News Digest — 9/17/25
Chief Of Staff: ’Hamas Has Been Struck And Weakened, We’ll Go On Until Its Defeat’
IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir issued a statement Tuesday evening (16th) regarding the expansion of the operation in Gaza City, with the objective of defeating Hamas and securing the release of the hoistages.
“I want to emphasize: the return of our hostages is a war objective and a national moral duty,” the Chief of Staff said. “We have mobilized thousands of reservists to support the campaign, and they are operating alongside the regular forces. I wish to express my deep appreciation to them and to their families, who bear a heavy burden. They are the spearhead of the IDF and the guarantee of Israel’s security.”
“Our objective is to enhance the strikes on Hamas until its decisive defeat: All our actions are carried out according to an orderly plan, with the return of the hostages and the decisive defeat of Hamas at the forefront of our minds. Hamas has been struck and weakened; we have defeated its core military power, and now we are expanding the achievement that will bring the end of the war closer,” he said.
He added that the IDF has presented to the political echelon the full security implications of conquering Gaza City. “As commander of the army, it is my duty to present all possible security consequences before any operation. All risks and opportunities have been presented to the political echelon clearly and professionally.”
Since October 7, he noted, operational doctrine has completely changed: “In coordination with all security branches, we have eliminated most of Hamas’ leadership, struck the entire Iranian ‘axis of evil,’ and removed existential threats as part of Operation ‘Rising Lion.’”
The Chief of Staff emphasized that the IDF operates in accordance with international law and makes every effort to avoid civilian harm. “In this campaign, we are acting to decisively defeat a terrorist organization that proclaims on every platform that its goal is to annihilate the State of Israel.”
“Even these days, as the people of Israel gather around holiday tables, our soldiers are deployed on the front lines and beyond enemy lines—both in defense and in attack. They do so with a sense of mission and a deep commitment to the people. We will never forget those who are not with us and the bereaved families, who have paid the ultimate price.”
IDF Launches New Operation In Yemen
The IDF attacked Houthi military infrastructure at the Port of Hodeidah on Tuesday (16th), expanding its campaign against the Iranian-backed terrorist organization.
According to an IDF statement, the port is being used by the Houthis to transfer Iranian weapons intended for terrorist operations against Israel and its allies.
The airstrike was carried out as part of Operation Looking From Above, aimed at maintaining the naval and aerial blockade on the Houthis. Defense Minister Israel Katz said the Houthi terrorist group “will continue to take blows and pay painful prices for every attempt to attack Israel.”
Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said their air defenses were activated against Israeli fighter jets. The Saudi-owned Al-Hadath news channel reported that the Israeli Air Force conducted 12 strikes on three docks at the Hodeidah port.
Earlier Tuesday (16th), IDF Arabic language spokesman Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee issued a warning urging civilians and ships to leave the port area. “The IDF will strike in the coming hours at the location marked on the map due to the Houthi regime’s military activity there. For your safety, we call on all those present at the Port of Hodeidah and all ships docked there to evacuate immediately. Anyone who remains in the area is endangering their lives,” Adraee said.
Israel Arming Thousands Of Druze Fighters In Southern Syria
Israel is supplying weapons and paying salaries to thousands of Druze fighters in southern Syria, while Damascus, under US pressure, accelerates talks with Jerusalem over a possible security agreement that Syrian officials hope will secure the return of recently lost territory, Reuters reported Tuesday (16th).
According to two senior Druze commanders and a Western intelligence source, Israel is providing military supplies, including arms and ammunition, to Druze militias in the Suwayda region in southwestern Syria. They said Israel is also paying salaries to many of the roughly 3,000 Druze fighters active there.
At the same time, four sources involved in the discussions told Reuters that Washington is pressuring Syria and Israel to advance negotiations so that US President Donald Trump can announce a breakthrough at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly later this month. One Israeli security source said, “The US is pressuring Syria to move forward with the security deal. This is personal for Trump,” adding that “Israel is not offering much, despite the American president’s desire.”
The talks are reportedly centered on restoring the 1974 disengagement agreement that followed the Yom Kippur War, securing an Israel Defense Forces withdrawal from southeastern Syria, and halting Israeli airstrikes and ground raids there. Sources stressed the issue of the Golan Heights has not been part of the current talks. A Syrian official told Reuters that Damascus prefers to leave the Golan dispute for future negotiations, noting Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa believes “any compromise over the Golan would end his rule.”
Israeli officials, however, have flatly ruled out concessions on the Golan Heights. According to Reuters, Israel suggested instead a withdrawal from parts of southern Syria in exchange for Damascus renouncing its claim to the strategic plateau. “Our inquiries through the Americans suggest this is not open for discussion,” an Israeli official said.
The push for talks comes amid growing unrest in Sweida, where massacres carried out by al-Sharaa’s forces against the Druze population have fueled calls for breaking away from the Syrian regime and forming an autonomous administration. Israel has moved to unify fragmented Druze factions in the region, according to the two Druze commanders.
Reuters noted it could not independently verify claims of Israeli arms deliveries or payments, and neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office nor Strategic Affairs MInister Ron Dermer’s office provided a comment. Two Syrian sources and a Western diplomat said Dermer met Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al-Shabani in Paris, in what they described as a tense encounter marked by mutual distrust.
According to Reuters, the negotiations are envisioned as a gradual process, similar to the talks that eventually produced Israel’s 1979 peace treaty with Egypt. But Syrian sources emphasized that while al-Sharaa is willing to speed up contacts to please Trump, “the basic foundations of trust simply do not exist,” as one put it.
US Lawmakers From 50 States Plant Trees In City Raided By Hamas On Oct. 7
On Tuesday (16th), a huge group of 250 American State Legislators gathered in southern Israel for a unique ceremony. They had come to plant trees in Park Ofakim. However, this wasn’t a ‘normal’ tree planting in Israel. There were fifty saplings, one for each state in the American Union.
Flags fluttered in the breeze, from Hawaii to Arizona, Idaho to Montana. “Seeing elected officials from all 50 US states planting trees together in our country, with each tree becoming a symbol of love for the land and of our profound connection, displays what unites us,” KKL-JNF World Chairwoman Ifat Ovadia-Luski said.
Park Ofakim sits at the end of a road in the city of Ofakim in southern Israel. The main street in the town is busy. However, almost two years ago, Ofakim was one of the targets of the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. Thirty-three people were killed in the city, including six police.
Many other residents of the city also became casualties in and around the border of Gaza. Park Ofakim is therefore a unique symbol of Israel’s resilience. For the members of the state legislatures in this large delegation, it was important to see this part of Israel.
The forest there was planted by KKL-JNF in 1978. “Ofakim has become a large green oasis, encompassing an historic fortress, scenic hiking and cycling routes, and disabled-accessible recreation sites,” KKL-JNF says of the site.
The forest extends over 500 dunams. “Here in Ofakim Park, the members of the delegation are experiencing the true essence of KKL-JNF’s mission: rebuilding the land after the war, advancing its development, and creating a real connection to the soil,” Ifat Ovadia-Luski said. Ofakim Mayor Itzik Danino and others were in attendance during the ceremony.
The massive delegation is the largest to visit Israel, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Israel’s Deputy MInister of Foreign Affairs, Sharren Haskel, addressed the group in a large tent near where the politicians were going to plant trees.
A flock of buses had brought them here, and the tent was completely packed, with people standing at the back and stands erected to provide water to the attendees. The ceremony was highlighted by several young people, one of whom sang a song, and one said the “planters’ prayer.”
Two members of the delegation, one from Maine and one from Georgia, spoke. Matthew Harrington, a Maine State Senator, spoke about the trees as a symbol of growth and the future. “With these 50 trees, each one representing a state of the United States, we are weaving together two powerful stories, the enduring strength of this land and the enduring friendship between nations and peoples.”
Esther Panitch, Member of the Georgia House of Representatives, spoke about the importance of states forming their own Israel caucus. “Make sure your state has anti-BDS laws. And adopt the international Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism,” she said.
One of those who made the trip to Israel is Rachel A. Henderson, a member of the Maine House of Representatives, who told the Post that this was her first time in Israel. She said this was the first time she was invited to visit a country. She noted that in Maine there is a “Free Palestine” movement which tries to make itself known, “but it is in opposition to what is right and truthful.”
Israel has been resilient for almost two years of war, 710 days. Delegations such as this one illustrate the enduring bond between the US and Israel.
From speaking to those in attendance, it was clear that State legislators have been at the forefront of issues relating to Israel, particularly in combating boycotts and anti-Semitism. As such, the focus on this large group from the fifty states under the banner of “50 States One Israel” illustrates the current mosaic of support that Israel has across the US.
Israel Stands With The World’s Democracies Against Those Who Seek To Destroy Western Civilization – Yossi Cohen
As someone who’s devoted a lifetime to the defense of my country, I take pride in understanding the nature of threats facing Israel and countering them covertly, powerfully and preemptively around the globe. The State of Israel must win any conflict it enters. The Jewish people have no alternative. We have no other homeland, no other refuge but the State of Israel.
When I hear demonstrators chant, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” I am compelled to ask: Where exactly do they suggest we go? Most of them have never set foot in Israel. Many deny the atrocities of Oct. 7. They ignore the hundreds of thousands of victims who have perished at the hands of those with extremist ideologies who suppress women’s rights, execute men for being gay, use hospitals for their military base and wield children as human shields.
Despite these threats, Israel will continue to thrive. We stand shoulder to shoulder with the world’s democracies, bound together by shared values of freedom, dignity, and human rights. No slogan shouted by the ignorant and no act of violence will divert us from those values.
What the protesters fail to recognize is that the real danger is not Israel. The real danger is posed by murderous regimes that seek to destroy not only the Jewish people but also the very foundations of Western civilization. They threaten you, the reader, simply because you believe in democracy and the values that form the Free World.
The writer is a former head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency. (New York Post)
Why Is Britain Turning Its Back On Israel, A Democracy On The Front Line Against Islamism? – Allister Heath
When did we give up on truth, democracy and Western values? When did we choose to reward terrorists, butchers, kidnappers, and barbarians? Why is Britain turning its back not just on Israel, a democracy on the front line against Islamism, but also, increasingly, against its Jewish citizens?
The double standards are sickening. There was anger that Isaac Herzog, Israel’s president, was in Britain meeting Prime Minister Keir Starmer; yet the PM’s meeting with the Palestinian Authority dictator Mahoud Abbas, holder of an anti-Semitic PHD from a Soviet university and proponent of pay-for-slay support for the families of Palestinian terrorists, was uncontroversial. How can this be right?
And why is Starmer promising to unconditionally recognize a virtual Palestinian state that would still be committed to Israel’s obliteration? Britain is now among the globe centers of Israelophobia. The Jewish state is always on trial, guilty until proven innocent, its motives inherently suspect, its claims reflexively disbelieved.
Israel’s enemies, the savage Hamas blackmailers who were targeted in Qatar, rebranded themselves as “the negotiation team,” even though they were the terror group’s most hardline leaders. Israel isn’t commiting a genocide, as the Foreign Office has quietly admitted, and yet 45% of voters believe, absurdly, that Israel treats the Palestinians like the Nazis treated the Jews.
Israel needs to fight anew for its legitimacy every day, unlike every other country. It is never given the benefit of the doubt. Britain, America, France: all have made terrible errors in wartime, all are plagued by their fair share of rogues, and yet few believe that these nations have forfeited the right to exist as a result.
The West projects upon Israel all of its own demons, every pathology of its own history. Our secular intelligentsia refuses to accept that Palestinian elites are rejectionists. They don’t want a two-state solution: They want control from the river to the sea, with the Jews ethnically cleansed. (Telegraph-UK)
