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Israel At War: Week Twenty-Seven Coverage
TRUSTED ANALYSIS
ISRAEL WAR — TIMELINE
Day 189 — Friday, April 12
Netanyahu Issues Barely-Veiled Warning To Iran Ahead Of Tehran’s Expected Strike On Israel
During a visit to an Israeli F-15 Air Force base on Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin repeated a thinly disguised warning to the Iranian regime ahead of an anticipated strike on Israel.
“We set a simple principle: Anyone who hits us, we hit them,” Netanyahu told the Israeli Air Force (IAF) pilots, in a likely reference to the Iranian threat to hit Israel. “We are ready to fulfill our responsibilities to Israel’s security, in defense and attack,” he added.
Netanyahu framed the looming threat of Iran within the wider context of Israel facing military conflicts across multiple fronts from Iranian-backed terror proxies such as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Hezbollah, and the Houthis.
“We are in challenging times. We are in the midst of a war in Gaza that is continuing with full force. In addition, we are continuing with ceaseless efforts to return our hostages, but we are also preparing for challenges from other fronts,” the prime minister stated.
The Iranian regime has vowed “revenge” after General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a top Iranian Quds Force general, his deputy and several other high-ranking Iranian military officials were killed on April 1. The strike, largely attributed to Israel, targeted a building adjacent to the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria.
Zahedi was reportedly the highest-ranking Iranian military official in Syria and was in charge of anti-Israel terror militias in Syria and Lebanon. At the time of the strike, Zahedi had allegedly held talks with senior PIJ leaders and a Hamas ally who took part in the Oct. 7 massacre.
Israeli Defense Forces has neither denied nor assumed responsibility for the Damascus strike, following its long-established policy of not publicly confirming or denying involvement in military operations targeting Iranian-affiliated groups or assets in Syria.
Day 189 — Friday, April 12
US Tells Staff In Israel Not To Travel Outside Cities Amid Iran Threat
The United States said on Thursday it had restricted its employees in Israel and their family members from personal travel outside the greater Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Be’er Sheva areas amid Iran’s threats to retaliate against its regional adversary.
Iran has vowed revenge for the April 1 airstrike on its embassy compound in Damascus, ratcheting up tension in a region already strained by the Gaza war.
“Out of an abundance of caution, U.S. government employees and their family members are restricted from personal travel outside the greater Tel Aviv (including Herzliya, Netanya, and Even Yehuda), Jerusalem, and Be’er Sheva areas until further notice,” the US embassy said in a security alert on its website on Thursday. “U.S. government personnel are authorized to transit between these three areas for personal travel.”
Day 188 — Thursday, April 11
Sons And Grandchildren Of Hamas Political Leader Killed In Israeli Airstrike In Gaza
Three sons of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh were reportedly killed in an Israeli airstrike near Gaza City’s Shati Camp on Wednesday.
Al Jazeera reports that several grandchildren of Haniyeh were also among those who lost their lives in the strike.
The IDF confirmed the killing of Amir, Muhammad, and Hazem Haniyeh on Wednesday evening.
In a statement, the IDF said, “Air Force aircraft attacked earlier today with the intelligence guidance of the Amman and the Shin Bet, three military operatives of the terrorist organization Hamas on their way to carry out terrorist activities in the central area of the Gaza Strip.
The three activists who were attacked are Amir Haniyeh, a squad commander in the military arm of Hamas, Muhammad Haniyeh, a military operative in the terrorist organization and Hazem Haniyeh, another military operative in the terrorist organization.
The IDF confirms that the activists are three of the children of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the political bureau of Hamas.”
A Senior Israeli official added: “The killing of Haniyeh’s sons not related to hostage and ceasefire negotiations, we will keep eliminating terrorists.”
According to an Israeli media report, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Gallant were not notified of the strike beforehand due to the strike being deemed time-sensitive.
Haniyeh, who resides in Qatar, serves as the political leader of Hamas, the terrorist organization governing the Gaza Strip.
Day 188 — Thursday, April 11
Freed Hostage Says She Was Abducted By Civilians Who Sold Her To Hamas Terrorists
An Israeli nurse freed from Gaza captivity says she was actually abducted by Palestinian civilians who then sold her to Hamas terrorists.
Nili Margalit, 42, told Le Point that it was civilians brandishing Kalashnikovs who overran her home and snatched her from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the deadly Oct. 7 rampage.
“They negotiated with Hamas to sell me,” she told the French magazine.
“When they were paid, I was taken straight into a tunnel,” she said of the underground network that terrorists used to hold their hostages.
Margalit was finally freed eight weeks later as part of an agreement between Israel and Hamas. She is currently on a European tour to highlight the plight of the 133 Israelis still held in Gaza more than six months later.
Margalit recalled how on Oct. 7, she first heard alarms signaling incoming rockets blaring before dawn, and was hiding in her unlocked saferoom when the attackers ransacked her home.
“They exploded plates, turned the house upside down and started a fire,” she told the magazine.
The raiders then dragged the nurse out of her hiding spot, placed her on a golf cart beneath a white sheet, and whisked her to the border with Gaza, where Margalit said she was “sold” to Hamas. From there, she was driven to the city of Khan Yunis, where she said she heard cheers from crowds of people.
Once inside Gaza, Margalit was brought into what she described as a “reception room” within Hamas’ tunnel network, which held about 30 other hostages, including people from her kibbutz.
Day 187 — Wednesday, April 10
IDF Strikes Buildings From Which Rockets Were Launched Towards Israel
IDF troops are continuing to operate in the central Gaza Strip and killed a number of terrorists over the past day. During a close-quarters encounter, IDF troops killed a terrorist cell that posed a threat to the troops.
Over the past day, IDF fighter jets and aircraft struck dozens of terror targets in the Gaza Strip, including military sites, launchers, tunnel shafts, and infrastructure.
In one of the strikes, an IAF aircraft also struck a Hamas terrorist cell that posed a threat to IDF troops operating in the area.
On Tuesday, a launch was identified from Jabalya toward Kibbutz Kfar Aza that was intercepted by the IDF Aerial Defense Array. In response, an IDF fighter jet struck the compound and launcher from which launch was fired.
In addition, a number of launches were identified toward IDF troops operating in the area of Shejaiya in the northern Gaza Strip. In response, an IDF fighter jet struck the launcher from which the launches were fired.
Day 187 — Wednesday, April 10
Nearly Half of U.S. Muslims, Like U.K. Muslims, Support Hamas in War
A recent poll by the Pew Research Center shows that nearly half of Muslims in the U.S. support the Hamas terrorist group in its war against Israel — a similar proportion to that found in a different poll of Muslims in the United Kingdom.
As Breitbart News reported April 8:
Nearly half of British Muslims would say they sympathise with Hamas while just one in four believe that the Palestinian Islamist terror group had committed murder and rape during the October 7th attacks on Israel, a survey says it has found.
The poll, commissioned by the counter-extremism Henry Jackson Society think tank, found that 46 per cent of British Muslims are sympathetic towards Hamas, which is classified by the UK and U.S. governments as a terrorist organisation.
A similar poll by the Pew Research Center in the U.S. released March 21 found that 49% of U.S. Muslims believed that Hamas’s reasons for fighting were “valid.” Only 22% said that Hamas’s reasons for fighting were “not valid.”
The Muslim population in the U.S. is largely made up of immigrants and first-generation Americans. The Muslim population in the U.S. is growing “much faster” than the Jewish population, and coincides with a rise of antisemitism on college campuses, as well as the Democratic Party’s drift away from its historically pro-Israel position.
Though these developments also have other causes, the poll suggests that Muslim public opinion may be a significant factor.
On Tuesday, the White House condemned chants of “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!” that were chanted by Muslims during an anti-Israel demonstration last week for “Al Quds Day,” an Iranian-backed anti-Israel observance.
Day 186 — Tuesday, April 9
Iran FM Threatens Israel Amid Symbolic Visit To Damascus
In a message to Israel, Iran sent its foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, to Damascus on Monday, a week after an airstrike in the city struck a building adjoining its consulate, killing senior Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi. Iran has vowed revenge on Israel, accusing it of the strike.
Amirabdollahian pledging to continue support for the Syrian regime showcases that Iran is not intimidated. He met with his counterpart and other officials at the Iranian embassy and said that “the security of Syria is the security of the region, and these atrocities and crimes will not have any effect on the survival of Netanyahu and his regime,” according to Iran’s Tasnim News. He paid tribute to the Syrian and “Iranian martyrs” during his visit and also slammed Israel.
Tasnim said that he “also explained the efforts and diplomatic, legal and international measures of Iran in response to the crime of the Zionist regime in Damascus. He said: ‘We emphasized the responsibility of the American government as a full-fledged supporter of the Zionist regime to the authorities of this country through appropriate diplomatic channels, as well. We made all the countries of the world aware of the Zionist regime’s crossing of all red lines and violation of laws, treaties, and international laws.'”
During the visit, Syria said that it does not recognize the “Zionist regime.” Under the Assad regime, Syria was always one of the holdouts in the region that did not recognize Israel and has considered itself part of the “axis of resistance” linked to Iran. However, the Assad regime has known since the mid-1970s that it will never defeat Israel.
Since the Syrian Civil War broke out in 2011, the regime in Damascus was weakened, and so invited Iran to send over militias and the IRGC. Iran then used Syria as a testing ground for its militias, to move weapons to Hezbollah and drones to Syria.
Starting in 2018, Iran began to increase threats to Israel from Syria, using drones flown from the T-4 base near Palmyra, and built a base near al-Bukamal, called Imam Ali. It also encouraged Hezbollah to open the “Golan file,” and move Hezbollah members closer to the border. Hezbollah has been attacking Israel since October 8.
Syria has now joined Iran in publicly slamming Israel, claiming it is helping “mobilize” the international community against Jerusalem. However, the real powers behind the throne in Damascus are both Russia and Iran. They may not always agree on everything, but Russia has exploited the Hamas war on Israel for its benefit, which Iran has done as well, hoping to isolate and weaken Israel. Iran’s message, in sending its envoy, is that it will continue to seek to punish Israel.
HD Editor’s Note: Why Is This News Biblically Relevant?
Erick Stakelbeck, host of “The Watchman” program, recently analyzed the Biblical significance of the conflict between Israel and Syria.
“What does it mean prophetically, as Israel and Syria continue to go toe to toe?” he asked. “Many times, people mention Isaiah 17 and Damascus, the Syrian capital. Isaiah 17 lays out that the day is coming when Damascus, which is arguably the world’s oldest continuously inhabited city, will one day become ‘a ruinous heap’ and ‘cease to be a city’ (Isaiah 17:1).”
“Folks, every time Israel and Syria go toe to toe, you have to consider the prophetic undertone,” Stakelbeck underscored. “Iran and Hezbollah continue to operate on Syrian soil in league with the Assad regime. You can expect the situation in Syria to remain very tense. Oh, and by the way, Russia is there as well—talk about prophetic implications!”
Speaking of various reports detailing how Russian troops are moving closer to the Israel-Syria border, Stakelbeck added: “I believe a day is coming when Russia, as well as Iran, will lead what the prophet Ezekiel calls a latter-day confederation against Israel. It’s called The War of Gog and Magog in the Book of Ezekiel 38 and 39. The prophetic chess pieces are moving.”
Day 186 — Tuesday, April 9
Netanyahu Says A Date Is Set For IDF Offensive In Rafah, Calls Operation Essential To Victory
Israel has set a date for the military offensive against the remaining Hamas terror battalions in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday night.
“We are constantly working to achieve our goals—first and foremost the release of all our hostages and achieving a complete victory over Hamas.
This victory requires entry into Rafah and the elimination of the terrorist battalions there,” the premier said in a video released by his office.
“It will happen; there is a date,” revealed Netanyahu, adding that he had received a “detailed report” on the high-level hostages-for-ceasefire negotiations that ended in Cairo earlier on Monday.
Matthew Miller, the U.S. State Department spokesman, told reporters on Thursday, “To my knowledge, we have not been briefed on that date.”
The Israeli government has repeatedly emphasized that telling Israel to refrain from operating in Rafah is equivalent to demanding that it lose the war. Many of the 133 hostages still in the hands of Hamas after 184 days are believed to be held in Rafah. Two captives were rescued from the city by special forces in a daring military operation last month.
According to Israeli estimates, the final four Hamas battalions—with some 3,000 gunmen—are concentrated in Rafah. Netanyahu has said that all battalions must be defeated to prevent the terror organization from regrouping and reestablishing itself to threaten Israel again.
Around 64% of Israelis support expanding the military operations against Hamas to Rafah, even if it means a clash with the United States, which opposes such a move, according to a poll published last week.
The Biden administration is pressing Israel to refrain from a full-scale ground incursion, claiming the move could lead to a humanitarian “disaster” in Gaza. Instead, the White House favors a limited operation aimed at high-value Hamas targets and securing the border with Egypt.
The administration is seeking to explore alternative plans when a senior Israeli delegation visits Washington, though a date has yet to be set.
“We were hoping to be able to do it this week, but I’m not sure,” White House advisor John Kirby told reporters on Monday. “I’m not expecting one this week.” He claimed Israel had committed not to launch an operation in Rafah prior to holding the delayed meeting in Washington.
The meeting was originally scheduled for late last month but was canceled by Netanyahu at the last minute after the U.S. failed to veto a U.N. Security Council resolution on March 25, decoupling the demand for a ceasefire from the release of the hostages held by Hamas.
Last week, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and the head of Israel’s National Security Council, Tzachi Hanegbi, held a virtual discussion about the Rafah operation with U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and other American officials.
Day 186 — Tuesday, April 9
Erdan Highlights Long-Standing Connection Between The Palestinians And Nazi Germany During UN Address
In a stern address at the United Nations General Assembly meeting on April 8, 2024, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, delivered a forceful critique of the international body’s handling of the Gaza conflict.
Erdan began his speech by unveiling a historic photograph showing Mufti Haj Amin Al-Husseini alongside Adolf Hitler on the UN stage, highlighting a long-standing connection between the Palestinians and Nazi Germany.
He emphasized that the Palestinians’ ultimate goal remains the annihilation of Israel and the Jewish people. Erdan condemned the Security Council’s consideration of granting permanent member status to Palestine, accusing the UN of rewarding terrorism and violating its foundational principles.
“The UN, the organization founded to prevent Nazi ideology from spreading, has committed itself to reinforcing modern-day Nazi Jihadists” he said in his speech.
He also denounced the Palestinian Authority’s practice of financially supporting terrorists, asserting that it contradicts the UN’s requirement for membership as “peace-loving states.”
Erdan concluded his address by cautioning that if the Security Council proceeds with rewarding terrorism, it would undermine its credibility as a peacekeeping institution. The ambassador’s remarks underscored the deep-rooted complexities and ongoing tensions surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict within the international community.
Day 186 — Tuesday, April 9
For The First Time: 'Naval Iron Dome' Intercepts Drone Near Eilat
Sirens warning of a suspected infiltration of a hostile aircraft were sounded shortly after 11:30 p.m. on Monday evening in Eilat and the surrounding area.
The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit announced shortly after midnight that IDF Naval forces identified a suspicious aerial target crossing into Israeli territory. The target was successfully intercepted by the “C-Dome” naval defense system.
“The target was tracked by the IDF, no injuries were reported and no damage was caused,” the statement added.
The C-Dome is the naval version of the Iron Dome system and is installed on the Israeli Navy’s Saar 6 “Magen” corvettes.
The C-Dome system aboard Sa’ar 6 “Magen” corvettes is based on the venerated Iron Dome system and constitutes an additional layer of the State of Israel’s multi-tier air and missile defense array.
The array is based on four operational defense tiers: Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow 2, and Arrow 3. Development of these systems is led by DDR&D’s Israel Missile Defense Organization. Rafael Advanced Defense Systems is the prime contractor and developer of the Iron Dome and works in partnership with subcontractors such as Israel Aerospace Industries’ Elta Systems, which supplies the multi-mission radar, and mPrest, responsible for the command-and-control systems.
Day 185 — Monday, April 8
House Speaker: It’s Time To Stop Lecturing Israel On How It Should Defend Itself
US House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Sunday marked the six-month anniversary of Hamas’ deadly terrorist attack on Israel and blasted what he described as an “appalling” lack of support from some Democrats for the country as it continues its war in Gaza, The Washington Examiner reported.
“Since the massacre, it’s been appalling to watch anti-Israel rhetoric and support for an unconditional cease-fire grow among Democrats in Washington, even as Hamas holds 130 Israelis and Americans hostage in Gaza,” Johnson said in a statement.
Dozens of Democrats in Congress have called for a ceasefire in the region, citing deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Gaza.
In his statement on Sunday, Johnson reiterated House Republicans’ support for Israel, which comes as the Biden administration faces pressure from prominent members of the President’s own party to curtail its weapons transfers to the Israeli military because of the continued civilian deaths in Gaza.
“Unlike our Democrat colleagues, House Republicans remain clear-eyed about who the enemy in this fight is, and we will not stop working and praying until each of the hostages is returned home,” Johnson said.
The Speaker added that on the Hamas attack anniversary, “of all days, Washington must be united in our support for our great ally, Israel, as they fight for their sovereignty and right to exist.”
“It’s time to stop lecturing Israel on how it should best defend itself and begin equipping our friend with the resources necessary to eliminate the threat of Hamas, once and for all,” Johnson said.
Day 185 — Monday, April 8
IDF Withdraws Ground Troops From South Gaza, Leaving Just One Brigade In Whole Enclave
The Israel Defense Forces withdrew all of its maneuvering ground forces from the Gaza Strip early Sunday morning, leaving just one brigade to secure a corridor splitting the Palestinian enclave.
Troops of the 98th Division were pulled out of the Khan Younis area after four straight months of fighting, the IDF said.
Only one brigade, Nahal, remains in the Gaza Strip. The Nahal Brigade has been tasked with securing the so-called Netzarim Corridor, which crosses Gaza from the Be’eri area in southern Israel to the Strip’s coast.
The corridor enables the IDF to carry out raids in northern and central Gaza, prevents Palestinians from returning to the northern part of the Strip, and allows humanitarian organizations to deliver aid directly to northern Gaza.
Hours after the withdrawal, five rockets were fired from the Khan Younis area at communities near the Gaza border.
According to the IDF, some of the rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system. There were no reports of injuries or damage.
Day 185 — Monday, April 8
Michigan: Anti-Israel Protesters Chant ‘Death to America,’ ‘Death to Israel’ on International Al-Quds Day
Anti-Israel protesters in Dearborn, Michigan, closed out Ramadan by chanting, “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” during an International Al-Quds Day rally.
Video of the protest went viral on social media Sunday, showing activists condemning both Israel and America in the harshest of terms. Activist Tarek Bazzi of the Hadi Institute said chants of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” were only logical.
“Why are our protests on the International Day of Al-Quds, why are they so anti-America?” he asked. “Why don’t we just focus more on Israel and not talk so much about America? Gaza has shown the entire world why these protests are so anti-America. Because it’s the United States government that provides the funds for all the atrocities that we just heard about.”
“Imam Khomeini, who declared the International Al-Quds Day, this is why he would say to pour all of your chants and all of your shouts upon the head of America,” he later added.
Bazzi then quoted Malcolm X, who said the United States is “one of the rottenest countries that has ever existed on this Earth.”
Regarding those who might say that Israel has a right to exist, Bazzi told the crowd to always respond with “Death to Israel,” referring to it as “the most logical chant shouted across the world today.”
Steven Stalinsky, director of the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), told Fox News that the Dearborn rallies have been happening for over 20 years and have become a “hotbed of hate.”
“You can see rallies and sermons in support for Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran,” Stalinsky said.
“I am not saying that everyone in Dearborn is a terrorist, but there is a large amount of support for jihadi groups there,” he added.
Day 184 — Sunday, April 7
Congress Members Slam Biden's Ultimatum To Israel As 'Public Betrayal'
Members of Congress denounced an ultimatum that U.S. President Joe Biden gave to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a Thursday phone call—made changes that Washington has called for or face the prospect of U.S. policy changes.
Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) noted an “offensive speech” last month by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) calling Netanyahu an obstacle to peace and calling for early Israeli elections. “Many Democrats have a serious anti-Israel problem,” Cole stated.
The congressman called Biden’s ultimatum to Netanyahu “unacceptable.”
“The recent actions and statements of both Senator Schumer and President Biden with respect to Israel are both outrageous and inappropriate,” he said.
For the two and others “to publicly criticize a democratic ally that is defending itself from a brutal terrorist attack, including the majority leader’s call for new elections in Israel, is both outrageous and unprecedented,” Cole said.
“President Biden and Senate Schumer appear to have lost all sense of moral and political clarity,” he added, “calling on both of them to retract their statements and stand with our great ally, Israel, at this critical moment. To do anything else is a public betrayal to our friends in Israel and effectively supports an enemy to civilized people all around the world.”
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) noted that Hamas started the war by brutally attacking Israeli civilians and it continues to hold more than 100 hostages and has rejected ceasefires. “The Biden administration’s treatment of Israel is outrageous,” he stated. “The United States must stand unequivocally with our greatest ally in the Middle East.”
Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) stated that “know-nothing activists—who think a transgender flag and Hamas flag go well together—have unfortunately infiltrated Biden’s thinking.”
“Let’s put this idea of a ceasefire into perspective. You want Israel to stop fighting against an enemy that has no intention of ever stopping. You know when there was a ceasefire? Oct. 6. You know what happened on Oct. 7? The biggest massacre of Israelis in recent history,” Crenshaw said. “The rape of countless women. The burning of infants. The ruthless killing of civilians.”
“War is always ugly, but the blood of every civilian death is on Hamas. Not Israel,” he added. “The demand should be simple: Hamas must surrender totally and completely and allow a transition of power. Hamas can never have power again. If you care about Palestinian lives, that is what must happen.”
Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) stated that “Joe Biden is about to abandon Israel the same way he abandoned Afghanistan.”
“He is caving to the Hamas sympathizers who have taken over the Democratic party and given up our strongest ally in the Middle East,” Wagner said. “His announcement could destabilize the region and embolden Iran, and it is just more proof of his weakness on the world stage.”
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) stated on Thursday that “War is chaotic, and urban warfare more so. I believe that Israel is doing as good a job as can be done and is working hard to avoid civilian casualties.”
“It is appropriate for President Biden to insist that Israel comply with the international law of armed conflict and comply with the Leahy Law and other U.S. laws that require that the recipients of our weapons act appropriately,” Sherman added. “I believe Israel is meeting these standards.”
Day 184 — Sunday, April 7
Amazon Faces Backlash for Selling Anti-Israel Propaganda Book Written By Hamas Leader Sinwar
International booksellers including Amazon incurred outrage on Friday when it emerged that their catalogues include a novel by one Yahya Al-Sinwar, the Hamas leader regarded as the mastermind behind the October 7 massacre.
It is understood that Sinwar penned The Thorn and The Carnation — described variously as a “thinly veiled autobiography” and a jihadist bildungsroman (a literary genre offering an account of a protagonist’s spiritual formation) — during his 22-year-long incarceration in Israeli prisons. It is not known when it was translated into English; yet the edition sold on Amazon was published in December 2023, some two months after the October 7 atrocities made him one of the world’s most notorious terrorists.
Moreover, the book’s blurb advertises his role in the worst antisemitic atrocity since the Holocaust, waxing poetic about how “through the pages, readers traverse the corridors of his mind, possibly where the seeds for the ‘Flood of Al-Aqsa’ operation initiated on October 7, 2023, were sown.”
Sinwar’s tale “is not just one of survival; it bears testimony to the spirit of a people in perpetual struggle,” the copy intones. “The narrative captures the essence of a life lived in the shadows of conflict and highlights the personal sacrifices made in the pursuit of what Al-Sinwar and his comrades deem liberation and resistance. It is a window into the soul of a movement and the heart of one of its most enigmatic leaders.”
The Board of Deputies of British Jews urged Amazon to take the listing down, saying such book can be used to “propagandize on behalf of a proscribed terrorist organization and also to raise money for it.”
Day 183 — Saturday, April 6
U.N. Human Rights Council Accuses Israel of War Crimes, Ignores Hamas Atrocities
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) passed a non-binding resolution on Friday demanding Israel be held accountable for potential war crimes and crimes against humanity. It was the first resolution UNHRC has passed since the beginning of the war in Gaza.
The resolution, introduced by Pakistan on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, passed with 28 votes in favor, 13 abstentions, and 6 votes against, including the United States. The Palestinian delegation and its supporters cheered and applauded when the resolution was passed.
The Palestinians were not magnanimous in victory, complaining that too many Western states still voted against the condemnation of Israel. Germany joined the United States in voting against the resolution, while France and Japan abstained.
“There have been calls for accountability across the world, but that position changes when we’re talking about Israel,” complained Palestinian U.N. Ambassador Ibrahim Khiraishi.
Israeli Ambassador Meirav Eilon Shahar, on the other hand, denounced the resolution as “a stain for the Human Rights Council and for the U.N. as a whole.”
Shahar said UNHRC has “long abandoned the Israeli people, and long defended Hamas.”
“According to the resolution before you today, Israel has no right to protect its people, while Hamas has every right to murder and torture innocent Israelis. A vote ‘Yes’ is a vote for Hamas,” she said.
“I don’t know if any of you counted, but Israel appears in the resolution 59 times. 59 times. Hamas does not appear at all,” she told reporters before leaving the U.N. for the day.
The UNHRC resolution astonishingly did not mention Hamas by name nor condemn it for the October 7 atrocities or its subsequent activities in Gaza — including its now-proven use of hospitals as weapons depots and command centers.
The resolution’s sole acknowledgement of the brutal tactics employed by Hamas were a mild condemnation of rockets fired at civilian targets in Israel — a war crime Hamas and its Iran-backed allies perpetrate on an almost daily basis — and a call for “the immediate release of all hostages,” without mentioning who they are, or who is holding them prisoner.
U.S. Ambassador Michele Taylor said these omissions were the reasons why the Biden administration could not support the resolution, although she still went out of her way to criticize Israel, in keeping with the administration’s increasingly critical posture after the airstrike by Israel that killed seven foreign aid workers in Gaza on Monday.
“The United States has repeatedly urged Israel to de-conflict military operations against Hamas with humanitarian operations, in order to avoid civilian casualties and to ensure humanitarian actors can carry out their essential mission in safety,” Taylor said.
“That has not happened and, in just six months, more humanitarians have been killed in this conflict than in any war of the modern era,” she claimed.
The text of the UNHRC resolution originally accused Israel of “genocide,” language the Palestinian delegation to the U.N. constantly uses, but those references were softened to an expression of “grave concern at statements by Israeli officials amounting to incitement to genocide.”
The resolution demanded an “immediate ceasefire,” called on Israel to refrain from “any large-scale military operations against the city of Rafah,” and urged U.N. member states to “prevent the continued forcible transfer of Palestinians within and from Gaza.”
The text called for all countries to “cease the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel,” in order to “prevent further violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights.”
The resolution accused Israel of using “starvation of civilians as a method of warfare in Gaza,” without mentioning Israel’s allegations that Hamas terrorists have been looting aid trucks.
The resolution additionally demanded Israel “immediately lift its blockade on the Gaza Strip and all other forms of collective punishment.”
Day 183 — Saturday, April 6
Netanyahu Warns Iran: Israel Knows How To Defend Itself
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly addressed Iran at a high-level meeting on Thursday night, warning the Islamic Republic that whoever harms or plans to harm the Jewish state will be hurt back.
“For years, Iran has been working against us, both directly and through its proxies, and therefore Israel has been working against Iran and its proxies, both on the defense and offense,” said the premier.
“We will know how to defend ourselves and will act according to the simple principle that whoever hurts us or plans to hurt us—we will hurt him,” he added.
Israel’s Political-Security Cabinet gathered in Jerusalem on Thursday night to discuss the Iranian threat, as well as to receive an update on the ongoing hostage negotiations with Hamas.
On Monday, seven members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including its leader in Syria and Lebanon, were killed in an attack in Damascus that targeted a building adjacent to the Iranian embassy.
Brig. Gen. Mohammad Zahedi was the most senior regime official to be killed since Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in Tehran in an assassination attributed to Israel four years ago.
Israel has not officially taken responsibility for the attack, but four officials have told The New York Times that Jerusalem ordered the strike.
Senior sources in the Iranian regime told Reuters on Thursday that Tehran would give a “serious response” to the raid, though suggested that it would avoid a direct clash with Israel and the United States.
According to Israeli assessments reported by Channel 12, Iran could attempt to strike Israel through one of its terror proxies—Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen or militia forces in Syria.
The Israel Defense Forces has been placed on high alert, resulting in combat soldiers’ weekend leaves being canceled and the military calling up additional reserve soldiers to the IDF Aerial Defense Array.
Day 183 — Saturday, April 6
Harvard Hires 24/7 Security To Protect Anti-Israel ‘Apartheid Wall’ Featuring Quote From Famous Terrorist
Harvard University is employing around-the-clock security to protect an anti-Israel “apartheid wall” created by students that features a quote from the leader of a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.
The wall includes various anti-Israel art and a quote from Ghassan Kanafani, the former spokesperson for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a communist Palestinian terrorist organization known for hijacking aircraft and mass murder. Kanafani was assassinated in Beirut in June of 1972 by the Mossad after being linked to the massacre of 26 people—including American tourists—at Ben Gurion airport two months earlier, according to Jewish News Syndicate.
“The Palestinian cause is not a cause for Palestinians only, but a cause for every revolutionary wherever he is, as a cause of the exploited and oppressed masses in our era,” the Kanafani quote reads.
The guards have been giving the display 24-hour coverage while sporting jackets with a Securitas logo, a security firm that has a relationship with Harvard. A Harvard alum who lives near campus told The Daily Wire that one of the security guards started yelling when asked who he was employed by.
“He thought that we were filming and started yelling at us that we are escalating the situation and that he is going to call his supervisor,” the alum who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of retribution said. “He started walking to the car and then turned around and started yelling that we are going to threaten him in his family, because this is what ‘you people do,’ threaten people and steal their lands.”
When the alum notified the Harvard Police, they confirmed he worked for a security firm contracted by the school and said that the guard would not return to protect the wall.
“To pay to have a guard 24/7 protecting a wall that displays statements issued by U.S.-designated terror organizations, and propagates conspiracies against Israel and the Jewish people, and simultaneously not do so to protect posters of hostages whose photos have been hatefully and regularly defaced and vandalized, is bizarre and poor judgment in the extreme,” Harvard Chabad Rabbi Hirschy Zarchi told The Daily Wire.
Fliers of Jewish civilians taken hostage by Hamas have been repeatedly vandalized on campus, including last month when a groundskeeper employed by a company contracted by Harvard acted aggressively when being confronted for ripping down posters. He was asked to leave campus and will not be assigned to work on campus again, according to a Harvard spokesperson.
In another incident, hostage posters were vandalized with anti-Semitic and 9/11 conspiracy graffiti at the start of this spring semester.
In December, Zarchi revealed for the first time that the university told him that he must put away the menorah he lights on campus during Hannukah to avoid vandalism.
“The university, since the first Hanukkah, would not allow us to keep this menorah here overnight because there is fear that it will be vandalized,” he said at the time. “We in the Jewish community are instructed, ‘We’ll let you have the menorah. You made your point. Okay, pack it up. Don’t leave it out overnight because there will be criminal activity, we fear, and it won’t look good.”
“It pains me to have to say, sadly, that Jew-hate and anti-Semitism is thriving on this campus,” he added. “26 years I’ve given my life to this community. I’ve never felt so alone.”
Shabbos Kestenbaum, a graduate student who is suing Harvard over claims of enabling anti-Semitism, said the quote is part of a bigger trend of anti-Jewish hate on the campus.
“It is hardly surprising that the same group of students who interrupt classes to yell about globalizing the intifada, publish and promote anti-Semitic cartoons, and intimidate Jewish students on campus would also be comfortable quoting and glorifying Palestinian terrorism,” he said.
Harvard University did not respond to a request for comment.
ISRAEL WAR — TIMELINE
Day 189 — Friday, April 12
Netanyahu Issues Barely-Veiled Warning To Iran Ahead Of Tehran’s Expected Strike On Israel
During a visit to an Israeli F-15 Air Force base on Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin repeated a thinly disguised warning to the Iranian regime ahead of an anticipated strike on Israel.
“We set a simple principle: Anyone who hits us, we hit them,” Netanyahu told the Israeli Air Force (IAF) pilots, in a likely reference to the Iranian threat to hit Israel. “We are ready to fulfill our responsibilities to Israel’s security, in defense and attack,” he added.
Netanyahu framed the looming threat of Iran within the wider context of Israel facing military conflicts across multiple fronts from Iranian-backed terror proxies such as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Hezbollah, and the Houthis.
“We are in challenging times. We are in the midst of a war in Gaza that is continuing with full force. In addition, we are continuing with ceaseless efforts to return our hostages, but we are also preparing for challenges from other fronts,” the prime minister stated.
The Iranian regime has vowed “revenge” after General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a top Iranian Quds Force general, his deputy and several other high-ranking Iranian military officials were killed on April 1. The strike, largely attributed to Israel, targeted a building adjacent to the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria.
Zahedi was reportedly the highest-ranking Iranian military official in Syria and was in charge of anti-Israel terror militias in Syria and Lebanon. At the time of the strike, Zahedi had allegedly held talks with senior PIJ leaders and a Hamas ally who took part in the Oct. 7 massacre.
Israeli Defense Forces has neither denied nor assumed responsibility for the Damascus strike, following its long-established policy of not publicly confirming or denying involvement in military operations targeting Iranian-affiliated groups or assets in Syria.
Day 189 — Friday, April 12
US Tells Staff In Israel Not To Travel Outside Cities Amid Iran Threat
The United States said on Thursday it had restricted its employees in Israel and their family members from personal travel outside the greater Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Be’er Sheva areas amid Iran’s threats to retaliate against its regional adversary.
Iran has vowed revenge for the April 1 airstrike on its embassy compound in Damascus, ratcheting up tension in a region already strained by the Gaza war.
“Out of an abundance of caution, U.S. government employees and their family members are restricted from personal travel outside the greater Tel Aviv (including Herzliya, Netanya, and Even Yehuda), Jerusalem, and Be’er Sheva areas until further notice,” the US embassy said in a security alert on its website on Thursday. “U.S. government personnel are authorized to transit between these three areas for personal travel.”
Day 188 — Thursday, April 11
Sons And Grandchildren Of Hamas Political Leader Killed In Israeli Airstrike In Gaza
Three sons of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh were reportedly killed in an Israeli airstrike near Gaza City’s Shati Camp on Wednesday.
Al Jazeera reports that several grandchildren of Haniyeh were also among those who lost their lives in the strike.
The IDF confirmed the killing of Amir, Muhammad, and Hazem Haniyeh on Wednesday evening.
In a statement, the IDF said, “Air Force aircraft attacked earlier today with the intelligence guidance of the Amman and the Shin Bet, three military operatives of the terrorist organization Hamas on their way to carry out terrorist activities in the central area of the Gaza Strip.
The three activists who were attacked are Amir Haniyeh, a squad commander in the military arm of Hamas, Muhammad Haniyeh, a military operative in the terrorist organization and Hazem Haniyeh, another military operative in the terrorist organization.
The IDF confirms that the activists are three of the children of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the political bureau of Hamas.”
A Senior Israeli official added: “The killing of Haniyeh’s sons not related to hostage and ceasefire negotiations, we will keep eliminating terrorists.”
According to an Israeli media report, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Gallant were not notified of the strike beforehand due to the strike being deemed time-sensitive.
Haniyeh, who resides in Qatar, serves as the political leader of Hamas, the terrorist organization governing the Gaza Strip.
Day 188 — Thursday, April 11
Freed hostage says she was abducted by civilians who sold her to Hamas terrorists
An Israeli nurse freed from Gaza captivity says she was actually abducted by Palestinian civilians who then sold her to Hamas terrorists.
Nili Margalit, 42, told Le Point that it was civilians brandishing Kalashnikovs who overran her home and snatched her from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the deadly Oct. 7 rampage.
“They negotiated with Hamas to sell me,” she told the French magazine.
“When they were paid, I was taken straight into a tunnel,” she said of the underground network that terrorists used to hold their hostages.
Margalit was finally freed eight weeks later as part of an agreement between Israel and Hamas. She is currently on a European tour to highlight the plight of the 133 Israelis still held in Gaza more than six months later.
Margalit recalled how on Oct. 7, she first heard alarms signaling incoming rockets blaring before dawn, and was hiding in her unlocked saferoom when the attackers ransacked her home.
“They exploded plates, turned the house upside down and started a fire,” she told the magazine.
The raiders then dragged the nurse out of her hiding spot, placed her on a golf cart beneath a white sheet, and whisked her to the border with Gaza, where Margalit said she was “sold” to Hamas. From there, she was driven to the city of Khan Yunis, where she said she heard cheers from crowds of people.
Once inside Gaza, Margalit was brought into what she described as a “reception room” within Hamas’ tunnel network, which held about 30 other hostages, including people from her kibbutz.
Day 187 — Wednesday, April 10
IDF Strikes Buildings From Which Rockets Were Launched Towards Israel
IDF troops are continuing to operate in the central Gaza Strip and killed a number of terrorists over the past day. During a close-quarters encounter, IDF troops killed a terrorist cell that posed a threat to the troops.
Over the past day, IDF fighter jets and aircraft struck dozens of terror targets in the Gaza Strip, including military sites, launchers, tunnel shafts, and infrastructure.
In one of the strikes, an IAF aircraft also struck a Hamas terrorist cell that posed a threat to IDF troops operating in the area.
On Tuesday, a launch was identified from Jabalya toward Kibbutz Kfar Aza that was intercepted by the IDF Aerial Defense Array. In response, an IDF fighter jet struck the compound and launcher from which launch was fired.
In addition, a number of launches were identified toward IDF troops operating in the area of Shejaiya in the northern Gaza Strip. In response, an IDF fighter jet struck the launcher from which the launches were fired.
Day 187 — Wednesday, April 10
Nearly Half of U.S. Muslims, Like U.K. Muslims, Support Hamas in War
A recent poll by the Pew Research Center shows that nearly half of Muslims in the U.S. support the Hamas terrorist group in its war against Israel — a similar proportion to that found in a different poll of Muslims in the United Kingdom.
As Breitbart News reported April 8:
Nearly half of British Muslims would say they sympathise with Hamas while just one in four believe that the Palestinian Islamist terror group had committed murder and rape during the October 7th attacks on Israel, a survey says it has found.
The poll, commissioned by the counter-extremism Henry Jackson Society think tank, found that 46 per cent of British Muslims are sympathetic towards Hamas, which is classified by the UK and U.S. governments as a terrorist organisation.
A similar poll by the Pew Research Center in the U.S. released March 21 found that 49% of U.S. Muslims believed that Hamas’s reasons for fighting were “valid.” Only 22% said that Hamas’s reasons for fighting were “not valid.”
The Muslim population in the U.S. is largely made up of immigrants and first-generation Americans. The Muslim population in the U.S. is growing “much faster” than the Jewish population, and coincides with a rise of antisemitism on college campuses, as well as the Democratic Party’s drift away from its historically pro-Israel position.
Though these developments also have other causes, the poll suggests that Muslim public opinion may be a significant factor.
On Tuesday, the White House condemned chants of “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!” that were chanted by Muslims during an anti-Israel demonstration last week for “Al Quds Day,” an Iranian-backed anti-Israel observance.
Day 186 — Tuesday, April 9
Iran FM Threatens Israel Amid Symbolic Visit To Damascus
In a message to Israel, Iran sent its foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, to Damascus on Monday, a week after an airstrike in the city struck a building adjoining its consulate, killing senior Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi. Iran has vowed revenge on Israel, accusing it of the strike.
Amirabdollahian pledging to continue support for the Syrian regime showcases that Iran is not intimidated. He met with his counterpart and other officials at the Iranian embassy and said that “the security of Syria is the security of the region, and these atrocities and crimes will not have any effect on the survival of Netanyahu and his regime,” according to Iran’s Tasnim News. He paid tribute to the Syrian and “Iranian martyrs” during his visit and also slammed Israel.
Tasnim said that he “also explained the efforts and diplomatic, legal and international measures of Iran in response to the crime of the Zionist regime in Damascus. He said: ‘We emphasized the responsibility of the American government as a full-fledged supporter of the Zionist regime to the authorities of this country through appropriate diplomatic channels, as well. We made all the countries of the world aware of the Zionist regime’s crossing of all red lines and violation of laws, treaties, and international laws.'”
During the visit, Syria said that it does not recognize the “Zionist regime.” Under the Assad regime, Syria was always one of the holdouts in the region that did not recognize Israel and has considered itself part of the “axis of resistance” linked to Iran. However, the Assad regime has known since the mid-1970s that it will never defeat Israel.
Since the Syrian Civil War broke out in 2011, the regime in Damascus was weakened, and so invited Iran to send over militias and the IRGC. Iran then used Syria as a testing ground for its militias, to move weapons to Hezbollah and drones to Syria.
Starting in 2018, Iran began to increase threats to Israel from Syria, using drones flown from the T-4 base near Palmyra, and built a base near al-Bukamal, called Imam Ali. It also encouraged Hezbollah to open the “Golan file,” and move Hezbollah members closer to the border. Hezbollah has been attacking Israel since October 8.
Syria has now joined Iran in publicly slamming Israel, claiming it is helping “mobilize” the international community against Jerusalem. However, the real powers behind the throne in Damascus are both Russia and Iran. They may not always agree on everything, but Russia has exploited the Hamas war on Israel for its benefit, which Iran has done as well, hoping to isolate and weaken Israel. Iran’s message, in sending its envoy, is that it will continue to seek to punish Israel.
HD Editor’s Note: Why Is This News Biblically Relevant?
Erick Stakelbeck, host of “The Watchman” program, recently analyzed the Biblical significance of the conflict between Israel and Syria.
“What does it mean prophetically, as Israel and Syria continue to go toe to toe?” he asked. “Many times, people mention Isaiah 17 and Damascus, the Syrian capital. Isaiah 17 lays out that the day is coming when Damascus, which is arguably the world’s oldest continuously inhabited city, will one day become ‘a ruinous heap’ and ‘cease to be a city’ (Isaiah 17:1).”
“Folks, every time Israel and Syria go toe to toe, you have to consider the prophetic undertone,” Stakelbeck underscored. “Iran and Hezbollah continue to operate on Syrian soil in league with the Assad regime. You can expect the situation in Syria to remain very tense. Oh, and by the way, Russia is there as well—talk about prophetic implications!”
Speaking of various reports detailing how Russian troops are moving closer to the Israel-Syria border, Stakelbeck added: “I believe a day is coming when Russia, as well as Iran, will lead what the prophet Ezekiel calls a latter-day confederation against Israel. It’s called The War of Gog and Magog in the Book of Ezekiel 38 and 39. The prophetic chess pieces are moving.”
Day 186 — Tuesday, April 9
Netanyahu Says A Date Is Set For IDF Offensive In Rafah, Calls Operation Essential To Victory
Israel has set a date for the military offensive against the remaining Hamas terror battalions in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday night.
“We are constantly working to achieve our goals—first and foremost the release of all our hostages and achieving a complete victory over Hamas.
This victory requires entry into Rafah and the elimination of the terrorist battalions there,” the premier said in a video released by his office.
“It will happen; there is a date,” revealed Netanyahu, adding that he had received a “detailed report” on the high-level hostages-for-ceasefire negotiations that ended in Cairo earlier on Monday.
Matthew Miller, the U.S. State Department spokesman, told reporters on Thursday, “To my knowledge, we have not been briefed on that date.”
The Israeli government has repeatedly emphasized that telling Israel to refrain from operating in Rafah is equivalent to demanding that it lose the war. Many of the 133 hostages still in the hands of Hamas after 184 days are believed to be held in Rafah. Two captives were rescued from the city by special forces in a daring military operation last month.
According to Israeli estimates, the final four Hamas battalions—with some 3,000 gunmen—are concentrated in Rafah. Netanyahu has said that all battalions must be defeated to prevent the terror organization from regrouping and reestablishing itself to threaten Israel again.
Around 64% of Israelis support expanding the military operations against Hamas to Rafah, even if it means a clash with the United States, which opposes such a move, according to a poll published last week.
The Biden administration is pressing Israel to refrain from a full-scale ground incursion, claiming the move could lead to a humanitarian “disaster” in Gaza. Instead, the White House favors a limited operation aimed at high-value Hamas targets and securing the border with Egypt.
The administration is seeking to explore alternative plans when a senior Israeli delegation visits Washington, though a date has yet to be set.
“We were hoping to be able to do it this week, but I’m not sure,” White House advisor John Kirby told reporters on Monday. “I’m not expecting one this week.” He claimed Israel had committed not to launch an operation in Rafah prior to holding the delayed meeting in Washington.
The meeting was originally scheduled for late last month but was canceled by Netanyahu at the last minute after the U.S. failed to veto a U.N. Security Council resolution on March 25, decoupling the demand for a ceasefire from the release of the hostages held by Hamas.
Last week, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and the head of Israel’s National Security Council, Tzachi Hanegbi, held a virtual discussion about the Rafah operation with U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and other American officials.
Day 186 — Tuesday, April 9
Erdan Highlights Long-Standing Connection Between The Palestinians And Nazi Germany During UN Address
In a stern address at the United Nations General Assembly meeting on April 8, 2024, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, delivered a forceful critique of the international body’s handling of the Gaza conflict.
Erdan began his speech by unveiling a historic photograph showing Mufti Haj Amin Al-Husseini alongside Adolf Hitler on the UN stage, highlighting a long-standing connection between the Palestinians and Nazi Germany.
He emphasized that the Palestinians’ ultimate goal remains the annihilation of Israel and the Jewish people. Erdan condemned the Security Council’s consideration of granting permanent member status to Palestine, accusing the UN of rewarding terrorism and violating its foundational principles.
“The UN, the organization founded to prevent Nazi ideology from spreading, has committed itself to reinforcing modern-day Nazi Jihadists” he said in his speech.
He also denounced the Palestinian Authority’s practice of financially supporting terrorists, asserting that it contradicts the UN’s requirement for membership as “peace-loving states.”
Erdan concluded his address by cautioning that if the Security Council proceeds with rewarding terrorism, it would undermine its credibility as a peacekeeping institution. The ambassador’s remarks underscored the deep-rooted complexities and ongoing tensions surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict within the international community.
Day 186 — Tuesday, April 9
For The First Time: 'Naval Iron Dome' Intercepts Drone Near Eilat
Sirens warning of a suspected infiltration of a hostile aircraft were sounded shortly after 11:30 p.m. on Monday evening in Eilat and the surrounding area.
The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit announced shortly after midnight that IDF Naval forces identified a suspicious aerial target crossing into Israeli territory. The target was successfully intercepted by the “C-Dome” naval defense system.
“The target was tracked by the IDF, no injuries were reported and no damage was caused,” the statement added.
The C-Dome is the naval version of the Iron Dome system and is installed on the Israeli Navy’s Saar 6 “Magen” corvettes.
The C-Dome system aboard Sa’ar 6 “Magen” corvettes is based on the venerated Iron Dome system and constitutes an additional layer of the State of Israel’s multi-tier air and missile defense array.
The array is based on four operational defense tiers: Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow 2, and Arrow 3. Development of these systems is led by DDR&D’s Israel Missile Defense Organization. Rafael Advanced Defense Systems is the prime contractor and developer of the Iron Dome and works in partnership with subcontractors such as Israel Aerospace Industries’ Elta Systems, which supplies the multi-mission radar, and mPrest, responsible for the command-and-control systems.
Day 185 — Monday, April 8
House Speaker: It’s Time To Stop Lecturing Israel On How It Should Defend Itself
US House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Sunday marked the six-month anniversary of Hamas’ deadly terrorist attack on Israel and blasted what he described as an “appalling” lack of support from some Democrats for the country as it continues its war in Gaza, The Washington Examiner reported.
“Since the massacre, it’s been appalling to watch anti-Israel rhetoric and support for an unconditional cease-fire grow among Democrats in Washington, even as Hamas holds 130 Israelis and Americans hostage in Gaza,” Johnson said in a statement.
Dozens of Democrats in Congress have called for a ceasefire in the region, citing deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Gaza.
In his statement on Sunday, Johnson reiterated House Republicans’ support for Israel, which comes as the Biden administration faces pressure from prominent members of the President’s own party to curtail its weapons transfers to the Israeli military because of the continued civilian deaths in Gaza.
“Unlike our Democrat colleagues, House Republicans remain clear-eyed about who the enemy in this fight is, and we will not stop working and praying until each of the hostages is returned home,” Johnson said.
The Speaker added that on the Hamas attack anniversary, “of all days, Washington must be united in our support for our great ally, Israel, as they fight for their sovereignty and right to exist.”
“It’s time to stop lecturing Israel on how it should best defend itself and begin equipping our friend with the resources necessary to eliminate the threat of Hamas, once and for all,” Johnson said.
Day 185 — Monday, April 8
IDF Withdraws Ground Troops From South Gaza, Leaving Just One Brigade In Whole Enclave
The Israel Defense Forces withdrew all of its maneuvering ground forces from the Gaza Strip early Sunday morning, leaving just one brigade to secure a corridor splitting the Palestinian enclave.
Troops of the 98th Division were pulled out of the Khan Younis area after four straight months of fighting, the IDF said.
Only one brigade, Nahal, remains in the Gaza Strip. The Nahal Brigade has been tasked with securing the so-called Netzarim Corridor, which crosses Gaza from the Be’eri area in southern Israel to the Strip’s coast.
The corridor enables the IDF to carry out raids in northern and central Gaza, prevents Palestinians from returning to the northern part of the Strip, and allows humanitarian organizations to deliver aid directly to northern Gaza.
Hours after the withdrawal, five rockets were fired from the Khan Younis area at communities near the Gaza border.
According to the IDF, some of the rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system. There were no reports of injuries or damage.
Times Of Israel
Day 185 — Monday, April 8
Michigan: Anti-Israel Protesters Chant ‘Death to America,’ ‘Death to Israel’ on International Al-Quds Day
Anti-Israel protesters in Dearborn, Michigan, closed out Ramadan by chanting, “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” during an International Al-Quds Day rally.
Video of the protest went viral on social media Sunday, showing activists condemning both Israel and America in the harshest of terms. Activist Tarek Bazzi of the Hadi Institute said chants of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” were only logical.
“Why are our protests on the International Day of Al-Quds, why are they so anti-America?” he asked. “Why don’t we just focus more on Israel and not talk so much about America? Gaza has shown the entire world why these protests are so anti-America. Because it’s the United States government that provides the funds for all the atrocities that we just heard about.”
“Imam Khomeini, who declared the International Al-Quds Day, this is why he would say to pour all of your chants and all of your shouts upon the head of America,” he later added.
Bazzi then quoted Malcolm X, who said the United States is “one of the rottenest countries that has ever existed on this Earth.”
Regarding those who might say that Israel has a right to exist, Bazzi told the crowd to always respond with “Death to Israel,” referring to it as “the most logical chant shouted across the world today.”
Steven Stalinsky, director of the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), told Fox News that the Dearborn rallies have been happening for over 20 years and have become a “hotbed of hate.”
“You can see rallies and sermons in support for Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran,” Stalinsky said.
“I am not saying that everyone in Dearborn is a terrorist, but there is a large amount of support for jihadi groups there,” he added.
Day 184 — Sunday, April 7
Congress Members Slam Biden's Ultimatum To Israel As 'Public Betrayal'
Members of Congress denounced an ultimatum that U.S. President Joe Biden gave to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a Thursday phone call—made changes that Washington has called for or face the prospect of U.S. policy changes.
Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) noted an “offensive speech” last month by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) calling Netanyahu an obstacle to peace and calling for early Israeli elections. “Many Democrats have a serious anti-Israel problem,” Cole stated.
The congressman called Biden’s ultimatum to Netanyahu “unacceptable.”
“The recent actions and statements of both Senator Schumer and President Biden with respect to Israel are both outrageous and inappropriate,” he said.
For the two and others “to publicly criticize a democratic ally that is defending itself from a brutal terrorist attack, including the majority leader’s call for new elections in Israel, is both outrageous and unprecedented,” Cole said.
“President Biden and Senate Schumer appear to have lost all sense of moral and political clarity,” he added, “calling on both of them to retract their statements and stand with our great ally, Israel, at this critical moment. To do anything else is a public betrayal to our friends in Israel and effectively supports an enemy to civilized people all around the world.”
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) noted that Hamas started the war by brutally attacking Israeli civilians and it continues to hold more than 100 hostages and has rejected ceasefires. “The Biden administration’s treatment of Israel is outrageous,” he stated. “The United States must stand unequivocally with our greatest ally in the Middle East.”
Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) stated that “know-nothing activists—who think a transgender flag and Hamas flag go well together—have unfortunately infiltrated Biden’s thinking.”
“Let’s put this idea of a ceasefire into perspective. You want Israel to stop fighting against an enemy that has no intention of ever stopping. You know when there was a ceasefire? Oct. 6. You know what happened on Oct. 7? The biggest massacre of Israelis in recent history,” Crenshaw said. “The rape of countless women. The burning of infants. The ruthless killing of civilians.”
“War is always ugly, but the blood of every civilian death is on Hamas. Not Israel,” he added. “The demand should be simple: Hamas must surrender totally and completely and allow a transition of power. Hamas can never have power again. If you care about Palestinian lives, that is what must happen.”
Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) stated that “Joe Biden is about to abandon Israel the same way he abandoned Afghanistan.”
“He is caving to the Hamas sympathizers who have taken over the Democratic party and given up our strongest ally in the Middle East,” Wagner said. “His announcement could destabilize the region and embolden Iran, and it is just more proof of his weakness on the world stage.”
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) stated on Thursday that “War is chaotic, and urban warfare more so. I believe that Israel is doing as good a job as can be done and is working hard to avoid civilian casualties.”
“It is appropriate for President Biden to insist that Israel comply with the international law of armed conflict and comply with the Leahy Law and other U.S. laws that require that the recipients of our weapons act appropriately,” Sherman added. “I believe Israel is meeting these standards.”
Day 184 — Sunday, April 7
Amazon Faces Backlash for Selling Anti-Israel Propaganda Book Written By Hamas Leader Sinwar
International booksellers including Amazon incurred outrage on Friday when it emerged that their catalogues include a novel by one Yahya Al-Sinwar, the Hamas leader regarded as the mastermind behind the October 7 massacre.
It is understood that Sinwar penned The Thorn and The Carnation — described variously as a “thinly veiled autobiography” and a jihadist bildungsroman (a literary genre offering an account of a protagonist’s spiritual formation) — during his 22-year-long incarceration in Israeli prisons. It is not known when it was translated into English; yet the edition sold on Amazon was published in December 2023, some two months after the October 7 atrocities made him one of the world’s most notorious terrorists.
Moreover, the book’s blurb advertises his role in the worst antisemitic atrocity since the Holocaust, waxing poetic about how “through the pages, readers traverse the corridors of his mind, possibly where the seeds for the ‘Flood of Al-Aqsa’ operation initiated on October 7, 2023, were sown.”
Sinwar’s tale “is not just one of survival; it bears testimony to the spirit of a people in perpetual struggle,” the copy intones. “The narrative captures the essence of a life lived in the shadows of conflict and highlights the personal sacrifices made in the pursuit of what Al-Sinwar and his comrades deem liberation and resistance. It is a window into the soul of a movement and the heart of one of its most enigmatic leaders.”
The Board of Deputies of British Jews urged Amazon to take the listing down, saying such book can be used to “propagandize on behalf of a proscribed terrorist organization and also to raise money for it.”
Day 183 — Saturday, April 6
U.N. Human Rights Council Accuses Israel of War Crimes, Ignores Hamas Atrocities
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) passed a non-binding resolution on Friday demanding Israel be held accountable for potential war crimes and crimes against humanity. It was the first resolution UNHRC has passed since the beginning of the war in Gaza.
The resolution, introduced by Pakistan on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, passed with 28 votes in favor, 13 abstentions, and 6 votes against, including the United States. The Palestinian delegation and its supporters cheered and applauded when the resolution was passed.
The Palestinians were not magnanimous in victory, complaining that too many Western states still voted against the condemnation of Israel. Germany joined the United States in voting against the resolution, while France and Japan abstained.
“There have been calls for accountability across the world, but that position changes when we’re talking about Israel,” complained Palestinian U.N. Ambassador Ibrahim Khiraishi.
Israeli Ambassador Meirav Eilon Shahar, on the other hand, denounced the resolution as “a stain for the Human Rights Council and for the U.N. as a whole.”
Shahar said UNHRC has “long abandoned the Israeli people, and long defended Hamas.”
“According to the resolution before you today, Israel has no right to protect its people, while Hamas has every right to murder and torture innocent Israelis. A vote ‘Yes’ is a vote for Hamas,” she said.
“I don’t know if any of you counted, but Israel appears in the resolution 59 times. 59 times. Hamas does not appear at all,” she told reporters before leaving the U.N. for the day.
The UNHRC resolution astonishingly did not mention Hamas by name nor condemn it for the October 7 atrocities or its subsequent activities in Gaza — including its now-proven use of hospitals as weapons depots and command centers.
The resolution’s sole acknowledgement of the brutal tactics employed by Hamas were a mild condemnation of rockets fired at civilian targets in Israel — a war crime Hamas and its Iran-backed allies perpetrate on an almost daily basis — and a call for “the immediate release of all hostages,” without mentioning who they are, or who is holding them prisoner.
U.S. Ambassador Michele Taylor said these omissions were the reasons why the Biden administration could not support the resolution, although she still went out of her way to criticize Israel, in keeping with the administration’s increasingly critical posture after the airstrike by Israel that killed seven foreign aid workers in Gaza on Monday.
“The United States has repeatedly urged Israel to de-conflict military operations against Hamas with humanitarian operations, in order to avoid civilian casualties and to ensure humanitarian actors can carry out their essential mission in safety,” Taylor said.
“That has not happened and, in just six months, more humanitarians have been killed in this conflict than in any war of the modern era,” she claimed.
The text of the UNHRC resolution originally accused Israel of “genocide,” language the Palestinian delegation to the U.N. constantly uses, but those references were softened to an expression of “grave concern at statements by Israeli officials amounting to incitement to genocide.”
The resolution demanded an “immediate ceasefire,” called on Israel to refrain from “any large-scale military operations against the city of Rafah,” and urged U.N. member states to “prevent the continued forcible transfer of Palestinians within and from Gaza.”
The text called for all countries to “cease the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel,” in order to “prevent further violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights.”
The resolution accused Israel of using “starvation of civilians as a method of warfare in Gaza,” without mentioning Israel’s allegations that Hamas terrorists have been looting aid trucks.
The resolution additionally demanded Israel “immediately lift its blockade on the Gaza Strip and all other forms of collective punishment.”
Day 183 — Saturday, April 6
Netanyahu Warns Iran: Israel Knows How To Defend Itself
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly addressed Iran at a high-level meeting on Thursday night, warning the Islamic Republic that whoever harms or plans to harm the Jewish state will be hurt back.
“For years, Iran has been working against us, both directly and through its proxies, and therefore Israel has been working against Iran and its proxies, both on the defense and offense,” said the premier.
“We will know how to defend ourselves and will act according to the simple principle that whoever hurts us or plans to hurt us—we will hurt him,” he added.
Israel’s Political-Security Cabinet gathered in Jerusalem on Thursday night to discuss the Iranian threat, as well as to receive an update on the ongoing hostage negotiations with Hamas.
On Monday, seven members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including its leader in Syria and Lebanon, were killed in an attack in Damascus that targeted a building adjacent to the Iranian embassy.
Brig. Gen. Mohammad Zahedi was the most senior regime official to be killed since Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in Tehran in an assassination attributed to Israel four years ago.
Israel has not officially taken responsibility for the attack, but four officials have told The New York Times that Jerusalem ordered the strike.
Senior sources in the Iranian regime told Reuters on Thursday that Tehran would give a “serious response” to the raid, though suggested that it would avoid a direct clash with Israel and the United States.
According to Israeli assessments reported by Channel 12, Iran could attempt to strike Israel through one of its terror proxies—Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen or militia forces in Syria.
The Israel Defense Forces has been placed on high alert, resulting in combat soldiers’ weekend leaves being canceled and the military calling up additional reserve soldiers to the IDF Aerial Defense Array.
Day 183 — Saturday, April 6
Harvard Hires 24/7 Security To Protect Anti-Israel ‘Apartheid Wall’ Featuring Quote From Famous Terrorist
Harvard University is employing around-the-clock security to protect an anti-Israel “apartheid wall” created by students that features a quote from the leader of a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.
The wall includes various anti-Israel art and a quote from Ghassan Kanafani, the former spokesperson for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a communist Palestinian terrorist organization known for hijacking aircraft and mass murder. Kanafani was assassinated in Beirut in June of 1972 by the Mossad after being linked to the massacre of 26 people—including American tourists—at Ben Gurion airport two months earlier, according to Jewish News Syndicate.
“The Palestinian cause is not a cause for Palestinians only, but a cause for every revolutionary wherever he is, as a cause of the exploited and oppressed masses in our era,” the Kanafani quote reads.
The guards have been giving the display 24-hour coverage while sporting jackets with a Securitas logo, a security firm that has a relationship with Harvard. A Harvard alum who lives near campus told The Daily Wire that one of the security guards started yelling when asked who he was employed by.
“He thought that we were filming and started yelling at us that we are escalating the situation and that he is going to call his supervisor,” the alum who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of retribution said. “He started walking to the car and then turned around and started yelling that we are going to threaten him in his family, because this is what ‘you people do,’ threaten people and steal their lands.”
When the alum notified the Harvard Police, they confirmed he worked for a security firm contracted by the school and said that the guard would not return to protect the wall.
“To pay to have a guard 24/7 protecting a wall that displays statements issued by U.S.-designated terror organizations, and propagates conspiracies against Israel and the Jewish people, and simultaneously not do so to protect posters of hostages whose photos have been hatefully and regularly defaced and vandalized, is bizarre and poor judgment in the extreme,” Harvard Chabad Rabbi Hirschy Zarchi told The Daily Wire.
Fliers of Jewish civilians taken hostage by Hamas have been repeatedly vandalized on campus, including last month when a groundskeeper employed by a company contracted by Harvard acted aggressively when being confronted for ripping down posters. He was asked to leave campus and will not be assigned to work on campus again, according to a Harvard spokesperson.
In another incident, hostage posters were vandalized with anti-Semitic and 9/11 conspiracy graffiti at the start of this spring semester.
In December, Zarchi revealed for the first time that the university told him that he must put away the menorah he lights on campus during Hannukah to avoid vandalism.
“The university, since the first Hanukkah, would not allow us to keep this menorah here overnight because there is fear that it will be vandalized,” he said at the time. “We in the Jewish community are instructed, ‘We’ll let you have the menorah. You made your point. Okay, pack it up. Don’t leave it out overnight because there will be criminal activity, we fear, and it won’t look good.”
“It pains me to have to say, sadly, that Jew-hate and anti-Semitism is thriving on this campus,” he added. “26 years I’ve given my life to this community. I’ve never felt so alone.”
Shabbos Kestenbaum, a graduate student who is suing Harvard over claims of enabling anti-Semitism, said the quote is part of a bigger trend of anti-Jewish hate on the campus.
“It is hardly surprising that the same group of students who interrupt classes to yell about globalizing the intifada, publish and promote anti-Semitic cartoons, and intimidate Jewish students on campus would also be comfortable quoting and glorifying Palestinian terrorism,” he said.
Harvard University did not respond to a request for comment.
