Jewish organizations shared their ‘strong’ support for Israel’s ‘right and obligation’ to defend themselves from the onslaught of missile and drone attacks from Iran.

Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) National President Morton A. Klein said that the nonprofit organization ‘strongly supports’ Israel’s ‘right and obligation’ to defend themselves against Iran’s attacks. 

‘ZOA strongly supports Israel’s right and obligation to aggressively defend itself from the attacks against it by the extremist, Jew-hating, America-hating Islamic Republic of Iran,’ he said.

The organization’s president encouraged Israel to ‘devastate’ Iranian nuclear facilities, saying that they were ‘totally behind’ Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israel on Oct. 7.

‘We also strongly support Israel taking this opportunity to destroy the Iranian nuclear facilities being developed to destroy the Jewish State and massacre millions of Jews, and others,’ Klein said. ‘Iran was totally behind the October 7th massacre nightmare. Now is the time to devastate Iran’s military/nuclear capabilities.’

Support imperative

Klein urged President Biden to support Israel, to reinstate sanctions and to stop their ‘dangerous’ policy of providing funds to Iran.

‘We strongly urge the Biden administration to provide any and all support that Israel needs, and even to make clear to Iran that the USA will do all it can to protect and defend its ally, Israel,’ he said. ‘The Biden administration must immediately reinstate and invoke all sanctions on Iran and stop its policy of ignoring anti-Iran sanctions.’

‘The U.S. must also stop its dangerous policy of providing and making accessible tens of billions of dollars to the terrorist, anti-American, anti-Israel, Islamic Republic of Iran,’ Klein said.

Klein warned that Israel is on the ‘front lines’ and the rest of the west is next.

‘An attack on the Israeli democracy is an attack on America. As Iran always proclaims: ‘America is the great Satan, Israel is the little Satan, Death to America, Death to Israel,’ The U.S. and Israel and the West are in this together and are all threatened by the radical Islamic Republic of Iran, whose goal is to establish an Islamic Caliphate throughout the world. Israel is on the front line — the rest of the civilized western world is next,’ he said.

Right to defend itself

Similarly, the Israeli-American Council (IAC) said that they stand ‘in the strongest support’ for Israel’s right to defend themselves against Iran and its proxies.

‘The Israeli-American Council (IAC) stands in strongest support of Israel’s right to use any and all means necessary to defend itself against Iran and its proxies. Israel’s right to eliminate the genocidal threats facing the Jewish people is inalienable,’ they said.

The group thanked President Biden for his statement of support for Israel and for Congress’ bipartisan support.

‘Peace and security in our world can only be built on powerful U.S. leadership and on a credible threat of force that can reestablish American deterrence,’ they said. ‘As U.S. citizens, we hope and expect that our government backs its statements with forceful action. In the meantime, we pray for the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and for the victory of civilization over the forces of darkness.’

‘Constant threat’

In a statement, the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles (JFEDLA) President & CEO Rabbi Noah Farkas said that Iran’s attack ‘further underlines’ that the people of Israel are under ‘constant threat.’

‘This attack by Iran against Israel is alarming and frightening. The launch of hundreds of drones and missiles further underlines the fact that the people of Israel are under constant threat,’ Rabbi Farkas said.

The rabbi said that JFEDLA stands in ‘unequivocal solidarity’ with Israel.

‘Our Federation and the Jewish community of Los Angeles stand in unequivocal solidarity with our homeland. We are working with our partners on the ground in Israel to ensure the people of Israel have our full support and the necessary resources,’ Rabbi Farkas said.

‘Israel will survive this attack and our global Jewish family will stand together as one as we pray for peace,’ he added.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said that the Big Apple ‘unquivocally stands’ with Israel.

The mayor said that, as the mayor of the largest Jewish population in the world outside of Israel, that the ‘significance of this attack for Jewish New Yorkers’ was ‘not lost on him.’

‘New York City unequivocally stands with the State of Israel in the face of this direct attack and escalation by Iran. I’ve been briefed on the situation unfolding abroad, and we pray for the safety of all in the region,’ Adams said in a statement Saturday.

‘As mayor of the largest Jewish population in the world outside of Israel, the significance of this attack for Jewish New Yorkers — many of whom have family in Israel right now — is not lost on me, especially less than 10 days before Passover begins,’ he said.

NYPD offering resources

The mayor said that while there was no ‘direct or imminent’ threat to New York City, that they have deployed resources to Jewish communities and worship centers in the city.

‘While there is no direct or imminent threat to New York City at this time, we have directed the NYPD to deploy additional resources to Jewish communities and houses of worship citywide out of abundance of caution to ensure that our communities have the resources they need to feel safe,’ he said.

‘Our administration has also begun outreach to both Jewish leaders and elected officials across the five boroughs to keep them apprised of the situation,’ Adams said. ‘Our intelligence and counterterrorism teams will continue to closely monitor the situation.’

Iran on Saturday evening launched drones toward Israel in a retaliatory attack, the Israeli military said.

The attack marks the first time Iran has launched a full-scale assault on Israel despite more than four decades of hostilities.

The Supreme Court is set to consider a second abortion case this term, this time dealing with claims by a Republican-led state that the Biden administration is attempting to wield a 40-year-old federal law as an ‘abortion mandate.’

On the heels of a debate over the Federal Food and Drug Administration’s regulation of an abortion pill, the high court will consider later this month whether the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) pre-empts the state of Idaho’s newly enacted Defense of Life Act – which makes it a crime for any medical provider to perform an abortion with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother.  

The Justice Department argued that the state’s law does not go far enough to allow abortions in more medical emergency circumstances.

However, proponents of the state law say that the administration’s lawsuit against Idaho is attempting to use a federal statute as an ‘abortion mandate’ to benefit the president ahead of the 2024 elections.

‘Construing EMTALA as a federal abortion mandate raises grave questions under the major questions doctrine that affect both Congress and this Court,’ Idaho argued in legal filings. 

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador said, ‘The Supreme Court made it clear that it’s up to the states to decide what our laws should be and that it’s not for the federal government.’ 

‘But Joe Biden and his administration decided to come straight and sue us in federal courts.  We are excited to go before the Supreme Court to show that the state should be deciding these issues and not the federal government,’ he said.

The DOJ said in its response to the high court that while Idaho’s law makes it a felony for a doctor to terminate a pregnancy unless doing so is ‘necessary’ to prevent the patient’s ‘death,’ that exception is ‘narrower’ than EMTALA, which by its terms ‘protects patients not only from imminent death but also from emergencies that seriously threaten their health.’ 

However, Idaho accused the administration of ‘construing the spare phrase’ in the federal law ‘as a blank slate to be filled with the Executive Branch’s preferred abortion policy collides with multiple statutory provisions guaranteeing emergency medical care for a pregnant woman and her unborn child.’ 

‘It’s clear that the administration is just manipulating EMTALA and that both laws should be able to coexist,’ John Busch, senior litigator at civil rights firm Alliance Defending Freedom and co-counsel in the case, told Fox News Digital in an interview.

‘If a woman’s life is in danger, Idaho’s Defense of Life Act makes it clear that the women should be treated and helped. Because in that instance, when the mom’s life is in danger, it’s not an abortion in Idaho or any of the other 49 states,’ he said.

But the White House says that the 21 states enforcing abortion bans are causing ‘chaos and confusion.’

‘These extreme state laws have caused chaos and confusion, and women are being denied the essential care they need. But these dangerous state laws do not change the responsibility that health care providers have to their patients in emergencies covered by the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act,’ White House spokesperson Kelly Scully told Fox News Digital.

‘The Biden-Harris Administration has long been clear that federal law requires hospitals to offer health and life-saving care to patients in an emergency. The Administration remains focused on working with doctors, hospitals, and patients to make these federal requirements clear while the Department of Justice defends that understanding in the Supreme Court. No woman should be denied the care she needs,’ she said. 

EMTALA is a federal statute signed by then-President Reagan in 1986 after earning bipartisan congressional support, designed to prevent hospitals from turning away indigent patients who are in critical need of medical care and offer the same ‘stabilizing’ care they would to a patient who could pay or is covered by insurance.

After the Dobbs decision in 2022, which overturned Roe v. Wade and left states to decide their own abortion limitations, Bursch said the Biden administration, for the first time in the law’s history, used it to impose an ‘abortion mandate.’

A district court sided with DOJ and ordered a preliminary injunction of the state’s law. The Ninth Circuit affirmed that decision, which Idaho then appealed to the Supreme Court. Oral arguments are set for April 24. 

‘What the Biden administration wants to do is take this law and turn it into an abortion enclave in emergency rooms,’ Bursch said. ‘And to the point where even if a patient came in, and they said that they were in critical condition because of a mental health problem, like depression, or anxiety, that would give doctors a carte blanche ability to ignore laws like Idaho’s and take the life of the innocent child, and EMTALA doesn’t say anything like that.’ 

Bursch added that what he believes is ‘so ironic’ is that following the Dobbs decision, President Biden himself said that he disagreed with the decision, but that he understood that states operating through the democratic process would get to decide what abortion laws would control each state. 

‘And it was only a matter of weeks later that he changed course and said, ‘oh no, the federal government is just going to impose this new requirement by reinterpreting EMTALA in a way that it’s never been interpreted in its nearly four-decade history.’

 ‘It is subverting states’ rights. It’s pushing abortion on states that don’t want it, and it’s all blatantly illegal,’ he said.

Stephen Billy, vice president of state affairs for SBA Pro-Life America, said the administration’s novel legal challenge to a state’s abortion law looks politically motivated ahead of the November elections amid Biden’s dwindling poll numbers. 

‘The Biden administration doesn’t feel like they have any other issue to run on, and it’s clear what they’re going to talk about and what they’re trying to run on. Whether abortion is going to be a campaign issue or not, the Biden administration is going to try to make it one,’ he added.

Billy cited the Women’s Health Protection Act, which Democrats in Congress attempted to pass last year. It would have legalized virtually limitless abortion nationwide, but ultimately failed.

‘Congress’s opposition to that comes from the will of the people who sent the elected representatives to D.C., and they have very little national support when you look at the polling for the extreme position of the Women’s Health Protection Act,’ said Billy.

‘So Biden turned to executive action, ignoring the text of laws and just trying to use executive fiat to expand abortion on demand wherever you can, and however you can. And EMTALA is just one example of that,’ he said. 

Billy added that he believes the Biden administration is using ‘fear and scare tactics’ around the issue. 

‘The entire case is basically a claim that women can’t get medical care,’ he said, but noted that every ‘pro-life state’ allows for a mother’s health exception and allows doctors to act when there’s a medical emergency. 

‘They are trying to use that fear to drive a political agenda and to save their campaign because they don’t really have anything else to run on,’ he said. 

The Justice Department declined to comment on pending litigation.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R, La., tells Fox News the House is shifting its legislative docket next week to deal exclusively with the crisis in the Middle East.

Scalise says the House is jettisoning ‘themed’ legislation focusing on attempts by the Biden Administration to curb the types of appliances people can buy and recalibrating toward foreign policy.

The biggest issue is a potential aid package for Israel. Scalise says it’s not clear if the House would focus on just Israel or do something related to Ukraine and Taiwan. Scalise suggested an Israel-only bill was a distinct possibility. But did not rule out including Ukraine. Scalise says members must just figure out what can pass.

Scalise says the House will resuscitate a resolution which supports Israel, condemning antisemitism and calls for a unilateral ceasefire.

Iran through its United Nations mission in New York issued a statement that appeared to offer Israel a way to prevent further escalation if they consider their conflict ‘concluded.’ 

‘Conducted on the strength of Article 51 of the UN Charter pertaining to legitimate defense, Iran’s military action was in response to the Zionist regime’s aggression against our diplomatic premises in Damascus,’ the mission’s statement, posted on social media platform X, read. 

‘The matter can be deemed concluded,’ the mission argued. ‘However, should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran’s response will be considerably more severe. It is a conflict between Iran and the rogue Israeli regime, from which the U.S. MUST STAY AWAY!’

Iran on Saturday night local time launched three waves of projectiles, consisting of suicide drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, at Israel in response to an attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus. Many attribute the attack, which killed seven high-ranking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) members, to Israel, but no Israeli official has taken credit for the strike. 

Article 51 of the United Nations charter makes clear that ‘nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security.’ 

Iran has in the past not adhered to the diplomatic protection of embassies and consulates, particularly regarding the U.S. and Israel: Iran and its chief strategic ally, the U.S.-designated terrorist movement Hezbollah, in Lebanon have been blamed for bombing the U.S. Embassy in Beirut in 1983 in which 63 people, including 17 Americans, were murdered, and dual suicide truck bombers blew up the barracks of American and French members of a multinational force in Lebanon in 1983, in which 220 U.S. Marines, 18 U.S. Navy sailors and 3 U.S. Army soldiers lost their lives. 58 French troops were also murdered in the terrorist attack.

Most recently, an Argentine court determined that Iran, working with its proxy Hezbollah, was responsible for the bombings on the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) and Israeli embassy in 1994, The Associated Press reported. 

Radical Iranian students in 1979 seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran and held roughly 52 Americans hostages as what became known as the Iran Hostage Crisis. The crisis ‘dominated the headlines and news broadcasts’ and allegedly played a significant part in hurting then-President Jimmy Carter’s image and further eroding his popularity ahead of the 1980 presidential election, which he lost in a landslide. 

Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations last week tabled a motion to condemn Israel for the Damascus strike, but the United States, Britain and France all opposed the statement and prevented its adoption as they argued too many facts about the attack remained unclear and members failed to reach a consensus.

Russia and Iran blasted members of the Security Council for failing to adopt the statement, which Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov labeled a ‘political killing,’ according to Middle East Monitor. 

Fox News’ Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this article.

Lawmakers reacted after Iran launched drones from its own territory toward Israel late Saturday, calling for the White House to ‘stand firm’ and ‘stop coddling Iran.’ 

Speaker Mike Johnson pledged America’s ‘full resolve’ to stand with Israel.

‘As Israel faces this vicious attack from Iran, America must show our full resolve to stand with our critical ally,’ Johnson said in a statement. ‘The world must be assured: Israel is not alone.’

Johnson promised to ‘insist upon a proper response’ from the White House.

‘I will continue to engage with the White House to insist upon a proper response,’ he said. ‘The Biden Administration’s undermining of Israel and appeasement of Iran have contributed to these terrible developments.’

‘Now more than ever, we must stand with Israel,’ former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., wrote in an X post.

Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the highest-ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that the U.S. commitment to Israel is ‘unwavering.’

‘This is the moment for the United States to show we stand together with our allies. Our shared enemies, including Iran and their proxies, need to know our commitment is unwavering,’ he said in a press release. ‘We must join with Israel to ensure that Iran’s aggression is met with resolute action and resounding strength.’

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, condemned the Iran attack on Israel, while placing the blame on the Biden administration.

‘Iran has encircled Israel and has been attacking our Israeli allies from almost every front for months. They have launched attacks from Syria, Iraq, Yemen, the West Bank, Hezbollah-controlled Lebanon, and of course the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Now they have escalated by launching attacks directly from Iranian territory,’ Cruz said in a statement. ‘These attacks are enabled and financed by deliberate policy choices made by Joe Biden and Biden officials, who have allowed roughly $100 billion to flow to Iran since 2021. Americans and Israelis have been made catastrophically more vulnerable by these policies.’

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said that President Biden must ‘stand firm’ with Israel and ‘stop coddling’ Iran.

‘Iran’s drone strikes show us President Biden’s approach with Iran and the Middle East is backwards,’ she wrote in an X post. ‘Now as we risk entering WWIII, the U.S. must stand by Israel’s commitment to democracy. The president must stand firm, and stop coddling Iran immediately.’

Representative Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., said that the Iranian regime’s ‘consistent’ use of proxies ‘warrants’ immediate U.S. action.

‘Enough is enough-the Biden administration must take concrete steps to support Israel, our closest ally,’ Lawler said in a press release. ‘This is a direct Iranian attack, after the regime has consistently used it proxies, warrants immediate U.S. action to back any Israeli response.’

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem wrote that she ‘expects’ the Biden administration to ‘hold Iran accountable.’

WHITE HOUSE VOWS SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL AMID IRAN ATTACK, BRACES FOR HOURS-LONG ON-SLAUGHT

‘We stand with the people of Israel against this brazen and callous attack,’ Noem wrote in an X post. ‘Iran hates democracy, freedom, and basic human rights — making them an enemy of Israel and the United States.’

‘I expect the Biden Administration to stand up for these shared principles and hold Iran accountable,’ she wrote.

Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., wrote that the attacks against Israel were a ‘direct result’ of Biden’s ‘lack of leadership.’

‘Iran just launched drone strikes on innocent Israeli civilians. This is a direct result of Joe Biden’s lack of leadership,’ Mast wrote in an X post. ‘The White House should be standing resolutely with Israel. Instead, they’ve spent months kissing up to the terrorist regime in Tehran to appease a few loud, far-left, and anti-American lawmakers in Congress.’

On Friday, Biden was asked how imminent a potential attack on Israel is from Tehran following an Israeli strike on Iran’s Damascus consulate in Syria.

‘I don’t want to get into secure information, but my expectation [is] sooner than later,’ he replied.

‘We are devoted to the defense of Israel,’ he added. ‘We will support Israel. We will defend, help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed.’

When asked what his message to Tehran was, Biden simply said: ‘Don’t.’ When he was asked to elaborate, he walked away. 

Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-M.D., echoed Biden’s statement Friday, saying that Israel has America’s ‘full support.’

‘Last week, President Biden sent a definitive message to Iran about this pending attack: ‘don’t.’ I reiterate what Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made clear to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant just last week – Israel has America’s full support in defending against Iranian aggression,’ Hoyer wrote in a press release. 

‘We stand by our ally as it exercises its absolute right to defend itself,’ he said.

U.S. officials have reaffirmed their country’s ‘ironclad’ support for Israel while calling for a deescalation. 

‘We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel, and Iran will not succeed,’ Biden said on Friday. 

The Pentagon and State Department have expressed similar positions.

The White House vowed Saturday that the United States’ support for Israel’s security is ‘ironclad,’ pledging to stand with the Jewish state and ‘support their defense’ after Iran launched an aerial drone attack towards the country Saturday afternoon. 

Iran launched drones from its own territory toward Israel late Saturday, days after its Supreme Leader warned it would hit back in response to an airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Syria that left several generals dead. 

‘Iran has begun an airborne attack against Israel,’ White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement Saturday. ‘President Biden is being regularly updated on the situation by his national security team and will meet with them this afternoon at the White House.’ 

The White House said the president’s team ‘is in constant communication with Israeli officials as well as other partners and allies.’ 

‘This attack is likely to unfold over a number of hours,’ Watson said. 

‘President Biden has been clear: our support for Israel’s security is ironclad,’ Watson continued. ‘The United States will stand with the people of Israel and support their defense against these threats from Iran.’ 

The president is expected to meet with national security officials to discuss the events in the Middle East in the White House Situation Room Saturday evening. The officials will likely include Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Q. Brown, CIA Director Bill Burns, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and more. 

The president was briefed earlier in the day by his national security team. 

Earlier in the day, Sullivan said he spoke his Israeli counterpart, National Security Advisor Hanegbi. Sullivan said that during the call, he ‘reiterated the United States’ ironclad commitment to the security of Israel.’ 

Austin spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant to ‘reiterate unwavering U.S. support for Israel’s defense.’ 

‘The United States stands with Israel amid threats from Iran and its regional proxies,’ Austin said Saturday. 

Saturday afternoon, IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari confirmed that Iran had ‘launched a direct attack from Iranian soil toward the State of Israel.’ 

‘We are closely monitoring Iranian killer drones that are en-route to Israel sent by Iran,’ Hagari said. ‘This is a severe and dangerous escalation. Our defensive and offensive capabilities are at the highest level of readiness ahead of this large- scale attack from Iran.’ 

Hagari added that ‘together with our partners, the Israel Defense Forces is operating at full-force to defend the State of Israel and the people of Israel.’ 

‘This is a mission that we are determined and ready to fulfill,’ he said. 

Earlier Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had for weeks ‘been preparing for the possibility of a direct attack from Iran.’ 

Netanyahu said Israel’s ‘air defenses are deployed, we are ready for any scenario, both in attack and in defense.’ 

‘I established a clear principle — whoever hurts us, we hurt him. We will protect ourselves from any threat and we will do so with coolness and determination,’ he said.

Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack on Iran’s consulate in Damascus. 

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. 

President Biden cut short his weekend trip to his Delaware beach house and returned to the White House to monitor the crisis in the Middle East amid concerns of a potential, immanent Iranian attack on Israel. 

Biden departed from Rehoboth Beach a day earlier than planned in order to consult with his national security team about events in the Middle East, according to the White House. 

Biden on Friday said he expects Iran to attack Israel ‘sooner than later’ as Tehran continues promising to take revenge for the attack on its Damascus consulate. 

‘I don’t want to get into secure information, but my expectation [is] sooner than later,’ Biden told a reporter, adding: ‘We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will defend, help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed.’ 

The U.S. and others have attributed the Damascus consulate attack to Israel, but no Israeli official has taken credit for the strike, which killed seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) members. 

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant on Saturday to discuss urgent regional threats, according to a readout presented to reporters by Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder. 

Austin told the Israeli official that Israel could count on full U.S. support if Iran or any regional proxies attack, according to the readout. 

U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan also spoke with his Israeli counterpart, reiterating America’s ‘ironclad’ commitment to the security of Israel. 

Iran has continually promised to avenge the strike on the consulate, and on Saturday appeared to ratchet tensions up even more as IRGC troops seized a Portuguese-flagged ship, the MSC Aries. Iranian officials claimed the ship was owned by an Israeli, but the U.S. disputed this and claimed the ship belonged to a British company. 

‘We strongly condemn the Iranian seizure of the Portuguese flagged, British-owned MSC AIRES in international waters,’ NSC spokesperson Adrienne Watson said of the seizure, for which Iran did not provide any explanation. ‘The crew is comprised of Indian, Filipino, Pakistani, Russian and Estonian nationals.’

‘We call on Iran to release the vessel and its international crew immediately,’ Watson insisted. ‘Seizing a civilian vessel without provocation is a blatant violation of international law, and an act of piracy by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization.’

‘It must be condemned unequivocally, and we will work with our partners to hold Iran to account for its actions,’ she added. 

Iran earlier this week reportedly indicated to U.S. officials that it would seek a non-escalatory response without providing any more specific details.  

War between Iran and Israel would be to no one’s benefit in the region as it would likely end up in a pitched battle that regional forces would keep away from, experts told Fox News Digital. 

‘Frankly, none of the Arab states would want to take either side in this conflict,’ Matt McInnis, senior fellow for the Institute for the Study of War, explained. ‘They may inevitably be drawn into it, and I think that’s one of the things that Iran is very worried about.’

‘[Iran is] not quite sure if Israel’s efforts over the last few years to increase diplomatic and security relationships with states like Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and others are sufficient to keep these states out of a larger conflict,’ McInnis added. 

‘Our bases and others in those countries, in a larger and larger conflict as part of our support and defense of Israel is obviously very complicated,’ McInnis explained. ‘I think that on the Iranian side, certainly the Syrians will side with them, but I don’t know what material support that provides aside from potentially allowing Iran to use Syrian territory for attacks.’

Tehran has continued to threaten a response against Israel for the attack on an Iranian consulate in Damascus that killed seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) members, including two generals.

U.S. CENTCOM Gen. Michael Kurilla has been in Israel, where he met with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant on Friday to assess military preparedness, moving up his plans due to the threats from Iran, Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder confirmed during a press conference Thursday.

U.S. Nation Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby on Friday told reporters that the U.S. remains in ‘constant communication’ with Israeli counterparts to make sure they are ready for attack but refused to ‘armchair quarterback … in a public way in terms of the conversations we’re having or what we’re seeing in the intelligence picture.’

Jonathan Conricus, a former spokesman for the IDF and now a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) commented on what he said was the media hype and tension and even a ‘minor panic’ in Israel over the so-called Iranian retaliation against Israel after the Damascus attack last week.

Speaking on FDD’s Morning Brief podcast, he said that while Iran has a lot of options, he said he had ‘quite solid faith in Iranian strategic patience.’

‘They are disciplined, they are long-term thinkers, they do not take rash decisions based on emotions … even though the rhetoric is high,’ Conricus said.

‘I know that it wouldn’t be smart for Iran to attack Israel, because then the distraction in Gaza and Lebanon will become a forgotten issue, and everything will focus on Iran, on its hostile and negative activities in the Middle East, and they themselves will be front and center of Israeli and perhaps U.S. attention, and the Iranians do not want that,’ he added. ‘They don’t want it because it will put focus on their nuclear plans and because it will take pressure off Israel from its fighting in Gaza and Lebanon.’

During an appearance on Friday’s episode of ‘Fox & Friends,’ Gen. Jack Keane of the Institute for the Study of War (IFSW) said an attack will happen at some point, because Iran ‘cannot avoid the international publicity surrounding the taking down of the IRGC headquarters in Syria,’ saying it was ‘just a reality’ but adding that Iran will likely pursue a ‘measured response’ and does not really want escalation. 

Keane suggested that the best way to handle Iran was to destroy its IRGC assets in Iran, because ‘Iran does not want to escalate,’ claiming Iran has ‘a weak air force … a weak navy’ and ‘not particularly well trained or … well equipped’ troops – instead, he argued that Iran relies heavily on its drone and missile arsenal.

‘Iran knows that war with them would destroy their regime economically, and they likely lose it,’ Keane insisted. ‘The leverage has always been on the side of Israel, the United States and the West, but we absolutely refuse to use it.’

McInnis agreed with Keane’s assessment, but he argued that it largely depended on what shape the conflict would take. His estimation determined that in small-scale personnel-driven engagements, Iran could find some gains due to the integration of IRGC personnel with proxy forces such as Hezbollah in Lebanon. 

‘If we got to that point, I think some of those smaller scale operations, on the ground, I think the Iranians are in better shape than they would have been a couple of decades ago,’ McInnis said. 

‘But it is true for a long, all-out war, which I don’t really foresee … I guess that’s a fair critique,’ he continued. ‘They have certainly improved in their ability to coordinate very sophisticated drone cruise and ballistic missile actions, and we look at the classic one in Saudi Arabia in 2019, [which] was the kind of beginning of that period where we have these far more sophisticated capabilities combined with what Lebanese Hezbollah could do.’ 

‘I think both the Iranians and the Israelis are most concerned about if this becomes a ground war, similar or in some ways inspired by the October 7th Hamas attack, where it’s not just missiles and drones but combined with ground operations,’ he explained. 

‘That’s something that, I think in particular, the Israelis and the Iranians are worried we’re going to end up in that type of conflict in southern Lebanon or even in northern Israel struggling to go on as another as a kind of a flashpoint,’ he added. ‘I think that’s where the capabilities of Iran’s axis of resistance, along with the Revolutionary Guard Corps, could still be fairly serious to Israel’s security.’

Bill Roggio, founder and editor of the ‘The Long War Journal,’ stressed Iran’s reliance on proxy groups to wage war and keep enough distance to maintain something of a response without the rampant escalation that would accompany direct response. 

‘I think one of the things that’s kind of misunderstood is that Iran and Israel are already at war, it’s just Iran is doing it via its proxies. Israel is under attack already by the Iranian proxies – but they could be escalating, right?’ Roggio said. ‘So, at the bare minimum, these are Iran’s closest allies in the region, and they do wield significant power: Lebanon, the proxy, particularly in Iraq, essentially running things.’

‘The Saudis have indicated that they really don’t want to be a frontline state,’ Roggio added. ‘They’ve experienced Iranian attacks with drones, and, given Israel’s position in Gaza, I don’t expect the Egyptians or any other Arab country to come to the Israeli side.’

Roggio also noted that Russia and China have a vested political and diplomatic interest in Iran, which they last year invited to join the BRICS economic bloc. Highlighting the ‘tightened’ bonds between the three countries, he argued that Iran and China could provide support that aimed to keep the conflict ‘hot’ but was unclear how that might happen. 

JERUSALEM — A spokesman for Gaza’s second-largest terror group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), shared inside information on the organization’s propaganda tactics and its cynical manipulation of the media during an interrogation with Israel’s military intelligence agency following his arrest at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City last month.

An eight-minute video of the interrogation of Tariq Salami Otha Abu Shlouf, a spokesperson for PIJ’s political bureau, was published by the Israeli army on Monday. In the clip, Shlouf can be heard detailing how the U.S.-designated terror group uses both Arabic and international media to create a false narrative about what is happening in the Gaza Strip. 

He also spoke about how terrorists have widely used all of Gaza’s hospitals and many of its ambulances while battling Israeli forces during the six-month war. 

In one admission, the spokesman said an explosion in one of Gaza’s main hospitals early on in the fighting was caused by a misfired PIJ rocket, not by Israel, as many international outlets rushed to report. 

Shlouf said the PIJ’s leadership ‘fabricated the story about an Israeli strike on the hospital’ in an attempt to ‘erase’ the group’s direct involvement in the incident, which killed more than 100 people, according to U.S. intelligence agencies.

‘It is true that the story is false, but we wanted to promote it,’ the spokesman said, describing how the terror group’s communication department made decisions based on ‘certain interests’ and ‘to leverage a certain narrative.’

‘We relied on the stories in the international press,’ Shlouf told the interrogators. 

‘Most international media will undoubtedly not even mention the revelations of this Islamic Jihad spokesperson in their reporting,’ Simon Plosker, editorial director at HonestReporting, an Israeli organization that monitors coverage of Israel in the international press, told Fox News Digital.

‘If they did mention it, then they would have to call into question their entire coverage of the conflict, which would highlight how the foreign press has either been manipulated or even willingly participated in a sophisticated terrorist propaganda operation at Israel’s expense.’ 

Terrorists affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad joined the thousands of Hamas terrorists who infiltrated southern Israel Oct. 7, participating in the widespread massacre of some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and in the kidnapping of another 250. 

The mass terror attack, which both Hamas and PIJ terrorists documented with GoPros and their cellphones, sparked a war with Israel.

Since the start of the war, the terror groups have operated in tandem to distort the images coming out of Gaza and blame the documented suffering of more than 2 million civilians only on Israel, Shlouf told Israeli interrogators. 

He admitted that the PIJ’s goal was to deflect attention of Palestinian civilians suffering from the dire living conditions caused by the ongoing war it helped to ignite. And the group used standard talking points, including telling journalists, ‘It’s our right to live,’ ‘we want the situation to return to normal,’ and ‘we want our children to live like any other children in the world.’ 

Shlouf also described how top PIJ leader Ziyad al-Nakhalah was in daily contact with the organization’s communication department, which also worked closely with its counterparts in Hamas to carve the desired narrative. He confessed that PIJ’s communication team checked over journalist’s stories prior to their publication. If they did not fit the group’s desired narrative, then they would prevent them from going out. 

‘So, if it’s not to your liking, it doesn’t get published?’ the interrogator asked Shlouf. 

‘Of course not, because the journalist needs us for more interviews,’ he responded.

‘This is hardly surprising, for years we have observed how Islamist terror groups use civilian infrastructure to recruit terrorists into their ranks, promote terrorism and launch attacks,’ Khaled Hassan, a political risk and intelligence analyst with over 13 years of experience working in the Middle East, told Fox News Digital. 

He said that, consequently, in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and many majority-Muslim countries, ‘mosques and hospitals affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist terror groups are closely monitored 24/7, 365 days a year.’ 

‘Moreover, their modus operandi also fundamentally relies on creating the impression that they are the victims of oppression and tyranny,’ said Hassan. ‘For that purpose, the killing of their own and civilians generally is to them an aim that serves a greater purpose.

‘Western governments largely overlook these widely recognized facts when dealing with Israel’s war on Hamas,’ he added. ‘They empower and embolden terrorists,’ making it a successful strategy. 

Israeli Canadian author Matti Friedman, who previously worked as a correspondent for The Associated Press in Jerusalem, said that much of the mainstream press was clearly ‘telling a story from Gaza based on information that isn’t just wrong but is propaganda.’

‘Groups like Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad know exactly what they’re doing — causing extreme harm to innocents by exploiting civilian cover, then blaming Israel for it and using the resulting international outrage to tie Israel’s hands,’ Friedman, who explored the international media’s bias on Israel in an explosive 2014 column. 

‘This interrogation gives us a glimpse of this system, but the real answers to the question of media malfeasance lie with the Western editors, journalists and NGOs who’ve been playing along for years,’ he said.

International media covering the war in Gaza have been highly critical of Israel, especially over its refusal to allow journalists to enter Gaza independently to cover the war. Instead, most of the foreign press has relied on the reports of local Palestinian journalists, some of whom have been accused of being complicit in Hamas’ propaganda machine even as they complain that Israel has purposely targeted them. 

On Monday, the Foreign Press Association (FPA), a nonprofit organization representing journalists from international news organizations reporting from Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, released a statement criticizing Israel’s policy and pointing out the ‘unprecedented threats and harm’ faced by Palestinian journalists inside Gaza who are ‘courageously covering the story.’

‘The decision whether to be on the ground in Gaza should be up to each individual international media outlet,’ the statement said. ‘The blanket ban has limited the world’s ability to witness the true cost of the war to all sides.’

Lahav Harkov, a veteran journalist, told Fox News digital that while she agreed Israel should allow foreign journalists to report from inside Gaza, ‘that doesn’t mean journalists should shirk the responsibility to consider their sources’ motivations and verify the facts.’

‘It’s been apparent for well over a decade that Gaza is the place where journalistic ethics go to die,’ she said. ‘In 2014, you had journalists reporting on Hamas using the Shifa Hospital for its terrorist operations and then backtracking because Hamas threatened them.’ 

She said the situation had only become worse over the past six months, with major media organizations defending ‘photojournalists who rode along with terrorists who committed the Oct. 7 massacre.’ 

Harkov also noted how reporters were treating the spokespeople for Palestinian Islamic Jihad as ‘credible sources.’

‘The proof is in the kind of reporting they are doing,’ she said, highlighting the Al-Ahli Hospital strike in which the PIJ spokesman ‘spoon-fed them the message’ that it was Israel, when, ‘in reality, it was a PIJ rocket that had misfired.’ 

Former President Donald Trump is considering a ‘loan’ system for future Ukraine aid if he becomes president.

Trump mentioned the proposed form of funding during his meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson on Friday.

‘We’re looking at it right now, and they’re talking about it, and we’re thinking about making it in the form of a loan instead of just a gift,’ he said during the media event at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.

He added, ‘We keep handing out gifts of billions and billions of dollars, and we’ll take a look at it.’

Trump has been highly critical of the United States’ financial support to Ukraine, claiming that money has been spent without clear improvement in the conflict.

It’s not the first time Trump has floated the loan idea — he once expressed such a format for aid via a message on his propietary social media website Truth Social.

In that message, the former president insisted that the repayment of the loan would come with zero interest and would not be demanded unless Ukraine ‘strikes it rich sometime in the future.’

Trump also reiterated on Friday a complaint made since the beginning of the conflict, asserting that European countries should be paying more to defend Ukraine due to their immediate interest in its existence between themselves and Russia.

‘But much more importantly to me is the fact that Europe has to step up, and they have to give money,’ Trump said at the Mar-a-Lago event.

He added, ‘They have to equalize. If they don’t equalize I’m very upset about it, because they’re affected much more than we are.’

The joint conference with Johnson was centered on ‘election integrity’ and served to solidify support around the speaker as his support among some GOP lawmakers has wavered.

Trump allies in the House have become the most fierce opponents to continued financial aid for Ukraine, insisting that foreign wars have no relevance to the U.S. and do not warrant intervention.