News Digest — 5/24/24
Israel Fighter Jets Down Three Drones Launched At Country By Iraqi Militias
Three drones launched at Israel by an Iran-backed militia in Iraq were shot down by Israeli fighter jets on Thursday night (23rd) and early Friday morning (24th), the military said.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq – a loose formation of armed groups affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces, itself a coalition of former paramilitary forces integrated into Iraq’s regular armed forces – has claimed dozens of drone attacks on Israel amid the ongoing war, with the IDF reporting downing many of them. Many of the militia’s claims have been exaggerated, but in one case it managed to hit an Israeli Navy base in Eilat, causing damage.
In one incident, Thursday night (23rd), the Israel Defense Forces said “two suspicious aerial targets” – thought to be drones – that were heading toward Eilat from the “eastern direction” were downed by fighter jets.
Shortly after the incident, the militia took credit for the attack, claiming to have launched two drones at a “vital target” in Israel’s southernmost city.
Then in the predawn hours of Friday (24th), the military said the fighter jets shot down another unmanned aircraft approaching northern Israel from the east.
Part of an interceptor missile used to down the drone, impacted near the northern city of Safed, sparking a fire. The IDF said the incident was under investigation. There were no injuries.
Shortly after the IDF said it had downed a third drone, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq took responsibility, saying it launched a drone at the Haifa port.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq said the attacks were in support of Gaza, given Israel’s war there against the Hamas terror group.
On Monday (20th), three drones launched by the militia were downed by fighter jets and a Sa’ar 4.5-class missile ship, according to the IDF.
Amid the ongoing war, Iran-backed groups in Iraq, Yemen, and Syria, have claimed launching dozens of drones at Israel. Iran itself also carried out an unprecedented attack on Israel last month with hundreds of drones and missiles.
IDF Spokesman Hagari: ‘Hamas Is Holding Hostages In Rafah, That’s Why We’re There’
IDF Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari released a statement on Thursday (23rd) addressing the IDF’s ongoing operation in Rafah.
With the video of the abduction of IDF observers in the foreground, the spokesman stated: “Those who may have forgotten how savage and barbaric Hamas is have received a chilling reminder when they saw the horrifying footage of our girls being held in captivity. Those young girls need to come back home. They need to come back home to their families. We must do everything to fulfill our critical mission of bringing all our hostages home and ensuring an enduring defeat of Hamas. We’re going after Hamas. We’re going to release our hostages from Hamas.”
Hagari noted: “Hamas is in Rafah, Hamas has been holding our hostages in Rafah, which is why our forces are maneuvering in Rafah. We’re doing this in a targeted and precise way.”
He continued: “Now, I want to remind you, the Israel Defense Forces has gained a lot of experience in conducting precise operations in complex areas and have targeted raids against Hamas based on accurate intelligence. The IDF is committed to operating in accordance with international law and will continue to keep that commitment. We’re implementing lessons learned since Hamas started this war on October 7th, and refining our operations so that there is minimal harm to the Gazan civilians Hamas is hiding behind. Hamas terrorists are waging war while embedding themselves inside and under civilian areas in Rafah – because Hamas wants Gazan civilians to be caught in the crossfire. We don’t.”
“We’re protecting Gazan civilians in Rafah from being a layer of protection for Hamas, by encouraging them to temporarily evacuate to humanitarian areas like we’ve done with around 1 million civilians in Rafah until now who have moved out of harm’s way. Out of Hamas’ stronghold in Rafah. We’re not smashing into Rafah, we’re operating carefully and precisely. So far we have eliminated dozens of Hamas terrorists, exposed dozens of terror tunnels, and destroyed vast amounts of infrastructure including rocket launchers with rockets inside waiting to be launched by Hamas at Israeli homes.”
Hagari noted that Israel shared its plans with the United States, heard their perspectives, and has been attentive to lessons learned.
He also said that Israel is continuing to work with the US on getting aid to the people of Gaza through the JLOTS, the temporary floating pier.
“Israel has facilitated the entry of half a million tons of humanitarian aid into Gaza including almost 20,000 trucks of food, while Hamas has been bombing humanitarian crossings, damaging water pipes, and stealing aid from the people of Gaza. Israel has been opening new aid crossings, fixing the water pipes in Gaza, and paving roads so that humanitarian aid reaches the people of Gaza in need,” he added.
“Our war is not against the people of Gaza – our war is against Hamas.” the spokesman declared.
“Hamas started this war on October 7th. Hamas is choosing right now to continue this war by refusing to release our hostages, continuing to attack Israel, and vowing to continue to do so as long as it can.”
“There are men, women, and girls being held by Hamas in living hell, across our border, in Gaza. We will not stop fighting for their freedom. We have a moral duty to bring all our hostages home. Every decent country in the world would do the same,” Hagari concluded.
IDF Strike Kills Top Hezbollah Arms Dealer, Dozens Of Rockets Pound The North
The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday (23rd) some 30 projectiles were fired from Lebanon at northern towns in a barrage that came hours after a senior Hezbollah member, who was said to have procured “strategic and unique weapons” for the terror group, was killed in an Israeli strike.
It was the latest round in a simmering border conflict that threatens to boil over into a full-scale war.
According to the IDF, some of the projectiles were intercepted and others landed in open areas. There were no injuries. The rockets sparked a brushfire in the Hula Valley region. Six firefighting crews were dispatched to fight the blazes.
Hezbollah took responsibility for the attack, saying it fired Katyusha rockets at a military base in the north of the country near the city of Safed.,
The IDF said Air Force jets attacked the launchers used to carry out the attack, “quickly closing the circle.”
Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war there that opened with the Palestinian terror group Hamas’ massive cross-border attack on Israel that killed 1.200 people, mostly civilians.
So far the skirmishes on the border have resulted in 10 civilian deaths on the Israeli side as well as the deaths of 14 soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria without any injuries.
Hezbollah has named 312 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon, but some also in Syria. In Lebanon another 61 operatives from other terror groups and a Lebanese soldier have been killed.
The violence has raised fears of all-out conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, which last went to war in 2006.
The ICC Prosecutor Has United Israel In Opposition – Avi Mayer
As the war against Hamas dragged on, deep disagreements arose in Israel about its direction, postwar planning, and the price that ought to be paid to free the hostages still held by Hamas, that is until Monday (20th).
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan’s announcement that he will seek arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has produced a groundswell of anger and indignation that has united the country once again. 106 of the Knesset’s 120 members – including most of the opposition – have signed a statement slamming Khan’s comparison of Israel’s leaders to the mass murderers of Hamas.
To Israelis, the suggestion of moral equivalence between their government and a terrorist group that openly and actively seeks their destruction is repulsive and contemptible. The notion that any comparison could possibly be drawn between the Jewish state, endeavoring to defend itself in the wake of the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, and the perpetrators of that very massacre, is horrifying.
The world might have moved on from October 7, but Israelis have not. Just this week the nation buried the mutilated bodies of four of its people brutally murdered that terrible day. Any effort to tie Israel’s hands while it is defending itself will be met with wall-to-wall resistance and steely determination.
The writer is a former editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post. (Washington Post)
Israel’s Victory Is A Victory For Freedom Over Barbarism – Bernard-Henri Levy interviewed by Dr. Eithan Orkibi
French Philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy told me, “For 50 years I’ve been going to the front lines to bear witness, to write, and to use my weapon – the pen – whenever I can to support just causes. What’s happening now is no different. It’s a war that Israel did not wish for even for a second – and one it must win. It’s about Israel’s survival, but it’s also about justice, freedom, and human rights.
Amidst the atmosphere of Israel-hatred and anti-Semitism pervading Europe and North America, his newest book is titled, The Loneliness of Israel. He says, “There’s absolute ignorance about [Israel], about the history of the state, and about the place of the State of Israel in Jewish history. That’s why I wrote the book. It answers simple questions…. How can (a) people present in a place for 3,000 years be considered occupiers?”
“Israel’s allies are saying: Jews are allowed to be strong, but not too strong. To defend themselves – but only up to a point. What country would allow its citizens to be attacked like that? None! And yet, Israel is being asked to restrain itself. There’s no limit to the double standards. The problem with Hamas is that it’s not a normal, rational enemy, and yet we in the West keep trying to treat it as one.”
“I’ve been saying from the start that the way to win in Gaza is to go through Rafah. Hamas must be dismantled for Israel’s future, but also for the future of the Palestinians. Israel and the Palestinians must be liberated from Hamas. The world needs a Hamas-free space – from the river to the sea.”
“Israel’s victory is a victory for freedom, for democracy, for everything right and just, whereas a Hamas victory is a victory for barbarism, for terror, for murder and rape…. A Hamas victory is a victory for the Islamic Republic, for Russia, for Turkey, for China, for extremist Islam. To allow such a thing – that is, to push Israel to stop the war – would not just be a defeat for Israel but for all of us. And that is unacceptable.”
“The world has forgotten about the need for a State of Israel. It has forgotten that if nations ultimately gave the Jews this small strip of land called Israel, it was to erect a barrier, to build a fortress against the rivers of Jewish blood spilled by hatred, pogroms, and the Holocaust over thousands of years. Today, it seems, no one understands that Israel is waging a war of existence.” (Israel Hayom)
University Of New Mexico Funds Plane Ticket Home For Israeli Student Worried About His Safety Amid Campus Protests
The University of New Mexico (UNM) offered to buy a plane ticket to send one of its Israeli students – and star athletes – back to Israel this week after he expressed concern for his safety amid anti-Israel protests at the university.
Israeli sprinter Gal Arad – a third year student at UNM studying computer science – completed his spring semester at the university, which ended last week, before returning to Israel.” Mr. Arad asked to be sent home as soon as possible, as he did not feel safe being here,” Eddie Nunez, the vice president and director of athletics at UNM, told The Algemeiner on Wednesday (22nd).
“As you are probably aware, the University of New Mexico is no different than what most colleges are facing in regard to protests,” he added. “I cannot speak to what Mr. Arad was feeling but we supported him on his decision to go back home. At no point did we choose to send him home. We supported his decision and also funded the opportunity for him to be able to travel back home. Nunez said he does not know if Arad, 24, will eventually return to UNM, but the Ramat Gan native told the Israeli publication Ynet that he will find another school where he can finish his studies.
Arad previously studied at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, from 2020-2022.
Arad was just in Israel on May 15 competing in a race in Jerusalem, where he won first place in both the men’s 100-meter sprint and 200-meter sprint. His finish time in the 200-meter dash was 20.70 seconds, the second-best time in Israeli history for that race.
The same day as his race, New Mexico police removed a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” and arrested and charged students at the university.
The students had camped out for weeks at the school in protest of Israel’s war against the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip and also US support for the Jewish state. They were finally arrested after refusing to vacate the premises.
Nearly two weeks earlier, student protesters took over the university’s Student Union building, chanting “viva Palestine.” and demanded the UNM divest from companies associated with Israel.
They also had confrontations with police, who arrested 16 people.
UNM President Garnett Stokes, said in a statement on May 14 that the school stands for peace “in all global conflicts,” and will review and research UNM’s investment portfolios, with results being shared in August.
Arad responded to The Algemeiner late on Wednesday (22nd) saying, “I have no complaints against the University of New Mexico. The university acted generously toward me and ensured my safety in sending me back to Israel.”
“However, I do criticize the university for failing to prevent riots stemming from ignorance and fake news, which lead innocent American students to support a terrorist organization, creating an unsafe atmosphere for Jewish and Israeli students,” he added,
“I want to clarify that except for the events that occurred this year at the University of New Mexico, I found the previous year at UNM to be a warm home for high-level studies and training.”
