Day 294 — Friday, July 26

The bodies of five Israelis killed and taken hostage by terrorists on October 7, and brought back to Israel in a special operation on Wednesday, were recovered from a tunnel located in the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in the southern Gaza Strip, the military said Thursday.

The Israel Defense Forces adjusted the zone ahead of the operation in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis and ordered Palestinian civilians in part of it, where the tunnel was located, to temporarily evacuate.

In the operation on Wednesday, the bodies of Ravid Katz, 51, Oren Goldin, 33, Maya Goren, 56, Sgt. Kiril Brodski, 19, and Staff Sgt. Tomer Yaakov Ahimas, 20, were recovered by IDF special forces and members of the Shin Bet security agency.

All five were previously declared dead by the IDF. They were all killed on October 7 and their bodies were dragged into Gaza by Hamas-led terrorists.

The IDF said that in recent weeks it obtained intelligence, including from Shin Bet interrogations of detained terrorists in Gaza, on the location of the tunnel where Hamas was holding the bodies of the hostages.

The tunnel was 200 meters long and about 20 meters deep and featured several rooms, according to the military. It took combat engineers several hours to dig down to reach the tunnel.

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari in a press conference said the “complex” operation to recover the bodies took place in “the heart of Khan Younis,” where the military had operated and withdrawn from earlier this year.

“The troops raided the area and reached an underground site based on accurate intelligence, from several sources… where they found the five hostages hidden behind a wall in the tunnel,” Hagari said.

Times Of Israel

Day 293 — Thursday, July 25

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu delivered a one-hour address to a Joint Session of Congress this afternoon, drawing no fewer than 55 standing ovations, the most of any such speaker in Congressional history.

It was the Israeli leader’s fourth address to Congress. That’s more than any other foreign leader in history, more even than British Prime Minister Winston Churchill during World War II.

By God’s grace, I was there in the House chamber, having been invited by an Evangelical Christian Member of Congress. It was a humbling experience to watch such an historic and high-stakes moment live and in-person.

I was seated just to the left of Sara Netanyahu and a group of Israeli heroes — wounded IDF warriors, hostage families, and even Noa Argamani, one of the hostages who was dramatically, even supernaturally, rescued in a daring Israeli special forces operation last month.

There are few hostages had Lynn and I have prayed for—or felt more connected to—than Noa. What an honor to be able to shake her hand, and her father’s hand, and tell them that Evangelical Christians have been praying for them, non-stop, over the past nine months.

Netanyahu told her story, and that of her mother who was dying of cancer and had only one dying wish: “Let me see my daughter one more time and let me hug her before I die.” I was choked up with emotion as Netanyahu talked about Noa’s mother saying that to him, and what the Prime Minister and the IDF did to make her dying wish come true.

Elon Musk, the larger than life billionaire entrepreneur, was also sitting a few feet to my right, at the invitation of Netanyahu. How fascinating that Musk wanted to be there for this dramatic moment.

Right up front, let me just say Netanyahu’s speech was the single best speech I’ve ever heard him give. I’ve known him since 2000 and have followed him even longer. His speech was brilliant, bipartisan, and electrifying. A true master class in global statesmanship.

But, let’s be honest. Some people hated the speech. Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, for example. “Benjamin Netanyahu’s presentation in the House Chamber today was by far the worst presentation of any foreign dignitary invited and honored with the privilege of addressing the Congress of the United States,” she declared.

Others refused to even show up. No fewer than 70 Democrats—Members of both the House and Senate—boycotted Netanyahu’s speech. They refused to come hear the democratically elected leader of America’s most faithful and trusted ally in the entire Middle East say thank you to the American people for their wartime support, and to lay out his vision for where the Middle East could go next.

The most serious absence was that of Vice President Kamala Harris. She will meet with Netanyahu privately on Thursday, as will President Biden.

But Harris, who will very likely be the Democratic nominee for president by the end of August, chose to go to a sorority event in Indianapolis rather than preside over the Senate and honor our Israeli ally.

Harris just showed us her heart, her values, her policy, and political instincts. Short version: They are not pro-Israel. Should she become America’s next Commander in Chief, Israel is going to be very much alone in the world.

All Israel News

Day 293 — Thursday, July 25

Defeating our brutal enemies requires both courage and clarity. Clarity begins by knowing the difference between good and evil. Yet incredibly many anti-Israel protesters, many choose to stand with evil. They stand with Hamas. They stand with rapists and murderers. They stand with people who came into the kibbutzim, into a home, the parents hid the children, the two babies, in the attic, in a secret attic. They murdered the family, the parents, they found the secret latch to the hidden attic and then they murdered the babies. These protesters stand with them. They should be ashamed of themselves.

They refuse to make the simple distinction between those who target terrorists and those who target civilians, between the democratic State of Israel and the terrorist thugs of Hamas. We recently learned from the U.S. Director of National Intelligence, that Iran is funding and promoting anti-Israel protests in America. They want to disrupt America. So these protesters burned American flags even on the 4th of July. And I wish to salute the fraternity brothers at the University of North Carolina who protected the American flag, protected the American flag against these anti-Israel protesters.

For all we know, Iran is funding the anti-Israel protests that are going on right now outside this building—not that many, but they’re there—and throughout the city. Well, I have a message for these protesters: When the Tyrants of Tehran, who hang gays from cranes and murder women for not covering their hair, are praising, promoting and funding you, you have officially become Iran’s useful idiots.

It’s amazing, absolutely amazing. Some of these protesters hold up signs proclaiming “Gays for Gaza.” They might as well hold up signs saying “Chickens for KFC.”

These protesters chant “From the river to the sea.” But many don’t have a clue what river and what sea they’re talking about. They not only get an F in geography, they get an F in history. They call Israel a colonialist state. Don’t they know that the Land of Israel is where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob prayed, where Isaiah and Jeremiah preached and where David and Solomon ruled?

For nearly four thousand years, the land of Israel has been the homeland of the Jewish people. It’s always been our home; it will always be our home.

It’s not only the campus protesters who get it wrong. It’s also the people who run those campuses. Eighty years after the Holocaust, the presidents of Harvard, Penn, and I’m ashamed to say my alma mater MIT couldn’t bring themselves to condemn the calls for the genocide of Jews. Remember what they said? They said, it depends on the context. Well, let me give these befuddled academics a little context.

Antisemitism is the world’s oldest hatred. For centuries, the massacre of Jews was always preceded by wild accusations. We were accused of everything from poisoning wells to spreading plagues to using the blood of slaughtered children to bake Passover matzos. These preposterous antisemitic lies led to persecution, mass murder and ultimately to history’s worst genocide, the Holocaust.

Now, just as malicious lies were levelled for centuries at the Jewish people, malicious lies are now being levelled at the Jewish state. No, no. Don’t applaud. Listen. The outrageous slanders that paint Israel as racist and genocidal are meant to delegitimize Israel, to demonize the Jewish State and to demonize Jews everywhere. And no wonder, no wonder we’ve witnessed an appalling rise of antisemitism in America and around the world.

Day 293 — Thursday, July 25

What’s up with Candace Owens and her anti-semitic hate? Lately, she’s gone off the rails.

It’s apparent Candice didn’t like the backlash from the Israeli media, who found it offensive that Adidas would use a Palestinian woman to promote their 1972 Olympics retro sneakers.

Mocking the disapproval of Bella Hadid being chosen for the campaign, Owens posted a video saying, “Blacklash—blah, blah, blah. Oh, she’s antisemitic. She hates Jews—blah, blah, blah [baby whining noises].”

Is Owens not aware of what happened in 1972 at the Munich Olympics, where a group of Palestinian terrorists murdered eleven Israeli athletes? For Adidas to use a Palestinian supermodel, Bella Hadid, to promote their 1972 retro sneakers is really to have zero sympathy for Israel and the Jewish people. Thankfully, Adidas is revising its campaign for the shoe.

Bella and her Palestinian father, as reported by The Times of Israel, have a history of spreading antisemitism and calling for violence against Israelis and Jewish people. They have frequently promoted blood libels and anti-semitic conspiracies. Hadid is the last person you would think would have been picked, as it does nothing more than glorify that dark day in history.

Wake up, Candace. Your hate for Israel and the Jewish people is on full display before the entire world. I implore her, and anyone who thinks like her, to pick up a Bible and read it. God is clear in Genesis 12:3 that He will bless those who bless the Jewish people, and He will curse those who curse them.

Day 292 — Wednesday, July 24

Hundreds of anti-Israel protesters were arrested on Tuesday night in Washington, DC, after entering the Cannon Building that houses congressional offices.

Massive protests are expected as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to address a joint session of US Congress, with the arrested protesters belonging to Jewish Voice for Peace, a pro-Palestinian and anti-Zionist group.

The group said more than 400 people were arrested, although media reports placed the number closer to 200.

Hundreds filled the Cannon Rotunda, inside the congressional building near the US Capitol.

The staff of Representative Dan Kildee, a Michigan Democrat, called for Capitol Police to intervene after demonstrators “became disruptive, violently beating on the office doors, shouting loudly, and attempting to force entry into the office,” Kildee’s Chief of Staff Mitchell Rivard said in a statement.

Kildee later told the Associated Press that he was unaware why he was targeted, as he has voted against a bill granting massive military aid to Israel earlier this year.

“We told the people, who legally entered, to stop or they would be arrested,” the police said in an X post, clarifying that “demonstrations are not allowed inside congressional buildings.”

“They did not stop, so we are arresting them.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, cautioned fellow lawmakers to follow “longstanding rules and decorum” when Netanyahu speaks, adding that security would be beefed up.

In tandem, demonstrations also rallied in front of the Capitol to demand the release of Israeli hostages still held in the Gaza Strip since the October 7 massacre.

i24 News

Day 292 — Wednesday, July 24

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to the United States started on rocky footing on Monday with a notable absence of President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Sec. of State Antony Blinken to welcome him upon his arrival.

Netanyahu’s important speech on Wednesday before Congress was also overshadowed a mere day before his arrival in Washington, DC, by Biden’s announcement that he is dropping out of the Presidential race this November.

Netanyahu and Biden are scheduled to meet on Thursday, during which Netanyahu plans to thank the President for his support for Israel, a move Jan Markell, Founder and President of Olive Tree Ministries, believes will be done out of simple obligation.

“Obviously, he knows he’s been so marginalized under Joe Biden,” Markell underscored to American Family News (AFN). “I think it’s going to be a very, very awkward time.”

“Bibi’s been a lifelong politician. He knows he’s got to say the right thing at the right time, and right now, he has to say that Joe Biden is a great friend,” she described. “90% of us know that’s almost laughable.”

“But remember, America still gives Israel $3 billion dollars,” Markell noted. “What are you going to say to the President of the country that gives that little nation $3 billion dollars? You’re going to say, ‘Thank you.’”

Netanyahu will also be traveling to Mar-a-Lago to see fmr. President and Republican nominee Donald Trump the day following his conversation with Biden. While his decision to meet with Trump drew ire, Netanyahu defended his decision, stressing the “great importance to the State of Israel that the prime minister will meet with President [Joe] Biden and the two leading candidates for the US presidency.”

Day 291 — Tuesday, July 23

Senior Hamas terrorist Musa Abu Marzouk announced on Tuesday the signing of a Palestinian unity agreement that includes Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction, which rules areas of Judea and Samaria.

“Today, we sign an agreement, and we say that the path to completing this journey is national unity. We are committed to national unity, and we call for it,” said Abu Marzouk.

The “Beijing declaration” was signed by 14 Palestinian factions that took part in negotiations hosted by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Fatah, based in Ramallah, and Hamas have been split since 2007 following the latter’s violent takeover of Gaza. There have been many failed attempts to bring the two factions together. 

In February, Abbas traveled to Doha to discuss ways to incorporate Hamas into a P.A.-led government for Judea, Samaria and Gaza.

The same month, sources in Ramallah told Sky News Arabia that Hamas had approved a three-phase plan leading to “complete reconciliation [with Fatah]” and the Gaza-based terror group joining the Palestine Liberation Organization, which controls the Palestinian Authority, under a “unified Palestinian-Arab vision.”

Also in February, Fatah and Hamas officials converged on Moscow for a two-day “national dialogue” on forming a unity government under the auspices of the Russian Foreign Ministry. Other rounds of talks were held in the past in Egypt, Turkey and Algeria.

The Islamist group reportedly also gave its blessing to P.A. chief Abbas’s proposal to establish a “government of technocrats” whose primary purpose would be the reconstruction of Gaza after the war prompted by Hamas’s murder of some 1,200 people in Israel on Oct. 7.

Hamas is an “essential part of the Palestinian political mosaic,” then-P.A. Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh told world leaders gathered in Qatar in December.

“We want a situation in which Palestinians are united. … I think it is time that Hamas call the Palestinian president and tell him we’re all united behind you, and you are the legitimate authority of the Palestinian people and we are ready to engage,” Shtayyeh stated at the Doha Forum.

Amid the unity talks, Shtayyeh submitted the collective resignation of his government last month. Abbas then appointed Fatah loyalist Mohammad Mustafa to fill the prime minister’s role.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has insisted that an “effective and revitalized Palestinian Authority” should ultimately govern Gaza.

During a Jan. 10 meeting in Ramallah, Blinken pressed Abbas on “administrative reforms, which, if implemented, would benefit the Palestinian people.” Sky News Arabia described the tête-à-tête as “tense” and marked by “arguments.”

The Biden administration wants the P.A. to assume control of the Strip after Israel’s war against Hamas ends, a move that Jerusalem rejects because of Ramallah’s overt support for terrorism.

On Jan. 27, Abbas’s spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh told Al Arabiya that the P.A. is prepared to hand over the reins to Hamas if it won a general election. Ramallah is “prepared to hold general elections, and if Hamas wins, the president will hand over the Authority,” he said.

The U.S. State Department has refused to rule out Hamas retaining power in Gaza or even joining a P.A.-led governing body that would also have jurisdiction in Judea and Samaria.

According to recent polls, 89% of Palestinians support establishing a government that includes or is led by Hamas. Only around 8.5% said they favor one controlled exclusively by Fatah.

JNS

Day 290 — Monday, July 22

The Lebanese terror group Hezbollah on Saturday expressed its support for its allies in the Iranian-backed “Axis of Resistance,” the Yemeni Houthi terrorists, after Israel’s unprecedented strikes on Houthi targets in Hodeidah earlier in the day.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah continued its attacks on Israel, wounding two IDF soldiers who reportedly were in moderate and good condition after a drone strike on Saturday evening.

“The foolish step carried out by the Zionist enemy is a very important message about a new and dangerous phase of the conflict, at the level of the entire region,” Hezbollah stated.

“We have full confidence that the Yemeni leadership is able to take the appropriate and necessary steps… to deter this enemy and his regional and international partners, and we declare that we stand by the Yemeni people in defense of themselves and their sovereignty, and their heroic stance on the side of Palestine,” the statement read.

The Hezbollah and Houthi terror groups are both part of the Iranian-funded and equipped network of militias throughout the Middle East. Hezbollah reportedly helped the Houthis to transfer weapons and sent advisors to train Houthi rebels how to use Iranian-supplied weapons.

Soon after the Israeli strikes in Yemen, Lebanese media reported that alleged Israeli attacks targeted Hezbollah infrastructure in the town of Adloun, about 30 km (19 miles) from the Israeli border. The Saudi Al Arabiya channel later reported that weapons and ammunition caches were bombed.

The following day, the IDF said it had attacked two warehouses in southern Lebanon holding “rockets and other means,” without specifying where the strikes took place.

The Israeli army said that aircraft struck a terror squad in Houla that was spotted by soldiers of the 91st Division earlier. Hezbollah later announced the death of two of its operatives, raising its official death toll since last October to 375.

On Sunday afternoon, a series of rocket and drone strikes struck northern Israel, with Hezbollah later claiming the launch as a response to the Israeli strike that allegedly wounded civilians in Adloun on Saturday evening.

The launches struck a preschool in Kibbutz Hanita, a school in Kibbutz Dafna, and the Birya Forest, killing around 10 cows and igniting a large fire that took 15 firefighting teams several hours to bring under control.

Because Hanita and Dafna were already evacuated due to their proximity to the Lebanese border, no casualties were reported after the attacks.

“Not only did the fire severely damage the forests but now it has also taken a toll on the lives of living creatures,” Jewish National Fund Chairwoman Ifat Ovadia-Luski told Ynet News.

“These cows were an integral part of the green landscape, and unwillingly became victims as well. We will restore and return the north to its beauty, along with the forests and the creatures living in them.”

All Israel News

Day 290 — Monday, July 22

Following numerous rocket attacks on southern Israel in recent weeks from the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in the Gaza Strip, the IDF says it is adjusting the zone to target Hamas.
The eastern portion of the zone, in the Khan Younis area, is to be evacuated and the IDF says that “remaining in this area has become dangerous.”

It says that the adjustment to the zone is being carried out “in accordance with precise intelligence indicating that Hamas has embedded terror infrastructure” in the humanitarian zone.
According to the IDF, the early warning is aimed at mitigating harm to civilians.

“The IDF is about to forcefully operate against the terror organizations and therefore calls on the remaining population left in the eastern neighborhoods of Khan Younis to temporarily evacuate to the adjusted humanitarian area in al-Mawasi,” the military says.

The IDF’s calls to civilians are being communicated via SMS messages, phone calls, and other media broadcasts.

A military source says hospitals in the area do not need to evacuate, and that the IDF has communicated this to Palestinian health officials and officials in the international community.

Times Of Israel

Day 289 — Sunday, July 21

Israeli Olympians taking part in Paris 2024 have received death threats, hate message and vitriol online over the last few days, Israeli and foreign media reported on Saturday. 

Walla reported that, over the weekend, Israeli athletes received online messages written in poor Hebrew. Many also received calls from foreign numbers. On Thursday and Friday, 15 athletes and their teams received identical death threats via email, warning them they would be killed if they arrived in France, Walla reported.

The anonymous email said that the sender intended to harm “any Israeli presence at the Olympics” and said that if any Israeli delegates attended, they would be harmed. The email threatened to repeat the action of Munich 1972 and told the athletes to “Prepare for the intifada!”

During the Munich 1972 Olympics, eleven Israelis were executed by the Palestinian terrorist group Black September. A ceremony, the date and location of which are not yet known, will take place during the Paris Games to commemorate those killed, reported French publication Le Point.

The chairwoman of the Israel Olympic Committee, Yael Arad, said “It was clear to us that such a troll would come. We prepared for it. We instructed the athletes on how to act when it comes and we had many conversations and meetings on the subject,” Walla reported.

The messages and calls have continued over the weekend.

The Israeli Olympic team has landed in Paris and was met with high security presence. The British publication The Telegraph announced in an exclusive on Saturday that Israel would be sending armed Shin Bet agents to Paris to prepare for the largest-ever security operation for Israeli athletes at the Olympic Games.

Jerusalem Post

Day 288 — Saturday, July 20

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Saturday that it had struck the “Houthi terrorist regime” in Yemen for the first time, launching a long-distance airstrike on the Al Hudaydah Port, targeting the origin of a drone that hit Israel Friday.

The attack came in response to a Houthi drone that reached Tel Aviv on Friday, killing one Israeli civilian and wounding eight others after slipping past Israeli air defenses due to what the IDF called “human error.”

Reports in Yemen emerged before Israel confirmed the attack. There were reports of casualties near the port.

In a statement, the IDF said:

A short while ago, IDF fighter jets struck military targets of the Houthi terrorist regime in the area of the Al Hudaydah Port in Yemen in response to the hundreds of attacks carried out against the State of Israel in recent months.

There are no changes in the Home Front Command defensive guidelines. In the case of a change to the guidelines, we will update the public accordingly.

Details to follow.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who monitored the attack together with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from Israeli Air Force (IAF) headquarters, said that the attack had reached its target 2,000 kilometers away from Israel, and that the “fires that are burning now in Hudaydah” are being seen in “the entire Middle East,” a warning to enemies of Israel.

Iran is roughly the same distance away from Israel as Yemen.

According to a press briefing by IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari on Saturday evening, the attack was carried out by fighter jets, not remotely, with pilots flying 1,700 kilometers and returning home safely.

Hagari said that Israel did not want a war with Yemen as a whole: “Yemen is a big country. Only a part of it is run by the Houthis.” He emphasized that the target was the Iran-backed Houthi terrorist regime, not the people of Yemen.

The name of the operation, he said, was “Operation Long Arm,” chosen to send a signal to Iran and other enemies.

Though Israel carried out the operation alone, Hagari said, it was the common international interest to stop the Houthi threat. He added that Israel was appealing to the nations of the world to stand together against the Houthis.

Hagari also posted video of the IAF conducting the attack.

The attack was carried out solely by Israeli forces, Hagari said, though the U.S. and other allies were reportedly informed afterwards.

Israel’s Army Radio said that Israel had destroyed both military targets and utilities that are used by the Houthis, such as fuel and electricity installations. The Times of Israel added that one of the goals of the attack was to disable the port through which Iran brings in weapons.

Israel’s security cabinet held an unusual emergency meeting on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, during the attack.

The Iran-backed Houthis have attacked Israel, without provocation, since the Hamas terror attacks of October 7. The two countries do not share a common border and have no reason for war other than Iran’s desire to destroy Israel.

There were over 200 Houthi attacks on Israel before Friday, and Israel did not respond to any of them, under pressure from the U.S.

The Houthis have also choked international shipping through the Red Sea by attacking vessels that pass through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait. The Biden administration’s Operation Prosperity Guardian has focused on defensive actions that have, thus far, failed to deter the Houthis or the Iranians.

Israel’s Army Radio pointed out that Israel’s attack would be particularly noteworthy because it had succeeded in hitting core Houthi infrastructure where others — including neighboring Saudi Arabia — had failed thus far.

President Biden removed the Houthis from a list of terrorist organizations upon reaching office — reversing an action taken by President Donald Trump — and waited years before putting them on a terrorist list again, despite their attacks on Saudi Arabia and Israel.

Breibart

Day 288 — Saturday, July 20

Professor Anne Bayefsky, Director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust and President of Human Rights Voices, commented to Arutz Sheva-Israel National News following the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) ruling which stated that Israel has illegally occupied Judea and Samaria and annexed Jerusalem.

“The so-called legal ‘opinion’ is a legal obscenity from start to finish,” she said, noting, “The Court is the ‘World Court’ of the United Nations, a body controlled by an anti-Israel mob. The members of the Court are elected by the United Nations. Its legal ‘experts’ include alleged authorities from such legally-challenged places like China and Somalia.”

“The ICJ President – the man who read the opinion aloud to the world dressed up in judicial robes with pomp and circumstance – was a Lebanese politician. Nawaf Salam was on the ballot for Prime Minister of Lebanon in the last two elections. Before that he was Lebanon’s representative to the United Nations – a country that doesn’t recognize Israel’s right to exist,” continued Prof. Bayefsky.

She further noted, “The request for the non-binding ‘advisory opinion’ from the Court came from the UN General Assembly. The question posed by the mob was framed as: Israel is guilty of the following violations of international law, so what are the consequences? (‘What are the legal consequences arising from the ongoing violation by Israel of the right of the Palestinian people to…’). There were no Palestinian violations of anything on the agenda.”

“The Court said that it would nevertheless reconsider Israel’s guilt, proceeded to summarily declare Israel guilty, and then held forth on the consequences. How did it find Israel guilty? In its words, without the facts.”

“The Court shockingly said: ‘it is not necessary for the Court to make findings of fact with regard to specific incidents allegedly in violation of international law.’ It was sufficient, they said, that the UN Secretary-General said so. That would be the same Secretary-General, António Guterres, who has repeatedly invented ways to backstop Hamas. As early as October 9, 2023, he said that the atrocities of October 7th did “not come in a vacuum,” Prof. Bayefsky pointed out.

“Among the results, this grotesque kangaroo court said Israel was guilty of the crime against humanity of apartheid. It took them less than 250 words to come to this monumental conclusion, intended to create an avalanche of legal and political ramifications isolating and permanently debilitating the Jewish state,” she said.

“The case also calls for the ethnic cleansing of Jews from whatever land Palestinian Arabs and the UN say belongs to Palestinians. ‘All settlers’ must leave, ‘all Palestinians’ must be allowed ‘to return,’ ‘the wall’ (that put an end to the suicide-bombing carnage) must be dismantled wherever they say so. What is actually ‘Apartheid Palestine’ is apparently just fine.”

“‘Palestinian’ territory – which Israel is said to occupy, including Gaza and the West Bank – is suddenly defined by the Court to consist of ‘a single territorial unit, the unity, contiguity and integrity of which are to be preserved.’ It is not clear where the Jews are left in this actually non-existent contiguous Palestinian territory,” said Prof. Bayefsky.

She also noted, “The Opinion has a whole section called ‘Violence against Palestinians.’ There is no section on violence against Israelis. In fact, there is no discussion or findings about violence, terrorism, rockets, suicide-bombing, knifings, vehicle-rammings, shootings, kidnappings and rapes against Israelis at all, ever. The only mention of ‘gender-based violence’ paints Palestinians as the victims. One more disgusting example from the UN of ‘MeToo_Unless_Ur_A_Jew.'”

“The ‘Opinion’ rests on lethal historical fiction. The opinion says: ‘On 14 May 1948, Israel proclaimed its independence with reference to the General Assembly resolution 181 (II); an armed conflict then broke out between Israel and a number of Arab States, and the Plan of Partition was not implemented.’ ‘Broke out’ is the UN-euphemism for the attempted annihilation of the nascent Jewish state by Arab states and Palestinian Arabs.”

“The opinion also says: ‘In 1967, an armed conflict (also known as the ‘Six-Day War’) broke out between Israel and neighboring countries Egypt, Syria and Jordan’ and again ‘In October 1973, another armed conflict broke out between Egypt, Syria and Israel.'”

“‘Broke out’ is how the UN covers-up the systematic continuous campaign by Arabs to destroy the Jewish state from May 14, 1948 on, both in the halls of the UN and in the field. This blatant historical revisionism from the UN’s highest legal body makes a mockery of its subsequent conclusions built on a mountain of lies,” said Prof. Bayefsky.

“The Opinion is heavily reliant on lengthy discussions of Palestinian Arab ‘self-determination’ and associated ‘rights.’ There is no mention whatsoever of Jewish self-determination. The Court says the ‘key element of the right to self-determination is the right of a people freely to determine its political status and to pursue its economic, social and cultural development.’ Except for Jews. For Jews, the UN decides the political status of Jews in the Jewish state and authors an “opinion” clearly intended to drive BDS – sanctions, boycotts and global efforts to devalue and destroy such development in the case of Israel.”

Prof. Bayefsky continued, “Moreover, a mere 75 years after the Holocaust, the UN Court twists the laws written in response to the atrocities committed against Jews, to demonize the refuge of the Jewish people today. The Court purported to apply the law to criminalize the Nazi deportation of Jews from their homes to concentration camps – in order to criminalize the voluntary movement of Jews within the land of Israel. This isn’t law. It’s war by another name. It’s the face of modern antisemitism. Where a German judge, Georg Nolte, sits on a UN court, to apply the law for Nazis and their ilk to the Jews.”

Arutz Sheva

Day 294 — Friday, July 2

The bodies of five Israelis killed and taken hostage by terrorists on October 7, and brought back to Israel in a special operation on Wednesday, were recovered from a tunnel located in the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in the southern Gaza Strip, the military said Thursday.

The Israel Defense Forces adjusted the zone ahead of the operation in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis and ordered Palestinian civilians in part of it, where the tunnel was located, to temporarily evacuate.

In the operation on Wednesday, the bodies of Ravid Katz, 51, Oren Goldin, 33, Maya Goren, 56, Sgt. Kiril Brodski, 19, and Staff Sgt. Tomer Yaakov Ahimas, 20, were recovered by IDF special forces and members of the Shin Bet security agency.

All five were previously declared dead by the IDF. They were all killed on October 7 and their bodies were dragged into Gaza by Hamas-led terrorists.

The IDF said that in recent weeks it obtained intelligence, including from Shin Bet interrogations of detained terrorists in Gaza, on the location of the tunnel where Hamas was holding the bodies of the hostages.

The tunnel was 200 meters long and about 20 meters deep and featured several rooms, according to the military. It took combat engineers several hours to dig down to reach the tunnel.

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari in a press conference said the “complex” operation to recover the bodies took place in “the heart of Khan Younis,” where the military had operated and withdrawn from earlier this year.

“The troops raided the area and reached an underground site based on accurate intelligence, from several sources… where they found the five hostages hidden behind a wall in the tunnel,” Hagari said.

Times Of Israel

Day 293 — Thursday, July 25

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu delivered a one-hour address to a Joint Session of Congress this afternoon, drawing no fewer than 55 standing ovations, the most of any such speaker in Congressional history.

It was the Israeli leader’s fourth address to Congress. That’s more than any other foreign leader in history, more even than British Prime Minister Winston Churchill during World War II.

By God’s grace, I was there in the House chamber, having been invited by an Evangelical Christian Member of Congress. It was a humbling experience to watch such an historic and high-stakes moment live and in-person.

I was seated just to the left of Sara Netanyahu and a group of Israeli heroes — wounded IDF warriors, hostage families, and even Noa Argamani, one of the hostages who was dramatically, even supernaturally, rescued in a daring Israeli special forces operation last month.

There are few hostages had Lynn and I have prayed for—or felt more connected to—than Noa. What an honor to be able to shake her hand, and her father’s hand, and tell them that Evangelical Christians have been praying for them, non-stop, over the past nine months.

Netanyahu told her story, and that of her mother who was dying of cancer and had only one dying wish: “Let me see my daughter one more time and let me hug her before I die.” I was choked up with emotion as Netanyahu talked about Noa’s mother saying that to him, and what the Prime Minister and the IDF did to make her dying wish come true.

Elon Musk, the larger than life billionaire entrepreneur, was also sitting a few feet to my right, at the invitation of Netanyahu. How fascinating that Musk wanted to be there for this dramatic moment.

Right up front, let me just say Netanyahu’s speech was the single best speech I’ve ever heard him give. I’ve known him since 2000 and have followed him even longer. His speech was brilliant, bipartisan, and electrifying. A true master class in global statesmanship.

But, let’s be honest. Some people hated the speech. Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, for example. “Benjamin Netanyahu’s presentation in the House Chamber today was by far the worst presentation of any foreign dignitary invited and honored with the privilege of addressing the Congress of the United States,” she declared.

Others refused to even show up. No fewer than 70 Democrats—Members of both the House and Senate—boycotted Netanyahu’s speech. They refused to come hear the democratically elected leader of America’s most faithful and trusted ally in the entire Middle East say thank you to the American people for their wartime support, and to lay out his vision for where the Middle East could go next.

The most serious absence was that of Vice President Kamala Harris. She will meet with Netanyahu privately on Thursday, as will President Biden.

But Harris, who will very likely be the Democratic nominee for president by the end of August, chose to go to a sorority event in Indianapolis rather than preside over the Senate and honor our Israeli ally.

Harris just showed us her heart, her values, her policy, and political instincts. Short version: They are not pro-Israel. Should she become America’s next Commander in Chief, Israel is going to be very much alone in the world.

All Israel News

Day 293 — Thursday, July 25

Defeating our brutal enemies requires both courage and clarity. Clarity begins by knowing the difference between good and evil. Yet incredibly many anti-Israel protesters, many choose to stand with evil. They stand with Hamas. They stand with rapists and murderers. They stand with people who came into the kibbutzim, into a home, the parents hid the children, the two babies, in the attic, in a secret attic. They murdered the family, the parents, they found the secret latch to the hidden attic and then they murdered the babies. These protesters stand with them. They should be ashamed of themselves.

They refuse to make the simple distinction between those who target terrorists and those who target civilians, between the democratic State of Israel and the terrorist thugs of Hamas. We recently learned from the U.S. Director of National Intelligence, that Iran is funding and promoting anti-Israel protests in America. They want to disrupt America. So these protesters burned American flags even on the 4th of July. And I wish to salute the fraternity brothers at the University of North Carolina who protected the American flag, protected the American flag against these anti-Israel protesters.

For all we know, Iran is funding the anti-Israel protests that are going on right now outside this building—not that many, but they’re there—and throughout the city. Well, I have a message for these protesters: When the Tyrants of Tehran, who hang gays from cranes and murder women for not covering their hair, are praising, promoting and funding you, you have officially become Iran’s useful idiots.

It’s amazing, absolutely amazing. Some of these protesters hold up signs proclaiming “Gays for Gaza.” They might as well hold up signs saying “Chickens for KFC.”

These protesters chant “From the river to the sea.” But many don’t have a clue what river and what sea they’re talking about. They not only get an F in geography, they get an F in history. They call Israel a colonialist state. Don’t they know that the Land of Israel is where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob prayed, where Isaiah and Jeremiah preached and where David and Solomon ruled?

For nearly four thousand years, the land of Israel has been the homeland of the Jewish people. It’s always been our home; it will always be our home.

It’s not only the campus protesters who get it wrong. It’s also the people who run those campuses. Eighty years after the Holocaust, the presidents of Harvard, Penn, and I’m ashamed to say my alma mater MIT couldn’t bring themselves to condemn the calls for the genocide of Jews. Remember what they said? They said, it depends on the context. Well, let me give these befuddled academics a little context.

Antisemitism is the world’s oldest hatred. For centuries, the massacre of Jews was always preceded by wild accusations. We were accused of everything from poisoning wells to spreading plagues to using the blood of slaughtered children to bake Passover matzos. These preposterous antisemitic lies led to persecution, mass murder and ultimately to history’s worst genocide, the Holocaust.

Now, just as malicious lies were levelled for centuries at the Jewish people, malicious lies are now being levelled at the Jewish state. No, no. Don’t applaud. Listen. The outrageous slanders that paint Israel as racist and genocidal are meant to delegitimize Israel, to demonize the Jewish State and to demonize Jews everywhere. And no wonder, no wonder we’ve witnessed an appalling rise of antisemitism in America and around the world.

Day 293 — Thursday, July 25

What’s up with Candace Owens and her anti-semitic hate? Lately, she’s gone off the rails.

It’s apparent Candice didn’t like the backlash from the Israeli media, who found it offensive that Adidas would use a Palestinian woman to promote their 1972 Olympics retro sneakers.

Mocking the disapproval of Bella Hadid being chosen for the campaign, Owens posted a video saying, “Blacklash—blah, blah, blah. Oh, she’s antisemitic. She hates Jews—blah, blah, blah [baby whining noises].”

Is Owens not aware of what happened in 1972 at the Munich Olympics, where a group of Palestinian terrorists murdered eleven Israeli athletes? For Adidas to use a Palestinian supermodel, Bella Hadid, to promote their 1972 retro sneakers is really to have zero sympathy for Israel and the Jewish people. Thankfully, Adidas is revising its campaign for the shoe.

Bella and her Palestinian father, as reported by The Times of Israel, have a history of spreading antisemitism and calling for violence against Israelis and Jewish people. They have frequently promoted blood libels and anti-semitic conspiracies. Hadid is the last person you would think would have been picked, as it does nothing more than glorify that dark day in history.

Wake up, Candace. Your hate for Israel and the Jewish people is on full display before the entire world. I implore her, and anyone who thinks like her, to pick up a Bible and read it. God is clear in Genesis 12:3 that He will bless those who bless the Jewish people, and He will curse those who curse them.

Day 292 — Wednesday, July 24

Hundreds of anti-Israel protesters were arrested on Tuesday night in Washington, DC, after entering the Cannon Building that houses congressional offices.

Massive protests are expected as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to address a joint session of US Congress, with the arrested protesters belonging to Jewish Voice for Peace, a pro-Palestinian and anti-Zionist group.

The group said more than 400 people were arrested, although media reports placed the number closer to 200.

Hundreds filled the Cannon Rotunda, inside the congressional building near the US Capitol.

The staff of Representative Dan Kildee, a Michigan Democrat, called for Capitol Police to intervene after demonstrators “became disruptive, violently beating on the office doors, shouting loudly, and attempting to force entry into the office,” Kildee’s Chief of Staff Mitchell Rivard said in a statement.

Kildee later told the Associated Press that he was unaware why he was targeted, as he has voted against a bill granting massive military aid to Israel earlier this year.

“We told the people, who legally entered, to stop or they would be arrested,” the police said in an X post, clarifying that “demonstrations are not allowed inside congressional buildings.”

“They did not stop, so we are arresting them.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, cautioned fellow lawmakers to follow “longstanding rules and decorum” when Netanyahu speaks, adding that security would be beefed up.

In tandem, demonstrations also rallied in front of the Capitol to demand the release of Israeli hostages still held in the Gaza Strip since the October 7 massacre.

i24 News

Day 292 — Wednesday, July 24

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to the United States started on rocky footing on Monday with a notable absence of President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Sec. of State Antony Blinken to welcome him upon his arrival.

Netanyahu’s important speech on Wednesday before Congress was also overshadowed a mere day before his arrival in Washington, DC, by Biden’s announcement that he is dropping out of the Presidential race this November.

Netanyahu and Biden are scheduled to meet on Thursday, during which Netanyahu plans to thank the President for his support for Israel, a move Jan Markell, Founder and President of Olive Tree Ministries, believes will be done out of simple obligation.

“Obviously, he knows he’s been so marginalized under Joe Biden,” Markell underscored to American Family News (AFN). “I think it’s going to be a very, very awkward time.”

“Bibi’s been a lifelong politician. He knows he’s got to say the right thing at the right time, and right now, he has to say that Joe Biden is a great friend,” she described. “90% of us know that’s almost laughable.”

“But remember, America still gives Israel $3 billion dollars,” Markell noted. “What are you going to say to the President of the country that gives that little nation $3 billion dollars? You’re going to say, ‘Thank you.’”

Netanyahu will also be traveling to Mar-a-Lago to see fmr. President and Republican nominee Donald Trump the day following his conversation with Biden. While his decision to meet with Trump drew ire, Netanyahu defended his decision, stressing the “great importance to the State of Israel that the prime minister will meet with President [Joe] Biden and the two leading candidates for the US presidency.”

Day 291 — Tuesday, July 23

Senior Hamas terrorist Musa Abu Marzouk announced on Tuesday the signing of a Palestinian unity agreement that includes Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction, which rules areas of Judea and Samaria.

“Today, we sign an agreement, and we say that the path to completing this journey is national unity. We are committed to national unity, and we call for it,” said Abu Marzouk.

The “Beijing declaration” was signed by 14 Palestinian factions that took part in negotiations hosted by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Fatah, based in Ramallah, and Hamas have been split since 2007 following the latter’s violent takeover of Gaza. There have been many failed attempts to bring the two factions together. 

In February, Abbas traveled to Doha to discuss ways to incorporate Hamas into a P.A.-led government for Judea, Samaria and Gaza.

The same month, sources in Ramallah told Sky News Arabia that Hamas had approved a three-phase plan leading to “complete reconciliation [with Fatah]” and the Gaza-based terror group joining the Palestine Liberation Organization, which controls the Palestinian Authority, under a “unified Palestinian-Arab vision.”

Also in February, Fatah and Hamas officials converged on Moscow for a two-day “national dialogue” on forming a unity government under the auspices of the Russian Foreign Ministry. Other rounds of talks were held in the past in Egypt, Turkey and Algeria.

The Islamist group reportedly also gave its blessing to P.A. chief Abbas’s proposal to establish a “government of technocrats” whose primary purpose would be the reconstruction of Gaza after the war prompted by Hamas’s murder of some 1,200 people in Israel on Oct. 7.

Hamas is an “essential part of the Palestinian political mosaic,” then-P.A. Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh told world leaders gathered in Qatar in December.

“We want a situation in which Palestinians are united. … I think it is time that Hamas call the Palestinian president and tell him we’re all united behind you, and you are the legitimate authority of the Palestinian people and we are ready to engage,” Shtayyeh stated at the Doha Forum.

Amid the unity talks, Shtayyeh submitted the collective resignation of his government last month. Abbas then appointed Fatah loyalist Mohammad Mustafa to fill the prime minister’s role.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has insisted that an “effective and revitalized Palestinian Authority” should ultimately govern Gaza.

During a Jan. 10 meeting in Ramallah, Blinken pressed Abbas on “administrative reforms, which, if implemented, would benefit the Palestinian people.” Sky News Arabia described the tête-à-tête as “tense” and marked by “arguments.”

The Biden administration wants the P.A. to assume control of the Strip after Israel’s war against Hamas ends, a move that Jerusalem rejects because of Ramallah’s overt support for terrorism.

On Jan. 27, Abbas’s spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh told Al Arabiya that the P.A. is prepared to hand over the reins to Hamas if it won a general election. Ramallah is “prepared to hold general elections, and if Hamas wins, the president will hand over the Authority,” he said.

The U.S. State Department has refused to rule out Hamas retaining power in Gaza or even joining a P.A.-led governing body that would also have jurisdiction in Judea and Samaria.

According to recent polls, 89% of Palestinians support establishing a government that includes or is led by Hamas. Only around 8.5% said they favor one controlled exclusively by Fatah.

JNS

Day 290 — Monday, July 22

The Lebanese terror group Hezbollah on Saturday expressed its support for its allies in the Iranian-backed “Axis of Resistance,” the Yemeni Houthi terrorists, after Israel’s unprecedented strikes on Houthi targets in Hodeidah earlier in the day.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah continued its attacks on Israel, wounding two IDF soldiers who reportedly were in moderate and good condition after a drone strike on Saturday evening.

“The foolish step carried out by the Zionist enemy is a very important message about a new and dangerous phase of the conflict, at the level of the entire region,” Hezbollah stated.

“We have full confidence that the Yemeni leadership is able to take the appropriate and necessary steps… to deter this enemy and his regional and international partners, and we declare that we stand by the Yemeni people in defense of themselves and their sovereignty, and their heroic stance on the side of Palestine,” the statement read.

The Hezbollah and Houthi terror groups are both part of the Iranian-funded and equipped network of militias throughout the Middle East. Hezbollah reportedly helped the Houthis to transfer weapons and sent advisors to train Houthi rebels how to use Iranian-supplied weapons.

Soon after the Israeli strikes in Yemen, Lebanese media reported that alleged Israeli attacks targeted Hezbollah infrastructure in the town of Adloun, about 30 km (19 miles) from the Israeli border. The Saudi Al Arabiya channel later reported that weapons and ammunition caches were bombed.

The following day, the IDF said it had attacked two warehouses in southern Lebanon holding “rockets and other means,” without specifying where the strikes took place.

The Israeli army said that aircraft struck a terror squad in Houla that was spotted by soldiers of the 91st Division earlier. Hezbollah later announced the death of two of its operatives, raising its official death toll since last October to 375.

On Sunday afternoon, a series of rocket and drone strikes struck northern Israel, with Hezbollah later claiming the launch as a response to the Israeli strike that allegedly wounded civilians in Adloun on Saturday evening.

The launches struck a preschool in Kibbutz Hanita, a school in Kibbutz Dafna, and the Birya Forest, killing around 10 cows and igniting a large fire that took 15 firefighting teams several hours to bring under control.

Because Hanita and Dafna were already evacuated due to their proximity to the Lebanese border, no casualties were reported after the attacks.

“Not only did the fire severely damage the forests but now it has also taken a toll on the lives of living creatures,” Jewish National Fund Chairwoman Ifat Ovadia-Luski told Ynet News.

“These cows were an integral part of the green landscape, and unwillingly became victims as well. We will restore and return the north to its beauty, along with the forests and the creatures living in them.”

All Israel News

Day 290 — Monday, July 22

Following numerous rocket attacks on southern Israel in recent weeks from the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in the Gaza Strip, the IDF says it is adjusting the zone to target Hamas.
The eastern portion of the zone, in the Khan Younis area, is to be evacuated and the IDF says that “remaining in this area has become dangerous.”

It says that the adjustment to the zone is being carried out “in accordance with precise intelligence indicating that Hamas has embedded terror infrastructure” in the humanitarian zone.
According to the IDF, the early warning is aimed at mitigating harm to civilians.

“The IDF is about to forcefully operate against the terror organizations and therefore calls on the remaining population left in the eastern neighborhoods of Khan Younis to temporarily evacuate to the adjusted humanitarian area in al-Mawasi,” the military says.
The IDF’s calls to civilians are being communicated via SMS messages, phone calls, and other media broadcasts.

A military source says hospitals in the area do not need to evacuate, and that the IDF has communicated this to Palestinian health officials and officials in the international community.

Times Of Israel

Day 289 — Sunday, July 21

Israeli Olympians taking part in Paris 2024 have received death threats, hate message and vitriol online over the last few days, Israeli and foreign media reported on Saturday. 

Walla reported that, over the weekend, Israeli athletes received online messages written in poor Hebrew. Many also received calls from foreign numbers. On Thursday and Friday, 15 athletes and their teams received identical death threats via email, warning them they would be killed if they arrived in France, Walla reported.

The anonymous email said that the sender intended to harm “any Israeli presence at the Olympics” and said that if any Israeli delegates attended, they would be harmed. The email threatened to repeat the action of Munich 1972 and told the athletes to “Prepare for the intifada!”

During the Munich 1972 Olympics, eleven Israelis were executed by the Palestinian terrorist group Black September. A ceremony, the date and location of which are not yet known, will take place during the Paris Games to commemorate those killed, reported French publication Le Point.

The chairwoman of the Israel Olympic Committee, Yael Arad, said “It was clear to us that such a troll would come. We prepared for it. We instructed the athletes on how to act when it comes and we had many conversations and meetings on the subject,” Walla reported.

The messages and calls have continued over the weekend.

The Israeli Olympic team has landed in Paris and was met with high security presence. The British publication The Telegraph announced in an exclusive on Saturday that Israel would be sending armed Shin Bet agents to Paris to prepare for the largest-ever security operation for Israeli athletes at the Olympic Games.

Jerusalem Post

Day 288 — Saturday, July 20

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Saturday that it had struck the “Houthi terrorist regime” in Yemen for the first time, launching a long-distance airstrike on the Al Hudaydah Port, targeting the origin of a drone that hit Israel Friday.

The attack came in response to a Houthi drone that reached Tel Aviv on Friday, killing one Israeli civilian and wounding eight others after slipping past Israeli air defenses due to what the IDF called “human error.”

Reports in Yemen emerged before Israel confirmed the attack. There were reports of casualties near the port.

In a statement, the IDF said:

A short while ago, IDF fighter jets struck military targets of the Houthi terrorist regime in the area of the Al Hudaydah Port in Yemen in response to the hundreds of attacks carried out against the State of Israel in recent months.

There are no changes in the Home Front Command defensive guidelines. In the case of a change to the guidelines, we will update the public accordingly.

Details to follow.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who monitored the attack together with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from Israeli Air Force (IAF) headquarters, said that the attack had reached its target 2,000 kilometers away from Israel, and that the “fires that are burning now in Hudaydah” are being seen in “the entire Middle East,” a warning to enemies of Israel.

Iran is roughly the same distance away from Israel as Yemen.

According to a press briefing by IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari on Saturday evening, the attack was carried out by fighter jets, not remotely, with pilots flying 1,700 kilometers and returning home safely.

Hagari said that Israel did not want a war with Yemen as a whole: “Yemen is a big country. Only a part of it is run by the Houthis.” He emphasized that the target was the Iran-backed Houthi terrorist regime, not the people of Yemen.

The name of the operation, he said, was “Operation Long Arm,” chosen to send a signal to Iran and other enemies.

Though Israel carried out the operation alone, Hagari said, it was the common international interest to stop the Houthi threat. He added that Israel was appealing to the nations of the world to stand together against the Houthis.

Hagari also posted video of the IAF conducting the attack.

The attack was carried out solely by Israeli forces, Hagari said, though the U.S. and other allies were reportedly informed afterwards.

Israel’s Army Radio said that Israel had destroyed both military targets and utilities that are used by the Houthis, such as fuel and electricity installations. The Times of Israel added that one of the goals of the attack was to disable the port through which Iran brings in weapons.

Israel’s security cabinet held an unusual emergency meeting on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, during the attack.

The Iran-backed Houthis have attacked Israel, without provocation, since the Hamas terror attacks of October 7. The two countries do not share a common border and have no reason for war other than Iran’s desire to destroy Israel.

There were over 200 Houthi attacks on Israel before Friday, and Israel did not respond to any of them, under pressure from the U.S.

The Houthis have also choked international shipping through the Red Sea by attacking vessels that pass through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait. The Biden administration’s Operation Prosperity Guardian has focused on defensive actions that have, thus far, failed to deter the Houthis or the Iranians.

Israel’s Army Radio pointed out that Israel’s attack would be particularly noteworthy because it had succeeded in hitting core Houthi infrastructure where others — including neighboring Saudi Arabia — had failed thus far.

President Biden removed the Houthis from a list of terrorist organizations upon reaching office — reversing an action taken by President Donald Trump — and waited years before putting them on a terrorist list again, despite their attacks on Saudi Arabia and Israel.

Breibart

Day 288 — Saturday, July 20

Professor Anne Bayefsky, Director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust and President of Human Rights Voices, commented to Arutz Sheva-Israel National News following the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) ruling which stated that Israel has illegally occupied Judea and Samaria and annexed Jerusalem.

“The so-called legal ‘opinion’ is a legal obscenity from start to finish,” she said, noting, “The Court is the ‘World Court’ of the United Nations, a body controlled by an anti-Israel mob. The members of the Court are elected by the United Nations. Its legal ‘experts’ include alleged authorities from such legally-challenged places like China and Somalia.”

“The ICJ President – the man who read the opinion aloud to the world dressed up in judicial robes with pomp and circumstance – was a Lebanese politician. Nawaf Salam was on the ballot for Prime Minister of Lebanon in the last two elections. Before that he was Lebanon’s representative to the United Nations – a country that doesn’t recognize Israel’s right to exist,” continued Prof. Bayefsky.

She further noted, “The request for the non-binding ‘advisory opinion’ from the Court came from the UN General Assembly. The question posed by the mob was framed as: Israel is guilty of the following violations of international law, so what are the consequences? (‘What are the legal consequences arising from the ongoing violation by Israel of the right of the Palestinian people to…’). There were no Palestinian violations of anything on the agenda.”

“The Court said that it would nevertheless reconsider Israel’s guilt, proceeded to summarily declare Israel guilty, and then held forth on the consequences. How did it find Israel guilty? In its words, without the facts.”

“The Court shockingly said: ‘it is not necessary for the Court to make findings of fact with regard to specific incidents allegedly in violation of international law.’ It was sufficient, they said, that the UN Secretary-General said so. That would be the same Secretary-General, António Guterres, who has repeatedly invented ways to backstop Hamas. As early as October 9, 2023, he said that the atrocities of October 7th did “not come in a vacuum,” Prof. Bayefsky pointed out.

“Among the results, this grotesque kangaroo court said Israel was guilty of the crime against humanity of apartheid. It took them less than 250 words to come to this monumental conclusion, intended to create an avalanche of legal and political ramifications isolating and permanently debilitating the Jewish state,” she said.

“The case also calls for the ethnic cleansing of Jews from whatever land Palestinian Arabs and the UN say belongs to Palestinians. ‘All settlers’ must leave, ‘all Palestinians’ must be allowed ‘to return,’ ‘the wall’ (that put an end to the suicide-bombing carnage) must be dismantled wherever they say so. What is actually ‘Apartheid Palestine’ is apparently just fine.”

“‘Palestinian’ territory – which Israel is said to occupy, including Gaza and the West Bank – is suddenly defined by the Court to consist of ‘a single territorial unit, the unity, contiguity and integrity of which are to be preserved.’ It is not clear where the Jews are left in this actually non-existent contiguous Palestinian territory,” said Prof. Bayefsky.

She also noted, “The Opinion has a whole section called ‘Violence against Palestinians.’ There is no section on violence against Israelis. In fact, there is no discussion or findings about violence, terrorism, rockets, suicide-bombing, knifings, vehicle-rammings, shootings, kidnappings and rapes against Israelis at all, ever. The only mention of ‘gender-based violence’ paints Palestinians as the victims. One more disgusting example from the UN of ‘MeToo_Unless_Ur_A_Jew.'”

“The ‘Opinion’ rests on lethal historical fiction. The opinion says: ‘On 14 May 1948, Israel proclaimed its independence with reference to the General Assembly resolution 181 (II); an armed conflict then broke out between Israel and a number of Arab States, and the Plan of Partition was not implemented.’ ‘Broke out’ is the UN-euphemism for the attempted annihilation of the nascent Jewish state by Arab states and Palestinian Arabs.”

“The opinion also says: ‘In 1967, an armed conflict (also known as the ‘Six-Day War’) broke out between Israel and neighboring countries Egypt, Syria and Jordan’ and again ‘In October 1973, another armed conflict broke out between Egypt, Syria and Israel.'”

“‘Broke out’ is how the UN covers-up the systematic continuous campaign by Arabs to destroy the Jewish state from May 14, 1948 on, both in the halls of the UN and in the field. This blatant historical revisionism from the UN’s highest legal body makes a mockery of its subsequent conclusions built on a mountain of lies,” said Prof. Bayefsky.

“The Opinion is heavily reliant on lengthy discussions of Palestinian Arab ‘self-determination’ and associated ‘rights.’ There is no mention whatsoever of Jewish self-determination. The Court says the ‘key element of the right to self-determination is the right of a people freely to determine its political status and to pursue its economic, social and cultural development.’ Except for Jews. For Jews, the UN decides the political status of Jews in the Jewish state and authors an “opinion” clearly intended to drive BDS – sanctions, boycotts and global efforts to devalue and destroy such development in the case of Israel.”

Prof. Bayefsky continued, “Moreover, a mere 75 years after the Holocaust, the UN Court twists the laws written in response to the atrocities committed against Jews, to demonize the refuge of the Jewish people today. The Court purported to apply the law to criminalize the Nazi deportation of Jews from their homes to concentration camps – in order to criminalize the voluntary movement of Jews within the land of Israel. This isn’t law. It’s war by another name. It’s the face of modern antisemitism. Where a German judge, Georg Nolte, sits on a UN court, to apply the law for Nazis and their ilk to the Jews.”

Arutz Sheva