News Digest — 3/17/26
Danon: ‘When Rockets Continue To Be Fired, Israel Can’t Pretend Diplomacy Is Working
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon stated that Israel’s military actions to stop Hezbollah’s rocket attacks were necessitated by the failure of diplomacy to disarm Hezbollah south of the Litani River under previous agreements and UN resolutions.
”Early Monday morning (16th), Israel expanded the forward defense area in southern Lebanon. This step was taken to remove immediate terrorist threats near our border and create an additional layer of security for the residents of northern Israel,” Danon said at a press gathering Monday morning (16th).
He emphasized: “Israel did not choose this situation. Hezbollah did. For weeks, Hezbollah has been launching rockets at Israeli communities from southern Lebanon. It has been doing so from areas where it is not supposed to be present at all.”
Danon questioned the UN’s continued focus on diplomacy when Hezbollah has failed to abide by any diplomatic agreements until now. “On Friday last week (13th), during his visit to Lebanon, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said, and I quote, ‘there is no military solution, only diplomacy and dialogue.’ Israel supports diplomacy, but diplomacy only works when agreements are enforced. Under UN Security Council Resolution 1701, Hezbollah is not supposed to operate south of the Litani River. That area was meant to be free of Hezbollah weapons. Yet Hezbollah is operating there. Hezbollah is firing from there. And the Lebanese government has not taken sufficient action to stop it.”
“Diplomatic commitments were made only last November. They were not enforced. When rockets continue to be fired from areas that were supposed to be free of weapons, Israel cannot sit back and pretend that diplomacy is working,” he said.
Danon accused Hezbollah of “indiscriminate fire” in its rocket attacks while using civilians as human shields. “That is their method: launch rockets at Israeli communities, hide behind civilians, and then blame Israel.”
He called on the Lebanese government to “Step up” and fulfill its obligations to confront Hezbollah and stop the terrorist organization from repeatedly dragging Lebanon into conflict with Israel. “Lebanon must restrain Hezbollah now, or we will.”
The IDF Has Begun A Ground Maneuver In Order To Remove Threats And Protect The Residents Of The Galilee And The North, Katz Said
Katz blamed recent Hezbollah attacks for the Israeli incursion, which has forced close to one million residents of south Lebanon to evacuate.
“Naim Qassem, who boasts while hiding underground, is turning more than a million Shi’ites from his own community into refugees in their own country. He is a worthy successor to his predecessor, and if he misses Nasrallah so much – he will soon be able to meet him in the depths of hell,”Katz said.
Comparing the operation in southern Lebanon to Israeli counter-terror efforts in the Gaza Strip, Katz said Israeli forces are demolishing Hezbollah infrastructure near the Israeli border.
“We instructed the IDF to destroy the terror infrastructure in the contact villages near the border – exactly as was done against Hamas in Rafah and Beit Hanoun.”
He added that displaced residents of southern Lebanon will not be permitted to return home until the threat posed by Hezbollah against northern Israel has been removed.
“Hundreds of thousands of residents of southern Lebanon who evacuated will not return to their homes until the safety of the residents of the north is guaranteed. We promised security – and that is exactly what we will do.’
Israeli Schools Partially Reopen After Two-week War Closure
After more than two weeks of nationwide closures triggered by Iranian missile attacks, Israeli students began returning to classrooms as the school system partially reopened on Monday (16th).
Schools were shut across Israel on March 1, a day after Israel and the U.S. launched coordinated strikes on Iran. Israel’s Home Front Command simultaneously imposed emergency restrictions on public gatherings.
Authorities introduced a revised set of civil defense rules allowing limited educational activity in certain regions assessed as facing a lower risk of attack. Under Israel’s color-coded emergency system, these areas have been classified as “yellow” indicating that some daily activities can cautiously resume.
Those areas include the Beit Shean Valley in northern Israel, parts of southern Israel including communities near the Gaza border and schools in Judea and Samaria.
Schools in those locations may reopen only if they have adequate protected spaces capable of sheltering all students and staff during a missile alert.
Under the updated guidelines, schools that do operate must be prepared to respond immediately if air-raid sirens sound. Teachers are required to escort students to designated shelters and remain within them there until authorities determine it is safe to resume activities.
Educational institutions are also expected to rehearse the routes students must follow to reach protected spaces quickly, ensuring that children know exactly where to go if a missile warning is issued during the school day.
The revised rules also permit limited gatherings in these lower-risk areas. Outdoor events of up to 50 people and indoor gatherings of up to 100 people are allowed, provided participants have access to a nearby protected shelter.
The reopenings will be brief, however, as schools are scheduled to close for the annual Passover break.
However, schools remain closed in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa, which are considered more exposed to potential missile fire.
The continued closure of schools in major cities drew criticism from some parents and local officials, particularly because many workplaces have already resumed operations in parts of the country.
Critics argue that the situation places a heavy burden on families who must balance work with supervising children at home.
Government officials say the staggered reopening reflects security assessments and is intended to reduce risk while restoring some level of routine.
Even in areas where the Home Front Command has authorized schools to reopen, several municipalities decided to delay in-person classes, saying the security situation remains unpredictable.
Rubio Asks US Diplomats To Push Allies To Blacklist Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Hezbollah
US President Donald Trump’s administration is urging US diplomats abroad to push allies to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Lebanon-based- Hezbollah as terrorist groups, citing elevated risk of attack, according to an Internal State Department cable seen by Reuters.
The directive, dated March 15 and signed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, was sent to all US diplomatic and consular posts worldwide. It asks US diplomats to deliver the message to their counterparts “at the highest appropriate level” and no later than March 20, adding that the advocacy efforts to get these groups blacklisted should be coordinated with Israeli counterparts.
The Trump administration is attempting to rally reluctant allies – many of whom were not briefed ahead of the US-Israeli air war that started two weeks ago – to support its military operation.
In one sign of trouble for that effort, several US allies said Monday (16th) they had no immediate plans to send ships to help the US unblock the Strait of Hormuz, rebutting Trump’s plea to keep the vital shipping waterway open.
“With the elevated risk of attack from Iran and its partners and proxies, all governments must move expeditiously to diminish the capabilities of Iran and Iran-aligned terrorist groups from attacking our respective nations and citizens,” one of the talking points in the cable says
The IRGC is an elite military force whose purpose is to protect Shi’ite Muslim clerical rule in Iran. It controls large parts of Iran’s economy. Both the IRGC and Hezbollah are already designated as terrorist groups by the United States and some other countries.
The cable doesn’t provide details on the elevated risk but cites examples of how Tehran has attacked its neighbors in the Middle East and urges joint action.
“We assess that the Iranian regime is more sensitive to collective action than unilateral action, and that joint pressure is more likely to compel behavior change by the regime than unilateral actions alone,” the cable says.
It adds that such designations would increase pressure on the Islamic Republic and limit its ability “to sponsor terror activities” around the world.
“President Trump is focused on securing peace in the Middle East,” a State Department spokesperson says. “The IRGC, Hezbollah, and other Iranian-backed proxies destabilize governments and undermine regional peace.”
For Israelis, There’s Nothing Remote About The Danger From Iran – Frida Ghitis
In Israel, polls show an astounding level of support for the war against Iran, with more than 80% of Israelis backing the war effort. That includes the entire political spectrum. A poll by the Israel Democracy Institute found that 93% of Israeli Jews – including 76% of self-identified leftists – support the war.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid told the Economist: “I have fairly earned the title of Netanyahu’s political rival…Yet in this military campaign, I stand behind the government and behind the operation in Iran. Why? Because this is not political – it is existential.”
Most Americans view Iran as a distant, theoretical threat. Yes, Iran is a major sponsor of terrorism, it has tried to develop nuclear weapons, has funded terror proxies, killed Americans around the world, helped Russia kill Ukrainians, and built alliances with repressive dictatorships across the globe. But that’s all far away.
For Israelis, there’s nothing theoretical or remote about the danger. Israelis have listened to Iranian leaders for decades declare their intention to wipe Israel off the map, and saw them install a clock in Tehran with a countdown to Israel’s destruction. They have watched as Tehran built a paramilitary ‘ring of fire’ around Israel with Iran-created and/or sponsored proxy militias, terrorist groups openly committed to Israel’s destruction, launching thousands of rocket attacks, culminating in the Oct. 7,2023, assault by Iran-funded Hamas.
Against this backdrop, Iran has been enriching uranium to a level that serves no other purpose than for building nuclear weapons, while developing an arsenal of missiles in preparation to take on Israel,
As The World’s Attention Remains Focused Elsewhere, Hamas Continues its Crimes Against The People Of Gaza – Khaled Abu Toameh
As international attention is focused on the Iran war, Hamas has stepped up its crackdown on the Palestinian people as part of its effort to reassert control in Gaza. Hamas has murdered, arrested, assaulted, or summoned for interrogation dozens of Palestinians for allegedly speaking out against the terror group.
Gaza-born political activist Hamza Howidy wrote last week: “Since the war with Iran began, Hamas’ thugs have intensified their brutal, savage, barbaric campaign against Gaza’s own residents. The people in this photo are just some of many who have been executed, shot, kidnapped, or brutally tortured in recent weeks. The list of atrocities grows by the day, and the sheer sadism on display goes beyond anything comprehensible….The ‘crime’ those people committed? Saying their own opinions.”
What makes this even worse than the suffering of those victims itself is the silence of the people who built entire careers screaming about Palestinian suffering. The same commentators, the same ‘human rights advocates’, the same influencers and the same media outlets that spent months positioning themselves as the moral conscience of the world,, packaging Palestinian pain into clout followers, and book deals, have gone completely dark….The Palestinians left to die under Hamas’ boots are apparently the wrong kind of Palestinians.”
Another Gaza-born political activist, Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, wrote on March 12: “Hamas terrorists conducted a parade in their trucks inside the al-Mawasi tent-zone for the displaced. These gunmen are the same ones who are killing, kidnapping, torturing, and shooting Gazans every single day, they’re making their presence known by saying, “shut up & pay us taxes”! They hide in tent areas and use civilians as shields to lessen the chance of being struck by Israeli drones and air strikes.”
