The looming terror threat in central Israel

Standing on the roof of her apartment building on the eastern tip of the central Israeli town of Rosh HaAyin, just meters away from the security barrier, Moriah Tzafar shares a grave concern.  

“We see [Palestinian Authority] cars driving around, getting closer to us. What are they doing here? The area is a closed military firing zone [Zone 203]. We see them carrying out tours of the fence line. There are cars, people, illegal housing, and they’re getting closer. We report this every day to the authorities,” she says. “It reminds us of the [female] IDF spotters overlooking the Gaza border. We didn’t listen to the spotters before Oct. 7, 2023, how is it possible the same concept still exists, that we are [still] relying on a fence?”

Tzafar spoke during a press tour organized by the Regavim Movement this past Monday aimed at exposing security threats to Israelis living in the center of the country. The P.A. has constructed nearly 17,000 illegal structures within a kilometer of Israel’s security fence, which stretches roughly along the 1949 Armistice Line from the Gilboa area in the north down to Ein Gedi near the Dead Sea.  (Read More)

World leaders congratulate Trump on victory in US presidential election

World leaders rushed to congratulate Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Wednesday after he was projected to defeat Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the US election, which would cap a stunning political comeback four years after he left the White House.

Among those to offer salutes on social media platform X within the first hours of Trump’s apparent victory emerging were the leaders of Britain, France, Ukraine, India, and Israel.

Many noted that the success would be a return to office for Trump, who previously served as president in 2017-2021.  (Read More)

Netanyahu fires Gallant amid US elections as Israel braces for Iran attack

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Tuesday night, citing a “crisis of trust” that “gradually deepened,” replacing him with Foreign Minister Israel Katz.

The move comes as Israel is braced for a direct Iranian attack and after the IDF under Gallant’s command executed a successful strike on the Islamic Republic that targeted its missile production facilities.

“In the midst of a war, more than ever, full trust is required between the prime minister and the defense minister,” Netanyahu stated, as he laid out his rationale for Gallant’s removal while the country was over a year into a war with Iran and its proxies, chiefly Hamas and Hezbollah. (Read More)

National Guard on Standby in Many States as America Faces Tense Election Day

Hundreds of National Guardsmen from 18 states and Washington, D.C., have been activated or are on standby on the eve of the U.S. presidential election, according to a defense official.

The official told Military.com that Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, North Carolina, New Mexico, Wisconsin and Washington state have all activated small numbers of National Guard troops on state orders, around 126 service members in total.Additionally,

 Guardsmen from Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia and Washington, D.C., are also on standby. Oregon has some Guardsmen activated as well as on standby. (Read More)

States put National Guard on standby in case of election violence

The governors of three states — Washington, Nevada and Oregon — said they’re prepared to use the National Guard to help with potential civil unrest on Election Day or the days after.

Heeding warnings from the Department of Homeland Security about threats of violence during the week of the presidential election, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo activated National Guard members to support local and state law enforcement. Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek hasn’t activated her state’s National Guard, but her office said Monday that Guardsmen are “trained and ready” in case they’re needed.In a joint bulletin, 

DHS and the FBI warned of potential violence from domestic extremists who believe claims of election fraud or harbor anger toward perceived political adversaries. The agencies wrote that extremists would likely target voting locations, ballot drop-boxes, voter registration locations, political rallies, campaign events and the offices of political parties. (Read More)

More than 60 PFLP terrorists arrested in Judea and Samaria

More than 60 members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) were arrested during a recent counter-terror operation in Judea and Samaria, the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and Israel Defense Forces announced in a joint statement on Tuesday.

Local district heads and ground-level operatives were detained, along with university students active in PFLP cells, according to the statement.Among those detained were leaders of the PFLP-affiliated Union of Women’s Committees, including Abla Sa’adat, wife of the organization’s secretary general, Ahmed Sa’adat, who has been imprisoned since 2006, and Tahrir Badran Jaber, a PFLP activist from Ramallah.  (Read More)

Iranian militias in Iraq could take center stage against Israel

Iranian-backed militias in Iraq may be at the center of Iran’s plots against Israel. The militias have threatened Israel for years and, over the last year, have increasingly used drones to do so. Now, as Iran plots larger attacks, the Iraqi militias, who are eager to get more involved in the war, could be operationalized for other, more dangerous missions.

Axios reported on Thursday that “Israeli intelligence suggests Iran is preparing to attack Israel from Iraqi territory in the coming days, possibly before the US presidential election.”

The militias currently operate under what they call the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq,” an umbrella group of several pro-Iran militias that have threatened Israel for years. For instance, the leader of Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Qais Khazali, visited Lebanon several years ago, threatened Israel from the border, and wanted to join any future Hezbollah war on Israel.  (Read More) 

Most Americans Clueless Of Biden-Harris Commitment To UN Global Governance Plan

On September 22, unnoticed by most Americans, the Biden-Harris administration adopted the United Nations Pact for the Future to transform global governance, which introduces the foundations of a world government. There was no debate, no media coverage, no press releases, and no interviews about the Biden-Harris administration's surrender of United States sovereignty to the UN.

Americans were apparently not supposed to find out.

The UN bragged that the pact is the "most comprehensive agreement in many years" describing it as "covering entirely new areas and addressing issues where no consensus has been reached for decades." This is concerning. (Read More)

Zelensky urges allies to ACT before North Korean troops reach the front

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged its allies to stop “watching” and take steps before North Korean troops deployed in Russia reach the battlefield, and the country’s army chief warned that his troops are facing “one of the most powerful offensives” by Moscow since the all-out war started more than two years ago.

Zelenskyy raised the prospect of a preemptive Ukrainian strike on camps where the North Korean troops are being trained and said Kyiv knows their location. But he said Ukraine can’t do it without permission from allies to use Western-made long-range weapons to hit targets deep inside Russia.

“But instead … America is watching, Britain is watching, Germany is watching. Everyone is just waiting for the North Korean military to start attacking Ukrainians as well,” Zelenskyy said in a post late Friday on the Telegram messaging app. The Biden administration said Thursday that some 8,000 North Korean soldiers are now in Russia’s Kursk region near Ukraine’s border and are preparing to help the Kremlin fight against Ukrainian troops in the coming days.  (Read More)

High-powered warheads: Iran planning more aggressive attack on Israel, officials say

Iran is planning a complex attack on Israel, which may include missiles with high-powered warheads, according to a Monday Wall Street Journal report, citing Arab and Iranian officials.

The report noted that the Iranian army would also be involved in this potential round of attack. 

"Our military lost people, so they need to respond," an Iranian official claimed. He reportedly added that the attack, likely focusing on Israeli military targets, would be more aggressive. The Iranian official further added that the Islamic Republic's response would come after the US elections but prior to the January inauguration of a new president. (Read More)

Some 60 rockets, drones fired at Israel from Lebanon, east, IDF retaliates

The IDF intercepted four drones that had been launched at Israeli territory from both the east and from Lebanon, the military said on Monday. 

Two drones were reportedly intercepted within Israel, and two drones were intercepted outside of Israeli territory. 

Later, at 10:58 a.m., sirens sounded in Acre and further north in Rosh Hanikra and Shlomi, among other localities. 

Israel emergency medical service, Magen David Adom, stated that paramedics were en route to the area of reported rocket More strikes. The service noted that no casualties had been reported. (Read More) 

Unprepared and defenseless: Reservists warn of threats on Jordanian border

The Israel-Jordan border is exposed to weapons and drug smuggling, as well as terrorist infiltrations, Southern Command military officials warned.

“Despite exceptional cooperation with the Jordanian military, it is getting closer,” stated a source in the Southern Command, referencing the attack at the Jordanian border during which two armed terrorists infiltrated.

Despite the increase in weapons smuggling and concerns that a terrorist cell might emerge from the Jordanian area, citizens and reservists serving in the Jordanian border region claim that the IDF is not effectively bolstering its defenses along the border.

According to them, there are large sections surrounded by an old barrier that can be easily crossed.  (Read More)

Report: Christian-Druze Town in Lebanon Fights to Keep Hezbollah Out

A Christian-Druze town in Lebanon is reportedly determined to keep Hezbollah terrorists out of its perimeter, thereby saving the town from potential Israeli strikes, according to the New York Times.

The report is a sign that ordinary Lebanese people are beginning to stand up to the Iranian-backed terrorist organization, which has been greatly weakened by the war — though it still retains a base of support within the Shia Muslim population.

The Times reports Sunday:

"Lebanon has long been deeply divided along sectarian lines, mainly among its three dominant groups — Shiite and Sunni Muslims and Christians. Hezbollah is the most powerful political and military group in the country, representing many Shiites.

While Lebanese people are largely united against Israel’s onslaught, some in southern towns where Hezbollah does not hold sway say they feel trapped in the crossfire between Israel’s firepower and Hezbollah’s fighters. Desperate to shield their communities, some are cobbling together informal defenses of their own.

In Hasbayya, residents have established a neighborhood watch group. Some local leaders have negotiated with Hezbollah to keep its fighters from launching rockets from the town." (Read More)

Iran fears Trump win would bring Israeli strikes on nuclear sites, Western sanctions

DUBAI (Reuters) — Iran’s leadership and allies are bracing for what they would regard as a dreadful outcome of the imminent US presidential election: a return to power of Donald Trump.

Opinion polls suggest that Republican Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris remain locked in a close contest. But Iranian leaders and their regional allies in Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen are concerned that Trump could well triumph on November 5 and this could spell more trouble for them.

Iran’s main concern is the potential for Trump to empower Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to strike Iran’s nuclear sites, conduct targeted assassinations, and reimpose his “maximum pressure policy” through heightened sanctions on its oil industry, according to Iranian, Arab and Western officials. (Read More)

130 rockets, 10 drones fired at Israel Saturday; helicopter downs drone south of Haifa

Over 130 rockets were fired at northern Israel from Lebanon throughout Saturday, the military said, with sirens repeatedly sending people rushing to shelters.

Meanwhile, 10 drones targeted the country — six from Lebanon, three from Iraq and one whose origin was unclear. Seven drones were intercepted by the military.

A rocket attack early in the morning in central Israel wounded 11 people after one of three rockets struck a home in Tira. The IDF said it was investigating the failure to intercept the rocket. (Read More)

Wearing Lebanese uniforms, some 20 Israeli commandos took part in Friday raid

New alleged details emerged on Sunday about an Israeli naval raid in northern Lebanon in which commandos captured a Hezbollah operative over the weekend, in a report by a publication affiliated with the Iran-backed terror group.

According to the Al-Akhbar report, operatives from the Navy’s Shayetet 13 commando unit were disguised as Lebanese security forces during the unusual raid in Batroun, south of Tripoli, some 140 kilometers (87 miles) north of Israel’s maritime border with Lebanon.

While the Israeli military has attacked northern Lebanon via airstrikes, its ground forces have been operating only in the country’s south. (Read More)

Shayetet 13 Lebanon mission reveals Israel's deep penetration into Hezbollah

According to reports coming from Lebanon, a unit from the Shayetet 13 naval commando force raided a building in Batroun, north of Beirut, dozens of kilometers from Israel's border.

The Israeli force, as reported, acted swiftly and captured a senior Hezbollah operative. The unit departed just as quickly as it arrived, retreating into the sea on speed boats.

If indeed the commandos executed this mission, there are several significant points to note: Firstly, the operation demonstrates an impressive level of intelligence and deep infiltration into Hezbollah. (Read More)

US to Iran: Avoid strikes or face unrestrained Israeli retaliation

The Biden administration recently cautioned Iran against launching another attack on Israel, emphasizing that it could not restrain an Israeli response if provoked again, Walla reported on Saturday evening. 

The warning follows Iran’s October 1 attack on Israel, which retaliated against Israeli targeted operations. Israel's response included strikes on military targets but excluded strategic sites like nuclear and oil facilities. These facilities could be potential targets should Iran initiate further attacks.

A senior US official disclosed to Walla that Washington informed Tehran it would not be able to prevent Israel from reacting or ensure that any response would remain as limited and precise as before. This communication marked a rare direct message between the US and Iran. (Read More)

Israeli retaliatory attack on Islamic Republic severely damaged air defenses, missile program - WSJ

Missile production facilities and air defenses of the Islamic Republic of Iran were severely damaged in Israel's retaliatory strike last month, the Wall Street Journalcited US and Israeli officials saying on Saturday.

Satellite photos have shown the damage done to the Parchin military site near Tehran and the IRGC-run Shahroud ballistic missile and space center, as well as damaging Russian-made S-300 missile defense systems.

The report also claimed that the attack also left these facilities more exposed for any further strikes Israel may plan to conduct in the future. The vulnerability of these targets will be further exposed should Iran decide to launch another large-scale missile attack that would provoke yet another Israeli response, the Journalnoted. (Read More)

Blinken speaks with top Netanyahu aide as US deadline for Israel to boost Gaza aid nears

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone Friday with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, with the pair reviewing the steps Israel has taken to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, according to a State Department readout, which said the top Biden administration official urged further actions to surge aid to civilians in the enclave.

The call comes 12 days before a deadline set by the US for Israel to drastically improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.

Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sent a letter to Dermer and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on October 13, warning that failure to address the humanitarian crisis within 30 days could have legal implications for continued US offensive weapons shipments to Israel because recipients of such aid are legally barred from blocking humanitarian assistance.  (Read More)

Khamenei threatens Israel and US with ‘a crushing response’ to Israel’s airstrikes

Iran’s supreme leader on Saturday threatened Israel and the US with “a crushing response” over attacks on Iran and its allies.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke as Iranian officials are increasingly threatening to launch yet another strike against Israel after its October 26 attack on the Islamic Republic that targeted military bases and facilities and that Iran said killed at least five people.

Israel’s retaliatory strikes on Iranian military facilities came weeks after the October 1 attack, in which Iran launched 200 ballistic missiles at Israel, sending most of the population rushing to bomb shelters and safe rooms, causing relatively minor damage to military bases and some residential areas, and killing a Palestinian man in the West Bank. (Read More)

US to deploy B-52s, warships to Middle East as aircraft carrier departs

The United States said on Friday it will deploy B-52 bombers, fighter jets, refueling aircraft, ballistic missile defense destroyers, and Navy destroyers to the Middle East, in a readjustment of military assets as the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group prepares to leave the region.

The Pentagon said in a statement that deployments would take place in the coming months and demonstrated the flexibility of the US military movements around the world.

"Should Iran, its partners, or its proxies use this moment to target American personnel or interests in the region, the United States will take every measure necessary to defend our people," Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder said in a statement. (Read More)

'We're still in the eye of the storm,' Netanyahu says amid Lebanon ceasefire deal hopes

Israel is “still in the eye of the storm,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said amid US hope that an IDF-Hezbollah ceasefire deal might soon be in reach.

“There are still great challenges ahead,” Netanyahu said at an officers’ graduation ceremony Thursday after meeting with US envoys Amos Hochsteinand Brett McGurk, who were in the region to advance a deal to end the year-long IDF-Hezbollah war.

Netanyahu has given a nod in the direction of a deal but has stressed that Israel’s security rests ultimately on the IDF’s military might. He clarified to Hochstein and McGurk that any deal must allow for the IDF to thwart any threats from Le banon. Later in his speech to the soldiers, he underscored this point. (Read More)

Knesset passes law banning establishment of new foreign consulates in Jerusalem

The Knesset on Tuesday approved a law prohibiting the establishment of diplomatic missions in Jerusalem that are not embassies, a move aimed at bolstering Israel’s claim to the city.

The legislation, an amendment to the Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel, was approved 29-7 and was sponsored by MKs Ze’ev Elkin (New Hope) and Dan Illouz (Likud). It stipulates that no new consulates will be established in Jerusalem, while the government will encourage the establishment of foreign embassies in the city.

The law will not affect the status of already existing diplomatic missions in the Israeli capital.“Jerusalem is the core of our sovereignty,” Illouz stated, asserting that the new law “makes it clear once and for all that Jerusalem is ours and is not for sale. It’s a historic law that joins other historic laws passed in recent days.”

Elkin said that “those who wish to establish a foreign mission in Jerusalem will have to act according to this law and the mission will be obligated to provide service to the residents of the State of Israel. Jerusalem is the eternal and indivisible capital of the State of Israel and no country will be allowed to challenge our sovereignty in the united Jerusalem.  (Read More)

Iran’s Khamenei orders third direct attack on Israel

Iran’s supreme leader has instructed the country’s Supreme National Security Council to prepare for another assault on Israel,The New York Times reported on Thursday.

The report, which cited three Iranian officials, said Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the decision on Monday after reviewing a report from senior military commanders on the extent of the damage caused by last week’s Israeli strikes on Iran’s missile production capabilities and air defense systems, critical energy infrastructure and a main port. Khamenei was said to have told his associates that the scope of Israel’s unprecedented Oct. 26 retaliatory strikes was “too large to ignore.”The sources said that military commanders were readying a list of dozens of targets inside the Jewish state, but that the attack would likely occur after the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential vote due to concern in Tehran that additional tensions in the region could boost former President Donald Trump. (Read More)

Saudi-Israel normalization 'off table' until Palestinian statehood, FM says

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said Thursday that normalization with Israel is "off the table" until there is a "resolution to Palestinian statehood" and clarified that there is no ambiguity in Saudi policy on the conflict in Gaza.

“I would say certainly normalization with [Israel] is not just at risk. It is off the table until we have a resolution to Palestinian statehood,” Prince Faisal bin Farhan told the Future Investment Initiative forum in Riyadh.

“I would say that it is not just the issue of normalization with the kingdom that is at risk; I would say that the security of the region as a whole is at risk if we do not address the rights of the Palestinians,” he added.

He also urged the Israeli government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “do the moral thing” by guaranteeing Palestinians “their rights and their state.”

Last September, Saudi Arabia was said to be “inching closer” to normalizing relations with Israel, according to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. However, progress stalled following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. As the death toll from Gaza following Israel’s retaliatory attacks mounted, Saudi Arabia joined other Arab and Islamic nations in condemning Israeli actions.  (Read More)

Iran preparing to strike Israel from Iraqi territory, Khamenei orders preparations

Israeli intelligence suggests Iran is preparing to attack Israel from Iraqi territory in the coming days, possibly before the US presidential election on Nov. 5, Axios reported on Thursday, citing two unidentified Israeli sources.

The attack is expected to be carried out from Iraq using a large number of drones and ballistic missiles, the Axios report added.

The report said that carrying out the attack through pro-Iran militias in Iraq could be an attempt by Tehran to avoid another Israeli attack against strategic targets in Iran.

Later on Thursday, a New York Times report, citing three Iranian sources, said that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had already on Monday, ordered Iran's Supreme National Security Council to prepare to strike Israel. (Read More)

North Korean troops sent to Russia may be pleased to be there, even as they face ferocious fighting

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The thousands of young soldiers North Korea has sent to Russia, reportedly to help fight against Ukraine, include many elite special forces, but that hasn’t stopped speculation they’ll be slaughtered because they have no combat experience, no familiarity with the terrain and will likely be dropped onto the most ferocious battlefields.

That may be true, and soon. Observers say some of the troops have already arrived at the front. From the North Korean perspective, however, these soldiers might not be as miserable as outsiders think. They may, in fact, view their Russian tour with pride and as a rare chance to make good money, see a foreign country for the first time and win preferred treatment for their families back home, according to former North Korean soldiers.

“They are too young and won’t understand exactly what it means. They’ll just consider it an honor to be selected as the ones to go to Russia among the many North Korean soldiers,” said Lee Woong-gil, a former member of the same special forces unit, the Storm Corps. He came to South Korea in 2007. “But I think most of them won’t likely come back home alive.” (Read More)

Devices used in ballot box arsons had 'Free Gaza' markings, sources say

The devices used in the arson incidents carried markings with the expression "Free Gaza," two sources familiar with the ongoing investigation told ABC News.

The ballot box fires, which occurred near the Oregon-Washington border, are also believed to be connected to a third ballot box incident that occurred earlier this month in Vancouver, Washington, police said.

The sources said the incendiary device used in the first arson, back on Oct. 8, had "Free Gaza" and "Free Palestine" on it. The two subsequent devices, set off in the early hours of Monday morning in Vancouver, Washington and nearby Portland, Oregon, carried the slogan "Free Gaza." (Read More)

U.S. Marines Successfully Test Israel’s Iron Dome System

The system is based on an American radar and command-and-control center, combined with the Iron Dome (Tamir) interceptor and a mobile launcher developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Raytheon as a prime contractor.

During the training, the Marines fully operated the system, leading to the successful interception of targets. Additionally, the continuous launch capability of the Iron Dome interceptors from a mobile launcher, developed specifically for the Marines, was tested.

The training followed the completion of an entire training program and a series of tests as part of the development and acquisition plan led by the Marines to assess a new prototype system for medium-range intercept capability (MRIC).

The successful training demonstrated the forces’ proficiency in fully operating the system, the performance of the mobile launcher developed for the Marines, and the capabilities of the Iron Dome interceptor in relevant and challenging interception scenarios. (Read More)

Hezbollah reportedly agrees to withdraw beyond Litani River, Lebanese reports claim

Despite Hezbollah’s declarations throughout the war, the terrorist organization has agreed to drop its demands and is ready to withdraw beyond the Litani River, Lebanon's MTV website, which is associated with Hezbollah opponents, reported Wednesday night.

The report indicated that Hezbollah agreed to establish a demilitarized zone, with all its weapons to be moved beyond the river. It was also claimed that Hezbollah no longer insists on being directly connected to events in Gaza. 

MTV Lebanon noted that a three-day ceasefire draft is being discussed in Lebanon, and American officials are expected to present it to Israel in the coming days. It was also noted that Amos Hochstein, Biden's envoy to the region, told Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati that he sensed a change in Netanyahu's position, which gave him hope regarding the contacts. (Read More)