News Digest — 5/9/24
IDF Kills Terrorists, Destroys Hamas Infrastructure In Rafah
Israel Defense Forces ground troops on Wednesday (8th) continued the offensive against Hamas in the Gaza terrorist bastion of Rafah.
Soldiers killed some 30 gunmen and located tunnel shafts and other underground infrastructure on the 215th day of the war, the army announced.
“IDF forces led by the 162nd Division and under the intelligence guidance of the Shin Bet and the Military Intelligence Directorate continue targeted operations in eastern Rafah against Hamas terrorists and the group’s terrorist infrastructure,” the army said.
In addition, troops from the division’s Givati and 301st Armored brigades killed Palestinian terrorists in close-quarters combat. The brigades’ combat teams also worked to destroy terrorist infrastructure above and below ground.
Givati infantrymen spotted a terrorist nearby with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher and killed him before he could attack.
Meanwhile, forces of the 401st Brigade continue raids on the Gazan side of the Rafah Crossing following indications and intelligence information that terrorists are using the area,” the army said.
In a 24-hour period, Israeli Air Force fighter jets attacked more than a hundred targets throughout the coastal enclave, including terrorist bases, observation posts and launch positions.
Evacuations of some 100,000 noncombatants from eastern Rafah started on Monday (6th) ahead of an overnight operation in which the IDF took control of the Rafah crossing with Egypt and the southern section of the Salah ad-Din Road, the Gaza Strip’s main highway that runs more than 28 miles, spanning the territory from south to north.
In his first official comments on the operation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday night (7th) noted that “within hours, our forces raised Israeli flags at the Rafah Crossing and took down the Hamas banners.”
“Seizing the Rafah Crossing is a very significant step towards destroying the remaining military capabilities of Hamas, including the elimination of the four terrorist battalions in Rafah, and an important step to damage the governmental capabilities of Hamas,” said the premier.
Will Jewish Voters Support Current U.S. Administration After ‘Arms Freeze Threat”
American Jews will be rethinking their plans to vote for President Joe Biden in the upcoming 2024 Presidential election, following his threat to freeze arms sales to Israel should the IDF launch a full-scale invasion in Rafah.
“Of course, any pressure on Israel is interpreted by our enemies as something that gives them hope,” Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, told radio station Kan News.
“There are many Jewish Americans who voted for the president, and now they’re hesitant.”
Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell said that the US administration was caving “under the heat of domestic political pressure from his party’s anti-Israel base and the campus Communists who needed to wrap themselves in the flags of Hamas and Hezbollah.”
“I’m sure Hamas is happy,” Senate intelligence Vice Chair Marco Rubio (R-FL) said. “When we threaten to freeze military support, Israel’s enemies are encouraged.”
He added that “the move probably makes a realistic ceasefire less likely. If you’re Hamas and you think they’re not going to have weaponry, you probably think you have more leverage and less urgency.”
“Administration officials have assured Congress, and have assured me personally very recently … that there would be no delay in assistance to Israel,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).
“This is an underhanded attempt to withhold aid without facing accountability. It’s undermining what Congress intended and has acted to take care of by authorizing the aid to Israel,”he continued.
“And so if the president truly wanted to defeat Hamas like he’s said in the past, he wouldn’t be standing in the way preventing it from happening.”
Gallant Warns Of ‘Hot Summer’ As War Cannons Roar Across Northern Border
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned of a “hot summer” on the northern border as Hezbollah ramped up its attacks on Israel Wednesday (8th), marking an unusual escalation in scale and frequency compared to previous months of low-intensity fighting.
“The mission here is not yet complete – this could be a hot summer,” he said during a situation assessment on the northern frontier, expressing his determination to restore security for the residents of the north and to rebuild communities ravaged by months of hostilities.
Meanwhile, heavy cross-border fighting ensued throughout Wednesday (8th), with Hezbollah launching multiple rocket, drone, and anti-tank missile attacks at Israeli border communities.
The IDF said that it eliminated three Hezbollah operatives in a targeted strike in the southern Lebanon town of Khiam and struck over 20 Hezbollah targets in the southern village of Ramya with warplanes and artillery.
Attacks from Lebanon persisted when an anti-tank missile hit a bus stop at the Gomeh Junction on Route 90 around noon. The impact closed the road to southbound traffic. Police said there were no casualties and only minor property damage.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for 10 strikes on Israel Wednesday (8th) using drones, anti-tank missiles and rockets, including heavy short-range Burkan rockets.
Meanwhile, Lebanese media reported that Israeli strikes were extensive compared to recent fighting rounds, both in terms of the number of targets struck and the methods used, including airstrikes and artillery fire.
In Show Of Unity, Israeli Leaders Urge Public To Leave Disputes Outside The Cemeteries On Memorial Day
In a show of unity, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Minister Benny Gantz, and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid issued a joint statement Wednesday (8th) calling on the public to preserve the sanctity of the Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Victims of terror.
The four leaders signed a letter drafted by Eli Ben-Shem, chairman of the Yad LaBanim organization for bereaved families. The letter urges Israelis to “leave disputes outside military cemeteries” and avoid political arguments at gravesites out of respect for the fallen and their families.
“We turn to you, public representatives and all citizens of Israel .. and ask you from the bottom of our hearts – preserve the sanctity of Memorial Day,” the letter said.
It referenced the particularly difficult circumstances surrounding this year’s memorial after the devastating October 7 Hamas onslaught and months of conflict, resulting in a sharp increase in bereaved families joining “the circle of bereavement.”
“The leaders emphasized that Israel’s independence was “bought at a heavy cost of blood” and that Memorial Day is meant to honor those who fell in defense of the country. For the sake of the fallen, the four called on Israelis to temporarily put aside political disagreements.
“We will honor the memory of all our daughters and sons, together. This is our duty, our responsibility, and this is how we will act,” the letter said.
Ben-Shem approached the leaders amid concerns over potential protests or inappropriate behavior at cemeteries that could deepen the anguish of bereaved families on Memorial Day. A similar joint appeal was issued last year when clashes over the government’s judicial reform plan led to confrontations at some gravesites.
Israel’s Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terror begins Sunday night (12th) and ends Monday (13th) at sundown.
Israel’s Independence Day begins Monday (13th) at sundown and ends Tuesday evening (14th).
Elbit Systems Sell Automated Mortar System To First European Client
Israeli defense company Elbit Systems announced on Wednesday (8th) that it won its first contract stretching six years and totaling $53 million to supply a 120 mm unmanned mortar system with a recoil mechanism, which will be installed on the European client’s Pandur 6×6 vehicles.
Elbit Systems Land General Manager Udi Vered, said, “We are proud to receive the first order from a leading international client for our state-of-the-art Crossbow Unmanned Turreted Mortar System. The turreted mortar, with its precise guided round, reaffirms our commitment to developing and providing innovative and advanced land systems as solutions to the evolving needs of the modern battlefield.”
The new mortar system’s advantage is its high survivability and protection it provides to the operating team. While previously soldiers had to physically carry the shells to the top of the barrel and launch it, exposing themselves to enemy fire, the new mortar is automatic. The shells are placed in a storage compartment and the mortar can load the bomb by itself while keeping the soldiers protected inside the vehicle or any other platform where they’re located.
The mortar has a rapid-fire capability and can fire the first shell in less than 30 seconds. The system has a maximum rate of 10 shells per minute, with an average rate of six shells per minute. The new system combines precise mortar capabilities with a high automatic fire rate.
With a variety of NATO-approved 120 mm ammunition types, including the Israeli Steel Sting mortar, the system provides an effective range of up to 10 km. No indexing is required for the Crossbow turret, which offers a 360 degree capability.
In addition, the turret can be loaded with a variety of shells with different capabilities – from illumination bombs to precise Steel Sting type mortars manufactured by Elbit, which were first used during the war in Gaza. The Crossbow system was first introduced at the DSEI exhibition held in London in 2023, and as mentioned, this marks the first order received for it internationally.
Canadian Parliament Unanimously Approves Motion To Blacklist IRGC
Canada’s House Of Commons on Wednesday (8th) voted unanimously in support of a motion to add Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to an official list of terrorist organizations, CBC reported.
The motion came from a House justice committee report that, among other things, called on the government to designate the IRGC as a terrorist entity in Canada.
MPs voted 327-0 to accept the report, according to the CBC.
The Canadian government has been facing mounting pressure to declare the IRGC a terrorist group under the Criminal Code. The pressure has grown since Iran launched its drone and missile attack on Israel last month.
Families of the victims of Flight PS752 have been calling on the government to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization for years. PS752 was shot down by the IRGC shortly after take off from Tehran on January 7, 2020, killing all 176 people aboard, including 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents.
The report does not impose any binding obligation on the government.
The Liberals also voted in favor of a similar motion in 2018, noted CBC.
A Coordinated Attack On America’s Jews And Israel – Dr. Steven Windmueller
• Over these last 150 years, both the collective and personal achievement of Jews have been without precedent, as Western societies have exhibited a more open tolerance, allowing for a Jewish renaissance of power and influence. Yet the advent of the internet and the presence of social media platforms have been the staging areas for much of the adverse messaging now being directed against Israel and global Jewry.
• We are now living in a political culture in which public debate is being reduced to a base level of distrust, where alternative viewpoints are often labeled and minimized, and where one’s opponents are marginalized.
• The Gen Z phenomenon involves a cohort whose educational orientation and socialization experience are fundamentally different from prior generations. Minimally exposed to classroom civics and American history, this age group has been far less connected to the traditions of the earlier periods of America’s social and cultural evolution.
• Today’s language of the street, with its distortions of Zionism, misrepresentations of Judaism, and its outright dismissal of the Jewish people, is attempting to rewrite the Jewish narrative concerning who we are and what we represent. These activists seek to deny both our presence and our historic connection in the Land of Israel and call for our genocide.
• The dismembering of the American Jewish political story is designed to weaken U.S. support for Israel and undo the influence and status of Jewish Americans. This displacement is well underway.
The writer, Emeritus Professor of Jewish Communal Studies at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of religion, Los Angeles, is a fellow of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
