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Former IDF chief’s son killed in Gaza fighting as Israel presses forward with costly counteroffensive
(JTA) – The son of an Israeli government minister and former military chief of staff was killed in combat in Gaza on Thursday, as Israel continued its war against Hamas, killing some of the terror group’s senior officials amid mounting civilian and troop casualties.
Gal Meir Eisenkot, 25, the son of former Israel Defense Forces chief Gadi Eisenkot, died in Gaza while serving as a reservist in a commando unit. Another soldier, reservist paratrooper Jonathan David Deitch, was declared dead at the same time, bringing the number of Israeli troops who have been killed in the ground invasion of Gaza to 89.
The elder Eisenkot led the IDF from 2015 to 2019. He is a member of the National Unity party led by Benny Gantz, who preceded Eisenkot as IDF chief of staff. Eisenkot is a member of Israel’s emergency wartime government and is an observer in the war cabinet directing the Gaza campaign.
In Israel, where most Jewish 18-year-olds across social and economic sectors are conscripted into the army and many serve in reserve duty for years afterward, few are immune from the possible consequences of the war. More than 300,000 reservists were called up two months ago for Israel’s current campaign, and its casualties have spanned a range of ages and backgrounds.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was “heartbroken” in a public statement to Gadi Eisenkot.
“We weep with you. We embrace you,” Netanyahu said. “The government of Israel and the citizens of Israel mourn together with you. Our heroes did not fall in vain. We will continue to fight until victory.”
Gantz said, “On the eve of Hannukah, Gal’s light was extinguished.”
He continued, “In this terrible moment, I know that the strength of you and yours will withstand the loss. We will be with you.”
The casualties occurred as Israel is deepening its campaign in southern Gaza, which began nearly a week ago following a seven-day ceasefire with Hamas. The IDF is now focusing its firepower on the area surrounding the city of Khan Younis, where Hamas leaders, including its Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar, live.
Hamas, which controls Gaza, began the war on Oct. 7 with an invasion of Israel in which terrorists killed 1,200 and took some 240 hostages, the majority of whom are still in captivity. Israel has vowed to depose the terror group and has responded with extensive airstrikes as well as a ground invasion that began in Gaza’s north and has shifted south.
The IDF also said Thursday that it had killed two senior Hamas operatives, Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi and Ahmed Aiush, in a recent airstrike. Rantisi was responsible for intelligence operations in Gaza and was involved in the planning of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, and Aiush was a senior intelligence operative, the IDF said.
The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza says more than 17,000 people have been killed in the war. The figure is not verifiable and does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, or those killed by misfired Palestinian rockets.
Israeli authorities said that Hamas has continued to fire rockets from civilian areas, as the IDF attempted to evacuate civilians in Gaza from combat zones. A significant proportion of the Gazan population has been displaced by the fighting, and humanitarian groups say many are lacking essential supplies.
The growing death toll has led to a rising tide of calls among international leaders and progressive activists for a ceasefire, which Israel rejects because it would leave Hamas in power. The United Nations secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, on Wednesday invoked a rarely used article of the U.N. charter to appeal for a ceasefire, warning of a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen lashed Guterres for the move, saying on social media that the U.N. leader was a “danger to world peace” and that his call for a ceasefire “constitutes support of the Hamas terrorist organization and an endorsement of the murder of the elderly, the abduction of babies and the rape of women.”
Also Thursday, an Israeli civilian was killed by a Hezbollah anti-tank missile in an agricultural area near the community of Mattat near the Lebanese border, Hebrew media reports said. The area has seen sporadic strikes between Hezbollah forces and Israeli troops since the outbreak of the war.
The IDF said it had launched airstrikes against Hezbollah “terror infrastructure” in Lebanon in response. On Thursday night, rocket alert sirens sounded in northern Israeli communities.
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The post Former IDF chief’s son killed in Gaza fighting as Israel presses forward with costly counteroffensive appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Surge of Antisemitic Incidents Rocks France Amid Growing Security Concerns
The Paris Holocaust Memorial, three synagogues, and a Jewish restaurant were all vandalized with green paint last weekend. Photo: Screenshot
France has been hit by a wave of antisemitic incidents in recent days, despite increased security at Jewish sites nationwide following last month’s antisemitic shooting in Washington, DC — prompting urgent calls from the country’s Jewish community for stronger government action amid growing fears of escalating violence.
On Friday, a French rabbi was violently assaulted by three drunken individuals in the town of Deauville, located in the Normandy region of northwestern France.
According to local police, Rabbi Eli Lemel — a prominent figure in French Jewry — was attacked around 3:30 pm by three men who approached him, repeatedly punched him in the stomach, and shouted antisemitic slurs.
French authorities have launched an investigation into the assault, but no arrests have been made so far.
After the incident, Lemel called on the Jewish community to draw spiritual strength amid the increasing hostility that Jews are facing across France.
“I’m deeply moved by the outpouring of support following the attack. Thank God, I’m okay,” the Jewish leader wrote in a post on X. “I was struck and verbally abused in a language I didn’t understand.”
In a separate incident, a 21-year-old man was arrested on Saturday after climbing a synagogue in the town of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine in north-central France, removing an Israeli flag from its façade, and attempting to set it on fire.
According to local media, the suspect — who was already known to authorities for prior offenses — confessed to committing the attack and admitted to being intoxicated at the time.
French police confirmed that the man is being charged with trespassing in a place of worship, theft by climbing, and causing damage to property on religious grounds.
The local Jewish community has voiced deep concern following this incident, viewing it as part of a broader surge in hostility targeting Jewish institutions across France.
Sandrine Dos Santos, the city’s mayor, expressed “[her] solidarity, as well as that of the city, toward the Jewish community directly targeted by these unacceptable antisemitic acts.”
“Faced with the increase in violence, our commitment against discrimination remains unwavering and will not waver. We repeat it loud and clear: no form of racism or rejection of others has a place in Poissy,” the French leader said.
In a separate incident on Saturday, three Serbs were arrested near Antibes in southeastern France, suspected of painting several Jewish community buildings green in Paris — an act currently under investigation as possible foreign interference.
Last weekend, the Paris Holocaust Memorial, three synagogues, and a Jewish restaurant were all vandalized with green paint in an incident denounced by the French government.
On Monday, an elementary school in Lyon, east-central France, was set on fire and defaced with antisemitic and pro-Palestinian slogans, as well as swastikas, marking one of the latest antisemitic incidents to impact France in recent days.
As the school had no direct connections to the Jewish community, local police have launched an investigation to determine the motive behind the attack.
French authorities reported that the fire was limited to the outdoor bathrooms, causing no significant damage to the school. They also found antisemitic graffiti and swastikas in three classrooms.
Yonathan Arfi, president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF), denounced the attack, saying that “the Palestinian cause is used as justification for burning down a school” and that the “Nazification of Israel serves as fuel for crass antisemitism.”
“When a populist pro-Palestinian narrative is allowed to take hold, it is French Jews who ultimately pay the price,” Arfi wrote in a post on X. “The twisted use of the Palestinian cause is turning into a rallying cry of hatred against both Jews and the Republic itself.”
Voilà où nous en sommes !
La cause palestinienne sert de justification pour incendier une école
Quand on laisse gagner un discours populiste propalestinien, ce sont les Français juifs qui en paient le prix.… https://t.co/dMaQBnbfqi
— Yonathan Arfi (@Yonathan_Arfi) June 1, 2025
Beyond France, other European countries have also experienced a surge in antisemitic incidents in recent weeks.
On Monday, several headstones were vandalized at a Jewish cemetery in a suburb of Belgrade, located in north-central Serbia, marking the second such incident in the country in recent weeks.
The post Surge of Antisemitic Incidents Rocks France Amid Growing Security Concerns first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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US Vetoes UN Security Council Demand for Gaza Ceasefire
Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from Israel, June 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The United States vetoed a UN Security Council demand on Wednesday for an “immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire” between Israel and Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza and unhindered aid access across the enclave.
“The United States has been clear we would not support any measure that fails to condemn Hamas and does not call for Hamas to disarm and leave Gaza,” Acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea told the council before the vote.
“This resolution would undermine diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire that reflects the realities on the ground, and embolden Hamas,” she said of the text that was put forward by 10 countries on the 15-member council.
The remaining 14 council members voted in favor of the draft resolution.
Israel has rejected calls for an unconditional or permanent ceasefire, saying Hamas cannot stay in Gaza. It has renewed its military offensive in Gaza – also seeking to free hostages held by Hamas – since ending a two-month ceasefire in March.
The war in Gaza has raged since 2023 after Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people in Israel in an Oct. 7 attack and took some 250 hostages back to the enclave.
The post US Vetoes UN Security Council Demand for Gaza Ceasefire first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump Picks Lawyer Who Called Oct. 7 Attack a ‘Psyop’ to Lead Federal Watchdog Agency
Paul Ingrassia. Photo: Screenshot
Paul Ingrassia, a 29-year-old lawyer who was recently nominated by US President Donald Trump to lead a federal agency dedicated to combating corruption and protecting whistleblowers, seemingly dismissed the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2o23, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel as a “psyop,” or “psychological operation, in resurfaced social media posts.
“This ‘war’ is yet another psyop to distract Americans from celebrating Columbus Day,” Ingrassia wrote on X/Twitter on Oct. 8, 2023.
“I think we could all admit at this stage that Israel/Palestine, much like Ukraine before it, and BLM before that, and covid/vaccine before that, was another psyop,” he posted a week later. “But sadly, people fell for it. And they’ll fall for the next one too.”
On the actual day of the Oct. 7 massacre, Ingrassia compared illegal immigration into the US to the Hamas-led onslaught.
“The amount of energy everyone has put into condemning Hamas (and prior to that, the Ukraine conflict) over the past 24 hours should be the same amount of energy we put into condemning our wide open border, which is a war comparable to the attack on Israel in terms of bloodshed — but made worse by the fact that it’s occurring in our very own backyard,” he posted. “We shouldn’t be beating the war drum, however tragic the events may be overseas, until we resolve our domestic problems first.”
Trump announced last week that he picked Ingrassia to serve as head of the US Office of Special Counsel, a position that requires confirmation by the Senate.
The Office of Special Counsel is an independent federal ethics agency that works to ensure fairness and accountability within the government. Ingrassia’s role, if he is confirmed, would involve investigating claims of wrongdoing, such as retaliation against whistleblowers or improper political activity in the workplace. The official can recommend disciplinary action and reports serious findings to Congress, helping to protect federal employees and uphold the integrity of the civil service system.
Ingrassia also maintains a relationship with and defends alleged sex trafficker Andrew Tate, who has promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories on social media. Tate wrote on X/Twitter that he refuses to “listen to women, Mexicans, or Jews” and that Jewish people are “subverting Western populations into mass genetic suicide” by advancing what he described as misguided immigration policy. Tate has also accused Israel of committing a “genocide” in Gaza against Palestinians and engaged in Holocaust denialism.
The furor surrounding Ingrassia is the latest dustup the Trump administration has had regarding controversial personnel and antisemitism.
The Trump administration’s appointment of Kingsley Wilson as deputy press secretary at the Department of Defense also sparked widespread criticism due to her history of promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories and extremist views. Wilson, formerly associated with the Center for Renewing America, has a documented history of social media posts endorsing white supremacist ideologies, including claims about the 1915 lynching of Leo Frank — a Jewish man whose wrongful conviction and subsequent murder galvanized the founding of the Anti-Defamation League. In 2023, she tweeted that Frank “raped & murdered a 13-year-old girl,” a statement aligning with neo-Nazi narratives.
Late last month, the Pentagon announced that Wilson will be promoted and serve as the department’s new press secretary.
The post Trump Picks Lawyer Who Called Oct. 7 Attack a ‘Psyop’ to Lead Federal Watchdog Agency first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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