Archive for month: March, 2026

News Update

Israel continues to strike Iranian military production and defense industry targets. Israel has set crippling Iran’s defense industry, not only its missile launch capability but also the factories, infrastructure and command networks that sustain it, as one of its central war aims. The IDF said that all critical and essential pre-war Iran targets will have been destroyed by Wednesday. Iran continues to fire around 10 missiles a day at Israel.

Capt. Noam Madmoni, 22, from Sderot, Sgt. Maj. Ben Cohen, 21, from Lehavim, Sgt. Maj. Maksim Antis, 21, from Bat Yam, and Staff Sgt. Gilad Harel, 21, from Modi’in-Maccabim-Re’ut, all members of the Nahal Reconnaissance Unit, were killed yesterday in close combat with Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon. To read more about these fallen soldiers, click here.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Israeli forces will maintain security control in southern Lebanon up to the Litani River once the campaign ends.

Internal Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s law mandating the execution of terrorists convicted of murder passed 62–48. But the law doesn’t remove the President’s ability to pardon (which is how terrorists get released in hostage deals), it explicitly excludes Nukhba terrorists from receiving the death penalty, and it gives judges the option of “death penalty or life imprisonment” for convicted terrorists. In other words, it basically doesn’t change anything. Israel has had a death penalty for 70 years, originally created to execute Nazi war criminals, but that can technically apply in other cases too.

The holiday of Passover begins Wednesday night and runs through the end of next week. We will not be publishing during the holiday. May we all be blessed with a final and lasting redemption from the evil in the world that seeks to harm us, and may the forces of light finally and completely defeat the forces of darkness.

News Update

In response to continued Iranian missile attacks against civilian targets, Defense Minister Katz said that, “IDF strikes in Iran will step up a level and expand to additional targets and areas that assist the regime in building and operating the weapons used against Israeli civilians.” Ori Peretz, a 43 year old civilian, was killed on an attack in the northern city of Nahariya yesterday. Several others were wounded, none seriously.

The air force struck Iran’s main site for producing missiles and naval mines in the city of Yazd. The military said the site was used to plan, develop, assemble and store advanced missiles intended for launch from cruise vessels, submarines and helicopters against maritime targets. The air force also carried out strikes overnight on ballistic missile production sites and air defense systems across Iran, including launchers and storage sites. A broad range of targets were also hit in Tehran.

[Despite the continuous, round the clock, strikes against Iranian targets, much more work is left to be done to cripple Iran’s offensive capabilities and prevent them from rebuilding. Perhaps that’s why President Trump extended the ceasefire negotiation deadline another 10 days? ]

News Update

Rocket barrages from Iran and Hezbollah continue. An Iranian missile fell close to Israel’s largest power plant, located in Hadera, causing no damage. Shrapnel impacts were reported throughout central Israel. A building in Tel Aviv was damaged from another strike. Shrapnel from a Hezbollah strike shattered the window of a child’s bedroom in Kiryat Shemona, throwing glass on the child’s bed. Thankfully, the parents had moved their child into the home’s shelter prior to the attack.

Defense Minister Israel Katz and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir confirmed that the IDF has dropped over 15,000 bombs on Iran since the start of the current operation. The recent IDF strikes against an Iranian naval base in the Caspian Sea was meant to disrupt the transport of weapons, ammunition, and Shahed drones between Russia and Iran. Yesterday and overnight, Israel struck Iranian missile and weapons production facilities and air defenses. The IDF has reportedly struck 70% of the targets designated at the start of the operation.

Airstrikes and ground operations continue against Hezbollah in Lebanon. The IDF said approximately 700 terrorists have been eliminated in the fighting so far. An Israeli civilian was killed as a result of fire from Lebanese territory yesterday. Meanwhile, Lebanon expelled the Iranian ambassador. Later, an Iranian missile hit Beirut.

After pressure from Washington to take action on the issue, the government will approve the establishment of a unit in the Ministry of Defense to deal with the hilltop youth, with a budget of 130 million shekels for the next three years.

A 14-year-old boy from central Israel has been charged with passing information to Iran and carrying out a series of tasks on its behalf. The boy is accused of providing information to the enemy, contact with a foreign agent, obstruction of justice and other offenses. Among the tasks he allegedly carried out for his contact and other agents were spraying graffiti reading “We are committed to the alliance” in several locations around Tel Aviv and on vehicles; filming videos lasting several minutes in streets near Ichilov Hospital and in neighborhoods in Ramat Gan; and recording footage of the Tel Aviv skyline, including a description of the location of the Kirya military headquarters.

News Update

Israel continued to strike hundreds of Iranian targets and Iran fired multiple missile barrages overnight, triggering sirens across large parts of Israel. Intercepts were largely successful, though shrapnel and debris caused damage in central areas, including homes in cities like Rehovot. Yesterday, the Haifa oil refinery was hit, most likely by fragments of an interceptor, causing minor damage. The refinery is still largely operational and affected systems are expected to be restored within days.

Israel is adjusting its defensive posture. Due to the volume of incoming fire, the Air Force is reportedly selectively intercepting threats, allowing smaller cluster fragments to fall in open areas in order to conserve interceptor stockpiles.

Prime Minister Netanyahu gave a live press conference yesterday (yes, he is alive!) in which he said that Israel has already inflicted “significant damage” to Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, claiming enrichment capabilities have been “severely disrupted” but that Israel’s job is not completed and the war could continue a bit longer. He clearly denied the false rumor that Israel had dragged the U.S. into the war. He added that the war could “create conditions” for regime change. He also touched on the economic and strategic upside, pointing to the possibility of new regional energy routes that bypass Iran, suggesting Israel could play a larger role in global energy transit if Iran’s influence is weakened.

News Update

Israeli airstrikes killed Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and the most senior leader in the regime, along with Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of the Basij militia, and some other senior commanders. Also, the air force continues to strike hundreds of targets daily.

Iran fired five barrages at Israel yesterday. Almost all of the missiles were intercepted, but shrapnel damaged a home in Rishon Letzion. Shrapnel and missile fragments also fell near the Knesset and in Jerusalem’s Old City, including on the Temple Mount and near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Israeli forces carried out additional strikes in southern Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah launch sites, weapons depots and observation posts along the border. Troops from the 91st Division have also continued limited ground activity near the border area to destroy rocket launchers and anti-tank positions threatening northern Israeli towns.