News Digest — 3/30/26
Netanyahu In Northern Israel: ‘We Are Expanding The Security Zone In Lebanon’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a situational assessment Sunday (29th) at the IDF Northern Command with Defense Minister Israel Katz, IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, and division commanders.
In remarks after the meeting, the Prime Minister said Israel is currently engaged in a “multi-arena campaign,” adding that “Israeli forces are striking with immense force against Iran and its proxies.”
“We are achieving great accomplishments, achievements that are creating visible cracks in the terrorist regime in Tehran,” he said.
Netanyahu asserted that Israel’s adversaries have been significantly weakened. “Iran is not the same Iran, Hezbollah is not the same Hezbollah, and Hamas is not the same Hamas,” he said, adding that there are no longer terrorist armies that threaten our existence; these are battered enemies fighting for their own survival.”
He stressed that Israel has shifted its operational posture. “Instead of them surprising us, we are surprising them. We are the ones taking action, we are the ones attacking, we are the ones taking the initiative, and we are deep within their territory,” Netanyahu said.
“We initiate, we attack, and we have created three security zones deep within enemy territory,” he said.
Detailing these zones, Netanyahu said they extend “in Syria: From the Hermon Ridge to the Yarmouk,” where he has “instructed to further expand the existing security zone.”
The expansion in Lebanon, he said, is intended “to finally thwart the threat of invasion and to push the anti-tank missile fire away from our border.”
Referring to Hezbollah, Netanyahu said its former leader had built a large force intended to destroy Israel. Nasrallah created a massive force here. He believed that with this force he would destroy us,” Netanyahu said.
“We eliminated Nasrallah. We eliminated thousands of Hezbollah terrorists, and above all, we eliminated the immense threat of 150,000 missiles and rockets that were intended to destroy the cities of Israel,” he added.
At the same time, Netanyahu acknowledged that Hezbollah retains some capabilities. “However, Hezbollah still has a residual capability to launch rockets at us,” he said, noting that discussions were held on “the ways to remove this threat as well.”
Dear citizens of Israel, I obviously cannot share these discussions with you, but can tell you that we are determined to fundamentally change the situation in the north,” he added.
Addressing residents of northern Israel, Netanyahu said he is “aware of your great hardship” and noted that he has instructed government ministries “to assist you very generously.”
“I ask of you, as I ask of all of you, citizens of Israel: Continued patience, continued steadfastness,” he said.
Netanyahu also expressed condolences to bereaved families and praised Israeli forces. “I send from here, on your behalf, condolences to the families of our heroes who fell in the campaign for our existence.”
“I want to express my appreciation, and that of the entire nation, to the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces, and especially to the reservists and their families, who have stood at the front and the home front for over two years,” he added.
Concluding his remarks, Netanyahu said: “We are determined, we are fighting, and with God’s help, we are winning.”
Iranian Ambassador Refuses To Leave Lebanon After Being Declared Persona Non Grata – Report
The Iranian ambassador to Lebanon reportedly refused to leave the country after being declared persona non grata by the Lebanese government, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported, citing diplomatic sources.
“The ambassador will not leave Lebanon, in accordance with the wishes of the speaker of parliament Nabih Berri and of Hezbollah,” the source told AFP.
The report comes days after both Hezbollah and Amal (Beeri’s party) politicians boycotted parliamentary sessions after the Lebanese government’s decision to expel the Iranian diplomat.
Lebanon ordered Iran’s ambassador-designate, Mohammad Reza Shibani to leave the country on Sunday (29th), but the move reportedly will not materialize.
It was confirmed that Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi stated last week: “I instructed today the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants to summon the Iranian Charge d’Affaires in Lebanon to inform him of the decision to withdraw the agreement for the designated Iranian Ambassador, Mohammad Reza Shibani, declare him persona non grata, and request he leave Lebanese territory no later than March 29, 2025.”
In other news, a Reuters report on March 21 said that Iran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has roughly 100 officers in Lebanon to rebuild Hezbollah’s military command after its heavy losses in 2024.
According to two people familiar with the IRGC activities, the overhaul was the first of its kind for Hezbollah, highlighting a direct involvement approach after the blows of the 2024 war, including the killing of its leader Hassan Nasrallah and other top commanders.
Iran’s investment seemed to pay off, getting Hezbollah back on its feet in time to enter the current war.
The two sources said IRGC officers tasked with helping Hezbollah’s recovery, arrived shortly after the ceasefire in November 2024, and set to work even as Israel continued to strike Hezbollah targets throughout the country.
Several Hurt As Iranian Missile Hits Jerusalem-Area Town, Hezbollah Continues To Strike North
Several people were lightly injured Saturday (28th) after an Iranian ballistic missile struck the Jerusalem-area town of Eshtaol, as Iran and Hezbollah continued their missile, rocket and drone threat throughout the day.
According to first responders, some 19 people were taken in for treatment after being injured by shrapnel and broken glass as a result of the explosion in the town west of the capital and several more were treated for shock.
The missile, which was assessed to carry a warhead of several hundred kilograms of explosives, caused extensive damage to nearby homes and dozens of vehicles.
According to the military, the Israeli Air Force was investigating the failure to shoot down the missile. Initial probes showed that attempts to intercept the missile were made.
Hours later, another Iranian missile salvo targeted Eilat, with police responding to two sites where missiles or falling fragments impacted open areas near the Red Sea resort city. One of the missiles was intercepted and the other fell in an open area. No injuries were reported in those strikes.
Also targeting Eilat on Saturday (28th) were the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, who fired a ballistic missile, a cruise missile and a drone, all of which were intercepted by Israeli defenses, with no injuries reported.
Meanwhile, in the north, Hezbollah continued its incessant rocket and drone threat at Israel and its military positions in southern Lebanon, with the IDF saying Saturday evening (28th) that the Iran-backed terror group had fired some 250 rockets in the previous 24-hours.
However, the vast majority of the rockets were aimed at troops operating in southern Lebanon, with just 23 projectiles crossing the border into Israel, the IDF added.
Amid the continued missile and drone fire at Israel, the IDF Home Front Command said over the weekend that its current wartime guidelines were being extended until Monday night (30th) at least, meaning educational activities will remain prohibited in most parts of the country.
On Monday at 8 p.m., another assessment will be conducted by the Home Front Command.
A full list of locales can be found on the Home Front Command website stating gatherings of up to 100 people indoors and 50 people outdoors are also permitted in those areas, under the same conditions.
In the rest of the country, educational activities are still prohibited. Gatherings are limited to 50 people, provided shelter can be reached in time, and work places can operate under the same conditions.
Since the war began a month ago, 16 people have been killed in Israel by Iranian ballistic missiles, as have four Palestinians in the West Bank.
Iran has fired more than 450 ballistic missiles at Israel since the war began on February 28, with the military reporting an interception rate of 92 percent of attacks heading for populated areas and key infrastructure. In all, nine missiles carrying conventional warheads with hundreds of kilograms of explosives have struck populated areas in Israel, causing extensive damage in at least six cases. There have also been more than 30 incidents of missiles carrying cluster bomb warheads hitting populated areas, with over 150 separate impact sites.
Additionally, two people have been killed by Hezbollah rocket fire in northern Israel since the terror group joined the war.
In Israel, Wartime Reality Doesn’t Match What You See On The Internet – Jennifer Murtazashvili
I wake up every morning in Tel Aviv having survived another day. Sirens go off in the middle of the night. I step onto my balcony and hear the never-ending construction. I moved my husband and four kids to Israel in January for a Fulbright Fellowship, arriving weeks before the war began.
We are living through the first alt-war: a conflict in which the war fought online and the war fought in reality have diverged so completely that they might as well be happening on different planets. Most mornings my phone is full of panicked messages. They have all seen the videos of intense missile barrages ravaging Tel Aviv.
One video sent to me featured what were ostensibly Israelis marching in droves, on foot across the Judean mountains, escaping the country as it collapsed behind them. The videos I’ve been sent are all fake. They are either generated by artificial intelligence or simply old footage from somewhere else. I know, because I am here.
What worries me more than the fake videos are the people who cannot fathom that this war is going well for the U.S., for Israel and maybe even for the long-suffering people of Iran. Markets know this even when pundits refuse to acknowledge it. Kobby Barda, a political analyst at Holon Institute of Technology pointed me to the most telling indicator: Israel’s stock market surged when the fighting began and has remained near all-time highs. “Markets don’t lie,” he told me. “Right now they’re telling you Israel comes out of this stronger.”
In the alt-war, Tel Aviv is burning, Washington never heard of the Strait of Hormuz before last week, and the whole enterprise is doomed.
Meanwhile, in the real war, Israel, bruised and tired, keeps building toward a better future for itself and the region.
The writer is a professor at the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh. (Washington Post)
How The Media Is Failing To Hold Iran Accountable For War Crimes – David Litman
Analyzing the use of the term “war crime” by the BBC, CNN, NBC, The New York Times, and the Washington Post, CAMERA found 32 total applications of the phrase during the first three weeks of the war (February 28-March 21). Of those, 28 (88%) were directed solely toward the actions of the U.S. and/or Israel. Zero were directed solely toward the actions of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Iran’s wartime acts that escaped the media’s “war crimes” focus include the over 400 ballistic missiles fired at Israel, half of which were cluster munitions which drop dozens of submunitions over a wide radius of five miles. As of March 22, at least two dozen of these missiles have hit populated areas, with over 100 separate impact sites. Using cluster munitions to target populated areas almost certainly constitutes a war crime.
Iranian regime forces have also hit other civilian targets, including multiple hotels and airports in the UAE, and oil and gas facilities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain – countries which did not join the war.
Yet, not one of the five news outlets used the phrase “war crime” regarding these Iranian acts. This journalistic malpractice creates a perception of illegitimacy against the U.S. and Israel by associating the word “war crimes” with their actions.
Simultaneously, these outlets are creating a perception of legitimacy for the Iranian regime even as it regularly lobs cluster munitions at densely populated cities. Through their imbalanced coverage, these outlets are effectively aiding the Iranian regime toward accomplishing its strategic objectives by distorting reality. (CAMERA)
