Read the latest from this week:
On Saturday, President Trump announced to the world that the United States had deployed American B2 bombers against the Islamic Republic of Iran’s underground nuclear facilities at Isfahan, Fordo, and Natanz. Codenamed Operation Midnight Hammer, it was the first American involvement in the effort against the Islamic Republic; days later, a ceasefire was brokered, but not before the regime murdered more innocent Israelis. 
As all this has been taking place, Israeli forces continue the fight to bring the hostages home. Last week, the bodies of three additional hostages were retrieved.
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OPERATION MIDNIGHT HAMMER
As the dust settles in the aftermath of Operation Midnight Hammer and a ceasefire seemingly holds, several things require clarification in the face of a cacophony of voices propagating falsehoods.
While certain commentators are decrying “America being dragged into another war in the Middle East,” they have betrayed a lack of understanding (or willful ignorance) of the situation.
President Trump declared long ago that Iran would not be allowed to have nuclear weapons; when it became clear that a red line had been crossed, Israel acted. Israeli strikes took out key targets and, notably, decimated Iran’s air defense capabilities, leaving the skies clear.
Israel did not possess the munitions needed to destroy the aforementioned underground facilities, but the U.S. does. The decision to attack those targets ensures a regime that has chanted “death to America” for nearly a half century, and whose hands run red with American blood, would not have the means to produce nuclear weapons. It was a singular operation, not a war.
It is too early to assess how successful the operation was, but there can be no doubt that with the use of fourteen 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs, the damage is not insignificant and would.
The Islamic Republic’s militarily ineffectiveness in the face of the Israeli operation betrayed to the world that Iran is not nearly as powerful or menacing as it portends to be. The regime’s response to Israel’s targeted decimation of key military and nuclear cites was to indiscriminately fire missiles at Israeli population centers. Twenty-eight people were killed and more than 3,000 people were hospitalized as a result of the Iranian missile barrages.
Moreover, Tehran’s response to the American attack was weak-willed at best, as the Islamic Republic fired a handful of missiles at American bases in Qatar and warned the Qataris ahead of time to ensure no one was hurt.
The regime can harm civilians, but not much else.
As of Tuesday, the Israeli Homefront Command announced that restrictions had been eased as the ceasefire holds, and the focus once again remains on bringing the 50 remaining hostages home.
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GAZA
On Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces recovered the bodies of Ofra Keidar, Yonatan Samerano, and Staff Sgt. Shay Levinson, who was abducted on October 7th, 2023. On Tuesday, 7 Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza by an IED.
These deaths raise Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and military operations along the border with the Strip to 440. Every single one of these soldiers stepped up to defend their homeland and bring home the hostages; they each had families and friends and paid the ultimate price.
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Each day we learn of new tragedies in Gaza. Since October 7th, more than 2,500 soldiers have been wounded in combat operations in Gaza.
Despite the challenges and the horrors, Israel continues to methodically dismantle Hamas in Gaza, and search for its hostages to bring them home.
