Dr. Limor Simhony is a freelance writer. She was previously a research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants against Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the country’s former defence minister Yoav Gallant. An ICC warrant was also issued for Hamas leader Mohammed Deif, who was killed by Israel in July. The judges decided that there are ‘reasonable grounds’ that the trio are responsible for
Could this long round of armed conflict between Israel and Hezbollah finally come to an end? It’s too early to know for sure, but all signs seem to point in this direction. Lebanon and Hezbollah have reportedly agreed yesterday to a US ceasefire proposal. American envoy Amos Hochstein arrived in Beirut today to finalise a
Benjamin Netanyahu dropped a bombshell this evening when he fired Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. Outside observers might wonder why the Prime Minister would fire the only member of his government with meaningful military experience when Israel is engaged in a prolonged and complex war on several fronts. Israelis however, have been expecting this to happen
The Israeli parliament resumed its work on Monday after a long recess, and one of the first items on the agenda was voting on a bill that enjoyed rare widespread popularity. The bill decreed that Israel will severe ties with the UN relied and work agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), which will heavily restrict the
Just over three weeks after Iran attacked Israel with 200 ballistic missiles, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) finally launched a retaliatory airstrike on Iranian military facilities last night. The IAF strike reportedly lasted three hours, and was carried out in three waves. It was based on impressively precise intelligence and targeted the missile manufacturing facilities
A drone exploded in a sleepy Israeli seaside town yesterday. The target of the attack was Benjamin Netanyahu. By luck, the drone missed its target – Netanyahu’s home – and no one was hurt in the explosion. Hezbollah launched three drones from Lebanon toward Caesarea. Two were shot down by the Israel Defense Forces but, worryingly,
Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas and Israel’s top target in Gaza, has been killed by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). The Israeli Foreign Minister has confirmed that the Hamas chief was one of three terrorists killed in the Gaza Strip today. Early reports indicate that this wasn’t a targeted hit, but that Israeli forces came across
The White House wants Israel to allow more aid into Gaza and implement humanitarian ceasefires within 30 days. If they don’t, the US has threatened to withhold military aid to the country. That’s according to a leaked letter sent over the weekend by secretary of state Anthony Blinken and defence secretary Lloyd Austin in which
Last night, a single Hezbollah drone managed to inflict more damage on Israel than 200 Iranian ballistic missiles so far. A ‘swarm’ of drones launched by the Iran-backed terror organisation based in Lebanon exploded south of the northern city of Haifa, with one hitting the Binyamina military base, home to a training camp for the
As Israelis marked a sombre day commemorating the 7 October massacre, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) expanded their operation in Lebanon. Their aim is to weaken the Iranian-backed terror organisation Hezbollah, which has been attacking Israel from Lebanon for the past year. While the Israeli air force bombs specific targets deep inside Lebanon, including the
A year has passed since the terrible events of 7 October 2023, but for Jews the pain of that day – when 1,200 were killed and 250 hostages snatched across Israel’s border into Gaza – remains vivid. Every call and every text on that dreadful Saturday morning brought awful news. Many of those murdered were
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This week: Israel’s revenge and Iran’s humiliation. As the anniversary of the October 7th attacks by Hamas approaches, the crisis in the Middle East has only widened. Israel has sent troops into southern Lebanon and there have been attempted missile strikes from the Houthi rebels in Yemen and from Iran. Is there any way the situation
Israel has come under widespread missile attack from Iran. Some 200 ground-to-ground missiles were launched from Iran, according to Israeli media. Israelis have been ordered to stay in bomb shelters while the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) intercept missiles overhead. The sound of interceptions over Tel Aviv, Israel’s largest city, are constant and deafening. So far,
As troops from the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) 98th airborne division enter into Lebanon, they know that fighting Hezbollah will prove dangerous and difficult. Although Hezbollah has deteriorated after Israel’s recent attacks, its terrorists still have significant fighting capabilities. The elite IDF troops are backed by the Israeli airforce and artillery. It’s been nearly 12
Israel has started to prepare for a ground invasion of Lebanon amid international calls for ceasefire. This is the next stage of Israel’s operation against Hezbollah – which began with exploding pagers and walkie-talkies, and continued with the killing of Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah, as well as nearly all of the terror organisation’s top commanders. The
Israel has said that it killed Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut yesterday. Information that Nasrallah was at Hezbollah’s main headquarters in Beirut arrived while Israel’s Prime Minister was addressing the UN in New York, and a decision was made to target the man who has been terrorising Israelis for more than three decades. He
It was late in 1997 when I got to a small military base on the border between Israel and Lebanon. Straight out of training, my welcome to the base involved sitting in the war room wearing a helmet and a bulletproof vest, hoping that the barrage of rockets flying over our heads, courtesy of Hezbollah,
This hasn’t been the easiest week for Hezbollah. It started with the terror organisation’s pagers mysteriously exploding, killing 37 people people (according to official reports) and injuring some 3,000 people, mostly members of the group. This has stunned Hezbollah – and the world. A day later, their walkie-talkies starting blowing up too. The attacks, which have been attributed to
Has Hamas finally been defeated in Gaza, nearly a year after it launched the most deadly attack in Israel’s history? Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has proclaimed that Hamas no longer has a military capacity in Gaza. Hamas has indeed suffered a considerable blow since October. Many of its tunnels – one of its greatest strategic assists
Benjamin Netanyahu is the great survivor of Israeli politics, but his grip on power is slipping. ‘You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.’ Abraham Lincoln’s saying applies now more
