Monday, June 16, 2025

Hostage Update: 619 Days, 53 hostages are still in captivity.
53 hostages now remain in Gaza. Both those alive and deceased must be freed from captivity. This nightmare needs to end.
 ➤On the day that Edan Alexander was released, Hamas told Matan Zangauker to prepare for his release, too. Hamas has now released a video suggesting Matan is still alive but will be returned in pieces.
➤Bodies of 2 deceased hostages, Yair Yaakov and Aviv Azili, have been recovered in a joint IDF and ISA military operation. Yair was brutally murdered by gunfire while heroically holding the door of the safe room in his home, trying to protect his family. His children, Yagil and Or, were kidnapped along with his partner, Meirav Tal. All of them returned to Israel in November 2023. Aviv Azili was kidnapped alive from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7th. He was an artist and is survived by his wife Liat and three children.
EGYPT
INDIA
Anything that Weakens Iran's Proxies Is a Win for India . (The Print-India) India wants the Red Sea to calm down. The Houthi threat has rendered Bab-el-Mandeb nearly impassable for Indian vessels. Since October, Indian cargo has been forced to detour via the Cape of Good Hope, driving up costs and time. Therefore, anything that weakens Iran's proxies - especially the Houthis - is a win for India
IRAN
➤Iran’s leaders remain determined to advance their nuclear program while continuing to fund and direct terror across the globe. They have openly called for the destruction of Israel—not as a rhetorical flourish, but as a policy goal. In the last year alone, intelligence agencies have foiled at least 27 Iranian-sponsored plots targeting Jewish civilians and Israeli interests across Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America. Israel launched the attack on Iran after learning Iranian scientists had conducted successful experiments in the design process of a nuclear weapon, bringing it weeks away from being able to produce a bomb. The IAEA declared Iran in breach of it’s non-proliferation obligations.
➤The U.S. evacuated non-essential staff from the embassy in Baghdad and military families from Gulf bases prior Israel’s attack on Iran, Trump held a full-day strategy session at Camp David with his top national security team to prepare for possible scenarios. Will the US continue to aid Israel as it defends itself from Iran’s response? 
➤Iran Orders Material from China for Hundreds of Ballistic Missiles  (Wall Street Journal) It’s estimated that Iran has up to 2000 missiles on hand to respond to Israel’s preemptive strike on Iran.
 ISRAEL
 ➤Matan Angrest's family gave permission to release full video of his abduction on 10/7. https://www.timesofisrael.com/newly-released-abduction-video-shows-hostage-matan-angrest-manhandled-by-gazans/
 ➤Channel 13 in Israel reports the US is trying to prevent elections in Israel. US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has urged senior Haredi politicians to refrain from supporting the dissolution of the Israeli government (stressing political stability is vital for confronting Iran)
 ➤Iranian missiles carpet bombing Israel.  - 500kg warheads are striking densely populated civilian areas
ITALY
Tens of thousands gather in Rome for demonstration against the war in Gaza https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/06/07/thousands-gather-in-rome-for-demonstration-against-the-war-in-gaza
PALESTINIANS/PA/GAZA
 ➤The Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) quietly delivered millions of meals and essential supplies using local Palestinian contractors to unload 20 aid trucks at remote locations. That’s thousands of bags of flour, delivered by Palestinians, for Palestinians. Separately, 56 World Food Programme trucks entered northern Gaza. Not a headline.
➤Meanwhile, the media, from AP, BBC, to CNN, continue to report  highly dubious Hamas-supplied fatality figures for Gaza
➤Hamas militias have posted videos of their assaults on Gazans. They’ve assaulted and tortured Palestinian activist and journalist Omar Abd Rabu in Al-Nuseirat, Gaza—breaking his limbs and confiscating his phone over his criticism of Hamas. Hamas has issued an order to kill him.
 ➤After 18 months, New York Times reports there are Hamas tunnels under hospitals
QATAR
SPAIN
Spain’s state broadcaster has started to sound a whole lot like Hamas https://www.camera.org/article/spains-rtve-delivers-systematic-misinformation-and-disguised-activism/
SYRIA
UK                
Massive Attack (a band) is screening footage of Yahya Sinwar during their concert. Sinwar masterminded the slaughter of innocents at a music festival, yet they’re celebrating him at a similar event.
UN
 ➤Shameful: China, Russia, Turkey Win Seats On UN Council Overseeing Human Rights (UN Watch) The UN has elected numerous serial human rights abusers—China, Russia, Turkey, Burundi, and Chad—to the 54-nation Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), a top UN body that regulates human rights groups, oversees the UN women’s rights commission, and adopts resolutions on a vast array of global issues ranging from internet freedom to the treatment of prisoners. Many of the EU’s 27 member states voted for China, Turkey, Burundi, and Chad.
 ➤Abbas must retract his praise of Oct. 7 or June 17 UN event must be cancelled ‎(PMW) Western leaders plan to meet at the UN on June 17 to give PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas a present of recognition of a Palestinian state https://palwatch.org/page/37167
USA
Riots in LA aren’t just about immigration. Look closer. Palestinian flags, Molotov cocktails, and calls to “Globalize the Intifada” and “Free Palestine” have hijacked these protests and No Kings protests (at least in Palm Beach where we were on Saturday). The media stays silent https://x.com/HonestReporting/status/1932881217583554829 and https://honestreporting.com/from-la-to-gaza-with-violence-palestinian-flags-molotov-cocktails-and-a-media-blackout/
MEDIA
351 Corrections And Counting: CAMERA, Holding Media Accountable In 2025 https://x.com/CAMERAorg/status/1931650539432931513
The Daily Mail based an entire article on an AI-generated video. Yesterday a tweet which claims to show Iranian National Security Council member Mohsen Rezaei, saying Pakistan had threatened to nuke Israel went viral, garnering over 14K likes. The audio is AI generated & Rezaei made no such statement, AI threatens human existence! See  https://www.axios.com/2025/06/16/ai-doom-risk-anthropic-openai-google
The Guardian claim that “not one” bomb shelter has ever been funded in Arab towns is flat-out false. According to the father of the Khatibs family, the 4 women that were killed didn't enter the safe room, despite having one in their house.

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