Watch Webinar – Gaza War Update (9/18)
Click here to read a transcript.
As Israel ramps up its operations against Hamas in Gaza City and urges civilians to evacuate combat zones, the terror group has called for Gazans to remain in the area even as its leaders flee Israeli strikes. Palestinian sources have also claimed that Hamas has moved the remaining living hostages above ground, using them as human shields.
Israel’s campaign in Gaza City comes amid severe backlash for Israel’s targeting of senior Hamas leaders in Qatar. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the attack on Qatari soil, asserting to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio during his visit to Israel this week that the strikes were “legitimate.” While Rubio works towards diplomatic resolve in the Middle East, the United Nations General Assembly gathered in New York, voting overwhelmingly in favor of recognizing a Palestinian state, a move the United States labeled “a gift to Hamas.”
To discuss Israel’s operations in Gaza and its efforts to strike Hamas abroad, JINSA hosted a conversation featuring JINSA Distinguished Fellow IDF MG (ret.) Yaakov Amidror and JINSA Julian & Jenny Josephson Senior Vice President for Israeli Affairs IDF MG (ret.) Yaacov Ayish.
JINSA President & CEO Michael Makovsky, PhD, moderated the discussion.
IDF MG (ret.) Yaakov Amidror IDF Major General (ret.) Yaakov Amidror is a Gemunder Center for Defense and Strategy Distinguished Fellow. General Amidror was formerly the National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of Israel, as well as the head of the National Security Council, from 2011-2013. |
IDF MG (ret.) Yaacov Ayish IDF MG (ret.) Yaacov Ayish is the Julian and Jenny Josephson Senior Vice President for Israeli Affairs at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA). MG Ayish served in the IDF for 36 years and retired in 2016, concluding an accomplished career during which he attained the rank of Major General. In his last position, MG Ayish served for four years as Israel’s Defense and Armed Forces Attaché to the United States in Washington, D.C. |
Michael Makovsky, PhD Michael Makovsky, since 2013, has been President and CEO of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA). Makovsky has worked extensively on U.S.-Israel defense ties, U.S. policy toward Iran, Syria, Iraq, Gaza, the Persian Gulf, the role of energy in U.S. national security policy, and the Eastern Mediterranean. |