Sometimes, when I’m going through social media, I just can’t believe my eyes. The endless posts that invert the truth so easily. Israel the war criminal and aggressor, the child and baby killer, who destroyed beautiful Gaza and is now destroying beautiful Lebanon.

Sometimes I make the mistake of trying to annoy these clueless people with some facts. It never goes well. For example, to one who posted a photo of destroyed Gaza strongholds where armed Hamas savages are still firmly entrenched, with the caption: ”For shame on the Zionists” I wrote: “No, for shame on you! Israel is just fighting against the people who started the war, and now Israel will have to finish it because they won’t disarm.” For this, I got “sanctioned” by the powers that be who warned that I am “promoting violence.” Really? I’m the one?

The more things escalate in Lebanon, the more the civilians up North are back in their bomb shelters. Israel has no choice but to take over as much Lebanese territory as it can to smoke out the terrorists. We have lost precious soldiers, and damage has been done to homes and shopping centers, thank G-d without casualties so far. But there is really no other way to stop the terrorists.

Today, the sirens in the Galilee have been going off almost non-stop with the launch of dozens of armed drones toward Nahariya, Acre, Safad and even as far as the northern Haifa suburbs with Hezbollah threatening to further extend missile fire to central Israel.

This might be in response to Israel’s remarkable re-capture of Beaufort Castle, a 12th-century Crusader fortress in southern Lebanon, high on the mountain, built to help the Christians retake the Holy Land from the Muslims. It’s a strategically vital asset, high on a mountain overlooking the entire area. The first time Israel conquered this citadel was 26 years ago. Now our Defense Minister Katz says we will remain there as part of the security zone in Lebanon. Only last week Hezbollah celebrated “Liberation and Resistance Day” marking the anniversary of the IDF’s withdrawal from Lebanon in the year 2000. Bad timing for them! I just hope that this time we will be smarter about giving up our hard won gains in exchange for meaningless agreements.

Are Israeli inroads in Lebanon affecting drone attacks? According to Abu Ali, in the past 3 days, Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for 3-4 explosive drone attacks per day. Prior to that, they were launching 9-13 explosive drones per day. Can we conclude from this that IDF ground movement hampers Hezbollah’s ability to launch explosive drones? Not sure, especially in light of today’s all-out bombardment. Ground operations will only intensify in response to escalating Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks.

The cost for us is heartbreaking. IDF Spokesperson announced the death of Staff Sargeant Michael Tyukin, 21, from Ashkelon, a soldier from the Givati Reconnaissance Unit in battle in southern Lebanon, from an explosive drone. May his memory be a blessing.

Despite today’s furious Hezbollah assault, Aviel Schneider, writing in Israel Today, quotes Lebanese anti-Hezbollah journalist Rami Naim’s shocking interview with a Hezbollah gunman who says he has lost everything in the war — even his children — and now says only: “We are waiting for death.” Speaking to Naim, the fleeing Hezbollah fighter paints a bleak picture of total despair: gunmen hiding in forests, sleeping under trees without phones, having food thrown to them from passing cars, and simply waiting for death. For many Lebanese, this image has now become a symbol of Hezbollah’s moral and military collapse.

We are in the middle of a long and expensive war. But Ryan Jones in Israel Today writes that despite that, and the mounting international hostility, diplomatic pressure and an almost daily campaign to isolate the Jewish state economically and politically, Israel’s economy is doing something rather inconvenient for its critics: it is growing.

“Israel’s high-tech sector remained one of the strongest in the world in 2025, recording $85 billion in exports, $84 billion in exits and nearly $15 billion in capital raised, according to a new Israel Innovation Authority report. High-tech accounted for roughly half of Israel’s total economic growth that year, contributing 1.44 percentage points out of GDP growth of 2.9%.

In other words, while much of the world was busy issuing warnings, condemnations and boycott threats, investors continued placing serious money on Israeli innovation.

The sector’s output rose by 8.2%, while capital raised increased by 30%. Israel also maintained its position as the largest capital-raising hub outside the United States and the fourth-largest globally. Output per employee reached approximately 827,000 shekels annually, far above the national average….”

Jones goes on to say this: “Here is a reason Israel’s enemies keep misreading her. They see war, boycotts, diplomatic hostility and pressure — and expect collapse. Instead, Israel’s economy keeps growing. High-tech exports are setting records. Capital is still flowing. Leviathan’s gas production is exceeding expectations. Even under fire, the land is producing, building and innovating.

For those with eyes to see, this is more than resilience.

It is blessing.”

Israeli planning authorities have approved the advancement of more than 2,000 housing units in communities across Judea and Samaria. The Supreme Planning Council of the Israeli Defense Ministry’s Civil Administration advanced the plans for 2,162 housing units as part of what Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich described as a broader effort to strengthen Jerusalem’s hold on the biblical heartland.

In general, the large number of new building projects all over the country is beginning to bring down prices, as unsold apartments in the builder’s inventories continue to rise. While builders cannot openly say they are lowering prices, because of agreements with banks and financers, they use terms like “pre-sale” price which they knock down significantly. Smart shoppers can find real bargains, and brand-new, sparkling neighborhoods almost everywhere, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

With American antisemitism rising dangerously, and vicious antisemites like Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens spewing their poison into millions of vulnerable ears daily, I hope the availability of housing in Israel will encourage Aliyah.

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