RSS
A Storm Is Coming: Massive Attack Expected on Israel This Week
Israel’s military displays what they say is an Iranian ballistic missile which they retrieved from the Dead Sea after Iran launched drones and missiles towards Israel, at Julis military base, in southern Israel, April 16, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
There’s a storm coming to Israel, and it’s expected to be more severe than the Iranian attack last April. The mood here is one of tension, but not panic. Israelis continue to live, work, play, and basically continue normal life, but with a close eye on the news. Meanwhile, the United States may be unintentionally enabling the very bloodshot and instability it seeks to prevent.
Hezbollah (the Iranian backed terror organization that effectively controls Lebanon) recently struck a soccer field, killing 12 Druze children and injuring some 30 more. This is in the context of northern Israel becoming almost entirely uninhabitable through 10 months of constant Hezbollah bombardment.
In response to this massacre (but also in response to the past nine months of attacks) Israel killed Hezbollah’s top military commander, Fu’ad Shukr, via a targeted airstrike on an apartment in Beirut. Less than 24 hours later, an explosion, widely attributed to Israel, killed Hamas chief Ismael Haniyeh in an Iranian safehouse in Teheran. During that same 24-hour period, Israel finally issued confirmation that its July 13 strike on the notorious Hamas commander Mohammad Deif in Gaza, did in fact successfully kill him.
These strikes are significant: it is the first time Israel has struck such high level commanders; it is the first time Israel has struck in the heart of Beirut and Tehran; and it is the first time Israel has held Iran directly accountable for the acts of its proxies.
Immediately following these strikes, Iran announced that, together with its proxies, it would perform its “duty” of “avenging [Haniyeh’s] blood,” including what appears to be a threat to intentionally target civilians.
Shortly before these events, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to possibly invade Israel, saying “Just as we entered [Nagorno-]Karabakh, just as we entered Libya, we might do the same to [Israel].” Even if mere bluster, the threat is particularly distressing, as Turkey is a member of NATO.
Israel is now preparing for possible simultaneous attacks from all sides: Iran, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iranian proxies in Syria, the Houthis in Yemen, Gaza, and possibly even Turkey as well. The attacks are expected to occur in the coming days, and they are expected to be more severe than the attack last April, when Iran and the Houthis launched over 300 missiles and drones at Israel, most of which were neutralized prior to hitting their targets.
Like last April, Israel is working with allies, including the United States, which has sent the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier to the region, as well as other assets, including a Marine amphibious ready group with some 4,000 troops. The Marine group is notable as it is typically an offensive force designed for combat, not merely missile interception. British commander Adm. Tony Radakin met in Tel Aviv with his Israeli counterparts in recent days, and it appears that Egypt, Jordan, and various Gulf states are also prepared to help intercept incoming missiles.
Yet there were also some concerning developments out of Washington. During a phone call last week that included Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and American Vice President Kamala Harris, President Biden accused Israel of escalating tensions — a bizarre claim given that Israel is responding to Hezbollah’s massacre of 12 children, as well as to 10 months of bombardment in the face of astonishing Israeli restraint. Biden reportedly further threatened to abandon Israel’s defense if Israel were to cause any further escalations, a terribly concerning statement to make toward a US ally in public. Ironically, this approach is more likely to increase the severity of Iran’s upcoming attack, rather than the reverse.
When asked if the assassination of Hamas leader Haniyeh has ruined the chances for a ceasefire deal that might return Israeli hostages, Biden said: “It hasn’t helped.” In fact, the truth may be the opposite: until now Hamas has had time on its side, as international pressure on Israel grows, the health of the hostages deteriorates, and Hamas leadership remains safe in Qatar. The recent high level assassinations have shattered that reality, for the first time placing a degree of direct pressure on Hamas and Iranian leaders that they had not experienced previously.
Israeli journalist Haviv Rettig Gur, speaking recently on Bari Weis’ “Honestly” podcast, referred to an American “obsession with stability,” noting that America has actually decreased stability by allowing its enemies to gradually escalate while tying the hands of American allies against appropriate retaliation.
Neville Chamberlain’s famous “peace in our time” policy was well-intentioned, but produced the exact opposite of peace: enabling Hitler to initiate the largest and bloodiest war in human history. Similarly, America’s “stability in our time” (my own turn of phrase) may be leading the Middle East, and perhaps the world, in a similarly unintended direction.
In any case, we expect an intense multi-front attack in the coming days. Israelis have quietly stocked up on food, water, batteries, AM/FM radios and the like. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers, and please encourage your elected officials to provide us with the firm and unconditional support that this situation requires.
Daniel Pomerantz is the CEO of RealityCheck, an organization dedicated to deepening public conversation through robust research studies and public speaking.
The post A Storm Is Coming: Massive Attack Expected on Israel This Week first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Merz Says Criticism of Israel in Germany Has Become Pretext for Hatred of Jews
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz attends celebrations of the newly completed renovation of Reichenbach Strasse synagogue in Munich, Germany, Sept. 15, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth
Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Wednesday that criticism of Israel was increasingly being used in Germany as a pretext for stoking hatred against Jews.
Speaking at an event to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Central Council of Jews, Merz said that antisemitism had “become louder, more open, more brazen, more violent almost every day” since the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, that ignited the Gaza war.
“‘Criticism of Israel‘ and the crudest perpetrator-victim reversal is increasingly a pretext under which the poison of antisemitism is spread,” he said.
Germany is Israel‘s second biggest weapons supplier after the US, and has long been one of its staunchest supporters, in part because of historical guilt for the Nazi Holocaust – a policy known as the “Staatsraison.”
Last month, however, Germany suspended exports of weaponry that could be used in the Gaza Strip because of Israel‘s plan to expand its operations there – the first time united Germany had acknowledged denying military support to its long-time ally.
The decision followed mounting pressure from the public and his junior coalition partner over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
In his speech in Berlin on Wednesday, Merz mentioned his about-turn, saying that criticism of the Israeli government “must be possible,” but added: “Our country suffers damage to its own soul when this criticism becomes a pretext for hatred of Jews, or if it even leads to the demand that Germany should turn its back on Israel.”
RSS
Israeli Anti-Missile Laser System ‘Iron Beam’ Ready for Military Use This Year
Iron Beam laser defense system. Photo: X/Twitter screenshot
A low-cost, high-power laser-based system aimed at destroying incoming missiles has successfully completed testing and will be ready for operational use by the military later this year, Israel’s Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.
Co-developed by Elbit Systems and Rafael Advance Defense Systems, “Iron Beam” will complement Israel’s Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow anti–missile systems, which have been used to intercept thousands of rockets fired by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, by Hezbollah from Lebanon, and by the Houthis in Yemen.
Current rocket interceptors cost at least $50,000 each while the cost is negligible for lasers, which focus primarily on smaller missiles and drones. “Now that the Iron Beam’s performance has been proven, we anticipate a significant leap in air defense capabilities through the deployment of these long-range laser weapon systems,” the ministry said.
After years in development, the ministry said it tested Iron Beam for several weeks in southern Israel and proved its effectiveness in a “complete operational configuration by intercepting rockets, mortars, aircraft, and UAVs across a comprehensive range of operational scenarios.”
The first systems are set to be integrated into the military‘s air defenses by year-end, it said.
Shorter-range and less powerful laser systems are already in use.
Iron Beam is a ground-based, high-power laser air defense system designed to counter aerial threats, including rockets, mortars, and UAVs.
“This is the first time in the world that a high-power laser interception system has reached full operational maturity,” said defense ministry Director-General Amir Baram.
Rafael Chairman Yuval Steinitz said that Iron Beam, which is built with the company’s adaptive optics technology, “will undoubtedly be a game-changing system with unprecedented impact on modern warfare.”
For its part, Elbit was working on the development of high-power lasers for other military applications, “first and foremost an airborne laser that holds the potential for a strategic change in air defense capabilities,” CEO Bezhalel Machlis said.
RSS
Iran and European Ministers Make Little Progress as Renewed UN Sanctions Loom, Diplomats Say
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi speaks during a meeting with foreign ambassadors in Tehran, Iran, July 12, 2025. Photo: Hamid Forootan/Iranian Foreign Ministry/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Iranian and European ministers made little progress in talks on Wednesday aimed at preventing international sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear program being reimposed at the end of this month, two European diplomats and one Iranian diplomat said.
Britain, France, and Germany, the so-called E3, launched a 30-day process at the end of August to reimpose UN sanctions. They set conditions for Tehran to meet during September to convince them to delay the “snapback mechanism.”
The offer by the E3 to put off the snapback for up to six months to enable serious negotiations is conditional on Iran restoring access for UN nuclear inspectors – who would also seek to account for Iran‘s large stock of enriched uranium – and engaging in talks with the US.
The status of Iran‘s enriched uranium stocks has been unknown since Israel and the US bombed Iranian nuclear sites in June.
TALKS WITH EUROPEANS FOLLOWED ACCORD WITH IAEA
Wednesday’s phone call between the E3 foreign ministers, the European Union foreign policy chief, and their Iranian counterpart followed an agreement between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency last week on resuming cooperation, including, in principle, the inspection of nuclear sites.
Several Western diplomats have said, however, that the accord is not detailed enough, sets no timeframe and leaves the door open for Iran to continue stonewalling.
There has also been no indication of a willingness from Iran to resume talks with Washington.
Iran says it is still refining how it will work with the IAEA.
In the call, Iran‘s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi expressed willingness to reach a “fair and balanced” solution, according to a statement on Iranian state media.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has entered into dialogue with the International Atomic Energy Agency with a responsible approach … on how Iran will fulfil its safeguards obligations in the new situation … It is now the turn of the opposing parties to use this opportunity to continue the diplomatic path and prevent an avoidable crisis,” Araqchi said.
GERMANY SAYS IRAN HAS NOT MET CONDITIONS
Germany’s foreign ministry said on X that the E3 had “underscored that Iran has yet to take the reasonable and precise actions necessary to reach an extension of Resolution 2231,” adding that sanctions would be reimposed unless there were “concrete actions in the coming days.”
The sanctions would hit Iran‘s financial, banking, hydrocarbons, and defense sectors.
Four European diplomats and an Iranian official said before the call that the most likely scenario would be the E3 going ahead with a reimposition of sanctions.
An Iranian diplomat said Tehran had reiterated that it would retaliate if the decision to restore UN sanctions was made.
“The understanding in Tehran is that the UN sanctions will be reimposed. That is why Tehran refuses to give concessions,” an Iranian official said.
The West says the advancement of Iran‘s nuclear program goes beyond civilian needs, while Tehran says it wants nuclear energy only for peaceful purposes.