DAILY ALERT

Thursday,
August 22, 2024

In-Depth Issues:

The Gazans Who Risk Their Lives for Israel - Elon Perry (Jewish Chronicle-UK)
One of the informants engaged in Mohammed Deif's successful targeting was a 19-year-old Hamas messenger whose role was to pass messages written on notes between Hamas members scattered underground in Gaza.
This courageous young man is no longer in Gaza. The bargain with him was that if the operation was successful, he would be flown to the U.S. and given asylum.
A Hamas terrorist captured during the Gaza war was recruited by Israeli intelligence and asked to walk through the tunnels in Gaza. He did not arouse suspicion because he was known to the terrorists as one of their own.
His Israel Security Agency handler gave him shoes with electronic chips that scanned the tunnels he was walking in. The scanned findings were sent directly to Israel.
Another informant was a Gazan contractor involved in digging tunnels. He supplied the Israel Security Agency with a map of the tunnels, their internal size, length, and the type of concrete he used. This helped determine which bombs the Air Force should use to destroy the tunnels.
This informant was almost captured by Hamas but Israel managed to smuggle him into Israel.
Hundreds of Gazans have been recruited and their information is bearing impressive fruits. The more Gazans see the success of Israeli operations, the more willing others are to cooperate.
Obviously, the economic situation in Gaza tempts many to cooperate in exchange for significant cash benefits.
Thousands of collaborators who fled Gaza and the Wes t Bank are now settled in Israel, enjoying freedom.
All the local informants involved in the rescue of four Israeli hostages on June 8, 2024 - twelve Gazans, including two families - were relocated to Israel.
The writer, based in London, served in the IDF for 28 years.

Poll: Israelis View the War - Mora Deitch (Institute for National Security Studies-Tel Aviv University)
A survey of Israeli public opinion conducted in August 2024 found:
Will the IDF win the war in Gaza? 70% of Jews think the IDF will win, 17.5% do not think so or are not sure.
If a war breaks out on the northern border, do you think the IDF will win? 76% of Jews think the IDF will win, 12% do not think so or are not sure.
How optimistic are you about Israeli society's ability to recover from the crisis and grow? 65% of Jews were optimistic, 30% were pessimistic.

Radicals Target Israel's Chicago Consulate amid Democratic Convention Protests - Danny Zaken (Israel Hayom)
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters attempted to breach the Israeli Consulate in Chicago on Tuesday.
The masked protesters burned Israeli and American flags and called for the violent destruction of the U.S.
The consulate criticized Chicago's mayor for permitting protesters near the premises, contrasting it with the Monday decision to deny access to families of Israeli hostage s who sought to demonstrate near the convention.

Pro-Palestinian Protests outside Democratic Convention Draw Smaller Crowds than Projected - Ron Kampeas (JTA)
At the Democratic convention in Chicago, the rally that pro-Palestinian activists organized outside drew several thousand participants, a much smaller crowd than expected, and the adoption of the party platform, including a statement of "ironclad" support for Israel, proceeded without incident.
When a protester inside the convention hall unfurled a banner reading "Stop Arming Israel" during President Biden's address on Monday, the crowd's reaction was immediate.
"We love Joe," the cheers went up, and attend ees held placards bearing that message in front of the banner.

Push for Pittsburgh Referendum on Doing Business with Israel Fails - Paula Reed Ward (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
A proposed ballot question by a pro-Palestinian group that sought to stop the City of Pittsburgh from doing business with companies that have ties to Israel will not move forward.
The group "No War Crimes on Our Dime" conceded that it did not collect the necessary number of qualified signatures to get the referendum on the ballot for November's general election.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, as well as the Pittsburgh controller's office, challenged the referendum petition.
Opponents charged that the proposed ballot question was antisemitic and potentially catastrophic for the city because of the number of Israeli entities linked to Pittsburgh contracts.
Controller Rachael Heisler said city vehicles rely on gas from compan ies with holdings in Israel and medications used by emergency medical services are sourced by Israeli pharmaceutical companies.
Duquesne Light provides electricity to the majority of the city, but the utility is also part of a consortium with Israeli groups that received a grant from the Department of Energy for energy infrastructure cybersecurity.

The Legacy of Sgt. Ben Zussman - Rommy Etzion (Ynet News)
Sgt. First Class (res.) Ben Zussman fell in battle in Gaza on Dec. 3, 2023, at the age of 22.
On Oct. 7, Ben immediately packed a bag and left for his base. On his way, he wrote a heartfelt letter to his parents and instructed his friends to pass it on if anything happened to him.
"If you're reading this, some thing must have happened to me. As you know me, there's probably no one happier than me right now. It's not just that I was really happy to realize my dream. I am happy and grateful for the privilege to protect our beautiful land and the people of Israel."
"Even if something happens to me, I forbid you from sinking into sadness. I had the privilege of fulfilling my dream and my calling. You can be sure that I look down on you and smile a huge smile."
Members of the Pashut band were moved by Ben's letter. They felt it was a sacred duty to commemorate Ben through song and gift it to his family.
"Cookies and Tea" was released in Hebrew on May 1, 2024, and has gained thousands of plays, becoming a symbol of hope and resilience.

Challenging the "Settler-Colonialism" Argument - Yisrael Me dad (Jerusalem Post)
The call to be Zionists did not start with Theodor Herzl (1860-1894) or even Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Kalischer (1795-1874) and Rabbi Yehuda ben Shlomo Alkalai (1798-1878).
Throughout the centuries of exile, the fervent commitment "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem" was never forgotten.
Jews always returned to the land in every century, such as the sages of Babylon, the rabbis of Paris and London in the 13th century, the kabbalists exiled from Spain to Safed in the 15th century, the 18th-century Hassidim, and the pupils of the Vilna Gaon in the 19th century.
The Muslim Arabs became a permanent presence after their invasion of Jerusalem in 638 CE.
Given that the Arab Muslim presence resulted from the 7th-century wars of Muslim expansionism and conquest, why are they not considered settler-colonialists?
Israel is the victory over Arab- Muslim colonization.

Meet Magen David Adom's Advanced Rescue Vehicles - Dan Raban (Ynet News)
Israel's national emergency service Magen David Adom maintains a fleet of special vehicles, funded by donations.
MDA operates 2,000 ambulances, including 400 yellow intensive care ambulances, and 40 bulletproof ones.
It has 3 Unimogs - a four-wheel-drive truck capable of transporting four patients lying down along with two crew members, a driver and a medical aide.
In addition, MDA has 25 mass-casualty event vehicles, 20 jeeps, 16 ATVs, and an especially narrow ambulance used in Jerusalem's Old City.
MDA also maintains 250 small Picanto cars, 50 electric vehicles, and 600 motorcycles.
Mo ran Abu-Shakra, 24, from the Christian Arab village Eilabun in the Galilee, who has been volunteering with MDA since he was 15, said his motorcycle "is equipped with very specific, life-saving gear like an EpiPen for allergies, tourniquets, a defibrillator and more, which allows us to save someone's life until the ambulance team arrives. Additionally, we can also reach off-road areas and get to any injured person using the motorcycles."
MDA Director-General Eli Bin said, "MDA's advanced fleet, which includes vehicles capable of operating in complex terrains and weather conditions, brings our teams one step closer to providing rapid and professional care to patients and the injured."

UPI Corrects Erroneous Reference to Hostages as "Pr isoners" (CAMERA)
On Aug. 11, UPI reporter Darryl Cootes referred to an agreement between Israel and Hamas that would see "the exchange of prisoners held by both sides."
Yet the 115 hostages still in Hamas custody are not "prisoners."
They have not committed crimes and are not being held lawfully. Nor are they awaiting trial. They are held incommunicado with no Red Cross visits and in total violation of international law.
Following CAMERA's communication with Cootes, the journalist commendably removed the characterization of the hostages as prisoners.

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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:

Second U.S. Aircraft Carrier Arrives in Mideast - Eleanor Watson
A second Navy aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, arrived in the Middle East on Wednesday escorted by guided missile destroyers, U.S. Central Command said. The carrier, equipped with F-35 fighter jets, joined the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier, which arrived in July. The Lincoln was ordered to the Middle East as the Biden administration prepared to help defend Israel against an expected Iranian attack. (CBS News)
Ira nian Military Official Hints Strike on Israel May Be Delayed - Farnaz Fassihi
Gen. Ali Mohammad Naeini, spokesman for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, said Tuesday that retaliation against Israel over the killing of a Hamas leader in Tehran may be long in coming, suggesting that an attack against Israel may have been placed on hold. "It's possible that the wait period for the response could take a long time. It's possible that Iran's response will not be a repeat of previous operations." In April, Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones against Israel.
It appears that for now in Iran, national interests and domestic considerations are outweighing ideological fervor. Israel had been threatening to strike back forcefully in both Iran and Lebanon. An Israeli strike on Iran's critical infrastructure such as power plants, oil refineries and nuclear facilities might set the country back years and further deepen its economic crisis. (New York Times)
Parents of American-Israeli Hostage Address Democratic National Convention - Jennifer Medina
On Wednesday, the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, one of eight U.S. citizens in captivity in Gaza, addressed the Democratic National Convention. The son of Jon and Rachel has been a hostage in Gaza for more than 10 months. Part of his left arm was blown off by a Hamas grenade as he was abducted on Oct. 7.
Rachel described the more than 100 hostages still in Gaza. "They are Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists. They are from 23 different countries. The youngest hostage is a 1-year-old redheaded baby boy, and the oldest is an 86-year-old mustachioed grandfather." The crowd chanted, "Bring them home." (New York Times)
See also Video: Parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin Speak at 2024 Democratic National Convention (PBS)
Gaza Descends into Lawlessness as Clans Fill Void Created by War - Amal Helles
Lawlessness has gripped Gaza in recent months. Ajith Sunghay said: "The police have been absent, so each person is on her or his own....You hear constant firing in the neighborhood. Some of these are what they call 'family disputes.'" The result has been widespread looting and theft.
Well-armed clans and gangs fill the vacuum and control monopol ies on everything from chickens and cigarettes to the roads through which the aid trucks may pass. Aid and commercial goods are stripped from vehicles by gangs and end up in the hands of clans, who sell them for exorbitant prices. Justice is meted out by mobs wielding rifles and machetes.
When Hamas took over in 2007, it sidelined the territory's powerful clans but allowed them to keep their weapons. "There are 3,000 men in every family at the minimum, and some of them are very well armed. Hamas didn't disarm the families," said Mkhaimar Abusada, a Palestinian analyst and political science professor at Gaza's Al-Azhar University.
While the Israeli government's goal is to eradicate Hamas, "It's too early to even think that Hamas is going to disappear, and we all know that Hamas is still powerful," Abusada said. Although many Gazans quietly blame Hamas for inviting the devastating war, not many are willing to confront or criticize the group, which has threatened anyone who deals with the Israelis. (The Times-UK)

News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:

One Wounded after Hizbullah Fires 50 Rockets at Israel's Golan Heights - Mathilda Heller
An Israeli man was wounded in the town of Katzrin in the Golan Heights on Wednesday after Hizbullah fired 50 rockets into northern Israel. (Jerusalem Post)
See also Hizbullah Fires 115 Rockets at Israel on Tuesday - Emanuel Fabian
Hizbulla h fired 115 rockets and several drones from Lebanon at northern Israel on Tuesday in barrages throughout the day. No injuries were reported. (Times of Israel)
IDF Launches Extensive Strikes Against Hizbullah in Southern Lebanon - Emanuel Fabian
Israel Air Force fighter jets targeted weapon depots, buildings used by Hizbullah, and a rocket launcher in ten areas of southern Lebanon, in response to a Hizbullah rocket barrage on the town of Katzrin, the IDF said Thursday. (Times of Israel)
Israel Air Force Strikes Hamas Command Center in Gaza City - Yoav Zitun
With the direction of IDF and Israel Security Agency intelligence, the Israel Air Force on Wednesday conducted a precise strike on Hamas terrorists inside a command and control center inside a compound that previously served as the Salah al-Din School in Gaza City, the IDF announced.
Hamas operatives used the compound as a hideout and a base to plan and execute attacks against IDF troops and the State of Israel. Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence, the IDF said. (Ynet News)

Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis:

The Gaza War

Israel Is Winning - Maj. (ret.) John Spencer
Hamas's overarching goal is Israel's destruction - not a more moderate outcome to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, such as a two-state solution.
Israel has formally declared a war of self-defense against Hamas with three strategic objectives: to recover all hostages, secure its borders, and destroy Hamas. After ten months of fighting, Hamas today has a fraction of the military power it had on Oct. 7.
To achieve its war aims, Israel must destroy Hamas politically, which means removing the group as the governing power in Gaza. And it must destroy it militarily - dismantle and degrade the group's military capability to the point that it cannot conduct organized attacks or defend the territory it now controls.
Israel has made significant progress degrading Hamas's military capabilities. The Israeli military says it has killed 17,000 of the estimated 30-40,000 Hamas militants, but the damage it has done to Hamas's combat power is greater than the raw numbers suggest. Combat power is a combination of leadership, command-and-control systems, trained units, weapon and equipment supplies, manufacturing capability, and infrastructure.
In July, Israel conducted a strike that killed Mohammed Deif, the founder and head of Hamas's military wing; Hamas's third-highest-ranking member, Marwan Issa, was killed a few months earlier. Israel has destroyed 22 of Hamas's 24 organized battalions, killing three of five brigade commanders, more than 20 battalion commanders, and approximately 150 company commanders within these units, as well as taking out their weapon supplies and infrastructure.
Gaza's border with Egypt is now under Israeli cont rol, and Israeli forces are methodically finding and destroying cross-border tunnels. Without these routes through Egypt, Hamas is cut off from external military support.
It is now Israel's responsibility to create the conditions that would allow a replacement for Hamas as the ruling power in Gaza. The first step is to reduce Hamas's capabilities enough to let an external force enter Gaza and provide security in population centers. As parts of Gaza are stabilized, the new authority can lead the postconflict work of deradicalization, disarmament, demobilization, and reconciliation. To realize a better future, Hamas must be destroyed with no hope of resurgence.
The writer is chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point. (Foreign Affairs)
How Israel Is Clearing Hamas Out of Rafah - Maj. (ret.) Andrew Fox
I'm in Rafah as a civilian guest of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The IDF has destroyed 200 tunnel entry shafts in Rafah alone. Each one led to a mosque, a school, or a person's home. To destroy the tunnel system, there is inevitable damage to the buildings under which the tunnels run and to which they are connected.
Homes in Gaza are almost all booby-trapped. The IDF now enters houses first with drones, then with dogs. When a house is seemingly clear, they enter only in four-man squads to minimize casualties if a bomb goes off. Hamas has cameras in these homes, with cables running into the tunnels. They wait for troops to enter, then detonate an IED. Hamas has turned the whole place into one giant booby trap.
But why go into Rafah at all? Simply because the aim is to destroy Hamas. Their c apability hinges on the supply tunnels from Rafah into Egypt, some of which run 2 km. beyond the Egyptian border.
The IDF has incurred significant casualties in this war. In one division, 4,039 have been injured, with 2,904 returning to combat afterwards. 2,831 vehicles have needed some level of repair due to enemy damage. Every single repaired vehicle has made it back to the front line. Hamas has only succeeded in destroying two tanks and two armored personnel carriers in nine months.
In Rafah, the IDF estimates the total number of civilians killed is fewer than 100. The place is empty. Civilians heed the IDF's warnings and flee to the humanitarian zones when they are told to do so.
The writer, who served in the British Army from 2005-21, is a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society and a lecturer at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. (Spec tator-UK)
Netanyahu Won't Hand Hamas an Easy Victory - Jonathan Spyer
Negotiations for an end to the war in Gaza are floundering on substantive gaps between the two sides, reflecting their diametrically opposed goals for the outcome of the war. Hamas wants a deal which it can (plausibly) portray as a victory, one that includes a total withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, an Israeli commitment to a permanent ceasefire, and an absence of any clear commitment regarding future political arrangements and governance, enabling the restoration and rebuilding of Hamas authority.
The achievement of these core demands would be accompanied by the release of thousands of Palestinian terrorists from Israeli jails in return for Israeli hostages. The individuals released would include p eople with the blood of many Israeli civilians on their hands and would be presented as paving the way for the next phase of the struggle against Israel. Should Israel accept such a deal, it would have failed to have achieved its core stated goal of dismantling Hamas authority in Gaza.
More fundamentally, Hamas would have proved the basic point of its Oct. 7 attack, that to achieve strategic goals against Israel, it is necessary to strike directly at the civilian population by taking, holding, and subsequently negotiating the release of civilian hostages. For both Israel and Hamas, the differences in their core demands constitute the gap between victory and defeat. (Spectator-UK)
The Philadelphi Corridor Is Crucial for Israel's Security - Editorial
Evacuating the Philadelph i Corridor or relying on the Egyptians or technological solutions to prevent its use as a superhighway for smuggling weapons into Gaza would be a colossal mistake, a mistake the country has already committed once. Prime Minister Netanyahu is correct to define this as a red line.
In 2005, then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon overruled some members of the security establishment who argued that, despite Israel's full withdrawal from Gaza, it should hold on to the corridor to prevent the smuggling of arms and terrorists. Sharon's decision has proven disastrous.
Through the Philadelphi Corridor, Hamas turned Gaza into an armed stronghold with an arsenal of weapons that would make a small NATO country blush. Reliance on Egypt to prevent smuggling, depending on poorly paid and unmotivated Egyptian soldiers who could be bribed, was a tragic mistake. And it did not prevent the international community from saying that Israel continues to "occupy" Gaza. Now that I srael has retaken the area, it will vacate it again at its own peril. (Jerusalem Post)

Israeli Security

Hamas Started the Gaza War with a Bloodbath - Gil Troy
When judging the Gaza War's morality, recall that Hamas started the war with a bloodbath. Hizbullah, the Houthis, and the Iranians joined. All attacked Israel not because of what Israel did or does but because of what Israel is. Hating Israel for being the Jewish state and for being a liberal democracy, they seek its destruction. That gives Israel every right to defend itself in its fight for survival against genocidal forces.
Holding hostages proves Hamas's evil. Dozens of hostages are still being held, abused, tortured. That further justifies Israel's actions morally. The loss of thousands of innocent Gazans is tragic - but who's to blame? Hamas hides behind civilians.
Compare how Israel fights, trying to minimize civilian casualties, and how the U.S. and other Western democracies fought in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. Why is Israel held to standards no other Western military is expected to meet? Why are the political attacks against Israel so disproportionate? Three million civilians recently died in the Congo. Hundreds of thousands died in Syria, in Yemen, in Iraq. Yet, "experts" call Gaza the "deadliest conflict in the 21st century."
The writer, a Distinguished Scholar of North American History at McGill University, is a Senior Fellow in Zionist Thought at the Jewish People Policy Institute. (Jerusalem Post)
The Emerging Hostage Deal Is Problematic from a Moral Standpoint - Efraim Inbar
There is a moral obligation to return hostages. Ransom for hostages is a "great commandment." However, it is not an absolute command. The Mishnah teaches that "we do not redeem captives for more than their worth due to the repair of the world: so that [their captors] do not strive to increase the number of captives" (Tractate Gittin, Mishnah 4:6). The ransom for the hostages should not be excessive: this was also determined by a committee headed by Supreme Court Justice Meir Shamgar. While setting a reasonable price is subject to debate, the principle is correct.
The moral calculation must include the fact that releasing an unknown number of terrorists in exchange for some of the hostages poses a tangible danger to Israeli citizens. The more than a thousand released in the Shalit deal - including Sinwar himself - are responsible for the deaths of many Israelis. Is the blood of Israeli citizens who have been or will be killed due to released terrorists considered any less red?
The writer is president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security. (Jerusalem Post)
See also An Israeli Hostage Deal with Hamas Guarantees Future Atrocities - Jeff Jacoby (Boston Globe)
As It Always Does with the Palestinians, the U.S. Is Focusing All Its Pressure on Israel - Mi tchell Bard
All we hear from the U.S. administration is that there must be a ceasefire in Gaza; Israeli soldiers' lives are not as valuable as Palestinians, so they should risk them to ensure that civilians aren't harmed.
Remember when White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby talked about the war in Ukraine and said, "It's their war. They get to decide what victory looks like. They get to decide what plans they execute. They get to decide what targets they hit. They get to decide where they put their troops on the battlefront." The administration's attitude towards Israel has been precisely the opposite.
As it always does with the Palestinians, the U.S. is focusing all its pressure on Israel. The Palestinians are never expected to make concessions and never given ultimatums; it is only the Israelis who must show flexibility and sacrifice their security. Of course, it never works because the Palestinians believe that time is on their side. Hamas set up civilians to die, knowing the Americans would turn on Israel. Their long-term hope is that the U.S. will force Israel out of "Palestine."
According to the terms of the negotiations. Israel is supposed to stop fighting for six weeks, withdraw from parts of Gaza, and allow terrorists to re-infiltrate the areas they leave. Will Israel get all its hostages back? No. Israel is hoping to get 30 hostages back in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. In phase two, all the remaining hostages are to be released in exchange for still more prisoners. Does anyone believe Sinwar is going to let everyone go free?
No one can blame the families of the hostages for wanting the prime minister to do whatever it takes to get their loved ones home. However, concessions will only encourage more hostage-taking. How will the families of those future captives feel?
The U.S. should recognize Israel's need to maintain sec urity in Gaza for the foreseeable future. We should make clear that not a dime will be spent on reconstruction until the hostages are free and Hamas is repudiated.
The writer is Executive Director of the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE). (JNS)

Iran

Iran's Global Terrorist Ambitions Must Be Crushed, before It's Too Late - Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Israel Katz
Hamas functions entirely as an Iranian proxy. Hamas's leadership has always been dedicated to actualizing the ayatollahs' goal of wiping Israel off the map. From Lebanon to Yemen, Syria to Ira q, Iran ruthlessly undermines states and territories, weaponizing extremist groups to serve its revolutionary zealotry.
Iran's destabilization efforts are increasingly evident in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank). Tehran is undermining the Palestinian Authority, supporting extremist groups with truckloads of weapons and money. If not for Israel's vigilance, Judea and Samaria would quickly devolve into another Iranian stronghold.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is the primary driver of Iran's strategy to encircle Israel with a "ring of fire." The international community must declare the IRGC as a terrorist organization and impose further crippling sanctions on Iran. These actions are essential to halting Iran's destabilizing activities.
Palestinian self-governance in internal affairs, coupled with Israeli security oversight, offers the best near-term option to counter Iranian influence while allowing Palestinians the max imum opportunity to govern their own affairs. History proves that whenever Israel steps back from overseeing security, the first to fill the vacuum is an Iranian-controlled terror proxy. (Telegraph-UK)
IRGC Founder: Iran Unable to Sustain Long-Term War with Israel - Alex Winston
Mohsen Sazegara, founder of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), told the Jerusalem Post in an interview: "The alleged assassination of [Hamas chief] Ismail Haniyeh, in the heart of Tehran, in one of the most protected places, was a humiliation for the intelligence organizations of Iran....[Khamenei's] first reaction was that we retaliate and don't stop. But when he referred to his military commanders and the experts in the IRGC, and they should present the options of what to do, they told him that Iran is not in a position to fight Israel."
"They don't have any strategic balance. They can send missiles toward Israel, especially hypersonic missiles that can reach Israel in six to eight minutes. But when Israel retaliates, then we can't defend the country, especially air defense, Khamenei's commanders told him."
"As far as I know, Iran, behind the scenes, negotiated with the U.S. and the Biden administration and asked them to talk to Israel, stating that Iran would attack somewhere in Israel, and promise nobody will be killed, but Israel should not retaliate. Iran asked the U.S. to put pressure on Israel not to retaliate enough to escalate. But this time, the U.S. did not agree and told them that we can't prevent Israel." (Jerusalem Post)

Hizbullah

The Pros and Cons of Salvaging or Ditching UNIFIL - David Schenker and Assaf Orion
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon numbers 10,000-plus personnel, the densest deployment of peacekeepers in the world. Its mandate is currently up for renewal at the UN Security Council by Aug. 31. Unfortunately, UNIFIL has proven ineffective in carrying out its mission for decades, and absent significant changes, there is little hope it can play a relevant role in securing the Israel-Lebanon frontier.
After the 2006 war between Hizbullah and Israel, Security Council Resolution 1701 mandated that UNIFIL help the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) ensure that the area between the Litani River and the southern frontier was "free of any armed personnel, assets, and weapons" other than the gover nment's. Yet, Hizbullah instead expanded its military footprint along the border, prohibited UNIFIL from patrolling broad swaths of territory, and routinely harassed, assaulted, and even killed the force's personnel.
UNIFIL's latest report (covering Feb. 21-June 20, 2024) revealed a spike in the already-common "freedom of movement incidents" - 38 cases in which "plainclothes" Hizbullah members or their local supporters harassed UNIFIL patrols, threatened them with weapons, fired at them, stole their equipment, or blocked their communications signals.
Far from helping the UN enforce 1701, the LAF has consistently collaborated with Hizbullah while obstructing UNIFIL's access. Because UNIFIL depends on the goodwill of the population for its security, it often demurs from effectively monitoring areas that might generate tension.
These factors have eroded Israeli and American trust in UNIFIL. Should the force continue to underperform, Wa shington should seriously consider vetoing its mandate, ending the deployment, and starting anew.
David Schenker, a former Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, is director of the program on Arab Politics at The Washington Institute.
Brig.-Gen. (res.) Assaf Orion, a former head of the IDF Strategic Planning Division, is an international fellow with The Washington Institute. (Washington Institute for Near East Policy)

Other Issues

Israel's Persecution Has Exposed a Two-Tier International Justice System - Col. (ret.) Richard Kemp
British lawyer Karim Khan, the current International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor, requested arrest warrants concurrently for Hamas and Israeli leaders. However, creating a false equivalence between arch terrorists whose currency is blood and suffering and the leaders of a democratic state defending their people from attack is nothing short of morally bankrupt. It is like indicting Osama Bin Laden and President George W. Bush at the same time. Or dragging Winston Churchill into the dock at Nuremberg beside Heinrich Himmler.
If the judges do decide to grant Khan his warrants, that would align the ICC with Hamas's jihadist agenda and against the global values of justice that the court was set up to protect. This precedent would create a two-tier international justice system under which terrorists are effectively inviolable while democratic states trying to resist them are hung out to dry. That would inevitably und ermine Britain's own national security, with political and military leaders fearful of criminalization if they have to order their armed forces into action for the legitimate defense of the country.
The writer, a former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, was chairman of the UK's national crisis management committee, COBRA. (Telegraph-UK)

Weekend Features

I Was a Captive of Hamas - Agam Goldstein-Almog
Growing up in Kibbutz Kfar Aza next to Israel's border with Gaza meant a childhood that could be interrupted at any moment by sirens warning of a Hamas rocket attack. Sibling fights or quiet nights were instantly turned into a scramble for the nearest safe room. Hamas took control of Gaza a few months before I was born in 2007, so living in its shadow is all I have ever known. Having 15 seconds to run to safety might not be a common theme in childhood, but I convinced myself that it had made me stronger than kids from comfortable Tel Aviv.
Then came Oct. 7. Hamas terrorists charged into our home, shooting my father, Nadav, and sister, Yam. I was dragged out of the house together with my mother and two younger brothers and forced into a car to Gaza. I see my father's fading eyes when I close mine at night.
My Hamas guards hated me for being Jewish, so I was coerced into reciting Islamic prayers and made to wear a hijab. Six female hostages I met in a tunnel told me about men with guns who came into their shower rooms and touched their bodies. I was fortunate to be release d, along with my family members, in a prisoner exchange after 51 days. But those six young women are still in captivity, held for more than 300 days.
One morning, my family was moved from our safe house to a school hall, filled largely with Gazan women and children. Then, in an instant, Hamas launched rockets, just meters away from us, from inside the school compound. The hall erupted in joy, and as the Gazans celebrated, I realized that Hamas had moved us there to serve as human shields.
Shortly before my family and I were released, a guard told us that, in the next war, Hamas would return to kill us. There would be no hostage-taking, no more dealmaking. When we were transferred to a Red Cross vehicle for our ride out of Gaza, a mob formed. The Gazans banged on the windows and screamed at us: Die, die, die.
On social media, I watched as the movement for a Gaza ceasefire sometimes devolves into full-throated support for Hamas and th e hounding of Jews in public spaces. When American students chant in praise of Hamas terrorists "Al-Qassam, you make us proud," I'm reminded that many people still hate me. (Washington Post)

Observations:

Israeli Presence on the Philadelphi Corridor Is Vital - Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)

The Israeli military presence along the Philadelphi Corridor between Gaza and Egypt is essential to ensure that Hamas will face considerable difficulties in its expected efforts to reconstruct and resupply its terror enterprise in Gaz a. The closure will hamper its ability to smuggle in weaponry, personnel, and even vehicles and funds from Egypt through the vast network of tunnels they constructed under the corridor, through the Rafah border crossing itself, and via other routes.
After revealing and neutralizing all the tunnels, Israel will have to erect an underground barrier along the corridor similar to the one it built along the Gaza-Israel border. The IDF will have to be deployed along the corridor to ensure that the underground barrier, the aboveground wall, the monitoring of the Rafah crossing, and the other elements of the systems designed to prevent smuggling are functioning so that any infiltration attempt will be thwarted immediately.
The chances that Egyptian, Arab, international forces or Palestinian Authority forces will effectively meet this challenge are paltry. This idea was tried in the past and failed miserably. There is no reason to believe that another time will be different. In light of this, there is no substitute for a physical Israeli presence along the corridor to prevent smuggling.
Such a presence is also essential for additional strategic reasons. First is the need to shape a new reality in Gaza. If the overall military control that is needed to combat terror is to be in Israel's hands, Israel needs to maintain control of all of Gaza's borders, including the Philadelphi Corridor. Any other arrangement will make it almost impossible for the IDF to prevent the emergence of terror threats from Gaza.
Second, lasting Israeli control of the Philadelphi Corridor is what will preclude Hamas control of the strategic passage. The ongoing physical change on the ground will constitute a message to Hamas, the other members of the Iranian axis, and the Palestinians, in general, that the Oct. 7 terror attack was a strategic error that significantly har med the advancement of their goals, chief among them the elimination of Israel.
Israeli deployment along Philadelphi can serve to make clear to the Iranians and Hizbullah that whoever launches a war against Israel pays a strategic price for it.

The writer, Director, National Security and Middle East Affairs at the Jerusalem Center, is former head of the IDF Military Intelligence Research Division.

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