Israel on high alert in anticipation of Iranian attack
Israel is on high alert after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, and Hezbollah’s second in command Fuad Shukr in Beirut.
Israel has reportedly sent messages to both Tehran and Beirut conveying that they are ready to enter a full-scale war if there is heavy retaliation against them.
Israel has not claimed responsibility for the death of Haniyeh, with IDF spokesperson Rear Adm Daniel Hagari confirming that the IDF “struck on Tuesday night in Lebanon and killed Fuad Shukr in an accurate aerial strike”, adding that he wants “to emphasise, there was no other aerial strike, not a missile and not an Israeli drone, in the entire Middle East that night, and I won’t comment further”.
The New York Times and Jerusalem Post have reported that Haniyeh was killed by a bomb planted two months prior at his residence in Iran.
In a press conference on Wednesday evening, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu underscored that Israel is “at war against Iran’s axis of evil – yesterday we eliminated Nasrallah’s deputy who was responsible for the murderous attack in Majdal Shams…. one of the biggest terrorists in the world”. “Challenging days are ahead of us and we are prepared for any scenario – we will exact a heavy price for any aggression against us from any arena”, he added.
All leave in IDF combat units have been cancelled with units on standby for a potential escalation. The Israeli Government has requested factories located up to 40 kilometres from the Lebanese border to cease operations and reduce stockpiles of hazardous materials in case they are targeted in a rocket assault.
Hezbollah’s General Secretary Hassan Nasrallah warned that “by eliminating Haniyeh in Tehran, [Israel] harmed the honour of the Islamic Republic of Iran”, and therefore “the enemy will not know from where the retaliation will come, north, south, or simultaneously”.
Nasrallah threatened that Iran and its proxies “are no longer talking about support in the fronts (for Gaza) – we are in a big open campaign on all fronts: Gaza, South Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Iran which is entering a new phase”.
“To the Israelis, I say, now you laugh a little, but soon you will cry a lot. You have no idea what red lines you’ve crossed”, he added.
A representative of Hezbollah reportedly told French mediators that “what we have will be revealed in the coming hours. Our response is not subject to any rules from the moment of the elimination in Dahiya”.
The New York Times quoted an Iranian official who said “Supreme leader Ali Khamenei gave the green light to launch a direct attack against Israel”.
Reportedly Iran has said that “April’s attack on Israel was a show of force, but the next attack will be the use of force”. Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri has allegedly stated that “any Arab Nation that provides its airspace to the Zionist entity to launch strikes against Iran, will become a legitimate target for attack”.
Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthihas also said that the Houthis “will be part of the Iranian response to the elimination of Haniyeh”.
A barrage of 60 rockets were launched towards Israel yesterday evening after 48 hours of quiet. Shlomi, Betzet, Rosh HaNikra, Achziv Miluot Industrial Zone, Hanita, Lehman and Metzuba were targeted with Israel’s Iron Dome intercepting the missiles.
In Parliament this week…
Shadow Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell MP warned against equivocating between “a terrorist murderer and the elected head of a democratic state”, in light of the Labour Government’s move not to oppose ICC arrest warrants, as well as urging the Labour Government not to impose an arms embargo, when “just a few weeks ago British arms and military personnel were defending our ally Israel”.
He also reminded the House of Commons that Iran-backed Hezbollah “is a proscribed terrorist organisation, which has no regard for human life, human dignity, or human rights”, calling for the terror group to cease their attacks against Israel. The Shadow Foreign Secretary called for Iran to stop destabilising the Middle East, requesting tougher sanctions and open “communication channels to be extremely firm with the regime”.
Conservative MP Richard Holden asked the Labour Government “to reflect on the step-by-step abandonment of one of our closest allies” Israel, after the Government renewed unconditional funding for UNRWA “despite Hamas links” and endorsed the “ICC’s very controversial case” of pursuing arrest warrants for Israeli leaders.
Conservative MP Bob Blackman CBE highlighted the 111 hostages unaccounted for in Gaza, noting how the hostage bodies found underneath Khan Younis demonstrates Hamas’ “complete contempt for humanitarian areas”, and calling for their release.
Conservative MP Greg Smith asked what steps will be taken to stop the misappropriation of aid by Hamas after the terror group targeted the Kerem Shalom goods crossing once again “prolonging the misery of their own people”, and spending an estimated $150 million “constructing their terror network”.
Conservative Parliamentarians in the media…
CFI Parliamentary Chairman (Lords) Rt Hon The Lord Pickles appeared on LBC’s Cross Questions discussing the Labour Government’s unconditional renewal of funding to UNRWA. The Peer hoped for “safeguards”, stating that “at the moment, we have a position where there is no certainty that aid is going to get through”, drawing on evidence that UNRWA employees participated in the 7th October massacre, held hostages, and have tunnel networks under their infrastructure. He also underscored that “one of the great worries” is that funds are paid in dollars, and then converted into shekels by Hamas who takes a 20% cut, contributing to “those billion-pound tunnels… paid for directly through aid”.
On arms exports, Rt Hon The Lord Pickles highlighted that Israel “is our ally and we should support our ally when it’s engaged in a war against a bunch of monsters who are deliberately putting as many civilians in the way of attack… using human shields to protect their infrastructure”.
Conservative MP Greg Smith expressed his “outrage” at the BBC for calling “Hamas terror chief [Ismail Haniyeh] moderate”, to The Sun newspaper. The Mid Buckinghamshire MP questioned: “In what reality can the head of an organisation responsible for so much death, sexual violence and hate be called moderate?”
He added that “Hamas want to wipe Israel from the face of the earth and kill Jewish people simply because they are Jewish, yet the BBC think they’re ‘pragmatic’, stating this is “simply unacceptable”.
The Elimination of Deif confirmed
The death of Muhammad Deif has been confirmed by the IDF after he was targeted in an Israeli Air Force (IAF) strike on 13th July in Khan Younis, Gaza.
Described by former Israeli intelligence Officer Michael Milshtein as “the beating heart of Hamas’ military wing”, Deif commanded the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades for over 20 years playing a central role in Hamas’ most notable terror attacks including helping orchestrate the 7th October massacre, the 1996 bombings on two buses on Jaffa Road, Jerusalem, killing 45 people, and the suicide bombing at the Park Hotel on Passover killing 30. Deif was also behind the kidnapping of soldiers Nachshon Wachsman and Gilad Shalit.
Deif was targeted alongside Rafa’a Samaleh, commander of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade, whose death was confirmed by Hamas shortly after Israel’s targeted attack. The IDF had strong intelligence that Deif was with Samaleh, yet no statement was released by Hamas after his death.
Aside from the death of Ismail Haniyeh, Deif is the most high-profile Hamas official to be killed since 7th October.
The IDF announced last night that they killed Al Jazeera journalist Ismail al-Ghoul, confirming that he was a member of Hamas’ elite Nukhba force who took part in the 7th October attacks. According to the IDF, Al-Ghoul also showed other terrorists how to film and share videos of attacks on Israeli soldiers.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorist Mohammed al-Jabari, was confirmed killed in Rafah in a targeted operation. Al-Jabari was Deputy Head of PIJ’s munitions production infrastructure, and “was entrusted with the terrorist organisation’s production of weapons in the northern Gaza Strip, distribution of salaries and money to the organisation’s terrorists, and took an active part in the attempt to restore the organisation’s rocket production capabilities and infrastructure”, according to an IDF statement.
Israeli athletes join scoreboard at the 2024 Paris Olympics
Israeli athletes Inbar Lanir and Peter Paltchik both joined the scoreboard at the 2024 Paris Olympics, winning silver and bronze medals respectively.
Lanir, Israel’s judoka star, gained silver in the female under 78kg contest, losing out to Italy’s Alice Bellandi, the world’s top-ranked judoka.
Paltchik, winning Israel’s first medal of the competition, gained bronze in the male under 100kg judo category.
Paltchik praised the “crazy crowd”, thanking “the crowd that came all the way from Israel to cheer for me, to be with me during this”. “It was history for me and I hope I made their day”, he added.
Lanir commented that she “could hear the audience, the Israeli audience during the whole day. It was a wonderful experience. I enjoyed every moment of it”.
