Israel Update 31.3.26

Pesach sameach to my readers.

Covering the entirety of the current war in the Middle East is beyond the scope of this update so the  focus is mainly on events in Israel, hugely under-reported outside the country, followed by links to relevant comment & opinion pieces.

ATTACKS ON ISRAEL’S CIVILIANS BY IRAN & HEZBOLLAH

 

Few outside Israel have any idea of the intensity of current Iranian and Hezbollah attacks on civilian population centres with multiple missile and drone salvos day and night.

Among the worst attacks since 26 March:

 

Vyacheslav Vidmant, 52, a security guard, was killed and several others were wounded by an Iranian cluster-bomb missile late Friday in Tel Aviv. Iran has fired more than 450 ballistic missiles at Israel since the war began on Feb. 28.Report here

 

Ori Peretz, 43, was killed in a Hizbullah rocket strike on Nahariya on Thursday. He is survived by his wife and three children, ages 8, 6 and 4. In the same strike, a man in his 50s was critically wounded and 13 others were lightly injured by shrapnel and blast impact.Report here

 

Iran on Thursday launched eight missile barrages toward Israel. The fifth attack, involving a cluster missile, caused damage across multiple impact sites, including a shopping complex in Kiryat Ata where the iJump play centre was heavily damaged. The facility had become a refuge for local children and families during the war. Report here

 

Eight people were wounded in an Iranian ballistic missile attack that scattered cluster bombs across central Israel on Tuesday. Report here

Massive chunks of Iranian missiles have slammed to the earth after being shot out of the sky by Israeli air defence systems. Some are the size of small trucks, littering schoolyards, roadsides and hilltops.
See photos of metres long and potentially toxic pieces of intercepted ballistic missiles scarring the landscape across Israel & the P.A. territories.

Report here Photos here

 

Working together around the clock, Druze, Christian and Jewish volunteers for Magen David Adom tend to the wounded near the Lebanese border, praying this war will be the last. Article here

 

What life is like in Northern Israel

Hezbollah has been firing an average of about 150 rockets per day since 2 March. Residents of northern Israel are concerned that the IDF won’t be allowed to finish the job against Hezbollah. With sirens and no time to reach shelters, those previously evacuated refuse to leave again while those who stayed put during the last war struggle to keep their businesses afloat. Report here

HEZBOLLAH’S WAR AGAINST ISRAEL

 

 

The IDF has suffered casualties:

On Thursday, Sgt. Aviad Elchanan Volansky, 21, was killed by Hizbullah anti-tank fire in southern Lebanon.

Sgt. Moshe Yitzchak Hacohen Katz, 22, was killed Friday night by Hizbullah rocket fire in Lebanon. Three other soldiers were wounded in the attack.

Sgt. Liran Ben Zion, 19, was killed and an officer was seriously wounded in a Hizbullah anti-tank missile attack that struck a tank in southern Lebanon on Sunday.

Four IDF soldiers Capt. Noam Madmoni, 22; Staff Sgt. Ben Cohen, 21; Staff Sgt. Maxsim Entis, 21; and Staff Sgt. Gilad Harel, 21, were killed during close-range combat in southern Lebanon on Monday.

Two soldiers were seriously wounded and seven others were moderately hurt during clashes with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon on Friday and overnight into Saturday.Reports hereherehere here& here

 

 

 

The IDF said Monday it struck a Hizbullah cell in southern Lebanon over the weekend that was operating an ambulance while posing as paramedics.
Hizbullah systematically uses ambulances to transfer weapons and transport terrorists across the country, in order to attack Israel and IDF soldiers.
The IDF said the incident highlighted Hizbullah’s “cynical and systematic use of medical infrastructure and civilians for military purposes.” Report here

 

 

Israeli forces operating in southern Lebanon found hundreds of weapons inside a school, “including anti-tank rockets, mortar shells, grenades, launchers, small arms, mines, explosives and mine mechanisms. All this alongside symbols of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) organization.”Report here

IRAN WAR

 

The IDF recently assessed that it would finish targeting nearly all of Iran’s key military industry sites in the coming days, stating that it is now close to having targeted around 90% of the key sites used to develop weapons that threaten Israel. Report here

 

The U.S. and Israel are pounding Iran’s missile-launching sites, hitting some over and over across almost a month of war. But Tehran’s missiles keep flying. Iran has shifted to firing from deeper inside its territory with longer-range missiles after airstrikes early in the war inflicted a heavy toll on Iranian bases and truck launchers near the Persian Gulf coastline.…Analysts say that halting the war with Iran’s missile arsenal damaged but still intact would allow it to rebuild over time, salvaging missiles from underground bases and rebuilding production factories. Report here (paywall)

 

 For several weeks now, the Iranians have been firing 10-15 missiles a day at Israel. One reason for Iran’s resilience is the way its fortified missile bases were built over decades deep underground.
The Revolutionary Guards have dug 27 underground missile cities carved deep into granite mountains, with dozens of exit tunnels connected by automatic trains and with pop-up doors that effectively protect them from air attacks.Report here

 

Four of Iran’s key ballistic missile manufacturing locations and at least 29 ballistic missile launch sites have been damaged in the first 4 weeks of the U.S.-Israeli offensive, undermining Iran’s central military strategy, according to analysis by experts. Strikes have destroyed aboveground launching facilities, temporarily blocked access to missiles stored underground, and halted Iran’s ability to immediately build new missiles. But Iran’s missile programme has not been destroyed.Report here (paywall)

 

HOUTHI ATTACKS ON ISRAEL

 

The Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen entered the month-old war in the Middle East launching a ballistic missile attack at southern Israel on Saturday morning, (that Israel intercepted) triggering sirens in Beersheba and surrounding areas. Another cruise missile was launched from Yemen, followed by a suspected drone attack, later in the day- both intercepted. Reports herehere& here

 

JERUSALEM’S HOLY SITES

 

Recently, dangerous Iranian missile debris struck close to holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem.  Short video here

So for safety reasons, Israeli police prevented access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday with authorities (including Israel’s PM & President) citing the risk of mass casualties in an area with limited shelter and difficult emergency access. However, the situation was quickly resolved and following coordination between Israeli authorities and the Catholic Patriarchate, an agreement was reached allowing prayer under agreed limitations, and access was restored.

Similarly entrance to the Western Wall Plaza and the Kotel is also currently restricted. Report here

DEFENCE 

 

The Israeli defence industry has recently tripled the pace at which it produces interceptor missiles and other aerial munitions. The pace is expected to increase to four times the usual rate within another few weeks.
After the 12-day war with Iran last June, the Defence Ministry and the defence industries prepared to ramp up the pace of production, on the assumption that there was likely to be a second round of fighting during the first half of 2026.
To this end, large quantities of explosives and other raw materials needed by the industry were imported into Israel in advance.Report here (paywall)

 

India has received the first shipment of 2,000 NEGEV 7.62×51 light machine guns manufactured by PLR Systems, the joint venture between Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) and India’s Adani Group.    The delivery marks the opening phase of a much larger 41,000‑unit order signed in August 2024. An additional 4,000 are scheduled to be delivered later this year. Report here

 

Israel has reportedly halted selling defence products to France due to  France’s  hostility towards Israel over the last two years, forcing it to re-evaluate how much it could trust sharing its defence products. Additionally,  President Macron’s decision not to allow US aircraft to pass through French airspace en route to Israel was “the straw that broke the camel’s back” leading to the decision to stop defence procurement. Further, France did not assist or act against the Lebanese government to dismantle Hezbollah, and, attempted to restrict Israel from fighting the terrorist organization. Existing contracts would be honoured. Report here

SPORT 

 

On Thursday Israel’s under 17  football team won their away match against England 3-1. Report here

 

Israel’s team won bronze at the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup Acrobatic Routine event in Paris. They beat both China and the USA to the podium.Results here

 

 

At the time of writing, the Israeli team were through to the final of the FIG World Cup rhythmic gymnastics competition at  Sofia, Bulgaria. Video here

 

Israel’s Guy Gutman won gold at the Dubrovnik Senior European Cup Judo event. Photo here

 

Israel’s Eylon Elazar & Kevin Cuzmiciov earned their second Challenge-level beach volleyball bronze medal in Mexico just three weeks after winning the first one in Bhubaneswar, India. Reports here & here

 

 

SEASONAL 

 

 

Does matzah really cause weight gain?  Plus some other interesting information about the Pesach (Passover) staple food. Article here

 

 

COMMENT & OPINION

 

Iran War

 

Wall St Journal Editorial: Last week Adm. Brad Cooper of U.S. Central Command said 2/3 of Iran’s missile, drone and naval production facilities and shipyards have been destroyed or damaged…Trump Administration officials say that four weeks of war have yielded valuable successes, but to end now would be an incomplete victory. Additional weeks can further degrade Iran’s capabilities and set back the regime’s threat to the region for years even if it survives. Editorial here (paywall)

 

 

Amb. Michael Oren: Despite…the historic cooperation between the U.S. military and the IDF, America and Israel are living in entirely different realities.
From an American perspective, the near destruction of Iran’s military capabilities, damage to its nuclear infrastructure, and the elimination of senior leadership can be framed as a victory. For Israel, the standard is far stricter. Any outcome that allows Iran to rebuild its nuclear and ballistic programmes, retain enough enriched uranium for multiple nuclear weapons, and continue supporting terrorist proxies is not a victory. It is a pause before Israel is forced to fight the same war again, possibly alone.
During negotiations, Iran may accept principles in theory, then stall, dilute and avoid implementation in practice. We have seen this pattern before. The 20-point Gaza plan stalled when Hamas refused to disarm. The risk now is that Iran follows the same path, agreeing in principle while preserving its core capabilities. Israel cannot afford that outcome.
Israel must press for clear, enforceable guarantees before any agreement takes shape. Not vague assurances, not frameworks, but concrete commitments that address the core threat. At the same time, Israel must act with urgency, both in Iran and in Lebanon, to shape the strategic environment before diplomacy locks in outcomes it cannot reverse. Analysis here

 

 

David Litman: Analysing the use of the term “war crime” by the BBC, CNN, NBC, the New York Times, and the Washington Post, CAMERA found 32 total applications of the phrase during the first three weeks of the war (Feb. 28-Mar. 21). Of those, 28 (88%) were directed solely toward the actions of the U.S. and/or Israel. Zero were directed solely toward the actions of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Iran’s wartime acts that escaped the media’s “war crimes” focus include the over 400 ballistic missiles fired at Israel, half of which were cluster munitions which drop dozens of submunitions over a wide radius of five miles. As at Mar. 22, at least two dozen of these missiles have hit populated areas, with over 100 separate impact sites. Using cluster munitions to target populated areas almost certainly constitutes a war crime.
Iranian regime forces have also hit other civilian targets, including multiple hotels and airports in the UAE, and oil and gas facilities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain – countries which did not join the war.
Yet, not one of the five news outlets used the phrase “war crime” regarding these Iranian acts. This journalistic malpractice creates a perception of illegitimacy against the U.S. and Israel by associating the word “war crimes” with their actions.
Simultaneously, these outlets are creating a perception of legitimacy for the Iranian regime even as it regularly lobs cluster munitions at densely populated cities. Media critique here

 

 

If a deal buys time for the “wrong” side, it is not a deal — it is an extension of the threat.

The West will not be defeated by lack of power. It will be defeated — if it is defeated — by the refusal to oppose danger when they see it.

Quoting Zoheir Mohsen, late PLO senior official, Trouw, March 31, 1977: “The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality, today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism.”   Conversation here

 

 

Hamas

 

Khaled Abu Toameh: Hamas, like Iran, continues to treat the idea of disarmament with a mix of dismissal and rhetorical defiance, effectively signaling that it has no intention of giving up its weapons or altering its dream of eliminating Israel.

For Hamas, disarmament is not a serious proposal. Instead, it is a tool for political theatre, a way to manipulate donors and tighten its grip over the Gaza Strip

According to the Independent Arabia report, some 20,000 Hamas gunmen will be integrated into a new security force in the Gaza Strip and receive salaries with international funding. The new force would be granted the status of an official security apparatus, recognized regionally and internationally.

The “Board of Peace” has also apparently offered  “political and legal immunity” to Hamas terrorists, guaranteeing that they will not be prosecuted internationally or by Israel in exchange for their involvement in a local governing council.

If true, this means that the “Board of Peace” views Hamas as a legitimate and acceptable partner in the future management of the Gaza Strip. The mere act of engaging Hamas in such negotiations is beyond problematic. It risks not only legitimizing an Islamist terror group, but also entrenching its authoritarian rule in the Gaza Strip and paving the way for more massacres against Israel.

The idea of integrating Hamas terrorists into the Gaza Strip’s new security apparatus is even worse. Such a move sends a message to the Palestinians that participation in terrorism carries no consequences and that terrorists can move directly from violence into official roles without a meaningful process of disarmament. Article here