Report: Iran-Linked Terror Plots Targeting Israeli Embassies Abroad
A senior Israeli source quoted on Saudi television said alert levels have been raised at Israeli embassies across Europe, the Far East, and Latin America.
The source, quoted on Saudi television channel Al Hadath, warned that the threat level facing Israeli diplomatic missions abroad is extremely high, with multiple warnings of planned attacks.
According to the Israeli source, “We may evacuate several of our embassies.” He added, “We have raised the readiness threshold at our embassies in Europe, the Far East and Latin America.”
“There are warnings about the intent of elements linked to Iran to carry out terrorist attacks against our interests abroad,” the source was quoted as saying. “We have asked former security personnel and former security officials to return to the country as soon as possible.”
According to the New York Times , American and Western security officials said they are monitoring with growing concern, signs that Iran may direct its proxies to carry out terrorist attacks also against American targets in Europe and the Middle East, as retaliation for a US strike against Iran.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, noted that no concrete attack plans had yet been identified, but heightened “chatter” – intelligence jargon for intercepted communications among terrorists – pointed to a level of planning and coordination. A senior official said that State Department analysts are tracking “a lot” of activity and planning, but it remains unclear just who the exact attacking parties would be.
As Threats Loom: New Underground Hospital Opens In Tel Aviv
Assuta Hospital in the Ramat Hachayal section of Tel Aviv has opened a new underground hospital, which could accommodate approximately 200 beds
The new complex is intended to receive patients from public hospitals that are not sufficiently protected, therefore ensuring continuous care even under a significant missile threat.
In addition, at Assuta Medical Center Ramat Hachayal, a system of fortified above-ground operating rooms is in operation, and in the past, during Operation Rising Lion, patients were transferred there for lengthy and complex surgeries.
Thus far, the Ministry of Health has ordered the closure of private health institutions during emergencies. However, lessons learned from the Swords of Iron War and Operation Rising Lion have led to a new approach.
In the past two months, intensive work has been carried out to establish medical gas, electricity, and communications infrastructure in the underground floors, in order to enable an immediate transition to inpatient hospitalization mode.
Dr. Shani Brosh, head of the Medical Division at Assuta Medical Centers, emphasized: “In the past month or two, there has been very intensive activity. An agreement was signed, a contracting company was appointed, and infrastructure for medical gases, electricity, and communications was built to allow a move to underground complexes on the day of an order. Today the infrastructure is in place and can accommodate about 200 hospitalized patients on behalf of other hospitals that do not have fortification.
Assuta Medical Centers CEO Gidi Leshet clarified that this is part of a long-term national resilience strategy. “Maintaining continuity of care as part of the health system’s emergency framework is a national mission, and part of our purpose – and we are proud to take part in its implementation”
Israel Heritage Minister Raises Flag At Hasmonean Site In Jordan Valley
The flag of the Jewish state was raised for the first time at Mount Sartaba in the Jordan Valley, the site of an ancient Hasmonean fortress, during a ceremony led by Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu on Monday (23rd).
The ministry’s move was part of a series of symbolic actions across Judea and Samaria aimed at strengthening Israel’s hold on heritage sites in the historically Jewish but often disputed area.
“We are raising the flag in Sartaba, one of the most significant points for controlling the Jordan Valley, “ Eliyahu said in a video posted to social media.
“From here, our ancestors entered the Land of Israel. From here, the Hasmoneans guarded the border, the gateway to the land—security for the Jordan Valley. Here we tell the story of our people,” he continued.
“We at the Heritage Ministry, together with the Defense Ministry Civil Administration’s Archaeology Unit are not only content with words, but take action” the minister said. “When there is presence, there is Jewish strength.”
Sartabe or Alexandrium, in Latin is an ancient hilltop fortress located approximately 2,100 feet above sea level, between Beit Shean in the north, and the capital Jerusalem, and built by the Hasmoneans in the first century BCE.
“During the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods, Mount Sartaba served as a key station in a chain of beacon fires used to signal the sanctification of the new month from Jerusalem to Jewish communities in Babylon, a practice dating back to the Second Temple Period (539 BCE. – 70 CE.)
“The message is that we are retaking what is ours,”Eliyahu told JNS.
The minister said that on the first day of the month of Nissan, which this year falls on March 19, he plans to “renew on the summit, the custom of lighting torches as in the days of the Mishnah lighting, a fact that, then and now, conveys a clear message to the Jews of the world: that the people of Israel are alive and they are marching throughout their historic land.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has headed an unprecedented drive to expand Israel’s hold on Judea and Samaria.
As of January 1, 2026, 529,704 Jews lived in Judea and Samaria amounting to approximately 5.28% of the Jewish state’s population.
Nearly 70% of Israeli citizens want Jerusalem to extend full legal sovereignty over the region, according to a poll conducted Jan. 29, 2025.
Fifty-eight percent of Israeli Jews believe that communities in Judea and Samaria contribute to the security of the country, according to a survey the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPP) published on March 11, 2025.
Louisiana Wins Appeal To Display Ten Commandments In Classrooms
A federal appeals court has ruled that Louisiana may begin enforcing a law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public classrooms. JNS reported.
On January 20, the full US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit voted 12-6 to lift a lower court injunction that had previously blocked the law HB71, which was signed by Governor Jeff Landry in June 2024.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and several other civil rights groups immediately filed a lawsuit challenging the law, arguing that it would force children to be exposed to a distinctly religious message in compulsory educational settings. They also contended that the law violated the First Amendment’s prohibition against the establishment of religion by the government.
However, the appeals court sided with Louisiana, stating that it was “premature to decide the law’s constitutionality before it had been enacted.”
Joseph David, senior counsel representing the state of Louisiana, hailed the decision, stating, “if the ACLU had its way, every trace of religion would be scrubbed from the fabric of our public life.” He added, “That position is at odds with our nation’s traditions and our Constitution.”
Under HB 71, public schools – ranging from elementary through post-secondary levels – would be required to display a poster-size copy of the Ten Commandments, in classrooms, along with a statement explaining the historical influence of the text on American law and government. Schools may also include other historical documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Mayflower Compact.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, who represents Louisiana, has said he supports the Ten Commandments law and added he thinks the law will survive legal challenges.
“I’m supportive of it, yeah,” Johnson told reporters last June, “and I think it should pass court muster. I think there are a number of states trying to do the same thing, and I don’t think it’s offensive in any way. I think it is a positive thing.”
The Future Of Gaza Will Be Decided In Mosques – Shimon Refaeli
Ahead of Ramadan , three new mosques were inaugurated in northern Gaza, founded by a Turkish religious foundation, with Turkish flags flying prominently on their facades. One is named after Abdullah Azzam, one of the spiritual fathers of Al-Qaeda.
Qatar and Turkey operate in Gaza with significant influence, providing food, shelter, and infrastructure, and mosques. These states, that openly support Hamas and host its senior leaders, understand well that real influence begins with consciousness that is shaped in mosques and schools.
Without deep de-radicalization, a fundamental transformation of values and messages – nothing will truly change. One cannot build a stable reality when a child in Gaza learns to admire terrorists as “heroes,” consumes content that glorifies “martyrs,” and listens to sermons preaching war against infidels.
Therefore, the “day after” in Gaza must come together with de-radicalization. We have already wasted an entire generation since the Oslo Accords, in which we relinquished control and assumed that economic incentives would suffice. If before Oslo, Israelis could travel by bus to Gaza via the central bus station in Beersheba, today that reality seems imaginary.
This is the depth of the shift in consciousness that has occurred there within just one generation. The battle over tomorrow’s Gaza will be decided by the question of who drafts the Friday sermon.
The writer, a policy assistant to former Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, is a senior fellow at the David Institute for Security Policy.
Cloudy With A Chance Of Missiles – David Yaari
When Israelis tune in to the nightly forecast, alongside the chance of rain, viewers are calmly informed of the probabilities of missile fire. Growing up in America, this would have been unthinkable. No American president, Republican or Democrat, would ever tolerate a reality in which missiles could be arbitrarily lobbed onto their sovereign soil. The response would be immediate, overwhelming and unquestioned.
Yet somehow, the world has grown accustomed to the absurdity of routine missile fire directed at Israel. As if this is an acceptable condition of existence. As if this is normal. And God forbid, Israel should respond.
The fact that we can defend ourselves doesn’t diminish the intent behind these deadly weapons. Missiles aimed at population centers are designed to kill civilians indiscriminately, and over the years, Israeli civilians have been killed. These missiles are fired at our cities, our homes, our hospitals and schools, with the explicit intention of killing our people, making it very personal.
Over the last 20 years, there have been more “missiles fall” days than “rain fall” days in Israel. Since Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza in 2006, Hamas has launched over 50,000 rockets and missiles toward Israeli towns and cities. Hezbollah in Lebanon has spent more than a decade firing missiles randomly into civilian areas. Houthi terrorists in Yemen have launched drones and missiles aimed at Israel. During the 12-Day War in June 2025, Iran fired large payload ballistic missiles capable of devastating destruction toward Israel, some of which caused real damage, injuries and loss of life.
It’s time to state unequivocally: We will not be the region’s dumping ground for missiles. Children should not routinely have to run to shelters in the middle of the night. Families should not lie awake waiting to see what was hit this time. A response that forces aggressors to think 10 times before launching another missile is not escalation, it is prevention.
Remarkably, living with extreme uncertainty has forged an unusually strong civilian society. Israelis have developed a form of resilience that allows life to continue, businesses to grow, families to flourish, and happiness to shine, even under potential existential threat. When life is fragile, it is also precious. Israelis live fully because they understand how quickly life can be interrupted.
Being surrounded by neighbors who openly call for the destruction of the Jewish state has strengthened our resolve, deepened our connection to the land, and emboldened younger generations to defend our right to exist.
The writer is CEO of the Texas Israel Partnership.
(jns.org)
