News Digest — 5/6/24
Holocaust Remembrance Day, Monday Morning, 6th
The national wreath-laying ceremony marking Holocaust Remembrance Day began Monday morning (6th) at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum.
The ceremony was attended by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, the Knesset Speaker, Supreme Court Chief Justice, Holocaust survivors organizations, soldiers and delegations from around Israel and abroad.
At the start of the ceremony, a two-minute siren sounded throughout Israel, marking a moment of silence in Memory of the Holocaust victims.
At 11: am, the names of the Holocaust victims were read out in the Knesset, and a parallel ceremony took place at Yad Vashem.
At 8:00 pm, the closing event of Holocaust Memorial Day will begin, at the Ghetto Fighters’ House, President Herzog in attendance.
The March of the Living is being held Monday afternoon (6th), with participants marching from Auschwitz to Birkenau in solidarity with the Jewish nation, in light of the October 7 massacre and a surge of anti-Semitism worldwide. Fifty-five Holocaust survivors from around the world are leading the march, including some that were injured in the October 7 massacre.
Holocaust Remembrance Day Begins: Yad Vashem Holds Official State Ceremony
As Holocaust Remembrance Day began on Sunday evening (5th), the official state ceremony began at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem.
Those attending the ceremony included Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, the chairman of Yad Vashem, dignitaries and Holocaust survivors.
The ceremony was broadcast live on the Yad Vashem website with direct translation to English. It began by the lowering of the Israeli flag to half-mast.
The ceremony opened with a prayer for the hostages who are currently held in Hamas captivity and for the safety of soldiers fighting on the borders of Israel.
President Herzog began the ceremony by saying: “I believe in the eternality of the Jewish people. We embrace the bereaved families who have lost their loved ones during the war. This is not an ordinary year or an ordinary anniversary remembering the Holocaust. Israel is at war. Over 200 days have passed since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war. We will not rest until our sons and our daughters return home.”
He continued by telling the stories of survivors who endured the horrors of the Holocaust. He then addressed what he believes will happen to the Jewish nation during the Israel-Hamas war.
“People ask me what will happen now during the war. I say, I believe in the eternality of the Jewish people. On this day we must commit ourselves to relying on pillars that had weakened before Oct. 7. These are the pillars of self-defense, unity, hope, and faith.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke next and began by saying, “Never again means now! 80 years after the murder of the Jews, evil people have again murdered our people. The Nazis drove to kill the Jews until the very last ones. Hamas is the same. We are determined to take those in Hamas captivity, both dead and alive, out of that terrible dark abyss. We are determined to bring them back to their families.”
“We will fight against the monsters of Hamas. They are proud of their murders and atrocities and stream them live. Our soldiers found a copy of Hitler’s Mein Kampf translated to Arabic,” he continued, highlighting the strength of the IDF.
“In contrast to the atrocities of the Holocaust. We now have an army that can fight back. And we have fought back. After October 7, we stood together, filled with determination.”
Netanyahu then addressed the surge in anti-Semitism throughout the world. “Our test is to continue to stand together during these times. We are fighting at a double front against Iran along with the terrible anti-Semitic burst that has hidden in Western countries since the Holocaust emerged, and we see its ugly face again. Today, libels are being spread about us, that we are starving those in Gaza, but we have allowed trucks with food and medicine to enter Gaza to prevent starvation. These false accusations are leveled at us because of the mere fact we exist. Because we are Jews. Lies have become truth, and truth has become lies.”
“The terrible situation has reached the most prestigious universities in the world. Jewish scholars are beaten. We stand together and face the hatred here and there,” he continued. “Another terrible scandal might occur between the ICC and the Hague. No international forum will prevent Israel from defending itself.”
Six torches were lit by Holocaust survivors to represent the six million Jewish lives lost in the Holocaust. After telling their story, each survivor continued to light a torch.
This year’s torchlighters were Michael Bar-On from Poland, Raisa Brodky from Ukraine, Arie Eitani from Hungary, Allegra Gutta from Libya, Pnina Hefer from Romania, and Izi Kabili from Yugoslavia.
Following the lighting, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau recited Psalm verses and Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef led the Kaddish prayer.
The ceremony concluded with the unified singing of Israel’s national anthem, “Hatikva.”
The siren to remember the lives lost in the Holocaust was sounded throughout Israel on Monday (6th) at 10: am.
IDF Begins Evacuating Civilians from Eastern Rafah Northward
The IDF has begun evacuating civilians from eastern Rafah into a newly expanded humanitarian zone which includes al-Mawasi and parts of Khan Yunis and central Gaza, the IDF announced on Monday morning (6th). The evacuation comes ahead of planned IDF operations in the Rafah area.
The new humanitarian zone includes field hospitals, tents, and increased provisions of food, water, medicines and other supplies.
Additionally, the IDF is working in coordination with international organizations and several countries to allow an increase of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
The IDF, in accordance with a decision made by the political echelon, is calling on the population currently under Hamas control to evacuate temporarily from the eastern neighborhoods of Rafah to the new zone. The evacuation is being conducted in a phased manner in accordance with continued situation assessments.
The call to evacuate is being made through leaflets, text messages, phone calls, and statements in Arabic.
“The IDF will continue to operate in order to realize the goals of the war, including the dismantling of Hamas and its return of all the hostages,” said the IDF.
Shortly after the IDF announcements, Palestinian media reported that the IDF began dropping leaflets over Rafah informing citizens about the evacuation. The leaflets warned that Gaza City is still off limits and considered a “dangerous combat zone” and that it is “forbidden to approach the eastern and southern security fence.”
The leaflets, published by the IDF as well, noted that the IDF would act with “extreme force” against terror organizations in the areas under the evacuation order. “Anyone who is near terrorist organizations puts his life and the life of his family at risk,” warned the leaflets.
Witnesses on the ground told Reuters on Monday (6th) that some families had begun evacuating the area under the evacuation order.
The evacuation was for a limited area as of Monday (6th), including an area where about 100,000 people are believed to be staying at the moment, according to Israel media.
The Cabinet decided on the evacuation on Sunday night (5th), with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant informing US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin about the decision overnight.
During the discussion, Gallant also informed Austin about the rocket barrage fired at Kerem Shalom. The defense minister detailed the efforts the government made toward trying to reach a ceasefire and hostage release deal, insisting that, at this stage, Hamas was refusing all proposals.
Gallant stressed during the conversation that “there was no choice left, and this meant the start of the Israeli operation in Rafah.” Gallant thanked Austin for the close cooperation between Israel and the US.
A readout of the call published by the US Department of Defense overnight said that the two discussed the ongoing hostage negotiations, humanitarian aid efforts and Rafah. Austin expressed his condolences for the IDF soldiers killed in the rocket attack on Kerem Shalom and reaffirmed his commitment to the unconditional return of all the hostages.
Austin stressed that any potential military operation in Rafah needed to include a “credible plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians and maintain the flow of humanitarian aid.”
The decision to launch the evacuation came after Hamas fired a barrage of rockets from Rafah towards the Kerem Shalom area on Sunday (5th), killing three soldiers and wounding eleven others. The area being evacuated includes the area from which the rockets were fired.
3 Soldiers Killed In Hamas Rocket Barrage Toward Kerem Shalom, Aid Crossing Closed
Three IDF soldiers were killed and at least eleven others were wounded after Hamas fired ten rockets toward the Kerem Shalom area along the Israel-Gaza border on Sunday afternoon (5th).
The three slain soldiers were identified as St.-Sgt. Ruben Marc Mordechai Assouline, 19, from Ra’anana; St.-Sgt. Ido Testa, 19, from Jerusalem; and St.-Sgt.Tal Shavit, 21, from Kfar Giladi. Assouline and Testa served in the Shaked Battalion in the Givati Brigade. Shavit served in the 931st battalion in the Nahal Brigade.
Soroka Medical Center stated that it received 10 people wounded in the attack, including three in serious condition, two in moderate condition, and five in light condition.
Shortly after the attack, the IDF closed the Kerem Shalom crossing, located in the area, halting the entry of humanitarian aid trucks through the crossing which serves as the main entry point for aid.
Several other people received medical treatment on the spot for injuries sustained from the rocket fire. The Eshkol Regional Council announced that one of the people wounded was a resident.
Additionally, a home in Kibbutz Kerem Shalom was hit and damaged but no injuries were reported according to officials in the area.
Hamas took responsibility for the rocket fire, saying their Al-Qassam Brigades targeted the Kerem Shalom area with 114 mm short-range “Rajoum” rockets.”
The rockets were fired from a couple hundred meters at the Rafah humanitarian crossing, one of the few areas where IDF soldiers still have not entered since the October 27 invasion of Gaza.
Responding to the rocket attacks, the air force increased its attacks on Hamas command centers and other sites in Rafah, as well as against the locations of the rocket attacks themselves, which it appears came from underground attack platforms.
“Hamas is intentionally preventing aid from reaching the people of Gaza,” wrote the Foreign Ministry on X, pointing to the rocket fire toward Kerem Shalom, and the disruptions of the movement of aid from southern to northern Gaza, including the firing of mortars at a corridor used for humanitarian purposes.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog responded to the Hamas attacks on Sunday afternoon (5th), posting on X: “Hamas attacked humanitarian aid because they don’t care for humanity. The world must act to release and free the people of Gaza from Hamas’ vicious rule”
It is unclear what impact Hamas’ latest attack will have on Israel’s plans to invade Rafah. More specifically, whether Israel will move forward sooner to invade Rafah or will still give ongoing hostage negotiations a chance to be resolved before taking broader action.
It was also unclear whether if no ceasefire is reached, how prepared IDF soldiers in Gaza, and especially near humanitarian centers, would be for additional similar Hamas rocket attacks.
There were questions as well about whether Israeli civilians returning to the Kerem Shalom area in July as scheduled would be impacted and delayed by the current incident.
Hamas Plays Westerners For Fools – Again – Bassam Tawil
After slaughtering 1,200 Israelis and kidnapping 253 others on Oct. 7, 2023, the Iran-backed Hamas terror group is again trying to dupe gullible Westerners, including the Biden administration and the EU, into believing that it has accepted the “two-state solution” that envisages the creation of a sovereign and independent Palestinians state next to Israel.
AP reported on April 25th that “a top Hamas political official” said “the Islamic militant group is willing to agree to a truce of five years or more with Israel and that it would lay down its weapons and convert into a political party if an independent Palestinian state is established along pre-1967 borders.” The Hamas official would not have dared to utter similar nonsense to an Arab media outlet.
The claim that Hamas will convert into a political party is laughable. Hamas will never abandon its weapons or dismantle its armed group, especially after the establishment of a Palestinian state. It is committed to continuing the Jihad (holy war) against Israel.
It is high time to remind AP and the rest of the world that Hamas had full and exclusive control of Gaza – as well as a ceasefire – when thousands of its members invaded Israel seven months ago. There have been no Jews inside Gaza since 2005. Gaza was, in fact, an independent and sovereign Palestinian state. But that did not stop Hamas from launching its Oct. 7 massacre against Israelis, because it wants to eliminate Israel and replace it with an Iran-backed Islamist terrorist state.
If Hamas and the Palestinian Authority are given a state next to Israel, they will absolutely continue to pursue their goal of killing Jews and obliterating Israel. Hamas is well aware of the gullibility of the international community. It knows that it can engage in all forms of propaganda and win friends in the West. It also knows that the best vehicle to advance its goal of killing Jews and destroying Israel is a “two-state solution.” (Gatestone Institute)
