News Digest — 9/9/24
Israel Allegedly Strikes Syrian Area Believed To House Iranian Forces: 5 Killed, 19 Hurt
A series of alleged Israeli strikes hit multiple areas in central Syria late Sunday (8th), killing at least five people, wounding 19 and sparking fires, Syrian state media claimed. Other news services are reporting that the death toll and wounded are higher.
State news agency SANA, reported that Syrian air defenses “confronted an aggression that targeted several points in the central region,” damaging a highway in the Hama province and sparking fires that firefighting teams were fighting into Monday morning (9th).
At least five dead and 19 wounded persons, some in serious condition, were brought to the Masyaf National Hospital, SANA, citing hospital head Faysal Haydar reported, not elaborating on their identities.
The Masyaf area, west of Hama, is thought to be used as a base for Iranian forces and pro-Iranian militias, and has been repeatedly targeted in recent years in attacks widely attributed to Israel. It contains the Scientific Studies and Research Center, known as CERS or SSRC,which, according to Israel, is used by Iranian forces to manufacture precision surface-to-surface-missiles.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based opposition war monitor, reported that one of the strikes targeted a scientific research center in Masyaf and other sites where “Iranian militias and experts are stationed to develop weapons in Syria.” Local media also reported strikes around the city of Tartous.
There was no immediate comment on the strikes from Israel, which rarely acknowledges individual operations in Syria.
Israel has been carrying out airstrikes inside Syria since the outbreak of that country’s civil war in 2011, mainly targeting attempts to transfer weapons to the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah terror group or to keep Iranian fighters themselves from gaining a foothold near Israel’s border.
Since Hamas’ brutal Oct 7, 2024 massacre, which saw some 1,200 people killed in Israel and 251 kidnapped, Israel has escalated its strikes on Iranian-backed terror targets in Syria and has also struck Syrian army air defenses and some Syrian forces.
Hezbollah has been exchanging near-daily fire with Israel since it started launching attacks from Lebanon a day after its Palestinian ally Hamas’ terror onslaught, which sparked the war in Gaza.
‘Israel Surrounded By Iran’s Axis Of Evil,’ Says Netanyahu
“Hamas is using the 101 Israeli hostages still held in captivity in Gaza to manipulate the captives’ relatives and segments of the Israeli public, to divide the country and weaken it, while extending the war,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, while Iran confronts Israel on multiple fronts with what the Israeli premier called and “axis of evil.”
Speaking at the opening of the weekly government meeting Sunday (8th), Netanyahu responded to the massive rally of demonstrators held in Tel Aviv demanding Israel reach a hostage deal with Hamas.
Citing a recent report on Hamas’ attempts to foment dissent inside Israel, Netanyahu suggested that a minority of the country had fallen into a “Hamas trap.”
“Last weekend, the German newspaper Bild published an official Hamas document that revealed its action plan: To sow discord among us, to use psychological warfare on the hostages’ families, to apply internal and external political pressure on the Government of Israel, to tear us apart from within and to continue the war until further notice, until Israel is defeated.”
“The great majority of Israel’s citizens are not falling into this Hamas trap. They know that we are fully committed to achieving the objectives of the war: To eliminate Hamas, to return all of our hostages, to ensure that Gaza never again constitutes a threat to Israel and to return our residents in the north and south securely to their homes.”
Responding to the deadly terrorist shooting attack on the Israeli-Jordanian border Sunday (8th), Netanyahu warned that Iran, Hamas’ primary patron, has “surrounded” Israel with a “murderous ideology” led by Tehran’s “axis of evil.”
“In recent days, abhorrent terrorists murdered six of our hostages. They want to murder us all, right and left, secular and religious, Jews and non-Jews, until the last one.”
“We will stand together. We will wield the Sword of David together and with God’s help, we will win.”
“One more word: There are those who ask – ‘Shall the sword devour forever?’ (II Samuel 2:26). In the Middle East, without the sword, there is no ‘forever.’ “
3 Israelis Murdered In Shooting At Allenby Crossing
Three men were murdered in a shooting attack at the Israel-Jordan border on Sunday morning (8th).
Medical teams were summoned to the scene. Two helicopters were dispatched to transport the wounded to the hospital, but they could not be resuscitated.
Magen David Adom (MDA) stated, “After resuscitation efforts, MDA paramedics and EMTS, in cooperation with the IDF medical team, have pronounced the deaths of three men, approximately 50 years old, with gunshot wounds.
MDA EMT Yotam Tzur, said, “This is a very serious incident. We found three men lying unconscious, with no pulse and not breathing, with gunshot wounds. Together with the IDF medical team, we performed resuscitation efforts, but unfortunately, we had to declare their deaths on the scene.”
The Allenby Crossing is used by trucks carrying humanitarian aid from Jordan on their way to Gaza.
According to the preliminary investigation, a truck driver ( a 39-year-old Jordanian citizen) arrived from the Jordanian side with a firearm in the truck, and when he arrived in front of the Israeli workers at the crossing, he pulled out the weapon and started shooting.
Security guards returned fire and eliminated the shooter.
The IDF stated, “Following the initial report, a short while ago, a terrorist approached the area of the Allenby Bridge from Jordan in a truck, exited the truck, and opened fire at the Israeli security forces operating at the bridge. The terrorist was eliminated by the security forces, three Israeli civilians were pronounced dead as a result of the attack.”
“IDF soldiers were dispatched to the scene to rule out suspicion of the truck being rigged with explosives.”
The dead men were identified as Yohanan Shchori, 61, a resident of Ma’aleh Efraim, Yuri Birnbaum, 55, a resident of Naama, and Adrian Podsmeser, 57, from Ariel.
Sunday morning’s attack (8th) came exactly one week after three police officers were murdered in a terrorist shooting attack near the Tarqumiya Checkpoint in the Hebron area.
Danny Danon: Palestinian UN Draft- Resolution-Ruling Rewards Terrorism
Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said the Palestinian delegation to the United Nations’ draft resolution to the UN General Assembly “rewards terrorism.”
The draft resolution calls for the implementation of recent International Court of Justice decisions, including a withdrawal from the “Palestinian territories” within six months, an arms embargo on “settlements,” and sanctions against Israeli individuals.
It is scheduled for a vote next week, according to a Sunday (8th) statement from Israel’s Mission at the UN.
It urges all nations to comply with international law by not recognizing or sustaining the situation created by “Israel’s illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
This includes halting the importation of products from these “settlements”and avoiding direct or indirect engagement with businesses operating in the area.
The resolution also demands sanctions against individuals “responsible for maintaining Israel’s unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory” and calls for an embargo on weapons, technologies, and equipment suspected of being used in the region.
Additionally, it requests the cessation of any diplomatic missions within Jerusalem.
“The resolution, which calls for the ‘end of the occupation,’ if passed by the General Assembly precisely on the one-year anniversary of the October 7 massacre – the most brutal attack against Jews since the Holocaust – would reward terrorism. It sends a message that the barbaric acts of violence, including the massacre of children, the rape of women, and the kidnapping of innocent civilians, are profitable,” Danny Danon stated.
“I urge the UN General Assembly to reject this disgraceful resolution and instead pass a resolution condemning Hamas and demanding the immediate release of all abductees. Let it be clear, nothing will deter the State of Israel from its mission to return all abductees and defeat Hamas,” Danon added.
Iran’s New Plan: Lost Gaza, So Take West Bank – Khaled Abu Toameh
The Palestinian Authority has condemned Israel for initiating a large-scale military operation in the Northern West Bank. Israel’s counterterrorism operation targets numerous Iran-backed armed terrorist groups, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, that have been operating freely in PA-controlled territories.
The main objective of Israel’s operation is to thwart Iran’s intention to turn not only Gaza, but also the West Bank, into another terror base as part of the Islamists’ Jihad (holy war) to destroy Israel. The PA should applaud Israel’s security forces for pursuing the terrorists, rather than criticizing them.
These armed groups pose a direct threat not only to Israel, but to the PA as well. The gunmen have created their own state within a state in the areas under PA administration, openly contesting the PA’s legitimacy and making a mockery of its security forces. The PA is reluctant to crack down on these groups because PA officials are aware that the terrorists enjoy widespread support among the Palestinian public.
The Israeli military operation in the northern West Bank could have been avoided, had the PA fulfilled its duty of combating terrorism by dismantling the armed groups. Many Israeli and Palestinian lives could have been spared had the PA done its job and taken action against the gunmen.
The writer, a veteran Israeli journalist, is a senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute and the Jerusalem Center for Foreign Affairs. (Gatestone Institute)
The Palestinian Refugee Lie – Amb. Dror Eydar
At the end of World War II in 1945, around one million Jews lived in Arab countries. They had resided in the region for around 2,500 years. Approximately one million Jews were expelled from Arab countries following the establishment of the State of Israel and its subsequent wars. The UN did not assist the Jewish refugees, instead the young State of Israel, with its minimal resources, managed to absorb them.
Following the outbreak of war after Israel’s establishment on May 14, 1948, many Palestinian Arabs heeded their leaders’ call to leave the land for a few weeks until the Jews were slaughtered and the land was “cleansed.” The UN Economic Survey Mission for the Middle East recommended resolving the Palestinian Arab refugee issue by resettling them in Arab countries through integration into industrial and agricultural projects. This is how the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was born.
The UN has two refugee agencies: The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) deals with refugees worldwide, while UNRWA deals exclusively with Palestinian refugees. The 20th century witnessed hundreds of millions of people displaced and resettled elsewhere. But unlike refugees in the rest of the world, for Palestinians, refugee status is inherited, even for those absorbed into other countries. Thus, the number of refugees has grown from around half a million in 1948 to 5-6 million today.
This stems from the desire to fuel hatred against Israel and sustain the Palestinians’ dream of flooding Israel and destroying it through what they call the “right of return.” The UN is responsible for this disgrace. UNRWA has not and will not solve the refugee problem. Were it not for the desire to harm the Jews, after a generation, the Palestinian refugees would have been absorbed into their new homes and forgotten.
The writer is a former Israeli ambassador to Italy. (Israel Hayom)
