Israel Update 27.3.25

FREED HOSTAGE ASKS THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL: WHERE WAS THE UN? WHERE WAS THE RED CROSS?

 

Eli Sharabi, 53, a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri, who was abducted on Oct. 7 and held hostage by Hamas in Gaza for 491 days, addressed the UN Security Council last Thursday.
Hamas terrorists murdered his British-Israeli wife, Lianne, and their daughters, Noiya and Yahel. Sharabi’s brother, Yossi, was also taken hostage but later died in captivity.
“I have come back from hell,” Sharabi said. “I was kept underground, starved, beaten and chained like an animal. For 491 days, I begged for food, begged to use the bathroom.”  “I was given one piece of pita a day, maybe a sip of tea….I saw Hamas terrorists carrying boxes with UN and UNRWA emblems into the tunnels. They ate like kings while we wasted away.” Report here Full text here

 

 

Subsequently, Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said, “cruelty here is not just from Hamas, but from the silence of the world. Where is the outrage?”
He noted that, of the 77 resolutions passed since Oct. 7, not a single one has condemned Hamas. There are (still) 59 Eli Sharabis underground, will you look away?” Report here

 

 

TERROR ATTACK

 

 

An Israeli Arab, aged 26, rammed his vehicle into a bus stop near Yokneam on Monday morning, then exited his car and stabbed a soldier. Grabbing the soldier’s rifle, the attacker then ran down the highway and opened fire at passing cars, murdering Moshe Horn, 85, before being shot and killed by Border Police officers.Report here

 

 

MORE HOUTHI ATTACKS ON ISRAEL

 

Today Thursday two ballistic missiles were launched from Yemen at Israel, causing sirens to sound across central Israel and the Jerusalem area. Both missiles were intercepted prior to crossing into Israeli territory,

Report here

 

Rocket alert sirens sent millions of Israelis running for shelters around 8 pm on Monday evening after. a ballistic missile was launched from Yemen. It was the 5th missile fired from Yemen at Israel within 6 days. Residents across the country reported hearing the sounds of explosions while shrapnel fell on Highway 4 near Holon and near a fire station in Beit Shemesh.Report here

 

Early Sunday morning, coinciding with the time that children were travelling to school or nursery, a ballistic missile was successfully intercepted by air defences, but  sirens across central Israel were triggered. Report here

 

 

Footnote: Israeli media reported that missiles launched from Yemen in the early hours of Wednesday morning and also late Wednesday night  disintegrated en route so no interceptions (or sirens) were activated.

 

 

GAZA ANTI-HAMAS PROTESTS

 

 

Hundreds of Gazans protested against Hamas rule and against the war in at least three locations in Gaza on Tuesday, in a relatively rare occurrence in the Strip due to the terror group’s often violent suppression of political dissent. Footage showed around residents of Beit Lahia holding a protest calling for an end to the war and an end to Hamas’s governance, with some demonstrators carrying signs reading “Stop war” and “Children in Palestine want to live.” Additionally, a few video clips captured residents chanting “Hamas out,” “Hamas terrorists,” “The people want to overthrow Hamas” and “Yes to peace, no to the ongoing war.”Report here

 

 

 

Thousands of Gazans marched in northern Gaza on Wednesday, the second day of anti-war protests, with many chanting against Hamas in a rare display of public anger against the ruling terror group. Report here & here

 

 

On Thursday Hamas responded to the growing public protests inside Gaza by insisting the demonstrations are directed against Israel and the ongoing war, rather than against themselves.Report here

 

 

GAZA WAR

 

Israeli security forces have carried out targeted killings against senior Hamas political operatives, aimed at crippling the group’s ability to govern and highlighting Israel’s intelligence gathering in Gaza.Report here (paywall)

 

 

Hamas Political Bureau member Salah al-Bardawil was killed Saturday night in an Israeli Air Force strike in the al-Mawasi area near Khan Yunis. He frequently appeared as a spokesperson in Arab media. His death marks the ninth casualty among the bureau’s 17 members since the beginning of the war. Six other members left Gaza before the conflict began. Report here

 

 

An Israeli airstrike on Sunday killed Ismail Barhoum, described by Defence Minister Israel Katz as “the new Hamas prime minister in Gaza, who replaced Issam Da’alis, the previous prime minister who was eliminated a few days ago.” He was the fourth member of Hamas’s political bureau killed since Tuesday. The IDF said the strike was carried out following “an extensive intelligence-gathering process,” and that a “precision munition” was used to mitigate harm to civilians. Separately, the IDF said two senior Hamas military commanders had been killed in recent airstrikes. Report here

 

A senior Hamas spokesman  Abdul Latif al-Quano was killed overnight in an Israeli airstrike on the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza. Report here

 

The IDF on Tuesday confirmed the death of Hamas operative Hossam Shabat, who worked as a journalist for Al Jazeera and had millions of social media followers.  Shabat was “a sniper terrorist from Hamas’s Beit Hanoun Battalion” and directly affiliated with the military wing of Hamas.”Report here

 

 

Israel has  killed more than 150 Hamas terrorists since the renewed fighting in Gaza began a week ago, defence officials said on Tuesday. Report here

 

 

Israel will keep striking Hamas targets in Gaza to ensure the return of hostages, Ophir Falk, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s foreign policy adviser, said Saturday. “The only reason they [Hamas] went back to the negotiating table was military pressure, and that’s what we’re doing right now.” Report here

 

 

Two rockets were launched from Gaza at southern Israel on Wednesday by Palestinian Islamic Jihad.  One rocket was intercepted by air defences and the second struck Israeli territory but caused no injuries.Report here

 

 

Hundreds of Gazans have been voluntarily leaving Gaza permanently each week in recent months. According to Israeli officials, over 35,000 Gazans have left for a third country since the war began. On Thursday, over 200 sick Gazans and their families are expected to fly to the UAE via Israel’s Ramon Airport, with hundreds more set to follow in the coming weeks,Report here

 

 

LEBANON

 

On Saturday, 6 rockets were fired at Israel, three of which crossed the border and were intercepted over Metulla.

In response the IDF struck dozens of Hizbullah rocket launchers and a command centre from which terrorists were operating in southern Lebanon on Saturday after six rockets were fired at Israel, three of which crossed the border and were intercepted over Metulla. Hizbullah denied responsibility for the missile fire. The Lebanese Army said it had discovered the launchers used in the attack and dismantled them.
Israeli Defence Minister Katz warned, “We will not tolerate attacks on Galilee communities from Lebanon… The Lebanese government is fully responsible for any fire originating from its territory. Report here

 

 

Airstrikes overnight killed a senior Hezbollah commander and targeted another group of Hezbollah operatives in southern Lebanon, Israel reported today Thursday.Report here

 

 

EASTERN FRONT

 

 

For nearly two months, the refugee camps in Jenin and Nur al-Shams in Tulkarm have been deserted as hundreds of terrorists have fled. As IDF troops remain present in the camps, friction with hostile elements has diminished to nearly zero. There is no resistance, clashes or even riots in Jenin and Tulkarm as daily life has returned to normal.
“Holding these terror strongholds for such an extended period has made it significantly harder for the enemy to regroup and rebuild their armed cells,” an IDF source said. “We’ve taken away their base of operations, reshaped the area, and they can no longer plant explosives along the routes leading into the camps.”
Since the start of Ramadan, Israeli forces have eliminated 13 terrorists in the West Bank, seized 85 weapons, arrested 170 wanted individuals, and demolished four homes belonging to terrorists.Report here

 

 

PAKISTAN

 

A delegation of Pakistani civil society leaders recently travelled to Israel, a visit organized by Sharaka, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting dialogue and coexistence in the Middle East. The 11 Pakistani participants toured the Holocaust museum, visited sites of the October 7, 2023, massacres, and met with Israeli counterparts, highlighting the potential of person-to-person diplomacy. One participant, Agha, wondered, what was so egregious about Israel to warrant the Pakistani passport being marked with “This passport is valid for all countries of the world except Israel”?

“I wanted to find out what Israel has done to Pakistan. And I found out completely the opposite of it,” Agha said. “Whenever we would even go to a restaurant or meet people on the streets if we mentioned, I’d be like—what if I mentioned Pakistan? I’m from Pakistan, how are they going to react? And there was the opulence of, you know, smiles and warm welcome, that, oh, you’re from Pakistan, welcome to Israel. So it was completely the opposite.”Article here

 

 

INTERNATIONAL REHABILITATION CONFERENCE

 

 

Global experts gathered in Tel Aviv on Tuesday to discuss new approaches to military rehabilitation and mental health recovery at Israel’s first International Rehabilitation Conference. Some 16,000 IDF soldiers have been injured since Hamas invaded the Gaza border area on October 7, 2023, leading to a revolution in the ways Israel treats its wounded warriors. International experts came from England, Thailand, Germany, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Brazil and Canada.Report here

 

 

 

THE BBC

 

A BBC World Service producer contacted the Israeli embassy in London last week, seeking a guest for the Newshour programme to criticize Israel’s latest ground offensive in Gaza.
A WhatsApp message from the show’s producer said: “We want someone who is going to be critical of Netanyahu and the ground offense….Do you think you could help with this?”
Embassy spokeswoman Orly Goldschmidt noted: “They don’t want to interview someone knowledgeable, nor someone relevant, just someone who fits the predetermined narrative. There is nothing balanced or impartial about this.”
The BBC later admitted: “This was a serious mistake….We apologize unreservedly to the Israeli Embassy.” Report here

 

 

 

ANTISEMITIC TROPES & ANTI-ISRAEL BIAS IN  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

 

Large Language Models (LLMs) are advanced artificial intelligence systems designed to process and generate human-like text by analyzing vast amounts of data utilizing deep learning techniques.
ADL research shows that four leading LLM tools display bias against Jews and Israel.
This report evaluates anti-Jewish and anti-Israel bias in GPT (OpenAI), Claude (Anthropic), Gemini (Google), and Llama (Meta).
All four models have concerning answers in response to anti-Jewish and anti-Israel bias questions.
Llama exhibits significant bias on a range of Jewish and Israeli topics. GPT and Claude show particularly high anti-Israel bias. Report here

 

 

COMMENT & OPINION

 

Gaza War

 

Khaled Abu Toameh:  There is no difference between a Hamas political leader and a military commander. They all share the same extremist ideology, which does not recognize Israel’s right to exist and calls for destroying it through jihad (holy war). They all belong to the same school of the Muslim Brotherhood organization.
Hamas should have no political or military role in Gaza, especially not after Oct. 7. Hamas, which has brought death and destruction upon both Israelis and Palestinians, has no right to exist, either as a political or a military entity. Did it ever occur to anyone to allow the political leaders of ISIS or al-Qaeda to play any role in Syria and Iraq?
If Hamas is permitted to continue its political activities in Gaza, it will comfortably continue its jihad against Israel. Talk about a possible political role for Hamas is dangerous because it implies that the U.S. continues to view the terror group as a legitimate player in the Palestinian arena. Article here

 

 

Brendan O’Neill: …perusing the coverage of Israel’s resumption of its military crusade against Hamas. You could be forgiven for thinking this is a blindly barbarous assault in which only the guiltless have perished. It’s not true. In reality, Israel appears to have landed a brilliant blow on the new fascism, taking out some of Gaza’s most nefarious radical Islamists who played key roles in the armies of antisemites that subjected the Jews of Israel to such horrors on 7 October 2023.
The removal of Hamas’s de facto prime minister, its security chief, its top domestic bruiser and other commanders represents the decapitation of this racist movement that poses such a threat to the Jewish nation and to civilization itself. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a deranged Sunni Islamist army devoted to the destruction of Israel, also confirmed that its military spokesman was killed. PIJ gleefully took part in 7 October’s carnival of violence. Yet we’re left with the impression that Israel has only killed innocents, and only intended to.
When it comes to the Jewish State and its fight against the Islamist armies that surround it, we’re fed an infantile morality tale in which Israel is a genocidal maniac and Gaza an unimpeachably blameless land peopled entirely by innocents. The truth of war – a war Hamas started – is buried by a furious and sometimes pornographic obsession with civilian suffering. We are actively discouraged from coolly discussing Hamas’s culpability, the question of Jewish security, and the idea of a “just war.”  Article here

 

Melanie Phillips:

So, now, Israel is going all out to destroy Hamas as a military and governing force. This second stage of the war is different from the first because Israel no longer has to fight America, too…

Indeed, a key reason this war has lasted for 17 months, why so many IDF soldiers have fallen, why the hostages have been incarcerated for so long in such lethal conditions, and why so many Gazan civilians have been killed is because by insisting on aid supplies continuing throughout the war the Biden administration and western governments provided Hamas with the means to continue to fight…

What really sticks in the craw, however, is that one crucial card has not been played by either the United States or Israel. Qatar is the creator, funder and protector of Hamas; in effect, Qatar is Hamas.

If America had put significant pressure on Qatar’s rulers to release the hostages and surrender the Hamas leaders it was sheltering, the war would have ended. Instead, both the United States and Israel have used Qatar as dispassionate honest brokers in the grotesque Hamas negotiation circus. Article here

 

 

Jake Wallis Simons: The world is always far more aggrieved by the measures Israel takes to defend its people than the jihadi atrocities that demand them.Article here

 

 

World Health Organisation (WHO)

 

Avraham Russell Shalev: WHO has made a systematic effort to obscure Hamas’s exploitation of hospitals in Gaza although Hamas transformed hospitals into command centres, weapons stockpiles, and active combat zones.
Yet WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus churned out hundreds of public statements and social-media posts decrying Israel’s supposed “assault” on Gaza’s health-care system.
WHO clings to a narrative that casts Gaza’s hospitals as innocent civilian sanctuaries unjustly targeted by Israeli forces.
Yet Hamas’s transformation of hospitals into terrorist bastions and dungeons for Israeli captives is a flagrant violation of international law. Article here

 

WHR 2025

Rob Eshman: Despite war and political turmoil, according to the World Happiness Report 2025, Israel is the 8th happiest country on earth. Why?Article here

WHR here