1. IDF Kills Hamas Rocket Pgm Head
by Hana Levi Julian
IDF forces have permanently ended the threat posted to Israel's southern residents by senior Hamas terrorist Ayman Siam, head of the guerrilla group's rocket and artillery unit in Gaza.
Siam was killed in an attack on his house during a joint IDF and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) operation Tuesday morning in the northern Gaza town of Jebaliya. He was known to be present in the house at the time of the attack.
The terrorist, who was wounded in one of the first IAF air strikes of Operation Cast Lead 10 days ago, founded the Hamas rocket launching program, and was also the head of the organization's artillery program throughout Gaza.
IAF pilots two days ago eliminated the Hamas commander who was in charge of launching last week's Grad Katyusha missile attacks on Be'er Sheva and Ofakim.
They also killed two other senior terrorists in strikes the same day – Muhammad Hilo, head of the Hamas Special Forces in Khan Younis, and Muhammad Shalboch, a member of the Hamas commando forces and a member of a rocket launching squad.
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by Hana Levi Julian
IDF forces have permanently ended the threat posted to Israel's southern residents by senior Hamas terrorist Ayman Siam, head of the guerrilla group's rocket and artillery unit in Gaza.
Siam was killed in an attack on his house during a joint IDF and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) operation Tuesday morning in the northern Gaza town of Jebaliya. He was known to be present in the house at the time of the attack.
The terrorist, who was wounded in one of the first IAF air strikes of Operation Cast Lead 10 days ago, founded the Hamas rocket launching program, and was also the head of the organization's artillery program throughout Gaza.
IAF pilots two days ago eliminated the Hamas commander who was in charge of launching last week's Grad Katyusha missile attacks on Be'er Sheva and Ofakim.
They also killed two other senior terrorists in strikes the same day – Muhammad Hilo, head of the Hamas Special Forces in Khan Younis, and Muhammad Shalboch, a member of the Hamas commando forces and a member of a rocket launching squad.
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2. 4 Soldiers Killed Monday in Gaza
by Maayana Miskin and Hana Levi Julian
Four IDF soldiers were killed on Monday in two separate incidents of friendly fire during ground operations, according to the IDF Spokesperson's Unit.
In one incident, a member of an elite paratroopers unit, was reportedly killed when a stray IDF mortar shell struck in the area where his unit was operation in northern Gaza near Beit Hanoun. Three other soldiers were killed on Monday evening by a shell from an IDF tank. The incident took place at approximately 6:00 p.m., and was released for publication early on Tuesday morning.
Email readers: Click here for video of wounded soldiers landing at hospital
Corporal Yousuf Muadi, 19, of Haifa will be laid to rest in the Bircha cemtery at the Galilee Druze village of Yerka at 3:00 p.m. Corporal Muadi was a member of the Golani's Battalion 13.
The funeral for Golani Brigade physician Major Dr. Dagan Wurtman, 32, from the Samaria town of Maale Michmas will be held on Tuesday at 15:30 in Har Herzl Military Cemetery.
Details of the funeral for Deputy Company Commander Captain Yonatan Netanel (right), 27, from Kedumim, have not yet been announced. Netanel studied in the Merkaz Harav Yeshiva High School, where eight students were murdered in an Arab terrorist attack in March.
He continued his studies in the pre-military yeshiva academy in Eli for three years. He enlisted in the Israeli paratroopers, got married to Tziyona, and the couple had their first baby girl three months ago. Netanel's parents and family live in Jerusalem.
First-Sergeant Nitai Stern, 21, of Jerusalem will be laid to rest at 13:30 in the Mt. Herzl Military Cemetery.
According to the findings of an initial investigation, the three Golani soldiers were part of a large group that had taken refuge in a building at the edge of the city of Jebaliya during heavy fighting in Gaza. The group had been targeted by mortar shells fired by Hamas.
After a short time a loud explosion was heard and the building the soldiers had entered began to collapse. While soldiers initially believed the building may have been rigged with bombs or hit by an anti-tank round fired by Hamas, further investigation showed the blast was caused by the misfired tank round.
A soldier was critically wounded in the accident and three were seriously wounded. Another 20 were lightly or moderately wounded.
The wounded received initial first aid at the scene and were removed by ambulances and helicopters. Tank units provided cover, keeping Hamas terrorists away from the scene until the soldiers had all been taken out for treatment.
One of the wounded was identified as Golani Brigade Colonel Avi Peled. Peled was lightly wounded, but refused to be taken from the scene and instead stayed to direct rescue efforts.
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by Maayana Miskin and Hana Levi Julian
Four IDF soldiers were killed on Monday in two separate incidents of friendly fire during ground operations, according to the IDF Spokesperson's Unit.
In one incident, a member of an elite paratroopers unit, was reportedly killed when a stray IDF mortar shell struck in the area where his unit was operation in northern Gaza near Beit Hanoun. Three other soldiers were killed on Monday evening by a shell from an IDF tank. The incident took place at approximately 6:00 p.m., and was released for publication early on Tuesday morning.
Email readers: Click here for video of wounded soldiers landing at hospital
Corporal Yousuf Muadi, 19, of Haifa will be laid to rest in the Bircha cemtery at the Galilee Druze village of Yerka at 3:00 p.m. Corporal Muadi was a member of the Golani's Battalion 13.
The funeral for Golani Brigade physician Major Dr. Dagan Wurtman, 32, from the Samaria town of Maale Michmas will be held on Tuesday at 15:30 in Har Herzl Military Cemetery.
Details of the funeral for Deputy Company Commander Captain Yonatan Netanel (right), 27, from Kedumim, have not yet been announced. Netanel studied in the Merkaz Harav Yeshiva High School, where eight students were murdered in an Arab terrorist attack in March.
He continued his studies in the pre-military yeshiva academy in Eli for three years. He enlisted in the Israeli paratroopers, got married to Tziyona, and the couple had their first baby girl three months ago. Netanel's parents and family live in Jerusalem.
First-Sergeant Nitai Stern, 21, of Jerusalem will be laid to rest at 13:30 in the Mt. Herzl Military Cemetery.
According to the findings of an initial investigation, the three Golani soldiers were part of a large group that had taken refuge in a building at the edge of the city of Jebaliya during heavy fighting in Gaza. The group had been targeted by mortar shells fired by Hamas.
After a short time a loud explosion was heard and the building the soldiers had entered began to collapse. While soldiers initially believed the building may have been rigged with bombs or hit by an anti-tank round fired by Hamas, further investigation showed the blast was caused by the misfired tank round.
A soldier was critically wounded in the accident and three were seriously wounded. Another 20 were lightly or moderately wounded.
The wounded received initial first aid at the scene and were removed by ambulances and helicopters. Tank units provided cover, keeping Hamas terrorists away from the scene until the soldiers had all been taken out for treatment.
One of the wounded was identified as Golani Brigade Colonel Avi Peled. Peled was lightly wounded, but refused to be taken from the scene and instead stayed to direct rescue efforts.
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3. Terrorists Hit French Synagogue
by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
Terrorists crashed two vehicles, one loaded with firebombs, into the facade of a synagogue in southwestern France on Monday night. No injuries were reported; however, the attack is the second serious terrorist attack on Jewish targets in Europe in less than a week.
According to the French news agency AFP, unidentified attackers rammed a burning car into the gates of a Toulouse synagogue while a lecture was underway inside. A second vehicle, apparently used to push the flaming car into the synagogue, was found to hold several more firebombs. The attempted bombing damaged the synagogue, but the dozen or so people inside escaped unharmed.
AFP quoted a government spokeswoman as saying that there have been no claims of responsibility as of Tuesday morning. Police said they were investigating the incident, but that no arrests have yet been made. The attack was condemned by the National Bureau for Vigilance against Anti-Semitism and other anti-racist organizations. French radio has been repeatedly linking the Toulouse attack to the ongoing Israeli counter-terrorism operation in Gaza.
Security analysts from the Israel- and U.S.-based Institute for Terrorism Research and Response (ITRR) noted that the attack takes on ominous significance as it occurred on the same day as the start of a Paris trial of an al-Qaeda leader accused of plotting a bombing of a Tunisian synagogue. That attack, perpetrated in 2002, also involved a car rigged with fuel-based explosives set off outside the targeted house of worship. Twenty-one people were killed in the fireball. The accused, Khaled Sheikh Muhammad, is also allegedly the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks in the United States.
Second 'Lone-Wolf' Attack in Europe
The Toulouse car and firebomb assault was the second terrorist attack on European Jews in less than a week. On Wednesday of last week an unknown number of terrorists opened fire on a group of Israelis at a mall in Odense, Denmark. Two people were injured in the shooting. The perpetrators escaped in a black car, which was later found abandoned at a nearby college. Police later succeeded in tracking down one suspect in the shooting, identified as an Arab living in Denmark.
In addition to the foregoing, the British Jewish community's Communal Security Trust (CST) released for publication on Tuesday information about an act of anti-Semitic vandalism against a London synagogue. According to the CST, "a synagogue in Brondesbury, London, suffered an arson attack on the night of 4-5 January 2009. The attackers attempted to smash a window, but were prevented from doing so by the security film. They then appear to have attempted to set the front door alight with petrol, causing some damage to the exterior of the premises. Police, CST and fire brigade attended the scene."
In another arson attempt, a firebomb was thrown at a synagogue in Brussels, Belgium, on Monday. The building was somewhat damaged.
Aside from these apparently "lone-wolf" attacks - perpetrated by individuals acting on their own or in ad-hoc cells - against Jewish targets around the world, Hamas, Hizbullah and Al-Qaeda have been promoting worldwide "sympathetic attacks" in response to the Israeli Gaza campaign. ITRR has cited intercepted communications from the al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) and from al-Qaeda in Islamic North Africa calling for Muslims to attack Jews worldwide.
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by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
Terrorists crashed two vehicles, one loaded with firebombs, into the facade of a synagogue in southwestern France on Monday night. No injuries were reported; however, the attack is the second serious terrorist attack on Jewish targets in Europe in less than a week.
According to the French news agency AFP, unidentified attackers rammed a burning car into the gates of a Toulouse synagogue while a lecture was underway inside. A second vehicle, apparently used to push the flaming car into the synagogue, was found to hold several more firebombs. The attempted bombing damaged the synagogue, but the dozen or so people inside escaped unharmed.
AFP quoted a government spokeswoman as saying that there have been no claims of responsibility as of Tuesday morning. Police said they were investigating the incident, but that no arrests have yet been made. The attack was condemned by the National Bureau for Vigilance against Anti-Semitism and other anti-racist organizations. French radio has been repeatedly linking the Toulouse attack to the ongoing Israeli counter-terrorism operation in Gaza.
Security analysts from the Israel- and U.S.-based Institute for Terrorism Research and Response (ITRR) noted that the attack takes on ominous significance as it occurred on the same day as the start of a Paris trial of an al-Qaeda leader accused of plotting a bombing of a Tunisian synagogue. That attack, perpetrated in 2002, also involved a car rigged with fuel-based explosives set off outside the targeted house of worship. Twenty-one people were killed in the fireball. The accused, Khaled Sheikh Muhammad, is also allegedly the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks in the United States.
Second 'Lone-Wolf' Attack in Europe
The Toulouse car and firebomb assault was the second terrorist attack on European Jews in less than a week. On Wednesday of last week an unknown number of terrorists opened fire on a group of Israelis at a mall in Odense, Denmark. Two people were injured in the shooting. The perpetrators escaped in a black car, which was later found abandoned at a nearby college. Police later succeeded in tracking down one suspect in the shooting, identified as an Arab living in Denmark.
In addition to the foregoing, the British Jewish community's Communal Security Trust (CST) released for publication on Tuesday information about an act of anti-Semitic vandalism against a London synagogue. According to the CST, "a synagogue in Brondesbury, London, suffered an arson attack on the night of 4-5 January 2009. The attackers attempted to smash a window, but were prevented from doing so by the security film. They then appear to have attempted to set the front door alight with petrol, causing some damage to the exterior of the premises. Police, CST and fire brigade attended the scene."
In another arson attempt, a firebomb was thrown at a synagogue in Brussels, Belgium, on Monday. The building was somewhat damaged.
Aside from these apparently "lone-wolf" attacks - perpetrated by individuals acting on their own or in ad-hoc cells - against Jewish targets around the world, Hamas, Hizbullah and Al-Qaeda have been promoting worldwide "sympathetic attacks" in response to the Israeli Gaza campaign. ITRR has cited intercepted communications from the al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) and from al-Qaeda in Islamic North Africa calling for Muslims to attack Jews worldwide.
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4. Ashkenazi Addresses Pilots
by IsraelNN staff
IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi addressed IAF pilots, expressing satisfaction with their efforts thus far and warning that Israel may have to do more in order to protect the south from terrorist rockets.
Can't see the video player? Click here to view the report.
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by IsraelNN staff
IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi addressed IAF pilots, expressing satisfaction with their efforts thus far and warning that Israel may have to do more in order to protect the south from terrorist rockets.
Can't see the video player? Click here to view the report.
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5. Land of Miracles Repels Rockets
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Whether because of Psalms, the Home Front or the Almighty, Defense Minister Ehud Barak told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Monday that only two percent of Hamas rockets score direct hits in Israel, often referred to as the "Land of Miracles".
Sixty percent of the missiles have fallen in open areas while 40 percent exploded in built-up areas, he added. However, only 10 percent partially struck buildings while two percent slammed directly into buildings.
Observers might explain that most of the western Negev comprises unsettled area, but that explanation goes by the boards concerning the more than 125 rockets that have hit the crowded population centers of Ashdod, Ashkelon and Be'er Sheva.
Working on the principle of not expecting a miracle from the Almighty without taking necessary precautions, the Home Front Command has prevented several tragedies by ordering the cancellations of schools and the closure of pre-school facilities in areas within 40 kilometers (26 miles) of Gaza.
Katyusha missiles hit an empty kindergarten in Ashdod Monday afternoon. Thirty children usually fill the room, which sustained heavy damage in the attack.
Last week, a rocket in Be'er Sheva slammed into a high school, where hundreds of students normally learn. If they had been in the building, the disaster would have been indescribable because they could not have reached a fortified shelter within the 60 seconds between the activation of rocket warning sirens and the strike.
Dozens of eyewitnesses have reported that rockets landed several feet from where they were standing or from where they had been several minutes before the time of impact.
The national unity supporting Israel's war on terrorism has enlisted unlikely sources to join the recital of prayers. Two broadcasters for Army Radio, a bastion of secular and often anti-nationalist programming, recited a prayer from the Book of Psalms on Sunday.
Radio Darom, the southern outlet of the intensely secular Voice of Israel, featured the recital of a Psalm on Monday. However, the Voice of Israel's flagship Reshet Bet network has not yet joined in.
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by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Whether because of Psalms, the Home Front or the Almighty, Defense Minister Ehud Barak told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Monday that only two percent of Hamas rockets score direct hits in Israel, often referred to as the "Land of Miracles".
Sixty percent of the missiles have fallen in open areas while 40 percent exploded in built-up areas, he added. However, only 10 percent partially struck buildings while two percent slammed directly into buildings.
Observers might explain that most of the western Negev comprises unsettled area, but that explanation goes by the boards concerning the more than 125 rockets that have hit the crowded population centers of Ashdod, Ashkelon and Be'er Sheva.
Working on the principle of not expecting a miracle from the Almighty without taking necessary precautions, the Home Front Command has prevented several tragedies by ordering the cancellations of schools and the closure of pre-school facilities in areas within 40 kilometers (26 miles) of Gaza.
Katyusha missiles hit an empty kindergarten in Ashdod Monday afternoon. Thirty children usually fill the room, which sustained heavy damage in the attack.
Last week, a rocket in Be'er Sheva slammed into a high school, where hundreds of students normally learn. If they had been in the building, the disaster would have been indescribable because they could not have reached a fortified shelter within the 60 seconds between the activation of rocket warning sirens and the strike.
Dozens of eyewitnesses have reported that rockets landed several feet from where they were standing or from where they had been several minutes before the time of impact.
The national unity supporting Israel's war on terrorism has enlisted unlikely sources to join the recital of prayers. Two broadcasters for Army Radio, a bastion of secular and often anti-nationalist programming, recited a prayer from the Book of Psalms on Sunday.
Radio Darom, the southern outlet of the intensely secular Voice of Israel, featured the recital of a Psalm on Monday. However, the Voice of Israel's flagship Reshet Bet network has not yet joined in.
Comment on this story
6. Ketzaleh: Follow Me to Israel-1
by Chagit Rotenberg
“We will bring smiles back to the faces of those who cherish the Land of Israel,” says National Union party leader Yaakov "Ketzaleh" Katz in an exclusive interview with B'Sheva Magazine.
Translated by Rochel SylvetskyThe new leader of the National Union Party is proud of the fact that the list of candidates he heads unites four Zionist parties. He predicts at least ten Knesset seats for the National Union, which he defines as the only party that presents a clear, unequivocal message of faithfulness to the Land of Israel as well as concentrating on welfare and educational needs. All his friends from his old Shaked Commando Unit have promised to vote for him. He calls on other non-observant voters who love their country to join them.
Just a few minutes spent at the modest Tekumah faction office near the entrance to Jerusalem are enough to dispel the breakaway image ascribed to them for leaving the recently-formed Jewish Home party. “Unity” is a more apt description of what is happening at the renewed National Union Party. Representatives of the four parties that make up the candidate list are shaking hands, slapping one another on the back and smiling. Dr. Arye Eldad and Baruch Merzel have just finished a meeting, Uri Ariel is gathering young and older party activists for afternoon prayers, “Moledet” and “Tekumah” faction representatives are busy discussing division of budgets and
by Chagit Rotenberg
“We will bring smiles back to the faces of those who cherish the Land of Israel,” says National Union party leader Yaakov "Ketzaleh" Katz in an exclusive interview with B'Sheva Magazine.
Translated by Rochel SylvetskyThe new leader of the National Union Party is proud of the fact that the list of candidates he heads unites four Zionist parties. He predicts at least ten Knesset seats for the National Union, which he defines as the only party that presents a clear, unequivocal message of faithfulness to the Land of Israel as well as concentrating on welfare and educational needs. All his friends from his old Shaked Commando Unit have promised to vote for him. He calls on other non-observant voters who love their country to join them.
Just a few minutes spent at the modest Tekumah faction office near the entrance to Jerusalem are enough to dispel the breakaway image ascribed to them for leaving the recently-formed Jewish Home party. “Unity” is a more apt description of what is happening at the renewed National Union Party. Representatives of the four parties that make up the candidate list are shaking hands, slapping one another on the back and smiling. Dr. Arye Eldad and Baruch Merzel have just finished a meeting, Uri Ariel is gathering young and older party activists for afternoon prayers, “Moledet” and “Tekumah” faction representatives are busy discussing division of budgets and
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