News Digest — 6/3/24
Syria Says Several Killed In Alleged Israeli Airstrike On Aleppo Area
Several people were killed in alleged Israeli airstrikes outside of Aleppo, Syria’s defense ministry said early Monday (3rd).
According to reports, the attacks targeted a copper plant in the town of Hayyan, north of Aleppo in northern Syria.
“The Israeli enemy launched an air attack from the southeast of Aleppo, targeting some positions,” Syria’s defense ministry said in a statement carried by state-run media shortly after the attack at about 12:20 am.
“”The aggression led to a number of martyrs and some material losses,” it added.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based opposition war monitor, claimed the attacks killed at least 12 fighters belonging to pro-Iran militias. The watchdog says it maintains a vast network of sources inside Syria.
According to the Observatory, Hayyan is “controlled by pro-Iranian groups composed of Syrians and foreigners.”
There was no comment on the strike from Israel, which has carried out hundreds of strikes inside Syria since the outbreak of that country’s civil war, mainly targeting attempts to transfer weapons to the Hezbollah terror group, an Iranian proxy, or to keep Iranian fighters themselves from gaining a foothold near Israel’s border.
Aleppo sits on the opposite side of Syria from Israel, and is further than most previous attacks attributed to Israel, though Jerusalem is thought to have ordered strikes in the region before.
The last alleged Israeli strike in Syria occurred on May 29, in an attack on the coastal city of Baniyas.
Alleged Israeli strikes have ramped up since the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza began on October 7 when the Iran-backed Palestinian terror group launched a massive cross-border attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
Israel responded with a military offensive to destroy Hamas and free 252 hostages that terrorists kidnapped from Israel on October 7.
Hezbollah has been exchanging near-daily fire with the Israeli army since the day after Hamas’ attack. Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and outposts along the border with regularity, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war there.
Gallant Vows War Won’t End Until Hamas Is Destroyed; IDF Advances Further Into Rafah
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Sunday (2nd) that Israel was working on finding a replacement for Hamas’ rule in the Gaza Strip, vowing that the war will not end until the terror group is dismantled of both its military and governmental capabilities.
“In any process of ending the war, we will not accept Hamas’ rule. We are advancing an alternative government to Hamas, within the framework of which we will isolate areas, remove the Hamas members and bring in other forces that will enable a different government,” Gallant said following an assessment at the Southern Command in Beersheba, Sunday (2nd).
On the one hand, military action, and on the other, the ability to change the regime in Gaza. This will lead to the achievement of two of the goals of this war: the dismantling of the Hamas government and its military power, and the return of the hostages,” he added.
Gallant’s comments came after US President Joe Biden on Friday (5/31) presented what he described as the latest Israeli proposal for a hostage deal and ceasefire to end the war in Gaza. The US President’s address triggered shockwaves in the Israeli government, where far-right parties threatened to bring down the coalition if the deal was approved.
The War cabinet convened Sunday evening (2nd) to discuss the proposal given international and domestic pressure to accept the deal at securing the release of hostages believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza since being kidnapped on October 7.
Despite Prime Minister Netanyahu’s insistence that there will be no permanent ceasefire in Gaza until Hamas’ military and governing capabilities are destroyed, the heads of the government’s two ultranationalist parties, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, both threatened to bring down the government if the new deal is adopted.
The deliberations came as the Israel Defense Forces pushed on with its campaign to root out Hamas in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah. The IDF said Sunday (2nd) that troops had recently begun to operate in the Yabna camp in central Rafah, adjacent to the border with Egypt.
Two Injured As Hezbollah Attacks Israel’s Iron Dome Defense System
Dozens of rockets and a number of suicide drones were launched by Arab terrorists operating in southern Lebanon towards northern Israel on Sunday (2nd).
Hezbollah terrorists launched at least 40 rockets towards the Golan Heights and northern Galilee on Sunday (2nd), with multiple war drones detected crossing into Israeli airspace.
Fifteen rockets were detected being launched toward the town of Katzrin in the Golan Heights, with more than two dozen more fired at towns across the Galilee, including 15 launched towards Kiryat Shmona and eight fired at Margaliot.
At least two people were hurt by shrapnel in the barrage on Kiryat Shmona, after Iron Dome interceptors downed multiple incoming rockets. City officials said three hits were reported in Kiryat Shmona Sunday (2nd).
According to the Hezbollah terror group, the drones launched towards Israel had been directed towards the Iron Dome missile defense battery, while the rockets launched towards Katzrin were targeting an IDF base in the area.
Multiple blazes were sparked by the rocket attacks, including one large fire just south of Kiryat Shmona.
Firefighters were also dispatched to extinguish blazes in the Golan and outside the Galilee town of Yiftah.
In the Western Galilee, two unmanned aircraft penetrated Israeli airspace from Lebanon before detonating in the Akko district, prompting warning sirens in the surrounding area.
Hezbollah terrorists launched a massive Burkan missile at an IDF base near Kiryat Shmona on Saturday (1st) and shot down an IDF Hermes 900 drone flying over Lebanon, prompting Israeli forces to retaliate with strikes in Baalbek, in northern Lebanon, and in Bint Jbeil Qana, and Baraachit, killing three terrorists Saturday (1st).
Over the weekend Israeli forces also bombed a building in the southern Lebanese town of Houla which had been used by Hezbollah terrorists in their attacks on Margaliot.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu Accepts Invitation To Address U.S. Congress – Annie Grayer
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted an invitation from U.S. congressional leaders to address a joint meeting of Congress, his office said Saturday (1st). “I am very moved to have the privilege of representing Israel before both Houses of Congress and to present the truth about our just war against those who seek to destroy us to the representatives of the American people and the entire world,” Netanyahu said.
The top Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate – House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell – formally invited Netanyahu on Friday (5/31). A congressional aide said that Sen. Schumer’s office coordinated with the White House on the matter.
The invitation said, “The horrific attacks of October 7th shocked the world and forced your nation into a fight for its very existence. We join the State of Israel in your struggle against terror, especially as Hamas continues to hold American and Israeli citizens captive and its leaders jeopardize regional stability.”
German Grandson Of Nazis Comes To Israel During War To Enlist In IDF
Although his grandparents were Nazis during World War II, a 23-year-old German citizen named Edgar became a dedicated supporter of Israel and came from Germany to attempt to enlist in the IDF according to a Mako report.
Edgar has no Jewish affiliation, but he was raised to be a pro-Israel supporter and has wanted to visit Israel for many years.
Following Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, Edgar felt the need to take action and help those in Israel. “I was sitting at thome watching the Jews go through something resembling the Holocaust. I texted my friends to see if they were okay, but I felt like I had to do something,” Edgar explained.
In January, Edgar came to Israel, where he began volunteering and assisting soldiers on various bases. During his visit, he decided that he wanted to enlist in the IDF. However, as a non-Jewish foreign citizen, he was refused to draft into the Israeli army.
Edgar continued to pursue drafting into the IDF despite rejection, He traveled to various government offices, such as the Interior Ministry and the Population and Immigration Authority, where he continued to experience rejection.
“Even if I don’t succeed in enlisting, I have no doubt that I would do it all over again. It was an amazing experience coming to Israel.”
Until his tourist visa expires, Edgar said that he will continue to spend his time in Israel attempting to draft into the IDF.
Under Heavy Security, Over 50,000 March In New York City’s Annual Israel Day Parade
Under heavy security, over 50,000 people marched Sunday afternoon (2nd) in New York City’s annual Israel Day Parade, this year focusing on solidarity with the hostages.
The parade which took place between 57th and 74th streets along Fifth Avenue, featured numerous Jewish organizations, government representatives, members of the Knesset, U.S. Congress members and New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
Leading the march were over 70 family members of hostages from various nationalities, joined by more than 2,000 supporters from the New York branch of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, wearing shirts with slogans “Bring them home.” This is the largest group ever to participate in the parade.
The parade has been held for 59 years, usually under the theme “Celebrate Israel.” However this year’s event had a more subdued atmosphere.
The event, organized by the Israeli Day Committee, is one of the most significant occasions in the Israeli-American community in New York, celebrating Israeli culture, history and heritage.
From the early morning hours on Sunday (2nd), all streets leading to Fifth Avenue were completely closed to traffic, in an unprecedented mobilization by the NYPD and federal security agencies. Preparations included the use of drones, barriers and designated entry points for spectators.
Nothing Is Ever The Palestinians’ Fault – Mike Cote (National Review)
• The Palestinian cause has one defining feature: the refusal of its champions to accept any responsibility for the situation they’ve made for themselves. In the pro-Palestinian narrative, things simply happen to the Palestinian people, entirely caused by outside forces. Everyone else, but particularly Israel and the Jewish people at large, is to blame for the woes of the Palestinian people. In reality, however, the self-abnegation of their agency is a tactic meant to camouflage consistently poor choices and overwhelming hatred of Jews.
• In their telling, the disaster of 1948, which they call the “nakba” simply befell the Palestinian people. Yet in the historical record, it is clear that these events were driven primarily by the Palestinian Arabs themselves. The UN Partition Plan, which would have created a Jewish state alongside an Arab one in British Mandatory Palestine, was accepted by the Jewish population. The Palestinian Arabs, however, refused the partition and launched a war of extermination against the nascent State of Israel.
• The Palestinian people, en masse, have embraced a near-religious devotion to the idea that they will be able to recapture the prewar status quo from before 1948, returning to their homes and undoing the State of Israel. Today the refugee camps are not tent cities but large-scale, concrete apartment blocks that look no different from any other residential neighborhoods of the region. And they are paid for by international relief dollars.
• The enormous flow of funds through the UN and its NGO partners enriches the Palestinian leadership, provides jobs for large swaths of Palestinian society, and funds the terrorism meant to destroy Israel. It pays the families of terrorists, provides construction dollars for building tunnel networks, and funds salaries for Hamas cadres. No wonder the refugee issue hasn’t been resolved; it’s entirely within Palestinian interests to keep the scam going indefinitely.
• The failure of Palestinians to achieve statehood is depicted as being stymied by Israel. This flies in the face of reality. Every time statehood has been offered to the Palestinian leadership, it has been rejected. Instead of choosing the arduous task of state-building and governance, Palestinian leadership has chosen terrorism, eliminationism, and statelessness – a choice that has been repeatedly ratified by the people they lead.
• Hamas was elected by the people of Gaza precisely because it is a terror organization. It was not expected to govern but to carry out terror attacks against Israel. In this, it seems as though the Palestinians care less about gaining their own state than they do about destroying someone else’s.
• Sovereignty entails responsibility. Palestinians need to learn that their choices are their own and have consequences that they must live with. Blaming everything on external forces outside of their control has created a version of learned helplessness among the Palestinian population, one that speaks poorly of their ability to run a successful nation-state.
