News Digest — 3/23/26
Sirens Across Israel: Iranian Missile Intercepted, Damage In Central Israel
Sirens were activated across central and southern Israel, early Monday morning (23rd), following the launch of a missile with a splitting warhead from Iran.
The missile was intercepted and no injuries were reported, though debris falls were recorded in several areas in central Israel. Impacts were reported in Bnei Brak and Moshav Gat Rimon, with damage also reported by falling debris in Petah Tikva.
Earlier on Sunday evening (22nd), sirens were triggered twice in northern Israel due to launches from iIan. No impact or injuries were reported from those barrages. It appears that one of the Iranian missiles fired, landed in Lebanese territory.
IDF Spokesperson Effie Defrin issued a statement on Sunday evening (22nd,), addressing the intensified fire over the past 24-hours.
“We have just gone through a complex day on the home front. The fire from Iran and Lebanon continues. We are deepening and expanding our strikes in Iran and Lebanon. We must not forget – we are fighting against a terrorist regime and its proxies. This is an essential campaign. We have achieved significant successes, but it is also exacting a heavy price from us,” Defrin began.
He noted that “interceptors were fired in Dimona and Arad, but unfortunately we were unable to intercept the missiles launched. Our investigation has shown that the failures in these incidents are unrelated to one another.”
“The threats we faced tonight are not new. These are missiles that have been fired throughout the operation and which we have successfully intercepted in the past. We investigate every such incident. Over 95% of launches are intercepted,” he added.
N12 Reports: Number of Passengers Allowed On Flights Departing Ben Gurion Airport Drops To 50
The number of passengers on departing flights from Ben Gurion Airport is expected to drop to 50 passengers per flight starting Monday morning (23rd), News 12 reported Sunday evening (22nd)).
The number of flights will also be reduced returning to the one landing and one takeoff per hour rate of the first day the airspace reopened, according to the report.
Transportation Minister Miri Regev made the decision based on the recommendation of security officials that, although until now, 120 to 150 passengers were allowed in a departing flight, as of Monday morning (23rd), only 50 passengers should be allowed. Incoming flights will be operating unchanged, with normal passenger capacity.
In Sunday evening’s report, N12 reported that airlines were currently deciding which passengers would board flights Monday (23rd)
One passenger scheduled to take off Monday (23rd) was the prime minister’s wife Sara Netanyahu, who is scheduled to attend the First Ladies of the World Conference in Washington.
The announcement on Wednesday (18th), that airlines had cancelled flights to dozens of destinations through March 27, cancelling 25,000 flight tickets, came in the week before Passover.
The airlines added that, at this stage, due to restrictions, customers whose flights were cancelled will not be able to reschedule. El Al is offering a choice between a full refund and a credit voucher for use on other El Al flights.
Israir announced the cancellation of the pre-war flight schedule through March 31, due to the security situation and existing restrictions in the airspace.
Additionally, sales for the original flight schedule will be closed through April 30.
Israir assured that it will make “every effort” to reassign some passengers whose flights were cancelled onto operating flights.
Those who are unable to be reassigned or who opt not to accept an alternative assignment will be able to choose between a credit voucher worth 130% of the booking cost and a full refund.
Iran Using’Mass Murder Weapon’ To Kill As Many Jews As Possible
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned over the weekend that Iran’s missile arsenal poses a threat to global security and to holy sites belonging to the three great monotheistic religions.
On Sunday (22nd), Netanyahu visited the scene of an Iranian attack on the southern Israeli city of Arad, where more than 100 people were injured when an Iranian missile scored a direct hit on the city Saturday night (21st).
Dozens more were injured in a separate attack on the city of Dimona, also in southern Israel.
While visiting the site of the attack on Arad, Netanyahu condemned Iran’s use of cluster warheads on its ballistic missiles, a violation of international law.
“If you want proof that Iran endangers the entire world, the last 48 hours have given it. In the last 48 hours, Iran targeted a civilian area. They’re doing that as a mass murder weapon. Luckily, no one was killed, but that’s due to luck, not their intention. Their intention is to murder civilians,” Netanyahu said.
The prime minister pointed to other recent attacks that targeted a joint US-British military base in Diego Garcia and to attacks on Jerusalem that resulted in damage to the Old City.
“They fired on Jerusalem right next to the holy sites of the three monotheistic faiths: the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” Netanyahu said.
“By dint of a miracle, again, none of them were hurt, but they were targeting the holy sites of the three major monotheistic religions.”
On Friday (20th), part of an Iranian ballistic missile hit a parking lot in the Old City of Jerusalem, just 400 yards from the Temple Mount and the Western Wall.
A week earlier, debris from an Iranian missile hit the roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, causing minor damage.
“Third, they fired an intercontinental ballistic missile on Diego Garcia,” Netanyahu said. “That’s 4,000 kilometers. I’ve been warning all the time. They now have the capacity to reach deeper into Europe. They have already fired on a European country, Cyprus.”
“They are putting everyone in their sights. And fourth, they’re stopping a maritime international route, an energy route, and trying to blackmail the entire world.”
Israel and the United States, Netanyahu continued, “are working together for the entire world, and it’s time to see the leaders of the rest of the countries join up.”
President Trump’s call to have the international community confront this terrorist, fanatic regime of zealots, that is a call not only for the security of America and the security of Israel, it’s for the security of the entire world. And it’s time for them to act.”
IDF Chief On Lebanon: ‘Operation Has Just Begun, In The End, Hezbollah Will Remain Alone’
IDF Chief of Staff LTG Eyal Zamir approved plans on Saturday (21st) for the advancement of targeted ground operations in Lebanon, together with the General Staff forum, division commanders, and brigade commanders in the northern arena. The Chief of the General Staff expressed great appreciation for the commanders for the actions and the achievements they have attained in recent weeks.
According to Zamir, the Hezbollah terrorist organization “made a grave mistake when it chose to join the campaign against Israel. This decision harms both the terrorist organization and the State of Lebanon as a whole.”
He stated that the message of the operations is clear: “There is no safe haven for the regime and its proxies. Any threat to the civilians of the State of Israel will be met with a determined, precise, and powerful response.”
The Chief of Staff listed several significant accomplishments: “We have struck more than 2,000 targets, dozens of weapons storage facilities, and struck and eliminated hundreds of terrorists.”
“The operation against the Hezbollah terrorist organization has only begun. At the conclusion of the operation in Iran, Hezbollah will remain alone and isolated. This is a prolonged operation, and we are prepared for it,” he pledged.
Looking ahead, Zamir stated: “We are now preparing to advance the targeted ground operations and strikes according to an organized plan. We will not stop until the threat is pushed away from the border and long-term security is ensured for the residents of northern Israel. Alongside the strikes, the IDF is strengthening the forward defense posture in order to protect the residents of northern Israel.”
He reiterated that “We are prepared for a prolonged operation and will continue to operate as required – both offensively and defensively – in order to ensure the long-term security of the residents of northern Israel.”
Israeli Resilience Amid War With Iran – Editorial
From the earliest days of the state, when Arab armies crossed the border the day after Independence was declared, Israelis have lived with the understanding that normal life and national emergency are connected. Few societies in the West have lived with sustained, existential threats overhead, where daily life continues under the possibility of incoming missiles. In Israel, it is familiar.
For decades, Israel has invested in the systems that keep its people alive. Through reinforced safe rooms in homes, public shelters in every neighborhood, a layered missile defense network, intelligence capabilities that reach far beyond its borders, and an air force trained for precisely these scenarios, Israel does its best to keep its citizens safe.
Israelis can disagree with each other, often loudly, about almost everything. Yet when faced with an existential threat, a coming-together is hard to miss. Support for the Iran operation runs deep, cutting across many of the usual lines. For many, there is a shared sense that this moment demands endurance. If Iran can be dealt with as it needs to be, then in the long term, we will be better for it. That is Israeli resilience.
Iran Believes It’s Winning And Wants A Steep Price To End The War – Yaroslav Trofimov
Three weeks into the war, the Iranian regime is signaling that it believes it is winning and has the power to impose a settlement on Washington that entrenches Iran’s dominance of Middle East energy resources for decades to come.
Despite optimistic U.S. and Israeli pronouncements, Iran has retained the ability to fire dozens of ballistic missiles, and many more drones, everyday across the Middle East. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf’s chokepoint, remains only possible with Iranian permission. Surging oil and gas prices are exacting growing pain on economies worldwide.
Tehran has pledged that it will agree to a ceasefire only if Washington and the Gulf States pay a steep price. The spokesman of the Iranian parliament’s foreign affairs and defense committee, Ebrahim Rezaei, said any talks with the U.S. are off the agenda as Tehran “focuses on punishing the aggressors.”
“This hubris is dangerous because they are not smart enough to understand that President Trump will never let them win. They don’t understand how far he’s willing to go,” said Jason Greenblatt, who served as the White House special envoy for the Middle East. “The cost of not taking care of the problem will be many times more expensive over many, many years.”
Demands voiced by Iran’s leaders in recent days as conditions for ending the war include massive reparations from the U.S. and its allies and the expulsion of American military forces from the region. They have also called for transforming the Strait of Hormuz – an international waterway where free navigation is guaranteed under international law into an Iranian toll booth controlling 1/3 of the world’s shipborne crude oil. It’s hard to imagine the U.S. – or the Gulf states – accepting such an arrangement. (Wall Street Journal)
(wsj.com)
