Latest news with #12DayWar
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ex-IDF chief Halevi slams Mossad chief: 'Takes credit for ops led by IDF'
In meetings, Halevi reportedly criticized Barnea's performance, particularly during the 12-Day War against Iran. Former chief of staff Maj.-Gen. Herzi Halevi criticized Mossad head David (Dedi) Barnea in a series of meetings since he stepped down from the role in March, Channel 13 reported on Wednesday. Halevi slammed the Mossad head for allegedly taking credit for operations led by the IDF. "The head of Mossad crowns himself, takes credit for operations led by the IDF, and engages in self-promotion in an uncooperative manner. 'It occupies him to the point that he allowed videos from operations in Iran to be published," he added, according to the report. Halevi resigned, keeping his promise made in October 2023, to take responsibility for the failure of the October 7 massacre. In the meetings, Halevi reportedly criticized Barnea's performance, particularly during the 12-Day War against Iran. Barnea's approach was PR-driven "He didn't take the right approach," Channel 13 reported Halevi as saying, criticizing what he saw as a PR-driven management of operations. He also reportedly accused Barnea of "suggesting actions beyond his role and failing to take responsibility for their outcomes." Solve the daily Crossword
Time of India
6 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
‘Iran's prez said no water by…': Netanyahu's direct appeal to Iranians, urges them to oppose regime
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the Iranian people in a social media video, urging them to oppose their regime. He promised Israeli water technology would be shared once the current government is removed. Netanyahu referenced Iran's water crisis, quoting Iranian officials admitting severe shortages amid the worst drought in a century. He highlighted the recent 12 Day War sparked by Iran's nuclear threats, emphasizing the regime's failures and hardships faced by ordinary Iranians. Show more Show less
Time of India
17-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Israel faces critical dilemma in Gaza as the war of attrition drags on
With the end of the '12 Day War' between Israel and Iran on 24th June, there was hope that the war in Gaza too would wind up soon. Israel had steadily removed all threats from its periphery through a sustained military campaign over 20 months and with Iran's military capabilities as well as nuclear program now severely degraded, it was hoped that Hamas too would capitulate to intense pressure and agree to an early ceasefire. A ceasefire was in fact offered recently, but it has not yet found acceptance between the warring parties. Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) continue their operations to 'eliminate Hamas' from Gaza hoping to achieve a difficult military objective against a well-entrenched enemy who operates in the 'Gray Zone', merging with the population, often resorting to guerilla tactics to fight the IDF . Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category Product Management Project Management Data Science healthcare others Finance Digital Marketing Data Science Data Analytics Degree Operations Management Artificial Intelligence Management Technology Healthcare Leadership Others MCA Public Policy Cybersecurity MBA Design Thinking CXO PGDM Skills you'll gain: Product Strategy & Roadmapping User-Centric Product Design Agile Product Development Market Analysis & Product Launch Duration: 24 Weeks Indian School of Business Professional Certificate in Product Management Starts on Jun 26, 2024 Get Details Skills you'll gain: Product Strategy & Competitive Advantage Tactics Product Development Processes & Market Orientations Product Analytics & Data-Driven Decision Making Agile Development, Design Thinking, & Product Leadership Duration: 40 Weeks IIM Kozhikode Professional Certificate in Product Management Starts on Jun 26, 2024 Get Details Skills you'll gain: Creating Effective Product Roadmap User Research & Translating it to Product Design Key Metrics via Product Analytics Hand-On Projects Using Cutting Edge Tools Duration: 12 Weeks Indian School of Business ISB Product Management Starts on May 14, 2024 Get Details In midst of all this, the fate of 20 odd living Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity continues to ignite public debate in Israel and the world. With each passing day, the health and status of the living hostages is likely to deteriorate while Hamas continues to bolster its cadres through a steady stream of recruitment, posing new challenges to the IDF. A number of factors, each closely interlinked, are thus hampering efforts to end this war. A closer examination of each may offer a realistic assessment towards a much-awaited ceasefire. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo The Hamas When the war broke out on 7th October 2023, Hamas was estimated to have around 25,000 to 30,000 combat cadres. Over the past 20 months, most estimates suggest that almost 12,000 to 15,000 Hamas operatives have been eliminated so far although the IDF estimates are higher at almost 23,000. However, the bigger achievement has been how severely Hamas's combat capabilities have been degraded by elimination of its top leadership as well as destruction of its weapon caches, rocket launchers and its tunnel network. Plus, the deployment of IDF along the Rafah border and the Netzarin Corridor has meant that Hamas is neither able to replenish its arsenal nor is it permitted free movement across the Gaza Strip. However, there are inputs of steady recruitment within Hamas ranks and despite the fact that the new recruits may not be well trained, they do definitely add to the numbers and nuisance value. Plus, there are no reports to suggest that Hamas has lost its governance capability completely with Gaza. In fact, with no other agency or group including the Palestine authority (PA), seems to be in a position to provide a viable alternative to Hamas in Gaza. There were suggestions earlier that the Arab countries may be asked to deploy a coalition force in Gaza and ensure peace and governance but it is quite clear that none of these countries want to get involved in the mess themselves. This, coupled by the fact that Hamas is regularly ambushing IDF soldiers is becoming a major irritant for Israel. Two things look clear here. Hamas retains enough fighting capability to frustrate the IDF and keep it engaged in Gaza. Secondly, there is no likelihood of finding a viable alternative to Hamas with regards to governance in Gaza, in the short term. Live Events Ceasefire Efforts Apart from a brief week-long truce in November 2023, the only ceasefire in the Gaza war lasted from 19th January to 18th March this year. This ceasefire was agreed upon (or imposed on Israel), days before Donald Trump was to assume office as the 47th President of the US, fulfilling a key election promise. The ceasefire, however, could not culminate in the end of war as Israel unilaterally broke it on 18th March launching airstrikes which killed more than 400 people in Gaza in one night. And with ground forces moving into Gaza on 20th March, slim hopes of ceasefire faded soon. The Iran-Israel conflict in June put the Gaza war on a backburner but there was hope of a ceasefire once the conflict ended. In fact, the Trump Administration , with Egypt and Qatar as key interlocutors, did put in a ceasefire proposal in the first week of July which entailed an initial ceasefire of 60 days. The plan was to release 10 living hostages held by Hamas and 18 bodies of dead hostages in a staggered manner, in exchange for an unspecified number of Palestinians lodged in Israeli prisons. Plus, the humanitarian aid though the UN and the ICRC would resume distributing aid in Gaza. The plan also included a phased withdrawal of the IDF from parts of Gaza. While initial reports suggested that Israel has agreed to the contours of the ceasefire, PM Netanyahu, in his statements later, denied it saying that he will not end the war until all captives are released and Hamas is 'destroyed'. Hamas, on the other hand, wanted the IDF to withdraw to the positions it held before it violated the ceasefire in March this year. The positions of Israel and Hamas on the ceasefire are thus acutely divergent. While Hamas is looking at a complete end to the war accompanied with full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, Israel is looking for release of its hostages with no guarantees on ending the war till the Hamas is totally removed from Gaza. With this being the case, an early ceasefire in Gaza looks unlikely. IDF Casualties and Hostages As the IDF continues its operations in Gaza, it is confronted with a grim reality in the past few weeks; that of increasing incidents of IDF troops being ambushed and killed in Gaza by Hamas. In a recent incident, three IDF soldiers were killed and an officer was wounded when their armoured tank was hit by a blast in the northern Gaza Strip on 14 July. From available data officially released by the IDF, it has lost 891 soldiers (up-to 15 July 2025) in the Gaza war. Of these, 19 have lost their lives since 24th June (the day of ceasefire between Israel and Iran) and 42 have lost lives since the ceasefire was revoked by Israel on 18th March. With Hamas resorting to guerilla tactics, merging with the civilian population and using the tunnels deceptively, the likelihood of IDF suffering more casualties in the coming days and weeks cannot be ruled out. On the other hand, the fate of living hostages is becoming grim with each passing day. The accounts narrated by hostages who have been released earlier are not promising as the hostages are being kept in dire conditions and have also been used as human shields by Hamas in the past. Against this backdrop, the rising number of IDF casualties poses difficult questions in Israel. Is the life of an IDF soldier not as precious as a living hostage? What is the cost that Israel is ready to pay to get back the remaining living hostages? Here, one has to also see that many of the soldiers in the IDF who have been killed in combat are reservists who were leading normal civilian lives and had been called up to serve in the war. There are also huge protests in Israel from pro-hostage groups which are calling for early release of hostages and are condemning PM Netanyahu for stalling the negotiations for his own political compulsions. Conclusion The war in Gaza was launched as a result of the deadliest Hamas terror attack into Israel on 7th October 2023. Israel had vowed to end the menace once and for all, launching an unprecedented military operation in Gaza. It had hoped that, with overwhelming military superiority, it would defeat Hamas and achieve its military objectives soon. However, Hamas is still fighting at the end of 21 months and the war has turned into a battle of attrition, something that suits the Hamas in its warfare tactics. With hostages not yet back home and casualties in IDF rising steadily, Israel is caught in a critical dilemma on how to minimise its losses and achieve its war objectives. Ceasefire attempts are not succeeding due to acutely divergent positions while increasing civilian deaths in Gaza due to IDF operations is adding international pressure on Israel. In midst of all this, there is no clear vision of a 'day after' scenario except that Hamas should be totally removed from Gaza and an alternate authority takes over governance of Gaza. Going by the current situation on ground in Gaza, this looks unlikely soon. Israel may therefore have to arrive at critical decision points soon, lest the war lingers on with no clear end in sight and the count of IDF body bags returning to Israel increases while the number of living hostages starts dwindling. The author is senior research consultant, Chintan Research Foundation
Fox News
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
This isn't just about the Jews. It never was
In the aftermath of what's now being called the "12-Day War," involving Israel, the U.S. and Iran, antisemitic rhetoric and incidents have reached new and disturbing heights. This is beyond even the devastating rise we've seen since Oct. 7. The Anti-Defamation League's recent report should stop every decent human being in their tracks. For many of us in the Jewish community, it was not a surprise. Painful, yes. alarming, absolutely. But shocking? Tragically, no. We didn't need the data. We live it. For the Jew today, especially high school and college students, this isn't just a sociological trend. This is the air they breathe. Young Jews are coming of age in a world that bombards them with slogans not about political policy, but about their very identity. From graffiti and shattered windows in cities across the country to violent chants on campuses and real threats of harm, the current climate does not reflect honest debate about international politics. Instead, it reveals a barely hidden, and often blatant, hatred of Jews, normalized in places where people are supposed to feel safe. I wear a yarmulke. I wear tzitzit (traditional Jewish fringes). I walk in the world as a very visible member-of-the-tribe. Before a single slur is thrown my way, no one asks me my thoughts on the last Israeli election. No one stops to inquire about my stance on a two-state solution. Like so many others who wear their Judaism proudly and publicly, I am targeted not for anything I've done, thought or said, but simply for who I am. They see a kippah, a mezuzah, a Jewish name or symbol and they lash out. That hatred is not academic or theoretical. It's real, it's visceral, and it makes no distinction. I've experienced my fair share of aggressive and dangerous antisemitism, but what chills me most is not my own experience. It's fear in the eyes of the next generation. Students who feel they must hide their identities. High school students walking out of their Jewish Student Union (JSU) clubs wondering if they should remove their Star of David necklaces before their next class with a certain teacher. College kids who are afraid that simply being Jewish might make them social pariahs, or worse. They are expected, sometimes obligated, to celebrate everyone else's identity, but always hide their own. The double standard is glaring. Let me be crystal clear: thoughtful and critical discourse about Israeli policy is not antisemitic. In fact, it's necessary. Israel is a democratic country with its share of flaws and tough decisions to make. But when I hear people shouting, "Burn Tel Aviv to the ground" or "Globalize the Intifada," this is not policy critique. This is not intellectual opposition. This is a genocidal threat. We cannot let ourselves pretend otherwise. Antisemitism is no longer hiding in the shadows, rather showing up in polite society. The ADL report is chilling: mainstream voices are spreading conspiracy theories that Jews control policy, while slogans calling for Israel's destruction and "Death to America" flood social media. What's worse, White supremacists, radical Islamists, far-left activists and college professors now unite in their hatred of Jews. We've heard this before. We know where it leads. If you're not Jewish, reach out to your Jewish friends. Learn. Speak up. Challenge hate. When only one people is asked to justify their existence, something is deeply broken. Call it out. Above all, understand this: antisemitism is not a Jewish problem. It is a human problem. Wherever Jew-hatred was allowed to grow, so too grows the targeting of all other minorities. Societies that target Jews first never stop there. We Jews will not disappear nor cower. We will not apologize for existing. But we ask, simply, for your hand to stand together. Will you stand with us? Not just because we are your neighbors, colleagues, classmates and friends. But because all our children deserve a world where hatred is called out, justice is pursued and no one has to hide who they are. I still hold onto that dream. A world with more light, more courage and more compassion is possible. Let's build it together.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Netanyahu nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize, gives him a copy of nominating letter
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told President Donald Trump that he was nominating the U.S. leader for a Nobel Peace Prize as the two took a victory lap on Monday after their recent joint strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, with both hailing the 12-day war as an unmitigated success.
