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Day: May 26, 2024
JUST IN: The Israeli military said at least eight rockets were fired from Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah into central Israel, while Hamas’ armed wing said it launched a “major rocket attack” on Tel Aviv.https://t.co/Bqscd2nhwE
— DW News (@dwnews) May 26, 2024
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Michael_Novakhov shared this story from  The Times of Israel.
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National Unity leader and war cabinet minister Benny Gantz submitted Sunday morning to the cabinet secretariat a proposal for a government resolution to establish a state commission of inquiry into the events surrounding the October 7 Hamas invasion and massacre and the subsequent, ongoing war in Gaza.
The commission, if be approved, would examine political, military, and intelligence decision making before, during and after the October 7 atrocities.
Critically, against the backdrop of the intense scrutiny by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the commission would also examine whether Israel has met its obligations under international law in prosecuting the war, which could head off the ICC’s weighing of arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Given the severe political tensions between Gantz and Netanyahu, and Gantz’s threat to quit the government by June 8 if the prime minister does not detail who should govern Gaza after the current war ends, it appeared unlikely that the proposal will be adopted by the Netanyahu-dominated cabinet.
State commissions of inquiry can be established by a government resolution or by the Knesset’s State Control Committee, and are independent panels whose members are selected by the Supreme Court president from among serving or retired Supreme Court or district court judges.
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“All the events that preceded the war will be investigated within the framework of the state commission of inquiry, [plus] decision making in the political and military echelons, and actions during the time of war itself,” National Unity said in announcing Gantz’s request for the commission.
Palestinian terrorists take control of an Israeli tank after crossing the border fence with Israel from Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, October 7, 2023. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)
The commission would examine the policy and decision-making processes of security and intelligence agencies as well as government ministries regarding protecting the border region with Gaza before the war, and how they responded to the events on October 7 and during the ensuing war.
Also under investigation will be “compliance with the obligations imposed by international law on the State of Israel in the conduct of the war,” the proposed government resolution says.
The commission would have to “establish findings and conclusions” and submit a report on its findings to the government.
“The establishment of a state commission of inquiry will send an important and unifying message to the Israeli public that the entire government and security establishment and those who head them are committed to an in-depth, objective and professional examination [of the October 7 events and their aftermath], which seeks to begin the process of national healing, restoring public trust and strengthening national resilience,” the draft proposal states.
Gantz first announced his intention to propose the commission last Thursday. Hours earlier, the IDF stated, in response to a freedom of information request, that over a period of several months last year, the prime minister had received four separate communiques from Military Intelligence warning him about how the country’s enemies were viewing the social upheaval in Israel at the time.
Netanyahu rejected the claim, countering that not only was “there no warning in any of the documents about Hamas’s intentions to attack Israel from Gaza, but they instead give a completely opposite assessment.”
Netanyahu has insisted on waiting for a state commission of inquiry to make determinations regarding the culpability of the government — which he insists cannot take place while the war in Gaza is ongoing.
Sam Sokol contributed to this report.
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A massive barrage of rockets targeted Tel Aviv and central Israel for the first time in months. The rockets were fired from Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
The IDF confirmed on Sunday that eight projectiles were identified crossing the Rafah area into Israeli territory. A number of the projectiles were intercepted by the IDF Aerial Defense Array, the IDF announced.
תיעוד: רסיס רקטה נפל בהרצליה(אורלי אלקלעי) pic.twitter.com/Vf99CBkG5m
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) May 26, 2024
Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, with the al-Qassm Brigade, Hamas’s military wing, claiming that they fired the barrage in response to ongoing IDF operations in the Gaza Strip.
BREAKING: At least 12 rockets fired from #Gaza towards central #Israel. No reports of physical injuries or damage so far. pic.twitter.com/xYW0Ouxpx6
— StandWithUs (@StandWithUs) May 26, 2024
As a result of the rocket fire, loud booms were heard across Tel Aviv, Petah Tikva, Herzliya, and Ramat Hasharon.
Graphic of the recent rocket barrage by Hamas into Tel Aviv and central Israel, May 26, 2024 (credit: FLASH90)
The rockets were fired from launchers located hundreds of meters from IDF soldiers in the Gaza Strip, Army Radio noted.
Rescue forces are looking into reports of a rocket landing in the Tel Aviv area. Both MDA and Israel Police said there have not been any reported injuries yet.
Shrapnel hit a parked car in Herzliya. MDA also announced that one person was slightly injured by shrapnel in Herzliya, Israeli media reported.
תיעוד: נפילה בשטח פתוח בקיבוץ יקום בשרון@galdjerassi pic.twitter.com/a44N4pRGg6
— גלצ (@GLZRadio) May 26, 2024
Other rocket attacks on Sunday
The barrage towards central Israel follows earlier anti-tank missiles launched towards Margaliot and Menara in northern Israel from Lebanese territory, with one missile falling in an open area, Israeli media reported.
Massive Gaza rocket barrage targets Tel Aviv, central Israel – The Jerusalem Post https://t.co/baFpcWQA7n
— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) May 26, 2024
NATO Allies to Erect Drone Wall Along Russia Border https://t.co/ZkXRIMFmkH
— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) May 26, 2024
NATO states along the alliance’s eastern flank will bolster their protection against “unfriendly countries” with unmanned vehicles, Lithuania’s interior minister has said, as the world eyes the rapid pace of drone development fed by the war in Ukraine.
“This is a completely new thing—a drone border from Norway to Poland, the purpose of which would be to protect our border with the help of drones and other technologies,” Vilnius’ Interior Minister, Agnė Bilotaitė, told domestic news agency BNS.
The drones will add to physical barriers and surveillance systems to “allow us to also protect ourselves from provocations by unfriendly countries, and prevent contraband,” Bilotaitė said. The “wall” will also employ counter-drone technology, regional media reported.
More than two years of war in Ukraine has spurred on lightning-fast innovations in airborne, land-based and waterborne drones. Uncrewed technology fills the skies above Ukraine, with Moscow and Kyiv battling it out to stay ahead of the other.
“As a venture of this scale, it’s unique,” Estonia’s Interior Minister Lauri Laanemets said in remarks reported by The Baltic Times. “Drone surveillance and anti-drone capability is crucial both for deterrence and for countering the influence activities of our eastern neighbor.”
A homemade prototype drone is tested with fake RPG -7 grenade in a field outside Kyiv on November 9, 2022, in Ukraine. NATO states along the alliance’s eastern flank will bolster their protection against “unfriendly…
A homemade prototype drone is tested with fake RPG -7 grenade in a field outside Kyiv on November 9, 2022, in Ukraine. NATO states along the alliance’s eastern flank will bolster their protection against “unfriendly countries” with unmanned vehicles, Lithuania’s interior minister has said, Paula Bronstein/Getty Images
Drones cover nearly every aspect of the fighting in Ukraine, from helping out with reconnaissance to launching kamikaze drone strikes and guiding artillery fire.
“As we see in the case of Ukraine, there is a constant race between the adversaries to develop technology, and new ways to use drones are continually being found in warfare,” Laanemets said.
Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service has a new drone unit, currently building up stocks of drones and counter-drone systems, Bilotaitė said, according to Lithuania’s LRT news agency.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has largely boosted NATO unity against Moscow, pushing previously neutral Finland and Sweden to join the alliance.
NATO countries in the east of Europe, closest to both Ukraine and Russia’s borders—as well as those of Kremlin ally Belarus—have pledged to increase defense spending.
Several countries have said they will commit more than 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) to defense, exceeding NATO’s 2-percent target.
Ukraine has warned that, should it lose its war effort against Russia, eastern European states could become Moscow’s next target.
“If Ukraine will not stand, Europe will not stand,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said shortly after Moscow’s troops poured into Ukraine in February 2022. “If we will fall, you will fall.”
Baltic states that were part of the former Soviet Union have long said they believe Moscow poses a threat to NATO and the countries closest to Russia’s borders.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
