| DAILY ALERT |
Friday, October 18, 2024 |
|
News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
President Joe Biden said Thursday: "Israeli authorities informed my national security team that a mission they conducted in Gaza likely killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. DNA tests have now confirmed that Sinwar is dead. This is a good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world." "As the leader of the terrorist group Hamas, Sinwar was responsible for the deaths of thousands of Israelis, Palestinians, Americans, and citizens from over 30 countries. He was the mastermind of the October 7th massacres, rapes, and kidnappings. It was on his orders that Hamas terrorists invaded Israel to intentionally - and with unspeakable savagery - kill and massacre civilians, a Holocaust survivor, children in front of their parents, and parents in front of their children." "Over 1,200 people were killed on that day...including 46 Americans.... Sinwar is the man most responsible for this, and for so much of what followed....Israel has had every right to eliminate the leadership and military structure of Hamas....There is now the opportunity for a 'day after' in Gaza without Hamas in power." (White House) See also Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar Killed by IDF Forces in Rafah - Yoav Zitun Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed by IDF forces on Wednesday in Rafah in Gaza. Sinwar was killed after the building he was in collapsed on top of him after a tank shell and a Matador missile were fired at the building. IDF forces, using a drone, identified three figures attempting to move from house to house. Two figures were covered with blankets, walking ahead of Sinwar to clear the way. When the IDF opened fire, two terrorists fled into one building, and Sinwar into another. Sinwar moved to the second floor of the building, and the IDF responded with tank fire. As infantry soldiers began to sweep the building, two grenades were thrown at them. The troops pulled back and sent a drone, which detected an injured figure, face covered, who attempted to knock the drone out of the air with a stick. The next day troops swept the building and discovered a body with recognizable features. During the encounter, a soldier was severely injured by gunfire from the two other terrorists. (Ynet News) See also Sinwar's Body Identified by Dental Records - Liran Tamari One of the slain terrorists bore a strong resemblance to Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Soldiers photographed the body and sent the images to the Israel Police forensic unit, which confirmed that the teeth in the photos matched Sinwar's dental records from his time in Israeli custody. "The match was clear," said Assistant Commissioner Aliza Raziel, head of the unit. The other two terrorists killed were Sinwar's bodyguards, one of whom worked as a teacher for UNRWA. No hostages were found at the site. (Ynet News) See also Sinwar's Identity also Confirmed by Fingerprint Records - Yonah Jeremy Bob (Jerusalem Post) Lt.-Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, Commander, U.S. Central Command, said Thursday: "Congratulations to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on the elimination of Yahya Sinwar, the mass-murdering leader of the terrorist group, Hamas." "U.S. Central Command's support to the Israel Defense Forces remains ironclad. Our commitment to countering terrorists throughout the Middle East, with allies and partners, continues to be a top priority. Those who choose the path of terrorism should expect the same fate as Sinwar." (CENTCOM) In an Oct. 13 letter to senior Israeli officials which became public Tuesday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken demanded urgent steps to ensure that civilians in Gaza have access to food and other necessities and gives the Israeli government one month to comply. An Israeli official said, "Israel takes this matter seriously and intends to address the concerns raised in this letter with our American counterparts." The Israeli military has denied that Israel has halted the entry or coordination of aid in northern Gaza and primarily blame Hamas and criminal gangs for the problems. The letter laid out specific criteria including ensuring the entry of at least 350 aid trucks a day into Gaza; putting in place humanitarian pauses to enable aid delivery; lifting evacuation orders when they are no longer needed; enabling aid shipments from Jordan; and halting the isolation of northern Gaza. It also called on Netanyahu to "ensure" that a measure before the Knesset which would ban all government contact with UNRWA "does not come to pass." (Washington Post) See also U.S. Demands Undercut Pressure on Hamas to Release Hostages - Tovah Lazaroff Israeli defense sources said that complying with U.S. demands would mean losing what Israel had hoped would be a new way to pressure Hamas into making a deal for the release of the remaining 101 hostages in Gaza. (Jerusalem Post) U.S. B-2 stealth bombers struck five underground Houthi weapons facilities on Wednesday. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said President Biden had ordered the strikes to "further degrade the Houthis' capability" to attack ships and disrupt the flow of commerce in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Austin said, "This was a unique demonstration of the United States' ability to target facilities that our adversaries seek to keep out of reach, no matter how deeply buried underground, hardened or fortified. The employment of U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit long-range stealth bombers demonstrate U.S. global strike capabilities to take action against these targets when necessary, anytime, anywhere." (New York Times) News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
Five Golani Brigade Reconnaissance Unit soldiers were killed on Wednesday during an intense firefight in a southern Lebanese village near the Israeli border, the IDF reported on Thursday. The troops were searching a multi-storey building when four Hizbullah terrorists who had concealed themselves opened fire at close range. The troops returned fire, killing the terrorists. Five additional soldiers were wounded, three seriously. (Ynet News) See also The Stories of the Five Golani Soldiers Killed in Lebanon - Yoav Zitun (Ynet News) Two terrorists who infiltrated Israel from Jordan on Friday opened fire near Neot HaKikar south of the Dead Sea and injured at least two Israelis before being killed by IDF forces. (Ynet News) IDF observers identified a suspect in the West Bank who was arrested by IDF troops with an M-16 rifle in his possession. In parallel, troops operating in the Jenin area sought a wanted person who was planning to carry out an immediate terror attack. Following an exchange of fire, he was eliminated. (Jerusalem Post) Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis:
The Gaza War Israelis fulfilled one of their main war aims in killing Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who planned the surprise attack and massacre of 1,200 men, women and children on Oct. 7, 2023, along with taking 250 hostages. Sinwar's demise adds to the impressive Israeli record in killing the leaders of the jihadist radical groups bent on the destruction of the Jewish state, including Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh. President Biden issued a statement Thursday on the Sinwar news, calling it "a good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world." He's right, as Sinwar was a U.S. designated terrorist and had the blood of many Americans on his hands. Hamas still holds hostages who are American citizens. But it's worth recalling that Mr. Biden has pressured Mr. Netanyahu and his government for months to stop the war in Gaza. The U.S. counseled against a major military campaign against Hamas. Then he tried to bully Israel against sending troops into the city of Rafah, where Sinwar was thought to be hiding. Israel has shown through its fortitude since Oct. 7 that the best way to deter an adversary is to demonstrate ferocious retribution for murdering its people. It deserves support as it continues to re-establish that deterrence. (Wall Street Journal) Many Palestinians saw Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar as an ardent defender of their cause. For Hamas, his loss is a serious setback, analysts said, but it probably won't be a death knell for the movement or bring an immediate end to the bloodshed. The group has survived the deaths of multiple leaders over the decades. Sinwar was seen by "millions of Arabs and Muslims" as "an iconic figure who dared to stand up and defy Israel," said Fawaz Gerges, professor of international relations at the London School of Economics. His death is a "painful and heavy blow for Hamas." Still, "Israel will find itself in the same place in the morning after it declared that Sinwar is dead." Israel's military campaign in Gaza, after Hamas attacked Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people, has laid waste to much of the enclave and severely degraded Hamas's military capabilities to the point where "Hamas today cannot attack Israel," said Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Yaakov Amidror. But Hamas has morphed into a guerrilla force and remains strong enough to "kill any substitute" in a postwar scenario, he said. "It's not going to be the end of Hamas," said Mkhaimar Abusada, a political science professor at Al-Azhar University in Gaza, who fled the territory last year. "If one leader dies, another one will pick up the fight and continue. This is what has been going on for many years." For Mohammad Abu Ghali, 27, who is living in a tent in Khan Yunis, the circumstances of Sinwar's death prove "he never laid down his weapon....His death is a source of pride for all Palestinians." However, Abeer Ghousain, 27, from Nuseirat, said, "I hope that if his death is real, it will lead to the end of the war." (Washington Post) On May 14, 2018, the Hamas government in Gaza tried to engineer a breach of the Israeli border at multiple points under the cover of mass protests known as the "March of Return." One of the most striking figures caught on camera at the border was Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas commander, screaming in Arabic at followers to cross the border and "tear out the hearts" of Israelis. I remember thinking he seemed maniacal even for the commander of a terror group. Sinwar will quickly be replaced as Hamas's leader, probably by his brother and accomplice Mohammed. His death, however, does bring the end of the fighting closer in Gaza. The writer was an Associated Press reporter in Jerusalem between 2006 and 2011. (Free Press) Hamas terrorists were captured on video taking control of 47 of 100 aid trucks entering Gaza on Tuesday, Israel's Channel 12 reported on Wednesday. The footage shows Hamas first taking over the trucks, including attacking the drivers. Then the trucks are driven through Rafah with armed terrorists riding on them. If any citizen approaches the trucks, they are immediately fired upon. Humanitarian aid meant for Gazans has instead become a lifeline for Hamas and its continued control of Gaza. (JNS) Israeli Security A year into the war, Iran's network of proxy organizations arrayed against Israel is beginning to unravel as Iran is losing two critical footholds it had established on Israel's borders. Across the Middle East and beyond, there is growing recognition that Iranian involvement often brings destruction and instability. Ironically, the proxy organizations Iran cultivated to avoid direct confrontation with its adversaries are now entangling Tehran in precisely such scenarios. This occurs at a time when Iran's capabilities are constrained. From Israel's standpoint, despite being drawn into this conflict rather than initiating it, the strategic objective is to dismantle the threat Iran has constructed around its borders. Israel's stated goal of enabling residents of northern Israel to safely return home requires meeting three conditions: First, eliminating the threat of incursions into Israeli territory by ensuring the absence of tunnels or Hizbullah forces in the border area. Second, neutralizing the threat of anti-tank fire from Lebanese territory toward Israel, requiring the removal of Hizbullah forces from within striking range. The third condition involves maintaining this new status quo over time. The writer, a former Israeli national security advisor, is chairman of the Misgav Institute for National Security & Zionist Strategy in Jerusalem. (Israel Hayom) While the fighting against Hamas in Gaza continues, most of Israel's military efforts are now aimed at ensuring that Hizbullah's forces in Lebanon do not have the power to continue to depopulate northern Israel. Israel cannot afford to let Hamas survive in Gaza or allow Hizbullah to continue to use Lebanon as a base for attacks on its northern border communities and the rest of the country. Iran is behind both Hamas and Hizbullah's attacks on Israel. Years of American efforts at bribing and appeasing Iran have done nothing to change the Islamic Republic's desire to achieve regional hegemony or to dampen its enthusiasm for funding groups that seek to destroy Israel and spread terror around the world. This is a moment when Washington's support for a campaign to defeat a terrorist movement that has American, as well as Israeli and Jewish, blood on its hands would be crucial. Instead, the administration is signaling that it wants no part of an ongoing conflict whose ultimate target is to defeat Iran. The administration's leak to the press that it wants Israel to avoid striking at Iran's nuclear-weapons program, which is an existential threat not just to Israel but to Arab nations and the West, was an indication of its ongoing devotion to the idea that Tehran's most important assets should not be threatened. If Washington were to back Israel's efforts to topple Hizbullah and strike the sort of blow against Tehran that might shake the regime's hold on power, it would give the region hope that the mullahs' reign of terror as the Middle East's "strong horse" is ending. Should America choose more pointless diplomacy rather than a path towards Iran's defeat, the price will be paid in the blood of Israelis as well as Arabs. (JNS) U.S.-Israel Relations In the middle of a war, the White House is threatening America's closest ally in the Middle East with cutting off arms supply in 30 days if its demands are not met. The U.S. is ordering Israel to facilitate increased aid delivery. But I have witnessed first-hand the Israel Defense Forces' efforts to get aid into Gaza. Israel's policy has been to flood Gaza with aid. Israel has created new aid crossing points and built roads inside Gaza specifically for aid delivery. I am not aware of any other conflict in which one of the combatants has taken such steps, or anything like them, to get aid to its enemy's population at the same time as it is actively involved in combat operations. But as with so much else in this conflict, different rules and standards are expected of Israel than the U.S. would even consider applying to itself or any other country. Any shortage of vital commodities should not be blamed on Israel, but on the failure by the UN and other agencies to actually deliver the aid to the people who need it. The UN's efforts have been impeded by inefficiency, but even more by Hamas's seizure of aid. Media reports have shown Hamas terrorists proclaiming that their warehouses are full. Blaming Israel for the humanitarian crisis rewards Hamas, empowers its continuing terrorist campaign, and will help prolong the conflict. Where are the demands on Egypt to allow refugees to cross onto their side of the border? Where are the demands on Cairo to re-open the Rafah crossing from Egypt into Gaza? The writer, a former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, was chairman of the UK's national crisis management committee, COBRA. (Telegraph-UK) On Oct. 18, 2023, President Biden announced that humanitarian aid would move from Egypt to Gaza with Israel's consent "based on the understanding that there will be inspections and that the aid should go to civilians, not to Hamas....If Hamas diverts or steals the assistance, they will have demonstrated once again that they have no concern for the welfare of the Palestinian people and it will end. As a practical matter, it will stop the international community from being able to provide this aid." Now, the President has demanded that Israel transfer ever more aid, even as Hamas steals it to keep power over Gaza's population. On Sunday, the Biden Administration threatened Israel in a letter from senior U.S. officials Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin: Surge aid to Gaza within 30 days or risk a weapons embargo. The timing couldn't be worse. Israel may soon retaliate against Iran for its recent missile attack, and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei needs to know that America has Israel's back. The Biden team supports Israel, but not the moves that might deliver victory. The Administration suggests it could withhold offensive weapons from Israel - while maintaining missile defense. Under duress, Israel has signaled it will cooperate on the aid. The question is why he so often threatens Israel, and never Hamas or Iran. The Administration's threat letter also urges Israel to keep the status quo with UNRWA and schedule Red Cross visits for Hamas prisoners in Israel, which isn't required for unlawful combatants. Meanwhile, Hamas refuses Red Cross visits to the hostages it holds. (Wall Street Journal) The Israelis informed the U.S. Administration about the pager attack and the attack on Hizbullah's leader once both were underway. Israel has shared much information with the U.S. about its planned response to Iran's missile attack, but they withheld many details out of operational security concerns, U.S. officials said. Why? Because the Administration leaks the information constantly and deliberately. The goal is to sabotage any Israeli operation. Israeli operational security for taking out terrorists now involves hiding information from the White House. We've become the weak link. (Gatestone Institute) Hizbullah The world needs to be reminded of a fundamental truth: Hizbullah is the enemy of Lebanon. Its defeat would be a huge favor to the Lebanese, and to a functioning world order. Israel is completely in the right in its campaign against Hizbullah, which imposed its will on Lebanon and served as a proxy for Iranian interests in the region, most notably by launching attacks against Israel. Hizbullah became the world's strongest non-state army, overshadowing the Lebanese military through steady funding, weapons supply and training by Iran. Hizbullah claims to be a "resistance movement" but there is nothing to resist. Israel has no claims on Lebanon beyond protecting itself. Hizbullah's real purpose is to provide Iran with a foothold on Israel's northern border, ensuring that any Israeli action against Iran, such as a preemptive strike on its nuclear facilities, can be met with retaliation, whatever the cost to Lebanon. There is no reasonable way to explain the lack of sympathy for Israel's plight. Hizbullah has been attacking Israel with rocketing, shelling and drone attacks since Oct. 8, 2023, forcing 60,000 Israelis from their homes. The calls for Israel to essentially accept the situation represent a double-standard. No other country would accept such a situation, including the U.S. In recent weeks, Israel reached its limit. A robust military response featured targeting key members of Hizbullah's leadership including long-time leader Hassan Nasrallah, targeting its missile stockpiles and military infrastructure, and a ground operation against Hizbullah in south Lebanon. For the first time in years, Hizbullah is on its back foot. If Israel is allowed to weaken Hizbullah enough, a new Lebanon, free of its malign influence, could reclaim its place as a relatively peaceful and economically prosperous country. A crucial element will be shifting Shiite political representation from Hizbullah to Amal, a more moderate Shiite political group with no dependence on Iran. The writer was chief editor of the Associated Press in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. (The Hill) The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, is the world's largest peacekeeping force. It has around 10,000 troops in southern Lebanon, an annual budget of $500 million, and broad international support. According to UN Security Council Resolution 1701, UNIFIL has the authority "to take all necessary action" to prevent the use of the territory south of the Litani River for military purposes, to assist the Lebanese government in exercising its sovereignty, and to implement the UN resolutions calling for the disbanding of the militias in Lebanon. Yet the UN troops never reported the extensive military infrastructure that Hizbullah deployed along the border as part of its plan to capture the Galilee. Instead, it produces reports that include piles of bureaucratic text about the training of staff members and local officials aimed at preventing sexual harassment and abuse. Brig.-Gen. (res.) Assaf Orion, who was in charge of communications between the Israeli army and the UN forces, calls the situation an arrangement of convenience built on a pyramid of lies. Hizbullah benefits from a human shield to conceal its activities, and also from the money that UNIFIL spends in Shi'ite villages. The Lebanese government and army receive international legitimacy and assistance, while Western governments clear their consciences and "support Lebanon." (Ha'aretz) The UN peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL had one job: Keep armed terrorists out of southern Lebanon, where they could shoot at Israel. It failed so abysmally that Israel has had to go to war to clear out the terrorists. UNIFIL refuses to fight, refuses to move, and blames Israel for putting its non-peacekeepers at risk. UNIFIL has allowed Hizbullah to entrench itself in southern Lebanon, storing arms in homes and building a network of fully stocked attack tunnels and weapons depots in preparation for an Oct. 7-style assault. Israeli troops have found a tunnel 100 meters from a UNIFIL outpost. For 11 months Hizbullah fired 8,500 rockets and missiles at Israel from Lebanon, under UNIFIL's nose. Israeli troops entered Lebanon on Oct. 1 and requested several times that UNIFIL move out of harm's way. But the peacekeepers won't budge, though there's no peace to keep. UNIFIL finally seems to have found its calling: Getting in Israel's way. France, Spain and Italy express "outrage" at the injuring of two UNFIL troops. These injuries are regrettable, but they show that it isn't safe to remain in a war zone. Where was this diplomatic energy when Hizbullah dominated the area, and used it to force the depopulation of Israel's north? (Wall Street Journal) As Israel fights Hizbullah's army in Lebanon, it has found a new foe: the UN Interim Force in Lebanon. Having failed at its mission of neutralizing the Hizbullah threat, UNIFIL is now actively interfering with Israel doing the job. UNIFIL failed to prevent or ameliorate the Second Lebanon War in 2006, which Hizbullah began with a cross-border raid to take Israeli hostages and continued with a heavy rain of rockets on Israel. UN peacekeepers have done nothing to stop Hizbullah as it has turned southern Lebanon into an armed camp from which to attack Israel. UN peacekeepers come from places like Ghana and Bangladesh. They have little motive or incentive to risk their lives to protect Jews from Islamist Shiites. Most contingents participate in peacekeeping because the UN pays contributing nations $17,000 a year for each peacekeeper, far above military salaries in most countries. UNIFIL was created to keep peace in Lebanon, but has instead enabled Hizbullah's aggression. U.S. taxpayers pay nearly 30% of UNIFIL's $550 million budget - essentially subsidizing indirect assistance to Hizbullah. UNIFIL is easy to fix. Its mandate must be reauthorized every year, or it simply ends. UNIFIL's current mandate expires in August 2025. There is no rational basis for reauthorizing it. The writer is a professor at George Mason University Law School and a scholar at the Kohelet Policy Forum. (Wall Street Journal) Iran Brig.-Gen. Abbas Nilforoushan, deputy commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), was eliminated on Sep. 27 along with Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut. Nilforoushan was the commander of the IRGC's Quds Force in Lebanon. Benny Sabti, an Iran researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), told Maariv on Tuesday: "This man was the head of operations in the Revolutionary Guards, and many missions, supplies, and budgets passed through his hands." "He was one of the extremists....He essentially had a hand in everything that happened in the Revolutionary Guards....It's always said in the media, 'eliminate one and another will come' - it's not like that at all. It will take a lot of time until they find someone to fill his shoes." (Jerusalem Post) Palestinian Arabs The assumption that the Palestinian Authority can be "revitalized" and play a role in a post-war Gaza shows that the U.S. administration is unfortunately clueless. As several Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) polls have shown, more than 80% of Palestinians have no faith in President Abbas and the PA. A September poll found that 84% of Palestinians want Abbas to resign. If the U.S. wants to see a "revitalized" PA, the first thing it needs to do is ask Abbas, whose term in office expired in 2009, to step down. It should be asking the Palestinian security forces in the West Bank to immediately crack down on hundreds of Iran-backed militiamen who have formed terror groups to murder Jews. It is misguided to think that Abbas would ever be able to return to Gaza, from where he and his PA were expelled by Hamas during a bloody coup in 2007. According to reports in the Arab media, Abbas is busy these days trying to forge an alliance with Hamas. This demonstrates that Abbas continues to view Hamas, whose charter calls for the elimination of Israel through jihad, as a legitimate partner. (Gatestone Institute) Other Issues Samidoun, a pro-Hamas organization that helped organize protests on American college campuses, is a "sham charity" that fundraises for a terrorist group, the U.S. Treasury Department said Tuesday as it sanctioned the group. It said Samidoun serves as a front organization for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which the U.S. deemed a terror organization in 1997 and 2001. "Organizations like Samidoun masquerade as charitable actors that claim to provide humanitarian support to those in need, yet in reality divert funds for much-needed assistance to support terrorist groups," said Bradley Smith, acting U.S. undersecretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial terrorism. (NBC News) See also Canada Designates Samidoun a Terrorist Entity after "Death to Canada" Chant - Tyler Dawson (National Post-Canada) Egyptian economists have recently been highlighting a scenario in which a conflict between Israel and Iran, or the ongoing conflict with Hizbullah, could result in serious damage to Israel's natural gas fields, which supply 15% of Egypt's gas consumption. Existing shortages have already caused frequent power outages. Moreover, buying gas from anyone other than Israel would be more expensive. Egypt has already raised gas prices twice this year by 15% each time. Egypt's revenues from the Suez Canal are also down by 60% ($6 billion) compared to last year, due to Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. And declines in tourism have led to the firing of thousands of workers. (Ha'aretz) A conference commending Hamas's Oct. 7 massacre, named "the Al-Aqsa Flood," convened in Istanbul this week. The event was organized by the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA), headed by Sami Al-Arian, who was deported from the U.S. for providing services to Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The opening speaker was Hamas official Osama Hamdan, who lauded the massacre and predicted a future in which Israel does not appear on the map. Another main speaker was former Prime Minister of Malaysia Mahathir Mohamad, who stressed that Israelis and Zionists control the world. Other speakers included Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff of the U.S. State Department under Colin Powell, who argued that the war was initiated by Israel and prophesied that Israel as a Jewish state will soon cease to exist. Former U.S. Marines intelligence officer Scott Ritter claimed that the entire world owes Hamas gratitude for the attack. (Jerusalem Post) Observations: No, Israel Isn't Deliberately Killing Children in Gaza - Brendan O'Neill (Spectator-UK)
|
|