The first maritime shipment of aid was offloaded from a barge to trucks in Gaza on March 15, part of a wider effort to bring more humanitarian aid into Gaza in coordination with the Israel Defense Forces.
Bill and Behnam catch up on recent headlines, including the statement made by a U.S. senator pushing for regime change (spoiler: he was not talking about Iran), reports of a high-level meeting between Iranian and Hezbollah officials, the Houthis continuing their maritime attacks, and more.
Shabaab continues to undo progress made against it in central Somalia; the United States continues to go after its financials and conducting periodic drone strikes against its forces.
Israel targeted senior Hamas leaders, including Marwan Issa, the deputy of Mohammad Deif, in an airstrike overnight between March 10 and 11. Hamas continues to operate from the area of Nuseirat and other areas in the “central camps” area of Gaza, where the strike took place. Israel is still assessing the results of the strike, the IDF said on March 11.
In addition to launching drone attacks, Hezbollah carried out dozens of missile attacks on Israel on March 10 and 11. The Israel Defense Forces responded by conducting airstrikes more than 80 miles inside Lebanon. The IDF practiced resupplying troops on the ground using C-130s.
Bill and Joe unpack the undertaking of the pier to be built by the U.S. off the coast of Gaza for the purpose of distributing aid (but without boots on the ground?) including some of their general concerns like, “Who is the aid handed off to, Hamas? Who the hell is going to secure this thing?”
They also discuss President Biden’s statement that Israel operating inside Rafah would be “a red line,” how Ramadan has started with no ceasefire in sight, and details surrounding a high-value target that Israel has gone after.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula announced the sudden death of its previous emir, Khalid al-Batarfi, and named Sa’ad bin Atef al-Awlaki as his successor. The cause of Batarfi’s death is unknown.
David Daoud joins Bill to discuss President Biden’s announcement that the U.S. military will establish a functional port off the coast of Gaza for the purpose of distributing aid (what could possibly go wrong) as well as the state of Israel’s (increasingly multi-front) war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Israel will continue its operations against Hamas in Gaza, including in Rafah near the Egyptian border. The US is also considering plans to create a temporary port in Gaza in order to supply humanitarian aid.
The Israel Defense Forces carried out an operation in the Hamad Towers area near Khan Younis and apprehended 250 terrorists. Weapons and terrorist infrastructure were found in the area. In northern Gaza, the IDF targeted Hamas in Beit Hanoun. These smaller, more precise operations illustrate Israel’s new tactics in Gaza.
Bill and Joe discuss Hezbollah continuing to turn up the heat at Israel’s northern border with an uptick in cross-border attacks amidst foreign fighters also emerging in Lebanon and while the U.S. increases its pressure on Israel to enter a ceasefire before Ramadan.
Hezbollah launched more than two dozen rockets at the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona on March 5. The IDF retaliated with strikes on several Hezbollah sites in Lebanon. Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met with US envoy Amos Hochstein.
Hezbollah targeted a community in northern Israel, killing one person and wounding nine others. The IDF intercepted a drone launched from Lebanon, and the IDF retaliated for rocket attacks by Hezbollah. Sirens sounded in Sderot, a city on the Gaza border, one day after Israeli school children returned to school in the border community.
Evidence has emerged demonstrating that foreign fighters are operating in Lebanon against Israel.
Israel continues to attack IRGC advisor in Syria on almost a monthly base.
Bill, Behnam and Joe discuss a few of this week’s biggest headlines including reports of Israel assassinating an IRGC advisor in Syria, escalation by Hezbollah at Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, and the results of Iran’s parliamentary elections.
Israel is coordinating with Jordan, the UAE, France, Egypt and the US to have humanitarian aid airdropped into Gaza. Jordan has carried out numerous airdrops since the war began, with France and the UAE recently joining Jordan and the US and Canada considering additional participation. Israel has used airdrops to supply its troops in Gaza and drop leaflets that warn civilians of areas to avoid.
Israeli forces continue to operate in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis to dismantle terrorist infrastructure and search for terrorists. The IDF redeployed a paratrooper unit and is rotating new forces into the city. Although fighting has become less intense in the last month, terrorist threats continue with the IDF discovering weapons caches and uncovering other threats daily.
Seth Frantzman is back on the show with Bill to provide an update from his perspective on the ground in Israel.
The Israel Defense Forces continue to operate in parts of Gaza. Fighting in recent weeks has become less intense with the IDF searching for Hamas terrorists in neighborhoods such as Khan Younis, Zaytun and central Gaza. With hostage talks ongoing and discussion of an Israeli operation in Rafah looming, the IDF is now operating at some of its lowest intensity in almost five months of war in Gaza.
Hezbollah fired barrages of rockets at Israel on February 27, targeting a sensitive IDF military site on Mount Meron. One missile did strike the site, and the IDF retaliated. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi visited northern Israel and vowed that the IDF would operate against the ongoing threats.
Bill and Joe discuss the latest updates from Israel’s defensive war in Gaza, including a potentially dwindling supply of ammunition for Hamas and its subsequent cooperation with other Palestinian terror groups; Egypt “fortifying” its border (but only above-ground and only because they want to keep Gazans out); whether Yahya Sinwar is still hiding out in a tunnel somewhere under Khan Younis (“with pneumonia”); the possibility and consequences of a ceasefire during Ramadan; and why Israel is indeed “winning” but will only win if it to continues its ground operation in Gaza, including in Rafah.
“Hezbollah has spent nearly two decades amassing a massive arsenal of short-range projectiles. Israel’s defensive systems are insufficient to contend with this threat, and the mobility of this portion of Hezbollah’s arsenal will likewise render Israeli standoff firepower ineffective against it — leaving Israel with no option but to launch an overwhelming, massive, and immediate ground invasion”
Bill and Behnam discuss reports of Iran sending ballistic missiles to Russia and the potential for subsequent U.S. sanctions on Tehran (and why that’d be insufficient); why the head of the IRGC Quds Force allegedly paid a recent visit to Iraq; an update on the Houthi-Gulf of Aden-Bab al Mandeb-Red Sea theater, including a new underwater drone threat and why if we happen to see the Iranians “de-escalate” in one theater it’s because they’re preparing to escalate in another (and not because they’ve been “deterred”).
Israel’s navy conducted a drill aimed toward “readiness in the northern arena” as threats from Hezbollah continue. The navy practiced countering drone threats and refueling at sea. Israeli aircraft struck Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in Lebanon and Israel’s Arrow air defense system intercepted a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis in Yemen on February 22.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented a ‘day after’ plan to Israel’s security cabinet which aims to demilitarize Gaza and enable locals to control civil affairs. Meanwhile inside Gaza, Israeli forces have created a security corridor south of Gaza City.
Hezbollah carried out multiple rocket, drone and ATGM attacks on Israel between February 19 and 21. New reports revealed Hezbollah concerns about Hamas operations in Gaza as well as insights into Hezbollah’s decision to not launch a larger war in early October.
The Israel Defense Forces continue to redeploy reserve units from Gaza after months of war, with several reserve brigades having been withdrawn in the last two weeks. With fighting in Gaza reduced, these reservists are able to return home. In Gaza, the IDF has increased its ability to respond to rocket fire and eliminate perpetrators of rocket launches and other types of attacks.
In early 2014, as Muslim civilians were being massacred in Central African Republic as part of a cycle of violence between Muslim and Christian militias, al-Qaeda went on a full-court press in an attempt to foster any jihadist movement to take up arms in the country. These attempts, however, largely fell on deaf ears. As such, this offers a unique glimpse into when, and potentially how, jihadist mobilization attempts fail.
In the final part of its narrative strategy, Hezbollah sets demands for the international community, but which are designed to advance Hezbollah’s goal of gradually and slowly achieving Israel’s destruction.