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Residents of southern Israel brace for rocket attacks.

By Charles Bybelezer, JNS

The Israel Defense Forces killed three top Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders in strikes across the Gaza Strip early on Tuesday morning, following a month of intermittent confrontations with terrorists in the Palestinian enclave.

The IDF identified the targets of the operation as Khalil Bahitini, PIJ’s commander in northern Gaza; Jahed Ahnam, a senior member of the terror group’s military council; and Tarek Azaldin, who directs its activities in Judea and Samaria.

Israel also struck 10 sites belonging to PIJ, including weapons manufacturing facilities and depots.

The military dubbed the campaign “Operation Shield and Arrow.”

Israelis residing within 40 kilometers (25 miles) of Gaza have been instructed to enter or stay near bomb shelters amid fears of rocket attacks.

“The strikes targeted senior figures responsible for rocket fire from Gaza in recent months and who were involved in organizing additional attacks on Israelis, including in Judea and Samaria,” said IDF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Daniel Hagari, adding: “Those who endanger Israeli lives, and those who work tirelessly to harm Israel’s security, will not remain unharmed.”

He noted that 40 IAF aircraft had carried out coordinated strikes within seconds of each other across three different locations in Gaza.

“At this stage, we achieved our objective, we hit what was needed. If necessary, we will ramp up the attacks. We are prepared for any scenario,” said Hagari.

Hundreds of reservists would be activated, mostly those serving in the IAF, Southern Command and intelligence units, he added.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant weighed in shortly thereafter, saying: “Any terrorist element that harms Israeli citizens will regret it. We will pursue and catch our enemies.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who last week sparred with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the government’s response to terror emanating from Gaza, said: “I congratulate the prime minister on the proactive operation in Gaza. It’s a good start, the time has come to change our policy.”

In a show of unity, opposition leader Yair Lapid also extended his backing for the IDF operation.

“The terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip were made aware this morning that the intelligence community and security forces are monitoring their every move, and that the account with them will be closed,” said Lapid.

“A firm Israeli response at a time and place that is good for us is the way to deal with terror from Gaza. We will back all operational activity to protect the residents of the south,” he added.

Added former defense minister and National Unity Party leader Benny Gantz: “Our enemies erred in assessing the situation. I commend the important action in the Gaza Strip. We will give full backing to the IDF and the security forces in every operation, and I hope that the government will conduct itself with the necessary combination of determination and responsibility.”

Last Wednesday, Israel and Palestinian terror groups in Gaza agreed to end 24 hours of fighting, during which more than 100 rockets were launched towards the Jewish state.

The military exchange erupted early Tuesday morning when senior PIJ operative Khader Adnan died in prison after a 87-day hunger strike.

Both Hamas and PIJ took responsibility for the rocket fire, the worst such instance since a conflict from August 5-7 of last year.

In April, terrorists in Gaza fired 44 projectiles, including rockets and anti-aircraft missiles, towards southern Israel, a day after Hamas launched 34 rockets from Hezbollah-controlled Lebanon.

The post IDF eliminates three top Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists in Gaza appeared first on World Israel News.

In the coming months, the USS Gerald Ford will embark on its first traditional deployment after completing its maiden voyage in Fall 2022. The $13-billion dollar warship is the most expensive and advanced sea vessel ever built and, like the F-35, the M1A1 Abrams, and eventually the B-21 in a list of U.S. weapons systems, it’s an example of an apex in modern warfare and technology. 

Yet, nations that employ high-end weapons as a substitute for the principles of war do not fare well; from Normandy to the Falklands, apex systems are frequently rendered irrelevant when not employed as a component of mass, firepower, and maneuver. With this in mind, the Department of Defense should look to history to understand how exquisite systems can fail in war and commit to a strategy that ensures our apex weapons are sufficiently supported, prepared, and tied in with cheap and plentiful systems. 

The lessons of the German Tiger tank are a great place to start. The Tiger was purpose developed for tank combat, wielding heavy armor and a powerful main gun, it was considered the pinnacle of tank technology in 1944. The Sherman tank, on the other hand, was developed quickly, possessed a smaller caliber main gun, lighter armor, and a less powerful engine. In every way, the Tiger outclassed the Sherman and should have provided distinct tactical advantage. 

However, the Tigers were finicky and difficult to maintain. In order to bring their superior abilities to bear, Tigers were mechanically complex, practically hand built with a per-unit cost well beyond Shermans. Germany was only able to produce approximately 1,350 during the entire war. In contrast, the Sherman was relatively simple to maintain in the field and cheaper to make; America produced approximately 49,000 of them. Yet, studies of tank combat in France following the invasion of Normandy found that a Tiger was only worth between 1.45 to 5 Shermans (depending on the mix of variants). Whatever advantages the Tiger had, they were overcome by the mass, maneuverability, and firepower the Sherman offered when combined with allied supporting arms. The infantry surrounding it, the fuel supply sustaining it, and the air support covering it allowed the cheaper Sherman to help win the war. 

A more recent case study is available in the 1980s when the Argentinian military purchased two of the best air-to-air platforms available at the time, the Mirage IIIE and the Israeli Dagger (a version of the Mirage V). When the country went to war with Great Britain in 1982, the slower, less maneuverable British Harrier, outnumbered and outgunned, succeeded in shooting down 7 Mirages and dozens of lesser Argentinian jets. Only four harriers were shot down during the Falkland Islands War, all of them from ground fire. In seeking the high-end fighter jet, the Argentinians had failed to adequately train their pilots in aerial combat or procure the systems needed to support air combat at sea. Neither version of the Argentinian Mirage was equipped for aerial refueling, forcing pilots to take direct routes to targets and preventing them from using their top-end speed. As a result, Argentina had a well-equipped yet ineffective fighting force for the war they started. Their air force of 122 aircraft was defeated by a force of 20 Harriers on two aircraft carriers. 

In both instances, a nation misunderstood how their weapons tied into broader principles of warfare or, even worse, attempted to navigate around principles with technology. The Germans attempted to maximize firepower through a single complex tank instead of seeing its relationships to mass and maneuver on the battlefield. The Argentinians sought maneuverability in their high-end fighter jets but lacked the logistical support to fully realize the capability. In preparing for the next war, the U.S. must resist the urge to see any singular weapons system as the key to victory. There is value in a robust inventory of cheap, plentiful systems that can be massed quickly, anywhere on a battlefield, to deliver devastating firepower. 

America now spends hundreds of billions of dollars on the world’s best-designed and most capable systems. Our adversaries, aware of their shortcomings, are investing in the cheap and plentiful. In At What Cost a Carrier, Jerry Hendrix calls attention to this problem highlighting that the Chinese can purchase 1,277 DF-212D anti-ship missiles for the cost of one Gerald Ford Carrier before a human or plane is placed on board. Similarly, for the cost of training one F-35 pilot, without an aircraft, the U.S. can buy 2.75 Predators at $4 million each, 27 Tomahawks at $407,000 each, or nearly one-hundred AGM-114 Hellfire missiles at $117,000 apiece. To be clear, none of those replace an F-35 with a well-trained pilot. They could, however, assist in protecting it and supporting it on the battlefield. 

The Ford Class carrier and the F-35 are critical to U.S. primacy as the world’s lone superpower, and their value or numbers should not be reduced. Instead, the U.S. needs to recognize that neither platform provides true qualitative advantage alone. These few, exquisite weapons should be considered in the context of the principles of warfare they support. Surrounding them with systems that are expendable and replaceable in a hybrid model would better achieve mass and superior firepower anywhere on the battlefield. 

History shows that a high-end weapon system, alone on the battlefield, can be outmatched and overtaken by lesser systems. French knights learned this painful lesson at Agincourt in 1415, the Germans in 1944, and the Argentinians in 1982. The American military is hopefully studying these conflicts, as our adversaries likely are. A successful military will adhere to the principles of warfare and demand the defense industry (and Congress) offer enough support to ensure our apex systems are not alone on the battlefield of tomorrow facing an adversary with cheap, plentiful capabilities.

The post Quality vs Quantity in Military Production appeared first on Providence.

A year after Actor Ray Liotta passed away while filming in the Dominican Republic, the cause of death has been revealed. Documents obtained by TMZ indicate that the 67-year-old actor died due to a condition known as atherosclerosis. This frequent but potentially fatal condition affects around half of Americans over 45.

Atherosclerosis is a slow buildup of plaque, a combination of fat, cholesterol, calcium, and other deposits, in the walls of your vascular system. This buildup can lead to arteries becoming hard and narrow, eventually blocking the blood flow in the body, resulting in complications like pulmonary edema and acute heart failure.

Experts have dubbed atherosclerosis the “silent killer” due to the delayed onset of symptoms and the fact that around 50% of people with the condition are unaware of it. When symptoms start to show, they are often considered medical emergencies requiring immediate attention.

Treatment for atherosclerosis includes lifestyle changes such as quitting smoking, eating healthily, exercising, and using certain medications such as statins and blood thinners. Those over 45 with high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and high cholesterol are more likely to develop atherosclerosis.

It is a reminder to seek medical attention immediately if any associated symptoms of atherosclerosis present themselves. The condition is treatable but, left unchecked, can lead to deadly complications like what ultimately led to the loss of Actor Ray Liotta one year ago.

Siri Reddy, a bright 16-year-old honor student from Texas, was tragically discovered dead at the bottom of the cliff near Heroes Stadium in San Antonio, Texas, by her mother.

The mother had gone to Reddy’s Keystone School in San Antonio to pick her up but could not find her. As such, she was prompted to use a tracking app on Reddy’s phone, leading her to a wooded area by the stadium.

When Reddy’s mother got to the area, she noticed her daughter at the bottom of the cliff and immediately contacted the police. Upon arriving, first responders attempted CPR on the high schooler but could not resuscitate her.

The San Antonio police are still looking into what caused Reddy’s death, but they presume it was due to the injuries sustained falling from the cliff.

The Keystone School released a statement remembering Reddy as a sensational student with a deep-rooted passion for music. She was involved in several activities at school, such as the National Honor Society, the award-winning Science Fair team, robotics, and The Keynote student newspaper. She was also part of the Upper School musical ‘Grease’ cast and had sung at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts Music Fest.

Reddy’s unexpected and untimely passing shocked family, friends, and the community. She was a spirited young woman with much to look forward to. Her passing reminds us of the elusive nature of life and how every moment should be cherished.

The police are still investigating the tragic death.

Five years after America withdrew from the deal, and after a flurry of failed talks in Europe, Tehran plows ahead with weapons’ plan.

By JNS

An Iranian official said on Monday that it was still possible to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal, blaming stalled negotiations on the West, and particularly, the United States.

A deal was “possible both in terms of the technical and political aspects,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani, five years to the day after then-U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from the agreement.

Kanani pointed the finger at “the other sides, especially the U.S.,” and accused them of “hav[ing] procrastinated.”

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi visited Tehran for two days of high-level meetings in March, after the agency confirmed in a report that its inspectors had found traces of uranium enriched to 83.7%, or military grade, at Iran’s underground nuclear site in Fordow.

A copy of the confidential IAEA quarterly report stated that “particles” of the substance had been detected.

The post Iranian official: ‘Still possible to salvage nuke deal’ appeared first on World Israel News.

The mother of Hassan Qatanani, the Hamas terrorist who murdered British-Israeli Lucy Dee and her two daughters, praised her son saying he “loved martyrdom.”

“He would say to me, day and night, ‘Mom, I want to be martyred.’ He would kiss my hand and say: ‘Pray to Allah that I will be martyred’… Praise be to Allah for granting him what he wanted… [We] cannot accept what the Jews did to us. We should fight them with our children, with our money, with our families, with our fingernails. We should devour the Jews with our teeth… The Jews are our enemy from beginning to end,” the elder Qatanani said in an interview translated by MEMRI.

The post WATCH: Mother of terrorist who murdered the Dee women: ‘The Jews Are Our Enemies, we must devour them with our teeth’ appeared first on World Israel News.

The occasion was marred by the memory of a fatal crush two years earlier, in which 45 people died.

By World Israel News Staff

Tens of thousands of Israelis made the annual pilgrimage to Mount Meron to the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai to mark the Lag B’Omer holiday.

The occasion was marred by the memory of a fatal crush two years earlier, in which 45 people died scrambling to exit the holy site. This year visitors lit candles in the victims’ memory.

Police invested heavily in preventing a similar tragedy this year, deploying some 8,000 officers and Border Police officers in the area and more than a hundred firefighters, drones and helicopters Thousands of EMTs were also present.

According to Israeli media, two hundred thousand worshipers came to pay their respects at the tomb of the 2nd-century tannaitic sage, who died on Lag B’Omer, at different stages of the evening, and were required to buy tickets ahead of time.

A group of Jewish youths were caught on CCTV beating a Druze security guard after hearing him speak Arabic. Two of the culprits, a 17-year-old from the ultra-Orthodox settlement of Modi’in Illit and a 19-year-old from the northern town of Beit She’an, were arrested.

Health and Interior Minister Moshe Arbel visited the victim, Hamud Shafi, in the hospital on Monday. Arbel slammed the attack, saying it ran counter to the teachings of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.

Elsewhere in Israel, people lit enormous bonfires to commemorate the Bar Kochba revolt against the Romans.

The post Tens of thousands ascend Mt Meron as Israel celebrates Lag B’Omer appeared first on World Israel News.

The court cited “unlawful curbing of Waters’ ‘artistic freedom’”.

By Ben Cohen, Algemeiner

Former Pink Floyd vocalist Roger Waters kicked off the German leg of his European tour with a concert in Hamburg on Sunday night by addressing the allegations of antisemitism against him before the performance had even begun, according to local media reports.

Around 6,500 fans attended Waters’ concert at Hamburg’s Barclays Arena. Despite the preceding several months of controversy around the tour related to the singer’s support for the anti-Zionist campaign to subject Israel to a comprehensive boycott as well as the use of antisemitic imagery in his previous concerts, no protests were reported at the venue.

At the start of the concert, the audience heard Waters announce in English over the PA that “a court in Frankfurt has ruled that I’m not an antisemite — excellent!” He went on to say that, “to put it bluntly, I condemn antisemitism,” to warm applause from the crowd.

The city of Frankfurt had announced in Feb. that it was canceling Waters’ May 28 concert at the Festhalle venue which it jointly owns with the state of Hesse, where thousands of Jews were rounded up, beaten and tortured during the Nov. 9-10, 1938 nationwide pogrom orchestrated by the Nazi authorities. A statement from the city council explaining the decision denounced Waters as “one of the world’s best-known antisemites.”

However, lawyers acting for the singer successfully appealed the cancelation, with the Frankfurt Administrative Court ruling last month that the council had unlawfully curbed Waters’ “artistic freedom.” Attempts to cancel Waters’ shows in the other cities where he is performing this month — Cologne, Munich and Berlin as well as Hamburg — faltered on the grounds that the commercial venues hosting him were vulnerable to legal action for breach of contract.

The controversial pig balloon utilized in Waters’ past concerts again made an appearance in Hamburg on Sunday night, but without the offending Star of David symbol which had originally caused outrage. On this occasion, it was embossed with the slogan “steal from the poor and give to the rich” along with the names of various arms manufacturing companies, including one based in Israel, the German edition of Rolling Stone magazine reported.

Prior to the concert, Hamburg’s deputy mayor expressed regret that the show was going ahead. “All fans and concert-goers should consider whether they want to offer Waters a stage,” Katharina Fegebank told the Hamburger Abendblatt news outlet. “Together we have the chance to actively oppose antisemitism and anti-Israelism, and not just uncritically accept this concert, no matter how great we think the music is.”

Waters’ next date in Germany is in Cologne, where he will play at the city’s Lanxess Arena on Tuesday night. On Monday, Jewish and Christian groups gathered in the city center for a protest that was addressed by Cologne’s Mayor, Henriette Reker, and the chair of its Jewish community, Abraham Lehrer. A stage banner at the protest declared, “Roger Waters spreads antisemitic statements — fans inform yourselves!”

The post ‘A court has ruled I’m not an antisemite — excellent!’ claims Roger Waters at start of controversial German tour appeared first on World Israel News.

The Congresswoman will partner with several organizations that support the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement against Israel. 

By World Israel News Staff

U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) is headlining an event at the Capitol this week, titled “Nakba 75 & The Palestinian People,” opposing the founding of the State of Israel.

The event, scheduled for Wednesday, aims to commemorate the Palestinian “Nakba” (“catastrophe” in Arabic), referring to Israel’s establishment. It will take place in a 400-seat auditorium at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, according to the Jerusalem Post.

The event is being organized in collaboration with several organizations that support the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement against Israel,including Jewish Voice for Peace, as well as NGOs that have expressed support for terrorism.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the daughter or Palestinian immigrants, routinely refers to Israel as an apartheid state and made statements that perpetuate the antisemitic stereotype of Jews controlling the world.

Last week, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan said Tlaib’s “ignorance and hate toward Jews and Israel know no bounds” after she posted a tweet about the Nakba, calling Israel an “apartheid state” that “was born out of violence and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians”.

“Tlaib’s ignorance and hate toward Jews and Israel know no bounds. The facts are clear: the Arabs rejected the U.N.’s resolution to establish a Jewish state and started a war to annihilate it,” wrote Erdan, referencing the fact that in 1948, five Arab armies attacked the nascent state, with full support from the Palestinian leadership.

“Palestinian leadership is leading its people to catastrophe by inciting hate/terror and rejecting peace,” Erdan wrote.

The post Rashida Tlaib to host ‘Nakba Day’ event in US Capitol appeared first on World Israel News.

“This defendant committed a cold and calculated crime and for that he will spend the majority of his life in prison.”

By Associated Press

A former member of a US neo-Nazi group pleaded guilty Monday to fatally shooting his two Florida roommates in 2017, abruptly avoiding the start of a murder trial in which he had planned to use the insanity defense, according to court records.

Devon Arthurs, 24, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder and will serve a 45-year prison sentence. The plea deal with prosecutors means Arthur will not face a possible life sentence.

“This defendant committed a cold and calculated crime and for that he will spend the majority of his life in prison,” said State Attorney Suzy Lopez in a statement. “The victims’ families are satisfied with this outcome which allows them to avoid a painful trial while knowing the defendant will have to dwell upon the pain he has caused for the next several decades behind bars.”

Arthurs admitted killing the roommates, Andrew Oneschuk, 18, and 22-year-old Jeremy Himmelman, nearly 6 years ago at the Tampa apartment they shared. Arthurs told police after his arrest that all three had been part of a small, mostly online neo-Nazi group called the Atomwaffen Division and that he shot the pair with an assault-style rifle because they ridiculed his conversion to Islam.

Inside the apartment the men shared, authorities said they found guns, ammunition and bomb-making material, along with a framed picture of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh on a bedroom dresser. Atomwaffen is German for “nuclear weapons.”

A third roommate and Atomwaffen co-founder, Brandon Russell, was not home when the slayings happened but found the bodies when he returned from duties with the National Guard, investigators said. Russell pleaded guilty in September 2017 to federal charges of possessing illegal firearms and a destructive device, as well as storing explosives illegally.

The bomb-making materials — including the highly explosive substance HMTD, several pounds of ammonium nitrate and homemade fuses — were discovered during the murder investigation. Arthurs told police the group planned terrorist attacks, possibly against nuclear plants.

“I prevented the deaths of a lot of people,” Arthurs said in a rambling statement after his arrest. Asked why his roommates would plan such an attack, he responded, “Because they want to build a Fourth Reich.”

Russell was sentenced to five years in prison on the weapons and bomb charges. After his release, he was charged in a new case earlier this year with plotting with a Maryland woman to attack Baltimore’s power grid in an attempt to stir racial unrest. Prosecutors said that plan was to target five substations situated in a ring around the majority-Black city. No attack took place.

Russell and his co-defendant, Sarah Beth Clendaniel, have both pleaded not guilty in Maryland federal court and are awaiting trial.

As for Arthurs, his case was delayed several times while he received mental treatment after being declared incompetent to stand trial in 2018 and again in 2020. Finally, in June 2022, a Hillsborough County judge determined Arthurs had restored his mental capacity sufficiently to stand trial.

“I feel I can be an advocate against extremism,” Arthurs said in court on Monday, according to the Tampa Bay Times. “I’d like to take this moment to tell the world to stay away from extremist groups…I’m very sorry for everyone that was involved. I’m very sorry for everything that has happened.”

Arthurs was first arrested shortly after the shootings — which police did not yet know about — while holding several people at gunpoint and making rambling statements at a local smoke shop. Doctors diagnosed Arthurs with schizophrenia, autism and other mental illnesses.

The post Ex-Neo-Nazi guilty in slayings of Florida roommates who mocked his conversion to Islam appeared first on World Israel News.