Author: mackenzie

Since October 2023, when the war broke out, the IDF have steadily expanded the territory under their control. It began in the Gaza Strip, continued in Syria and the West Bank, and now includes a large area in Lebanon. All of this requires troops — even as mandatory service is expected to be shortened in about six months. At the political level, which has pledged “at the request of the chief of staff” to pass a package of laws extending compulsory service — while also exempting tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox men from enlistment — progress has stalled. Despite the…

As Israel remains at war and many of its students continue to cycle between campus and reserve duty, those guiding them see their mission extending beyond academic excellence alone to include the needs of the state itself. Speaking ahead of Israel’s 78th Independence Day, Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan says the country’s flagship engineering school has long seen itself as part of the state’s national backbone. “We consider Israel’s security, Israel’s economy and Israel’s society as part of our mission,” Sivan said in an interview with ynet Global. “It’s not that anybody imposed that on us. But that’s how we…

IDF combat teams in southern Lebanon discovered a hidden Hezbollah stronghold 25 meters underground inside a clothing store, according to a Thursday statement. According to the military, the site was used by Hezbollah operatives to manage combat activity and store weapons. Soldiers found weapons and several rooms inside the underground complex that were used for Hezbollah’s operational management. Continue reading this article on jpost.com

As Yom Ha’atzmaut marks 78 years since the founding of the State of Israel, the occasion demands more than reflection. It is a strategic inflection point – a moment to consider how a small nation, born into existential adversity, has repeatedly converted limitation into asymmetric advantage and what lessons that holds for an increasingly unstable world. Israel’s story is often told through the lens of survival. But survival, on its own, does not explain its trajectory. Over nearly eight decades, Israel has engineered something far more durable: a national ecosystem in which innovation and security are not parallel tracks but a…

British police said on Friday they were investigating a security incident near the Israeli Embassy in London after a terror group reported online that it had targeted the premises with drones carrying “dangerous substances.” London’s Metropolitan Police officers were seen wearing protective clothing while searching a park near Israel’s Embassy for suspicious objects, with the Foreign Ministry stressing that all embassy workers were safe and that the embassy was not attacked. “There is an increased police presence in Kensington Gardens and officers are assessing a number of discarded items,” said Scotland Yard, calling the protective suits a “precaution.” Continue reading…

On the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, the global Jewish population stands at 15.8 million, according to data released Sunday by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), a figure that remains below pre-World War II levels. Of the total, about 7.2 million Jews, roughly 45% of the global Jewish population, live in Israel, while approximately 6.3 million, about 40%, reside in the United States. Together, the two countries are home to about 85% of Jews worldwide. By comparison, in 1939, on the eve of World War II, the global Jewish population was estimated at 16.6 million, with only 449,000, about…

A missile fired by Hezbollah terrorists from Lebanon on Friday evening, April 10, caused damage to a roughly 1,400-year-old Byzantine-era church in Nahariya. The church dates back to the early 7th century and was originally destroyed in 614 during the Persian conquest of parts of the land of Israel from the Christian Byzantine rulers. The Israel Antiquities Authority said an initial inspection indicated the ancient mosaic floor itself was not damaged but was covered by debris from the modern protective structure built above it. The mosaic features more than 100 medallions—of which 87 remain—depicting animals, birds, and human figures. At…

A total of 170 soldiers were killed during their military service since Israel’s last Memorial Day, according to figures released by the Defense Ministry on Thursday. Another 54 veterans died due to complications from injuries sustained during their service. The numbers brought the total to 25,644 people who have died during service to the country since 1860, when Jews left the Jerusalem Old City walls to establish new neighborhoods in the Holy Land. The annual figures include all soldiers, police and members of other security services who died in the past year, whether in the line of duty, or as…

IDF soldiers of the Commando Brigade are operating under the command of the 98th Division to dismantle terror infrastructure sites in southern Lebanon. On Wednesday, during an operational activity in the Bint Jbeil area, IDF soldiers from the Egoz Unit conducted a targeted raid on a combat compound used by the Hezbollah terrorist organization. The soldiers located dozens of weapons that were used by the organization’s terrorists to advance terror activity from within a civilian area. Among the weapons located were RPGs, Kalashnikov rifles, ammunition, grenades, an anti-aircraft missile, surveillance equipment, and combat equipment. Continue reading this article on israelnationalnews.com

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed on Sunday, April 5, that he had spoken with US President Donald Trump, who thanked Israel for its critical assistance in the operation to rescue the downed American pilot from enemy territory in Iran. The phone call came after both crew members of the F-15 were safely recovered. Netanyahu said he personally congratulated Trump on his bold decision and the perfectly executed American mission. “The President expressed his appreciation for Israel’s help,” Netanyahu wrote in a social media post following the call. He added that he was deeply proud that cooperation between the two nations…