Thursday
Yom Chamishee
20 Adar 5785
March 20 2025
UPDATE 4:30 PM ISRAEL TIME
Hamas launched 3 M-90 missiles toward Tel Aviv in the 1:21 pm attack. They were fired from the Bani Sahilah neighborhood in eastern Khan Younis in Gaza. This is a photo from Gaza of one of the launches–note the missile trail:
One was intercepted, and two missiles fell “in open spaces.” Shrapnel from the intercepted missile fell in Rishon LeZion:
The IDF has just issued an urgent evacuation order for the Bani Sahilah neighborhood indicating that an IDF attack is imminent.
The missiles today are a direct result of the ceasefire which enabled Hamas to reorganize and plan new attacks.
UPDATE 1:30 PM ISRAEL TIME
Missiles fired at Tel Aviv area from Gaza at 1:21 pm:
In Rafah a few minutes ago:
From the IDF Spokesman in the last 30 minutes:
“In recent hours, IDF forces have begun ground operations on the coastal axis in the Beit Lahia area in northern Gaza. Prior to the operation, the IDF and Shin Bet attacked Hamas terror infrastructure and anti-tank missile launch sites in the Beit Lahia area. At the same time, the IDF and Shin Bet continued to attack dozens of terror targets of terrorist organizations throughout Gaza overnight. As part of the attacks, fighter jets and aircraft attacked dozens of terrorists from the terrorist organizations, military structures, weapons, and additional terror infrastructure that posed a threat to IDF forces and Israel. Our forces are attacking throughout Gaza at this time as well and will continue to operate against the terror organizations in Gaza and remove any threat to the citizens of Israel.”
UPDATE 9:00 AM ISRAEL TIME
The View from Ashdod
The same old story at 4:01 am this morning as the Houthis in Yemen launched another ballistic missile at central Israel. Once again the missile was intercepted by an Arrow missile before reaching Israel, but also once again these communities and others had incoming shrapnel alarms:
Savyon, Petah Tikva, Kiryat Ono, Rishon Lezion, Rehovot, Ramat Gan, Ramat Hasharon, Raanana, Elad, Be’er Ya’akov, Beitar Illit, Kafr Kasem, Mikveh Israel, Rosh Ha’Ayin, Bnei Brak, Yehud Monoson, Modi’in-Maccabim-Re’ut, Kfar Saba, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Or Yehuda, Lod, Bat Yam, Mevaseret Zion, Ramla, Givatayim, Beit Shemesh, Hod Hasharon, Ness Ziona, Herzliya:
As you can see, Ashdod (just under the Highway 4 sign) did not receive an alarm. Even if we had received one, we probably wouldn’t have heard it because of the storm blowing into the Ashdod area from the Mediterranean with its howling 20-30 mph winds and heavy rain (snow on Mt. Hermon this morning).
The bottom line is that the Houthi missiles pose virtually no danger; no Israeli has been wounded by any of their launches except in running to a bomb shelter. The impact they have is on Ben Gurion Airport–continued alarms and possible shrapnel falls there will almost certainly cause some airlines to stop flying here.
On the Ground in Gaza
Main points:
*A new ground operation in Gaza. IDF forces partially “retook” the Netzarim Corridor–once again cutting off northern Gaza from central Gaza. The Salah ad-Din highway is now blocked by Israeli tanks.
*The Golani Brigade has re-deployed to southern Gaza.
*Palestinians are being evacuated from northern Gaza, again.
*The IAF hit numerous targets overnight including Beit Lahia in northern Gaza. More than 70 terrorists have been killed. At this moment (9:00 am), combat helicopters are striking more Hamas targets in northern Gaza.
*IDF artillery shelled Hamas terrorists south of Gaza City.
*Israeli naval forces destroyed several Hamas and Islamic Jihad vessels that were being prepared for attacks on Israel.
*Another senior Hamas leader has been killed: Yasser Muhammad Harb Musa, responsible for promoting and directing terrorist activities against Israel.
On the Ground in Judea and Samaria
*Palestinian terrorists stabbed an Israeli between Alfie Menashe and Karnei Shomron. The terrorists escaped; the Israeli is in moderate condition.
*Palestinian terrorists attacked Israeli vehicles with Molotovs east of Yitzhar Keta Junction. No Israelis were physically wounded; the terrorists escaped.
*Palestinian terrorists attacked an Israeli bus between Anatot and Hizma. No Israelis were physically wounded; the terrorists escaped.
Another Egregious Assault on Jewish Rights on the Temple Mount
Unbelievably, the Israel Police notified the Temple Mount Administration yesterday that the Har Ha Beit (Temple Mount) will be closed to Jewish entry for two weeks, starting this Thursday.
These are the last ten days of Ramadan and the four days of Eid al-Fitr. The Temple Mount will be closed to Jews starting today Thursday, the 20th of Adar (March 20). The Temple Mount will reopen on Wednesday, Nisan 4, 5785 (April 2).
What is incredible is that this is precisely the denial of Jewish rights on the Mount that we used to see when Hamas was making threats to fire missiles at Jerusalem. Entry was stopped, parades were not allowed, and on and on.
We seem to have gotten past that in recent years only to be back there again this morning.
Freedom of worship for everyone except Jews.
Incredible.
On the Government Front
Tonight, the government will meet to decide on the dismissal of Shin Bet head Ronen Bar. If the dismissal is confirmed, he will leave office on April 20. Bar may give a response before the vote takes place. Almost certainly the Israel Supreme Court will weigh in at some point.
*Yesterday saw another day of anti-government marches around Israel.
The following article by Eve Young of the Jerusalem Post which appeared this morning. Though some of her comments deserve interpolation [see my comments], she excellently captures what people are protesting about.
“Title:
Bringing down Bibi or bringing home hostages? What are the protesters fighting for – analysis
“Masses took to the streets on Tuesday and Wednesday at multiple locations in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. [“Masses” is an overstatement. Hundreds marched to Jerusalem where they were joined by several thousand others.]
Protests were originally called following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement that he would fire Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) head Ronen Bar but calls and plans to protest only intensified after Israel’s return to fighting in the Gaza Strip early on Tuesday.
So what are the protesters actually gathering for, and what is the agenda they are pushing?
Is the protest aimed at stopping the firing of Bar, seen by many as the newest step in a renewed attempt at a judicial overhaul that would endanger Israel’s democracy?
Are protesters pushing the government to make bringing the hostages home its first priority – before the return to war, which is seen as endangering the hostages, or the dismantling of Hamas?
Are protesters calling for the end of the war or for elections and a new government?
The answer is a mixture of all of the above and more, likely varying on who you ask, and is impacted by the war, the hostage situation, and a wide coalition of protest organizations that have been working together on and off for years. [This coalition has become a full-fledged, fully funded business that has been itching to get back in the streets to justify their existence.]
Many protesters draw a direct line between the judicial reform, the failure to bring the hostages home, and the management of the war, saying all are the result of a government that is not putting the good of the people ahead of all else.
Many view the government’s perceived attempt to consolidate power through a judicial reform, as well as its abandonment of the hostages and failures to protect the security of citizens of the North and South, as just another expression of a lack of care for the rights of the people. [Abandonment of the hostages? Lack of care for the rights of people?]
In the eyes of many protesters, a government more concerned about maintaining its power than upholding the civil rights of its citizens and advancing their well-being may well destroy democratic institutions, just as it may abandon its citizens when they are taken captive.
Even protesters who do not make this connection may be “piggybacking” on the widespread protest, using it to advance whatever agenda they feel is most important. [Very well stated!]
Those who feel that bringing the hostages home must come before anything else can further this cause by joining this week’s major demonstrations and, in doing so, keep the hostages in the public consciousness. Those advocating for any other cause can do the same.
Israel’s return to fighting in Gaza just before the scheduled protest swung the pendulum for many protesters, who emphasized the importance of bringing the hostages back at Tuesday and Wednesday’s protests above all else.
Public protest has been defined by interesting coalitions and compromises for years. Protests against the judicial reform saw a wide camp of organizations focused on different things, all working to fight what they saw as a threat to democracy.
The Balfour protests also saw a huge, loose coalition of organizations all working to replace Netanyahu.
The most recent wave of protests, the child of previous protests against the judicial reform and for the hostages, seems to be the least cohesive in terms of central demands, with some putting saving the hostages above all else and others determined to unseat the government they see as responsible for the defensive failures on October 7 and others still fighting to protect Israel’s institutions.
Protesters and protest organizations have navigated these divides and managed to form coalitions that have generally allowed protesters with different goals to work well together without fighting over the same participants and to meld messages that one would not normally see in the same place. [In the U.S., this is called “intersectionality” and explains why anti-Israel demonstrations feature such disparate groups as Black Lives Matter, La Raza, the Philippine Anti-Government movement, LGBTers, and many others].
The breadth of the coalition involved in the most recent wave of protests shows a bright side to Israel – a country that is able to work together and bridge divides. It also shows just how widely unhappy much of the public is with the path the country is walking down and how little faith they have in its leadership.” [Young’s perspective “a bright side” of Israel is certainly one way of looking at the situation; however, the endless protests have utterly divided the country producing two sides that are unable to work together and unable to bridge divides. While one side is “widely unhappy about the path of the country and has little faith its leadership”, the other side is extremely happy about its path and leadership–as reflected in the last election results–election results that the other side refuses to accept.]
And so it goes in Israel this stormy morning . . . so far . . .
A student from Malawi, who had worked with an Israeli health volunteer in his country battling AIDS, came up to us as we walked down the street in the UC-Davis Picnic Day Parade and wanted to carry the Israeli flag.