capacity to manufacture missiles and drones in Lebanon proper, and that’s not to mention ongoing Iranian attempts to ship weapons and supplies,” Abrahms said
“But those corridors have become more restricted with Israel’s operations.”
Trump Announces Mike Huckabee Will Be The Next US Ambassador To Israel
US President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday (12th) that former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is his choice for the next US Ambassador to Israel.
“I am pleased to announce that the highly respected former Governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee, has been nominated to be The United States Ambassador to Israel. Mike has been a great public servant, Governor, and Leader in Faith for many years. He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him. Mike will work tirelessly to bring about peace in the Middle East,” Trump stated.
Last December, Huckabee took part in an international delegation led by Likud MK Danny Danon that came to see the aftermath of the October 7th massacre in Kfar Aza and southern Israel.
In an interview at the time, with Israel National News, Huckabee said that the sights in Kfar Aza were “worse than I could have imagined, the unimaginable horror that these people have been through.”
“No human being should ever be subjected to the level of atrocity and savagery that the people of Israel have experienced,” he said. “I want the whole world to understand what happened here and who did it.”
Huckabee said that the world cannot “pretend that there are two sides, because there aren’t. There is a side of good and there is a side of evil. What happened to the Jewish people here was evil, and there’s no other explanation for it.”
In August 2023, Huckabee spoke at the Israel Heritage Foundation in Jerusalem, during which he described how his love for the State of Israel began with his first visit to the Jewish state in 1973.
“Something happened deep within me on that very first trip, 50 years ago this summer. I’d never been here before, but I felt at home in a place where I’d never been. The feeling I had was not political, economic, or geographic – it was spiritual. Because I had an understanding that this is the land that God had set aside for His people 3,800 years ago when He gave Abraham the title deed to all of Israel and said: ‘Those who bless Israel will be blessed, and those who curse Israel will be cursed,” Huckabee said.
Huckabee reiterated his position that Israel has the most legitimate claim to the ancient heartland of Biblical Judea and Samaria. “When people say, well, what do you think about the occupied territory? I say: ‘Oh, it’s occupied, all right, by the people who have the title deed and have an indigenous sovereign right to be in this land! It’s occupied by people who own it.”
“You’ll never hear me use the term West Bank, ‘because Judea and Samaria are not the West Bank of something, they are the land that God has given to His chosen people,” he said.
Israel’s Strategic Alternatives After A Year Of War – Prof. Azar Gat
After the attacks by Hamas and Hezbollah, Israel faced an existential challenge and had to take all necessary measures to reverse the situation. There was no way to eliminate Hamas’ massive deployment – deeply entrenched in the urban landscape from which thousands of missiles were fired at the civilian population in Israel – without enormous destruction.
Anyone who claims that such destruction is unacceptable should provide other practical and convincing methods that would break Hamas’ power in Gaza. Otherwise they are effectively arguing that Hamas should have immunity from attack. Some people in the West seem to be effectively in favor of granting Hamas such immunity.
The path to a ceasefire in the north that keeps Hezbollah away from the border and allows the evacuated Israelis to return home is far from clear. It is difficult to envision Hezbollah willingly accepting the humiliation of conceding to Israel’s terms after suffering substantial losses. It is very doubtful that the diplomatic efforts now taking place to strengthen the Lebanese Army and UNIFIL, and harden the stipulations of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, will bear significant results.
While the war is not over, the dreams of Israel’s destruction, through the coordinated popular mobilization efforts of all the fanatical elements of the Iranian-sponsored “ring of fire” have largely been buried under the ruins of Gaza and Lebanon. The moderate Arab regimes are pleased with the downfall of Hezbollah and Iran’s difficulties. Having regained its image of superior military capability, Israel is once again becoming a critical ally of the moderate Arab regimes against the Iranian threat.
The writer holds the Chair of National Security at Tel Aviv University and serves as an academic advisor to INSS. (institute for National Security Studies-Tel Aviv University)
Kibbutz Nir Oz Votes To Rebuild 400 Days After October 7 Massacre
After more than 400 days since the Hamas massacre on October 7 last year, residents of Kibbutz Nir Oz voted to rebuild their community.
“Out of the unimaginable pain of what we have gone through and are still going through, we are calling on the government to immediately return all the hostages as a necessary and basic condition for our revival,” they wrote in a document published on Monday (11th).
Nir Oz members said victory for them means the return of the hostages and the reconstruction of the kibbutz.
“It is clear to us that the only victory alongside the return of our loved ones is the re-establishment of Kibbutz Nir Oz – stronger, better, and bigger. The members of Nir Oz decided: Kibbutz Nir Oz will be rebuilt,” the announcement said.
They said that, in rebuilding, Israel’s resilience and ability to rise again will be tested. “Therefore, the government must ensure a complete and optimal construction of the kibbutz, while showing generosity and a sincere desire to bring about the revival of Nir Oz. Along with the re-establishment, it is our duty to preserve the memory and heritage, and to perpetuate the stories of heroism in Kibbutz Nir Oz to ensure the memory of the place and its people for generations.
The members said that there may be those who would not be able to return because of their personal loss and trauma. “These people are our people and are an essential part of the community. We demand that the government find solutions for those who cannot return while rebuilding the community. Our door will remain open for them to return to Nir Oz in the future if they wish. We are committed to the struggle for the liberation of our friends, along with the duty to return home and start over.”
Most of the members of Nir Oz currently live in Kiryat Gat, a city in the south. On October 7 Nir Oz was occupied by hundreds of terrorists, who slaughtered the residents. Before help came, 57 residents were murdered, of which 7 were kidnapped from their home alive and were murdered in captivity. Another 76 were kidnapped that morning, of which 40 women and children were exchanged in a hostage deal about a year ago.
As part of Nir Oz’s restoration efforts, last week the chairman of the Takuma Directorate (council responsible for rebuilding the destroyed towns due to the war) and CEO of the Prime Minister’s Office, Yossi Shelley, toured the kibbutz and met with the residents. “There was a discussion together with the community leaders, the council representatives, and the residents’ representatives who presented their needs and the rehabilitation plan, which they will soon approve,” said the Takuma Directorate. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich was expected to visit the kibbutz on Tuesday (12th), 402 days after the massacre.
