Had Trump allowed Israel one final operation in Iran, the IDF would have chosen to destroy the uranium. The Mossad, by contrast, would have chosen an all-out effort to stir Iranians into action and topple the regime. The question is whether the Israeli intelligence agency’s plan, which included an attempt to mobilize the Kurds, is realistic, or a fantasy with zero chance of success.
From Operation Pillar of Defense to Operation Roaring Lion, the pattern is always the same: ceasefires with terrorist organizations are temporary by design – and the terrorists know it.
After years of maneuvering and bombings, politics in its purest form is back in Israel: from the Bennett-Lapid alliance waiting for Eisenkot, to Liberman declaring that he will be prime minister, to Bennett’s former partner, who is polling at a seat and a half and remains politically homeless for now. And does Herzog sometimes, just sometimes, think it would not have been so terrible had Miriam Peretz won the presidential election?
Morgan Ortagus, former deputy envoy to the Middle East, opens up about her Jewish conversion, the Israeli-Lebanese talks she helped broker, and why October 7 changed everything.
After October 7, Spain's prime minister visited Israel in a show of solidarity – then spent the next two years doing everything in his power to brand his country as a hub of hatred.
At the summit of Mount Dov, Lt. Col. G., deputy commander of the IDF’s Mountain Brigade, acknowledges: “Before the massacre, we didn’t operate here.” Since then, however, Israel has shifted from defense to offense, culminating in the capture of the Hermon ridge and control over the entire area. The next step, the Druze officer hopes, will be to annex his brethren across the Syrian border.
A day before lighting a torch on Mount Herzl, Ora Hatan stood in her kitchen in the moshav of Shtula, cooking kubbeh for soldiers, taking "orders" from worried mothers and scolding company sergeant majors who still had not returned her pots. When you visit, you understand the secret of her magic, and of the place itself.
In Operation Rising Lion, Israeli Air Force extreme photographer Sergeant First Class O accompanied fighter pilots in the cockpit and ground crews on the tarmac. His lens hovered closest to the action, and these are the images he loved most. Also: Israeli Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar delivers a message to Israel Hayom readers.
By every objective measure, Israel and the US did not lose to Iran. In fact, they inflicted enormous damage on the ayatollahs' regime. But on another front, Israel is in troubling shape: American public opinion, where the share of supporters has fallen to its lowest point in nearly 40 years.
The shutdown of the Karish and Leviathan gas platforms is estimated to have cost about 1.5 billion shekels. Despite the defensive envelope in place, the IDF decided not to take the risk. Now, some are even claiming the move was part of a conspiracy aimed at securing additional budgets.
