Day 133 — Friday, February 16

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected all plans for unilateral recognition of Palestinian statehood after he spoke with US President Joe Biden for 40 minutes and after the security cabinet met.

“At the cabinet meeting, I clarified my position regarding the recent talk of imposing a Palestinian state on Israel,” Netanyahu wrote in a post on X.

“These two sentences sum up my position,” he explained.

״Israel outright rejects international dictates regarding a permanent arrangements with the Palestinians. Such an arrangement will be reached only through direct negotiations between the parties, without preconditions,” Netanyahu wrote.

“Israel will continue to oppose the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. Such recognition in the wake of the October 7 massacre would give a huge reward to unprecedented terrorism and prevent any future peace settlement,” Netanyahu stressed.

He spoke in the early hours of Friday after The Washington Post published an article the previous day about US plans with Arab allies to advance a two-state resolution to the conflict as part of a larger regional arrangement that would involve a Gaza ceasefire and Saudi normalization with Israel.

A number of European countries have also weighed unilateral Palestinian statehood recognition in light of the Israel-Hamas war.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich who is opposed to a Palestinian state had called on the security cabinet, which met Thursday night, to publicly reject any such plan. 

Jerusalem Post

Day 133 — Friday, February 16

The Israel Defense Forces say that overnight warplanes bombed a Hezbollah military building in the town of Qantara in southern Lebanon, killing “several terrorists.”

The IDF says it also hit other military infrastructure near the town.

The military and the Lebanese terror group have been trading fire across the border for the last four months since Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel in support of Hamas in Gaza following the October 7 massacre in southern Lebanon.

Times Of Israel

Day 132 — Thursday, February 15

The following is a transcript of former U.S. State Secretary Mike Pompeo’s press conference on Tuesday, lightly edited for clarity.

FORMER SECRETARY MIKE POMPEO: Good afternoon, everyone. This is sacred ground. To see the pictures of these young people reminds my wife and me, Susan, so much of our family and the families who lost loved ones here. And we pray for the souls of those lost and the families who remember them. It is also, as you walk this field, never far from my mind that not far from where we are standing there are hostages still being held. Some of them are U.S. citizens. Some of them are citizens of other places. All are people who are being held in awful conditions by barbarians. And the obligation of the world to ensure that they are returned here just as quickly as possible to their families is very much on my heart and that of my wife, Susan. 

We should all also be mindful that this is a recognition of something that I knew from my time as CIA director of the United States, and the Secretary of State, is that evil remains. And those of us who stand guard, those of us with the responsibility to provide security against this evil, have a continuous duty. That obligation didn’t end on October 7th. It continues to this day. And I pray that the world will continue to support Israel, the brave soldiers who are fighting just behind us, and permit them to do what is necessary to ensure that events like this can never happen again. It is our duty, it is our responsibility, and we take it most seriously. We pray for all the people of Israel.

And with that, I’m happy to take a handful of questions. Susan, anything that you’d like to add?

REPORTER: What is your feeling when you stand here, as you go between the pictures. What are you feeling? 

POMPEO: That’s always when everyone travels to a place where a great tragedy has taken place. I think of the American place as Gettysburg. I think of places where there were wars were fought, in places where, like New York City, where Ground Zero took place, where people’s lives were lost, who were just trying to live their lives. You know, I’ve seen, I’ve read, so much about this. To come here and be here, just remind you of this responsibility.

REPORTER: Secretary Pompeo, I know you’ve been outspoken about Iran in the past. I wanted to ask you, after what you’ve seen today, what do you think Iran’s involvement in this situation is? And has Biden’s foreign policy on Iran contributed to the rise of terrorism in this region?

POMPEO: This is not the place to have that conversation. But we should always be deeply mindful that there is power behind the forces who came across these fence lines in Gaza. And I think, too, today of the struggle still in the north with Hezbollah. We should be mindful that what happened on October 7th is a symptom of the challenge that the Islamic Republic of Iran brings.

And so I think the world needs to remember that whether it’s what’s taking place in the Red Sea today, or what’s happening – the fights that are going to occur around Rafah – that in the background is the Iranian leadership. It is Iranian training. It is Iranian money. And so, the responsibility to get this right will inevitably require lots of sustained effort against that true threat.

REPORTER: You know, people in my generation, my parents’ generation, have known that there has been support from the Democrats in America, from many officials in the United States. But I see that that’s going away. Even my sisters that are 21 years old, not even a generation less than me, there is almost no support for Israel, and they’re scared on college campuses. What do you think needs to happen in the United States to bring more support back onto Israel and stop this downward spiral?

POMPEO: Well, I’d like to remind you all that some of the things you see on CNN every day, or on some of the news, doesn’t represent the reality of America, and the America that I know, and the people that I see. And that, by the way, it’s not political. It’s not Democrat or Republican. The American people stand firmly with the nation of Israel, the vast majority of them. And maybe I’ll just stop there in this place. I don’t think anyone should ever have any illusion about the evil that took place here. And I hope that the next generation will come to take that on board in the same way that my generation and the generation before me did, as well. But you should have great confidence that the American people stand with Israel. I know that I do. I believe it with all my soul and all my heart. 

JOEL C. ROSENBERG, TBN NEWS: Mr. Secretary, would you comment on the two hostages being released? And this was an intelligence failure on the 7th. But it’s pretty dramatic, intelligence and military success yesterday.

POMPEO: It’s always great news – some of my highlights as Secretary of State was when we were able to get hostages released. For the nation of Israel, it has to be incredibly joyous, [though we’re] mindful that there still remain dozens and dozens of hostages that are being held. So, great work by the broader intelligence community in the IDF, brave soldiers and warriors, much work left to do.

REPORTER: What are your views on the planned operation in Rafah? And also President Biden’s view that Israel’s response to Hamas has been “over the top.”

POMPEO: Israel’s response to what took place on October 7th is perfectly appropriate and more importantly, necessary.

REPORTER: What has to happen after the war, when the fighting stops? What kind of a situation needs to be in place to make sure it doesn’t happen again?

POMPEO: So, for today, I’ll leave it with this – with a principle, not an outcome. The principle has to be this: It cannot be that a people would live their lives with the risk that something like what happened on October 7th could happen again. We wouldn’t permit that in the United States. We wouldn’t permit our people to have to evacuate the North, or not be able to live in their homes inside of the United States in our country. The Israeli government should not permit that threat to remain upon them either. And so whatever – however – the political solution is for governance in Gaza needs to have as the central thesis Israeli security.

REPORTER: Israel’s tunnel warfare has uncovered a lot of connection between Hamas and UNWRA. What do you say to those who say that UNRWA’s doing a great job in Gaza and should not be defunded?

POMPEO: So, I experienced this when I was CIA director. I mean, this is not news to me. I suppose the extent and scope is always just mind-boggling. UNWRA is an organization that failed to do its central mission. Too many of them were too deeply connected to Hamas. And as we did when I was a Secretary of State, our decision was that no longer could be the mechanism through which humanitarian assistance was provided to the people of Gaza. I regret that we had returned to that model. It is a failed model, and we ought not to go back in that direction. UNWRA has proven itself fundamentally incapable of doing what its task, what its mission set, was.

REPORTER: Would you talk about the surge in antisemitism around the world, the global surge – not just in the US, but in Europe

POMPEO: I’m afraid antisemitism has been with us a long time. And so, when I when I hear the “surge,” I think it may have revealed what already, sadly, may have been there. What happened on American campuses, in the leadership at some of our most prestigious universities in America, is both immoral and embarrassing. And I hope that the world collectively will do better. The fight against anti-Semitism is something that’s been going on for a long, awfully long, time. We in the United States suffer it ourselves, as well. And we need to stamp it out everywhere we find it. It is part of our obligation as well. 

SUSAN POMPEO: I just want to say, for those of us of which there are millions who are so crushed – who were so crushed – on October 7th and continue to be and continue to stand with you, we feel helpless. And it’s hard for us to know how to convey – especially to those personally affected, but to Jews everywhere – how much we care. And so, I will share with you a prayer that I’ve been saying, and I asked my Bible study friends to say also, for Israel. And the prayer goes along the lines that it is a battle between evil and good. And one of you, I think, said that, and I believe that wholeheartedly. And we must overcome as warriors, all of us in our corners of the world, we have to overcome this evil and not be afraid, be as courageous as we can be. Pray hard, and we must stamp it out. So, just know we’re praying for you.

All Israel News

Day 132 — Thursday, February 15

The U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously, 418-0, to condemn Hamas terrorists for rape and sexual violence on Oct. 7.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), a progressive member of the “Squad” who has a long history of antisemitic comments, voted “present,” as the House passed H.Res.966 on Wednesday.

“On Oct. 7, Hamas terrorists attacked Israel, mercilessly killing 1,200 people; raping, mutilating, burning and assaulting their victims to inflict physical and psychological pain, unleashing trauma that continues to plague a grieving Israel,” stated Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.), who introduced the resolution.

“The brutality was planned and calculated,” Frankel added. “Sadly, Hamas’s savagery has been met with a shrug—and even denial—from many corners of the world. Our resolution loudly and clearly condemns all rape and forms of sexual violence as weapons of war, including those acts committed by Hamas terrorists on and since Oct. 7.”

Frankel introduced the resolution, which received 200 co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle, with Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-Fla.), Kathy Manning (D-N.C.) and Jen Kiggans (R-Va.).

The resolution condemns all rape and sexual violence “as weapons of war,” including those Hamas committed on and after Oct. 7; calls on all countries to criminalize rape and sexual assault and hold both state and non-state armed groups accountable for such attacks; and tells international groups to “unequivocally condemn the barbaric murder, rape, sexual assault and kidnapping by Hamas and other terrorists on and since Oct. 7 and hold accountable all perpetrators.”

“The international community’s utter failure to adequately condemn and address Hamas’s use of sexual and gender-based violence as a weapon of war on and since Oct. 7 is not merely disappointing—it is a dereliction of duty for all who claim to stand for human rights and humanity,” stated Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee.

“The world cannot turn a blind eye to this brutality and such atrocities,” Deutch added. “The whole of Congress needs to make clear that the United States is united in demanding accountability for the perpetrators of these heinous crimes.”

JNS

Day 131 — Wednesday, February 14

During an assessment in northern Israel, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi says the IDF is preparing for war in the north, amid Hezbollah’s daily attacks from Lebanon.

“We are not finishing this without returning the residents to Metula and all the communities in the north, with a very high level of security,” Halevi says, referring to some 80,000 Israelis displaced by Hezbollah’s attacks.

“We are now focused on being ready for war in the north. If it does not end in war, it will not end with any compromise to the achievements,” he says.

“Hezbollah is not here on the fence, we will push back all its capabilities, it will be much quieter here, there will be much more stability here and then residents can return,” Halevi continues. “Will this happen tomorrow? Probably not. It will take some time.”

Times Of israel

Day 131 — Wednesday, February 14

One hundred representatives of relatives of Israeli hostages, as well as former hostages, filed a war crime complaint against the Hamas terror group at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on Wednesday.

The file includes “1,000 pages of evidence about genocide, kidnapping, crimes of sexual violence, torture and other charges,” according to the Hostage Families’ headquarters.

“We came to demand justice. On the 7th of October, we went through a second Holocaust. These human monsters are the heirs of Hitler, Eichmann and Goebbels,” the organization stated.

“They must be wiped out, and the notion of collective death which they spread must be eliminated. History will not repeat itself, we are taking our fate into our hands and demanding the justice that we are owed.”

The complaint has been prepared over four months and demands arrest warrants be issued against the Hamas leadership for the atrocities committed in southern Israel border communities on Oct. 7.

The Israeli lawsuit comes in response to the claim of genocide filed by South Africa against Israel. The International Court of Justice ordered the State of Israel to take several measures to ensure the rights of the Palestinians in Gaza but did not specifically order it to stop the fighting in the Gaza Strip.

Hundreds of people rallied outside the courthouse in The Hague on Wednesday to show their support for the hostage families. Despite rainy weather, the protesters demanded the return of all Israeli hostages, holding signs written in Hebrew, English and Dutch.

Dr. Sheli Aviv Yeni, head of the legal team, said outside the court: “Hamas’ crimes, which include genocide, kidnappings, enforced disappearances, torture and sexual violence, cannot and should remain unpunished.”

“Hamas-ISIS terrorists documented the atrocities they committed and did not distinguish between children, women and men – Jews, Bedouins, and Thais,” said Nadav Rudaif, son of Lior Rudaif who is still being held hostage.

“They kidnapped, murdered, raped, dismembered, and destroyed everything in their path, and if that wasn’t horrible enough they celebrated the massacre in the streets of Gaza and handed out candy on the blood of innocent civilians. I appeal to you again, citizens of the free and Western world – wake up!”

All Israel News

Day 131 — Wednesday, February 14

Several Israelis were hospitalized from rocket fire in northern Israel on Wednesday morning as Hezbollah ramped up its attacks on Israeli cities.

Sirens were heard in Safed, Meron, and across the Upper Western Galilee.

There were initial reports of a direct hit in Safed, and Magen David Adom (MDA) stated they were providing medical aid to seven people – four in moderate condition and three in light condition. The wounded were transferred to Ziv Medical Center in Safed. 

Mateh Asher Regional Council head Moshe Davidovitz stated, “The north this morning is under a flood of missiles.”

Two people were wounded in Kiryat Shmona on Tuesday after a direct rocket hit landed.

The head of Lebanon’s powerful armed group Hezbollah said on Tuesday that his faction’s cross-border shelling into Israel would only end when Israel’s “aggression” on the Gaza Strip stops.

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah threatened to displace more residents from northern Israel, where tens of thousands have already been evacuated from months of Hezbollah rocket fire, and said that if Israel’s military widened the war his group would do the same.

Jerusalem Post

Day 130 — Tuesday, February 13

An initiative to declare UNRWA a terrorist organization is being spearheaded by the Shurat HaDin Law Center, representing dozens of October 7 massacre victims.

Shurat HaDin’s initiative is targeted toward the Defense Ministry. The organization argues that there is a solid legal basis for such a designation. Their opinion, comprised of arguments that extend over eight pages, was submitted to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Should Gallant accept the proposal, he can exercise his authority to declare UNRWA a terrorist organization but would be subjected to Shin Bet security recommendation services.

The President of the Law Center, attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, commented, “Now it is clear to everyone that UNRWA has opened its doors to Hamas terrorists in an unprecedented way. In the guise of a humanitarian organization that perpetuates a false and dangerous historic narrative, they have themselves become a central headquarters of a terrorist organization, some of whose employees murdered innocent Jews with their own hands.”

The current initiative comes in light of the IDF’s recent revelation of the Hamas command center in the Hamas tunnels below UNRWA’s headquarters, which operates on behalf of the UN in the Gaza Strip. 

Darshan-Leitner continued, “UNRWA is no longer a humanitarian agency – its become a full-scale jihadi group. This provides all the grounds and legal evidence for the Defense Minister to declare them a terrorist organization. This designation is the necessity of the hour in order to prevent the next victims of terrorist violence and expedite the collapse of Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip.”

Shurat HaDin’s primary objective, according to its website, is to fight terrorism and safeguard Jewish rights worldwide. Based in Tel Aviv, the law center combats boycott, divestment, and sanction initiatives and challenges those who seek to delegitimize the Jewish State. 

Jerusalem Post

Day 129 — Monday, February 12

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday thanked special forces operators who freed two hostages from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip in “one of the most successful rescue operations in the history of the State of Israel.”

Fernando Simon Marman, 60, and Norberto Louis Har, 70, both kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7 while visiting Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, were rescued in an overnight operation in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah.

The Israel Defense Forces, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and Israel Police worked together to free the Israeli-Argentine nationals. The Shin Bet’s operational unit managed the operation, which was carried out by it and the Israel Police’s Yamam National Counter-Terrorism Unit.

“You worked like a well-oiled machine. You are simply the best fighters there are. I came here to tell you this and to salute you on behalf of all citizens of Israel. You are the best in the world,” Netanyahu told the fighters during a visit together with National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

“At 1.40 a.m. this morning, I saw you placing the [explosive] charge, and seconds later, I heard, ‘We have the hostages.’ You eliminated the kidnappers, the terrorists, and made your way back without injury—a successful operation, a perfect operation,” the premier said.

“I would like to tell you that the freeing of Louis and Fernando was one of the most successful rescue operations in the history of the State of Israel,” added Netanyahu.

Ben-Gvir tweeted a picture of himself alongside the forces, Netanyahu and Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai. “With the heroic Yamam fighters who carried out the heroic rescue operation of our hostages last night. You brought a lot of pride to our country,” wrote Ben-Gvir.

There are still 134 hostages remaining in Hamas custody, 32 of whom are confirmed dead and 20 of whom are feared dead. Hamas terrorists murdered some 1,200, mostly civilians and wounded thousands more during the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel.

JNS

Day 129 — Monday, February 12

The IDF’s Arabic spokesman, Avichay Adraee, revealed that the IDF had found the laptop of a Gazan journalist in a Hamas base.

According to Adraee, the laptop belonged to Muhammad Washah, a journalist for Al Jazeera. It was found several weeks ago in a Hamas base in northern Gaza.

The IDF claims that the journalist also served as a senior commander in Hamas’s antitank missile system, and moved to the research and development department of its air force at the end of 2022.

Investigation of the laptop revealed photos that connect Muhamed to Hamas’ activities.

Adraee commented: “Who knows how many other details we’ll soon discover about the presence of other terrorists dressed as journalists.”

Arutz Sheva

Day 129 — Monday, February 12

In a press conference late last week, a reporter asked President Joe Biden how he thought Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has handled the Israeli-Hamas conflict. In response, the president said, “I’m of the view, as you know, that the conduct of the response … in the Gaza Strip has been over the top.”

His remark on Thursday received immediate backlash. And yet, on Friday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre sent more mixed messages, stating that Biden has “been clear that the U.S. wants to see the Hamas terror organization defeated.” She added, “That is a shared goal that we have with Israel.” As a result, many continue to be skeptical — and confused — about where the Biden administration stands.

“I don’t think anybody could ever go ‘over the top’ in their response to Hamas after what they did in the first place on October 7th,” said Lela Gilbert, senior fellow for International Religious Freedom at Family Research Council, on “Washington Watch.” Despite Biden’s comment during the press conference, Gilbert urged people to think back to how he responded to the initial attacks several months back. “[I believe it] was quite genuine, and it appeared to be from the heart,” she said.

The atrocities committed against more than 1,200 Israelis were gruesome and have resulted in sons and daughters being deployed to unknown battle grounds and families having to uproot from their homes. Gilbert lived in Israel for over 10 years and saw smaller “wars and uproars,” but she stated that “there’s been nothing like this [attack] … since Israel became a country.” She added, “[A]ll that to say, I think Biden responded well at the beginning.” But since the beginning, Gilbert emphasized, it appears Biden has “changed his tune” as more input is given.

“If there is any part of this … that is over the top, it is Hamas,” former congressman and guest host Jody Hice argued, along with the suggestion that Israel “does not have the right to defend themselves.” But Biden’s comment shouldn’t be surprising, he added, since he has “dropped the ball in many regards [to] foreign policy.” In addition to the war in Israel, Gilbert recently highlighted how there are thousands of Nigerian Christians being slaughtered every day that Biden seemingly ignores, noting that despite the push for him to designate Nigeria as a country of particular concern (CPC), he’s done nothing.

Gilbert emphasized that “radical Islam” is the “common denominator” in both the war in Israel and the persecution in Nigeria. “And nobody really talks about that because, we don’t want to insult [anyone],” she said. “But the fact is … it’s all coming from the same source. It’s coming from radical Islamists with different names on their militias and so forth.”

Washington Stand

Day 129 — Monday, February 12

Israeli special forces overnight rescued two hostages, brothers-in-law Fernando Merman (60) and Luis Har (70), during a complex targeted operation in Rafah, southern Gaza.

The men were kidnapped from Nir Itzhak on October 7, a kibbutz on the Gaza border, along with 3 other family members. Both are said to be in a good health condition.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Health, the former hostages were transferred to Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv for medical examination and necessary treatment, including psychological support.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari gave a morning press briefing and revealed details of the operation, saying it had been prepared for a long time.

“Following an airstrike, at 1:49 a.m. (local time) the special forces broke into a building in Rafah and found Merman and Har on the second floor being guarded by armed terrorists,” Hagari said.

A firefight ensued, and Hagari said the soldiers used their bodies to shield the hostages from the gunfire.

Troops took Fernando and Luis to a safe zone where they underwent an initial medical inspection and were then transferred to Israel by helicopter. Hagari added  that the former hostages have already been “excitedly” reunited with their families.

“To the hostages in Gaza, if you can hear me, we will not waste a single opportunity to bring you home,” stated Hagari.

The IDF spokesperson also said that since October 7 security forces, including the IDF and Shin Bet, have worked “endlessly” to prepare operations of this type, and “today the conditions allowed them to bring those plans to life.” He vowed that Israel would continue to try to bring back the hostages in any way possible, including a deal.

i24 News

Day 128 — Sunday, February 11

New evidence of the cooperation between UNRWA and the Islamist terror organization Hamas came to light after the IDF discovered a tunnel shaft near a UNRWA school during its operations in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military announced on Saturday.

The tunnel shaft, near the school, led to an underground shelter that served as a valuable asset for Hamas’s military intelligence wing, according to the IDF. The route connected to the tunnel also led to a path beneath UNRWA’s central headquarters in the Gaza Strip.

According to the report, the tunnel was 700 meters long and 18 meters deep and contained several constructed side doors to various new routes. The IDF stated that the newly acquired intelligence from this operation will allow it to conduct additional raids on Hamas in the future.

Additionally, IDF soldiers discovered electric infrastructure inside the tunnels that were connected to the UNRWA headquarters building, indicating that UNRWA assets were supplying Hamas with electricity.

Following these findings, paired with prior intelligence from the Shin Bet, the IDF raided the offices of the UNRWA headquarters building.

Within the offices of the building itself, the IDF announced that it discovered guns, ammunition, grenades, and other explosives.

Shortly after the IDF’s announcement on Saturday, Commissioner-General of UNRWA Phillipe Lazzarini made a comment on X (formerly Twitter), denying any awareness of Hamas using UNRWA assets for terror purposes.

Foreign Minister Israel Katz responded to the Commissioner-General’s statement, demanding that he resign.

“The exposure of UNRWA’s Gaza headquarters’ deep involvement with Hamas, including its use for terror activities and as an access point to terror tunnels, requires immediate action.  Commissioner-General Lazzarini’s claim of unawareness is not only absurd but also an affront to common sense. His prompt resignation is imperative.”

The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) rejected Lazzarini’s claims as well, posting on X “Oh, you knew. Digging a tunnel takes longer than 4 months. We invited senior @UN officials to see, and during past meetings with you and other UN officials, we stated Hamas’s use of UNRWA’s headquarters. You chose to ignore the facts so you can later try and deny them.”

Israel’s envoy to the UN, Gilad Erdan, responded to Lazzarini on Saturday night, writing “it’s not that you didn’t know, it’s that you didn’t WANT to know. We exposed terror tunnels under UNRWA schools and supplied evidence that Hamas’ exploits UNRWA. We implored you to carry out a comprehensive search of all UNRWA facilities in Gaza. But not only did you refuse, you chose to stick your head in the sand.”

Erdan called on Lazzarini to “Take responsibility and resign today!”

“Every day we find more proof that in Gaza the UN=Hamas and vice versa. Anything the UN says or claims about Gaza cannot be trusted,” added Erdan.

Jerusalem Post

Day 128 — Sunday, February 11

The Biden administration, after urging by left-wing Democrats, issued a memorandum Thursday that will require Israel to submit a report within 45 days on its compliance with international humanitarian law in its war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

The memorandum, announced by the White House, theoretically applies to any country that receives weapons from the United States and is actively involved in armed conflict. But the White House all but admitted Friday that it was targeted at Israel.

The following exchange took place during Friday’s White House press briefing with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre (via White House transcript):

Q Thank you, Karine. Last night, soon after the President’s remarks about Israel, the administration announced a national security memo that calls for the State Department to obtain written assurances that countries that receive weapons from the U.S. will use those weapons in accordance with the law of war.

Jake Sullivan, Kirby, others have previously said that the U.S. already requires those assurances, so why did the administration feel the need to formalize that and ask for it in writing now?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look — so, this memor- — memorandum that you’re speaking of — and it merged, in part, with our discussions with members of Congress. And so, this, obviously, memo came out yesterday. And so, it’s called a national security memorandum. It outlines the standards and coun- — that countries must adhere, as you just laid it — as you just laid out.

But I also want to be clear: There are new — there are no new standards in this memo. We are not imposing new standards for military aid. That’s not what is in this memo. Instead, we are spelling out publicly the existing standards by the international law, including the law of armed conflict.

So, we are also — one thing that we are doing is creating a new annual report to Congress that members have requested. This is in request, because of interest of transparency. So, this is in line with conversations that we have with — with the congressional members, as we try to really, you know, work together in a way that — that makes sense and moves the ball forward.

But this is not new standards. This is — this is something — these are — these are — these are things that already exist — to your point — that is now in writing. And then, there — and we did create a new annual report for more transparency.

Q So, if Israel doesn’t sign off within the deadline of 45 days, because it is involved with active conflict, will the U.S. aid be cut off immediately?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, what I can tell you is that we did brief the Israelis on this. They reiterated their willingness to provide these types of assurances. So, those conversations are happening, and they — obviously, they reiterated their willingness to — for these assurances.

Left-wing Democrats, and socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), have been pushing for reports on Israel’s compliance with human rights standards as a way of trying to embarrass Israel and to stop U.S. support for Israel’s war effort against Hamas in Gaza.

When put to a vote, Sanders’s suggestion only received eleven votes in the Senate. By issuing a memorandum, President Joe Biden is essentially suggesting that congressional will be set aside and that Israel be forced to comply the demands of its critics.

The new requirement comes amid increased pressure from the Biden administration on Israel to end the war, as well as increased public criticism. It also comes as Israel faces false charges of “genocide” at the International Court of Justice at The Hague.

Breitbart

Day 127 — Saturday, February 10

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, who is currently on a visit to Washington, DC, cancelled a scheduled meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, which was scheduled for Friday, due to Guterres’ statements against Israel, Channel 12 News reported.

According to the report, Ohana made clear that he would not give Guterres legitimacy by holding the meeting. The UN Secretary-General heard about the cancellation of the meeting from the Channel 12 News report. His spokesman said in response: “Our door remains open to any delegation that would like to meet him.”

“The cancellation of the meeting did not come in a vacuum,” Ohana told Channel 12 News, in a swipe at Guterres following his past controversial comments that Hamas’ attack on Israel “did not happen in a vacuum”.

“I intended to try and convince, as well as hand him a book we prepared in the Knesset which documents October 7 with still images. But yesterday he again called on the State of Israel to stop fighting and criticize it ‘even if Hamas uses human shields’. There are lost causes and red lines. I will not legitimize Guterres,” he added.

Guterres on Thursday was pressed by Channel 12 News correspondent Yuna Leibzon about his ongoing claims that Israel is carrying out “collective punishment” in Gaza.

Asked by Leibzon what he would have done if a terrorist organization had launched a murderous attack against his people, the UN chief replied, “I think there is something wrong in the way the military operations are being conducted.”

When Leibzon pointed out that Hamas hides within civilian populations, Guterres retorted, “I have condemned the use of human shields. I even said that it is a violation of international humanitarian law, but the same international humanitarian law is clear that even when there are human shields, there is an obligation to protect civilians, so in that regard, I think we are abiding by principles without double standards.”

Arutz Sheva

Day 133 — Friday, February 16

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected all plans for unilateral recognition of Palestinian statehood after he spoke with US President Joe Biden for 40 minutes and after the security cabinet met.

“At the cabinet meeting, I clarified my position regarding the recent talk of imposing a Palestinian state on Israel,” Netanyahu wrote in a post on X.

“These two sentences sum up my position,” he explained.

״Israel outright rejects international dictates regarding a permanent arrangements with the Palestinians. Such an arrangement will be reached only through direct negotiations between the parties, without preconditions,” Netanyahu wrote.

“Israel will continue to oppose the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. Such recognition in the wake of the October 7 massacre would give a huge reward to unprecedented terrorism and prevent any future peace settlement,” Netanyahu stressed.

He spoke in the early hours of Friday after The Washington Post published an article the previous day about US plans with Arab allies to advance a two-state resolution to the conflict as part of a larger regional arrangement that would involve a Gaza ceasefire and Saudi normalization with Israel.

A number of European countries have also weighed unilateral Palestinian statehood recognition in light of the Israel-Hamas war.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich who is opposed to a Palestinian state had called on the security cabinet, which met Thursday night, to publicly reject any such plan. 

Jerusalem Post

Day 133 — Friday, February 16

The Israel Defense Forces say that overnight warplanes bombed a Hezbollah military building in the town of Qantara in southern Lebanon, killing “several terrorists.”

The IDF says it also hit other military infrastructure near the town.

The military and the Lebanese terror group have been trading fire across the border for the last four months since Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel in support of Hamas in Gaza following the October 7 massacre in southern Lebanon.

Times Of Israel

Day 132 — Thursday, February 15

The following is a transcript of former U.S. State Secretary Mike Pompeo’s press conference on Tuesday, lightly edited for clarity.

FORMER SECRETARY MIKE POMPEO: Good afternoon, everyone. This is sacred ground. To see the pictures of these young people reminds my wife and me, Susan, so much of our family and the families who lost loved ones here. And we pray for the souls of those lost and the families who remember them. It is also, as you walk this field, never far from my mind that not far from where we are standing there are hostages still being held. Some of them are U.S. citizens. Some of them are citizens of other places. All are people who are being held in awful conditions by barbarians. And the obligation of the world to ensure that they are returned here just as quickly as possible to their families is very much on my heart and that of my wife, Susan. 

We should all also be mindful that this is a recognition of something that I knew from my time as CIA director of the United States, and the Secretary of State, is that evil remains. And those of us who stand guard, those of us with the responsibility to provide security against this evil, have a continuous duty. That obligation didn’t end on October 7th. It continues to this day. And I pray that the world will continue to support Israel, the brave soldiers who are fighting just behind us, and permit them to do what is necessary to ensure that events like this can never happen again. It is our duty, it is our responsibility, and we take it most seriously. We pray for all the people of Israel.

And with that, I’m happy to take a handful of questions. Susan, anything that you’d like to add?

REPORTER: What is your feeling when you stand here, as you go between the pictures. What are you feeling? 

POMPEO: That’s always when everyone travels to a place where a great tragedy has taken place. I think of the American place as Gettysburg. I think of places where there were wars were fought, in places where, like New York City, where Ground Zero took place, where people’s lives were lost, who were just trying to live their lives. You know, I’ve seen, I’ve read, so much about this. To come here and be here, just remind you of this responsibility.

REPORTER: Secretary Pompeo, I know you’ve been outspoken about Iran in the past. I wanted to ask you, after what you’ve seen today, what do you think Iran’s involvement in this situation is? And has Biden’s foreign policy on Iran contributed to the rise of terrorism in this region?

POMPEO: This is not the place to have that conversation. But we should always be deeply mindful that there is power behind the forces who came across these fence lines in Gaza. And I think, too, today of the struggle still in the north with Hezbollah. We should be mindful that what happened on October 7th is a symptom of the challenge that the Islamic Republic of Iran brings.

And so I think the world needs to remember that whether it’s what’s taking place in the Red Sea today, or what’s happening – the fights that are going to occur around Rafah – that in the background is the Iranian leadership. It is Iranian training. It is Iranian money. And so, the responsibility to get this right will inevitably require lots of sustained effort against that true threat.

REPORTER: You know, people in my generation, my parents’ generation, have known that there has been support from the Democrats in America, from many officials in the United States. But I see that that’s going away. Even my sisters that are 21 years old, not even a generation less than me, there is almost no support for Israel, and they’re scared on college campuses. What do you think needs to happen in the United States to bring more support back onto Israel and stop this downward spiral?

POMPEO: Well, I’d like to remind you all that some of the things you see on CNN every day, or on some of the news, doesn’t represent the reality of America, and the America that I know, and the people that I see. And that, by the way, it’s not political. It’s not Democrat or Republican. The American people stand firmly with the nation of Israel, the vast majority of them. And maybe I’ll just stop there in this place. I don’t think anyone should ever have any illusion about the evil that took place here. And I hope that the next generation will come to take that on board in the same way that my generation and the generation before me did, as well. But you should have great confidence that the American people stand with Israel. I know that I do. I believe it with all my soul and all my heart. 

JOEL C. ROSENBERG, TBN NEWS: Mr. Secretary, would you comment on the two hostages being released? And this was an intelligence failure on the 7th. But it’s pretty dramatic, intelligence and military success yesterday.

POMPEO: It’s always great news – some of my highlights as Secretary of State was when we were able to get hostages released. For the nation of Israel, it has to be incredibly joyous, [though we’re] mindful that there still remain dozens and dozens of hostages that are being held. So, great work by the broader intelligence community in the IDF, brave soldiers and warriors, much work left to do.

REPORTER: What are your views on the planned operation in Rafah? And also President Biden’s view that Israel’s response to Hamas has been “over the top.”

POMPEO: Israel’s response to what took place on October 7th is perfectly appropriate and more importantly, necessary.

REPORTER: What has to happen after the war, when the fighting stops? What kind of a situation needs to be in place to make sure it doesn’t happen again?

POMPEO: So, for today, I’ll leave it with this – with a principle, not an outcome. The principle has to be this: It cannot be that a people would live their lives with the risk that something like what happened on October 7th could happen again. We wouldn’t permit that in the United States. We wouldn’t permit our people to have to evacuate the North, or not be able to live in their homes inside of the United States in our country. The Israeli government should not permit that threat to remain upon them either. And so whatever – however – the political solution is for governance in Gaza needs to have as the central thesis Israeli security.

REPORTER: Israel’s tunnel warfare has uncovered a lot of connection between Hamas and UNWRA. What do you say to those who say that UNRWA’s doing a great job in Gaza and should not be defunded?

POMPEO: So, I experienced this when I was CIA director. I mean, this is not news to me. I suppose the extent and scope is always just mind-boggling. UNWRA is an organization that failed to do its central mission. Too many of them were too deeply connected to Hamas. And as we did when I was a Secretary of State, our decision was that no longer could be the mechanism through which humanitarian assistance was provided to the people of Gaza. I regret that we had returned to that model. It is a failed model, and we ought not to go back in that direction. UNWRA has proven itself fundamentally incapable of doing what its task, what its mission set, was.

REPORTER: Would you talk about the surge in antisemitism around the world, the global surge – not just in the US, but in Europe

POMPEO: I’m afraid antisemitism has been with us a long time. And so, when I when I hear the “surge,” I think it may have revealed what already, sadly, may have been there. What happened on American campuses, in the leadership at some of our most prestigious universities in America, is both immoral and embarrassing. And I hope that the world collectively will do better. The fight against anti-Semitism is something that’s been going on for a long, awfully long, time. We in the United States suffer it ourselves, as well. And we need to stamp it out everywhere we find it. It is part of our obligation as well. 

SUSAN POMPEO: I just want to say, for those of us of which there are millions who are so crushed – who were so crushed – on October 7th and continue to be and continue to stand with you, we feel helpless. And it’s hard for us to know how to convey – especially to those personally affected, but to Jews everywhere – how much we care. And so, I will share with you a prayer that I’ve been saying, and I asked my Bible study friends to say also, for Israel. And the prayer goes along the lines that it is a battle between evil and good. And one of you, I think, said that, and I believe that wholeheartedly. And we must overcome as warriors, all of us in our corners of the world, we have to overcome this evil and not be afraid, be as courageous as we can be. Pray hard, and we must stamp it out. So, just know we’re praying for you.

All Israel News

Day 132 — Thursday, February 15

The U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously, 418-0, to condemn Hamas terrorists for rape and sexual violence on Oct. 7.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), a progressive member of the “Squad” who has a long history of antisemitic comments, voted “present,” as the House passed H.Res.966 on Wednesday.

“On Oct. 7, Hamas terrorists attacked Israel, mercilessly killing 1,200 people; raping, mutilating, burning and assaulting their victims to inflict physical and psychological pain, unleashing trauma that continues to plague a grieving Israel,” stated Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.), who introduced the resolution.

“The brutality was planned and calculated,” Frankel added. “Sadly, Hamas’s savagery has been met with a shrug—and even denial—from many corners of the world. Our resolution loudly and clearly condemns all rape and forms of sexual violence as weapons of war, including those acts committed by Hamas terrorists on and since Oct. 7.”

Frankel introduced the resolution, which received 200 co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle, with Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-Fla.), Kathy Manning (D-N.C.) and Jen Kiggans (R-Va.).

The resolution condemns all rape and sexual violence “as weapons of war,” including those Hamas committed on and after Oct. 7; calls on all countries to criminalize rape and sexual assault and hold both state and non-state armed groups accountable for such attacks; and tells international groups to “unequivocally condemn the barbaric murder, rape, sexual assault and kidnapping by Hamas and other terrorists on and since Oct. 7 and hold accountable all perpetrators.”

“The international community’s utter failure to adequately condemn and address Hamas’s use of sexual and gender-based violence as a weapon of war on and since Oct. 7 is not merely disappointing—it is a dereliction of duty for all who claim to stand for human rights and humanity,” stated Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee.

“The world cannot turn a blind eye to this brutality and such atrocities,” Deutch added. “The whole of Congress needs to make clear that the United States is united in demanding accountability for the perpetrators of these heinous crimes.”

JNS

Day 131 — Wednesday, February 14

During an assessment in northern Israel, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi says the IDF is preparing for war in the north, amid Hezbollah’s daily attacks from Lebanon.

“We are not finishing this without returning the residents to Metula and all the communities in the north, with a very high level of security,” Halevi says, referring to some 80,000 Israelis displaced by Hezbollah’s attacks.

“We are now focused on being ready for war in the north. If it does not end in war, it will not end with any compromise to the achievements,” he says.

“Hezbollah is not here on the fence, we will push back all its capabilities, it will be much quieter here, there will be much more stability here and then residents can return,” Halevi continues. “Will this happen tomorrow? Probably not. It will take some time.”

Times Of israel

Day 131 — Wednesday, February 14

One hundred representatives of relatives of Israeli hostages, as well as former hostages, filed a war crime complaint against the Hamas terror group at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on Wednesday.

The file includes “1,000 pages of evidence about genocide, kidnapping, crimes of sexual violence, torture and other charges,” according to the Hostage Families’ headquarters.

“We came to demand justice. On the 7th of October, we went through a second Holocaust. These human monsters are the heirs of Hitler, Eichmann and Goebbels,” the organization stated.

“They must be wiped out, and the notion of collective death which they spread must be eliminated. History will not repeat itself, we are taking our fate into our hands and demanding the justice that we are owed.”

The complaint has been prepared over four months and demands arrest warrants be issued against the Hamas leadership for the atrocities committed in southern Israel border communities on Oct. 7.

The Israeli lawsuit comes in response to the claim of genocide filed by South Africa against Israel. The International Court of Justice ordered the State of Israel to take several measures to ensure the rights of the Palestinians in Gaza but did not specifically order it to stop the fighting in the Gaza Strip.

Hundreds of people rallied outside the courthouse in The Hague on Wednesday to show their support for the hostage families. Despite rainy weather, the protesters demanded the return of all Israeli hostages, holding signs written in Hebrew, English and Dutch.

Dr. Sheli Aviv Yeni, head of the legal team, said outside the court: “Hamas’ crimes, which include genocide, kidnappings, enforced disappearances, torture and sexual violence, cannot and should remain unpunished.”

“Hamas-ISIS terrorists documented the atrocities they committed and did not distinguish between children, women and men – Jews, Bedouins, and Thais,” said Nadav Rudaif, son of Lior Rudaif who is still being held hostage.

“They kidnapped, murdered, raped, dismembered, and destroyed everything in their path, and if that wasn’t horrible enough they celebrated the massacre in the streets of Gaza and handed out candy on the blood of innocent civilians. I appeal to you again, citizens of the free and Western world – wake up!”

All Israel News

Day 131 — Wednesday, February 14

Several Israelis were hospitalized from rocket fire in northern Israel on Wednesday morning as Hezbollah ramped up its attacks on Israeli cities.

Sirens were heard in Safed, Meron, and across the Upper Western Galilee.

There were initial reports of a direct hit in Safed, and Magen David Adom (MDA) stated they were providing medical aid to seven people – four in moderate condition and three in light condition. The wounded were transferred to Ziv Medical Center in Safed. 

Mateh Asher Regional Council head Moshe Davidovitz stated, “The north this morning is under a flood of missiles.”

Two people were wounded in Kiryat Shmona on Tuesday after a direct rocket hit landed.

The head of Lebanon’s powerful armed group Hezbollah said on Tuesday that his faction’s cross-border shelling into Israel would only end when Israel’s “aggression” on the Gaza Strip stops.

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah threatened to displace more residents from northern Israel, where tens of thousands have already been evacuated from months of Hezbollah rocket fire, and said that if Israel’s military widened the war his group would do the same.

Jerusalem Post

Day 130 — Tuesday, February 13

An initiative to declare UNRWA a terrorist organization is being spearheaded by the Shurat HaDin Law Center, representing dozens of October 7 massacre victims.

Shurat HaDin’s initiative is targeted toward the Defense Ministry. The organization argues that there is a solid legal basis for such a designation. Their opinion, comprised of arguments that extend over eight pages, was submitted to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Should Gallant accept the proposal, he can exercise his authority to declare UNRWA a terrorist organization but would be subjected to Shin Bet security recommendation services.

The President of the Law Center, attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, commented, “Now it is clear to everyone that UNRWA has opened its doors to Hamas terrorists in an unprecedented way. In the guise of a humanitarian organization that perpetuates a false and dangerous historic narrative, they have themselves become a central headquarters of a terrorist organization, some of whose employees murdered innocent Jews with their own hands.”

The current initiative comes in light of the IDF’s recent revelation of the Hamas command center in the Hamas tunnels below UNRWA’s headquarters, which operates on behalf of the UN in the Gaza Strip. 

Darshan-Leitner continued, “UNRWA is no longer a humanitarian agency – its become a full-scale jihadi group. This provides all the grounds and legal evidence for the Defense Minister to declare them a terrorist organization. This designation is the necessity of the hour in order to prevent the next victims of terrorist violence and expedite the collapse of Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip.”

Shurat HaDin’s primary objective, according to its website, is to fight terrorism and safeguard Jewish rights worldwide. Based in Tel Aviv, the law center combats boycott, divestment, and sanction initiatives and challenges those who seek to delegitimize the Jewish State. 

Jerusalem Post

Day 129 — Monday, February 12

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday thanked special forces operators who freed two hostages from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip in “one of the most successful rescue operations in the history of the State of Israel.”

Fernando Simon Marman, 60, and Norberto Louis Har, 70, both kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7 while visiting Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, were rescued in an overnight operation in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah.

The Israel Defense Forces, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and Israel Police worked together to free the Israeli-Argentine nationals. The Shin Bet’s operational unit managed the operation, which was carried out by it and the Israel Police’s Yamam National Counter-Terrorism Unit.

“You worked like a well-oiled machine. You are simply the best fighters there are. I came here to tell you this and to salute you on behalf of all citizens of Israel. You are the best in the world,” Netanyahu told the fighters during a visit together with National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

“At 1.40 a.m. this morning, I saw you placing the [explosive] charge, and seconds later, I heard, ‘We have the hostages.’ You eliminated the kidnappers, the terrorists, and made your way back without injury—a successful operation, a perfect operation,” the premier said.

“I would like to tell you that the freeing of Louis and Fernando was one of the most successful rescue operations in the history of the State of Israel,” added Netanyahu.

Ben-Gvir tweeted a picture of himself alongside the forces, Netanyahu and Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai. “With the heroic Yamam fighters who carried out the heroic rescue operation of our hostages last night. You brought a lot of pride to our country,” wrote Ben-Gvir.

There are still 134 hostages remaining in Hamas custody, 32 of whom are confirmed dead and 20 of whom are feared dead. Hamas terrorists murdered some 1,200, mostly civilians and wounded thousands more during the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel.

JNS

Day 129 — Monday, February 12

The IDF’s Arabic spokesman, Avichay Adraee, revealed that the IDF had found the laptop of a Gazan journalist in a Hamas base.

According to Adraee, the laptop belonged to Muhammad Washah, a journalist for Al Jazeera. It was found several weeks ago in a Hamas base in northern Gaza.

The IDF claims that the journalist also served as a senior commander in Hamas’s antitank missile system, and moved to the research and development department of its air force at the end of 2022.

Investigation of the laptop revealed photos that connect Muhamed to Hamas’ activities.

Adraee commented: “Who knows how many other details we’ll soon discover about the presence of other terrorists dressed as journalists.”

Arutz Sheva

Day 129 — Monday, February 12

In a press conference late last week, a reporter asked President Joe Biden how he thought Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has handled the Israeli-Hamas conflict. In response, the president said, “I’m of the view, as you know, that the conduct of the response … in the Gaza Strip has been over the top.”

His remark on Thursday received immediate backlash. And yet, on Friday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre sent more mixed messages, stating that Biden has “been clear that the U.S. wants to see the Hamas terror organization defeated.” She added, “That is a shared goal that we have with Israel.” As a result, many continue to be skeptical — and confused — about where the Biden administration stands.

“I don’t think anybody could ever go ‘over the top’ in their response to Hamas after what they did in the first place on October 7th,” said Lela Gilbert, senior fellow for International Religious Freedom at Family Research Council, on “Washington Watch.” Despite Biden’s comment during the press conference, Gilbert urged people to think back to how he responded to the initial attacks several months back. “[I believe it] was quite genuine, and it appeared to be from the heart,” she said.

The atrocities committed against more than 1,200 Israelis were gruesome and have resulted in sons and daughters being deployed to unknown battle grounds and families having to uproot from their homes. Gilbert lived in Israel for over 10 years and saw smaller “wars and uproars,” but she stated that “there’s been nothing like this [attack] … since Israel became a country.” She added, “[A]ll that to say, I think Biden responded well at the beginning.” But since the beginning, Gilbert emphasized, it appears Biden has “changed his tune” as more input is given.

“If there is any part of this … that is over the top, it is Hamas,” former congressman and guest host Jody Hice argued, along with the suggestion that Israel “does not have the right to defend themselves.” But Biden’s comment shouldn’t be surprising, he added, since he has “dropped the ball in many regards [to] foreign policy.” In addition to the war in Israel, Gilbert recently highlighted how there are thousands of Nigerian Christians being slaughtered every day that Biden seemingly ignores, noting that despite the push for him to designate Nigeria as a country of particular concern (CPC), he’s done nothing.

Gilbert emphasized that “radical Islam” is the “common denominator” in both the war in Israel and the persecution in Nigeria. “And nobody really talks about that because, we don’t want to insult [anyone],” she said. “But the fact is … it’s all coming from the same source. It’s coming from radical Islamists with different names on their militias and so forth.”

Washington Stand

Day 129 — Monday, February 12

Israeli special forces overnight rescued two hostages, brothers-in-law Fernando Merman (60) and Luis Har (70), during a complex targeted operation in Rafah, southern Gaza.

The men were kidnapped from Nir Itzhak on October 7, a kibbutz on the Gaza border, along with 3 other family members. Both are said to be in a good health condition.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Health, the former hostages were transferred to Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv for medical examination and necessary treatment, including psychological support.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari gave a morning press briefing and revealed details of the operation, saying it had been prepared for a long time.

“Following an airstrike, at 1:49 a.m. (local time) the special forces broke into a building in Rafah and found Merman and Har on the second floor being guarded by armed terrorists,” Hagari said.

A firefight ensued, and Hagari said the soldiers used their bodies to shield the hostages from the gunfire.

Troops took Fernando and Luis to a safe zone where they underwent an initial medical inspection and were then transferred to Israel by helicopter. Hagari added  that the former hostages have already been “excitedly” reunited with their families.

“To the hostages in Gaza, if you can hear me, we will not waste a single opportunity to bring you home,” stated Hagari.

The IDF spokesperson also said that since October 7 security forces, including the IDF and Shin Bet, have worked “endlessly” to prepare operations of this type, and “today the conditions allowed them to bring those plans to life.” He vowed that Israel would continue to try to bring back the hostages in any way possible, including a deal.

i24 News

Day 128 — Sunday, February 11

New evidence of the cooperation between UNRWA and the Islamist terror organization Hamas came to light after the IDF discovered a tunnel shaft near a UNRWA school during its operations in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military announced on Saturday.

The tunnel shaft, near the school, led to an underground shelter that served as a valuable asset for Hamas’s military intelligence wing, according to the IDF. The route connected to the tunnel also led to a path beneath UNRWA’s central headquarters in the Gaza Strip.

According to the report, the tunnel was 700 meters long and 18 meters deep and contained several constructed side doors to various new routes. The IDF stated that the newly acquired intelligence from this operation will allow it to conduct additional raids on Hamas in the future.

Additionally, IDF soldiers discovered electric infrastructure inside the tunnels that were connected to the UNRWA headquarters building, indicating that UNRWA assets were supplying Hamas with electricity.

Following these findings, paired with prior intelligence from the Shin Bet, the IDF raided the offices of the UNRWA headquarters building.

Within the offices of the building itself, the IDF announced that it discovered guns, ammunition, grenades, and other explosives.

Shortly after the IDF’s announcement on Saturday, Commissioner-General of UNRWA Phillipe Lazzarini made a comment on X (formerly Twitter), denying any awareness of Hamas using UNRWA assets for terror purposes.

Foreign Minister Israel Katz responded to the Commissioner-General’s statement, demanding that he resign.

“The exposure of UNRWA’s Gaza headquarters’ deep involvement with Hamas, including its use for terror activities and as an access point to terror tunnels, requires immediate action.  Commissioner-General Lazzarini’s claim of unawareness is not only absurd but also an affront to common sense. His prompt resignation is imperative.”

The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) rejected Lazzarini’s claims as well, posting on X “Oh, you knew. Digging a tunnel takes longer than 4 months. We invited senior @UN officials to see, and during past meetings with you and other UN officials, we stated Hamas’s use of UNRWA’s headquarters. You chose to ignore the facts so you can later try and deny them.”

Israel’s envoy to the UN, Gilad Erdan, responded to Lazzarini on Saturday night, writing “it’s not that you didn’t know, it’s that you didn’t WANT to know. We exposed terror tunnels under UNRWA schools and supplied evidence that Hamas’ exploits UNRWA. We implored you to carry out a comprehensive search of all UNRWA facilities in Gaza. But not only did you refuse, you chose to stick your head in the sand.”

Erdan called on Lazzarini to “Take responsibility and resign today!”

“Every day we find more proof that in Gaza the UN=Hamas and vice versa. Anything the UN says or claims about Gaza cannot be trusted,” added Erdan.

Jerusalem Post

Day 128 — Sunday, February 11

The Biden administration, after urging by left-wing Democrats, issued a memorandum Thursday that will require Israel to submit a report within 45 days on its compliance with international humanitarian law in its war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

The memorandum, announced by the White House, theoretically applies to any country that receives weapons from the United States and is actively involved in armed conflict. But the White House all but admitted Friday that it was targeted at Israel.

The following exchange took place during Friday’s White House press briefing with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre (via White House transcript):

Q Thank you, Karine. Last night, soon after the President’s remarks about Israel, the administration announced a national security memo that calls for the State Department to obtain written assurances that countries that receive weapons from the U.S. will use those weapons in accordance with the law of war.

Jake Sullivan, Kirby, others have previously said that the U.S. already requires those assurances, so why did the administration feel the need to formalize that and ask for it in writing now?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look — so, this memor- — memorandum that you’re speaking of — and it merged, in part, with our discussions with members of Congress. And so, this, obviously, memo came out yesterday. And so, it’s called a national security memorandum. It outlines the standards and coun- — that countries must adhere, as you just laid it — as you just laid out.

But I also want to be clear: There are new — there are no new standards in this memo. We are not imposing new standards for military aid. That’s not what is in this memo. Instead, we are spelling out publicly the existing standards by the international law, including the law of armed conflict.

So, we are also — one thing that we are doing is creating a new annual report to Congress that members have requested. This is in request, because of interest of transparency. So, this is in line with conversations that we have with — with the congressional members, as we try to really, you know, work together in a way that — that makes sense and moves the ball forward.

But this is not new standards. This is — this is something — these are — these are — these are things that already exist — to your point — that is now in writing. And then, there — and we did create a new annual report for more transparency.

Q So, if Israel doesn’t sign off within the deadline of 45 days, because it is involved with active conflict, will the U.S. aid be cut off immediately?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, what I can tell you is that we did brief the Israelis on this. They reiterated their willingness to provide these types of assurances. So, those conversations are happening, and they — obviously, they reiterated their willingness to — for these assurances.

Left-wing Democrats, and socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), have been pushing for reports on Israel’s compliance with human rights standards as a way of trying to embarrass Israel and to stop U.S. support for Israel’s war effort against Hamas in Gaza.

When put to a vote, Sanders’s suggestion only received eleven votes in the Senate. By issuing a memorandum, President Joe Biden is essentially suggesting that congressional will be set aside and that Israel be forced to comply the demands of its critics.

The new requirement comes amid increased pressure from the Biden administration on Israel to end the war, as well as increased public criticism. It also comes as Israel faces false charges of “genocide” at the International Court of Justice at The Hague.

Breitbart

Day 127 — Saturday, February 10

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, who is currently on a visit to Washington, DC, cancelled a scheduled meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, which was scheduled for Friday, due to Guterres’ statements against Israel, Channel 12 News reported.

According to the report, Ohana made clear that he would not give Guterres legitimacy by holding the meeting. The UN Secretary-General heard about the cancellation of the meeting from the Channel 12 News report. His spokesman said in response: “Our door remains open to any delegation that would like to meet him.”

“The cancellation of the meeting did not come in a vacuum,” Ohana told Channel 12 News, in a swipe at Guterres following his past controversial comments that Hamas’ attack on Israel “did not happen in a vacuum”.

“I intended to try and convince, as well as hand him a book we prepared in the Knesset which documents October 7 with still images. But yesterday he again called on the State of Israel to stop fighting and criticize it ‘even if Hamas uses human shields’. There are lost causes and red lines. I will not legitimize Guterres,” he added.

Guterres on Thursday was pressed by Channel 12 News correspondent Yuna Leibzon about his ongoing claims that Israel is carrying out “collective punishment” in Gaza.

Asked by Leibzon what he would have done if a terrorist organization had launched a murderous attack against his people, the UN chief replied, “I think there is something wrong in the way the military operations are being conducted.”

When Leibzon pointed out that Hamas hides within civilian populations, Guterres retorted, “I have condemned the use of human shields. I even said that it is a violation of international humanitarian law, but the same international humanitarian law is clear that even when there are human shields, there is an obligation to protect civilians, so in that regard, I think we are abiding by principles without double standards.”

Arutz Sheva

Day 126 — Friday, February 9

Israel’s military response in the Gaza Strip to the shock October 7 attack by Hamas has been “over the top,” US President Joe Biden says.

“I’m of the view, as you know, that the conduct of the response in Gaza, in the Gaza Strip, has been over the top,” he tells reporters at the White House during an evening address that was announced only about two hours earlier.

“I’m pushing very hard now to deal with this hostage ceasefire,” Biden says. “There are a lot of innocent people who are starving, a lot of innocent people who are in trouble and dying, and it’s gotta stop.”

The remarks, some of Biden’s sharpest public criticism to date of the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, come as the Democratic president has come under increasing domestic pressure to press Israel on a ceasefire.

The White House did not respond to a request to elaborate on Biden’s remarks.

Times Of Israel

Day 126 — Friday, February 9

(Galilee, Israel) — Israel is winning the war in Gaza. Don’t let the media tell you otherwise. On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have destroyed 17 of 24 Hamas battalions. Thousands of buildings used to house terrorists and their war materiel have been demolished, and kilometers of underground tunnels are being blown apart weekly. A massive number of weapons, from explosives to rockets to automatic rifles to handguns, have been found and confiscated.

Still the work is not yet done. The IDF has yet to capture or eliminate Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s chief in Gaza, who is currently on the run from one hiding place to another. It is without question that he has surrounded himself with a human shield of Israeli hostages. There are still thousands of Hamas terrorists in Khan Yunis and down in Rafah. Although, today, Rafah has one fewer after Majdi Abd al-Aal, commander of the special forces of Hamas police in the area, was taken out in a targeted killing. The work in Khan Yunis, then down toward the Egyptian border, will continue until the threat is completely neutralized.

Despite defeat after defeat, Hamas seems to think they are winning. That is the only explanation for their ridiculous response to the Qatar, US, and Egypt-brokered ceasefire proposal. While verbally giving a generally positive response, they then issued a counterproposal that, according to the Lebanese Al-Akhbar newspaper, essentially stated: 1) we want all IDF soldiers out, 2) let’s go back to how it was before we slaughtered your people, with the same borders and international guarantees that you’ll stay on your side from now on, and 3) we don’t want Jews up on the Temple Mount anymore. In return, we’ll give back your hostages over a 135-day period. How could Israel say “no” to such a gracious offer?

Alas, it seems that Israel will, in fact, say “no”. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that it is quite obvious that Hamas’s answer “was drafted in a way that will make Israel reject it.” Based on Netanyahu’s statements of the last week, Israel’s counterproposal to Hamas would be more along the lines of “surrender or die.” If that sounds harsh, then remember what these vicious animals did on October 7. If you need your memory jogged, watch the video that Israel presented to the International Court of Justice. However, let me give you my strongest warning before you do. Murder, mutilation, rape, beatings, kidnapping – all were part of Hamas’s actions that day. Still today, over 100 days later, 136 hostages are being held. However, of that number, we know that at least 31 have perished in captivity. Israel cannot afford to let the Hamas terrorist organization continue to exist.

Hundreds of Israelis are fed up with their country sending humanitarian aid into Gaza. Taking matters into their own hands, they are blocking the transports of this aid. It is not because they want to take vengeance on the Gazan civilians. It’s because they recognize that a majority of the aid sent ends up in the hands of the terrorists. Netanyahu recently estimated 60% of humanitarian aid is taken by Hamas, but many believe the number to be as high as 80%. The Gazans themselves tell of this theft, often carried out by Hamas soldiers who liberally use clubs to beat back those who are in need.

Day 125 — Thursday, February 8

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a press conference on Wednesday, during which he criticized the executive order signed by US President Joe Biden to impose sanctions on four residents of Judea and Samaria accused of violence against Palestinian Arabs.

“This order is a very severe and inappropriate thing which harms an entire population of law-abiding citizens, among whom are soldiers who fell in the fight to eliminate Hamas. If they were using it equally- they would have imposed sanctions on Palestinians as well,” the Prime Minister said when asked on the matter.

The Prime Minister opened his statement by proclaiming: “We are on the road to complete victory. It is in reach – it is a few months away, not years.”

Arutz Sheva

Day 125 — Thursday, February 8

The Knesset took a significant step forward in addressing historical accountability as it passed a preliminary reading of a bill criminalizing the denial, minimization, or celebration of the October 7 Hamas terror attack on southern Israel.

The legislation, which received unanimous support in the Knesset plenum with a vote of 29-0, represents a proactive measure to combat attempts to distort or diminish the gravity of the tragic events.

Spearheaded by Yisrael Beytenu MK Oded Forer, the bill draws parallels to existing laws prohibiting Holocaust denial, underscoring the urgency of preserving historical truth and memory. Forer emphasized the global resonance of the October 7 massacre, stating, “The way in which people around the world relate to the massacre is starting to resemble Holocaust denial.” Co-sponsor MK Evgeny Sova echoed this sentiment, asserting that denial of the October 7 attack is tantamount to denying the Holocaust.

The legislation, supported by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, proposes severe penalties, including up to five years of imprisonment, for individuals found guilty of denying or downplaying the massacre’s significance. It also prohibits expressions of praise, sympathy, or identification with the attack. According to the bill’s explanatory notes, denial of the massacre constitutes an attempt to rewrite history and obscure the crimes committed against the Jewish people and the State of Israel.

Despite the bill’s unanimous support in the Knesset, it faces opposition from legal advisers within the government. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara expressed concerns about the potential complications the legislation could pose to ongoing legal proceedings against Hamas members. However, proponents argue that the bill is essential for upholding historical truth and preventing the distortion of collective memory.

i24 News

Day 124 — Wednesday, February 7

Staunch Israel supporter and politically conservative Argentinian President Javier Milei landed in Israel and promptly pronounced that he would indeed move the Argentinian Embassy to Jerusalem.

Milei was welcomed by Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz, who told him, “You are a value-driven person committed only to truth, and it is no wonder that you chose to come to Israel immediately to support us in the just struggle to defend the Jewish people against Hamas terrorists. I thank you for recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and for your announcement now to relocate Argentina’s embassy to Jerusalem, the capital of the Jewish people and the State of Israel. Welcome to Israel, Mr. President – Viva La Libertad Carajo!”

“I warmly welcome the arrival to Israel of the President of Argentina, Israel’s friend, Javier Milei, who announced the relocation of Argentina’s embassy to Jerusalem. Welcome, dear friend!” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted.

Milei arrived in Israel with Argentina’s Foreign Minister Diana Mondino, the Secretary General of the Presidency Karina Elizabeth Milei, and Rabbi Axel Wahnish, whom he has chosen to be Argentina’s Ambassador to Israel.

Argentina has the largest Jewish population in South America, roughly 220,000 people.

Milei, who pledged that Argentina’s two key allies would be the United States and Israel, gave his first foreign press interview to the Hasidic newspaper, “Kfar Chabad.” He said, “From what I’ve learned about the history of the Jewish people, their survival against all odds, and the divine protection they’ve received, I’m certain they will continue to prevail. My message is to keep faith in God, stay strong and united. Eventually, the world will realize the enduring truth — the nation of Israel lives on!”

Daily Wire

Day 124 — Wednesday, February 7

A Jewish community leader has started speaking out about a plot to kill him that was foiled in 2021.

Aron Verständig, chair of the Official Council of Swedish Jewish communities, told Radio Sweden about Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps sending two sleeper agents—couple Mahdi Ramezani and Fereshteh Sanaeifarid—who were activated after they had lived in the Scandinavian country for five years.

Ramezani and Sanaeifard were arrested in 2021 with plans to kill two other Swedish Jews.

Verständig has hesitated to speak about the threat to his life until now. “I was born a Jew I will remain a Jew for the rest of my life, and I can choose to sort of hide under a rock or I can choose to be the person who I am and that’s what I’ve chosen,” he said.

“I think that what Iran wants to do is to harm Israel, and I think it’s very difficult for them to do these kinds of things in Israel,” Verständig said. “So instead they are, I mean, randomly choosing people who have some kind of official position in the Jewish diaspora and trying to create fear.”

On Jan. 31, a bomb was found outside the Israeli embassy in Stockholm. “We thank the Swedish authorities for their swift response. We will not be intimidated by terror,” stated Ziv Nevo Kulman, Israel’s ambassador to Sweden.

In February 2023, the Jewish Chronicle reported that Iran had developed plans to murder Jewish leaders globally if Israel attacked the Islamic regime.

JNS

Day 123 — Tuesday, February 6

Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip recently discovered a Hamas manual with detailed instructions on how to produce bombs from medical equipment.

The huge number of files and documents specifically include instructions on using Hydrogen Peroxide, a regular hospital substance, as a key ingredient in producing explosives and rocket propellant material.

Written in Arabic and English, the manual shows, in a very methodical way, how to produce various homemade explosives that are used against Israeli forces in Gaza.

The Iranian-backed terrorist organization has a long history of exploiting dual purpose materials as key components in its production of weapons and terror infrastructure. For instance, the vast tunnel network, dubbed “Gaza Metro,” was largely produced through the terrorists’ large-scale confiscation of cement that was officially earmarked for the construction of civilian structures, such as hospitals and schools.

Hamas’ indigenous arms production capabilities have been boosted by individuals within its ranks with an engineering background and innovative skills. Due to the strict military blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt after the violent Hamas takeover in Gaza in 2007, much of the group’s rocket arsenal is produced from water pipes and streetlight poles.

The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, an Israeli security think tank based in Jerusalem, assessed in 2021 that Hamas had already developed significant local weapons production capabilities inside the Gaza Strip:

“The terrorist group (Hamas) was no longer a force fighting an asymmetrical war with asymmetrical tactics and weapons. Hamas is now manufacturing a large part of its own weapons, expanding its research, and developing drones and unmanned underwater vehicles, engaging in cyber warfare, and on the cusp of graduating from unguided rockets to precision GPS-guided drones and missiles.”

Hamas’s local weapons production is further supplemented with external weapons deliveries, mainly from its patron, the Iranian regime.

In early January, Israeli forces in Gaza discovered Chinese manufactured weapons in the Hamas arsenal.

Carice Witte, and expert on Chinese-Israeli ties, and the CEO and founder of SIGNAL Group, was not surprised that Chinese weapons were discovered in the Strip.

“China has an extensive arms industry,” Witte stated. “By definition, it does not sell weapons to non-state entities; it certainly does sell weapons to countries in the [Middle East].”.

Witte stressed that China is a leading global power that defies American-led Western sanctions on several Middle Eastern regimes such as Iran.

“Trade relations between China and Middle Eastern nations are well known, even with those sanctioned by the West. It is not impossible that such weaponry ends up in the wrong hands,” she concluded.

In late October, the news outlet, Axios, reported that Israeli authorities had discovered that Hamas had ambitions to use chemical weapons in its devastating October 7 attack on southern Israel, when some 3000 Gazan terrorists massacred more than 1200 Israeli men, women and children.

The Israeli findings were summarized in a secret Israeli Foreign Ministry cable entitled, “Hamas intention of using chemical weapons.”

“This finding points to an intention by Hamas to use chemical weapons as part of its terror attack against civilians,” the cable stated.

All Israel News 

Day 122 — Monday, February 5

A tribunal has made a landmark ruling that anti-Zionism is a legally protected characteristic as it found in favour of a sacked university professor.

David Miller was ‘unfairly dismissed’ from his post at Bristol University following remarks he made about Israel, it said.

The 108-page ruling found that expressing anti-Zionist views is a ‘philosophical belief and a protected characteristic’ under the 2010 Equality Act.

This sets a legal precedent that anyone expressing anti-Zionist beliefs is legally protected and cannot be sacked from their jobs.

The Union of Jewish Students said it was ‘disappointed’ by the decision which ‘may set a dangerous precedent about what can be lawfully said on campus’. It warned the ruling would ‘make Jewish students less safe’.

Professor Miller was sacked in 2021 after it was found his comments did not meet the ‘standards of behaviour’ expected from staff. This followed complaints by Jewish students who claimed he made them feel ‘uncomfortable and intimidated’.

The first was made in 2019 after he gave a lecture describing the ‘Zionist movement’ as one of the ‘five pillars of Islamophobia’. On the Electronic Intifada website, he also wrote: ‘There is a real question of abuse here, of Jewish students on British campuses being used as political pawns by a violent, racist foreign regime engaged in ethnic cleansing.’

In an ‘on the record’ email to Ben Bloch, a student and news editor of The Bristol Tab university newspaper, the professor said: ‘Zionism is and always has been a racist, violent, imperialist ideology premised on ethnic cleansing. It is an endemically anti-Arab and Islamophobic ideology. It has no place in any society.’

Since being dismissed, the professor, who works for Iranian state-owned television channel Press TV, has described Israel as ‘the enemy of world peace’.

He has also claimed that ‘Jews are not discriminated against’ and described the Bristol University Jewish Society as an ‘Israel lobby group’.

Professor Miller said he felt ‘vindicated’ and ‘very proud’ at the employment tribunal’s ruling from Judge Rohan Pirani. He added: ‘This is not just a victory for me, but also a victory for pro-Palestine campaigners across Britain.’

Zillur Rahman, of Rahman Lowe Solicitors which represented the academic, praised him for ‘fighting against the vicious campaign waged against him by Zionists’.

Last night the Community Security Trust, a Jewish charity, said it was ‘extremely concerned about what the tribunal considers is acceptable for a university professor to say publicly about Jewish students and Jewish societies who raised legitimate complaints about him’.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism said it was ‘deeply concerned’ at the way the university handled the case and hoped it would appeal against the ruling.

A spokesman added that Professor Miller ‘has continued to express his obnoxious opinions on Iranian State TV, which is exactly where he belongs’.

Daily Mail UK 

Day 122 — Monday, February 5

Russia’s Foreign Ministry will summon Israeli ambassador Simona Halperin over “unacceptable comments” she made in an interview, the TASS news agency cited the ministry as saying on Monday.

Halperin, according to the ministry, misrepresented Russia’s foreign policy stance in the interview with Russia’s Kommersant daily, published on Sunday.

The ministry described her comments as “an extremely unsuccessful start” to her diplomatic posting, which began last December.

In the interview, Halperin criticized Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for playing down the importance of the Holocaust and said Russia was being too friendly with the terror group Hamas.

Israel Hayom

Day 122 — Monday, February 5

Minister-without-portfolio and National Unity chair Benny Gantz met with special envoy of US President Joe Biden, Amos Hochstein, in Tel Aviv on Sunday.

Hochstein has played an active role in brokering arrangements between Israel and Lebanon, such as the late 2022 agreement delineating the maritime border between the two countries. Additionally, in November of last year, Hochstein landed in Israel in an attempt to curb the re-emerging violence between Hezbollah and Israel.

During the meeting, Gantz expressed his appreciation to Hochstein for the efforts the US has taken to help address the challenges of the region. These issues included the hostages held by Hamas, Iranian terrorism, and regional stability.

Gantz also emphasized to Hochstein that Lebanon bears full responsibility for the terrorism coming from within its territory. Further, Gantz stated that unless Lebanon and the international community acted to remove the threat within Lebanon, Israel would broaden its military activities in the north in order to do so.

The minister-without-portfolio noted that these potential military activities would take place irrespective of the war in Gaza.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also met with Hochstein on Sunday.

During the meeting, Gallant and Hochstein discussed the need for a change in the security situation on Israel’s northern border and the need for the displaced residents of the north to return to then their homes, the Defense Minister’s office reported.

Gallant similarly thanks Hochstein for the role the US has played in working to achieve a diplomatic solution and change the situation on Israel’s border with Lebanon.

Jerusalem Post

Day 122 — Monday, February 5

Givati Brigade troops raided the main headquarters of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade, used by the terror group for training ahead of its brutal October 7 onslaught, the Israel Defense Forces said Sunday, as the war in the Gaza Strip neared its fourth month.

The Khan Younis complex, known as the al-Qadsia outpost, also housed the office of Muhammad Sinwar, a senior Hamas military commander and the brother of the terror group’s leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, according to the IDF.

The military said al-Qadsia included a training ground with mock entrances to Israeli communities, IDF bases, and military vehicles, for Hamas to simulate and prepare for the October 7 attacks, during which thousands of terrorists burst across the border into Israel, killed some 1,200 people and seized over 250 hostages, mostly civilians.

Another part of the complex included a Hamas command center and offices belonging to the Khan Younis Brigade’s senior commanders, as well as a rocket depot and tunnel leading to a vast underground network, the IDF said. Troops also found a weapons manufacturing site nearby.

The IDF said that when troops arrived to raid the outpost in the southern Gaza city, they discovered that Hamas had boobytrapped the area with explosive devices, which were neutralized by combat engineers. Hamas gunmen also tried to ambush troops from an area near the outpost. The operatives opened fire, and troops responded with sniper fire, tank shelling, and airstrikes, killing all of them, the military said.

Elsewhere in Khan Younis, the IDF said it identified Hamas operatives hiding among civilian shelters in the western side of the city.

In recent days, some 120,000 Palestinians were evacuated from the Khan Younis camp via a humanitarian corridor established by the IDF. Among those moving through the corridor, Givati Brigade troops nabbed some 500 terror suspects and handed them over to be questioned in Israel.

Times Of Israel

Day 122 — Monday, February 5

Harvard University will host radical professor Dalal Saeb Iriqat, who defended Hamas’ October 7 massacre in Israel, The New York Post reported.

Iriqat, daughter of former Palestinian Authority (PA) chief negotiator Saeb Erekat who died in 2020, is scheduled to speak as part of a “Middle East Dialogue” at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center on March 7.

According to The New York Post, on the day of Hamas’ attack on October 7, she wrote in a post on X, “The Palestinian people have the right to defend themselves, the right to live with dignity and freedom. I am shocked that the world is shocked! Today is just a normal human struggle 4 #Freedom.”

“We will never forgive the Israeli right wing extreme government for making us take their children and elderly as hostages,” she added a day later. “The Israeli public need to realize that their own government had caused all this bloodshed and they remain the ones responsible for this escalatin [sic] and losses of civilians lives.”

Her scheduled visit to Harvard comes when the university is already under fire for failing to properly handle the antisemitism on campus in the wake of October 7.

Shortly after the war began, a coalition of 34 Harvard student organizations released a statement in which they blamed Israel for Hamas’ October 7 attack on southern Israel.

Later, then-Harvard President Claudine Gay came under fire after she, along with MIT President Sally Kornbluth and University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill, testified before a congressional hearing on the issue of antisemitism on college campuses.

All three university presidents gave similar answers to Rep. Elise Stefanik in which they failed to unequivocally condemn antisemitism or even calls for genocide against Jews.

In response to a question about whether such calls for genocide violate Harvard’s code of conduct, Gay responded that this depended on the “context” and whether or not the genocidal language turned into action.

Arutz Sheva

Day 122 — Monday, February 5

Axios and certain other media outlets have recently reported that the State Department is considering recognizing Palestine as a state. There are a host of reasons why that’s a bad idea. One of the worst is this — it rewards terrorism. It rewards the very worst in human behavior.

The idea is that the United States would make this move soon after Israel’s campaign in Gaza ends — and US pressure to end the campaign is already enormous. Hamas would then be able to say to every terror group in the world, “Here’s how you get the really big concessions. Kill, mutilate, rape, burn people to death, and take lots of innocents as hostages.”

To recognize a state of Palestine in the aftermath of their October terror attacks on Israel, would encourage every rogue group on earth to follow that wicked path. It would bring chaos to this planet, the likes of which have never been seen before!

For decades, the United States has called for a two-state solution in the Holy Land. But the US has said such a solution must be predicated on negotiation among the people who live there, and that it cannot be imposed from the outside. But the present administration seems to be considering a radical change in that policy. How radical? The Biden Administration is reportedly considering imposing a new state of Palestine in a Middle East where terms and borders have not been negotiated, much less implemented. The plan is to go in the opposite direction from previous US policy and impose this “peace plan” from the outside, from far-off Washington.

The Palestinian goal has not changed from the PLO’s beginning. They want the complete annihilation of the State of Israel and the genocide of Jews around the world. They have tried to do it by sheer force, but even with the help of invading Arab armies, they have failed every time. They have now made it clear that they are willing to accomplish their goal in stages.

Day 121 — Sunday, February 4

The US and Britain announced on Saturday they had struck 36 targets of the Iranian-affiliated Houthis in Yemen.

“Today, at the direction of their respective governments, the militaries of the United States and United Kingdom, with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and New Zealand conducted an additional round of proportionate and necessary strikes against 36 Houthi targets across 13 locations in Yemen in response to the Houthis’ continued attacks against international and commercial shipping as well as naval vessels transiting the Red Sea,” said a joint statement from the countries.

“These precision strikes are intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities that the Houthis use to threaten global trade, and the lives of innocent mariners, and are in response to a series of illegal, dangerous, and destabilizing Houthi actions since previous coalition strikes on January 11 and 22, 2024, including the January 27 attack which struck and set ablaze the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker M/V Marlin Luanda.”

“Today’s strike specifically targeted sites associated with the Houthis’ deeply buried weapons storage facilities, missile systems and launchers, air defense systems, and radars,” the statement continued.

“The Houthis’ now more than 30 attacks on commercial vessels and naval vessels since mid-November constitute an international challenge. Recognizing the broad consensus of the international community, our coalition of likeminded countries committed to upholding the rules-based order has continued to grow. We remain committed to protecting freedom of navigation and international commerce and holding the Houthis accountable for their illegal and unjustifiable attacks on commercial shipping and naval vessels.”

“Our aim remains to de-escalate tensions and restore stability in the Red Sea but let us reiterate our warning to Houthi leadership: we will not hesitate to continue to defend lives and the free flow of commerce in one of the world’s most critical waterways in the face of continued threats,” the countries said.

Earlier, three officials told Reuters that the US launched a series of strikes against Iranian-affiliated targets in Yemen.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity and did not provide further details on the locations of the targets.

According to Yemeni media, there were strikes in Al-Hudaydah and Sanaa.

On Saturday morning, the USS Carney (DDG 64) shot down a UAV over the Gulf of Aden. No injuries or damage were reported.

At around 4:40p.m. (Sanaa time), US Central Command forces conducted strikes against four Houthi UAVs that were prepared to launch. US forces identified the UAVs in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined that they presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the US Navy ships in the region. US forces subsequently struck and destroyed the UAVs in self-defense.

Then, at 9:20 p.m. (Sanaa time), USS Laboon (DDG 58) and F/A-18s from the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group engaged and shot down seven UAVs over the Red Sea. There were no injuries or damage reported. These actions will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S. Navy vessels and merchant vessels.

Saturday’s strikes come a day after the US began retaliatory strikes in Syria against Iran-backed militias for a drone strike on an American base in Jordan last Sunday that killed three US service members.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition-affiliated organization which is based in London, said eight posts of the pro-Iranian militias were attacked and at least six people were killed.

Arutz Sheva

Day 120 — Saturday, February 3

Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state during the Trump administration, said that the U.S. retaliatory strikes against Iranian targets in Syria and Iraq will only succeed if they convince Iran to stop pushing its proxies to attack American personnel “anywhere in the world.”

“The single measure of their effectiveness will be whether they deter further Iranian aggression,” Pompeo told Fox News Digital.

“Not just aggression in Jordan or Iraq, but Iranian attacks on U.S. interests anywhere in the world, support for Hamas and Hezbollah against our ally Israel and Iranian attacks on military and commercial vessels in the Red Sea included,” he explained.

Pompeo said that to succeed, due to the Biden administration’s delayed response, the White House will need to display a willingness to “impose real costs” on Iran.

“To achieve this, after such a delayed response following the killing of three Americans, will take a level of seriousness and willingness to impose real costs on Iran we have not seen to date,” he added. “This failure has caused escalation that will not stop until the Biden administration — along with our allies — restores deterrence.”

Fox News 

Day 120 — Saturday, February 3

The United States carried out retaliatory strikes in Iraq and Syria Friday against facilities linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and affiliated terror groups. This comes after a deadly attack in Jordan that killed three U.S. troops and injured some 40 others.

The strikes are believed to be just the first in a multi-tiered response by President Joe Biden’s administration in response to the attack last weekend carried out by Iran-backed terrorists.

While the U.S. strikes did not target any locations inside Iran, they are likely to increase concern about tensions in the Middle East spiralling from Israel’s more than three-month-old war with Palestinian jihadists in Gaza.

i24 News

Day 120 — Saturday, February 3

The Israel-Hamas war that started on October 7 of last year is boosting the ties between Russia, Turkey, and Iran—which are the three key nations mentioned in Ezekiel 38. They are mentioned under their ancient names and places. Rosh, Meshech, Tubal, Togarmah, Gomer, and Persia—these are the places today of Russia, Iran, and Turkey.

These key nations are developing much closer ties as a result of the Hamas invasion against Israel.

Just this week, Turkish President Recep Erdoğan and Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi met in Ankara, Turkey. In a great irony, you have the number one sponsor of terror in the Middle East, Iran, meeting with Turkey to discuss how they can “fight against terrorism” in the Middle East.

The Jerusalem Post published an opinion piece on Tuesday titled: “Putin’s Russia and the Islamic Republic of Iran—The Geopolitical Tapestry Of Misinformation And Imperial Ambitions.”

“It is imperative to recognize the dynamics of regional alliances, especially the relationship between Iran and Russia,” the writers noted. “Increasingly, Tehran [the capital of Iran] seems to be acting not just as an ally but as a proxy for Putin’s ambitions in the Middle East, similar to how groups like Hamas and Hezbollah serve as proxies for Iran.”

This is fascinating. This is the first time I’ve read someone explaining that, while Tehran has its own proxies, Iran is really acting as a proxy for Russia to push its agenda in the Middle East. This is the Gog coalition that is predicted in Scripture. I said this before, but an article like this really brings it into clear focus.

Ezekiel 38:4 describes how God is going to put “hooks” in the “jaws” of Russia to draw it into this conflict in the land of Israel. It appears to me that Iran could easily be those hooks in the jaws, as Russia is deepening its ties with the country. Iran is a proxy of Russia; therefore, when Iran wants to strike Israel at some point in the future, that’s going to draw Russia inexorably into this coalition to be part of the invasion of Israel in the end times.

Day 120 — Saturday, February 3

(Galilee, Israel) — Israel is a pressure cooker right now. If you have seen Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lately, you’ll know the toll that this war has taken on him. He and those in his government are constantly having to consider in their decisions the needs of the families of the hostages, the needs of the military, and the ultimate goal of absolute victory against Hamas, Hezbollah, and any other enemy along our borders whose aim is to annihilate us. All the while, the PM and his people are feeling internal pressure from the opposition, who, after taking a brief moment off after October 7 to express their desire for national unity, have once again removed their daggers from their sheaths and are looking for any way to bring the PM down. If that weren’t enough, the pressure from outside the country, particularly from Washington, D.C., to wind down the war and implement a two-state solution is strong and constant.

Internationally, Israel is in a no-win situation. The only ones who have any desire for a two-state solution live far from the eastern shores of the Mediterranean. Israel doesn’t want a two-state solution because that would allow directly on its border an autonomous nation whose single desire is to obliterate the Jews. Hamas doesn’t want a two-state solution either because rather than living next to Israel, they want to live instead of Israel.

It is that “us instead of them” mindset that makes it impossible for Israel to allow the Gazans to press up against their border. If the people of Gaza were peace-loving, respectful neighbors, I believe that a huge majority of Israelis would vote to allow them their own land and governance. Instead, we find that all but a very small minority of Palestinians rear their children to hate Jews and to desire their violent extermination. It is so endemic in the culture that it would take 30-40 years for a new generation to be raised which would not hate Israel.

But despite all this being said, please understand that Israel is experiencing victory after victory in Gaza. Hamas is on the run as they see thousands of their terrorist compatriots dying and thousands more being captured. As the Gazan civilians evacuate to the south, many are beginning to protest loudly and publicly against Hamas. Yes, the situation is complex and taxing on the leadership, but Israel is most definitely on the winning side.

Please pray for the governmental and military leadership of Israel. Pray for safety and pray for wisdom. The multifaceted situation they face is unlike any the world has seen before.