CHANGING OF THE GUARD

Eyal Zamir nominated to become IDF’s 24th chief of staff after Halevi’s resignation takes effect in March

 

By Emanuel Fabian

 

The Times of Israel

Feb 1, 2025

 

 

Eyal Zamir during a ceremony in Tel Aviv, July 11, 2021. 

 

Maj. Gen. (res.) Eyal Zamir, the Defense Ministry director-general, has been nominated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz to become the next Israel Defense Forces chief of staff.

Zamir, 59, had been considered the frontrunner candidate to replace IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, who is resigning over his responsibility for the failures that led to the Hamas terror group’s October 7, 2023, onslaught.

By law, candidates for IDF chief of staff, as well as other senior positions such as police commissioner and Bank of Israel governor, must be vetted by the Senior Appointments Advisory Committee. After that, a nominee is confirmed in a cabinet vote.

Zamir will become the IDF’s 24th chief of staff when he replaces Halevi, who is resigning on March 6.

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Eyal Zamir’s nomination as IDF chief gets praise from across the political aisle

 

By Sam Sokol

 

Politicians across the political spectrum welcome the nomination of Maj. Gen. (res.) Eyal Zamir to become the next Israel Defense Forces chief of staff.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid calls the current Defense Ministry director-general the “the right person for the job” while The Democrats’ chairman Yair Golan lauds him as “a talented officer and leader [who] will have to deal with the task of rebuilding the army, and with the burden of protecting the IDF from a dangerous and corrupt political echelon.”

MK Yuli Edelstein (Likud), the chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, says that Zamir is entering his position “at an intense and fateful time” and will have the “historic task of shaping the face of the IDF for future generations.”

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Otzma Yehudit chairman Itamar Ben Gvir both call on Zamir to reshape the IDF to be more aggressive and to shed alleged defeatist ideas about national security that are allegedly prevalent among its leadership.

“The Israeli people expect him to lead the IDF very quickly to a drastic change in the concept of security and complete victory on all fronts,” Smotrich declares, adding that Zamir will have to replace many people on the IDF general staff with “combative and determined commanders of the generation of victory.”

“This is the time to break free from the conceptions of the past, restore deterrence, and act with a strong hand against terrorism,” says Ben Gvir.

In a video message, National Unity chairman and former IDF chief of staff Benny Gantz calls Zamir “an experienced commander, with values ​​and a broad strategic vision [who] is certain to promote the mobilization of the Haredim and all populations, and to preserve the IDF as the people’s army.”

DOA: TRUMP'S PLAN TO TRANSFER GAZANS

Responding to Trump, Arab nations reject transferring Gazans ‘under any circumstances’

Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Palestinian Authority and Arab League say such plans would pose a threat to regional stability, risk expanding conflict

 

The Times of Israel

Feb 1, 2025

 

 

Demonstrators gather outside the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip on January 31, 2025 to protest against a plan floated by US President Donald Trump to move Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Egypt and Jordan. 

 

Arab foreign ministers on Saturday rejected the transfer of Palestinians from Gaza “under any circumstances or justifications,” presenting a unified stance against US President Donald Trump’s call for Egypt and Jordan to take in residents of the Strip.

In a joint statement following a meeting in Cairo, the foreign ministers and officials from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the Palestinian Authority and the Arab League said they were looking forward to working with Trump’s administration to achieve a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East, based on a two-state solution.

The foreign ministers rejected any “infringement of the inalienable rights” of Palestinians, whether by “settlement, expulsion, home demolitions, annexation, depopulation of the land of its people through displacement, encouraged transfer or the uprooting of Palestinians from their land.”

The statement warned that such plans “threaten the region’s stability, risk expanding the conflict, and undermine prospects for peace and coexistence among its peoples.”

Trump insisted on Thursday that Jordan and Egypt will support a proposal to resettle Palestinians in their countries rather than in a rebuilt Gaza Strip, despite flat refusals from both countries to consider the move.

“They will do it. They will do it. They’re gonna do it, okay? We do a lot for them, and they’re gonna do it,” Trump said when asked about the proposal during a photo op in the Oval Office

 

US President Donald Trump looks on after delivering remarks at the House Republican Members Conference Dinner at Trump National Doral Miami, in Miami, Florida on January 27, 2025. 

 

 

King Abdullah II of Jordan (L) and Egypt’s President Abdel-Fatah El-Sisi explicitly rejected Trump's proposal on Wednesday.
 

 

Both Egyptian President Abdel Fatah el-Sissi and Jordan’s King Abdullah explicitly rejected the proposal on Wednesday.

“Regarding what is being said about the displacement of Palestinians, it can never be tolerated or allowed because of its impact on Egyptian national security,” Sissi said.

Trump said earlier this week that the issue would be discussed with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he travels to Washington next week.

Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who has spent the past week on a diplomatic trip around the region, including a visit to Gaza during his larger trip to Israel, told Axios Thursday that there is “almost nothing left” of the Strip and rebuilding the war-ravaged enclave could take 10 to 15 years.

“People are moving north to get back to their homes and see what happened and turn around and leave… There is no water and no electricity. It is stunning just how much damage occurred there,” Witkoff told the US news website after visiting Gaza.

Witkoff also told Axios he has not discussed with Trump the idea of moving Palestinians from Gaza.

 

Displaced Palestinians return to Rafah, Gaza Strip, Jan. 20, 2025 

 

A UN damage assessment released this month showed that clearing over 50 million tons of rubble left in the aftermath of Israel’s campaign could take 21 years and cost up to $1.2 billion.

The debris is believed to be contaminated with asbestos, with some refugee camps struck during the war known to have been built with the material.

The rubble also likely contains human remains. The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry estimates that 10,000 bodies are missing under the debris.

HAMAS HAS NOT BEEN DEFEATED

Hamas' show of strength demands explanation

The images emerging from the devastated Gaza Strip do not depict Hamas as a collapsed, crushed, or dismantled organization, let alone a destroyed one. The victory images we had hoped to see will have to be found elsewhere.

 

By Zvika Haimovich  

 

Israel Hayom

Feb 1, 2025

 

 

Hamas and Islamic Jihad gunmen in Khan Yunis, where released Israeli hostages were ushered through a mob of howling and hostile Gazans.

The initial phase of the hostage release framework is underway after fifteen months of war, relentless IDF firepower, and a sustained military campaign in the Gaza Strip. 

For months, senior IDF officials and government leaders have assured the public that Hamas had been dismantled as a military force, that it had lost most of its capabilities, and that its grip on local public opinion was waning.

Over the past few months, Israel applied significant pressure on Gaza by closing the Rafah border crossing, asserting control over the Philadelphi Corridor, and slicing the Strip in half along the Netzarim Axis while preventing residents from returning to northern Gaza. However, two of these pressure levers were removed this week.

 

 

IDF forces operating in Beit Lahia, Gaza Strip. 

 

The hostage release deal is necessary. If anything, it should have been implemented earlier. Yet, in the past two weeks, as Israel refrains from making decisions regarding "the day after" Hamas in Gaza, the reality on the ground shows a terrorist organization that remains the Strip's sole ruler. Hamas is exploiting each hostage release phase to stage a theatrical display of governance and reinforce its control. Its ability to organize and maintain outward symbols - uniforms, equipped vehicles, staged photography, flags, police presence, and more - alongside military displays of armed fighters and vehicles, is far from what one would expect from a group that has been crushed and stripped of its capabilities.

How, after all the IDF's bombardments and military pressure, when Gaza is completely isolated from the outside world, is Hamas still able to mobilize forces and equipment in such an organized manner, both in scale and in condition, within days? This is difficult to comprehend, and it demands an explanation from IDF commanders, something we have yet to hear. This is an organization that was supposedly stripped of its command structure and assets, yet it still manages to project strength. The victory image we sought in this war against Hamas in Gaza appears elusive. Hamas remains standing, and as time passes and the hostage release process continues, its grip and control over the Strip only tighten.

 

  

Hamas has not been defeated despite the destruction of Gaza.  

 

Hamas, which has proven to be a tough negotiator in the hostage release talks, has adeptly leveraged the situation to its advantage. Its insistence on a phased release plan spread over 42 days, combined with the removal of Israeli pressure levers, such as reopening the Rafah crossing and lifting the territorial division at the Netzarim Axis, was likely a strategic move aimed at reasserting its control. By facilitating the return of hundreds of thousands of Gazans to northern Gaza without basic living conditions, Hamas is effectively using them as human shields, making it far more difficult for the IDF to resume military operations in the north, or anywhere else in the Strip.

 

  

Tens of thousands of Gazans head to northern Gaza.  

 

Israel's attempt to impose conditions on future hostage release phases is, in essence, an effort to "cut losses." While it is being framed as a necessary step to remove the physical threat to hostages from an uncontrolled, frenzied crowd - a justified move - it is also an attempt to deny Hamas the "victory displays" that serve its internal propaganda goals, and one day, could be used against Israel as well.

Even when the second phase of the hostage release is completed, and all captives return home, it will not be a victory image. The release is a moral obligation and a national necessity, one that stems from one of the greatest failures in Israel's history. We must not delude ourselves. It is crucial to remember the cost, the time that has passed, and those who could have returned alive but never will.

As a nation and a society, we seek moments of optimism, joy, excitement, and the affirmation of life. But let us not be mistaken, these emotions will not erase the horrors of October 7, 2023. And to those who assured us that "we have defeated Hamas" (as Defense Minister Katz claimed upon taking office) or that "Hamas has been dismantled, along with its battalions and capabilities" (as the IDF Chief of Staff declared), I hope the images from Gaza are prompting a reassessment. They should be asking themselves: Where did we go wrong? More importantly, where do we go from here? What reality will remain in Gaza on the day we bring the last hostage home? Hamas' PR displays and military parades leave much to ponder.

ICE AGENTS FACE THREAT OF WEAPONIZED MEXICAN CARTEL DRONES

Cartels authorized the use of weaponized drones against ICE agents 

 

By Ali Bradley

 

NewsNation 

Feb 1, 2025

 

 

 

Drones used by Mexican drug cartels often carry explosives such as these seized by the Attorney General of the Republic of Mexico

 

Cartels have authorized the use of weaponized drone explosives against border agents and other U.S. law enforcement at the southern border as violent threats are escalating on social media, with some promising the use of deadly force against Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is taking the threats seriously enough to circulate two memos among agents and officers within the agency. Copies of the memos were obtained by NewsNation.

One of the communications references three different social media posts that included threats.

One post encourages people to assassinate ICE police, while a TikTok video tells immigrants illegally in the U.S. to spit and urinate on ICE agents’ food and defecate in their vehicles. Another post calls for the murder of local ICE agents.

A second memo warns that cartels have authorized the use of drone explosives against CBP personnel and U.S. law enforcement officers.

Border czar Tom Homan told NewsNation this week that leaked information about targeted operations has forced authorities to pivot to keep officers and agents safe.

“We’ve got many target cities, but I’m not going to share them with you because we got to keep our officers safe,” Homan said.

“Matter of fact, Chicago, that operation was leaked, so we had to reschedule that one. But we need an element of surprise because of officer safety issues. We don’t want the bad guy to know we’re coming,” he added.

Agents are reminded to be cognizant of their surroundings and should be wearing their ballistic armor and utilizing their long firearms.

Maryland Rep. Glenn Ivey, a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, told NewsNation that weaponized drones have become more common in warfare, so it’s not surprising cartels may be poised to use them at the U.S. border.

WHO THE HELL TRIES TO ROB A GARBAGE TRUCK DRIVER ?

By Bob Walsh

 

The answer is two stupid bastards in Chicago.  At about 0500 near a school in the Homan Square neighborhood this garbage collector was out doing his garbage collector thing when two guys tried to rob him.  He didn't want to be robbed so he pulled out his legally owned and legally carried gat and started shooting.  The encounter left the 28-year old garbage man unharmed.  One of his two assailants is deader than dog shit, the other is in critical condition with a non-factory hole in his neck.