News Digest — 6/6/25
IDF Intercepts Houthi Missile Sending Millions Of Israelis To Shelters
Rocket alert sirens sounded throughout central Israeli cities, including some near Jerusalem on Thursday night (5th), sending millions of Israelis to shelters following a Houthi missile launch. The IDF reported it was reviewing interception attempts made to counter the threat before confirming it has done so successfully.
“Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel, a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted. Sirens were sounded in accordance with protocol,” the military later said in a statement.
Ben Gurion Airport’s operations were stopped temporarily following the launch, and landings and takeoffs were paused.
This marks the latest attack by the Iran-backed Yemeni terror group against the country after it launched another missile Tuesday evening (3rd). That missile from Yemen was successfully intercepted, according to the IDF. No casualties were reported.
The terror group has largely failed to cause any serious harm or damage to Israel throughout the one-and-a-half-year-long war still ongoing against Hamas in Gaza. An exception was seen when one of the group’s munitions hit close by the Ben Gurion Airport, wounding six people, halting flights and causing a wave of cancellations by international airlines.
IDF Strikes Drone Manufacturing Facilities In Beirut
The IDF on Thursday (5th) conducted strikes on terror targets of the Hezbollah Aerial Unit (127) in the Dahieh suburb south of Beirut.
Earlier in the evening, in an unusual move, the IDF announced that it would carry out strikes on underground UAV production infrastructure sites that it says were deliberately established in the heart of the civilian population in the Dahieh suburb.
Despite the understanding between Israel and Lebanon, the IDF has identified that the Hezbollah aerial unit is operating to produce thousands of UAVs, with the direction and funding of Iranian terrorists,” the IDF stated.
According to the IDF, following Hezbollah’s extensive use of UAVs as a central component of its terrorist attacks on the state of Israel, the terrorist organization is operating to increase the production of UAVs for the next war.
These activities constitute a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon. The Hezbollah terrorist organization creates challenges for the state of Lebanon and thus prevents the implementation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the IDF added.
At the same time, the IDF Arabic Language Spokesman issued a warning to those in Dahieh, especially those in the Al-Hadath, Haret Hreik, and Buri Al-Barajneh neighborhoods. “You are located near facilities belonging to Hezbollah. For your safety and the safety of your families, you are required to evacuate these buildings immediately and move away from them at a distance of no less than 300 meters,” he stated.
According to Lebanese reports, the Lebanese Armed Forces raided some of the buildings that the IDF had ordered evacuated. In addition, reports stated that the IDF had conducted warning strikes on several buildings.
Minister Israel Katz Responds To Lebanese President’s Condemnation Of The IDF Strikes On Hezbollah Targets In Dahieh Area Of Beirut
Defense Minister Israel Katz responded on Friday (6th ) to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun’s condemnation of Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in Beirut’s Dahieh neighborhood, asserting that peace in Beirut is contingent upon Israel’s security.
“Mr. President, there will be no peace in Beirut and no stability in Lebanon without security for the State of Israel,” Katz stated. “Agreements must be honored. If you do not take the necessary actions, we will continue to act with great force.”
Katz emphasized that the Lebanese government bears responsibility for activities within its territory, urging it to disarm the Hezbollah terrorist organization and prevent it from producing drones that threaten northern Israeli communities and civilians.
Regarding the Lebanese Army’s conduct, Katz remarked, “You must ensure that the Lebanese Army genuinely enforces the ceasefire agreement – not through coordinated performances as attempted yesterday.”
He added, “We are committed to the safety of northern residents and will not allow a return to the pre-October reality. If you do not take the necessary actions, we will continue to act with great force.”
The Israeli Air Force conducted targeted strikes on Thursday night (5th) against Hamas’ drone manufacturing sites and warehouses used by the organization’s aerial unit in Beirut’s Dahieh neighborhood and southern Lebanon. Hezbollah’s aerial unit has launched over 1,000 explosive and reconnaissance drones toward Israeli territory during the ongoing conflict.
Additionally, the IDF targeted a drone production workshop in southern Lebanon, used for attacks, intelligence gathering, and enhancing Hezbollah’s surveillance capabilities.
Sen. Ted Cruz Plans To Reintroduce A Bill Designating The Muslim Brotherhood As A Terror Group After Boulder Attack
Following the terrorist attack in Boulder, Colorado, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) is poised to introduce legislation aimed at designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization The Hill reported Wednesday (4th).
Sunday’s (1st) attack was perpetrated by Mohamed Soliman, an Egyptian citizen, who reportedly displayed public support for the group on his social media accounts.
Senator Cruz announced his intention to craft a “modernized version” of the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act, a bill he previously supported.
Cruz attributed the necessity of this measure to a perceived lack of constraints, stating, “The Muslim Brotherhood uses political violence to achieve political ends and destabilize American allies, both within countries and across national boundaries. The Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood is Hamas, a terrorist group which on October 7, 2023 committed the largest one-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, and which included the murder and kidnapping of dozens of Americans.
He further asserted, “The Brotherhood used the former administration to consolidate and deepen their influence, but the current administration and Republican Congress can no longer afford to avoid the threat they pose to Americans and American national security.”
The Muslim Brotherhood has already been designated a terror organization by several countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. This label was applied after the group’s members secured political positions in Egypt, where the organization was founded, before being toppled by the Egyptian military.
“Some lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have expressed support for Cruz’s initiative,” noted The Hill, urging President Donald Trump to officially denounce the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist entity.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) posted on social platform X, “Its history of promoting extremist ideologies and terrorist activities through affiliates like Hamas threatens our national & global security.”
During his first administration, President Trump considered this measure but ultimately did not designate the organization as a terrorist group. At that time, lawmakers and national officials reportedly concluded that the group did not meet the established criteria for a foreign terrorist organization designation.
Israel’s ‘Fighting Our Battle,’ Dutch Leader Geert Wilders Declares
Amichai Chikli, Israel’s minister for diaspora affairs and combatting anti-Semitism, thanked Wilders for his support of the Jewish state, sharing translated footage of his remarks on X on Thursday (5th).
“If Jerusalem falls, Athens, Paris or Amsterdam are next,” Dutch right-wing leader Geert Wilders declared on Wednesday (4th), speaking during a parliament session following the fall of his coalition government.
The Israel Defense Forces are “fighting our battle,” Wilders snapped at opposition leader Frans Timmermans, who had accused him of cozying up to the “far right” Israeli government.
“The fact that our mothers in the West can sleep peacefully is because the mothers of Israeli soldiers lie awake, wondering whether their child will come home alive from a battle fought in the name of freedom,” said the politician.
“Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East and it has to fight the terror of Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad.”
Wilders slammed the left-wing opposition leader as a “stain” on the House of Representatives of the Netherlands for what he said were “statements that are almost anti-Semitic, about a country that is fighting for its existence.”
“Right now, there are terrorists in Gaza who hold power there – whether they were elected or took control – who have one goal: to destroy Israel and the Jewish people, to wipe them off the map. Of course you have to defend yourself in that case,” explained the senior Dutch lawmaker.
“Naturally in war, there are casualties. I regret every death, I regret every child, mother and innocent civilian who dies in conflict. But I still believe–and I am proud of this–that Israel must fight.”
Amichai Chikli, Israel’s diaspora minister for diaspora affairs and combatting anti-Semitism, thanked Wilders for his support for the Jewish state, and sharing the translated footage of his remarks on X on Thursday (5th).
Wilders – a staunch supporter of Israel’s right to the entire land of Israel from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea – has said he visited the country more than 40 times.
In 2018, Wilders declared, “The more Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria, the better, for that land is Jewish – and Jordan is Palestine!”
Jews In America Are Under Attack – Jonathan Sacerdoti
In Boulder, Colorado, elderly Jews were torched alive in a park. They wore red T-shirts bearing the names of hostages seized by Palestinian terrorists over 600 days earlier. Some carried Israeli flags. They were attacked with a flamethrower and firebombs – the third targeted attack on American Jews in three months,
At a shooting range in south Florida, I met Jews who on Oct. 7, 2023, chose to arm themselves for the first time – a story I heard over and over as I met with members of the Jewish community, from lawyers to PR men to moms and dads. They’re training, securing homes, temples, and schools as if a war has already begun. Because this week, we learned it has.
But even as Jews in America are being attacked with increasing regularity, we have not seen the birth of a “Jews Lives Matter” campaign. No nationwide reckoning. No marches filling the streets. The continued targeting and killing of Jews does not appear to summon the same political urgency or cultural solidarity as other forms of hate. That silence is only broken by the continued death chant of “Free Palestine.”
Just hours before the Boulder attack, major media outlets rushed to report that Israeli tanks had opened fire on starving Palestinians at an aid distribution site in Rafah. The claims were unchecked. There were no videos. No evidence. Hours later, drone footage emerged showing a very different reality: quiet crowds, no gunfire, no chaos. Yet the tale of Israeli cruelty had already circled the globe.
Increasingly, the slogan “Free Palestine” is declared while slaughtering Jews. It is shouted outside temples and adorns placards. Like “Allahu Akbar” before it, it has become the cry beneath which Jews are murdered in the street. There is no vision of coexistence behind one chant. It points to yet another theocratic terror state.
American Jews are learning what their coreligionists in Europe and in Israel have known for some time: that hatred of Jews is never defeated, never rational, and never far away. (Spectator-UK)
Ireland Has Been Consumed By Hatred Of Israel – Brendan O’Neill
In the Republic of Ireland you will struggle to find one person who has not converted to a strange and all-consuming faith: Israelophobia. Wherever you go, you’ll see it and hear it – that swirling animus for the Jewish state. The political class speaks of little else. The media are feverishly obsessed. From every political party, every TV set, every soapbox, the cry goes out: Israel is evil!
It’s inescapable. It’s all over Dublin. You won’t walk five meters without seeing a youth wearing a keffiyeh and a look of smug self-satisfaction. The Palestinian flag flutters at Trinity College. Out in Connemara, where my parents are from, Palestinian flags fly in random fields. It feels like the Jewish state has become a Satan substitute in post-Catholic Ireland. You prove your virtue through renouncing it.
When I switch on the radio, I hear an interview with a folk singer from Galway who’s become a national treasure by going on a “hunger strike for Gaza.” The presenter fawns over her with holy reverence. Ireland’s new saints. I went into a quiet eating place in Clifden. A TV in the corner is whispering about genocide. It’s a panel discussion about Israel’s crimes against humanity. They all agree. Ireland is in the grip of a new hysteria. The country I love has fallen. Who will save it?
