Intelligence Document Learns: Hamas Rebuilding Under Cover Of The Ceasefire
An IDF intelligence document sent in recent days to a highly restricted group within Israel’s political leadership reveals that the Hamas terror organization is managing to take significant advantage of the current ceasefire to rebuild itself
According to information published by Channel 12 News, the organization is systematically working to restore and improve its force-building capabilities in the Gaza Strip while exploiting the complex political situation to buy time.
The document explicitly states that “Hamas is stalling for time while simultaneously organizing and improving its force-building in the Strip, including the rehabilitation of its military wing, accelerating recruitment of operatives, seizure of goods, and administrations of civil and governmental sovereignty in the territory it controls.
Although the report notes that Hamas has not yet managed to achieve a “technological or operational leap forward,” the gradual process of rebuilding its capabilities is advancing steadily and in a concerning manner.
Security officials familiar with the details claim that developments on other fronts – primarily the confrontations involving Iran and Lebanon are serving Hamas’ interests.
According to these officials, American attention is currently focused on other regional flashpoints, allowing Hamas to avoid meeting its obligations as outlined in President Donald Trump’s peace plan. The organization is exploiting loopholes in the agreements to reestablish its civilian control on the ground and take control of humanitarian goods entering the Gaza Strip.
Senior members of Israel’s security establishment expressed deep concern over the continuation of this trend, warning that the current reality could undermine the agreements of the war.
IDF Using Robots To Destroy Hezbollah Infrastructure In Southern Lebanon
The IDF said it is deploying robotic systems in combat operations against Hezbollah in Bint Jbail, in Lebanon, as it works to dismantle militant infrastructure and reduce risks to troops.
According to the military, the use of robotics is aimed at increasing operational efficiency while minimizing casualties as forces operate in southern Lebanon.
Ground robots have been used during maneuvers in the area, as well as in the Gaza Strip, alongside unmanned aerial vehicles.
The systems are being used for tasks such as detonating booby-trapped structures and scanning hazardous zones, allowing forces to neutralize threats without exposing soldiers to danger.
The technology is also being applied to complex environments, including dense urban areas, tunnel networks, and locations that are difficult to access.
Yahalom, the commando unit of the IDF Combat Engineering Corps, has deployed robots inside Hezbollah tunnels and other confined spaces where traditional operations pose elevated risks.
The integration of robotics also intended to address manpower demands, with military planners incorporating automated systems into a broader operational framework.
Israeli defense officials have described the expected use of such systems as part of a wider shift toward advanced battlefield technologies.
Col. (ret.) Yaron Sarig, head of the AI and Autonomy Program Executive Office of MAFAT within the Defense Ministry, said the Israel-Hamas War in 2023-2025 marked a turning point in the role of robotics in warfare.
Although remotely controlled drones and similar systems had been in use previously, Sarig said robotic platforms played a central role in operations in Gaza, including over long operational distances.
He made the remarks at the International Defense Tech Summit sponsored by the Defense Ministry’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development and Tel Aviv University’s Yuval Ne’eman Science, Technology and Security Workshop.
The IDF’s multi-year “Hoshen” plan for 2026-2030 places robotics, artificial intelligence, and space capabilities at the center of preparations for multi-front conflict, according to the military.
Writing History Under Fire: Israel Honors Distinguished Soldiers On Independence Day
President Isaac Herzog paid tribute to 120 outstanding Israeli Defense Forces soldiers at a special Independence Day ceremony Wednesday (22nd), highlighting what he described as an exceptional generation shaped by prolonged conflict.
“We all grew up on the stories of heroism, but this generation surpasses them all,” Herzog said, addressing the honorees, whose names and faces were withheld from publication in line with military security rules.
Because of the war, the annual ceremony was scaled back, with the event pre-recorded on Sunday (19th) and attended only by the honorees and their families. The soldiers were not named for security reasons.
Moving through the Knesset courtyard, Herzog stopped to greet each recipient individually, listening as they shared personal accounts of their service.
Many of those recognized have spent much of the past two and a half years in operational roles during wartime.
“It is difficult to recall another period in which so many of those being honored served the majority of their time under combat conditions,” he said.
“Every outstanding soldier faces challenges, but in wartime those demands multiply many times over.”
Herzog drew a contrast between routine service and wartime duty, describing how the bar for excellence shifts under fire.
“In ordinary circumstances, distinction comes from professionalism and initiative. In war, it comes while facing danger, enduring the stretches away from home, and, at times, operating deep in hostile territory,” he said.
“You are not only learning from history – you are helping write it.”
The group of honorees reflected a broad cross-section of Israeli society. Of the 120 recipients, 68 are men and 52 are women.
A majority serve in combat roles, while others are part of combat support units or home front services. Nineteen hold officer rank. Some have experienced personal loss, and several were immigrants.
The ceremony marked Israel’s 78th Independence Day and began with a military flypast, as Air Force aircraft passed overhead in tribute to the soldiers gathered below.
“You are the generation that defends and fights,” Herzog said. “On behalf of the State of Israel, I express my gratitude and salute you.”
The recognition of the soldiers came alongside broader Independence Day commemorations, including the traditional torch-lighting ceremony at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.
The event, which formally marks the transition from Memorial Day, returned to a full public format this year after previous ceremonies were limited by war and wildfire.
Senior Israeli officials attended the ceremony, along with international guests. Argentine President Javier Milei was among those invited to take part, becoming the first foreign leader to light a ceremonial torch.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was present at the event, delivered his remarks via a recorded message in which he emphasized Israel’s military and strategic standing.
Court Clears Texas Law Mandating Ten Commandments In Schools
A US federal appeals court ruled Tuesday (21st) that Texas may require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms, The Associated Press reported.
The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals issued a 9-8 decision in New Orleans, strengthening similar laws in Arkansas and Louisiana. Opponents argue the measure promotes religious indoctrination and violates church-state separation.
In its majority opinion, the court rejected those claims in the Texas case, stating the requirement does not infringe on the rights of students or parents.
“No child is made to recite the commandments, believe them, or affirm their divine origin,” the ruling stated.
The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups challenging the law on behalf of parents said they plan to appeal to the US Supreme Court.
The Texas law, signed by Republican Governor Greg Abbott, took effect in September and represents the largest effort so far to display the Ten Commandments in public schools. It was immediately challenged and initially blocked in several school districts before the appellate court reversed the decision.
The mandate applies to schools across Texas, which educates about 5.5 million public school students. It requires posters to be displayed in a “conspicuous place” and mandates specific size and visibility standards, including a minimum of 16 by 20 inches and lettering visible from anywhere in the classroom to someone with “average vision.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton welcomed the ruling, calling it “a major victory for Texas and our moral values.”
“The ten Commandments have had a profound impact on our nation and it’s important that students learn from them every single day,” he said.
The appeals court had previously heard arguments in both the Texas case and a similar Louisiana case. In February, it allowed Louisiana to enforce its Ten Commandments classroom law.
Republican lawmakers in other states, including Alabama, have also advanced similar legislation.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, who represents Louisiana, has said he supports the Ten Commandments law in Louisiana and added he thinks the law will survive legal challenges.
The Myth Of An “Emboldened” Iran – Katherine Ellison
On July 18, 1994, Argentine investigators say a suicide bomber in a van packed with explosives drove into the Argentine Mutual Israelite Association (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, killing 85 civilians. Hundreds were wounded in the attack, which U.S. and Argentine officials allege was carried out by Hizbullah, with direction and support from Iran. A similar attack on the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires two years earlier killed 29.
The AMIA bombing has haunted me ever since I covered it as the South America bureau chief for the Miami Herald. I’ve thought of the victims over the past several weeks, while pundits and other officials have warned that Washington’s war is emboldening the Islamic Republic. I can’t help but wonder: How much bolder – and more dangerous – could a regime become than one willing to murder scores of innocents, during peacetime, 8,500 miles away?
Last month, an Argentine prosecutor sought indictments for a trial in absentia of 10 Iranian and Lebanese suspects, including Ahmad Vahidi, the newly appointed commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Salman Raouf Salman, a senior member of Hizbullah, and Mohsen Rabbani, a high-ranking Iranian cleric and former cultural attache at Iran’s embassy in Buenos Aires. A defector from the Iranian ministry of intelligence said that senior Iranian officials picked the AMIA building from a list of targets at a meeting in Mashhad, Iran in August 1993.
The AMIA bombing stands out. Civilians weren’t collateral damage: they were the point. I’m no fan of war, yet in the absence of options to change the Islamic leadership’s worldview, reducing its capacity to act on its intent seems like worthwhile progress – or the only progress possible.
The writer won the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for international reporting. (Washington Post)
As Long As The Iranian Regime Survives, Iran Will Remain A Clear And Present Danger – Lorrie Goldstein
As long as the Iranian regime survives, there will never be peace in the mideast, tens of thousands of Iranians will continue to be imprisoned, tortured and murdered, and Iran will remain a clear and present danger to innocent civilians around the world.
On January 8, 2020, the IRGC blew a Ukrainian civilian airliner out of the sky with two surface-to-air missiles, shortly after it took off from Tehran airport killing all 176 people on board, including 55 Canadians and 30 permanent residents of Canada.
Iran funds, trains and supports more than a dozen terrorist groups, including Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Houthis, Harakat al-Sabireen, and the Fatemiyoun Division, all designated as terrorist groups by Canada. Despite knowing this, the Canadian government treats Israel like the moral equivalent of Hamas and Hezbollah, with Foreign Minister Anita Anand declaring that in the latest confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah, both sides should lay down their arms.
Our own government says Iranian intelligence services engage in transitional repression of Canadian citizens of Iranian origin in Canada, “including monitoring, harassing, and intimidating” opponents of the regime. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has identified credible death threats by Iran against Canadians, including a failed attempt to assassinate former Canadian justice minister Irwin Cotler.
In 2023, an investigation reported that hundreds of operatives of the Iranian government were living in Canada, including 24 identified as members of the terrorist IRGC. Given that Prime Minister Mark Carney has proclaimed that Canada will arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he sets foot in our country because of the International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for his prosecution for war crimes, maybe the government could be a little tougher on Iranian terrorists living in Canada. (Toronto Sun-Canada)
