News Digest — 8/9/24
Khan Yunis: IDF Begins Operation To Locate Terrorists And Terrorist Infrastructure
Forces from the IDF’s 98th Division on Friday morning (9th) began operational activity in the Khan Yunis area.
The operation follows intelligence indicating the presence of terrorists and terror infrastructure in the area of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, and is part of the effort to degrade the terror organizations’ capabilities throughout the Gaza Strip as they attempt to regroup.
As part of the operational activity, the troops are engaging in combat both above and below-ground to eliminate terrorists in the area while locating and dismantling weaponry and terrorist infrastructure.
Alongside the operational activity, the IAF struck more than 30 Hamas terror targets in Khan Yunis including weapons storage facilities and terrorist gathering areas.
Among the terrorists eliminated in the strikes were a number of those at the tactical level who planned and carried out mortar and sniper fire attacks toward IDF troops and the State of Israel.
Report: US Warned Iran Of ‘Devastating Blow’ If It Strikes Israel
The United States has warned Iran that its government and economy could suffer a “devastating blow” if it launches a massive attack on Israel, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday (8th), citing a US official.
According to the report, the message was communicated directly to the Iranian government, as well as through intermediaries.
The official told the WSJ that “the United States has sent clear messaging to Iran that the risk of a major escalation, if they do a significant retaliatory strike against Israel, is extremely high.”
Those messages have also put Tehran on notice “that there is a serious risk of consequences for Iran’s economy and the stability of its newly elected government if it goes down that path,” the official added.
Israel has been bracing for an attack in retaliation for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh last week in Tehran.
Two senior US officials have told Politico that Iran has decided against conducting a direct attack on Israel.
According to the Wednesday (7th) report, Tehran is now convinced that Haniyeh was killed when someone activated a remote-controlled bomb in the room where he was staying and not in a direct military operation.
Washington stressed to Tehran that such an action, so long as no Iranian citizens were killed, does not justify a direct military operation against Israel.
Security Cabinet Convened As Israel Warned Hezbollah Of Destruction If It Attacks
The Security Cabinet convened Thursday night (8th) in Tel Aviv, as the country continued to brace for a potential attack by the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon.
The Cabinet met in the underground command room of the Kirya military headquarters, Hebrew media reported, the first time such a meeting has been held there since the night of April 13-14, when Iran launched some 300 missiles and drones at Israel, almost all of which were intercepted.
The meeting was taking place in “the pit,” as the underground command room is known, but not due to immediate security concerns, but rather in order to drill for a potential emergency situation, Channel 12 News reported, as Israel was preparing for a promised attack by Iran and its terror proxies to several recent high-profile assassinations.
According to Channel 13, the Israeli assessment on Thursday (8th) was that Hezbollah would try to target a senior Israeli official in retaliation for the Israeli killing of commander Fuad Shukr on July 30, which came after a Hezbollah rocket attack killed 12 children in the Golan Heights days earlier.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant issued an unusual missive to the Lebanese people, warning in Arabic that Israel will fight Hezbollah “with all its might” if the group continues to escalate tensions.
“The State of Israel wants peace, prosperity and stability on both sides of the northern border, and therefore will in no way allow the Hezbollah militia to destabilize the border and the region. If Hezbollah continues its aggression, Israel will fight it with all its might,” Gallant wrote.
“Remember [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah’s regret for the dangerous and uncalculated adventure in August 2006,” he said, referring to the Second Lebanon War, a 34-day conflict that erupted when Hezbollah operatives captured two Israeli soldiers and killed others. “Those who play with fire should expect destruction,” Gallant said.
Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav also referred to the Second Lebanon War on Thursday (8th), noting to public broadcaster Kan that Hezbollah’s arsenal is significantly more advanced than it was 18 years ago. “They are very precise missiles and they are expected to fire 4,000 missiles at us each day,” Yahav said.
“That’s what we’re preparing [our citizens] for. In any case we’re asking them to prepare enough food. Enough water, because we’re expecting they’ll have to stay there [in shelters and safe areas] for four to six days” if Hezbollah attacks, he added.
At an assessment at the IDF Home Front Command, Gallant said Israel was working to provide an adequate warning of any expected atack, but advised citizens to go on with their lives as usual in the absence of special directions.
“The public’s resilience allows us to make the right operational decisions. In the face of the enemy’s attempt to sow fear, we must continue with normal daily life,” he said in remarks provided by his office.
Israel has been bracing for an attack since the military assassinated Shukr last week, hours before Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of the Hamas terror group, was also killed in a blast in Tehran, for which Israel has neither claimed nor denied responsibility.
Iran, which supports both Hezbollah and Hamas, vowed to retaliate for the assassinations.
The Islamic Republic has reportedly hesitated on whether to launch an attack, but on Wednesday (7th) CNN reported that Israeli officials assessed Hezbollah may attack Israel in the coming days, independent of Iran itself.
Israel has conveyed to both Hezbollah and Iran that any harm to civilians in Israel would cross a red line and lead to a disproportionate response, according to Channel 12.
The same network reported Thursday (8th) that Israel has prepared not only to counter rockets and missiles but also to prevent any cross-border penetration by land or sea.
Hezbollah began its near-daily attacks on Israeli communities and military posts along the border on October 8 of last year, a day after the Hamas terror group’s attack on southern Israel, in which some 3,000 terrorists invaded the country from the Gaza Strip, tearing through the border fence, killing some 1,200 people, and taking 251 hostages, starting the ongoing war.
According to Channel 12, Israel’s defense establishment has prepared Israel to respond to an attack with “highly significant action” wherever needed – “not only in Lebanon.”
Amid the heightened tension, the United States has increased its military presence in the region, sending additional fighter jets and navy warships to the Middle East to counter these threats by Iran and its proxies, alongside an intense diplomatic effort to de-escalate the situation.
The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Thursday (8th) that US Air Force F-22 fighter jets had arrived at its area of responsibility, “as part of US force posture changes in the region and to address threats posed by Iran and Iranian-backed groups.”
CENTCOM chief Gen. Michael Kurilla made his second visit to Israel in less than a week on Thursday (8th) several outlets reported.
Reports In Syria: Four Syrian Military Personnel Injured In Strike Blamed On Israel
Syrian State media reported on Thursday evening (8th) that four military personnel were injured in an airstrike in Homs, in Syria’s central region, which was attributed to Israel.
The reports said the attack came from the direction of northern Lebanon and caused “material damage.”
The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights, which is affiliated with the Syrian opposition and is based in Britain, reported seven injuries in the strike, including three operatives of the pro-Iranian militias.
The IDF has not commented on the report.
Last Friday (2nd), Lebanese media reported that Israel struck the Dabaa Airport in Syria, not far from the border with Lebanon.
The Dabaa Airport is a place that is considered a hub for the transfer of weapons to Hezbollah and which has been targeted in the past.
Earlier in the week, a building in Sayyidah Zaynab, a suburb of the Syrian capital Damascus, was struck. According to local media, a loud explosion was heard at a location associated with Shiite militias south of Damascus.
The PA Has Only Itself To Blame – Elliot Abrams and Sander R. Gerber
In response to the article, “The Palestinian Authority Is Collapsing” (July 17, 2024), although the authors are right to raise the crucial issue of the dysfunction and inefficacy of the Palestinian Authority, they are wrong to attribute the PA’s failings to Israel. The authors cite the PA’s financial troubles. What they neglect to mention, however, is that in 2018, the last year that the PA made its budget public, $350 million – 7% of the total – was reserved to pay terrorists who killed or injured civilians in Israel or members of the IDF, and to pay the families of those terrorists.
While PA civil servants are suffering with 50% salary cuts, the authority continues to pay terrorists and their families 100% of their stipends. According to Palestinian Authority law, the PA is required to employ any males who have served at least ten years and females who have served at least five years in Israeli prisons, at salaries no less than the monthly “pay for slay” stipends they received in prison. The PA has created a perverse system that incentivizes violence and hatred, breeding a bureaucracy of malfeasance and depravity.
Before condemning Israel for “degrading” the PA, one must acknowledge that the PA has degraded itself. Before calling on countries, international institutions, and donor organizations to rally around the impoverished authority, one must recognize that the PA uses its resources to prioritize the murder of Israelis over basic governance. The PA’s financial condition is a product of an immoral system that it – and it alone – has created.
Elliot Abrams is a Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. Sander R. Gerber is a Managing Partner, CEO, and Chief Investment Officer at Hudson Bay Capital. (Foreign Affairs)
Report: Anti-Semitic Incidents Rise In Czech Republic In 2023 By 90%
Anti-Semitic incidents rose by 90% in the Czech Republic from 2022 to 2023, according to an annual report by the Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic published this week.
There were a total of 4,328 anti-Semitic incidents recorded by the federation through open sources and submissions by community members. In 2022 there were 2,277 incidents reported, a 101% increase from 2021. The most dramatic increase occurred following the October 7 massacre and the Israel-Hamas war, with an average increase of over 250% in incidents from October -December.
The organization noted that its collection of incidents was not exhaustive, because of its open source collection and the dependency of victims to come forward, but they could draw information about trends and the social climate in the country.
The federation emphasized that no anti-Jewish violence occurred in 2023, and that the Czech Republic remained a safe country for Jews. In the last five years, two attacks were reported to the FIC, in 2020 and 2021. Almost 99% of the incidents involved “publicly uttered statements, chants and banners at demonstrations, posters, graffiti, videos, articles, publications and all manifestations of anti-Semitism on the Internet, social media and communication platforms.”
There were six incidents of attacks and desecration of Jewish property. In July, “Israel is a Nazi state” was graffitied on the fence of a Brno Jewish cemetery, and in August tombstones were toppled at a Markvarec cemetery. There were also 18 incidents of written or verbal threats, insults and harassment.
The ideological motivations behind many of the incidents could not be determined, but 20.4% of the incidents were recorded by the FIC as right-wing extremists. 6.6% of the incidents were motivated by left-wing radicalism, 4.9% by radical Islamism, and 2.5% by Christian fundamentalism. FIC said that in the past left-wing extremism had been marginal as a motivation for anti-Semitism, but when compared to 2022, far-left anti-Semitic incidents rose by 226%. Islamic anti-Semitism also rose dramatically in 2023 by 381%.
Much of the left-wing and Islamic manifestations of anti-Semitism were connected to Israel and the war against Hamas. Almost a third of all incidents in 2023 were connected to anti-Jewish actions and comments related to Israel, and 67% were categorized as dehumanizing, demonizing, vulgar, and conspiratorial anti-Semitic statements.
The federation was guided by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of anti-Semitism when classifying and analyzing different anti-Semitic incidents, and when related to Israel, also used Natan Sharansky’s test if the incidents involved demonization, double standards, and dehumanization.
