The Hamas War > Bari Weiss - Stories from the Hamas War; Yemen rockets & drones shot down by US Destroyer - heading toward Israel

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The Stories—and Stakes—of War in Israel

‘I didn’t think you could live much longer in that smoke, in that hellish place.

And now I see it was so much worse for other people. So much worse.’

Family and friends of siblings Noa and Gideon Chiel, who were killed at the Nova party mourn during their funeral

on October 18, 2023 in Achuzat Barak, Israel. (Amir Levy via Getty Images)

By Bari Weiss

October 18, 2023

If you’ve been following The Free Press for the past ten or so days, you’ve noticed that we’ve been covering the war in Israel nonstop. We’ve never produced this much content in this short of a time about a single subject. Some of you might be thinking, why? 

On October 7, we saw the single biggest massacre of the Jewish people since the Holocaust. But unlike the Holocaust, in which Germans tried to hide their war crimes, here the terrorists are streaming them in real time across the internet. When the reports, and the videos, started circulating, we thought: surely this amount of blood and horror will be enough to shake the world awake. 

And yet, it wasn’t. 

Internationally, some of the most educated people—including students, professors, and administrators at the most elite universities in the world—have either equivocated or remained silent in the face of mass atrocities. Others, by the tens of thousands, have taken to the streets to rejoice in the terrorist attack, screaming “resistance is justified” and “glory to the martyrs.” 

Palestinian martyrs will not be glorified - they will burn in Hell along with those who celebrate them.

That is why this story matters. Because this is not just a war in a faraway land; it’s a battle for civilization itself. As my friend Sam Harris recently said, “There are not many bright lines that divide good and evil in our world, but this is one of them.” 

This war should matter to everyone—not just Jews—who care about the future of civilization. Because if there is one lesson from history, it’s that what starts with the Jews never ends with them. And societies in which the Jewish people are persecuted are societies in which no one is safe. 

That is why we will continue to report on this war with such urgency. 

On today’s episode, you’ll hear just nine of the stories from the more than three dozen Israelis we have spoken to since the attacks on October 7. We talk to a woman, Shaked, who tells us that eleven of her family members—including her three- and eight-year-old niece and nephew—were taken hostage by Hamas. We talk to survivors of the Nova music festival, like Amit and Chen, who miraculously escaped. We talk to a father whose son, Hersh, was kidnapped from the music festival, and to a mother whose daughter, Oriya, was killed there. We talk to a grandmother who hid in the safe room of her home for hours with her 10-day-old grandson as terrorists shot at them from the other side of the door. 

These stories are difficult to hear. But we will keep reporting them, and hope that you will take the time to listen them, and to share.

Please go to Spotify to hear the audio file. 

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US Navy intercepts missiles fired from Yemen,

'potentially' aimed at Israel

A US Navy ship in the Red Sea on Thursday shot down missiles and drones that had been fired by Iran-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen, possibly at Israel, the Pentagon said.

Issued on: 19/10/2023 - 23:25; 2 min

France24

US aircraft on the world's largest aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford patrol the eastern Mediterranean. 

© Jackson Adkins, US Navy/AFP

By:NEWS WIRES

Three "land-attack cruise missiles and several drones" were intercepted by a destroyer, Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder told reporters. The attack was "launched by Huthi forces in Yemen" potentially toward targets in Israel, he added.

The ship, USS Carney, was patrolling in the Red Sea as part of a heavily reinforced US military presence ordered by President Joe Biden to maintain stability in the wake of war between Israel and the Hamas militant group in the Gaza Strip.

Ryder said that missiles were fired from Yemen where the Iranian-backed Huthi rebels are at war with a government backed by a Saudi-led coalition.

He said there were no US casualties and that the intercepted missiles likely fell in open water, not over land.

"We cannot say for certain what these missiles were targeting, but they were launched from Yemen, heading north along the Red Sea."

"Our defensive response was one we would have taken for any similar threat in the region," he said.

"We have the capability to defend our broader interests in the region and to deter regional escalation and broader expansion of the conflict that began with Hamas' attack on Israeli civilians."

Biden has ordered increased air and naval assets -- including dispatching two aircraft carriers -- to the Middle East to guard against the Israel-Hamas war spilling over in the tinderbox region.

On Tuesday, the Pentagon also ordered 2,000 personnel on standby for potential deployment.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the deployment would allow the United States "to respond more quickly" to the crisis, while the White House stressed it did not intend to put US combat forces on the ground.

US media reported the troops being readied for deployment would cover support roles, such as medical assistance and handling explosives.

Biden flew to Israel in a dramatic show of US support this week and was due to speak from the White House later Thursday in a speech urging Congress to fund military backing for Israel and another embattled US ally -- Ukraine.

Asked by journalists late Wednesday about reports that his administration had told Israel that US forces would fight alongside Israeli troops in response to any attack by the powerful Lebanese movement Hezbollah against Israel, Biden said this was "not true."

However, he said that "our military is talking with their military about what the alternatives are" in the event of a Hezbollah attack.

(AFP)

It seems Iran keeps inviting an Israeli attack on their nuclear plants.