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The Day After…
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks to members of the Security Council during a meeting to address the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, at UN headquarters in New York City, New York, US, April 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
JNS.org – There was no way to write about the latest depravity before it happened. We thought we knew, but we didn’t.
Now we do.
The short form is that they staged a raucous celebration with children singing and dancing as four coffins moved along. They provided keys to the Israel Defense Forces for unlocking the coffins—keys that didn’t work. Propaganda material was in each coffin. One held a person that it turns out was not Shiri Bibas, mother of Ariel and Kfir, wife of Yarden.
In the aftermath, people have had a lot to say.
What friends and supporters of Israel are saying and writing is wrenching but not unexpected. Among them are friends that Israel and Jews can count on, including Col. Richard Kemp, a retired British Army officer; Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.); Karoline Preisler, a lawyer and politician based in Berlin; John Spencer, the chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute; and Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch.
An amazing number of public voices suddenly found their outrage.
The biggest fraud in this was U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres. “I condemn … Under international law … They must comply … Respect for the dignity of … .” And so on and so on.
Who cares? More than 500 days ago, 1,200 people were killed in Israel by Hamas and other Palestinian terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, in what we thought then was the most horrific manner conceived by the human brain. (We might have been wrong. What happened to those who have and had been held captive by terrorists inside the Gaza Strip may have been worse.) More than 500 days ago, more than 250 people—some still living, some now deceased—were dragged from southern Israel into Gaza as hostages in violation of “international law,” which clearly applies in only certain cases, none involving Israelis or Jews.
The deafening silence by Guterres about murdered and mutilated Jewish men, women and children (babies!), coupled with his loud, ongoing condemnation of Israel’s defense and support of Hamas will be his legacy. Along with the lunatic propaganda that came out of U.N. agencies over which he presides.
The BBC reported, “Once again, there was a stage, flanked by huge posters highlighting the catastrophic consequences of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and the Palestinian determination to stay put.” They missed the graphic showing the Bibas family—all of them—on the banner with a vampire-like image of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his mouth dripping with blood, standing behind them, and missed the Nazi chants.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is waiting “in agony.”
Amnesty International was reminded of the “urgent need to immediately release the civilian hostages and Palestinians arbitrarily detained.” Amazing how the bodies of babies murdered by hand remind Amnesty of the need to release Palestinians detained and tried for terror activities in the court of a democratic country.
The International Committee of the Red Cross, which failed to visit a single hostage, deliver any medicine or ensure that the hostages were treated according to international humanitarian law, was worried about bodies. “We have unequivocally clarified that any release—of living hostages or ones that are no longer alive—must be carried out respectfully and privately.”
“Privately” is a euphemism for not letting the world see the degradation imposed on people, living and dead, by Hamas.
Palestinian voices were interesting.
After 500-plus days of moaning about (fake) genocide, (fake) famine and (fake) hideous brutality of Israel in Gaza, now (now!) they are jumping over each other to say, “No, it wasn’t me, and yes, it was them, and yes, I’m so upset about the Bibas children.”
One wrote, “Seeing my feed with so many Palestinians who stood and loudly stated that Hamas should never have abducted the hostages makes me very proud. We shall never forget the crime they committed against the Bibas family.”
Another, “My feed is full of Palestinians condemning the kidnapping of the Bibas family &and children. No one with a conscience can justify such a crime. We must uphold our values and speak up for the victims, the innocent and the unheard—no matter who the perpetrators or victims are.”
Not about the women raped, the parents who watched their children die, and the children who watched their parents die on Oct. 7, in addition to the torture, rape, and murder of adult hostage inside Gaza? Just the babies?
Um, no.
Palestinians should be reminded that the government of Israel announced large rewards and safe passage for Palestinian civilians who gave information about the hostages to the IDF. Not one single person came forward. Some hostages were at times imprisoned in “civilian” spaces—forced to cook, clean and watch after Palestinian children in homes in Gaza—including UNRWA spaces, Mr. Guterres. And still, crickets.
For those who say, “Well, the Gaza ‘civilians’ were oppressed by Hamas, so they were afraid to speak out,” note that in every hideous country of Europe during the Holocaust, brave and threatened civilians hid Jews, fed Jews and sheltered Jews. The Garden of the Righteous Among Nations at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem tells their stories of bravery and decency. There will be no Palestinian counterpart.
There were Arab voices, and herein lies hope.
Even before the Abraham Accords were signed in the fall of 2020, there have been voices in the Arab world calling sincerely for coexistence and friendship between Muslim Arabs and Israelis, including its Jewish and non-Jewish population. It is an amazing group of people who stayed the course, even after Oct. 7.
Amjad Taha, political strategist and analyst from the United Arab Emirates; Luai Ahmed, a Yemeni and Swedish journalist, columnist and influence; Hayder Alasadi, the founder and CEO of the Iraqi-Israeli Association of Peace; Bassam Eid, a Palestinian who comments on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for Israeli TV and radio; and a few others (not many) can have a garden. They were joined Friday by the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, who said, “What we saw today in Gaza is a disgrace to Islam, an act of blasphemy against Allah.”
So, now what?
Bible study. Deuteronomy. “Vengeance is Mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.”
Vengeance is His, but the instrument of His wrath is likely here on Earth.
The post The Day After… first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Security Warning to Israelis Vacationing Abroad Ahead of holidays
A passenger arrives to a terminal at Ben Gurion international airport before Israel bans international flights, January 25, 2021. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – Ahead of the Jewish High Holidays, Israel’s National Security Council (NSC) published the latest threat assessment to Israelis abroad from terrorist groups to the public on Sunday, in order to increase the Israeli public’s awareness of the existing terrorist threats around the world and encourage individuals to take preventive action accordingly.
The NSC specified that the warning is an up-to-date reflection of the main trends in the activities of terrorist groups around the world and their impact on the level of threat posed to Israelis abroad during these times, but the travel warnings and restrictions themselves are not new.
“As the Gaza war continues and in parallel with the increasing threat of terrorism, the National Security Headquarters stated it has recognized a trend of worsening and increasing violent antisemitic incidents and escalating steps by anti-Israel groups, to the point of physically harming Israelis and Jews abroad. This is in light of, among other things, the anti-Israel narrative and the negative media campaign by pro-Palestinian elements — a trend that may encourage and motivate extremist elements to carry out terrorist activities against Israelis or Jews abroad,” the statement read.
“Therefore, the National Security Bureau is reinforcing its recommendation to the Israeli public to act with responsibility during this time when traveling abroad, to check the status of the National Security Bureau’s travel warnings (before purchasing tickets to the destination,) and to act in accordance with the travel warning recommendations and the level of risk in the country they are visiting,” it listed, adding that, as illustrated in the past year, these warnings are well-founded and reflect a tangible and valid threat potential.
The statement also emphasized the risk of sharing content on social media networks indicating current or past service in the Israeli security forces, as these posts increase the risk of being marked by various parties as a target. “Therefore, the National Security Council recommends that you do not upload to social networks, in any way, content that indicates service in the security forces, operational activity, or similar content, as well as real-time locations.”
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Israel Intensifies Gaza City Bombing as Rubio Arrives
Displaced Palestinians, fleeing northern Gaza due to an Israeli military operation, move southward after Israeli forces ordered residents of Gaza City to evacuate to the south, in the central Gaza Strip September 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Israeli forces destroyed at least 30 residential buildings in Gaza City and forced thousands of people from their homes, Palestinian officials said, as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived on Sunday to discuss the future of the conflict.
Israel has said it plans to seize the city, where about a million Palestinians have been sheltering, as part of its declared aim of eliminating the terrorist group Hamas, and has intensified attacks on what it has called Hamas’ last bastion.
The group’s political leadership, which has engaged in on-and-off negotiations on a possible ceasefire and hostage release deal, was targeted by Israel in an airstrike in Doha on Tuesday in an attack that drew widespread condemnation.
Qatar will host an emergency Arab-Islamic summit on Monday to discuss the next moves. Rubio said Washington wanted to talk about how to free the 48 hostages – of whom 20 are believed to be still alive – still held by Hamas in Gaza and rebuild the coastal strip.
“What’s happened, has happened,” he said. “We’re gonna meet with them (the Israeli leadership). We’re gonna talk about what the future holds,” Rubio said before heading to Israel where he will stay until Tuesday.
ABRAHAM ACCORDS AT RISK
He was expected to visit the Western Wall Jewish prayer site in Jerusalem on Sunday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and hold talks with him during the visit.
US officials described Tuesday’s strike on the territory of a close US ally as a unilateral escalation that did not serve American or Israeli interests. Rubio and US President Donald Trump both met Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani on Friday.
Netanyahu signed an agreement on Thursday to push ahead with a settlement expansion plan that would cut across West Bank land that the Palestinians seek for a state – a move the United Arab Emirates warned would undermine the US-brokered Abraham accords that normalized UAE relations with Israel.
Israel, which blocked all food from entering Gaza for 11 weeks earlier this year, has been allowing more aid into the enclave since late July to prevent further food shortages, though the United Nations says far more is needed.
It says it wants civilians to leave Gaza City before it sends more ground forces in. Tens of thousands of people are estimated to have left but hundreds of thousands remain in the area. Hamas has called on people not to leave.
Israeli army forces have been operating inside at least four eastern suburbs for weeks, turning most of at least three of them into wastelands. It is closing in on the center and the western areas of the territory, where most of the displaced people are taking shelter.
Many are reluctant to leave, saying there is not enough space or safety in the south, where Israel has told them to go to what it has designated as a humanitarian zone.
Some say they cannot afford to leave while others say they were hoping the Arab leaders meeting on Monday in Qatar would pressure Israel to scrap its planned offensive.
“The bombardment intensified everywhere and we took down the tents, more than twenty families, we do not know where to go,” said Musbah Al-Kafarna, displaced in Gaza City.
Israel said it had completed five waves of air strikes on Gaza City over the past week, targeting more than 500 sites, including Hamas reconnaissance and sniper sites, buildings containing tunnel openings and weapons depots.
Local officials, who do not distinguish between militant and civilian casualties, say at least 40 people were killed by Israeli fire across the enclave, a least 28 in Gaza City alone.
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Turkey Warns of Escalation as Israel Expands Strikes Beyond Gaza
Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a press conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (not seen) at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, May 13, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Umit Bektas
i24 News – An Israeli strike targeting Hamas officials in Qatar has sparked unease among several Middle Eastern countries that host leaders of the group, with Turkey among the most alarmed.
Officials in Ankara are increasingly worried about how far Israel might go in pursuing those it holds responsible for the October 7 attacks.
Israel’s prime minister effectively acknowledged that the Qatar operation failed to eliminate the Hamas leadership, while stressing the broader point the strike was meant to make: “They enjoy no immunity,” the government said.
On X, Prime Minister Netanyahu went further, writing that “the elimination of Hamas leaders would put an end to the war.”
A senior Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity, summed up Ankara’s reaction: “The attack in Qatar showed that the Israeli government is ready to do anything.”
Legally and diplomatically, Turkey occupies a delicate position. As a NATO member, any military operation or targeted killing on its soil could inflame tensions within the alliance and challenge mutual security commitments.
Analysts caution, however, that Israel could opt for covert measures, operations carried out without public acknowledgement, a prospect that has increased anxiety in governments across the region.
Israeli officials remain defiant. In an interview with Ynet, Minister Ze’ev Elkin said: “As long as we have not stopped them, we will pursue them everywhere in the world and settle our accounts with them.” The episode underscores growing fears that efforts to hunt Hamas figures beyond Gaza could widen regional friction and complicate diplomatic relationships.