Friday, March 21, 2025

Hamas Working on a Repeat of October 7 before Israel Struck

by Yaakov Lappin ~ JNS

Tuesday, 18 March 2025 | At 2.20 a.m. local time on Tuesday morning, the Israeli Air Force restarted large-scale action against Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza. Included in the first batch of some 80 targets, struck in just minutes, were senior- and medium-ranking members of Hamas’s political regime and key military infrastructure sites.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorized the renewal of military action, while the Israeli government and security establishment coordinated the decision to resume operations against the terrorist regime in Gaza.

The decision followed Hamas’s repeated refusal to release hostages despite multiple mediation efforts, particularly those led by US envoy Steve Witkoff, according to Netanyahu. The renewed strikes mark a decisive shift in Israel’s approach, signaling both military escalation and political determination to achieve its war objectives.

However, JNS has learned, the renewal of Israeli military operations was driven not only by Hamas’s refusal to release hostages but also by clear intelligence indicating that the terrorist organization had used the ceasefire period to strengthen its military capabilities. During the two-month truce, which began on January 19, Hamas worked to rebuild its forces, stockpile weapons and prepare for future attacks.

The Israeli response targeted mid-level Hamas commanders, senior figures in its political wing, and key terrorist infrastructure. The strikes were part of a sustained military effort designed to degrade Hamas’s operational capabilities while applying pressure to release hostages.

The timing of the operation was also influenced by intelligence assessments that Hamas was preparing new attacks. The group had been observed reinforcing its military positions and laying explosives along expected IDF entry routes.

These activities suggested a concerted effort to prepare for a new, cross-border attack targeting Israeli communities, prompting the IDF to act preemptively. The military operation is expected to continue as long as necessary, with the scope potentially expanding based on battlefield and diplomatic developments.

Hamas’s repeated declarations about its intention to conduct further attacks reinforced the perception that it was merely using the ceasefire as a tactical pause to prepare more murderous attacks against Israel. Israeli intelligence had been closely monitoring Hamas’s activities and concluded that its leadership remained committed to its goal of carrying out new large-scale operations on Israeli territory.

Given this assessment, waiting any longer would have allowed Hamas to further entrench itself. While the current phase of the operation remains focused on airstrikes, Israeli officials have indicated that a military escalation remains a possibility. The IDF’s extensive aerial campaign was executed with overwhelming force.

A joint announcement by the IDF and Shin Bet intelligence agency (ISA) on Tuesday stated that they were “continuing to strike terror targets belonging to the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations across the Gaza Strip. The targets struck over the past few hours include terrorist cells, launch posts, weapons stockpiles, and additional military infrastructure used by these terror organizations to plan and execute attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers.”

The strikes took Hamas by surprise. The scale and speed of the attack were designed to inflict maximum damage while minimizing Hamas’s ability to respond effectively.

According to a subsequent IDF-Shin Bet statement, the operation resulted in the elimination of senior Hamas officials, including:

Essam al-Da’alis, head of the Hamas government in Gaza, and the most senior figure of authority in Gaza.

Mahmoud Marzouk Ahmed Abu-Watfa, Hamas’s minister of internal affairs and the head of its internal security forces, which the IDF said were also used for terrorist missions.

Bahajat Hassan Mohammed Abu-Sultan, the head of Hamas’s internal security forces who engaged in terrorism.

Ahmed Amar Abdullah Alhata, Hamas’s minister of justice, whose role included the use of Hamas-controlled legal institutions for terror-related purposes.

The targeted killings of these figures significantly weakened Hamas’s internal organizational structure and disrupted its ability to maintain governance and military coordination.

Col. (res) Yaron Buskila, a former operations officer in the IDF Gaza Division, told journalists in a call organized by the Jerusalem Press Club on Tuesday: “There were actually three objectives for this attack. The first one, and I think the most important one, is to removing the immediate threat of a Hamas raid on the Israeli positions or again on the Israeli villages. And we know about the threats. In the last two months since the ceasefire, the Hamas tried to arm itself again and to prepare for the next round.”

He added: “We had a lot of alerts that the Hamas is preparing to raid. It can be civilians who are working in the field next to the border, or against the Israeli villages.”

The second objective, said Buskila, “is to push Hamas again to the negotiation table under the terms of the first round.”

Hamas is currently attempting to engineer negotiations in a manner that would allow it to remain as Gaza’s ruler and armed force and prepare a new October-7-style mass assault on Israel, according to Buskila.

“We can never know when [Hamas will try to attack again]. And that’s one of the things that we cannot allow. We have to stay, leave our forces in the Philadelphi Corridor and go inside Gaza again to fight against Hamas, to make sure Hamas will not stay in Gaza anymore. Otherwise, they will just arm themselves again and prepare for the next raid.”

The third objective, Buskila said, is to remove threats to Israel such as explosive devices, rockets and anti-tank missiles that were planted by Hamas in Gazan homes, along roads which the IDF is expected to enter in a future ground operation.

Buskila stressed that “Israel is trying to exhaust as many ways as possible to free the hostages,” adding, however, that “it is clear to us that the Hamas will not release everyone without achieving its goal because they [the hostages] are only assets that they have in their hands.”

“So if you want to change the terms of the next negotiation, we have to get inside Gaza and to fight again, and to go back to the table with terms that are better for Israel.”

In a statement to the nation on Tuesday, Netanyahu said:  “Hamas refused offer after offer to release our hostages. In the past two weeks, Israel did not initiate any military action in the hope that Hamas would change course. Well, that didn’t happen. While Israel accepted the offer of President Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, Hamas flatly refused to do so. This is why I authorized yesterday the renewal of military action against Hamas.”

Defense Minister Israel Katz reinforced this message during a visit to the Tel Nof Airbase, southern Israel, declaring: “Hamas must understand that the rules of the game have changed. If it does not immediately release all the hostages, the gates of hell will open, and it will face the full force of the IDF—by air, sea and land—until its total destruction.”

Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the new IDF chief of staff, toured Rafah in the southern Gaza on Tuesday and reiterated the IDF’s commitment to securing southern Israel, telling troops: “Your mission is to protect the communities here. We are engaged in an ongoing operation against Hamas, alongside the IDF’s full obligation to bring back the hostages.”

At present, the operation remains an air campaign, but Israeli officials have made it clear that a ground incursion will follow if Hamas continues to refuse to change its position.

Source: (This article was originally published by the Jewish News Syndicate on March 20, 2025. See original article at this link.)

Photo Credit: IDF/jns.org

Prayer Focus
Pray for the complete disarmament and demilitarization of all hostile forces in Gaza, specifically Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Pray that the IDF will be successful in achieving the three goals they have set out, first and most importantly to remove the immediate threat of a cross-border raid similar to the one carried out October 7, 2023. Pray for the hostages who are still being held in Gaza and their loved ones in Israel, asking for divine intervention to set the captives free.

Scripture

But thus says the LORD: “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible be delivered; for I will contend with him who contends with you, and I will save your children.”

- Isaiah 49:25

Netanyahu: ‘Larger Front’ Could Open in Judea and Samaria amid Hamas War

by Akiva van Koningsveld ~ JNS

Tuesday, 18 March 2025 | Israeli security officials are aware that a “more intense front” could open in Judea and Samaria amid the resumption of combat with Hamas in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday.

“Because while we are waging an intense war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, we are aware of the possibility that a larger and more intense front could open here in Judea and Samaria,” the premier said during a visit to the Border Police’s Mista’arvim undercover special forces unit for the region.

“They are simply doing holy work for the State of Israel. This is important at all times, but it is especially important now,” Netanyahu told the fighters.

He added, “The work of the Border Police’s units, the Israel Police, the IDF and the cooperation of these forces with our special units—this brings many, many results for your security, citizens of Israel.”

During the visit, Netanyahu received a security briefing regarding developments in Judea and Samaria from Chief Supt. K., who leads the undercover unit.

The prime minister was shown “unique operational and tactical capabilities” of the special forces, as they carried out drills simulating scenarios faced during counter-terrorism operations against Palestinians throughout Judea and Samaria.

Netanyahu was accompanied by his chief of staff Tzachi Braverman, his military secretary Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman and spokesperson Omer Dostri, along with other senior Israeli security officials including Police Commissioner Daniel Levy and Border Police commander Brik Yitzhak.

Last week, the Israel Defense Forces was putting together a bank of targets to be attacked by the Air Force in the case of an October 7, 2023-style terror attack in Judea and Samaria.

The plan would see IAF fighter jets, drones and helicopters bomb access roads to Jewish communities in the area, as well as other strategic targets, to slow down the terrorists’ advance, according to Israel Hayom.

Israel’s security forces have intensified operations throughout Judea and Samaria following the February 20 failed bus bombings outside Tel Aviv. Three empty buses exploded, and bombs were found on two others in what is being investigated as a large-scale coordinated terrorist attack.

More than two in three Israeli Jews fear that Arab terrorists based in Judea and Samaria could launch a significant terrorist attack similar to Hamas’s October 7 massacre, according to a survey the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs published last month.

In September, Israeli authorities filed an indictment against a member of a terrorist squad based in Jenin who planned to infiltrate Jewish civilian communities in Samaria and carry out an October 7-style attack.

The indictment accused Osama Bani Fadl and other terrorist operatives of making serious preparations for a mass slaughter of Jewish residents of northern Samaria, including by infiltrating villages with vehicles.

The terrorist cell reportedly also planned major attacks inside the town of Ma’ale Efraim in the Jordan Valley, and a drive-by shooting and large car bombing at the gas station outside Eli in southern Samaria, a location that Palestinian terrorists targeted twice over the past two years.

Palestinian terrorists targeted Jews in Judea and Samaria at least 6,343 times in 2024, according to figures published by the Rescuers Without Borders (Hatzalah Judea and Samaria) NGO on February 17.

Twenty-seven Israelis were murdered in Judea and Samaria in 2024, and more than 300 others were wounded, the group said in its annual report.

Source: (This article was originally published by the Jewish News Syndicate on March 20, 2025. See original article at this link.)

Photo Credit: Amos Ben-Gershom/GPO/jns.org

Prayer Focus
Pray for the members of the undercover Border Police unit that operates in Israel’s biblical heartland, asking the Lord to give them wisdom and understanding in the fight against the active terrorist cells in Judea and Samaria. Continue to pray for the Israeli citizens who have chosen to live in this area, often at the risk of their lives and those of their children. Declare God’s covenant promise that this Land is theirs forever.

Scripture

And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

- Genesis 17:7–8

‘Unlimited Interceptions, Each Costing Only a Few Dollars’

by Yaakov Lappin ~ JNS

Tuesday, 18 March 2025 | Israel’s air defense capabilities are set to take a historic leap by the end of 2025 with the deployment of Iron Beam, the world’s first operational high-energy laser system for intercepting aerial threats.

Developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, the prime contractor, in partnership with Israel’s Defense Ministry, Iron Beam will be integrated into Israel’s multi-layered defense network. It will operate alongside Iron Dome, the world’s most deployed air defense system that intercepts short- to medium-range threats, the David’s Sling medium- to long-range defense system, as well as the Arrow-2 and Arrow-3 anti-ballistic missile systems.

“Iron Beam is expected to be operational by the end of 2025,” Rafael told JNS, confirming a recent statement by Defense Minister Israel Katz. “The system has already demonstrated successful interceptions, and Rafael, together with Israel’s defense establishment, is accelerating its deployment.”

One of Iron Beam’s most significant advantages is its cost-effectiveness. “This system fundamentally changes the cost equation of air defense. Each interception costs only a few dollars in electricity, making it far more economical than traditional missile interceptors,” the company said. “It allows us to neutralize threats at near-zero cost, forcing adversaries to spend significantly more to launch attacks than we do to stop them.”

A senior Israeli Defense Ministry official told JNS on March 12 that Iron Beam represents a “technological breakthrough at the global level.” The system, the official stated, can shoot down rockets, mortar shells, unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missiles.

It will also “flip” the economic equation by reversing the long-standing situation in which Israel’s enemies fire thousands of cheap rockets as Israel invests much more in intercepting them.

“Cheap, effective interception of many threats, sparing interceptors, and decreasing the load on existing [air defense] systems,” are part of Iron Beam’s added value, the official said.

“We are examining the installation of this system in all types of platforms: Ground, air and sea. The first expected hand-off of the system is estimated towards the end of 2025,” the official said.

Currently, a single Tamir interceptor used by Iron Dome costs around US $50,000 per launch. In contrast, terrorist organizations in Gaza, such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, have spent as little as $500 to $1,000 per rocket, often funded by Iran. This economic asymmetry has long posed a challenge for Israel—until now.

The Defense Ministry’s Research and Development Unit, which is part of the Directorate of Defense Research and Development, has been leading the project with Rafael and Elbit Systems, the official said.

Iron Beam has demonstrated “impressive interception capabilities” in a series of trials, said the official, and is intended to serve as a complementary layer to Iron Dome.

Iron Beam is based on a 100-kilowatt laser, which has a range of between eight to ten kilometers [5.9 to 6.2 mi.] when fired from the ground at aerial threats. While the laser beam travels at the speed of light, each beam must deal with one threat at a time.

The command algorithms of the Iron Dome will decide when it is time to activate the lasers and when to launch Iron Dome’s missile interceptors. This means that Iron Beam will be connected to the country’s array of radars that detect threats. It also depends on advanced camera sensors for targeting.

“Its integration will enable a significant improvement in Israel’s interception capabilities in the face of existing and future ballistic threats and drones,” the official said.

Rafael told JNS that Iron Beam will revolutionize air defense by providing an instantaneous, high-energy laser interception capability at the speed of light.

“It provides continuous protection with an unlimited interception capacity, significantly reducing the need for missile-based interceptors,” a company source said.

Iron Beam’s ability to intercept threats at the speed of light means there is virtually no delay between detection and impact, making it significantly faster than kinetic interceptors such as the Tamir missile used by Iron Dome.

An industry source explained that Iron Beam’s breakthrough was “enabled by decades of research and development in this field.” The source added: “When you have played with something so advanced for so long, you start to understand it, how it speaks and how it behaves. We understood these patterns can be engineered differently—and we have therefore made this leap.”

The system is expected to be deployed along Israel’s borders with Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.

Hezbollah’s rocket arsenal was, before the war, significantly more sophisticated and costly than those of Hamas or Islamic Jihad. Nevertheless, the economic advantage enjoyed by these terror factions in waging war against Israel will severely diminish when Iron Beam becomes operational.

“It will handle short-range threats, preserving missile interceptors for more complex attacks,” the company told JNS. “If a laser interception isn’t possible for any reason, Iron Dome remains a backup. Together, they create a stronger, more efficient defense network.”

Israel’s multi-layered air defense relies on a range of systems to intercept threats at different altitudes and distances. The Iron Dome has been remarkably effective, intercepting over 90% of projectiles fired from Gaza toward populated areas. However, in addition to the costs of the interceptors, each new rocket triggers warning sirens—a phenomenon that could be reduced with Iron Beam since it promises to intercept threats over enemy territory before they cross into Israeli air space.

Asked if Iron Beam is expected to reduce the need for sirens, the company source said: “Potentially, yes. If Iron Beam successfully intercepts most threats, there will be fewer instances where alerts are needed.”

However, he added, sirens will not vanish and will still be needed as a precautionary measure. This is particularly true at the starting stages of Iron Beam’s deployment, when its ability to intercept rockets before they even cross the border will be tested.

While the Iron Beam system is ground-based, the Defense Ministry has been exploring additional applications of high-energy laser technology. In January 2020, Israel announced three separate laser projects:

In 2021, Israel successfully tested a 100-kilowatt airborne laser, developed by Elbit, mounted on a Cessna aircraft, which intercepted 100% of UAVs in the trial. This airborne system, still in development, could provide long-range interceptions beyond enemy lines.

Israel’s allies are closely monitoring the development of Iron Beam. Other countries working on laser weapons include the US and Ukraine which have sought Israel’s help in developing them. In December 2022, Lockheed Martin signed an agreement with Rafael to develop an export version of Iron Beam for the US market. The joint project aims to integrate Iron Beam’s laser technology into American air defense systems, marking a significant step in international laser defense collaboration.

By the end of 2025, Israel is due to become the first country in the world to deploy a high-energy laser system for air defense. With its ability to intercept aerial threats at a fraction of the cost of missile-based systems, Iron Beam represents a revolutionary shift in air defense technology.

“Rafael and Israel are the first in the world to develop and field a high-energy laser system for air defense,” the company source said. “This is a groundbreaking advancement that not only enhances Israel’s security but also sets a new global standard for cost-effective, next-generation defense technologies.”

With Iron Beam’s deployment on the horizon, Israel’s adversaries will soon face a stark new reality: Israel’s defense costs for shooting down the rockets or drones they launch will be minimal.

Source: (This article was originally published by the Jewish News Syndicate on March 18, 2025. See original article at this link.)

Photo Credit: Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry/jns.org

Prayer Focus
Give thanks that the Iron Beam, a revolutionary laser-beam interceptor, will soon be added to Israel’s multi-tiered array of defensive weapons. Pray that Israel’s ability to intercept short-range threats along its borders at a fraction of the former cost will prove effective in deterring Hamas and Hezbollah from attacking the nation.

Scripture

He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my support.

- Psalm 18:17–18

‘Nowhere to Hide’: Secret IDF Operation to Prevent Hezbollah Cross Border Incursions Revealed

by Yair Kraus ~ Ynetnews

Tuesday, 18 March 2025 | This covert plan, codenamed “Silver Plow,” was conceived in the initial days following October 7. The IDF Northern Command had completed its reservist call-up in a matter of days, and tens of thousands of soldiers had reported for duty on the Lebanese border in an effort to prevent Hezbollah from joining the Hamas attack.

Amid the uncertainty and deliberations within the general staff and security cabinet over whether to first act on the northern front against Hezbollah to thwart the anticipated attack or to focus first on Gaza, an unprecedented engineering operation was launched.

It aimed to reshape the sector and utilize each and every day of fighting to ensure that by the time calm returned, the border would look completely different. As security restrictions on border communities were lifted and evacuees returned, the IDF stated that with regard to the borderline, on both the Israeli and Lebanese sides—Mission accomplished.

For over a year, in what became one of the IDF’s most complex engineering operations, thousands of engineering and infantry soldiers shaped the new border of diverse terrain along more than 120 km [74.5 mi.] stretching from Rosh Hanikra to Har Dov.

Hezbollah had spent decades constructing terrorist compounds in buildings, forests and underground infrastructure along the entire border as part of Nasrallah’s plan to conquer the Galilee. Now, the IDF sought to ensure that the entire border zone, including a few dozen kilometers into Lebanese territory, would be cleared and barren.

Back to the Second Lebanon War

Until the early hours of last Tuesday, when the IDF completed its withdrawal from south Lebanon (with the exception of five strategic points within Lebanese territory), IDF engineering personnel were still pulling up trees and clearing the thicket overlooking Israel’s northern communities.

“We divided up the border into sections and broke down each sector based on its topography and the type of engineering work it required,” says Northern Command Chief Engineering Officer, Col. I. Back in 2006, as a young officer, he had fought in the Second Lebanon War. When he withdrew with the troops after 36 days of fighting, he felt a sense of frustration knowing the task had not been completed. This time around, he means to finish the job.

“Back in October 2023, when the war kicked off, we brought in geologists, engineers and earthworks experts to provide solutions for the forests, wadis [deep valley], buildings and underground infrastructure we knew we would encounter during the mission,” says Col. I.

For almost a year, up to September 2024, the IDF didn’t know whether or not there would be a ground operation into Lebanon or what would come of the engineering efforts to avert a ground incursion.

“Our operational priorities rested on firstly addressing the areas facing civilian communities,” says Col. I. This was to prevent Hezbollah from preparing itself in the dense forested areas so as to infiltrate Israel under the cover of the thicket. Working methodically, engineering forces continued addressing operational weak points such as wadis serving as potential infiltration routes.

At some stage, the IDF gave up on waiting for an IDF ground operation into Lebanon. Each night, under the cover of darkness, armored engineering vehicles would work beyond the Blue Line, and were later joined by lighter armored vehicles for covert operations that were conducted with artillery back-up.

Since the war started, 300 military and commandeered civilian mechanical engineering equipment vehicles, joined by four engineering battalions—some brought in from other sectors—have been working away along the border, invariably under fire and anti-tank missile attack. And soldiers have been wounded.

“We stretched our engineering capabilities to the limit while, at the same time, supporting the ground operation troops.”

The operation’s turning point came as the ground operation into Lebanon kicked off October 2024. “Once we attained operational control of the sector, we stopped our ‘regular’ work and went in with full force. We drafted hundreds of reservist engineering soldiers and civilian earthworks contractors who joined in demolishing terrorist infrastructure across the entire sector,” says Col. I.

Positions Made of Scraps

I meet reservist officer Lt. Col. S. of the 146th division, responsible for the western sector from Rosh Hanikra to Shtula, by Kibbutz Hanita’s perimeter fence. “You should have seen what the wadi here looked like a year back,” he says pointing at the wadi across the border. “It was one hell of a forest and we were working at crazy inclines to remove all the thicket to ensure no one could infiltrate without us spotting them.”

Engineering troops cleared 200 meters [656 ft.] to a kilometer [0.6 mi.] from the border. “Take Maroun El Ras, overlooking Avivim: We completely cleared the buildings at the highest spots and took down anything capable of firing at the community. We obviously cleared the whole extensive underground infrastructure that we found in the village and on its slopes.”

The 146th battalion’s engineering personnel cleared a sum total of 9.5 kilometer [5.9 mi.] of tough terrain. “We stretched our engineering capabilities to the limit while, at the same time, supporting the ground operation troops, providing them with engineering jobs deep inside Lebanon,” says Lt. Col. S. “We gave all we could including handheld electric saws in spots the D9s couldn’t reach and machetes to clear paths for the excavators.”

Without taking his eyes off the striking wadi, bare of trees and heavy bushes, he says, “When we found underground bunkers, command centers, rooms for terrorists, observation and firing positions etc., it was a fortified thicket. Now, looking at this area, you can see that the enemy can’t position itself or hide there anymore.”

Lt. Col. S. describes the terrorist infrastructure Hezbollah had prepared for its incursion into Israel which Israeli soldiers found in the summer of 2006 beneath the primitive “nature reserves”. “Here, we saw how Hezbollah was preparing to reach the border fence. You’re walking along, and suddenly you feel something unsteady.

You clear the undergrowth, pick up a net, and underneath there’s a wooden panel, and inside there’s a dug-out outpost with complete combat equipment inside a barrel. Under the cover of darkness or fog, all the Redwan forces had to do was take the barrel out, get dressed, pull out the iron frame hidden nearby in the ground, attach the explosive devices, attach that to the wall or fence and detonate it.

They would then charge ahead with hundreds more militants awaiting orders.

Unhindered by UN “peacekeeping” forces, Hezbollah operatives also dug terrorist infrastructure next to UNIFIL outposts.

Each evening, Lt. Col. S. and his personnel would sit down to approve the following day’s sabotage operations. Their need for landmines and explosive materials was met with limited allocations due to immense operational needs in both the north and south.

They came up with creative solutions. It may mean driving to the southern part of the Golan Heights and, cautiously, gathering live anti-tank mines, loading them onto trucks and taking them directly to Hezbollah tunnels and infrastructure. “The minimum we needed to blow up the infrastructure was eight tons and we only had four. We would do everything to ensure we had eight tons,” he says with a smile.

Lt. Col. S. was among the first soldiers to go into the tunnel dug near Moshav Zarit, the only cross-border tunnel structure the IDF found in the north during the war. This tunnel was not yet completed or operational. For months, however, intelligence units and infantry troops had been, “holding” it, waiting for the order to clear and destroy it.

“So that Hezbollah couldn’t remain there, before approaching the tunnels and underground installations, for which we had extensive intelligence, we destroyed nearby generators, solar panels, ventilation systems and cameras Hezbollah had installed for observation and surveillance purposes.

Cutting Down the Shrubs

Last week, a few days before the withdrawal from southern Lebanon was completed, I went to examine the clearing operation’s results on the other side of the fence. At the Fatima Gate between Israel and Lebanon on the outskirts of Metula, I met the 91st Division’s red-haired engineering officer Lt. Col. G. We set out together, driving through the Kfar Kila and Al-Aadaissah which I had visited several times over the past year.

They looked totally different each time. “Remember how Hezbollah operatives would be standing on the Hammamis Ridge and would irritate the people of Metula with lasers? You can’t get there by vehicle anymore and anyone trying get there on foot to provoke or harm us.”

“On October 7, we were up there on the mountain, waiting for the Redwan Force,” says Maj. I. pointing at the kibbutz overlooking us. “For months, Hezbollah operatives were wondering around here freely launching Burkan rockets and missiles. In the village below us, the Egoz reconnaissance unit was engaged in a fierce battle.”

Last week, to the dismay of northern residents, Hezbollah operatives returned to what were their homes, and Lebanese engineering vehicles immediately started clearing the rubble so as to rebuild them. Hezbollah flags, are once again visible among the ruins, and Lebanese civilians are try approaching the fence on a daily basis.

Municipality leaders have called out the government for not insisting that the enemy will never return.

“At the end of the day, the clearing operation is yet one more, highly significant, step meant to provide the residents with tangible and visible security,” says Lt. Col. G. “IDF troops are positioned in front of, rather than behind, the communities and we’re building layer upon layer so that residents of Metula can return to sleep in their own homes.”

Source: (Excerpt of an article originally published by Ynetnews on March 17, 2025. Time-related language has been modified to reflect our republication today. See original article at this link.)

Photo Credit: WKing/bridgesforpeace.com

Prayer Focus
Give thanks for the dedication of these reservist engineers who have spent an entire year, some of it under enemy fire, to provide a buffer zone in order that Hezbollah terrorists will not be able to fire missiles on Israel’s northern communities or approach the border to infiltrate them. As the residents of Metula and other Israeli towns return after more than a year, pray that they will be strengthened and encouraged to rebuild their devastated communities, knowing they have a new layer of protection.

Scripture

“The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; the God of my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; my Savior, You save me from violence.

- 2 Samuel 22:2b–3

Sirens Jolt Central Israel Awake as IDF Intercepts Houthi Missile from Yemen

by Raanan Ben-Zur, Iris Lifshitz-Klieger, Sivan Hilaie ~ Ynetnews

Tuesday, 18 March 2025 | Air raid sirens blared across central Israel early Thursday as a missile attack from Yemen targeted multiple cities, including Tel Aviv, Rishon LeZion and Ramat Gan, as well as parts of Jerusalem and the Sharon region.

The pre-dawn strike, part of ongoing regional tensions, sent residents scrambling for shelter.

The IDF said the missile was intercepted by the Israeli Air Force before entering Israeli airspace, and sirens were activated according to protocol.

The Houthis claimed responsibility for the ballistic missile launch from Yemen, and announced that they had fired a ‘Palestine 2’ hypersonic ballistic missile at Ben Gurion Airport. Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said that “the target was achieved,” and that the firing was carried out in response to “the massacres against our brothers in the Gaza Strip.”

Magen David Adom [Israel’s National Emergency Pre-Hospital Medical and Blood Services Organization] reported that 13 people sustained injuries while rushing to shelters, and three others suffered from shock. No additional casualties were reported.

Several flights en route to Ben Gurion Airport, including an Etihad Airways flight from Abu Dhabi and an El Al flight from London, were briefly diverted but have since been cleared to land.

This was the second Houthi missile attack on Israel in two days. On Tuesday, a missile—allegedly a hypersonic Palestine 2 ballistic missile—was launched toward Be’er Sheva but intercepted over Saudi Arabia by the Arrow air defense system.

The Houthis claimed the strike was in response to Israeli operations in Gaza and warned they would expand their list of targets in Israel if the fighting in Gaza continued.

Trump: Houthis Will Be ‘Completely Annihilated’

The latest attack came just hours after US President Donald Trump issued a stern warning, vowing the Houthis would be “completely annihilated” if they did not cease their missile strikes.

“Iran must stop sending these supplies IMMEDIATELY,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in a threat directed toward the Houthis’ patron. “Let the Houthis fight it out themselves. Either way, they lose—but this way, they lose quickly.”

The US military launched its weekend operation under orders from Trump after the Houthis vowed to resume attacks on Red Sea shipping linked to Israel and disrupt global trade routes.

Since October 2023, these Houthi attacks—described by the group as acts of solidarity with Gaza—have inflicted severe damage on global maritime trade, forcing vessels to reroute away from the Suez Canal and drastically raising insurance costs.

On Tuesday, three days after US airstrikes began, the Houthis’ foreign minister said the group was now effectively at war with the United States, warning of further escalation. In an interview with Reuters, Foreign Minister Jamal Amer also threatened Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, cautioning them against intervention while praising their neutral stance so far.

Meanwhile, Reuters cited two senior Iranian officials who said Tehran had twice urged the Houthis to de-escalate tensions, signaling concerns over the widening conflict.

At the launch of the operation on Saturday, Trump warned the Houthis that “hell will rain down” upon them and declared, “Your time is up.” According to US officials, several senior Houthi commanders have been killed since the strikes began.

While the Pentagon initially signaled the campaign could last for weeks, officials on Tuesday adopted a more cautious tone, stating that the US is not seeking to overthrow the Houthi regime and that airstrikes will cease once the group commits to halting its attacks.

Source: (This article was originally published by Ynetnews on March 20, 2025. See original article at this link.)

Photo Credit: David Katz / The Israel Project/Wikimedia.org

Photo License: Wikimedia

Prayer Focus
Give thanks for the successful interception of the missile before it reached Israeli airspace and for the diligent men and women of the IDF who are responsible for tracking incoming missile threats and activating the defense systems. Ask the Lord to shield Israelis from the jarring effects of being awakened by the sounds of air raid sirens. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem and the entire nation.

Scripture

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you.

- Psalm 122:6

Israel Has Always Been the ‘Convenient Scapegoat’

by Lorina Khatib Kizel ~ Ynetnews

Monday, 17 March 2025 | For years, we’ve heard the same accusations against Israel: that it is an “occupier,” committing “genocide,” and operating as an “apartheid state.” Human rights organizations publish one-sided reports, protests erupt worldwide, and the international community is quick to respond as if Israel is the scene of the world’s greatest crime.

But let’s take a moment to talk about what’s happening around us in the Middle East in recent weeks, particularly in Syria. For over a decade, a brutal war raged under the Assad regime—hundreds of thousands were killed, millions were displaced, thousands disappeared and Assad’s forces even used chemical weapons against innocent civilians.

These are horrific crimes on an unimaginable scale. Yet how many international protests have we seen in response? How many emergency sessions at the United Nations? How many dramatic sanctions? Barely a sound. This hypocrisy is nothing new—it seems human rights only matter when they align with certain political agendas.

Three months after the fall of the Assad regime, Syria continues to bleed. In the past two weeks alone, thousands of Alawites have been slaughtered in cold blood simply because of their identity, in what is being described as “revenge attacks” by the Assad regime. The same forces that promised change and justice are now revealing their true colors—far from the moderate figures they once claimed to be. The real face of Syrian rebel leader and interim Syrian president Abu Mohammad al-Julani is becoming clear. Yet, there has been no condemnation from the international community. The United Nations Secretary-General even shook hands with al-Julani, welcoming him as an honored guest.

For years, Israel has topped the list of countries condemned by the UN Human Rights Council. The problem is that Israel has always been the “convenient scapegoat.” It’s far easier to issue reports against a democratic country with a free press than to confront truly murderous regimes. It’s easier to protest against Israeli soldiers than against militias slaughtering civilians in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and other parts of the world—because taking on those who are genuinely dangerous is far less comfortable.

This hypocrisy is dangerous. It not only harms Israel but also those who genuinely need help worldwide. When all fingers point at Israel, no one pays attention to the real crimes happening around us—crimes that remain hidden from the spotlight.

It’s time for the world to stop buying into lies and start seeing the full picture—to understand Israel’s reality, unfiltered and as it truly is. As minorities fighting for the image of our home, we know Israel isn’t perfect, and yes, we face challenges—but the distorted caricature painted by critics is far from the truth. The international community must redirect its attention to the places where real crimes are being committed.

Source: (This article was originally published by Ynetnews on March 16, 2025. Time-related language has been modified to reflect our republication today. See original article at this link.)

Photo Credit: U.S. Department of State from United States/Wikimedia.org

Photo License: Wikimedia

Prayer Focus
Pray for an awakening around the world to the dangerous hypocrisy that labels Israelis as an occupying, genocidal nation while there are millions of people suffering under truly inhumane governments. Pray for opportunities to stand with Israel as an unshakeable advocate, presenting truth in the place of the false representations that so often fill our newsfeeds.

Scripture

And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD: “For He is good, for His mercy endures forever toward Israel.”

- Ezra 3:11a

Poll: Nearly 60% of Israelis Support Return to Fighting Hamas in Gaza

by JNS

Wednesday, 19 March 2025 | Nearly three in five Israelis back the resumption of fighting in the Gaza Strip in the wake of Hamas’s rejection of a US proposal to extend the ceasefire in exchange for the release of more hostages.

According to a survey carried out by Israel’s Direct Polls Institute and published by Channel 14 on Monday night—before the Israel Defense Forces launched a campaign of extensive airstrikes in Gaza—59% of Israelis support the resumption of hostilities.

Some 38% said they opposed it, while 3% of respondents did not express a position.

Direct Polls, which accurately predicted the results of the Jewish state’s most recent general election in 2022, surveyed a representative sample of 506 Israeli adults on March 17. (The margin of error is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points at a confidence level of 95%, Direct Polls said.)

The IDF announced early on Tuesday morning that it had launched “extensive” strikes against Hamas targets in Gaza. The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office [PMO] said the military was acting after Hamas rebuffed several proposals from US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and others.

“Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.

The goal of the campaign remains to achieve “the objectives of the war as they have been determined by the political echelon, including the release of all of our hostages, the living and the deceased,” the PMO statement added.

Even before Netanyahu ordered the airstrikes, his Likud Party was strengthening in the polls, according to Monday’s Direct Polls survey.

If a vote were to be called now, the Likud Party would secure 34 Knesset [parliament] mandates out of the parliament’s 120, up two since the previous Direct Polls survey published on March 6 and one more than it won in the general election on November 1, 2022.

Netanyahu’s coalition of right-wing and religious parties would win 64 mandates, up one since the March 6 survey, and the same amount of Knesset mandates it received in the 2022 election, per Direct Polls.

After the Likud Party, Yair Golan’s far-left HaDemokratim received the next most seats (18), followed by the Yisrael Beytenu Party (14), Shas (11), United Torah Judaism and National Unity Party (eight each), Yesh Atid and Otzma Yehudit (six each), and Religious Zionism, Ra’am (the United Arab List) and Hadash-Ta’al (five each).

In a head-to-head matchup for who is best suited for the role of prime minister, Netanyahu defeated National Unity Party’s Benny Gantz by a margin of 47% to 17% (36% of respondents said neither was suited).

When choosing between Netanyahu and Yesh Atid’s Yair Lapid, 47% replied that the longtime Likud prime minister was best suited to lead the Jewish state, 20% preferred Lapid, and 33% said neither.

The next national vote is scheduled for 2026.

Source: (This article was originally published by the Jewish News Syndicate on March 19, 2025. Time-related language has been modified to reflect our republication today. See original article at this link.)

Photo Credit: IDF/jns.org

Prayer Focus
Pray for the nation of Israel as its leaders have made the very difficult decision to return to fighting, even though it may result in the deaths of the remaining living hostages. Pray that those who opposed the decision will not become bitter. Pray that this military action will be short and the final one so that the war will be ended quickly.

Scripture

Rescue me and deliver me [King David] from the hand of foreigners, whose mouth speaks lying words, and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood—that our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as pillars, sculptured in palace style;

- Psalm 144:11-12

Trump’s War on Woke Universities is Essential to Fighting Antisemitism

by Jonathan S. Tobin ~ JNS

Monday, 17 March 2025 | In demonstrations at Columbia University and Trump Tower in New York City, as well as on the op-ed pages of liberal newspapers and websites, leftist anti-Zionists headed to the barricades this past week, both literally and figuratively. They did so on behalf of the new hero of the struggle to “free Palestine,” which means to destroy Israel.

They are not alone in rallying to the cause of Mahmoud Khalil, one of the leaders of the pro-Hamas and antisemitic mayhem that has gone on at Columbia since the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. American liberals and many, if not most Democrats, are also all-in on the effort to free Khalil.

Khalil was arrested by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) because, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, foreigners who come to the United States to study but use that privilege to advocate for a terror group and to engage in illegal activities, as well as fomenting hate against Jews, have forfeited that right. And so, at the government’s discretion, those persons will be deported.

Trump’s Cultural Revolution

For those opposed to the president’s policies across the board, he is as much a martyr to the “resistance” to the Trump administration as he is to the cause of eliminating the Jewish state.

To them, the president’s push to punish schools that tolerate antisemitism and to deport those terror-supporting foreign students who have helped drive the surge of hate against Jews on campuses throughout the United States is deeply offensive. They assert that Khalil’s arrest and potential deportation are evidence of Trump’s authoritarianism and willingness to trample on the right to free speech.

Yet even more than that, the credentialed elites that now form the backbone of the Democratic Party view Trump’s war on leftist-dominated colleges and universities that have enabled the surge in antisemitism as one that is directed at them and all they hold dear.

When Washington Post columnist and CNN host Fareed Zakaria blasted the Trump campaign against these institutions of higher learning as a “cultural revolution,” he wasn’t entirely wrong.

What Trump is attempting isn’t a replay of the Chinese cultural revolution—a mad orgy of bloodletting in which Mao Tse-Tung and that country’s Communist Party waged war on all Western learning and all potential sources of internal opposition. What the administration hopes to do is quite the opposite of what that purveyor of liberal conventional wisdom claims.

Instead of destroying learning, the president is trying to rescue American education from “progressives” who have subverted it by imposing woke indoctrination throughout the system—from grades K-12 all the way up to the most elite universities. They may now pose as defenders of the “experts” against Trump’s revolt of the uneducated. But what the left is doing, with the support of their liberal fellow travelers, is part of an effort to undermine the entire edifice of Western civilization and the American republic. They’re doing that by seeking to replace the Western canon and its belief in equality with the woke catechism of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). It is rooted in the toxic myths of critical race theory, intersectionality and settler-colonialism that preaches an endless race war between “people of color,” who are always victims, and the so-called white oppressor class.

Canaries in the Coal Mine

That the Jews and Israel have been falsely labeled as “white” and always in the wrong (let alone oppressors since Jews have suffered persecution for two millennia), and the Palestinian Arabs their victims who are always in the right, is incidental to the damage that woke ideology seeks to do to all Americans.

As is always the case, the Jews are the canaries in the coal mine. They saw themselves as at home in institutions where they have thrived for more than a century once the old quotas against Jewish admission were toppled. Now Jews are targeted by the progressives simply because—as the object of the world’s oldest hatred—they are uniquely vulnerable to be made to suffer for the sin of that success, both in the United States and in Israel.

In a less hyper-partisan era or one in which hatred for Trump was not so integral to political discourse, extremists like Khalil and his cheering section on the left would not only be isolated. Those who today call themselves liberals would realize how much of a threat the toxic ideas of progressives are to everything they cherish. They would understand that these radicals should not only be shunned but actively resisted. But so many political liberals have either embraced those ideas to stay in sync with political fashion on the left or have been indoctrinated in them in their own schooling. As a result, they instinctually identify with the notion that a foreign terror supporter is somehow the poster child for free speech.

The Pro-Hamas Mob’s Goals

Khalil is the grandson of Arabs who fled what is now Israel when the war to destroy the newly established modern-day Jewish state in May 1948 failed. He was born in Syria but subsequently acquired Algerian citizenship. After being educated in Lebanon, he moved to the United States to seek a graduate degree via a student visa in 2022. While in America, he acquired a green card via marriage to a US citizen. That enabled him not only to remain in the country legally but also to get a job. One job that he held was as a public affairs officer for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), the Hamas-associated agency that helps perpetuate the conflict with Israel.

At Columbia, Khalil was one of the most visible organizers of the pro-Hamas demonstrations since October 7 that included illegal encampments, in addition to takeovers of university buildings and libraries. While portrayed in liberal outlets as an expression of idealism by those who sympathized with suffering Palestinians, Khalil and those who joined him made no secret of their ideological goals. They are not peace activists. Their literature and chants made it clear that they supported Hamas, a terror organization that led the mass murder of 1,200 people and the kidnapping of 251 others on October 7. They explicitly supported terrorism, as even the New York Times reported.

That Khalil’s pregnant wife speaks about his being kidnapped by ICE [US Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and the cruelty of such an action remains deeply ironic since her husband and his confederates have no problem with the kidnapping of Israelis—not to mention the slaughter, rape and torture of those Jews whom they targeted on October 7.

They did so because they supported its genocidal goal to purge the Jews from their ancient homeland (“from the river to the sea”) and their terroristic methods (“globalize the intifada”). Under the circumstances, it is hardly surprising that these “mostly peaceful” protests sometimes crossed over into violence and acts of intimidation that at times led some to advise Jews to flee the campus.

While politicians, including former President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, praised them as idealists who should be “heard,” their goals made it obvious what was driving these protests.

Their takeover of parts of the campus made them virtual “no go” zones for Jews not willing to abjure their faith or their identification with their people. There should be no misunderstanding about this. Their effort to silence and shun Jews was not incidental to their purpose. It was integral to their protests and in keeping with the general woke intolerance for those who dissent against their ideology or can be smeared as members of the oppressor class.

Free-speech Hypocrisy

Nor should we take seriously the loud clamor about Khalil’s arrest being a Trumpian campaign against free speech.

The same voices loudly clamoring on behalf of Khalil’s right to torment Jews and support an Islamist movement that is designated as a terror organization were silent during the years of the Biden presidency. That administration conducted an unprecedented campaign to silence dissent against their policies during the COVID pandemic, as well as those who opposed them on a host of other issues. They colluded with social-media platforms and Internet providers to squelch those who opposed them in a program of government censorship that was antithetical to democracy, despite their disingenuous claims to be defending it.

Biden’s Department of Justice similarly targeted dissent. They sought to crack down and intimidate parents who protested against the imposition of radical ideologies in their children’s schools, as well as those who conducted peaceful protests against abortion.

But liberals had no problem with these policies.

Some on the left, like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) were explicit about abandoning their former stance in which they supported all those whose speech was under attack, be they on the right or the left. Now they only defend speech when it conforms to their political opinions and are happy to stand on the sidelines or support the suppression of conservative or other non-leftist views.

Some liberal Jewish organizations like the Anti-Defamation League, actively sought to participate in the repression. They did so ostensibly because they foolishly believed it would make Jews safer if outlier crackpots on the far right were silenced. But the real reason was that the group had long since abandoned its brief to defend Jewish life for a partisan agenda as a Democratic Party auxiliary.

Violence Isn’t Protected Speech

Still, that raises the question as to whether conservatives are themselves free-speech hypocrites by supporting Trump’s plan to deport foreign Hamas supporters. It’s a fair question to pose, but the answer is that the accusation is false.

Khalil and other foreign supporters are not being deported for their opinions. Any American or, for that matter, foreign resident can think and say what they like, no matter how hateful or abhorrent. But Khalil and his mob of antisemitic leftists at Columbia—and others like them around the country—turned their support for the genocide of Jews into acts of harassment and violence, breaking not only the rules of the university where they worked and studied (albeit rules that a school administration that was tacitly in sympathy with the Israel-haters refused to enforce) but the law.

That rendered those among their number who were not citizens liable to be expelled from the United States under long-recognized rules and regulations. Foreign residents are in the United States only with the permission of the government. Even green-card holders can have that permission revoked if they violate the law or otherwise act in a manner that violates the terms under which they were admitted. And not only did Khalil violate them. It’s a dead certainty that he lied about his affiliations and intentions in order to gain entry to the United States and to get a green card even after he married a citizen.

Yet the point to focus on isn’t immigration law. Advocacy for Israel’s destruction is speech. The acts of violence and intimidation committed by the pro-Hamas mob Khalil led were not speech.

Foreign Students Take Over

The more germane issue, however, isn’t really about the fate of Khalil or any of the other antisemitic thugs who are either self-deporting or liable to get the same treatment from federal authorities. It is how progressives and their Islamist allies have taken over American higher education in such a way as to make so many colleges and universities hostile environments for Jews.

Part of this is the result of the way foreign students have impacted American education.

Most Americans probably assume that students at one of the nation’s most venerable and respected institutions of higher learning are peers who gained admission on the basis of merit. They would probably be astonished to learn that, according to the university’s website, a majority of its students and scholars are not US citizens but foreign nationals. Unlike many Americans, foreign students, especially from Middle East countries other than Israel, pay the full tuition fees with few of them on scholarships or other programs that reduce costs.

The transformation of schools like Columbia into bastions of hate for Israel and Jews is thus not entirely the function of the American left’s long march through our institutions, but also the product of the Muslim and Arab world’s successful campaign in which they have sought influence in the United States by one means or another.

Still, the stakes involved in Trump’s plans to defund schools that have tolerated and enabled antisemitism are bigger than Khalil or the infiltration of other Islamists and terror supporters into the country.

The left’s promotion of toxic theories aimed at smearing Western civilization and the United States as irredeemably racist has done incalculable damage to the humanities and, as author Heather Mac Donald has written, to the sciences as well. In addition to the harm done to education is the impact ideas that gained credibility from their sponsorship by major universities have had on American society as a whole, as well as the realms of business, journalism and government. What happens at Columbia, Harvard, Yale and other elite schools doesn’t stay there. It seeps into the rest of society because their graduates have so much influence on how the country operates.

Jews may be most vulnerable now, but the left’s takeover of the education system threatens all Americans. If Trump’s efforts fail and the woke orthodoxy that targets basic American values like personal liberty and equal opportunity prevails, this will call into question the nation’s future in a way that few other threats can.

The president’s attack on these schools isn’t a war on education. It’s a battle to save education and America itself at a time when a counter-cultural revolution on the nation’s campuses is desperately needed. Those liberals who say that they oppose Khalil’s views but will fight to defend his rights (even though they wouldn’t do the same for conservatives) and do their best to thwart Trump’s defunding campaign aren’t just undermining Jewish security. They are betraying the basic values of Western civilization that are the foundation of their own freedoms and the existence of the American republic.

Source: (This article was originally published by the Jewish News Syndicate on March 16, 2025. Time-related language has been modified to reflect our republication today. See original article at this link.)

Photo Credit: Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images/jns.org

Prayer Focus
Pray that the Trump administration will be successful in its efforts to hold universities accountable for their support of the violent antisemitic, anti-Israel protests that often result in attacks on Jewish students. Pray for a “divine reversal” that will cause the education system, not only in the United States but in all democratic countries, to return to a Judeo–Christian foundation.

Scripture

So it was, whenever the ark set out, that Moses said: “Rise up, O LORD! Let Your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate You flee before You.”

- Numbers 10:35

Released Hostage Eli Sharabi to Address UN Security Council

by Itamar Eichner ~ Ynetnews

Monday, 17 March 2025 | Released hostage Eli Sharabi will address the United Nations Security Council later this week to share his experiences during the long months in captivity while in the hands of Hamas.

He will be the guest of the US delegation to the UN and Israel’s envoy Danny Danon. Sharabi was in Washington and met with US President Donald Trump earlier this month when he was invited to the White House along with other former hostages.

The president was told about an interview Sharabi gave to Israel’s Channel 12, describing the horrors he endured while being held hostage by Hamas. Trump was also shocked by his appearance upon his release, along with Ohad Ben Ami and Or Levy. They resembled survivors of the Nazi concentration camps, the president said.

“After everyone in Israel was shocked to hear his account of the time in captivity, I have no doubt that the ambassadors in the Security Council will be unable to continue to turn a blind eye to the reality and refuse to work for our hostages. We will not be silenced until they are all home,” Danon said.

Sharabi was abducted from his home during the Hamas massacre, when he agreed to lay down his arms and go with the terrorists to Gaza to save his wife and two daughters who were sheltering during the attack. Only upon his return did he learn that they were all murdered and one of his brothers who was also abducted, was killed in captivity.

Source: (This article was originally published by Ynetnews on March 17, 2025. Time-related language has been modified to reflect our republication today. See original article at this link.)

Photo Credit: Haim Zach / GPO

Prayer Focus
Pray that this first-hand account of the atrocities suffered under Hamas captivity will counteract all the misinformation and lies that have been spread. Pray that the members of the UN Security Council who heard Sharabi’s presentation will not be able to forget what he shared and will be compelled to take positive action on behalf of Israel.

Scripture

For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with His truth.

- Psalm 96:13

Google to Buy Israeli Startup Wiz for $32 Billion in Tech Giant’s Largest Ever Acquisition

by JNS

Wednesday, 19 March 2025 | Google parent company Alphabet on Tuesday confirmed its US $32 billion acquisition of Israeli cloud security firm Wiz, making it the tech giant’s largest deal to date.

The move aims to strengthen Google Cloud’s security offerings amid growing competition from AWS [Amazon Web Services] and Microsoft.

Founded in 2020, Wiz has rapidly expanded, generating US $500 million in annual recurring revenue and serving nearly half of the top 100 US companies. Despite joining Google Cloud, Wiz’s security products will remain available on other platforms, including AWS and Azure.

The deal is subject to regulatory approval, and experts anticipate potential antitrust scrutiny before finalization later this year.

Talks on a US $23 billion deal reportedly fell apart in July 2024.

Google has shown interest in the Israeli market, in 2013 purchasing Waze for US $1.1 billion, creating the Jewish state’s first domestic unicorn (a startup reaching US $1 billion in valuation without being listed on the stock market).

If completed, the deal would surpass Google’s previous biggest acquisition—the US $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility in 2012.

While Wiz is headquartered in New York City with nearly a thousand employees scattered across North America and Europe, most of its engineering team is based in Tel Aviv, where the 41-year-old Israeli co-founder and CEO Assaf Rappaport was born.

Photo Credit: (This article was originally published by the Jewish News Syndicate on March 19, 2025. Time-related language has been modified to reflect our republication today. See original article at this link.)

Photo Credit: Alexander Koerner/Getty Images/jns.org

Prayer Focus
Give thanks for this boost to Israel’s economy, which has had to face many challenges in the past year and a half. Pray for continued success in all sectors of its economy so that the nation will grow and prosper.

Scripture

“I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given them,” says the LORD your God.

- Amos 9:15