Archive for month: May, 2026

News Update

The IDF carried out a targeted strike Thursday in the Beirut area, attempting to kill Ali al-Husseini, commander of the missile array in the Imam Hussein Division, a militia that assists Hezbollah and is linked to Iran. The result of the attack is not yet clear. On Wednesday the IDF eliminated the terrorist Imad Hassan Hussein Aslim, the Deputy Commander of the Gaza Brigade and the Commander of the Zeitoun Battalion in Hamas’ Military Wing. Aslim commanded the battalion’s terrorists infiltration into Israeli territory during the brutal October 7th massacre.

While the IDF protects Israel from within Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, we wait to see what comes out of the negotiations between Iran and the U.S. President Trump has stated that he wants more Arab and Muslim countries, particularly the Gulf States and Saudi Arabia, to sign onto the Abraham Accords as part of a larger agreement. That would obviously be a great victory for Israel and the entire Middle East. The question of Iran’s nuclear program and their ballistic missile program is also top of mind for Israel. So we’ll just have to wait and see what happens in the next few days.

Let’s pray for a positive outcome for Israel, the U.S. and all those who seek true peace.

News Update

According to U.S. media reports (including CNN, WSJ, Axios), Prime Minister Netanyahu has been urging President Trump, in several phone calls this week, to resume strikes against Iran, while Trump has been pushing for continuing negotiations. CNN reported that Trump told Netanyahu he wanted to allow several more days for a deal to emerge in order to save lives. The picture being painted is clearly one of Netanyahu trying to “pressure” Trump and drag the U.S. deeper into a war. But clearly, the President is running the show and making decisions based on what he feels is best. Israel is following his direction.

The U.S. is threatening to revoke the visas of the Palestinian delegation to the United Nations if the Palestinian ambassador refused to end his candidacy for the vice presidency of the UN General Assembly, according to an internal State Department cable seen by Reuters. In a cable dated Wednesday, U.S. diplomats in its embassy in Jerusalem are instructed to deliver the message that Palestinian ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour’s general assembly bid “fuels tensions,” risks undermining Trump’s Gaza peace plan and would therefore face consequences from Washington if it went ahead. For more, click here.

Israel has released all detained activists from the anti-Israel Gaza-bound flotilla from Ketziot Prison ahead of their deportation, except for Israeli activist Zohar Regev, whose detention hearing was scheduled for later in the day. Most of the activists were being transferred to Ramon Airport for flights out of Israel, while four had already departed through Ben Gurion Airport. Before they were released from prison, Minister of Internal Security Itamar Ben Gvir decided to come down to taunt the detainees, and video himself doing so. The incident sparked international condemnation, as well as from Netanyahu and other Israeli officials, and caused unnecessary diplomatic damage to Israel at a time when the country is not doing too great in the public opinion war.

Maj. (res.) Itamar Sapir, 27, a Maglan reserve officer and father of an 18-month-old boy, was killed Tuesday in a clash with Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon.

The holiday of Shavuot, which marks the beginning of the wheat harvest as well as the anniversary of the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, begins tonight. May we be blessed with health, success and peace.

News Update

Staff Sergeant Negev Dagan, 20, from Dekel, a combat soldier in the 12th Battalion, Golani Brigade, was killed in a mortar attack in southern Lebanon. He is the 19th soldier to fall in Lebanon since the start of Operation Roaring Lion, and the sixth killed since the start of the ceasefire.

The Global Sumud Flotilla, including 53 vessels, set sail today from the Turkish coastal city of Marmaris toward the Gaza Strip, saying its goal is to “break the Israeli blockade.” The Israeli Navy is preparing for the flotilla’s expected arrival off Israel’s coast in the coming days and fears it could turn violent. Diplomatic efforts were made to stop the flotilla from being able to depart, but they all failed.

Prime Minister Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Sa’ar said that Israel will sue The New York Times over what they described as “one of the most horrifying and distorted lies ever published against the State of Israel in modern journalism.” The decision follows an opinion column by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nicholas Kristof, who accused IDF soldiers and Israeli prison guards of systematic and brutal sexual abuse of Palestinian detainees. Among the claims cited in the column were allegations of rape using dogs, metal rods and other forms of sexual violence. It is truly a modern day blood libel. The saddest, and scariest, part of this is that millions of people around the world actually belief these lies. For more, click here.

Today is Jerusalem Day, marking the 59th anniversary of the liberation of Jerusalem by the IDF in the 6 day war and Jewish sovereignty over the Holy City and the eternal capital of Israel and the Jewish nation. Jerusalem will never again be divided or taken from the Jewish people.

News Update

Warrant Officer (res.) Alexander Glovanyov, 47, of Petah Tikva, who served as a transport vehicle driver in the 6924th Transport Battalion of the Transportation Center, was killed on Sunday by a Hezbollah FPV drone near the Lebanon border. Three reserve soldiers were wounded Saturday in an FPV drone attack in the Shlomi area near the Lebanon border. The IDF is employing measures to counter the FPV drone attacks, including distributing thousands of meters of fishing nets to troops to trap the drones. FPV, or first-person-view, drones, are small aircraft guided by operators watching a live video feed and can be flown directly into targets. They have been used widely in the Russia-Ukraine war.

In Gaza, the IDF eliminated several Hamas terrorists who were preparing to attack troops, and continues to launch raids into Hamas territory to remove threats. Hamas continues to recruit new members while it attempts to rebuild its military capabilities.

Justice Minister Yariv Levin on Sunday presented a bill that would create a special legal framework to prosecute terrorists involved in the Oct. 7 massacre and allow courts to impose the death penalty. Levin said the law would grant full authority to impose death sentences, and that if such sentences are handed down, “they will be carried out.” For more, click here.