Thursday, 23 April 2026

Robot Warfare Against Hezbollah

https://www.jpost.com/defense-and-tech/article-893843

IDF robot wars against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon

The IDF has ramped up its use of robots in warfare against Hezbollah

     Hezbollah Weapons Seized by IDF in South Lebanon

The IDF has escalated the use of robots in warfare against Hezbollah in Bint Jbail, it recently reported.

The robots are being used to speed up the pace of destroying Hezbollah's weapons infrastructure, given that it is unknown how long diplomatic developments will allow the military to operate in southern Lebanon, the IDF said.

Yahalom, the commando unit of the IDF Combat Engineering Corps, has placed robots in Hezbollah tunnels and other hard-to-reach areas. Photos taken by the robots have sped up the process for destroying the terrorist group’s long-term infrastructure, the IDF said.

This is not the first time the IDF has used robots in war.

The Israel-Hamas War in 2023-2025 was the first-ever robotics war, according to Col. (ret.) Yaron Sarig, head of the AI and Autonomy Program Executive Office of MAFAT within the Defense Ministry.

“This is the first robotics war,” he said last December. “In this conflict, we have mobilized our entire defense ecosystem and deployed tens of thousands of autonomous systems across the battlefield – from drone swarms to agile ground robotics distributed across vast areas.”

Although remotely controlled drones and some other systems have been used for a longer period of time, thousands of kilometers of the invasion in Gaza were carried out by robotic systems, Sarig said at the International Defense Tech Summit sponsored by the Defense Ministry’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development and Tel Aviv University’s Yuval Ne’eman Science, Technology and Security Workshop.

Robots used during Israel-Hamas War to locate tunnels

The robotic systems have become much more diverse and standardized, he said, adding that they are being deployed in much higher volumes to assist with exploring Hamas tunnels instead of risking soldiers’ lives from doing so.

In addition, remote vehicles were used to enter new areas above ground to crash into Hamas positions or to intercept and spring ambushes, enabling soldiers to know where concealed Hamas fighters were located, Sarig said.

Moreover, robots were used with artificial intelligence to improve the quality of detection and tracking of Hamas terrorists in the field on a much broader and more advanced level, he said.

“The AI and Autonomy PEO, working in coordination with the IDF, has accelerated innovative developments from start-ups, defense contractors, and research institutions, with the goal of integrating them into the operational theater and maintaining our relative advantage on land, in the air, and at sea,” Sarig said.

“We are only at the beginning of this revolution,” he said. “In the coming years, driven by operational necessity, we will significantly expand our robotic capabilities. Robotics serves as a critical bridge to the world of AI, which, looking forward, will be integrated into every weapon system and into the operational capability of every soldier.”

During the Iran War last June and in its aftermath, Israel managed to carry out multiple revolutions, regarding drones and using robots to speed up air-defense interceptor production, the Defense Ministry reported last July.

Moreover, greater integration of robots and automated services into the production process of Arrow 2 and 3 interceptors has tremendous potential to reduce the costs of each interceptor so that Israel can purchase a larger number in the future than it has in the past, ministry officials said at the time.

https://www.jpost.com/defense-and-tech/article-893843



Wednesday, 22 April 2026

Sa-Nur Restablished in Samaria after 21 Years


https://www.timesofisrael.com/west-bank-settlement-of-sa-nur-reestablished-21-years-after-its-evacuation/

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-893582

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/425724

Israeli officials attend Sa-nur settlement reestablishment ceremony

Samaria Regional Council Chairman Yossi Dagan, who was among the residents evacuated from Sa-Nur in 2005, was among the 16 families who took up residence anew in the settlement on Sunday.


The Sa-Nur settlement was reestablished in the West Bank on Sunday, more than 20 years after it was evacuated as part of Israel’s Disengagement Plan, in a ceremony attended by Knesset members, local settler activists, and cabinet members.

Samaria Regional Council Chairman Yossi Dagan, one of the residents removed from the settlement in 2005, was among the 16 families who moved onto the land on Sunday.

Cabinet ministers, members of Knesset, local politicians, and hundreds of settler activists celebrated the reestablishment and repopulation of the settlement of Sa-Nur in the northern West Bank on Sunday, nearly 21 years after it was evacuated in a unilateral withdrawal aimed at Palestinian self-government.

Samaria Regional Council Chairman Yossi Dagan, who was among the residents evacuated from Sa-Nur in 2005, was among the 16 families who took up residence anew in the settlement on Sunday.

“Today we are making history in Samaria and effectively abolishing the terrible crime of expulsion from northern Samaria,” he said during the ceremony.

“We have proven that it is possible to turn back the clock, to right an injustice, even if it seems that all is lost.”

Dagan was forced to leave his home after former prime minister Ariel Sharon’s government ordered that Israeli homes be removed from the Gaza Strip, known as Gush Katif, and the northern West Bank settlements of Homesh, Sa-Nur, Ganim, and Kadim.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that the “historic correction” should be marked by a “national holiday,” adding that the move was “killing the idea of the Palestinian state.”

There are plans – currently awaiting approval – to see 126 housing units erected in Sa-Nur.

Defense Minister Israel Katz, speaking at the ceremony, repeated earlier promises that the government was working to legalize 140 outposts. The renewed promise comes a month after 10 families repopulated Homesh.

In May last year, the government approved the establishment of 22 new settlements in the West Bank, following the repeal of the Disengagement Law in specific areas.

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-893582

‘Killing the idea of a Palestinian state’: West Bank settlement of Sa-Nur reestablished

21 years later, Smotrich calls step ‘historic correction to sinful expulsion from northern Samaria’ under Disengagement plan

Samaria Regional Council Chairman Yossi Dagan (center), Defense Minister Israel Katz, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (second on Dagan's right) and numerous other cabinet ministers, MKs and other dignitaries cut a ribbon to celebrate the reestablishment of the Sa-Nur settlement, April 19, 2026. (Roi Hadi)
Samaria Regional Council Chairman Yossi Dagan (center), Defense Minister Israel Katz, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (second on Dagan's right) and numerous other cabinet ministers, MKs and other dignitaries cut a ribbon to celebrate the reestablishment of the Sa-Nur settlement, April 19, 2026. (Roi Hadi)

Cabinet ministers, members of Knesset, local politicians, and hundreds of settler activists celebrated the reestablishment and repopulation of the settlement of Sa-Nur in the northern West Bank on Sunday, nearly 21 years after it was evacuated under the Disengagement Plan.

Samaria Regional Council Chairman Yossi Dagan, who was one of the residents evacuated from Sa-Nur in 2005, was one of the 16 families who took up residence anew in the settlement on Sunday.

Speaking at the ceremony, Defense Minister Israel Katz repeated previous promises that the government is working on legalizing 140 illegally established farming outposts around the West Bank.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich described the reestablishment of Sa-Nur as a “national holiday” and a “historic correction” to the “sinful expulsion from northern Samaria,” in reference to the four settlements in the northern West Bank, including Sa-Nur, that were evacuated under the Disengagement, which also saw Israel dismantle all its settlements in Gaza and pull out of the Strip.

“On this moving day, we are honored to make a historic correction to the sinful expulsion from northern Samaria,” said Smotrich. “We are abolishing the disgrace of expulsion, killing the idea of ​​the Palestinian state, and returning to the settlement of Sa-Nur. This is a day of celebration for the settlement movement and a national holiday for the State of Israel.”

In December, Israel expropriated 500 dunams of private land in order to build a six-kilometer bypass road to reach Sa-Nur without passing through Palestinian villages.

Samaria Regional Council Chairman Yossi Dagan (right) moves into the newly re-established settlement of Sa Nur, April 19, 2026. (Roi Hadi)

Under the Disengagement Plan, former prime minister Ariel Sharon’s government evacuated all the Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip, along with Homesh, Sa-Nur, Ganim, and Kadim in the northern West Bank.

Both aspects of the Disengagement Plan were severely traumatic for the settler movement and the religious Zionist community more broadly.

Smotrich, during Sunday’s event, also called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to order the IDF to prepare for a “full occupation” of Gaza and to reestablish settlements there as well.

The current government paved the way for reestablishing the settlements in the northern West Bank in March 2023, when it repealed legislation that had enacted the evacuation of the four settlements and had, until that time, prohibited Israelis from living there.

In May 2025, the security cabinet approved the establishment of 22 new West Bank settlements, including Homesh and Sa-Nur, and in December, it approved the establishment of another 19 settlements, including Ganim and Kadim.

A kindergarten was opened in Homesh in September for families already living in the settlement, and 10 families formally repopulated Homesh last month.

In recent days, prefabricated homes were constructed in Sa Nur for the 16 families taking up residence in the new settlement, and the families transferred their belongings from their old homes to Sa-Nur on Sunday.

Plans have been submitted for the construction of 126 housing units in Sa-Nur, although they are yet to be approved, necessitating the erection of the prefabricated homes to enable the repopulation of the settlement ahead of the often lengthy planning approval and construction process.

“Today we are making history in Samaria and effectively abolishing the terrible crime of expulsion from northern Samaria,” Dagan said during the ceremony, which was attended by several hundred people.

“We have proven that it is possible to turn back the clock, to right an injustice even if it seems that all is lost.”

https://www.timesofisrael.com/west-bank-settlement-of-sa-nur-reestablished-21-years-after-its-evacuation/

Smotrich In Sa-Nur: Conquer Gaza and settle it

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich laid out his vision for Israel’s ongoing multi-front campaign during a speech reopening the town of Sa-Nur in northern Samaria.

Smotrich at Sa-Nur
Smotrich at Sa-NurPress Release

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich laid out his vision for Israel’s ongoing multi-front campaign during a speech reopening the town of Sa-Nur in northern Samaria.

“Those criticizing us from the left mean the final political step they are accustomed to - one of surrender and defeat that erases the military achievements.. We must be advancing a political step of victory that cements the military achievements and expands the state’s borders as defensible boundaries."

Sharpening his message, he declared: “Instead of handing territory to the enemy - take territory from the enemy."

Smotrich called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to act immediately against Hamas: “I call on the prime minister to order the IDF to prepare immediately for the full conquest of the Gaza Strip, to establish Israeli control over all the territory of the Strip, and to establish Israeli settlement in it. Without settlement, there will be no security."

“For a hundred years it has been proven - where the plow passes, the border and security follow. The war must end in an expansion of the State of Israel’s borders."

The event also marked the return of Israeli families to Sa-Nur, with 16 families moving into mobile homes at the site. Among them was Samaria governor Yossi Dagan, who had been evicted from the settlement in 2005. At the ceremony, he described the moment as “a significant step - personally, nationally, and emotionally."

Defense Minister Israel Katz addressed the gathering as well, focusing on Israel’s northern front. He said the IDF is operating “to a depth of 10 kilometers inside Lebanese territory in order to prevent anti-tank fire and raids on northern communities. We instructed the IDF to act with full force, from the ground and from the air, even during the ceasefire."

Katz outlined Israel’s objectives regarding Hezbollah, stating: “The supreme goal is to disarm Hezbollah and remove the threat to the northern communities." He warned that “if the government of Lebanon continues to fail to meet its commitments - the IDF will do so. We promised security to the residents of the north."

He also shared a personal reflection, noting: “As a paratrooper, Sa-Nur base was the place where I began my path in the IDF. This is an important closing of a circle for me."

Katz further announced a major infrastructure initiative, saying a plan worth NIS 350 million would be implemented to relocate and strengthen IDF bases in Judea and Samaria, calling it part of a broader effort to reinforce Israel’s long-term security posture.

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/425724


Tuesday, 21 April 2026

Scandal on Greta's Lefty Love Boat

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-893508

Gaza Freedom Flotilla rocked by sexual misconduct allegations against senior member aboard ship

Allegations of sexual misconduct have rocked the Gaza Freedom Flotilla as a senior member faces accusations of inappropriate behavior aboard the ship, sparking an investigation.


The newest Gaza freedom flotilla has come under the spotlight – not because of its stated aim of “breaking the Israeli siege on Gaza” – but because a senior member was accused of sexual misconduct.

The scandal began shortly after the flotilla set sail from Barcelona on April 12, when the Palestinian group Heart of Falastin claimed that “a senior member of the flotilla, a member of the steering committee, the highest governing body of the organization, code named B.L. for their protection (not ours), engaged in sexual relations with multiple activists while on the boat heading toward Gaza. Not one person. Not two. Three different individuals.”

Heart of Falastin then said, “Have sex with whoever you want. But to do it on the boat, while heading to a nation undergoing genocide, with volunteers who are under your authority, in a space where activists are sleeping, eating, and working together, is a clear violation of power.”

An investigation by The Jerusalem Post revealed that the accused person was Brazilian activist Thiago Avila.
Avila, 39, gained recognition for participating in the June 2025 Gaza Freedom Flotilla, among others.

Other activists on the flotilla, such as Lisi Proenca (believed to be one of the three women), soon took to social media to defend Avila, whom they call a “good friend and comrade.”

Lefty love boat: Greta Thunberg’s freedom flotilla

However, the scandal did not die down in the way the Sumud Flotilla may have hoped, as the New York Post ran a piece on April 18 titled “Lefty love boat: Greta Thunberg’s freedom flotilla rocked by sexual misconduct allegations.”

This prompted the Global Sumud Flotilla to release a statement denying any misconduct by Avila. “GSF’s independent Ethics committee has investigated concerns raised regarding rumors alleging sexual misconduct by a Steering Committee member,” it posted on Instagram.

“On April 12, the SC member implicated by these rumors requested a formal investigation by the EC. Given the seriousness of the allegations, their impact on the mission, and the fact that the mission is actively underway at sea, the process was expedited.”

“The EC conducted interviews with the three women believed to be referenced in the post, as well as other relevant individuals. All three women denied that any sexual misconduct occurred. The EC considers this case closed.”

Some have noted that the existence of a designated ethics committee for the flotilla may suggest prior misconduct. The GSF statement also said, “the structural separation between the SC members and the EC exists precisely to ensure that accountability is never self-administered.”

Avila himself has not directly commented but has reposted the statement and a video of support from Proenca with the words “Thank you.” He also reposted a statement by Turkish GSF member Sümeyra Akdeniz Ordu, in which she said the NY Post “can continue with their lies,” accusing it of having an “agenda.”

'Inspired' by Hezbollah and Nasrallah 

This is not the first time Avila has come under fire. During the June 2025 flotilla, it came to light that he attended the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and also posted a photograph with plane hijacker Leila Khaled.

In a social media statement, he said he was “inspired” by Nasrallah and claimed he had met him when Avila was 19 years old. “Not many people can say that they defeated the greatest evil forces of their generation not only once, but many times, like Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah,” Avila said.

Avila was also part of the 500-activist Global Sumud Flotilla in September 2025.

That flotilla gained media attention after climate activist Greta Thunberg was removed from the Global Sumud Flotilla’s Steering Committee.

The Italian paper Il Manifesto, which had a correspondent aboard one of the flotilla vessels, reported that “pressure is causing rifts within the organizing committee,” allegedly due to disagreements about external communication that focused too much on the flotilla’s internal affairs and not enough on the situation in Gaza.

The current flotilla has already been criticized for other reasons, one of which is that it held a massive kick-off festival on the day of the launch, replete with concerts, activities, stalls, and workshops.

The group Palestine Reveals said on Instagram that “mobilization should reflect the respect and seriousness this moment demands, instead we are seeing concerts, a large stage, music, and celebratory atmospheres.”

“Turning a political action into something that resembles a festival-like event risks creating a disconnect between lived reality on the ground and the way solidarity is expressed.”

The flotilla aims to raise $1 million to help Gazans, but commenters on Palestine Reveals’ post raised concerns about where this money will go.

Mar Redondo i Justel commented that she was part of the Catalan GSF delegation “that helped make this event possible,” and that she felt “compelled to say that we were never aligned with this strategy.”

“Nobody needed this infrastructure. Nobody asked for a large festival format – let alone the Liberation Lab held in the days prior, which consumed thousands of euros in donations for an influencer gathering whose impact is nearly impossible to evaluate,” she commented.

Redondo i Justel said that the Catalan delegation fought hard for weeks to organize morning conversations on collective action on Saturday and a political act on Sunday, which included a brief musical moment.

“What was imposed instead came from a small group of people deeply disconnected from how social movements actually work in Barcelona, driven by individual desire for recognition through a music festival.”

It is worth noting that none of the 40 vessels participating in the Global Sumud Flotilla in September, which Israel intercepted on Yom Kippur, was carrying any humanitarian aid.

Israeli Police spokesperson Dean Elsdunne went aboard at the time to show the empty interior of one of the flotilla’s largest vessels.

“It was never about bringing aid to Gaza. It was about the headlines and social media followings,” Elsdunne said in the video at the time.

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-893508

https://nypost.com/2026/04/18/world-news/greta-thunbergs-freedom-flotilla-rocked-by-sexual-misconduct-allegations/

Lefty love boat: Greta Thunberg’s freedom flotilla rocked by sexual misconduct allegations

They’re going to need a bigger boat!

Greta Thunberg’s freedom flotilla, which set sail from Barcelona Sunday for another anti-Israel voyage to Gaza, has been rocked by scandal after one of its woke leaders was accused of “sexual misconduct” with at least three volunteers.

“A senior leader within the flotilla — a member of the steering committee, the highest governing body of the organization — engaged in sexual relations with multiple activists while on the boat heading to Gaza. Not one person. Not two. Three different individuals,” claimed Palestinian group Heart of Falastin in a social media post earlier this week.

Brazilian activist Thiago Avila, seen here with Greta Thunberg on one of the trips, was the target of the accusations.Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images

“To do it on the boat, while heading to a nation undergoing genocide, with volunteers who are under your authority . . . is a clear violation of ethics and power.”

One Brazilian group named the alleged horndog as activist Thiago Avila, in an X post unearthed by media watchdog Honest Reporting and shared with The Post.

“On a ship carrying humanitarian aid, a Brazilian shows up with his d–k swinging and the only thing he manages to do is f–k and get arrested,” Anti Esquerda Esquerda Club, a group that describes itself as criticizing the left from the left, wrote on X Tuesday, pointing the finger at Avila — and referring to the Israeli Navy intercepting the flotilla and taking activists into custody.

Avila, 39, sailed to Gaza in June aboard the 12-person Madleen, where he was pictured in many chummy poses with fellow activist Thunberg — arms around each other’s shoulders and looking gleefully at one another — before they were eventually detained by Israeli forces and deported.

Avila first sailed to Gaza in June aboard the Madleen, where he was pictured in many chummy poses with Thunberg.gazafreedomflotilla /Instagram

He joined the larger 500-activist Global Sumud Flotilla convoy in September, during which infighting among senior leadership led Thunberg to step down from the steering committee and off the main boat. The activist was then seen dragging her suitcase along a Tunisian dock to transfer to a different ship.

That tumultuous trip also saw her vessel’s radio hacked to pump songs from the Swedish pop group ABBA on full blast in a clear troll at Thunberg.

At the time, Thunberg’s decision to step down stemmed from frustration that leadership was spending too much time bickering about “internal affairs” and was not focusing enough on Gaza, according to Italian newspaper Il Manifesto, which had a correspondent on board.

The flotilla sailed off again for its latest voyage to Gaza on April 12 from Barcelona, with Avila and hundreds of others.ZUMAPRESS.com

Thunberg did not respond to questions from The Post about the alleged sexual misconduct, and whether it played a role in her own departure.

Avila, who left his wife and two-year-old daughter at home in Brazil to embark on what is now his fourth sailing trip since June — having gone twice to Gaza and once to Cuba — denied the accusations.

“These allegations are obviously not true,” he told The Post on WhatsApp Thursday while sailing off the coast of Spain.

Avila, seen here before departing from Barcelona last week, said the allegations were part of a smear campaign.Getty Images

“The ethics committee talked to all three people mentioned and they confirmed that this is just a smear campaign, that we are comrades and nothing ever happened,” he added, before embarking on a bizarre rant about the Epstein files.

One of the three women, also taking part in the current flotilla, took to Instagram to address the allegations in a video filmed on the Mediterranean Sea.

“That’s a lie,” said Brazilian activist Lisi Proenca, before chalking the whole thing up to cultural differences.

“That’s a lie,” said Brazilian activist Lisi Proenca, before chalking the whole thing up to cultural differences.Instagram/lisiproenca

“For some people inside the organization, it is really weird how we Brazilians hug a lot. We are very touchy. We sleep close together and we share rooms.”

“Me and Thiago have been comrades and friends for almost a decade…Here in the flotilla it’s natural for us to share rooms, to be always together.”

The allegations have added fuel to critics’ fire that the flotilla is nothing more than performative activism, with socialists in it for a good time.

Some 70 boats are taking part in this spring’s trip to Gaza, making it the largest flotilla to date.ZUMAPRESS.com

“At a time when Palestinians in Gaza are being starved . . . we would expect mobilization to reflect the respect and seriousness this moment deserves,” slammed the group Palestinian Reveals.

“Instead, we are seeing concerts, a large stage, music and celebratory atmosphere,” it added, referring to the flotilla kickoff party last weekend in Barcelona.

The flotilla aims to raise $3.5 million for the current trip, but its donor list is not public, and critics have said little to none of the money actually makes it to Gaza.

Participants have been accused by some critics of performative activism, with the aid unlikely to reach Gaza.ZUMAPRESS.com

“As one resident living in the tents in Gaza said: ‘It would have been better to donate money to Gaza instead of throwing it into the sea without benefit,'” wrote Palestinian journalist Mohammed AbuSalama.

A spokesperson for the flotilla said an investigation into the sexual misconduct allegations against Avila, which first came to light in November, found no evidence of wrongdoing.

“In the absence of any complainant, witnesses or evidence, there was no basis for the matter to proceed,” the Global Sumud Flotilla press team told The Post.

Avila’s boat was one of about 40 taking part in the flotilla to Gaza last fall, when the allegations first surfaced.Getty Images
Avila said the allegations were “obviously not true” and part of a smear campaign.AP

But the organization hinted this wasn’t the only misconduct allegation it dealt with, even revealing it hired an “ethics committee” made up of trained legal professionals after the 2025 trips to keep everyone in check.

“The ethics committee has conducted investigations of this nature unrelated to the current allegations, and disciplinary action has been taken where evidence has warranted it,” it added.

Avila meanwhile didn’t do much to dispel the image about the flotilla’s party-loving socialists in his Instagram stories this week.

“We’re here with 38 boats. Look over there!” he gloated to his 1.3 million followers on video, laughing. “Yesterday we saw dolphins, now there’s a whale right here, look! That’s beautiful,” he exclaimed, before sharing a snap of the sunset along with Bob Marley’s Redemption Song.

https://nypost.com/2026/04/18/world-news/greta-thunbergs-freedom-flotilla-rocked-by-sexual-misconduct-allegations/