News Digest — 3/10/26
2 Killed, Multiple Wounded In Missile Barrage On Central Israel From Iran
Two men in their 40s were killed Monday (9th) after Iranian missiles struck a construction site in central Israel, as Magen David Adom units fanned out across six separate scenes in the region. A third victim at the same site remains in critical condition. At a separate scene in central Israel, three additional people were wounded – one in moderate condition and two in light condition.
Natan, a witness at the scene, said: “There was a siren, and three minutes later I heard a massive boom. I knew it was close – you couldn’t miss it. When I went outside, I saw shrapnel, and unfortunately, there were two people who had been hit. They’re now sending everyone back to work because there’s no choice, and the economy has to keep moving, but it’s costing the country a lot of money. Nobody’s wasting that money – in the end, it’s us the self-employed, who will pay the price.”
MDA paramedic Liz Gorel said, “Immediately after the sirens we received reports at MDA of multiple scenes in central Israel, and we went out to sweep them all. One of the scenes in central Israel was at a construction site. It was a difficult scene – the two casualties were lying unconscious suffering from severe shrapnel wounds across their bodies. After performing resuscitation efforts, we were forced to declare the death of a man around 40, and we evacuated the second casualty by intensive care ambulance to the hospital in critical condition.”
MDA emergency medical technician Alon Buni, among the first to arrive at the scene said, “We arrived at the construction-site scene with large Magen David Adom forces and immediately began conducting sweeps. We found extensive destruction and two men who were unconscious with severe shrapnel wounds. We began providing all the wounded with medical treatment. One man was declared dead and a second casualty unconscious and unstable was evacuated to the hospital.
Israel Says Hezbollah Preparing For Prolonged Conflict As Attacks Persist Along Northern Border
Israel signaled it will not withdraw from positions facing Hezbollah in Lebanon as officials assess that the Iran-backed group is preparing for a prolonged confrontation, according to reports by the Jerusalem Post.
Defense Minister Israel Katz delivered the warning Monday (9th) during a visit to Northern Command, saying Israel intends to respond decisively to ongoing attacks from Lebanon.
“Not only will we not withdraw in the face of Hezbollah, but we will seize the opportunity to strike it,” Katz said.
Later Monday evening (9th), Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened security council officials and Katz for consultations on the war with Iran and the continuing hostilities on the Lebanese front.
The discussions come as rocket fire toward northern Israel and anti-tank missile strikes on Israel Defense Forces positions along the border have continued in recent days, The Jerusalem Post reported.
Israeli officials told the newspaper that the pattern of attacks has led them to conclude that Hezbollah is preparing for an expanded conflict.
Israeli officials and foreign diplomats have been debating the group’s motives. One question circulating among them is:”What is the terrorist organization trying to achieve with the move, which seems completely illogical”?
A Western diplomat cited by the newspaper said Hezbollah may believe it has reached a point where escalation is unavoidable.
“In light of Iran’s weakening, the removal of members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from Lebanon, and the blocking of financial transfers to Hezbollah, the organization feels it has reached a point where it must act,” the diplomat said.
Two Israeli officials said the terror organization is also attempting to influence Lebanon’s internal political dynamics.
According to those officials, Hezbollah is demonstrating its capabilities, in part to discourage the Lebanese government from taking steps against it.
The same officials said the group may also be attempting to pressure Israel to withdraw from a line of Israeli military positions located inside Lebanese territory.
At the same time, Lebanese officials have been discussing the possibility of diplomatic engagement with Israel. However, a source cited by The Jerusalem Post said the United States has reacted negatively to the idea.
According to the source, Washington believes Lebanon has not acted firmly enough against Hezbollah and is therefore, at least for now, “pouring cold water” on the Lebanese proposal.
Troops Blow Shofar Before Southern Lebanon Operation
Just before the start of the ground operation in southern Lebanon, soldiers at the 36th Division were documented blowing a shofar and praying with the division’s rabbi, Rabbi Yair Abu, for their safety before entering combat.
Forces from the brigade combat teams under the command of the 36th Division launched a targeted overnight raid (Monday, 9th) in southern Lebanon against terrorist infrastructure belonging to the Hezbollah terror organization.
Among the units participating in the operation are tanks from the 7th Brigade. The IDF said that forces are operating in the area to locate and destroy terrorist infrastructure and eliminate terrorists.
The military also reported that before the troops entered the area massive firepower was directed at terrorist targets in the region, with numerous strikes carried out from both air and the ground.
According to the IDF, the operation is part of the effort to establish a forward defensive line that will create an additional layer of security for residents of northern Israel.
The IDFadded that its forces will continue to act with force against the Hezbollah terror organization, which chose to join the fighting, while operating under the auspices of the Iranian regime, and stressed that attacks on Israeli civilians will not be tolerated.
First Flights Bringing Israelis Back Home From Dubai Land At Ben Gurion Airport
The first flights operated to repatriate Israelis who were stranded in Dubai for more than a week landed on Monday (9th) at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport.
The two flights operated by flydubai, flew home a total of 604 passengers, after “significant delays resulting from the operational complexity of operating flights under current conditions,” the Transportation Ministry said. In addition, a flight operated from Dubai flew 121 passengers via Athens back to Israel, the ministry said.
The repatriation flights are part of a plan led by the Transportation Ministry to fly home thousands of Israelis stranded in the United Arab Emirates after efforts were paused over the weekend following the closure of airports in the Gulf country due to Iranian missile and drone attacks.
The ministry said it will organize additional flights from Dubai chartered by Emirati airlines and expects to end the repatriation operation in the coming days. The operation comes as Iran has been firing missiles and drones at Israel, the UAE and other countries in the region.
Israeli carrier Israir operated a third flight overnight to repatriate its customers stranded in Dubai since the start of the war with Iran. The flight carrying 170 passengers took off from Dubai last night and ended in Aqaba airport in Jordan.
After crossing to the Israeli side, passengers were transferred to bus shuttle services provided by the Israel Transport Authority and the Transportation Ministry, taking them to several central points across the country. Israir operated another flight on the route Monday (9th) with 150 passengers.
Antisemitism Is Not Solely A Jewish Concern – David Harris
At its core, antisemitism is an elaborate conspiracy theory. It attributes to Jews both malevolent and extraordinary power. Jews have been cast as the hidden force behind society’s misfortunes. Jews are seen as being everywhere, responsible for everything that goes wrong. This obsessive, all enveloping worldview has long defied rational rebuttal.
For several decades after the Holocaust, antisemitism receded. Jewish communities experienced unprecedented acceptance and integration. It appeared that liberal democracy had created an environment in which antisemitism could no longer flourish openly. But this proved premature. Antisemitism had not disappeared. It was hibernating.
Hostility towards Israel and Zionism – the movement for Jewish self-determination – became in certain circles, a socially acceptable means of expressing ideas that would once have been recognized as antisemitic. At the same time, social media enabled the widespread availability of Holocaust denial, distortion, and denigration, reaching millions without the filters to distinguish fact from fiction.
The Hamas invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, marked a watershed moment. In a single day, over 1,200 Israelis were murdered and over 250 were taken hostage, including young children and elderly survivors of the Holocaust. Yet as Israelis mourned, demonstrations erupted in cities and on university campuses across the democratic world with protesters chanting slogans calling for Israel’s destruction.
Denying the very legitimacy of Israel’s existence – or calling for its elimination – crosses a fundamental line. No other nation is subjected to daily demands that it justify its very existence. No other people are told that their right to collective self-determination is inherently illegitimate.
What is required in response is outrage – not only from Jewish communities, but from political leaders across the spectrum, civil society, and the public at large. When Jews are attacked we will link arms and say, “not on our watch and not in our name.”
This should be followed by action, not merely symbolic gestures, to monitor and confront the sources. And there is a need for the courage to recognize that antisemitism is not solely a Jewish concern, but a much broader threat to democratic society. Antisemitism must be confronted clearly, consistently,and without illusion.
The writer is executive vice chair of the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy. (Telegraph-UK)
Revolutions Are Impossible Before They Happen And Inevitable After They Happen – By Eliot Kauffman
Prof. Ali M.Ansari, 58, is a historian at Scotland’s University of St. Andrews, where he directs the Institute of Iranian Studies, He says, “I’m a firm believer in what Hannah Arendt says: Revolutions are impossible before they happen and inevitable after they happen.”
‘Inside Iran, the vast majority of people are struggling. The political system is hated. The economic system isn’t delivering. ‘Salaries’ no longer meet the basic needs of life. There’s an environmental crisis – they’ve drained the water table. And now they have an international crisis.”
“Prople tell me , ‘Oh, but it’s strong and stable,’ yet it can’t be that strong and stable because people are rebelling every few years, and on a scale the regime deems existential.” Regime supporters, whom Ansari pegs at 10-20% of the population, “are convinced they are going to defeat the U.S. in the war. They are not going to do it”
In January, “the regime carried out such a mass slaughter that it actually proved counterproductive, if they had suppressed it with, say, only the 3,117 dead that they claim, it might have succeeded. But having killed “10,000, 15,000, 20,000 of your own in the random manner that they did, and shooting people in hospital beds, it creates an anger it is difficult to suppress.”
“Under President Mahmoud Amadinejad (2005-13), auditing bodies were dismantled and many state assets were transferred to the IRGC. By one assessment, $800 billion in revenue went missing. A lot of the IRGC made a lot of money and they don’t want to lose it all. That’s now a stronger motivation to fight than old revolutionary fervor”.
“When Iran’s economy is in shambles, the reflex is to blame U.S. sanctions. That does not explain why the Iranians have mismanaged their water. It doesn’t tell you why, well before the real sanctions arrived in 2011-12 they were never able to get any foreign direct investment into the country… It’s the corruption, the kleptocracy,, the short-terrorism, the opaqueness, the lack of accountability, the uncertainty,.. Sanctions didn’t befall Iran. They are a consequence of the regime’s behavior.” (Wall Street Journal)
(wsj.com)
