News Digest — 9/10/25
Netanyahu At Independence Day Event: ‘Today Israel And I Have Kept The Promise’
At a ceremony marking the 249th American Independence Day at the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a crowd of Israeli and American dignitaries, reaffirming the deep alliance between the United States and Israel while vowing continued military action against Hamas in the wake of recent deadly attacks.
The event was delayed from July 4th due to the security concerns from Operation Rising Lion.
Netanyahu began by saying that he had been ‘otherwise engaged’ earlier in the day, a veiled reference to the attacks against the Hamas leadership in Qatar. “I sent a video address that they’re going to show in which I said that Israel has no greater ally than the USA, and the USA has no greater ally than Israel. I meant it from the heart.”
“Yesterday (Monday, 8th), four of our soldiers were killed by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, and six Israeli civilians were brutally murdered at a bus stop in Jerusalem,” Netanyahu stated. “This morning Hamas proudly took credit for both of these actions.”
At noon, today (Tuesday, 9th), I convened the heads of Israel’s security organizations and authorized a surgical precision strike on the terrorist chiefs of Hamas,” he declared. Speaking in Hebrew, he stated, “The strike was prepared by all the security forces in the best possible manner, and executed in a manner that impressed the entire world.”
“These are the same terrorists who planned, launched and celebrated the horrific massacres of October 7th, the savage murder of more than a thousand people, the beheading of men, the rape and murder of women, the burning of babies, the taking of 251 hostages, innocent hostages, grandmothers, grandchildren, and Holocaust survivors. They perpetrated the worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. Now, they were meeting in the same place, exactly the same place, where they celebrated this savagery almost two years ago.”
“At the beginning of the war, I promised that Israel would reach those who perpetrated this horror. I promised that none of them would escape and we are systematically eliminating them,” Netanyahu said. “Today, Israel and I have kept that promise. There was a time when Jews could be murdered with impunity. But since the founding of the State of Israel, those days are over. On this day, as in previous days, Israel acted wholly independently. Wholly independently. And we take full responsibility for this action.”
”We have delivered massive blows to the axis of evil, including the removal of the threat of nuclear weapons. We continue to strike them, but the war must end where it started – Gaza.”
“This action can open the door to an end of the war in Gaza. Israel has accepted the principle proposal put forward by President Trump to end the war, beginning with immediate release of all our hostages which have been held in the dungeons of Gaza for 700 days. If President Trump’s proposal is accepted, the war can end immediately. We can begin once again to pursue the expansion of peace in our region for the benefit of all.”
Directly addressing the people of Gaza, Netanyahu called on them to reject Hamas and work toward peace. “Don’t be derailed by these murderous terrorists, by these killers. They don’t care a hoot about you. They live in sumptuous villas. You can’t imagine how sumptuous. Their partners in Gaza don’t worry about you. They go to the underground tunnels, and they keep you above ground so you serve as human shields for them. Don’t be derailed by these killers. Stand up for your rights and for your future. Make peace with us. Accept President Trump’s proposal. Don’t worry. You can do it, and we can promise you a different future. But you’ve got to take these people out of the way. If you do, there’s no limit to our common future.”
Closing his remarks, Netanyahu thanked the event hosts and expressed deep appreciation for their unwavering support.
“If we had five or six more Mike Huckabees,” he quipped, “Israel wouldn’t have a problem.
Chief Of Staff:’We’re Settling Accounts On Behalf Of All Oct. 7 Victims’
The IDF reported that Chief of Staff LTG Eyal Zamir commanded the historic mission in Doha, Qatar, during which senior Hamas figures were attacked from the Israeli Air Force Command Center.
The Chief of Staff told the Air Force pilots at the onset of the strike: “These are the terrorists whose entire aspiration was to be the spearhead for the destruction of the State of Israel – we will continue to carry out our mission everywhere, at every range, near and far, in order to hold our enemies accountable.”
“Authorized. Proceed – eliminate the heads from the Hamas terrorist organization. We are settling a moral and ethical account on behalf of all the victims of October 7th. We will not rest and we will not be silent until we bring back our hostages and defeat Hamas,” he said.
Hamas leaders Khaled Mashal, Khalil al-Hayya, Zaher Jabarin, and Nizar Awadallah are believed to have been eliminated in the airstrikes.
Lebanon Says Hezbollah Will Be Disarmed South Of The Litani Within Months
Lebanon’s army will have fully disarmed Hezbollah near the border with Israel within three months, Beirut’s foreign minister said Tuesday (9th) as the government tries to restore control in the areas of the country dominated by the Iran-backed terror group.
Lebanese military chief Rodolphe Haykal presented the government with a five-stage plan last week to implement a policy setting the Lebanese state as the only legitimate bearer of arms, Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi told AFP.
The first stage should take three months… during which the removal of weapons will be completed south of the Litani River,” in November, he said.
Israel has demanded for years that armed Hezbollah activity be barred south of the Litani, which is located some 15 miles from the Israeli border in many places.
Calls for Hezbollah’s disarmament have taken center stage in Lebanon since the terror group sustained heavy losses in a yearlong conflict with Israel. The results of that war, which ended last November, upended a power balance that had long been dominated by the terror group.
Since then, Hezbollah has been under increasing domestic and international pressure to give up its remaining arsenal, including from Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, who, under pressure from the United States, has pushed for the terror group to disarm.
Last week, Information Minister Paul Morcos said that the military will begin implementing its recently approved plan to disarm Hezbollah, but tempered expectations slightly, saying Beirut’s capabilities “are limited in terms of logistics, material and human resources.”
At the government meeting where the plan was approved, several Hezbollah and other Shiite officials walked out in protest, as Hezbollah has accused the government of caving to American and Israeli pressure and said it would “treat this decision as if it does not exist.”
Morcos also claimed that Israel had not held up its end of the agreement laid out in the US-brokered ceasefire. “Israel, like Lebanon, has clear obligations. However, its continued violations constitute evidence of its reneging on these obligations and seriously threatens regional security and stability.”
Under the ceasefire, Hezbollah and Israel were both required to withdraw from south Lebanon, but Israel has kept forces in several areas it deems strategic. It also continues to conduct strikes across Lebanon in response to what it says are ceasefire violations.
Israel has said its strikes aim to prevent Hezbollah from rearming and to protect residents of its northern border area, and that it will withdraw from sites in Lebanon that its troops still occupy when Hezbollah lays down its weapons. But the terror group has rejected any move to dismantle its arsenal.
Since the ceasefire was reached, the Lebanese army has also regularly collected caches of weapons and ammunition from the area south of the Litani River, from which Hezbollah has largely withdrawn, but the group’s heavier missiles and drones have remained hidden.
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah erupted when the Iranian-backed terror group began launching rockets at northern Israel in support of Hamas after it led the October 7 massacre in southern Israel that killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 taken to Gaza as hostages.
The conflict eventually escalated into open war between Israel and Hezbollah by September 2024, ending in a ceasefire at the end of November that year.
Report: Israeli Strike In Syria Targeted Turkish Missile Warehouse
The Saudi news channel Al-Hadath reported Tuesday (9th) that the IDF site struck overnight in the Syrian city of Homs was a warehouse storing missiles and air defense equipment. According to the report, the weapons were manufactured in Turkey and had recently been transferred to Homs.
In response, an Israeli security official was quoted as saying that current discussions with Syria revolve around security arrangements and that Israel would use force when necessary. The official said Syria was trying to avoid agreements due to external pressure.
The official stressed that Israel had helped the Druze community in Sweida for the sake of Druze citizens in Israel, and had not committed to anything further. He said Syria’s internal situation was highly fragile and that Israel was concerned for its own security. He emphasized that Israel was insisting on the demilitarization of southern Syria and would strike any threat, regardless of its nature or location.
According to the same Israeli source cited by Al-Hadath, “What the al-Sharaa regime does not understand through negotiations, it will understand through force. Turkey is trying to provoke us and drag us into a military confrontation. If necessary, we will move toward a major military operation in Syria. We are not afraid of Turkey, but we do not seek conflict.”
These Hostages Families Want To Fight In Gaza, Not Tel Aviv – Eliot Kaufman
Boaz Miran has waited 700 days to see his brother Omri, who was 46 when Hamas took him to Gaza as a hostage. But you won’t find him at the hostage protests. He told the Journal’s editorial board: “Hamas always tells the hostages to tell the people of Israel: ‘Take to the streets. Go and demonstrate. Go and pressure your government. Go and make chaos in Israel. And the Israeli people just go and do what Hamas asks them to do.”
Miran is part of the Tikva Forum, a small group of hostage families which has opposed the protests as well as the ransoms paid by Israel’s government. His hope is that Israel will press forward militarily until the terrorists surrender all the hostages.
I askfd Miran why not take a partial deal which would release 10 living hostages, as Hamas has reportedly accepted. Miran replied, “This raises a moral question…. Maybe it can be Omri, or maybe it can be another hostage. How do you choose?”
Second, “If I agree to make a deal, it isn’t free. Many soldiers will pay the bill with their lives, because more terrorists will be released and Hamas will gain more power. In the end, Israel will need to go back and fight in Gaza and more Israelis will be kidnapped by Hamas in the future.”
“What we need to do is apply as much military pressure as possible on Hamas and make it surrender. This is the way to bring back all the hostages.”
The terrorists have always had a security blanket, knowing they can toss Israel a few hostages, or even their bones, and regroup. By playing along, Israelis allow their country to be held hostage too.
The writer is a member of the Journal’s editorial board. (Wall Street Journal)
(wsj.com)
The Last Stronghold Of Hamas Is About To Fall – Col. (ret.) Richard Kemp
The IDF has been ratcheting up pressure on Hamas in Gaza City, pretty much Hamas’ last major stronghold. Israel has already warned the civilians there to move to designated safer areas. On Friday (5th), Hamas issued a specific order, threatening civilians who leave. They are intent on sacrificing their own population to bring international pressure on Israel to halt its offensive.
Egypt is abetting Hamas by refusing to open its borders to give civilians temporary refuge. Most desperately want to find safety in Sinai and on recent visits to Gaza almost every one of the 100 or so Gazans I met told me exactly that. In virtually every other conflict around the world, neighboring states open their borders. During the Syrian civil war, Arab countries and Turkey took in millions fleeing the fighting.
Meanwhile, the IDF has been making immense efforts to ship thousands of tents and other supplies into southern Gaza, as well as beefing up the joint U.S.-Israeli humanitarian aid distribution operation.
The IDF has a more sophisticated system for mitigating civilian harm than any other armed forces in the world, developed over many years of fighting enemies that actually want to maximize the deaths of their own civilians. This offensive is not a matter of choice for Jerusalem but a tragic necessity. No country that wants to survive could take any other path.
The writer, a former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, was chairman of the UK’s national crisis management committee, COBRA.
