Before I begin to address some of the many reasons that our heads are spinning, I am pleased to announce that the IDF has confirmed that Mohammed Deif was killed in the IDF airstrike on July 13.
https://www.jns.org/hold-idf-confirms-hamas-terror-master-deif-killed-in-gaza-strike/
Note, this is an IDF confirmation, not confirmation by Hamas, which is still evading the issue. But that’s quite good enough.
Have no clue how his death was confirmed, but we can move on from here – content in the knowledge that Sinwar must be freaking out and remaining Hamas commanders increasingly demoralized!
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Now as to our spinning heads. Is there anyone either here in Israel or in the US who is not at least a bit dizzy at this point?
What I want to do here is to carry through the theme I began on Friday, with regard to the importance of showing maximum strength to our enemies. If you missed it, you can see significant comments on this issue by Lebanese-born Jewish scholar Gad Saad here:
https://arlenefromisrael.info/from-israel-with-clear-vision/
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During the early morning of last Friday, we sustained a drone attack.
The drone was launched by the Houthis, the Iranian proxies in Yemen. It struck a building in central Tel Aviv, killing one civilian and wounding at least four others. The Houthis later published a statement in which they took responsibility for a military operation against Tel Aviv using a previously unknown drone called “Yafa.”
This drone has been identified by the IDF as most likely an Iranian-made Samad-3, with a 4.5-meter wingspan, which had been modified to extend its range. It did not fly a direct route, but crossed over Egypt, approaching Tel Aviv at a low altitude from the Mediterranean. This was a route of 2,000 km from Yemen.
This was the first drone attack on Tel Aviv by the Houthis. It was successful because of a “human error” that had failed to properly identify it, in part because of its unexpected route.
Since October 7, the Houthis have launched some 200 drones and cruise missiles towards Israel, “in support of the Palestinians.” But these were launched toward Eilat, in the south of Israel by the Red Sea – a much shorter route from Yemen (see map) – and were intercepted to a significant degree.
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With this attack, the Houthis had achieved a major military goal. The question, then, was how Israel would respond. That some response was necessary was a given.
What followed two days later was a major response, not a token gesture: An Israeli attack was launched on the Hudaydah Port, Yemen’s principal Red Sea harbor in the city of Hudaydah and a Houthi stronghold.
What was attacked were Houthi military sites in the area of the port – sites utilized for weapon storage. Additionally, oil depots and Iranian arms storage facilities hidden by the Houthis were hit, as was an airport used for arms transfer.
IDF Spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagary explained that Israeli Air Force jets had travelled 1,800 km for this operation, the farthest the air force had ever traveled from Israel to hit a target.
Declared Prime Minister Netanyahu (emphasis added): “The port that was targeted is not an innocent port. It’s used as their entry point for weapons that are supplied by Iran to its Houthi terrorist proxies. The Houthis have used those weapons to attack Israel, to attack Arab states in the region, to attack many others.
“This strike comes in direct response to the killer drone attack yesterday that killed one person and injured several others, a hundred yards from the US Consulate in Tel Aviv. But the aggression of the Houthis goes well beyond that single attack. Because for the past eight months, the Houthis have launched hundreds of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones against Israel.”
Said Minister of Defense Gallant: “The fire currently burning in Hudaydah [ignited because oil depots had been hit] is seen across the Middle East and the significance is clear. The Houthis attacked us over 200 times. The first time that they harmed an Israeli citizen, we struck them.”
https://www.israeldefense.co.il/en/node/62619
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“Anyone who wishes to see a stable and safe Middle East,” Netanyahu declared on Saturday night, “needs to stand against Iran’s axis of evil, and support Israel’s fight against Iran and its proxies – in Yemen, in Gaza, in Lebanon, everywhere.”
He speaks truth.
I would not presume to suggest that the Houthis will now back down because of this response. That would be simplistic. But what I do suggest is that a strong stance against Iran – which is behind the Houthis, and Hezbollah, and Hamas – is essential. A message has been delivered.
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In the course of his speech at the Republican convention, Donald Trump made a comment regarding “our hostages” – which I assume referred to Israeli hostages with dual American citizenship. “We want our hostages back, and they better be back before I assume office, or you will be paying a very big price.”
https://www.jns.org/trump-calls-for-release-of-american-hostages-in-convention-speech/
Some might think of this as nothing more than empty bravado, in typical Trump style. I do not, because I remember a similar situation – and some of you may remember as well. The Shah of Iran had been overthrown, and a revolutionary jihadist regime had taken his place by February 1979. On November 4, 1979, Iranian students in Tehran seized the US Embassy and took 52 Americans hostage. The hostage crisis lasted for 444 days. It ended minutes after President Jimmy Carter left office in 1981. Carter – whose image was one of weakness – had been unable to extricate himself from the situation.
Why were the hostages released as soon as Carter left the White House? Because Ronald Reagan was moving in and the Iranians knew he was a tough, no-nonsense guy. The dynamics had shifted.
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How ironic are the parallels between the situation forty-five years ago, and today. America, which is still standing against a jihadist Iran, has for the past four years been governed by a president who is extraordinarily inept and weak.
Back in September 2023, Biden sought the release of five American hostages who had been held in Iran for a period of time. An “exchange” of hostages was arranged, with the five being released by Iran in return for five Iranians released by the US. But there was another element to the deal: The Biden administration unfroze $6 billion in Iranian oil money. Biden and company insisted there was no connection. No one believes this. Biden had bought the release of the Americans: Iran had Biden’s number.
This, and similar decisions on the part of the Biden government that strengthened Iran fiscally, I do not forgive. For that money was used by Iran in part to strengthen Hezbollah and Hamas.
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For years, our prime minister has been trying to alert the world – a world that did not want to hear him – about the dangers of Iran, which seeks to take over the world. We have stood alone to a considerable degree in this battle. But alone or not, we must remain strong in our messages, as we were when we attacked in Yemen.
And so do I welcome tough words, from the Republican nominee for the presidency. He has a reputation that unsettles enemies of the Western world, and that’s a good thing.
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It’s worth noting what commentator Daniel Greenfield had to say about the attempted assassination of Trump and his response to it (emphasis added):
“…There are rifles aimed and bullets flying at our country every single day. Governments and politicians have failed to deal with these threats because they have worked to evade them. In a historic moment on a field where cows once traipsed, Trump showed us and all of history how not only to fearlessly meet a crisis, but how to rise from it and be strengthened by it.
“Trump’s raised fist symbolizes that what you do when the bullets are flying is crucial, but what you do afterward changes it all. The crisis is not the thing to be afraid of, it’s the way forward.
“Israel, take heart!”
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/393292
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The issue of a strong stance is at the heart of Israeli debate regarding bringing home the hostages. Those who want it done NOW, say whatever the cost, it is worth it. We would give up final victory over Hamas (or at least give them a breathing spell in which to strengthen) and agree to the release of hundreds of terrorists in our prisons. But, they say, it would be worth it.
Netanyahu’s point is that only victory over Hamas will bring release of the hostages. Any deal before victory would secure an incomplete release, with some hostages still held. Hamas is not to be trusted. They will say they cannot locate some, they will give back bodies. Minister Bezalel Smotrich is concerned that any hostages who are held back in a deal now would be lost to us forever.
But at present, the entire situation is a mess.
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Netanyahu left for the US yesterday. Before he left, he faced large “Bring them home now!” demonstrations.
But on Sunday evening, before he left, he also saw a demonstration outside his home of families of hostages, bereaved families, and reservists. It was organized by Im Tirtzu, along with the Tikva Forum, Gvura Forum, and “To Victory” Forum. And their message was “Stand Strong! Seek Full Victory!”
Tzvika Mor, father of hostage Eitan Mor and founder of the Tikva Forum, stressed the need for continued military pressure to ensure the return of the hostages.
According to The Jewish Press, the number at this demonstration was about the same as at the “Bring Them Home NOW” demonstrations – but was more orderly. I have noticed that the “Bring Them Home Now” demonstrations tend to get more press, thus lending a false impression.
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There is no question but that our prime minister intends to raise the issue of the hostages during his Washington DC visit. During his address to Congress tomorrow, and possibly to Biden – whom he may meet on Thursday. Now that Biden is lame duck, it is not clear to me what role he might play.
Some anti-Bibi protesters from here in Israel have made their way to Washington to protest while Netanyahu is there.
But among those who have joined his delegation is recently freed hostage Noa Argamani and her father Yaakov.
Shameful, shameful, that some anti-Bibi people criticized them for this. Other hostage families have supported the Argamanis.
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Some of the families of hostages have been pressing Netanyahu to seal a deal on the hostages before he addresses Congress. This is nonsensical in its unrealistic expectation.
What the prime minister has told them is that the conditions for a deal for their release were “coming together, without a doubt…This is a good sign, and the other sign is that we are also seeing that the enemy’s spirit is starting to break. We are seeing a certain change and I think that this change will continue to get bigger.”
Netanyahu says that we are dealing with a process. He wants more time to apply additional pressure to strengthen Israel’s position.
“In no circumstance am I willing to give up on victory over Hamas,” he emphasized. “If we let up, we will be in danger from all of Iran’s evil axis.” (Emphasis added)
I support him one thousand percent on this.
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I will leave off, here, and write again after Netanyahu’s address to Congress. There were serious questions as to whether he should have gone now, with all of the turmoil in the air. I can only hope, pray, that he is productive in his remarks and makes Israel’s case before America.
I have read that Kamala, who has (Heaven help us!) been endorsed by Biden to succeed him, will not attend Netanyahu’s speech but will reportedly meet with him privately.
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Let me note here before closing that in a meeting in Beijing, Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk, Fatah envoy Mahmud al-Aloul (Fatah being the primary party of the PA) and emissaries from 12 other Palestinian groups, have announced that they had agreed to set up an “interim national reconciliation government” to govern postwar Gaza.
I would like to hear what the sage diplomat Antony Blinken, who has babbled on forever about the rights of the Palestinian people to fulfillment via a state, has to say about this.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz, writing on X, said:
“Instead of rejecting terrorism, Mahmoud Abbas embraces the murderers and rapists of Hamas, revealing his true face.
“In reality, this won’t happen because Hamas’s rule will be crushed, and Abbas will be watching Gaza from afar. Israel’s security will remain solely in Israel’s hands.”
There is a great deal to consider regarding the PA and our situation in Judea & Samaria.
Last week the Knesset overwhelmingly passed a resolution rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state in any terms.
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Keep praying to Heaven for Israel. Pray that the tears might be lifted from our hearts.
Pray for the strength and wisdom of our leaders, for the safety of our soldiers, and for the rescue of our hostages.
Pray in a spirit of hope.
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©Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by independent journalist Arlene Kushner. Permission is granted for it to be reproduced only with proper attribution.
