Day 105 — Friday, January 19

The rift between Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu deepened on Thursday as the Israeli Prime Minister accused the US of trying to ‘coerce’ Israel.

In an interview on national TV, Netanyahu rejected US calls to scale back Israel´s military offensive in the Gaza Strip and take steps toward the establishment of a Palestinian state after the war.

Netanyahu accused the US of trying to ‘coerce’ Israel into a situation which would ‘endanger’ the country and said ‘we will not settle for anything short of an absolute victory’.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby immediately responded, saying: ‘We obviously see it differently.’

Netanyahu spoke just a day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israel would never have ‘genuine security’ without a pathway toward Palestinian independence.

Earlier this week, the White House also announced that it was the ‘right time’ for Israel to lower the intensity of its devastating military offensive in Gaza.

But in a nationally televised news conference, Netanyahu struck a defiant tone, repeatedly saying that Israel would not halt its offensive until it realizes its goals of destroying Gaza’s Hamas militant group and bringing home all remaining hostages held by Hamas.

Netanyahu repeated his longstanding opposition to a two-state solution. He said a Palestinian state would become a launching pad for attacks on Israel.

He said Israel “must have security control over the entire territory west of the Jordan River,” adding: “That collides with the idea of sovereignty. What can we do?”

“This truth I tell to our American friends, and I put the brakes on the attempt to coerce us to a reality that would endanger the state of Israel,” he said.

Daily Mail

Day 105 — Friday, January 19

Shalom from Israel! Even as I hear the rumble of jets echoing in the skies above me, I am still taken aback at the beauty of the land that surrounds me. The Jezreel Valley, which spreads for miles below my house, is lush and fruitful. The green bounty of the crops is only broken up here and there by the rich brown of the soil being turned by farmers in their tractors. It is idyllic and puts me in the mind of that apt description of this land as being one flowing with milk and honey.

Yet, despite the miraculous fertility of modern Israel, there is still a pall of sorrow that hangs over its people. This past weekend marked 100 days since Hamas terrorists poured over the Gaza border and began torturing, raping, kidnapping, murdering, and mutilating every Israeli that they could find. Even today, there are still 132 hostages that remain in captivity enduring the brutality of these savages. Imagine being one of these innocents, just ordinary civilians, having been snatched from your home, forced to watch your loved ones slaughtered, then abused at the hands of your captor’s day-after-day for 100 days. It’s so horrific that I can’t let my mind go too deep into their experience. It’s too dark. It’s too evil.

For these past months, I have necessarily been immersed into what has been taking place in my country – the prosecution of the war, the return of the hostages, the terrorist raids. Yet, even with that primary focus, I haven’t lost sight of what’s happening in the rest of the world. So many locations beyond just Israel are either at war or close to erupting. There are those who say that we are on the verge of another world war. Just three days ago, British foreign secretary Grant Shapps said in a speech that the “era of the peace dividend is over” and that we are now in a “pre-war” period that could eventually lead to conflicts involving Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea. I agree with much of what he is saying. However, after taking stock of our global situation, I believe that a strong case can be made that we are already in a world war.

Day 104 — Thursday, January 18

[Warning: This article includes graphic content] — A terrorist from the Gaza Strip decapitated an IDF soldier killed in fighting on October 7 and later tried to sell his head for $10,000, the soldier’s bereaved father revealed, adding that “by a miracle” it was eventually found by the army and returned to Israel for burial.

David Tahar revealed the mutilation of his son Cpl. Adir Tahar, 19, in an interview with Channel 14 on Wednesday.

Adir, stationed on a base near the Gaza border, was killed with other members of his Golani Brigade unit as they fought back against Hamas terrorists on October 7 during the terror group’s devastating assault on Israel that killed over 1,200 people.

David described his son as a “smart boy, talented and very modest.” On October 7, as some 3,000 Hamas-led terrorists burst into southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, Adir was among a group of 18 soldiers who went out to face what they knew were hundreds of terrorists, David said.

Adir was killed by a rocket-propelled grenade and three more grenades that were thrown at him.

The terrorists then cut off his son’s head and took it to Gaza, David said. Adir’s body was identified from his identity tags, DNA testing, and personal items in his pockets.

David discovered the mutilation minutes before Adir was due to be buried. The soldier’s remains were brought for interment at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem. David said he insisted he wanted to see his son’s body though IDF officials warned him it would be better if he didn’t look.

“A father needs to know everything about his children,” he explained to Channel 14.

Half an hour before the burial ceremony, when just he and his nephew were alone with the coffin, David opened it to look at his son.

“I understood exactly what I was burying,” David said. “I knew I was burying a boy without the essential part.”

David said that for two months he tried everything he could to find out where his son’s head was.

“It wasn’t easy, it wasn’t simple,” he said and recalled watching dozens of hours of videos from the Hamas massacres that were posted to social media. Eventually, he found a video showing his son’s body without his head.

Then, in December “a miracle” happened, he said.

Two terrorists who were captured by Israeli forces and interrogated by the Shin Bet security service revealed that one of them had tried to sell an IDF soldier’s head for $10,000 and gave details on where it could be found.

“That is just insane barbarism,” David said.

Orders were given for an elite unit, backed up by tanks, to enter a central Gaza location where they found the head in a bag inside a freezer in an ice cream store.

The severed head had also apparently been further abused, David said.

It was returned to Israel. DNA and dental records showed that it was Adir’s head and it was later buried.

Despite the terrible circumstances, David said it gave him peace of mind that Adir’s head was returned.

The Tahar family, from the Gilo neighborhood in Jerusalem, is now working to establish a neighborhood support center for endangered youth in honor of Adir. There is also a Torah scroll being written in his memory.

The revelation about Tahar’s mutilation came as CNN aired footage from October 7 that it said showed a terrorist “sawing at the necks of dead Israelis, evidence of beheadings.”

The US network said an unnamed Israeli source provided the CCTV footage from Kibbutz Nir Oz, which is censored and edited to highlight the use of the knife.

The revelation about the abuse of Adir Tahar’s body and the CNN video add to mounting evidence of the widespread atrocities committed on October  7.

Israel has repeatedly said that the atrocities committed by Hamas show that it is a terror group on par with Islamic State and must be eradicated.

Times Of Israel

Day 104 — Thursday, January 18

Bible prophecy is all about Jesus, yet it revolves around Israel from start to finish. Although God first promised to send a Redeemer while Adam and Eve were still in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15), He subsequently narrowed this prophetic focus to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and then specifically to the lineage of King David.

Why did the Lord choose the sons of Jacob, whom He renamed Israel? Romans 9 reveals that His choice happened as the result of His sovereignty. It was solely His choice in the matter. Jacob had more of a heart for God than his wicked brother, however, starting with the call of Abram, every choice flowed from His divine purposes rather than from the character of the one He chose.

One huge downside exists for God’s chosen people: Satan has never let up in attempting to thwart the Lord’s redemptive purposes for selecting Israel. His attacks on God’s chosen race have been murderous, extreme, relentless, and continue to this very moment.

The book of Esther provides a prime example of the devil seeking to stop the birth of the Messiah. He later inspired Herod to kill all the babies in Bethlehem in order to stop God’s plan. From 1 Corinthians 2:6-7, we learn that even Jesus’ crucifixion was intended to thwart God’s plan, but it backfired big time for Satan and his minions.

God’s Word says that Jesus will return to a repentant Israel and someday He will enter Jerusalem as the Jewish people shout with glee, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” (Zechariah 12:10-13:1; Matthew 23:37-39). In order to stop Jesus’ words in Matthew 23 from coming to fruition, Satan has greatly intensified the world’s hostility and hatred toward the Jewish people since Israel became a nation in 1948.

The October 7, 2023, a barbaric attack on Israel came from the pit of hell and Satan’s determination to stop the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. The turning of world opinion against Israel comes from the same motive.

In light of such great suffering over the millennia, is it not only right and just that the Lord would give Israel a glorious kingdom? His people have greatly suffered solely because God chose them to fulfill His redemptive plans through them. In the end, Israel will experience the wonders of a restored kingdom far more glorious than anything even seen in human history.

Day 104 — Thursday, January 18

The Biden administration is trying to lay the groundwork for the establishment of a Palestinian state with Israeli leaders and representatives of civil society, expecting a future post-Netanyahu government: “He will not remain there forever.”

According to NBC, Secretary of State Antony Blinken is increasing pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the future of the Gaza Strip, revealing growing frustration within the Biden administration regarding differences with Netanyahu on the issue.

“We have today a profound regional opportunity in the Middle East that we did not have in the past,” said Blinken during an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “The challenge is to realize it.” 

When asked if Netanyahu is the right prime minister to seize this opportunity, Blinken responded that “these are decisions that Israelis need to make” and added, “We are at a turning point.”

Blinken’s comments come just a week after his visit to the Middle East in an attempt to build consensus between Israel and Arab leaders on the post-war plan with Hamas in Gaza. According to senior officials, the gaps between the Biden administration and Netanyahu on the war, as well as the Israeli Prime Minister’s refusal to consider US proposals for Gaza after the war, have deepened since Blinken’s visit to Israel about a week ago.

The Saudi Crown Prince offered to normalize relations with Israel as part of a Gaza reconstruction deal – a diplomatic breakthrough that Netanyahu has sought for a long time, but only on the condition that Palestinians are given a prospect for their own state.

However, Netanyahu rejected the proposal for the establishment of a Palestinian state. Now, three senior Americans have conveyed that the Biden administration is looking beyond Netanyahu to try and achieve US goals in the region. They told NBC that “Netanyahu will not be there forever.”

Blinken told the Israeli leader that there was no military solution to Hamas at the end of the day and that the Prime Minister needed to acknowledge this or history would repeat itself, and violence would persist, but Netanyahu refused to relent.

The senior officials noted that the Biden administration is trying to lay the groundwork with other Israeli leaders and representatives of civil society in anticipation of a future post-Netanyahu government. In an attempt to bypass Netanyahu, Blinken also separately met with members of the diplomatic security cabinet and other Israeli leaders, including opposition leader Yair Lapid, during his visit to the Middle East.

HD Editor’s Note: 

In September of 2022, then Interim Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, in a speech to the United Nations, declared his support for a two-state solution. He insisted that a “large majority of Israelis” agree despite polls showing overwhelming opposition by the country’s population. Lapid not only advocated that his own country be divided but also took a decidedly nonchalant attitude toward nations that question Israeli sovereignty.

The Bible sends a stark and prophetic warning against nations and people that seek to divide the nation of Israel and, specifically, its capital Jerusalem. 

Zechariah 12:3 states: “And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.”

A two-state solution advocates for the dividing of Jerusalem, with the east portion of the city being given to the Palestinians for their state capital.

Jerusalem Post

Day 104 — Thursday, January 18

A commander in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror organization, Basel Mahadi, who was captured by Israeli forces in late December, recently admitted during an interrogation that he had traveled to Iran to receive military training.

“My commander called me and said that I should go to Iran for a sniper course, I will benefit from it and my salary will increase when I return,” Mahadi told the Shin Bet security official interrogator in Arabic.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) organization is a Hamas ally in Gaza that is fully backed by the Islamist regime in Tehran. Mahadi was one of hundreds of terrorists in Gaza who received extensive military training in Iran before the Oct. 7 massacres, the Wall Street Journal reported in October.

The PIJ unit commander revealed that he traveled via Egypt, Syria and Lebanon before arriving in Iran for training.

“I went from the Gaza Strip to Egypt where I stayed for about two weeks; from there I went to Syria for a few days and then to Lebanon. After two weeks, we went from Syria to Iran,” Mahadi revealed, adding that he received about $1,000 to cover his expenditures.

“In Iran, the course was 15 days. It had physical fitness training and shooting training on different types of weapons,” the former PIJ commander added.

Israel has accused the Iranian regime of being behind the Hamas-led Oct. 7 invasion of southern Israel’s border communities, when terrorists massacred more than 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians.

In addition, Hamas and PIJ terrorist operatives kidnapped about 240 hostages into the Gaza Strip, with about 136 captives remaining, with at least 25 of whom are already dead.

In October, IDF senior spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Daniel Hagari confirmed that Iran’s extensive support of terror organizations continues amid the ongoing war with Hamas and PIJ.

“Before the war, Iran directly assisted Hamas with money, training and weapons and technological know-how,” Hagari said. “Even now, Iran is helping Hamas with intelligence,” he added.

all israel news

Day 103 — Wednesday, January 17

On Wednesday, the Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi, visited a reservists exercise in northern Israel, together with the Commanding Officer of the Northern Command, MG Ori Gordin, the Commanding Officer of the Training Command, MG David Zini and additional commanders.

The exercise is part of a series of training exercises currently taking place in northern Israel led by the Ground Forces Training Center.

Halevi stated: “Training has always been a very important thing, I think it is much more important now. We are in a time of increasing readiness for fighting in Lebanon. We have a lot of lessons from the fighting in Gaza, many of which are very relevant to fighting in Lebanon, and there are some that must be adapted. We want to reach a very clear goal in Lebanon – this is to return the residents to the north, all of the communities in the north. We understand that this must come through a very significant change.”

“I don’t know when the war in the north is, I can tell you that the likelihood of it happening in the coming months is much higher than it was in the past, I can tell you that I think we are starting it with many more advantages: victory, our self-confidence, their confidence is decreasing, a lot of experience, capabilities, surprises to produce, progress made. What remains is to train seriously, a strong spirit of the people, and when we will need to, we will go forward at full strength.”

arutz sheva

Day 103 — Wednesday, January 17

As the Israel Defense Forces battles Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the country’s Judea, Samaria and Jordan Valley regions are experiencing a parallel rise in terror incidents, according to data published by Rescuers Without Borders (Hatzalah Judea and Samaria) on Tuesday.

Between Oct. 7 and Jan. 15, Rescuers Without Borders first responders recorded more than 2,600 attacks targeting Israeli civilians and soldiers, including 760 cases of rock-throwing, 551 fire bombings, 12 attempted or successful stabbings and nine vehicular assaults.

Among the report’s findings was a sharp increase in the number of shootings, with 127 instances of gunfire reported over the past three months. By comparison, in all of 2022, Hatzalah recorded just under 100 shooting attacks.

The organization’s figures do not include the hundreds of violent attacks on security personnel occurring during counterterrorism operations in villages under the control of the Palestinian Authority.

Palestinian terrorists in Judea and Samaria have killed five Israelis and wounded many others since Oct. 7, according to Hatzalah.

Rescuers Without Borders was founded in 2000, at the beginning of the Second Intifada, with the goal of establishing a civilian emergency response infrastructure in remote parts of Judea and Samaria.

Last month, the IDF carried out a drill simulating an Oct. 7-style attack on Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, according to Hebrew reports.

The exercise was one of various scenarios the military is preparing for in Judea and Samaria following the invasion of southern Israel by Hamas terrorists from the Gaza Strip, in which 1,200 people were murdered, thousands more wounded and 240 kidnapped.

Meanwhile, in recent weeks, the IDF has been investigating possible infiltration tunnels Israeli forces discovered near Jewish communities in the Hebron Hills in Judea and Shiloh in Samaria’s Binyamin region.

Since Hamas launched its war against Israel, residents of the Binyamin region have reported an accumulation of artificial hills between Shiloh and Ofra, in a possible sign of heavy digging by Palestinians in the area.

The IDF has also been looking into complaints by residents of Bat Hefer, a village east of Netanya, of tunneling sounds coming from the direction of P.A.-controlled areas. Residents have reported heard tunneling originating from Shuweika, a satellite village of Tulkarm.

JNS

Day 102 — Tuesday, January 16

More than 50 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel on Tuesday morning — marking the country’s largest barrage in weeks.

The onslaught resulted in at least one impact in the city of Netivot, the Times of Israel reported.

The blast, for which Hamas later claimed responsibility, reduced the front of what appeared to be a storefront to rubble, a photo provided by the Fire and Rescue Services showed.

Another rocket appeared to have struck a warehouse in the nearby community of Givolim, the outlet added.

There were no reported injuries, but video footage from Netivot showed a rocket narrowly missing a group of people in an open area.

The barrage appeared to have been fired from central Gaza, the Times of Israel said.

Meanwhile, Palestinians reported that Israeli tanks were re-entering parts of northern Gaza that they pulled out of last week, the outlet added.

Footage from the Netivot area shows a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip narrowly missing a group of Israelis working outside the southern city, as more than 20 projectiles are intercepted by the Iron Dome over the area. Hamas has claimed responsibility for the barrage pic.twitter.com/BJWXSSNOdI

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) January 16, 2024

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had previously announced its transition to smaller operations in northern Gaza, after claiming to have defeated Hamas’ hold on the area, the outlet explained.

Troops in northern Gaza located about 100 rocket launchers during cleanup procedures in Beit Lahiya, the military announced Tuesday.

New York Post

Day 102 — Tuesday, January 16

The U.S. military launched a new round of airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen this week as the Iranian-backed terrorist group continues to direct attacks on merchant ships and U.S. forces in the Red Sea.

U.S. Central Command said that the Houthis fired another anti-ship ballistic missile at international shipping lanes and struck M/V Zografia, a Maltese flagged bulk carrier. The vessel was struck but was still seaworthy, CENTCOM said.

“Earlier in the day at approximately, 4:15 a.m. (Sanaa time), U.S. Forces struck and destroyed four Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles prepared to launch from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen,” the statement added.

CENTCOM announced early in the day that it had seized a ship sailing near the coast of Somalia in international waters on January 11 that was conducting illegal transport of advanced lethal aid from Iran to resupply the Houthi terrorists.

“U.S. Navy SEALs operating from USS Lewis B Puller, supported by helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), executed a complex boarding of the dhow near the coast of Somalia in international waters of the Arabian Sea, seizing Iranian-made ballistic missile and cruise missiles components,” USCENTCOM reported. “Seized items include propulsion, guidance, and warheads for Houthi medium range ballistic missiles (MRBMs) and anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCMs), as well as air defense associated components. Initial analysis indicates these same weapons have been employed by the Houthis to threaten and attack innocent mariners on international merchant ships transiting in the Red Sea.”

“The direct or indirect supply, sale, or transfer of weapons to the Houthis in Yemen violates U.N. Security Resolution 2216 and international law,” USCENTCOM added, noting that “two U.S. Navy SEALs previously reported as lost at sea were directly involved in this operation.”

“We are conducting an exhaustive search for our missing teammates,” General Michael Erik Kurilla, USCENTCOM Commander, stated.

Daily Wire

Day 102 — Tuesday, January 16

Hamas issued a new video on Monday in which it forced an Israeli hostage, Noa Argamani, announced the death of two other hostages who had appeared in another video with Argamani the day before.

The video apparently took the form of a guessing game, in which viewers were asked to guess which of the hostages survived.

Evil monsters.

Hamas published a video asking people to guess the condition of three Israeli hostages including Noa Argamani whose mother is dying of cancer.

To them, the fate of the hostages is a sick game.

𝐖𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞… pic.twitter.com/2MjQiU2z6g

— Israel ישראל 🇮🇱 (@Israel) January 15, 2024

Hamas claims that the two were killed in an Israeli airstrike and that Argamani was also wounded, but survived.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would not confirm those claims. However, IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a statement on Monday evening (translation via IDF):

Over the last day, Hamas has published videos about hostages, cruelly exploiting innocent people being held hostage. This evening, I would like to provide an update on the information available to us about these events, after we notified the families.

Itai, Noa, and another hostage whose family asked not to say his name, were kidnapped to Gaza in a criminal and violent manner by the Hamas terror organization on October 7th.

Itai Svirsky, 38, had gone to his parents’ home in Kibbutz Be’eri to celebrate the festival of Simchat Torah. His parents were murdered by Hamas terrorists, and he was abducted.

Noa Argamani, 26, was abducted from the “Nova” party along with her partner, Avinatan. The image of Noa, on a motorcycle, surrounded by terrorists and crying out for help, strikes the heart of every person in the country and the world.

While we have received a sign of life from Noa, I refer to the description that emerges from the video regarding the fate of Itai and the additional captive:

Itai was not shot by our forces – this is a Hamas lie. The building where they were being held was not a target, and it was not struck by our forces.

We did not know their real-time location; we do not strike in places where we know there may be hostages. In hindsight, we know we struck targets near to the location where they were being held. We are investigating the event and its circumstances, examining the images distributed by Hamas, alongside additional information at our disposal.

Nevertheless, I wish to update that in recent days, IDF representatives met with the families of Itai and the additional captive and expressed grave concern for their fate, due to information available to us.

Even during these difficult hours, we are in constant contact with the families, updating them with the details we know about their loved ones. We will continue to update them with every piece of verified information we have before then notifying the public.

Hamas tries to sow fear by exploiting the fact that Israeli society sanctifies the lives of its people.

Yes, Israeli society sanctifies the lives of its people. This is our strength – our concern for our citizens and our determination to return the hostages. We are operating using every means to bring them back home and to prevent harm to them. This is our compass on the battlefield – our moral obligation.

As Breitbart News noted on Sunday, Argamani is one of the most well-known of the roughly 130 remaining hostages in Gaza.

She was abducted from the Supernova music festival, and her mother, who is dying of brain cancer, has pleaded for her release.

breitbart

Day 102 — Tuesday, January 16

In a rare announcement, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that it launched ballistic missiles targeting what it referred to as a “spy headquarters” and a “gathering of anti-Iran terrorist groups” in Iraqi Kurdistan.

The announcement on Monday evening followed a series of explosions that rocked several areas in the region.

The strikes led to the suspension of air traffic at the Erbil airport, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. The exact nature of the targets remains unconfirmed at this time.

Iran’s revolutionary guards said that they targeted “espionage centers and gatherings of anti-Iranian terrorist groups” in Erbil, as reported by Iranian state media on Monday. The Erbil airport, which houses international forces, including those from the United States, witnessed explosions that prompted the suspension of air traffic.

Furthermore, reports indicate that defense systems above Erbil airport successfully neutralized an armed drone launched by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an alliance of Iran-aligned Iraqi militias. This drone was reportedly targeting U.S. facilities. The counter-terrorism service in Iraqi Kurdistan confirmed the thwarted attack, but there is no official information on potential casualties or damage to infrastructure.

Iran’s revolutionary guards said that they targeted “espionage centers and gatherings of anti-Iranian terrorist groups” in Erbil, as reported by Iranian state media on Monday. The Erbil airport, which houses international forces, including those from the United States, witnessed explosions that prompted the suspension of air traffic.

Furthermore, reports indicate that defense systems above Erbil airport successfully neutralized an armed drone launched by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an alliance of Iran-aligned Iraqi militias. This drone was reportedly targeting U.S. facilities. The counter-terrorism service in Iraqi Kurdistan confirmed the thwarted attack, but there is no official information on potential casualties or damage to infrastructure.

i24 News

Day 101 — Monday, January 15

Hamas claimed responsibility for the combined ramming and stabbing attacks in Ra’anana on Monday afternoon, which left over a dozen people wounded and one person dead.

A terrorist stabbed a woman while another terrorist stole a car and proceeded to carry out ramming attacks in several locations, Israel Police confirmed. The terrorist swapped vehicles three times after crashing, the police stated. The terrorists were Muhammad Zaidat, 44, and Ahmed Zaidat, 24, both from Hebron and were later arrested. 

Two people were slightly injured after being run over on Haroshet Street, where a 66-year-old man was also seriously stabbed.

An additional fifteen people were injured to varying degrees, including a 34-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy in serious condition with head injuries, as a result of the ramming on Ahuza Street, the main street of the city. France’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that two of the wounded parties hold French citizenship.

The director of the emergency medicine department at the Schneider Pediatric Center, Dr. Ron Brunett, said that seven children were brought in for treatment. Six of the children are aged between 10-16 and are in mild condition.

An eyewitness told Maariv that the road was “unusually quiet,” and that’s when he heard two cars crashing into each other. “I was sure that it was a car accident,” Eden Alfi said. “Another person was with me, noticed the situation and shouted ‘an attack, an attack’. After that, I saw the terrorist. I saw him stabbing a man around 60 years old. The man fell and the terrorist ran away.”

Three of the victims overall are in serious condition, seven are in moderate condition, and five are lightly injured. The injured were taken to Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba and Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva.Viola Hachmon, a paramedic for Magen David Adom (MDA) who provided first aid on Ahuza Street, told The Jerusalem Post, “This is a very difficult event with many injured. To my knowledge, everyone has already been evacuated to various hospitals, including those in critical condition.”

MDA paramedic Eli Raymond, who arrived at one of the scenes, said, “We arrived at the scene with large forces and began performing an initial triage and providing medical treatment to about eight wounded people with different degrees of injury.””Nothing justifies terrorism,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday evening. “Among the wounded are two young Frenchman. The French consulate in Tel Aviv mobilized to help French citizens in Ra’anana. France wishes a speedy recovery for the wounded – and assures Israel of its solidarity.”

“Following an unusual incident currently in Ra’anana, police forces are on the scene, and the circumstances of the incident are being investigated,” Israel Police said in a statement. “The public is asked to be vigilant and obey the police officer’s instructions.” “Initially, it was unclear whether this was a terrorist attack or a vehicular incident,” Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai said in a statement in Ra’anana on Monday. “However, following swift action by the Kfar Saba police, we understood that there were two terrorists involved and two separate scenes.

“Once we grasped the magnitude of the incident, we deployed forces immediately. Ultimately, thanks to determined action, a very quick pursuit, and the lockdown of the areas, we managed to apprehend the second terrorist. Both terrorists are residents of Hebron, family members who entered the area illegally.”

Schools in the area were placed on lockdown, and parents were told not to take their children outside their homes, the mayor’s office announced after the attacks.

The 70-year-old woman who was badly wounded during the attack has died, according to Israeli media.

Jerusalem Post

Day 101 — Monday, January 15

Several Hamas officials who were living in Lebanon have fled to neighboring countries and other allies after Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri was killed in an alleged Israeli strike, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

Following the killing of al-Arouri in Beirut on January 2, some Hamas officials relocated to Turkey and Syria, the report states, while the terror group’s spokesman Ghazi Hamad has been in Cairo, Egypt since al-Arouri’s death and has supposedly not made any plans to return to Lebanon.

The explosion that killed al-Arouri has been widely attributed to Israel, while Israeli officials have declined to comment.

In addition to al-Arouri, six others were killed in the blast, including Hamas officials Mahmoud Shaheen, Muhammad Bashasha, Muhammad al-Rayes and Ahmed Hammoud.

times of israel

Day 101 — Monday, January 15

To cries of “Break it down,” anti-Israel protesters surged against a reinforced fence outside the White House on Saturday evening. The Secret Service evacuated nonessential personnel for their safety as the crowd grew more violent.

The anti-scale fencing erected ahead of the protest appeared to give way as the mob lifted it off the ground. Some protesters tried to climb over the fence, according to video of the incident.

Protesters threw water bottles and sticks at Secret Service agents, who kept them from entering the White House grounds.

“There were instances of illegal and destructive behavior in Lafayette Park, including items being thrown at our officers,” District of Columbia Police Chief Pamela A. Smith said in a statement.

Earlier, protesters chanted, “1, 2, 3, 4, occupation no more, 5, 6, 7, 8, Israel is a terrorist state,” and “Biden, Biden you’re a liar, we demand a ceasefire.”

Thousands participated in the protest “from as far [away] as Florida, Minnesota, Texas and Wisconsin,” in what was termed “the March on Washington for Gaza,” according to the London-based The Guardian.

It was organized by the American Muslim Task Force for Palestine and other groups to call attention to what they claimed were Israel’s “crimes against humanity,” the paper reported.

JNS

Day 100 — Sunday, January 14

Israel will pursue its war against Hamas until victory and will not be stopped by anyone, including the world court, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a defiant speech Saturday, as the [Israel-Gaza War] approached the 100-day mark.

Netanyahu spoke after the International Court of Justice at The Hague held two days of hearings on South Africa’s allegations that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians, a charge Israel has rejected as libelous and hypocritical. South Africa asked the court to order Israel to halt its blistering air and ground offensive in an interim step.

“No one will stop us, not The Hague, not the axis of evil and not anyone else,” Netanyahu said in televised remarks Saturday evening, referring to Iran and its allied militias.

The case before the world court is expected to go on for years, but a ruling on interim steps could come within weeks. Court rulings are binding but difficult to enforce. Netanyahu made clear that Israel would ignore orders to halt the fighting, potentially deepening its isolation.

Israel argues that ending the war means victory for Hamas, the Islamic terrorist group that has ruled Gaza since 2007 and is bent on Israel’s destruction.

The war was triggered by a deadly Oct. 7 attack in which Hamas and other terrorists killed some 1,200 people in Israel, mostly civilians. About 250 more were taken hostage, and while some have been released or confirmed dead, more than half are believed to still be in captivity. Sunday marks 100 days of fighting.

Fears of a wider conflagration have been palpable since the start of the war. New fronts quickly opened, with Iran-backed groups – Houthi rebels in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria – carrying out a range of attacks. From the start, the US increased its military presence in the region to deter an escalation.

Following a Houthi campaign of drone and missile attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea, the US and Britain launched multiple airstrikes against the rebels Friday, and the US hit another site Saturday.

In more fallout from the war, the world court this week heard arguments on South Africa’s complaint against Israel. South Africa cited the soaring death toll and hardships among Gaza civilians, along with inflammatory comments from Israeli leaders presented, as proof of what it called genocidal intent.

In counter arguments Friday, Israel asked for the case to be dismissed as meritless. Israel’s defense argued that the country has the right to fight back against a ruthless enemy, that South Africa had barely mentioned Hamas, and that it ignored what Israel considers attempts to mitigate civilian harm.

Israel Hayom

Day 99 — Saturday, January 13

Israeli soldiers shot dead four suspects who had infiltrated into Israel from Lebanon overnight, the IDF says in a statement.

The “terror squad” was spotted by Israeli troops conducting a patrol of the northern border near Mount Dov, the army says.

An exchange of fire took place during which artillery was also launched at the suspects to assist the Israeli troops on site, according to the IDF.

Times Of Israel

Day 99 — Saturday, January 13

Houthi leaders warned Friday that the US and UK will pay a “heavy price” for striking more than two dozen targets in Yemen – as President Biden threatened to continue the bombardment.

“America and Britain will undoubtedly have to prepare to pay a heavy price and bear all the dire consequences of this blatant aggression,” Senior Houthi official Hussein al-Ezzi wrote on X.

The US-led strikes Thursday involved more than 150 precision-guided munitions and hit 28 locations, officials said.

The retaliatory strikes came after the Iran-backed rebels began firing on shipping vessels in the Red Sea, a critical shipping lane, last year. It is the first time the US has deployed strikes against the Houthis in Yemen since 2016.

The attack killed five of the group’s fighters and wounded six, according to Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree.

“The American and British enemy bears full responsibility for its criminal aggression against our Yemeni people, and it will not go unanswered and unpunished,” he warned in a recorded address Friday.

Iranian officials also released a statement saying the attacks “are a clear violation of Yemen’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and a breach of international laws.

“These attacks will only contribute to insecurity and instability in the region,” Tehran threatened.

Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the chief negotiator and spokesman for the Iran-backed group, said the strikes wouldn’t stop Yemen from “supporting Palestine and Gaza” and they would continue to target “Israeli ships or those heading to the ports of occupied Palestine.”

But for the past few weeks, the extremist group has targeted ships that have little to no connection to Israel.

Their activities have ground commerce in the region to a halt and led some of the world’s largest shipping companies to cease operations in the Red Sea, through which about 12% of the world’s trade passes.

President Biden, meanwhile, vowed Friday that the US and its allies would continue to strike the Tehran proxies if they didn’t back down.

“We will make sure that we respond to the Houthis if they continue this outrageous behavior along with our allies,” Biden told reporters during a stop in Emmaus, Pennsylvania.

Asked if he believes the Houthis are a terrorist group, Biden responded, “I think they are.”

The Biden administration formally delisted the Houthis as a “foreign terrorist organization” and “specially designated global terrorists” in 2021, undoing a move by former President Donald Trump.

New York Post

Day 99 — Saturday, January 13

Brooklyn’s PS 261 is being accused of “Jewish erasure” after a map of the “Arab World” from one of its classrooms surfaced, showing all Middle Eastern countries except Israel, which is instead labeled “Palestine,” reports the Free Press.

The map is from the Arab education company Ruman, which lists a Palestinian phone number on its website.

The map is used in the school’s Arab Culture Arts program, which features teacher Rita Lahoud giving lessons to pre-k and elementary students, funded by Qatar Foundation International (QFI).

QFI is the U.S. branch of the Qatar Foundation, a state-led nonprofit that the previous emir, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, founded.

QFI has given more than $1 million to the NYC Department of Education (DOE) since 2019, public records cited by the Daily Mail show.

The foundation donated about $241,000 in 2019 and 2020, $275,000 in 2021, and $513,000 in 2022, with 2023 records not yet been made public.

Since making headlines, Lahoud’s LinkedIn and QFI website profile pages have been taken down.

Tova Plaut, an NYC public elementary school instructional coordinator, said she found the map “concerning.”

“It’s not just that we’re experiencing Jewish hate in NYC public schools, we’re actually experiencing Jewish erasure,” Plaut told the Free Press. “And here is proof of that.”

“What it does is it creates this inner instinctive knowledge that they internalize that this land belongs to the Arab world; that it does not belong to anyone else,” she added. “When you embed something when children are young it becomes a belief. And belief is much harder to change than knowledge.”

PS 261’s principal deferred questions to the DOE, which responded in an interesting manner to the outlet’s questions.

Upon the Free Press emailing the DOE to ask if the map remains in the classroom after the October 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel, a spokesperson wrote back, “Why would it not be?”

DOE spokesman Nathaniel Styer added in his response that “this is a map of countries that speak Arabic.”

Pictures of the map in the Brooklyn classroom first emerged on X in April, when QFI posted a photo alongside the caption, “We love seeing Arabic classroom decorations! Here are some from the Arab Culture Arts classroom at PS 261, a QFI-supported program in New York.”

That post has since been taken down by QFI as well.

Breitbart

Day 105 — Friday, January 19

The rift between Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu deepened on Thursday as the Israeli Prime Minister accused the US of trying to ‘coerce’ Israel.

In an interview on national TV, Netanyahu rejected US calls to scale back Israel´s military offensive in the Gaza Strip and take steps toward the establishment of a Palestinian state after the war.

Netanyahu accused the US of trying to ‘coerce’ Israel into a situation which would ‘endanger’ the country and said ‘we will not settle for anything short of an absolute victory’.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby immediately responded, saying: ‘We obviously see it differently.’

Netanyahu spoke just a day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israel would never have ‘genuine security’ without a pathway toward Palestinian independence.

Earlier this week, the White House also announced that it was the ‘right time’ for Israel to lower the intensity of its devastating military offensive in Gaza.

But in a nationally televised news conference, Netanyahu struck a defiant tone, repeatedly saying that Israel would not halt its offensive until it realizes its goals of destroying Gaza’s Hamas militant group and bringing home all remaining hostages held by Hamas.

Netanyahu repeated his longstanding opposition to a two-state solution. He said a Palestinian state would become a launching pad for attacks on Israel.

He said Israel “must have security control over the entire territory west of the Jordan River,” adding: “That collides with the idea of sovereignty. What can we do?”

“This truth I tell to our American friends, and I put the brakes on the attempt to coerce us to a reality that would endanger the state of Israel,” he said.

Daily Mail

Day 105 — Friday, January 19

Shalom from Israel! Even as I hear the rumble of jets echoing in the skies above me, I am still taken aback at the beauty of the land that surrounds me. The Jezreel Valley, which spreads for miles below my house, is lush and fruitful. The green bounty of the crops is only broken up here and there by the rich brown of the soil being turned by farmers in their tractors. It is idyllic and puts me in the mind of that apt description of this land as being one flowing with milk and honey.

Yet, despite the miraculous fertility of modern Israel, there is still a pall of sorrow that hangs over its people. This past weekend marked 100 days since Hamas terrorists poured over the Gaza border and began torturing, raping, kidnapping, murdering, and mutilating every Israeli that they could find. Even today, there are still 132 hostages that remain in captivity enduring the brutality of these savages. Imagine being one of these innocents, just ordinary civilians, having been snatched from your home, forced to watch your loved ones slaughtered, then abused at the hands of your captor’s day-after-day for 100 days. It’s so horrific that I can’t let my mind go too deep into their experience. It’s too dark. It’s too evil.

For these past months, I have necessarily been immersed into what has been taking place in my country – the prosecution of the war, the return of the hostages, the terrorist raids. Yet, even with that primary focus, I haven’t lost sight of what’s happening in the rest of the world. So many locations beyond just Israel are either at war or close to erupting. There are those who say that we are on the verge of another world war. Just three days ago, British foreign secretary Grant Shapps said in a speech that the “era of the peace dividend is over” and that we are now in a “pre-war” period that could eventually lead to conflicts involving Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea. I agree with much of what he is saying. However, after taking stock of our global situation, I believe that a strong case can be made that we are already in a world war.

Day 104 — Thursday, January 18

[Warning: This article includes graphic content] — A terrorist from the Gaza Strip decapitated an IDF soldier killed in fighting on October 7 and later tried to sell his head for $10,000, the soldier’s bereaved father revealed, adding that “by a miracle” it was eventually found by the army and returned to Israel for burial.

David Tahar revealed the mutilation of his son Cpl. Adir Tahar, 19, in an interview with Channel 14 on Wednesday.

Adir, stationed on a base near the Gaza border, was killed with other members of his Golani Brigade unit as they fought back against Hamas terrorists on October 7 during the terror group’s devastating assault on Israel that killed over 1,200 people.

David described his son as a “smart boy, talented and very modest.” On October 7, as some 3,000 Hamas-led terrorists burst into southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, Adir was among a group of 18 soldiers who went out to face what they knew were hundreds of terrorists, David said.

Adir was killed by a rocket-propelled grenade and three more grenades that were thrown at him.

The terrorists then cut off his son’s head and took it to Gaza, David said. Adir’s body was identified from his identity tags, DNA testing, and personal items in his pockets.

David discovered the mutilation minutes before Adir was due to be buried. The soldier’s remains were brought for interment at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem. David said he insisted he wanted to see his son’s body though IDF officials warned him it would be better if he didn’t look.

“A father needs to know everything about his children,” he explained to Channel 14.

Half an hour before the burial ceremony, when just he and his nephew were alone with the coffin, David opened it to look at his son.

“I understood exactly what I was burying,” David said. “I knew I was burying a boy without the essential part.”

David said that for two months he tried everything he could to find out where his son’s head was.

“It wasn’t easy, it wasn’t simple,” he said and recalled watching dozens of hours of videos from the Hamas massacres that were posted to social media. Eventually, he found a video showing his son’s body without his head.

Then, in December “a miracle” happened, he said.

Two terrorists who were captured by Israeli forces and interrogated by the Shin Bet security service revealed that one of them had tried to sell an IDF soldier’s head for $10,000 and gave details on where it could be found.

“That is just insane barbarism,” David said.

Orders were given for an elite unit, backed up by tanks, to enter a central Gaza location where they found the head in a bag inside a freezer in an ice cream store.

The severed head had also apparently been further abused, David said.

It was returned to Israel. DNA and dental records showed that it was Adir’s head and it was later buried.

Despite the terrible circumstances, David said it gave him peace of mind that Adir’s head was returned.

The Tahar family, from the Gilo neighborhood in Jerusalem, is now working to establish a neighborhood support center for endangered youth in honor of Adir. There is also a Torah scroll being written in his memory.

The revelation about Tahar’s mutilation came as CNN aired footage from October 7 that it said showed a terrorist “sawing at the necks of dead Israelis, evidence of beheadings.”

The US network said an unnamed Israeli source provided the CCTV footage from Kibbutz Nir Oz, which is censored and edited to highlight the use of the knife.

The revelation about the abuse of Adir Tahar’s body and the CNN video add to mounting evidence of the widespread atrocities committed on October  7.

Israel has repeatedly said that the atrocities committed by Hamas show that it is a terror group on par with Islamic State and must be eradicated.

Times Of Israel

Day 104 — Thursday, January 18

Bible prophecy is all about Jesus, yet it revolves around Israel from start to finish. Although God first promised to send a Redeemer while Adam and Eve were still in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15), He subsequently narrowed this prophetic focus to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and then specifically to the lineage of King David.

Why did the Lord choose the sons of Jacob, whom He renamed Israel? Romans 9 reveals that His choice happened as the result of His sovereignty. It was solely His choice in the matter. Jacob had more of a heart for God than his wicked brother, however, starting with the call of Abram, every choice flowed from His divine purposes rather than from the character of the one He chose.

One huge downside exists for God’s chosen people: Satan has never let up in attempting to thwart the Lord’s redemptive purposes for selecting Israel. His attacks on God’s chosen race have been murderous, extreme, relentless, and continue to this very moment.

The book of Esther provides a prime example of the devil seeking to stop the birth of the Messiah. He later inspired Herod to kill all the babies in Bethlehem in order to stop God’s plan. From 1 Corinthians 2:6-7, we learn that even Jesus’ crucifixion was intended to thwart God’s plan, but it backfired big time for Satan and his minions.

God’s Word says that Jesus will return to a repentant Israel and someday He will enter Jerusalem as the Jewish people shout with glee, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” (Zechariah 12:10-13:1; Matthew 23:37-39). In order to stop Jesus’ words in Matthew 23 from coming to fruition, Satan has greatly intensified the world’s hostility and hatred toward the Jewish people since Israel became a nation in 1948.

The October 7, 2023, a barbaric attack on Israel came from the pit of hell and Satan’s determination to stop the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. The turning of world opinion against Israel comes from the same motive.

In light of such great suffering over the millennia, is it not only right and just that the Lord would give Israel a glorious kingdom? His people have greatly suffered solely because God chose them to fulfill His redemptive plans through them. In the end, Israel will experience the wonders of a restored kingdom far more glorious than anything even seen in human history.

Day 104 — Thursday, January 18

The Biden administration is trying to lay the groundwork for the establishment of a Palestinian state with Israeli leaders and representatives of civil society, expecting a future post-Netanyahu government: “He will not remain there forever.”

According to NBC, Secretary of State Antony Blinken is increasing pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the future of the Gaza Strip, revealing growing frustration within the Biden administration regarding differences with Netanyahu on the issue.

“We have today a profound regional opportunity in the Middle East that we did not have in the past,” said Blinken during an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “The challenge is to realize it.” 

When asked if Netanyahu is the right prime minister to seize this opportunity, Blinken responded that “these are decisions that Israelis need to make” and added, “We are at a turning point.”

Blinken’s comments come just a week after his visit to the Middle East in an attempt to build consensus between Israel and Arab leaders on the post-war plan with Hamas in Gaza. According to senior officials, the gaps between the Biden administration and Netanyahu on the war, as well as the Israeli Prime Minister’s refusal to consider US proposals for Gaza after the war, have deepened since Blinken’s visit to Israel about a week ago.

The Saudi Crown Prince offered to normalize relations with Israel as part of a Gaza reconstruction deal – a diplomatic breakthrough that Netanyahu has sought for a long time, but only on the condition that Palestinians are given a prospect for their own state.

However, Netanyahu rejected the proposal for the establishment of a Palestinian state. Now, three senior Americans have conveyed that the Biden administration is looking beyond Netanyahu to try and achieve US goals in the region. They told NBC that “Netanyahu will not be there forever.”

Blinken told the Israeli leader that there was no military solution to Hamas at the end of the day and that the Prime Minister needed to acknowledge this or history would repeat itself, and violence would persist, but Netanyahu refused to relent.

The senior officials noted that the Biden administration is trying to lay the groundwork with other Israeli leaders and representatives of civil society in anticipation of a future post-Netanyahu government. In an attempt to bypass Netanyahu, Blinken also separately met with members of the diplomatic security cabinet and other Israeli leaders, including opposition leader Yair Lapid, during his visit to the Middle East.

HD Editor’s Note: 

In September of 2022, then Interim Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, in a speech to the United Nations, declared his support for a two-state solution. He insisted that a “large majority of Israelis” agree despite polls showing overwhelming opposition by the country’s population. Lapid not only advocated that his own country be divided but also took a decidedly nonchalant attitude toward nations that question Israeli sovereignty.

The Bible sends a stark and prophetic warning against nations and people that seek to divide the nation of Israel and, specifically, its capital Jerusalem. 

Zechariah 12:3 states: “And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.”

A two-state solution advocates for the dividing of Jerusalem, with the east portion of the city being given to the Palestinians for their state capital.

Jerusalem Post

Day 104 — Thursday, January 18

A commander in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror organization, Basel Mahadi, who was captured by Israeli forces in late December, recently admitted during an interrogation that he had traveled to Iran to receive military training.

“My commander called me and said that I should go to Iran for a sniper course, I will benefit from it and my salary will increase when I return,” Mahadi told the Shin Bet security official interrogator in Arabic.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) organization is a Hamas ally in Gaza that is fully backed by the Islamist regime in Tehran. Mahadi was one of hundreds of terrorists in Gaza who received extensive military training in Iran before the Oct. 7 massacres, the Wall Street Journal reported in October.

The PIJ unit commander revealed that he traveled via Egypt, Syria and Lebanon before arriving in Iran for training.

“I went from the Gaza Strip to Egypt where I stayed for about two weeks; from there I went to Syria for a few days and then to Lebanon. After two weeks, we went from Syria to Iran,” Mahadi revealed, adding that he received about $1,000 to cover his expenditures.

“In Iran, the course was 15 days. It had physical fitness training and shooting training on different types of weapons,” the former PIJ commander added.

Israel has accused the Iranian regime of being behind the Hamas-led Oct. 7 invasion of southern Israel’s border communities, when terrorists massacred more than 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians.

In addition, Hamas and PIJ terrorist operatives kidnapped about 240 hostages into the Gaza Strip, with about 136 captives remaining, with at least 25 of whom are already dead.

In October, IDF senior spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Daniel Hagari confirmed that Iran’s extensive support of terror organizations continues amid the ongoing war with Hamas and PIJ.

“Before the war, Iran directly assisted Hamas with money, training and weapons and technological know-how,” Hagari said. “Even now, Iran is helping Hamas with intelligence,” he added.

all israel news

Day 103 — Wednesday, January 17

On Wednesday, the Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi, visited a reservists exercise in northern Israel, together with the Commanding Officer of the Northern Command, MG Ori Gordin, the Commanding Officer of the Training Command, MG David Zini and additional commanders.

The exercise is part of a series of training exercises currently taking place in northern Israel led by the Ground Forces Training Center.

Halevi stated: “Training has always been a very important thing, I think it is much more important now. We are in a time of increasing readiness for fighting in Lebanon. We have a lot of lessons from the fighting in Gaza, many of which are very relevant to fighting in Lebanon, and there are some that must be adapted. We want to reach a very clear goal in Lebanon – this is to return the residents to the north, all of the communities in the north. We understand that this must come through a very significant change.”

“I don’t know when the war in the north is, I can tell you that the likelihood of it happening in the coming months is much higher than it was in the past, I can tell you that I think we are starting it with many more advantages: victory, our self-confidence, their confidence is decreasing, a lot of experience, capabilities, surprises to produce, progress made. What remains is to train seriously, a strong spirit of the people, and when we will need to, we will go forward at full strength.”

arutz sheva

Day 103 — Wednesday, January 17

As the Israel Defense Forces battles Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the country’s Judea, Samaria and Jordan Valley regions are experiencing a parallel rise in terror incidents, according to data published by Rescuers Without Borders (Hatzalah Judea and Samaria) on Tuesday.

Between Oct. 7 and Jan. 15, Rescuers Without Borders first responders recorded more than 2,600 attacks targeting Israeli civilians and soldiers, including 760 cases of rock-throwing, 551 fire bombings, 12 attempted or successful stabbings and nine vehicular assaults.

Among the report’s findings was a sharp increase in the number of shootings, with 127 instances of gunfire reported over the past three months. By comparison, in all of 2022, Hatzalah recorded just under 100 shooting attacks.

The organization’s figures do not include the hundreds of violent attacks on security personnel occurring during counterterrorism operations in villages under the control of the Palestinian Authority.

Palestinian terrorists in Judea and Samaria have killed five Israelis and wounded many others since Oct. 7, according to Hatzalah.

Rescuers Without Borders was founded in 2000, at the beginning of the Second Intifada, with the goal of establishing a civilian emergency response infrastructure in remote parts of Judea and Samaria.

Last month, the IDF carried out a drill simulating an Oct. 7-style attack on Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, according to Hebrew reports.

The exercise was one of various scenarios the military is preparing for in Judea and Samaria following the invasion of southern Israel by Hamas terrorists from the Gaza Strip, in which 1,200 people were murdered, thousands more wounded and 240 kidnapped.

Meanwhile, in recent weeks, the IDF has been investigating possible infiltration tunnels Israeli forces discovered near Jewish communities in the Hebron Hills in Judea and Shiloh in Samaria’s Binyamin region.

Since Hamas launched its war against Israel, residents of the Binyamin region have reported an accumulation of artificial hills between Shiloh and Ofra, in a possible sign of heavy digging by Palestinians in the area.

The IDF has also been looking into complaints by residents of Bat Hefer, a village east of Netanya, of tunneling sounds coming from the direction of P.A.-controlled areas. Residents have reported heard tunneling originating from Shuweika, a satellite village of Tulkarm.

JNS

Day 102 — Tuesday, January 16

More than 50 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel on Tuesday morning — marking the country’s largest barrage in weeks.

The onslaught resulted in at least one impact in the city of Netivot, the Times of Israel reported.

The blast, for which Hamas later claimed responsibility, reduced the front of what appeared to be a storefront to rubble, a photo provided by the Fire and Rescue Services showed.

Another rocket appeared to have struck a warehouse in the nearby community of Givolim, the outlet added.

There were no reported injuries, but video footage from Netivot showed a rocket narrowly missing a group of people in an open area.

The barrage appeared to have been fired from central Gaza, the Times of Israel said.

Meanwhile, Palestinians reported that Israeli tanks were re-entering parts of northern Gaza that they pulled out of last week, the outlet added.

Footage from the Netivot area shows a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip narrowly missing a group of Israelis working outside the southern city, as more than 20 projectiles are intercepted by the Iron Dome over the area. Hamas has claimed responsibility for the barrage pic.twitter.com/BJWXSSNOdI

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) January 16, 2024

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had previously announced its transition to smaller operations in northern Gaza, after claiming to have defeated Hamas’ hold on the area, the outlet explained.

Troops in northern Gaza located about 100 rocket launchers during cleanup procedures in Beit Lahiya, the military announced Tuesday.

New York Post

Day 102 — Tuesday, January 16

The U.S. military launched a new round of airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen this week as the Iranian-backed terrorist group continues to direct attacks on merchant ships and U.S. forces in the Red Sea.

U.S. Central Command said that the Houthis fired another anti-ship ballistic missile at international shipping lanes and struck M/V Zografia, a Maltese flagged bulk carrier. The vessel was struck but was still seaworthy, CENTCOM said.

“Earlier in the day at approximately, 4:15 a.m. (Sanaa time), U.S. Forces struck and destroyed four Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles prepared to launch from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen,” the statement added.

CENTCOM announced early in the day that it had seized a ship sailing near the coast of Somalia in international waters on January 11 that was conducting illegal transport of advanced lethal aid from Iran to resupply the Houthi terrorists.

“U.S. Navy SEALs operating from USS Lewis B Puller, supported by helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), executed a complex boarding of the dhow near the coast of Somalia in international waters of the Arabian Sea, seizing Iranian-made ballistic missile and cruise missiles components,” USCENTCOM reported. “Seized items include propulsion, guidance, and warheads for Houthi medium range ballistic missiles (MRBMs) and anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCMs), as well as air defense associated components. Initial analysis indicates these same weapons have been employed by the Houthis to threaten and attack innocent mariners on international merchant ships transiting in the Red Sea.”

“The direct or indirect supply, sale, or transfer of weapons to the Houthis in Yemen violates U.N. Security Resolution 2216 and international law,” USCENTCOM added, noting that “two U.S. Navy SEALs previously reported as lost at sea were directly involved in this operation.”

“We are conducting an exhaustive search for our missing teammates,” General Michael Erik Kurilla, USCENTCOM Commander, stated.

Daily Wire

Day 102 — Tuesday, January 16

Hamas issued a new video on Monday in which it forced an Israeli hostage, Noa Argamani, announced the death of two other hostages who had appeared in another video with Argamani the day before.

The video apparently took the form of a guessing game, in which viewers were asked to guess which of the hostages survived.

Evil monsters.

Hamas published a video asking people to guess the condition of three Israeli hostages including Noa Argamani whose mother is dying of cancer.

To them, the fate of the hostages is a sick game.

𝐖𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞… pic.twitter.com/2MjQiU2z6g

— Israel ישראל 🇮🇱 (@Israel) January 15, 2024

Hamas claims that the two were killed in an Israeli airstrike and that Argamani was also wounded, but survived.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would not confirm those claims. However, IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a statement on Monday evening (translation via IDF):

Over the last day, Hamas has published videos about hostages, cruelly exploiting innocent people being held hostage. This evening, I would like to provide an update on the information available to us about these events, after we notified the families.

Itai, Noa, and another hostage whose family asked not to say his name, were kidnapped to Gaza in a criminal and violent manner by the Hamas terror organization on October 7th.

Itai Svirsky, 38, had gone to his parents’ home in Kibbutz Be’eri to celebrate the festival of Simchat Torah. His parents were murdered by Hamas terrorists, and he was abducted.

Noa Argamani, 26, was abducted from the “Nova” party along with her partner, Avinatan. The image of Noa, on a motorcycle, surrounded by terrorists and crying out for help, strikes the heart of every person in the country and the world.

While we have received a sign of life from Noa, I refer to the description that emerges from the video regarding the fate of Itai and the additional captive:

Itai was not shot by our forces – this is a Hamas lie. The building where they were being held was not a target, and it was not struck by our forces.

We did not know their real-time location; we do not strike in places where we know there may be hostages. In hindsight, we know we struck targets near to the location where they were being held. We are investigating the event and its circumstances, examining the images distributed by Hamas, alongside additional information at our disposal.

Nevertheless, I wish to update that in recent days, IDF representatives met with the families of Itai and the additional captive and expressed grave concern for their fate, due to information available to us.

Even during these difficult hours, we are in constant contact with the families, updating them with the details we know about their loved ones. We will continue to update them with every piece of verified information we have before then notifying the public.

Hamas tries to sow fear by exploiting the fact that Israeli society sanctifies the lives of its people.

Yes, Israeli society sanctifies the lives of its people. This is our strength – our concern for our citizens and our determination to return the hostages. We are operating using every means to bring them back home and to prevent harm to them. This is our compass on the battlefield – our moral obligation.

As Breitbart News noted on Sunday, Argamani is one of the most well-known of the roughly 130 remaining hostages in Gaza.

She was abducted from the Supernova music festival, and her mother, who is dying of brain cancer, has pleaded for her release.

breitbart

Day 102 — Tuesday, January 16

In a rare announcement, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that it launched ballistic missiles targeting what it referred to as a “spy headquarters” and a “gathering of anti-Iran terrorist groups” in Iraqi Kurdistan.

The announcement on Monday evening followed a series of explosions that rocked several areas in the region.

The strikes led to the suspension of air traffic at the Erbil airport, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. The exact nature of the targets remains unconfirmed at this time.

Iran’s revolutionary guards said that they targeted “espionage centers and gatherings of anti-Iranian terrorist groups” in Erbil, as reported by Iranian state media on Monday. The Erbil airport, which houses international forces, including those from the United States, witnessed explosions that prompted the suspension of air traffic.

Furthermore, reports indicate that defense systems above Erbil airport successfully neutralized an armed drone launched by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an alliance of Iran-aligned Iraqi militias. This drone was reportedly targeting U.S. facilities. The counter-terrorism service in Iraqi Kurdistan confirmed the thwarted attack, but there is no official information on potential casualties or damage to infrastructure.

Iran’s revolutionary guards said that they targeted “espionage centers and gatherings of anti-Iranian terrorist groups” in Erbil, as reported by Iranian state media on Monday. The Erbil airport, which houses international forces, including those from the United States, witnessed explosions that prompted the suspension of air traffic.

Furthermore, reports indicate that defense systems above Erbil airport successfully neutralized an armed drone launched by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an alliance of Iran-aligned Iraqi militias. This drone was reportedly targeting U.S. facilities. The counter-terrorism service in Iraqi Kurdistan confirmed the thwarted attack, but there is no official information on potential casualties or damage to infrastructure.

i24 News

Day 101 — Monday, January 15

Hamas claimed responsibility for the combined ramming and stabbing attacks in Ra’anana on Monday afternoon, which left over a dozen people wounded and one person dead.

A terrorist stabbed a woman while another terrorist stole a car and proceeded to carry out ramming attacks in several locations, Israel Police confirmed. The terrorist swapped vehicles three times after crashing, the police stated. The terrorists were Muhammad Zaidat, 44, and Ahmed Zaidat, 24, both from Hebron and were later arrested. 

Two people were slightly injured after being run over on Haroshet Street, where a 66-year-old man was also seriously stabbed.

An additional fifteen people were injured to varying degrees, including a 34-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy in serious condition with head injuries, as a result of the ramming on Ahuza Street, the main street of the city. France’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that two of the wounded parties hold French citizenship.

The director of the emergency medicine department at the Schneider Pediatric Center, Dr. Ron Brunett, said that seven children were brought in for treatment. Six of the children are aged between 10-16 and are in mild condition.

An eyewitness told Maariv that the road was “unusually quiet,” and that’s when he heard two cars crashing into each other. “I was sure that it was a car accident,” Eden Alfi said. “Another person was with me, noticed the situation and shouted ‘an attack, an attack’. After that, I saw the terrorist. I saw him stabbing a man around 60 years old. The man fell and the terrorist ran away.”

Three of the victims overall are in serious condition, seven are in moderate condition, and five are lightly injured. The injured were taken to Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba and Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva.Viola Hachmon, a paramedic for Magen David Adom (MDA) who provided first aid on Ahuza Street, told The Jerusalem Post, “This is a very difficult event with many injured. To my knowledge, everyone has already been evacuated to various hospitals, including those in critical condition.”

MDA paramedic Eli Raymond, who arrived at one of the scenes, said, “We arrived at the scene with large forces and began performing an initial triage and providing medical treatment to about eight wounded people with different degrees of injury.””Nothing justifies terrorism,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday evening. “Among the wounded are two young Frenchman. The French consulate in Tel Aviv mobilized to help French citizens in Ra’anana. France wishes a speedy recovery for the wounded – and assures Israel of its solidarity.”

“Following an unusual incident currently in Ra’anana, police forces are on the scene, and the circumstances of the incident are being investigated,” Israel Police said in a statement. “The public is asked to be vigilant and obey the police officer’s instructions.” “Initially, it was unclear whether this was a terrorist attack or a vehicular incident,” Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai said in a statement in Ra’anana on Monday. “However, following swift action by the Kfar Saba police, we understood that there were two terrorists involved and two separate scenes.

“Once we grasped the magnitude of the incident, we deployed forces immediately. Ultimately, thanks to determined action, a very quick pursuit, and the lockdown of the areas, we managed to apprehend the second terrorist. Both terrorists are residents of Hebron, family members who entered the area illegally.”

Schools in the area were placed on lockdown, and parents were told not to take their children outside their homes, the mayor’s office announced after the attacks.

The 70-year-old woman who was badly wounded during the attack has died, according to Israeli media.

Jerusalem Post

Day 101 — Monday, January 15

Several Hamas officials who were living in Lebanon have fled to neighboring countries and other allies after Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri was killed in an alleged Israeli strike, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

Following the killing of al-Arouri in Beirut on January 2, some Hamas officials relocated to Turkey and Syria, the report states, while the terror group’s spokesman Ghazi Hamad has been in Cairo, Egypt since al-Arouri’s death and has supposedly not made any plans to return to Lebanon.

The explosion that killed al-Arouri has been widely attributed to Israel, while Israeli officials have declined to comment.

In addition to al-Arouri, six others were killed in the blast, including Hamas officials Mahmoud Shaheen, Muhammad Bashasha, Muhammad al-Rayes and Ahmed Hammoud.

times of israel

Day 101 — Monday, January 15

To cries of “Break it down,” anti-Israel protesters surged against a reinforced fence outside the White House on Saturday evening. The Secret Service evacuated nonessential personnel for their safety as the crowd grew more violent.

The anti-scale fencing erected ahead of the protest appeared to give way as the mob lifted it off the ground. Some protesters tried to climb over the fence, according to video of the incident.

Protesters threw water bottles and sticks at Secret Service agents, who kept them from entering the White House grounds.

“There were instances of illegal and destructive behavior in Lafayette Park, including items being thrown at our officers,” District of Columbia Police Chief Pamela A. Smith said in a statement.

Earlier, protesters chanted, “1, 2, 3, 4, occupation no more, 5, 6, 7, 8, Israel is a terrorist state,” and “Biden, Biden you’re a liar, we demand a ceasefire.”

Thousands participated in the protest “from as far [away] as Florida, Minnesota, Texas and Wisconsin,” in what was termed “the March on Washington for Gaza,” according to the London-based The Guardian.

It was organized by the American Muslim Task Force for Palestine and other groups to call attention to what they claimed were Israel’s “crimes against humanity,” the paper reported.

JNS

Day 100 — Sunday, January 14

Israel will pursue its war against Hamas until victory and will not be stopped by anyone, including the world court, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a defiant speech Saturday, as the [Israel-Gaza War] approached the 100-day mark.

Netanyahu spoke after the International Court of Justice at The Hague held two days of hearings on South Africa’s allegations that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians, a charge Israel has rejected as libelous and hypocritical. South Africa asked the court to order Israel to halt its blistering air and ground offensive in an interim step.

“No one will stop us, not The Hague, not the axis of evil and not anyone else,” Netanyahu said in televised remarks Saturday evening, referring to Iran and its allied militias.

The case before the world court is expected to go on for years, but a ruling on interim steps could come within weeks. Court rulings are binding but difficult to enforce. Netanyahu made clear that Israel would ignore orders to halt the fighting, potentially deepening its isolation.

Israel argues that ending the war means victory for Hamas, the Islamic terrorist group that has ruled Gaza since 2007 and is bent on Israel’s destruction.

The war was triggered by a deadly Oct. 7 attack in which Hamas and other terrorists killed some 1,200 people in Israel, mostly civilians. About 250 more were taken hostage, and while some have been released or confirmed dead, more than half are believed to still be in captivity. Sunday marks 100 days of fighting.

Fears of a wider conflagration have been palpable since the start of the war. New fronts quickly opened, with Iran-backed groups – Houthi rebels in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria – carrying out a range of attacks. From the start, the US increased its military presence in the region to deter an escalation.

Following a Houthi campaign of drone and missile attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea, the US and Britain launched multiple airstrikes against the rebels Friday, and the US hit another site Saturday.

In more fallout from the war, the world court this week heard arguments on South Africa’s complaint against Israel. South Africa cited the soaring death toll and hardships among Gaza civilians, along with inflammatory comments from Israeli leaders presented, as proof of what it called genocidal intent.

In counter arguments Friday, Israel asked for the case to be dismissed as meritless. Israel’s defense argued that the country has the right to fight back against a ruthless enemy, that South Africa had barely mentioned Hamas, and that it ignored what Israel considers attempts to mitigate civilian harm.

Israel Hayom

Day 99 — Saturday, January 13

Israeli soldiers shot dead four suspects who had infiltrated into Israel from Lebanon overnight, the IDF says in a statement.

The “terror squad” was spotted by Israeli troops conducting a patrol of the northern border near Mount Dov, the army says.

An exchange of fire took place during which artillery was also launched at the suspects to assist the Israeli troops on site, according to the IDF.

Times Of Israel

Day 99 — Saturday, January 13

Houthi leaders warned Friday that the US and UK will pay a “heavy price” for striking more than two dozen targets in Yemen – as President Biden threatened to continue the bombardment.

“America and Britain will undoubtedly have to prepare to pay a heavy price and bear all the dire consequences of this blatant aggression,” Senior Houthi official Hussein al-Ezzi wrote on X.

The US-led strikes Thursday involved more than 150 precision-guided munitions and hit 28 locations, officials said.

The retaliatory strikes came after the Iran-backed rebels began firing on shipping vessels in the Red Sea, a critical shipping lane, last year. It is the first time the US has deployed strikes against the Houthis in Yemen since 2016.

The attack killed five of the group’s fighters and wounded six, according to Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree.

“The American and British enemy bears full responsibility for its criminal aggression against our Yemeni people, and it will not go unanswered and unpunished,” he warned in a recorded address Friday.

Iranian officials also released a statement saying the attacks “are a clear violation of Yemen’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and a breach of international laws.

“These attacks will only contribute to insecurity and instability in the region,” Tehran threatened.

Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the chief negotiator and spokesman for the Iran-backed group, said the strikes wouldn’t stop Yemen from “supporting Palestine and Gaza” and they would continue to target “Israeli ships or those heading to the ports of occupied Palestine.”

But for the past few weeks, the extremist group has targeted ships that have little to no connection to Israel.

Their activities have ground commerce in the region to a halt and led some of the world’s largest shipping companies to cease operations in the Red Sea, through which about 12% of the world’s trade passes.

President Biden, meanwhile, vowed Friday that the US and its allies would continue to strike the Tehran proxies if they didn’t back down.

“We will make sure that we respond to the Houthis if they continue this outrageous behavior along with our allies,” Biden told reporters during a stop in Emmaus, Pennsylvania.

Asked if he believes the Houthis are a terrorist group, Biden responded, “I think they are.”

The Biden administration formally delisted the Houthis as a “foreign terrorist organization” and “specially designated global terrorists” in 2021, undoing a move by former President Donald Trump.

New York Post

Day 99 — Saturday, January 13

Brooklyn’s PS 261 is being accused of “Jewish erasure” after a map of the “Arab World” from one of its classrooms surfaced, showing all Middle Eastern countries except Israel, which is instead labeled “Palestine,” reports the Free Press.

The map is from the Arab education company Ruman, which lists a Palestinian phone number on its website.

The map is used in the school’s Arab Culture Arts program, which features teacher Rita Lahoud giving lessons to pre-k and elementary students, funded by Qatar Foundation International (QFI).

QFI is the U.S. branch of the Qatar Foundation, a state-led nonprofit that the previous emir, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, founded.

QFI has given more than $1 million to the NYC Department of Education (DOE) since 2019, public records cited by the Daily Mail show.

The foundation donated about $241,000 in 2019 and 2020, $275,000 in 2021, and $513,000 in 2022, with 2023 records not yet been made public.

Since making headlines, Lahoud’s LinkedIn and QFI website profile pages have been taken down.

Tova Plaut, an NYC public elementary school instructional coordinator, said she found the map “concerning.”

“It’s not just that we’re experiencing Jewish hate in NYC public schools, we’re actually experiencing Jewish erasure,” Plaut told the Free Press. “And here is proof of that.”

“What it does is it creates this inner instinctive knowledge that they internalize that this land belongs to the Arab world; that it does not belong to anyone else,” she added. “When you embed something when children are young it becomes a belief. And belief is much harder to change than knowledge.”

PS 261’s principal deferred questions to the DOE, which responded in an interesting manner to the outlet’s questions.

Upon the Free Press emailing the DOE to ask if the map remains in the classroom after the October 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel, a spokesperson wrote back, “Why would it not be?”

DOE spokesman Nathaniel Styer added in his response that “this is a map of countries that speak Arabic.”

Pictures of the map in the Brooklyn classroom first emerged on X in April, when QFI posted a photo alongside the caption, “We love seeing Arabic classroom decorations! Here are some from the Arab Culture Arts classroom at PS 261, a QFI-supported program in New York.”

That post has since been taken down by QFI as well.

Breitbart