News Digest —7/30/25
Israel’s UN Ambassador Slams UK’s Threat To Recognize Palestinian State
Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, criticized the United Kingdom’s threat to recognize a Palestinian state in September unless Israel takes “substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza,” according to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s statement to the UK Cabinet on Tuesday (29th).
“Israel has already agreed many times to a ceasefire,” Danon wrote on X, following the UK’s demands for an immediate ceasefire, aid to be allowed into Gaza on a continuing basis, and the release of hostages.
Danon pointed out, “No token recognition and no UN resolution will change the basic fact that there are those who fight terrorists and extremist forces, and then there are those who turn a blind eye or resort to appeasement.”
“The State of Israel will not lower its waiver after the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7,” Danon stressed. “We will do whatever is necessary to bring home the hostages and defeat Hamas.”
Last week, Danon condemned the UN for its hypocrisy regarding Israel. In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, he stated, “Hamas causes the crisis, and we get the blame.”
“We are not ignoring the suffering in Gaza, but the blame lies with Hamas, not Israel,” Danon added.
He argued the pressure Israel is facing in recent weeks stems more from “a calculated propaganda campaign orchestrated by Hamas and its allies” than from genuine humanitarian concern.”
IDF To Continue Attacking Hezbollah Until It Disarms
The IDF has said it will continue regular attacks on Hezbollah until it disarms, even if this leads to another war.
A significant part of this calculation is the ongoing substantial harm that the IDF has caused to Hezbollah’s ability to threaten Israel to date.
If pre-war Hezbollah had around 150,000 rockets and tens of thousands of launchers for firing rockets, as of now, the number of launchers is down to a couple of thousand, with the total number of rockets down between 70-80%.
In practical terms, the implications are staggering given that this means that if pre-war Hezbollah could easily fire around 1,500 rockets at a time, now the Lebanese terror group can only fire some dozen at a time.
Hezbollah also has lost virtually all of its multiple rocket launching platforms.
This completely changes how Hezbollah operates, and limits its options for coordinated attacks, since it only has individual rocket launchers, which makes each rocket launch a strenuous and exposed effort.
Hezbollah retains a small number of long-range precision rockets, but would struggle to fire them given that the areas where it would need to move them in order to fire could leave them exposed to IDF attacks, and many of these areas have already been attacked in the past.
Hezbollah’s loss of Syria for smuggling weapons has hit the group hard in any rearming efforts.
The new Syrian Sunni regime is blocking the vast majority of Iran’s weapons smuggling efforts from Syria to Hezbollah on its own initiative and without any Israeli assistance as part of its opposition to the spread of Shiite influence.
The IDF has attacked some cross-border positions between Syria and Lebanon as many as five times to determine whether they still represent a smuggling threat.
IDF sources expressed some hope that Lebanon might get Hezbollah to disarm, and are confident for now that Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem is heavily deterred and intimidated from launching a rocket attack on Israel.
On the other hand, IDF sources said Iran continues to stream around one billion dollars into Hezbollah to prop it up, whereas the West is only sending Lebanon up to $250 million.
This disparity could keep Hezbollah overall in power even if it has lost some of its standing. Also the military said it has attacked Hezbollah over 500 times since the November 2024 ceasefire.
Some 230 of the attacks were killing Hezbollah terrorists, 90 were attacks on rocket launchers, 20 were attacks on Hezbollah bases or outposts, 40 were attacks on weapons storage areas, and three were attacks on Hezbollah’s special forces Radwan training camps.
These numbers, added to the Hezbollah terrorists killed before the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, mean that 4,000-5,000 operatives are dead and around 9,000 wounded badly enough to be permanently out of fighting.
This means that over half of Hezbollah’s standing army of 25,000 is out of service. Before the war, Hezbollah was also said to have tens of thousands of reservist fighters, but IDF sources estimate that only 10% of them are still active.
Also the Radwan forces are down to 2,500-3,000 from their pre-war 6,000.
Further, the IDF has said that, at least for now, there is no Hezbollah invasion threat, given how far they are being kept from the border.
This does not mean that a small group of Hezbollah fighters could not surprise Israel in one or two spots.
But the scenario of 6,000 Radwan invaders striking Israel all over the north simultaneously is not and will not be a threat for some time to come.
The IDF is complimentary to the US on handling the dispute mechanism for resolving Hezbollah violations of the ceasefire, as opposed to UNIFIL pre-war.
The IDF has submitted 1,263 violations. Of these, around 456 were new threats, many of which the IDF in the end dealt with, and 666 were passed on to the Lebanese army, which dealt with 546 of them, or 82%, properly.
This is a high percentage of success, and the IDF credits the US for helping the Lebanese army follow through against Hezbollah.
Israel Considers Gaza Annexation If Hamas Rejects Deal
Israel is considering annexing parts of the Gaza Strip if the terrorist group Hamas continues to reject a proposed hostage deal, according to discussions held Monday (28th) in the limited Diplomatic-Security Cabinet. Another option raised was a targeted military operation in areas the Israel Defense Forces have yet to enter, aimed at dismantling remaining Hamas terror cells.
Both options are being examined due to the deadlock in negotiations. Some ministers view annexation as a more effective strategy. However, Shas party leader Aryeh Deri, who participated in the meeting despite his party’s withdrawal from Israel’s governing coalition, argued, “We have no business in Gaza.”
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, speaking at a conference marking 20 years since Israel’s withdrawal from the Strip, took a firmer stance, implying that re-establishing Israeli communities in Gaza has become a more realistic prospect. Smotrich had previously said that resettlement was not a goal of the war, but his latest remarks suggested a shift in outlook.
Smotrich emphasized that the government’s desire to make Hamas pay for refusing to release the hostages should include seizing territory. He claimed this would harm Hamas more than any other form of pressure. Smotrich also said he remained in the government, despite opposing the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, because “good things are about to happen.”
Monday’s (28th) meeting concluded without decisions, but another discussion is scheduled in the coming days to determine Israel’s next steps, should Hamas fail to respond in Doha to Israel’s latest realistic proposals.
Israel’s Aid To Gaza Is Historically Unprecedented – Maj. (ret.) John Spencer
There is no historical precedent for a military providing the level of direct aid to an enemy population that Israel has provided to Gaza. This aid has taken place while the war is ongoing; while the enemy continues to control territory; and while that enemy is still fighting, launching attacks and holding hostages.
Israel is delivering fuel, food, medicine, and water into territory still under the command of the very group that murdered its civilians on Oct. 7, that continues to fire rockets into Israeli towns, and that openly declares it will repeat those atrocities again and again.
In most wars throughout history, the fighting side does not provide relief to the enemy’s population. In World War II the Allies provided no aid to German or Japanese civilians while those governments were still fighting and in control of their territory. In Vietnam, the U.S, never delivered humanitarian assistance to North Vietnamese or Viet Cong-held areas.
It is easy to criticize Israel for the humanitarian costs of its war. It is much harder to hold Hamas accountable for embedding its fighters in schools, hospitals, and civilian neighborhoods. And harder still to acknowledge when a military is doing something not just legal, but extraordinary. No military in modern history has delivered more aid to an enemy population during an active war than the Israel Defense Forces have to Gaza.
The writer is chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point. (X)
(x.com)
Dispatch From A Reservist In Gaza – Izzy Ezagui
A mortar took my arm in Gaza in 2008. I live in Los Angeles, but I’ve spent every vacation day since Oct. 7, in Gaza. Or the tunnels under Lebanon.
On my final mission this trip, we found a tunnel shaft in Gaza, and I was ordered to clear it. I threw a grenade – pulled the pin with my teeth. The guys couldn’t get enough of it – like something out of a ‘90s action flick. It obviously means something to them that I fly in from so far away. That I show up, one arm short and still in the fight.
They mean something to me, too, these men who risk everything. They leave behind spouses, infants, careers – full lives. They don’t complain. They don’t make speeches. They just pack a bag and come. They talk about the strain at home; kids who won’t sleep while they are gone and wives who cry in the kitchen, but stay strong on the phone.
They talk about October 7, about the bodies and friends they lost. The pieces they had to gather. How, sometimes, there weren’t enough left to bring back. And what it takes to keep going after that. Out here no one needs to pretend. It’s the realest place I’ve ever been. For a few short weeks each year, in this place, with these men – it’s the only time I feel whole.
The writer, a decorated IDF Squad Commander, lost an arm in combat and continues to serve in a combat engineering reconnaissance reserve unit. (Times of israel)
Filipino Former Hostage Pays Emotional Tribute To Israel
Filipino captivity survivor Jimmy (Galinor) Pacheco and his wife Clarice are celebrating the arrival of their fourth child, arriving one year and eight months following his release from Hamas captivity in November 2023. Pacheco, who was held over a month in captivity within the Gaza Strip, and his wife bestowed upon their daughter the name “Israela” as a heartfelt tribute to the people and the State of Israel.
This represents Jimmy’s fourth child, who joins her older siblings Ji-An Kyle, Julian Carlo, and sister Gathan Celine. Pacheco, a Filipino caregiver, was 33 years old when Hamas operatives violently abducted him from Nir Oz Kibbutz on October 7, the same day that Amitai Ben Tzvi, the elderly Israeli under his care, was brutally murdered.
Following his release through the second prisoner exchange agreement, Jimmy arrived at Shamir Medical Center accompanied by ten additional Thai nationals who gained freedom alongside him. Members of Amitai Ben Tzvi’s family visited him at the hospital and offered blessings on his release, simultaneously expressing hope for the liberation of remaining hostages from Nir Oz and the entire Gaza border region.
Kibbutz Nir Oz released a special congratulatory message for Jimmy, highlighting his devotion as a caregiver prior to his abduction. Pacheco was transported to Gaza alongside Yarden Bibas and Ofer Kalderon, sharing confinement with them in Hamas tunnel systems throughout Gaza.
“For two weeks, I remained in a cramped room with Yarden and Ofer,” he shared. “An extraordinary bond developed among us. When I wept, they comforted me and assured me that the Israeli government provides assistance. We sang together, shared laughter, and I even taught Yarden the Filipino language.”
Jimmy’s wife Clarice, commemorated her husband’s liberation, November 2023, when she posted on Facebook that “It represents a tremendous miracle that Jimmy can expect a ‘second life’ following his release.” Regarding the Ben Tzvi family members, she noted they “Never abandoned him throughout this struggle.”
