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Hamas Must Be Destroyed
In the wake of the cold-blooded murders of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas by the literal hands of Hamas terrorists, I have been haunted by the similarities between Kfir and my own two-year-old son.
My son was born exactly a month before Kfir. Like Kfir, my son had red hair when he was little. My son laughed like Kfir when he was a baby. Like Kfir, my son is a Jew. But unlike Kfir, my son is a Jew, who by privilege and fortune to be born an American and live in the United States, does not need — I pray — to fear being stolen and murdered by Hamas terrorists simply for being Jewish.
In the well over 500 days since October 7, 2023, the kidnapping and murder of Kfir Bibas symbolizes Israel’s just and necessary response to Hamas’ massacre in Israel. Kfir is and was innocence and goodness personified. Hamas is Amalek, the Biblical enemy of the Israelites, and a symbolization for the epitome of evil. There can be no tolerance for such evil, and I strongly believe that Israel has every right to continue fighting Hamas until the terrorist organization has been destroyed.
Hamas is not only an enemy of Israel, but also of the United States. Since 1997, the US State Department has designated Hamas a foreign terrorist organization. As of March 2025, Hamas still holds 21-year-old New Jersey native Edan Alexander hostage, along with the remains of four other murdered Americans. On October 7, 2023, Hamas murdered more than 40 Americans.
Although it is true that Hamas has been weakened since October 7, 2023, and has suffered the loss of many of its key leaders, including Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh, due to the Israeli Defense Forces’ (IDF) valiant and justified campaign, Hamas still remains in a position of strength.
The fact that Hamas has been able to continue to negotiate with Israel to ensure the release of hundreds of terrorists, many of them serving life sentences for the murder of Israelis, in exchange for the release of innocent hostages, and the bodies of deceased hostages, is sickening. The ongoing sadistic exchanges where Hamas terrorists paraded the hostages, or murdered bodies of hostages, in front of cheering crowds of their supporters calls into question how such negotiations have been even permitted to progress.
The unbalanced negotiations are not the fault of the IDF, but that of politicians — both Israeli and American. To be clear, in bringing the fight to Hamas, the IDF has endeavored to minimize civilian casualties despite operating in an extremely dense, urban, environment in which Hamas terrorists actively hide among hospitals, mosques, and kindergartens.
In fact, the IDF has gone to greater lengths than any other military in the history of modern warfare to minimize civilian casualties. I firmly believe that the soldiers of the IDF should be commended by all freedom loving nations for their adherence to the highest standards of moral and ethical war fighting.
In looking ahead to the coming months, Israel must continue to ratchet up all available military and political pressure on Hamas in order to crush the terrorist organization once and for all. I do not think that Israel should continue to follow the outlined steps of the phased hostage deal — as terrible as that may be for the plight of the remaining hostages — because to do so only encourages Hamas to plan future October 7th style attacks to kidnap more hostages to use as bargaining chips down the road.
I think it is excellent, and necessary, that Israel has once again resumed offensive operations against Hamas. Initial reports indicate that serious damage has been done to Hamas’ leadership and combat units. Israel should continue to maximize the good will of the Trump administration, and the current Republican-held US Congress, to unleash hell on every aspect of the Hamas terrorist organization. Israel must remain focused on dismantling Hamas’ organizational and tactical capabilities in order to ensure that Hamas can never again threaten Israel.
I would also like to see increased US military support for destroying Hamas. Although I would not support “regular” US military service members on the ground in Gaza due to the possibility of another Middle East quagmire, I would recommend that US Special Operations Command be given broad leeway by the Trump administration to employ the necessary assets to rescue Edan Alexander and avenge the deaths of the Americans killed on October 7, 2023. I would further recommend that the Trump administration sanction any states that provide safe harbor to Hamas terrorists, including Qatar and Egypt. This could involve cutting off foreign aid, imposing economic penalties, or barring diplomatic travel. Hamas, and its enablers, must understand that they will never be safe, whether in Deir al-Balah or Doha.
Only when Hamas feels the full military and political weight of Israel and America, and begs for the fighting to stop, will the memory of Kfir Bibas, his family, the 241 hostages, and the 1,200 murdered Israelis be avenged — and prevented from happening again in the future.
Micah Q. Jones is a publishing Adjunct at The MirYam Institute, a US Army veteran, and recipient of the Bronze Star Medal for Meritorious Service. He is a litigation associate in the Boston office of an international law firm.
The post Hamas Must Be Destroyed first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Report: IDF Probes Whether Houthis Used Iranian Cluster Bomb-Bearing Missile

Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi addresses followers via a video link at the al-Shaab Mosque, formerly al-Saleh Mosque, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
i24 News – The Israeli military said Saturday it launched a probe into the failure of its defenses to fully intercept a missile launched by Yemen’s Houthi jihadists, parts of which struck not far from the Ben Gurion airport on Friday night.
According to the Ynet website, one of the hypotheses being examined is that the projectile contained cluster munitions, similar to those used by Iran to fire at Israeli cities during the 12-day war in June. Cluster munitions pose a challenge to interceptors as they disperse smaller explosives over a wide area.
In June, Iran fired several missiles carrying scattered small bombs with the aim of increasing civilian casualties.
The IDF said on Saturday that its initial review suggests the ballistic missile from Yemen likely fragmented in mid-air. Five interceptors from various systems engaged with the missile, including THAAD, Arrow, David Sling & Iron Dome.
Authorities said that shrapnel impacted a house in the central Israeli moshav of Ginaton, yet no one was hurt, with the fragment landing in the house’s backyard.
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Iran Forces Kill Six Militants, IRNA Reports, Israel Link Seen

The Iranian flag is seen flying over a street in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 3, 2023. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Iranian security forces shot dead six militants in a clash in southeastern Iran on Saturday, a day after armed rebels killed five police officers in the restive region, the official news agency IRNA reported.
IRNA said evidence showed the group was linked to Israel and may have been trained by Israel‘s Mossad spy agency. There was no immediate Israeli reaction to the allegation.
Another two members of the militant group were arrested, the report said. All but one of the militants were foreign, it added, without giving their nationality.
Iranian police said this month they had arrested as many as 21,000 suspects during the 12-day war with Israel in June.
Iran’s southeast has been the scene of sporadic clashes between security forces and armed groups, including Sunni militants and separatists who say they are fighting for greater rights and autonomy.
Tehran says some of them have ties to foreign powers and are involved in cross-border smuggling and insurgency.
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Benny Gantz Urges Time-Limited National Unity Government to Further Chances of Hostage Deal

Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz attends his party’s meeting at the Knesset, Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, June 27, 2022. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – Blue and White Party leader Benny Gantz on Saturday called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition politicians to form a temporary national unity government to further the chances of bringing home the hostages held in Gaza.
Addressing Netanyahu, Yair Lapid and Avigdor Liberman, Gantz said that the proposed government’s two supreme priorities would be the release of Israeli hostages held by the jihadists of Hamas and instituting universal conscription in Israel by ending the exemption from military service enjoyed by the ultra-Orthodox.
Upon attainment of the goals, the government would dissolve and call an election.
“The government’s term will begin with a hostage deal that brings everyone home,” Gantz said in a video address. “Within weeks, we will formulate an enlistment outline that would see our ultra-Orthodox brethren drafted to the military and ease the burden on those already serving. Finally, we will announce an agreed-upon election date in the spring of 2026 and pass a law to dissolve the Knesset [Israeli parliament] accordingly. This is what’s right for Israel.”