IDF General Staff Visits Yad Vashem To Mark Holocaust Remembrance Day
Members of the IDF General Staff, including Chief of Staff LTG Eyal Zamir, visited Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority, on Monday (21st) to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah) and 80 years since the end of World War II, the military confirmed.
During the visit the senior military generals met with Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan and received a lecture from Rabbi Tamir Granot, a leading thinker on Jewish perspectives on the Holocaust, who spoke about “the ability to rise from the depths of pain and loss, and to embrace life, growth and recovery.
The generals also met with Holocaust survivor Lea Balint and presented her with a certificate
The presentation took place in the presence of Limor Livnat, the Chair of the Foundation for the Welfare of Holocaust Victims.
The visit concluded with a wreath-laying ceremony at Yad Vashem’s Hall of Names, commemorating those lost during the Holocaust.
Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day begins Wednesday evening (23rd) and ends Thursday evening at sundown (24th).
Houthi Missile Sends A Million Israelis On 4 A.M. Scramble To Bomb Shelters
A ballistic missile fired at northern Israel by Yemen’s Houthi rebels set off sirens early Wednesday morning (23rd), sending some one million people rushing for the safety of bomb shelters.
The Israel Defense Forces said the missile was “probably intercepted successfully” by air defenses. Alerts are sounded as a precaution against falling missile and interceptor debris, which has in the past caused injuries and even death.
Sirens went off at 4 a.m. in Haifa and the surrounding area, as well as the Western Galilee region. Explosions from the interceptions were heard in Haifa and the Sharon region.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service reported no direct injuries from attack or impacts from debris, but said paramedics treated a number of people who were injured while rushing for shelter.
The Israeli police said officers were looking for fallen debris, and warned the public not to approach any debris as it may contain explosives.
Since March 18, when the IDF resumed its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis in Yemen have launched more than 20 ballistic missiles and several drones at Israel. Only half of the missiles set off sirens in the country and were shot down, while the others fell short.
Wednesday’s (23rd) attack was the first time that sirens sounded in the Haifa region since a ceasefire with the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah took effect in November, ending more than a year of fighting, which began a day after fellow Iran-backed terror group Hamas stormed southern Israel to kill 1,200 people and take 251 hostages sparking the war in Gaza.
The Houthis – whose slogan is “Death to America, Death to Israel, a Curse on the Jews” – began attacking Israel and maritime traffic in November 2023, a month after the October 7 Hamas attack.
The Houthis held their fire when a ceasefire was reached between Israel and Hamas in January 2025. By that point, they had fired some 30 ballistic missiles and several attack drones at Israel, including one that killed a civilian and wounded several others in Tel Aviv in July. Israel carried out several strikes on Houthi sites in Yemen in response to the attacks.
The Gaza ceasefire collapsed in March with Israel resuming its attacks on Hamas and the Houthis resuming their missile attacks at Israel.
In recent weeks, the United States has led the charge against the Houthis, with a series of massive airstrikes against its leadership and infrastructure.
Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis are all avowed to destroy Israel.
IDF: Hamas-Allied Terror Operative Killed In Strike On Vehicle South Of Beirut
An Israeli drone strike targeting a vehicle south of the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Tuesday (22nd) killed a prominent member of a terror group that has taken part alongside Hezbollah in fighting against Israel.
According to the Israeli Defense Forces, the strike in the Lebanese coastal town of Haret en-Naameh, just south of Beirut, targeted Hussein Izzat Mohammad Atwi, a member of the al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group) organization, which is affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood in Lebanon.
The military said Atwi was also affiliated with Hamas in Lebanon, and worked alongside the Palestinian terror group to advance attacks on Israel from Lebanon, in an attempt to harm IDF troops operating on the northern border.
Atwi was behind rocket fire over the years and had also directed terror cells in Lebanon to launch attacks on Israel, including infiltrations, the IDF said. He also worked to advance attacks against Israeli targets abroad, the military added.
Al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya, like Hamas, is a Sunni faction that forms part of the broader Muslim Brotherhood political network. The armed wing of the group, the al-Fajr Forces, repeatedly targeted Israel from Lebanon amid the war, often working in conjunction with the Shiite Hezbollah terror group.
A November 2024 ceasefire largely ended more than a year of fighting, including some two months of open war, between Hezbollah and Israel.
The fighting started when the Iran-backed terror group opened fire on October 8, 2023, shooting rockets and drones at the Jewish state in support of Hamas, which had attacked Israel from the Gaza Strip in a shock invasion the previous day.
The ceasefire allows Israel to strike immediate threats, however, near-daily strikes against Hezbollah operatives and their allies have continued.
Separately, Palestinian media reported Tuesday (22nd) that the new Syrian regime has arrested Khaled Khaled in charge of the Syrian arena in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror organization (PIJ), and Abu Ali Yasser, responsible for the organization’s executive committee in Syria.
This would mark the first such arrests by the new Syrian regime.
Until the fall of the Bashar Al-Assad regime in December, senior PIJ officials, including leader Ziyad al-Nakhalah were based in Syria.
Shortly after the regime’s collapse, in the wake of an Islamist-led offensive, al-Nakhalah fled Syria, but according to Arab media reports, some operatives remained active in the country.
PIJ operatives from Gaza took part in the Hamas-led onslaught in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which started the ongoing war in the Strip.
Israel, US Ties On Display As Huckabee Presents Credentials To Herzog
Israel’s special relationship with the United States was never more obvious than on Monday (21st) when US Ambassador Mike Huckabee presented his credentials to President Isaac Herzog.
The former governor of Arkansas was the seventh of a group of new ambassadors whose own presentation ceremonies were cut short due to the arrangements being made on Huckabee’s behalf.
The others – from Belarus, India, the Dominican Republic, Canada, the Philippines, and Angola – each presented their credentials in the main hall, then retired to a smaller reception room for a brief tete-a-tete and photo op with the president.
Huckabee went through this as well but had a considerably longer private audience and then emerged back into the main hall to join the president on a stage from which each made a statement.
With the possible exception of the first ambassadors of Arab-orMuslim-majority countries, no other ambassadors make statements. The Americans always do.
In officially greeting Huckabee, the president said that usually, when he meets new ambassadors he says, “Welcome to Israel,” but in this case, he chose to say, “Welcome home, dear brother of Israel” and noted that, like the biblical Abraham, Huckabee had traveled the length and breadth of the land, However, this time, Herzog emphasized, it was difficult because Huckabee was here as the US ambassador, the envoy of Israel’s greatest ally.
The president also referred to the many times that the new ambassador has spoken up for Israel, slightly rewording the quote from Isaiah,”For Zion’s sake, I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest until her righteousness goes forth.”
Herzog lauded Huckabee’s commitment to the return of the hostages and the safety and security of Israel’s citizens. He characterized the suffering that the hostages are forced to endure as “the most despicable crime against humanity.”
In this context, he moved on to Iran, saying that instead of pursuing peace, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei seeks to pursue nuclear domination and nuclear arms to first destroy Israel and then America.
Returning to events in Israel, Herzog described how moved the nation was last Friday (18th) when Huckabee went to the Western Wall to deposit a message for peace that US President Donald Trump had instructed him to deliver.
Huckabee recalled his first visit to Israel 52 years ago as a 17-year-old, wide-eyed boy. He had fallen in love with the land on that first trip and has made dozens of visits since, bringing thousands of people over the years.
This time, he is in Israel in a state of joy and awe, he said. He regards his position not only as a geopolitical one but as one of divinity.
He’s not here for a week or a few days, as on previous occasions. He is going to live in Israel for four years, and he feels privileged and honored to be able to do so, the ambassador said.
When Trump called him and told him that he had been selected to be the next ambassador to Israel, Huckabee replied in the affirmative, “Because you don’t say no to President Trump.” It wasn’t just a matter of saying “yes” to the president, the ambassador recalled. It was saying “yes” to God Himself.
Regarding the hostages, Huckabee says he prays everyday for their return home to their families. He spoke of the hostages still alive and those who are deceased, saying the latter deserve the dignity of a proper burial in their home country.
Concerning Iran, he was well aware that Iran’s goal has always been “Death to Israel” first — followed by the destruction of the United States. “The threats that face Israel are also those that face our country,” he said.
Later in the day, Huckabee tweeted on X that an official for the World Health Organization (WHO) had asked him to put pressure on Israel to bring more humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. Huckabee responded, “How about we put the pressure where it really belongs – on Hamas.”
A Recent Passover Greeting From An Egyptian – Dalia Ziada
Passover is one of my favorite holidays in all religions. It is very linked to Egypt. My friends had to intervene a few months ago to get me out of my very own Egypt, a few hours before I was doomed to be killed or imprisoned in reprisal for my political opinion in support of Israel’s war on Hamas terrorism. Daring to condemn the Oct. 7 attacks on Israeli civilians stirred credible death threats and state-sponsored persecution against me.
On my way out of Egypt, I felt the pain and agony felt by the Jews who accompanied Moses across the Red Sea and the Jews who were forced in the 1950s and 60s to leave their homelands in Egypt and other Arab countries. I did not want to leave my homeland. I had to suffer the bitter loss of my house, my work, my friends, and my family in a matter of a few hours.
I know that I will soon recover from the pain of loss and thrive in life. I know that those who targeted me because of my stance in support of the truth will be defeated and humiliated. Like the Jews, I believe in the value of life. Happy Passover, my friends!
The writer, an Egyptian scholar, is a Senior Fellow at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs. (X)
(X.com)
One Of America’s Best Investments – U.S. Military Aid To Israel – Micha Danzig
The U.S. receives profound strategic, technological, and humanitarian benefits from its alliance with Israel. Military support for Israel remains one of the most cost-effective and mutually beneficial investments the U.S. has made in modern history. Moreover, U.S. military aid to Israel must be spent on American-made products by U.S. manufacturers.
Israel serves as a vital strategic partner in the Middle East – a region where the U.S. has few reliable allies. Ports like Haifa and Ashdod serve as secure and hospitable docking locations for the U.S. Navy and house emergency military stockpiles for rapid deployment.
From the Cold War to the present day, all U.S. presidents have understood that support for Israel is not charity – it is a sound investment in national security. During the Cold War, Israel served as a bulwark against Soviet influence in the Middle East. Today, it stands as a front line of defense against radical Islamist forces and Iran’s hegemonic ambitions.
In 2007, Israel independently destroyed Syria’s nuclear reactor just before it went operational, preventing Syria, under Assad, from being a nuclear power and thereby saving the U.S. from having to intervene militarily itself.
Israel shares critical intelligence with the U.S. on terrorism, cyber threats, and nuclear proliferation. Israeli expertise in counterterrorism, honed through decades of necessity, has helped shape American homeland security strategies. Joint efforts in missile defense systems have enhanced both nations’ defensive capabilities. Israeli firms develop high-tech protective gear, drones, unmanned vehicles, and bomb-detection systems that directly benefit U.S. soldiers. (Los Angeles Jewish Journal)
Report: China Developing Advanced Hydrogen Bomb
China researchers have successfully conducted a controlled field test of a non-nuclear hydrogen-based explosive device that released powerful chemical reactions, the South China Morning Post reported Sunday (20th).
According to the study, the 2-kilogram hydrogen bomb created a fireball with a temperature above 1,000 degrees Celsius and sustained it for more than two seconds. The duration of the explosion was 15 times longer than that of a TNT blast of comparable strength, achieved without using any nuclear materials.
The device was developed by China’s state-owned shipbuilding corporation, a key player in underwater weapons development. It utilizes a solid state hydrogen storage material based on magnesium to achieve the explosive effect. According to the study published in the Chinese Journal of Missiles and Guidance, when the material is triggered using conventional explosives, it undergoes rapid thermal decomposition releasing hydrogen gas that ignites into a sustained high-temperature fireball.
“Hydrogen gas explosions ignite with minimal ignition energy, have a wide blast radius, and release flames that spread rapidly outward and laterally,” the study states. “This combination allows for precise control of blast intensity and enables uniform destruction of targets over large areas.”
The study noted that the hydrogen bomb can inflict prolonged thermal damage due to its intense fireball, which is capable of melting aluminum alloys. In comparison, TNT explosions typically produce a flash that lasts only 0.12 seconds.
