Israel Update 23.4.26
ISRAEL’S MEMORIAL DAY: YOM HAZIKARON
On Monday night and Tuesday, Israelis commemorated Yom HaZikaron Israel’s Memorial Day, a day of deep mourning and reflection for the 25,648 fallen soldiers of Israel’s warsfallen soldiers and also thousands of victims of terror. Israel lost 170 soldiers over the past year, along with 79 civilians, many during the two operations against Iran. Reports here& speech here
ISRAEL’S INDEPENDENCE DAY: YOM HA’ATZMAUT
Israel on Tuesday night ushered in its 78th Independence Day with the traditional torch-lighting ceremony at Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl. Among the torchlighters was Argentine President Javier Milei, the first time the honour has been bestowed on a foreign leader. Report here
LEBANON: THE FIGHT AGAINST HIZBULLAH
President Trump announced that Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 10-day ceasefire, which began on April 16.
He imposed the ceasefire on Israel in an effort to prevent the fighting from obstructing a potential agreement with Iran.
Washington has intervened militarily in the past to halt Israeli operations.Reports here& here
Warrant Officer (res.) Barak Kalfon, 48, was killed and three other soldiers were wounded on Friday after an explosive device detonated in southern Lebanon. Kalfon was beyond the age of reserve duty but had insisted on volunteering.Report here
Sgt. First Class (res.) Lidor Porat, 31, was killed and nine others were wounded on Saturday after their engineering vehicle drove over a bomb planted by Hizbullah in southern Lebanon. Report here
One French peacekeeper was dead and three wounded, two of them seriously, after they came under fire in southern Lebanon on Saturday morning. French President Emmanual Macron and UNIFIL blamed Hizbullah. A second French soldier subsequently died of his wounds. Reports here& here
The IDF said Sunday that more than 150 Hizbullah terrorists were killed in strikes across Lebanon in the 24 hours before a ceasefire took effect on Thursday. The IDF said 300 Hizbullah targets were struck in the final day of fighting before the ceasefire. Report here
Hizbullah violated the ceasefire in Lebanon on Tuesday by firing several rockets at Israeli troops in the Israeli-held security zone, as well as launching a drone at Israel. Report here
IRAN
President Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday:
“Israel never talked me into the war with Iran. The results of Oct. 7th, (which) added to my lifelong opinion that IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON, did.” Report here
President Trump is giving Iran’s warring factions a short window to unify behind a coherent counter-offer – or the ceasefire he extended Tuesday ends, three U.S. officials told Axios (the US-based news outlet). “Trump is willing to give another three to five days of ceasefire to allow the Iranians to get their s— together,” one U.S. source briefed on the matter said. “It is not going to be open-ended.” Report here
Recent estimates by IDF intelligence officers indicated that Iran still possesses 1,000 ballistic missiles, down from 2,500 at the outset of the war, and will soon recover the ability to start building up its stockpile again.
Of Iran’s 470 ballistic missile launchers, 200 were destroyed in airstrikes, while another 80 were non-operational after the IAF struck tunnel entrances to subterranean facilities where they are stored.
The IDF said that during the war it struck all of the key sites used to develop weapons that threaten Israel.
But some facilities are believed to be buried as much as 500 metres beneath solid granite, well beyond the reach of bunker busters, which can penetrate 60 metres. Report here
Postscript
A 7-year-old girl who was critically injured in a March 21 Iranian missile strike in Arad has been discharged from Schneider Children’s Medical Centre, after undergoing multiple surgeries, and is continuing her recovery at home. She was hit in the stomach by glass shards from a window that shattered when a ballistic missile made direct impact in Arad, wounding over 100 people and had arrived at Schneider in critical condition with extensive bleeding and damage to her liver.Report here
HAMAS ABUSE OF GAZANS
Gazans living under Hamas rule are beginning to break their silence, describing sexual abuse by multiple men, sexual blackmail for aid or money and abuse by people in positions of power. It comes as concerns grow that the group is re-establishing control, while global attention shifts to the conflict in Iran. A report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has found a surge in child marriage and adolescent pregnancy in Gaza.Report here
PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY (PA)
The PA has paid salaries to convicted terrorists Israel released as part of its October 2025 ceasefire agreement with Hamas, according to a US State Department report to Congress. The State Department previously noted in January that, even though PA President Abbas claimed in 2025 that he had scrapped the pay-to-slay programme, his government had still doled out hundreds of millions of dollars to terrorists and their families. Report here
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES
On April 14, (Yom HaShoah), the UCLA Centre for Israel Studies, together with the Hillel Jewish students’ association, hosted an event featuring Omer Shem Tov, 23, who was abducted by terrorists from the Nova music festival on Oct. 7, 2023, and held captive by Hamas for 505 days.
One week later, UCLA’s Undergraduate Students Association Council released a statement condemning the event, claiming it “advance[d] incomplete and harmful representations of ongoing violence.” The student council condemned an event featuring a young person, just like them, who had survived being in the clutches of internationally recognized terrorists. Report here
A FITTING TRIBUTE
The Agriculture Ministry’s research and development arm, the Volcani Institute, has developed a new variety of drought-resistant wheat and named it after field-crop expert Yakov (Ya’akobi) Inon, who was murdered during the October 7, 2023, attack.
The early-maturing, high-yielding “Ya’akobi” strain was developed to cope with climate change. It is resistant to drought and heatwaves and can thrive even in the harsh growing conditions of the Negev in southern Israel, either with or without irrigation. Article here
DEFENCE
Although the F-35 fighter jet is U.S.-made, Israel is the only country to have used it in large-scale operations.
The Israeli variant of the F-35 includes unique systems that Israel has installed, mainly in software, intelligence, and integration with Israeli command and control systems.
While F-35 aircraft are considered to have significant maintenance needs and long time intervals between different missions, Israel has managed to drastically reduce this. Report here
THE GULF OF EILAT
Live webcams, 360-degree cameras, AI “conversations” with marine creatures, scientific findings, and data on over 1,000 species are part of a new website
aimed at bringing the wonders of the Gulf of Eilat to everyone, from marine researchers and divers to the general public. View here
SPORT
Israeli athletes won three medals at the European Judo Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia, over the weekend.
Raz Hershko won a gold medal in the women’s over-78kg category becoming European champion.
Timna Nelson-Levy won a silver medal in the women’s under-57kg category.
On the men’s team, 18-year-old Izhak Ashpiz won the bronze medal in the under-60kg category. Report here
Israel’s artistic swimming team won bronze in the Acrobatic routine at the World Cup in Paris Report here
The team in action: Video here
Gold medal winning routines of Israel’s team at the Rhythmic Gymnastics FIG World Cup in Baku. Videos approx. 2.5 mins. (2nd video wrongly has “Brazil” on the board for the first few minutes but it is Israel) View here& here
COMMENT & OPINION
Israel at 78
Herb Keinon: 78 years ago, Israel emerged from the shadow of the Holocaust, weak and vulnerable. Today, it is a strong, independent state with a tremendous ability to defend itself. One expression of national resilience can be seen in the area adjacent to Gaza. On the eve of Oct. 7, 62,000 people lived there. Today, the number is higher. Most of those who were evacuated have returned, and new families are moving in. Hamas tried to empty those communities. Instead, they grew. This is a reminder of a deep current in Israeli society – one of commitment, solidarity, and determination. Article here
Jake Wallis Simons: Israel is 78 years old. The world needs to wake up to its monumental achievements.
EXTRACT: The Jewish state is the only OECD country to have a birth rate above replacement, with an extra baby boom of 10% taking place during the war, when births typically reduce. Its citizens are among the most resilient, patriotic and innovative on Earth. Its economy is booming – per capita, its GDP is greater than Qatar and ranks five places higher than Britain, according to IMF data. Article here (paywall)
Lebanon
NYPost Editorial: Israel is not at war with Lebanon, but with Hizbullah, the terror group that occupies the country’s south and until recently had the government bullied into complete submission. Hizbullah started the most recent war, ending a ceasefire by launching missiles at Israel. Israel is in the process of evicting Hizbullah from Lebanon south of the Litani River – as per the accords that ended the 2006 war – since neither the weak government nor the worthless UN peacekeeping force lifted a finger to make it happen. Editorial here
|
Oded Ailam: The ceasefire imposed on Israel in the Lebanese arena is nothing more than the halting of a fourth war in the past forty years, without removing the threats and without addressing their root causes… Even if Hizbullah retains only 20% of its arsenal, this still amounts to tens of thousands of rockets. |
Aviram Bellaishe: Peace with Lebanon is an important goal. Normalization between the two countries would be a genuine regional achievement. Still, none of this is achievable as long as Hizbullah continues to exist as an armed terrorist organization with its own escalation decisions and a position that fundamentally negates Lebanon’s monopoly on force. Peace cannot exist with one government when another actor inside the country holds the right to decide on war and peace.
This is why the goal must be reframed. The objective is the systematic, gradual denial of the sovereign functions Hizbullah currently exercises from Lebanese soil.
What is required is not a redeployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces, but a dedicated Lebanese force for the south: recruited from outside the south’s local population and outside the infrastructure Hizbullah has built there, and tasked with holding ground, controlling the border, and preventing Hizbullah’s return. This Lebanese state force is required in order to make Lebanese sovereignty real in practice. Article here
Makram Rabah:How does one dismantle Hizbullah?
…Hizbullah’s influence within state institutions is what allows it to operate with impunity. Cleaning these institutions is the foundation of any serious strategy. Officers loyal to Hizbullah, or to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards, must be removed…
There is no single moment where Hizbullah “falls.” What there can be is a gradual stripping away of its power, its legitimacy, its cover, its reach, until its weapons become politically irrelevant and, eventually, operationally unsustainable. (The writer is an Assistant Professor of History at the American University of Beirut) Article here
Col. (ret.) Dr. Jacques Neriah; The Lebanese Army’s Moment of Truth.
Can it now disarm Hizbullah or will it face national fragmentation?
EXTRACT: Gen. Rodolphe Heykal, the current army chief, reported to the government that South Lebanon was clear of Hizbullah’s armed presence, but he gave false information. During a meeting in Washington with Sen. Lindsey Graham, Heykal was asked if he considered Hizbullah a terrorist organization. Heykal replied, “No, not in the context of Lebanon.” If this is the LAF chief’s view, what can the U.S. and Israel expect from the Lebanese army when it comes to implementing any agreement between Israel and Lebanon? Article here
Also see: Gabriel Colodro – Israel Cannot Settle For Another Ceasefire With Lebanon. Interview with Sarit Zehavi, founder and president of the Alma Research and Education Centre.Article here
Iran
Amit Segal: Before the recent Iran war, the IDF Intelligence Directorate estimated that Iran would have amassed 8,000 ballistic missiles within a year and a half, and up to 11,000 within two and a half years, overwhelming Israel’s anti-missile defences.
If Iran again approaches this threshold, another pre-emptive strike will be necessary.
Any diplomatic agreement that fails to impose strict restrictions on Iran’s ballistic missile programme will simply allow Tehran to replenish its arsenal using unfrozen funds.
Leaving the missile threat unaddressed guarantees another round of war against Iran in the next few years. X post here
Dr. Dan Diker and Dr. Harold Rhode:
Iran’s conduct (in direct talks) is called, in Persian, ketman, a tradition of concealment in which the believer is permitted, and at times obligated, to say one thing while believing and pursuing another. Iranians are adept at outfoxing their opponents by appearing polite and cooperative while simultaneously working to destroy them. The courteous posture at the table is part of its strategy…The regime’s characteristic move is to concede in public, renegotiate in private, and reserve the right to deny tomorrow what was stated today. The regime in Tehran does not honour agreements. It exploits them… The only language the regime has historically respected is the language of force, which must be credible, continuous, and, where required, kinetic.Article here
Clifford D. May: If Iran’s rulers were “rational actors,” they wouldn’t have wanted to repeat the experience of the 12-day war in June 2025.
Yet they’re not. They are not peace-loving. They don’t prefer compromise over conflict. Iran’s rulers believe – literally – that they are on a mission from God.
For nearly half a century, every American president pledged that Iran’s theocrats would be prevented from acquiring the nuclear capabilities that could lead to the fulfillment of their grand ambition: “Death to America!” Yet no serious actions were ever taken.
If Mr. Trump had not struck when he did, then Tehran might have acquired nukes while continuing to build up an enormous arsenal of drones and missiles, leading to a war that future presidents could not win, or could win only at an exorbitant cost in blood and treasure.
This conflict was about degrading an American enemy’s capabilities, not its intentions.
Their hatred of America, Israel and the West has not abated. They continue to believe it is their duty to wage jihad. Article here
Aviram Bellaishe: As long as Tehran holds the principle of enrichment, the technical knowledge, the physical infrastructure, ballistic reconstitution capacity, active proxy networks, and maritime pressure levers, what is happening is not threat dismantlement. It is threat management. There is no genuine diplomatic solution that would compel Iran to stop rebuilding its missile arsenal or halt its drive back toward nuclear capability.
If the genuine objective is to eliminate the Iranian threat, nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles, proxy networks, and maritime coercion, there is no real diplomatic solution. If the U.S. is unwilling to pursue actual regime change, there are only solutions that manage the threat, suspend it, or defer it. Article here
Hamas
Khaled Abu Toameh: Far from preparing to disarm, Hamas is publicly declaring its commitment to continued jihad, praising the Iranian regime and its proxies, and inciting Palestinians to escalate attacks against Israel. Hamas, like Iran, is not motivated by deadlines, incentives, or promises of reconstruction. It is motivated by ideology and war.
…Any policy based on the assumption that Hamas can be persuaded to disarm is simply detached from reality.
Hamas is not negotiating. Hamas is not moderating. Hamas is not preparing for peace. Oct. 7, 2023, was not an isolated attack. Hamas remains a partner of Iran’s regional war machine, a committed enemy of peace, and a direct threat to the stability of the Middle East. Article here
The USA
Wall Street Journal Editorial: In the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, 40 of 47 Democrats voted to advance a resolution blocking the sale of bulldozers and 36 opposed the sale of thousand-pound bombs to Israel. Many acknowledged the bombs could be used in Iran, where Israel has been fighting alongside the U.S. If they could, they’d deny our ally the capabilities to fight our enemy. For all the talk of preserving U.S. alliances, that never seems to apply to Israel. Instead they want to punish Israel for working with the U.S. in Iran – which they see through partisan eyes as working with Mr. Trump.
It serves the U.S. interest not one jot to hamstring Israel’s air force, which cleared the U.S. flight path to Iran’s nuclear sites in June, and has now decapitated Iran’s military leadership and helped slash its missile arsenal and industrial complex. The armoured bulldozers, portrayed as malevolent, are a response to Hamas and Hizbullah’s strategy of booby-trapping their own civilian buildings.
Israeli capabilities are an asset to the U.S. Israel already seeks to wind down U.S. aid, but these are sales to a fighting ally. The votes to cut off arms in the middle of a war is an ominous turn that will encourage Iran, Hizbullah and their terrorist allies around the Middle East Editorial here (paywall)
JPost Editorial: US Senate Vote Shows Why Israel Must Prioritize Military Independence.
This week, 40 of 47 Democratic senators voted to withhold military hardware from Israel. That means nearly 85% of the Democratic caucus signalled a willingness to leave an ally vulnerable in the middle of a multifront war involving Gaza, Lebanon and Iran. This is no longer a problem confined to the party’s progressive wing.Editorial here
Solidarity
The experience of a school group visiting Israel from California during the Iran War.
Mark Shpall: There is a widespread belief today that young people lack resilience. That they retreat from difficult realities. That is not what I saw. I saw teenagers who understood that being part of the Jewish story sometimes means standing shoulder to shoulder as one people.
And I saw how deeply connected they felt to Israel. Article here
Contact
KS&DS
33-35 Uxbridge Road
Kingston
Surrey KT1 2LL
Tel: 020 8339 2689
Email: office@ksds.org.uk
Quick Links
Copyright. KSDS 2019
Website by abricot production