Israel Is Winning in Gaza

Israel Is Winning in Gaza

Hugh Fitzgerald

While there are those who claim Israel “has not won” its war against Hamas in Gaza, the inability of Hamas to launch more than a handful of missiles and drones, almost all of them either intercepted or fallen harmlessly in open fields, Israel’s seizure of ever more of Gaza’s territory testifies to Hamas’ terminal weakness. More about Hamas’ loss of men, weapons, and territory to the IDF is discussed here: “For the first time in decades, Israel is imposing its will on Hamas – opinion,” by Zaki Shalom, Jerusalem Post, June 1, 2026:

The killing of Ahmed Jabari in November 2012 marked a dramatic turning point in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Jabari, Hamas’s top military commander, was killed in Gaza while traveling in his vehicle. Israel immediately braced for retaliation, and Hamas responded with massive rocket fire toward Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, triggering Operation Pillar of Defense.

The contrast between what happened then and what is happening today is almost unimaginable.

On May 15 of this year, Israel eliminated Izz al-Din al-Haddad, Hamas’s chief military commander in Gaza. Ten days later, on May 26, Israel killed his successor, Mohammed Odeh. In the past, such consecutive blows against Hamas’s senior military leadership would almost automatically have triggered a major regional escalation.

Yet this time, no significant response came.

These operations are not isolated events. They are part of a broader strategic process Israel has been carrying out in Gaza over recent months: the systematic destruction of Hamas’s military infrastructure, including command centers, weapons depots, tunnel networks, and operatives across multiple levels of command.

At the same time, Israel has steadily expanded its operational and territorial control inside the Gaza Strip. Today, Israel reportedly controls approximately 65% of Gaza….

That is up from the 53% of Gazan territory, to the east of the Yellow Line, that the IDF controlled just a few weeks ago. And the IDF will not stop at 65%, but intends to control at least 70% of Gaza before it calls a halt to its advance.

The only country with influence over Israel’s campaign in Gaza is the United States, and the administration has made clear that Israel is free to do whatever it deems necessary in Gaza.

The Israelis are hoping that Gazans will not only be free to leave the Strip, but that many of them will choose to do so, given that so much of Gaza is now a huge pile of rubble. There are 22 members of the Arab League, containing vast land areas. It is up to them to take in Gazans hoping for a new life away from the rubble and the constant threats of Israeli bombardment as a result of Hamas’ continued attempts to launch missiles and drones at Israel.

It is Israel, not Hamas, that is winning in Gaza. It has inexorably taken over more and more of the Strip’s territory, now 65%, and soon to be 70% of the total. Out of an estimated initial total of 400 miles of Hamas tunnels, the IDF has destroyed at least 150 miles. With each passing day, the IDF locates more, and destroys more, of the tunnel network. On October 7, 2023, the IDF estimates that Hamas had 40,000 men under arms in Gaza. Since then, the IDF estimates it has killed at least 25,000 of them. Hamas has managed to recruit an estimated 5,000 new recruits during the war, which leaves it with a total of 20,000, that is only half as many men as it had before October 7. By any measure, Hamas is losing badly. And inside Gaza, anti-Hamas militias have sprung up to keep their own neighborhoods free of Hamas and therefore, they hope, free of IDF attacks. There are four of these militias: first, the Popular Forces, with some 700 fighters, who operate in eastern Rafah and Khan Yunis; second, the Al-Astal Militia, who operate around Qizal al-Najjar in the Khan Yunis governorate; third, the Popular Army (Northern branch), that operates out of northern Gaza; fourth, Rami Helles’ Militia, operating in the eastern areas of Gaza City. Hamas has issued threats to these militias to disband and join Hamas, but so far it has been afraid to take any of them on.

Hamas is now so weak that it does not dare to attack even the smallest of these militias.

Why Did Trump Demand that Netanyahu Stop IDF Attack on Hezbollah Sites in Beirut?

Why Did Trump Demand that Netanyahu Stop IDF Attack on Hezbollah Sites in Beirut?

Hugh Fitzgerald

The Islamic Republic of Iran said it would stop its negotiations with the U.S. unless Israel stopped fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon. U.S. President Donald Trump, who claims he has all the time in the world to negotiate, is in fact desperate to reach an agreement with Iran that will lead to a resumption of ship traffic through the strait of Hormuz, which the President hopes will lead to a steep drop in the price of oil, and hence of gasoline at the pump, just in time to affect the midterm elections. So Trump, eager to win Tehran’s favor by saving its proxy Hezbollah from the IDF — that has just launched its deepest assault into Lebanon in the last 25 years — has just given his marching, or rather unmarching orders, to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, demanding that he call off the IDF’s assault on Beirut. More on Trump’s demand, and Netanyahu’s response, can be found here: “Trump declares Lebanon ceasefire, calls off IDF strike on Beirut after phone call with Netanyahu,” by Tzvi Jasper and Idan Kweller, Jerusalem Post, June 1, 2026:

US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on Monday about the potential for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.After the call, Trump announced that Israel had agreed that “there will be no Troops going to Beirut, and any Troops that are on their way, have already been turned back.”In exchange, he said, Hezbollah had agreed that all shooting will stop – “That Israel will not attack them, and they will not attack Israel.”

That is a bit misleading. Israel agreed only to stop its attack on Beirut, but promised nothing about the rest of Lebanon. Furthermore, he made clear that if Hezbollah did not stop, or stopped only to again resume, its attacks on Israel, the IDF would again attack Hezbollah targets in Beirut.

Later, Netanyahu announced that he had told Trump that “if Hezbollah doesn’t stop attacking our towns and citizens – Israel will attack terror targets in Beirut.”

He also said that the IDF would continue to operate as planned in southern Lebanon.

The Lebanese Embassy in Washington had earlier confirmed that Hezbollah had accepted the US proposal, saying that the ceasefire framework would be expanded to encompass “all Lebanese territories.”tories.”

But as of now, that “ceasefire framework only includes Beirut. The IDF will continue to target “all Lebanese territories” except Beirut.

The embassy’s statement also claimed that Trump had told Lebanon’s Ambassador to the United States that Netanyahu had also agreed to the arrangement.

I don’t know if Trump really said this to the Lebanese ambassador, but I am certain of one thing: Netanyahu would never agree to stopping IDF attacks on Beirut no matter what. He made clear that any Hezbollah attack, from anywhere, would trigger a resumption of IDF attacks on Beirut. Netanyahu would never agree to a full ceasefire in Lebanon. That would be a lifesaver for Hezbollah, just as it is finally on the verge of dismantlement under the punishing bombs of the IDF.

Trump is behaving with Netanyahu like a monarch grandly giving orders to an underling. In telling Netanyahu he “must not strike Beirut,” he is protecting the terror group Hezbollah, that previous American administrations have recognized as such. The Americans should not be protecting Hezbollah; it was Hezbollah that murdered 241 Marines in their Beirut barracks in 1982, and has murdered more American citizens in Israel ever since..

The headquarters of Hezbollah are in Dahiyeh, a suburb in southern Beirut, which Israel has repeatedly attacked. Now, if Trump’s order to Netanyahu is obeyed, that will be throwing a lifeline to Hezbollah, that will simply move many of its members into Beirut where, thanks to Trump, they will be free from IDF attack. It’s a preposterous demand that Trump has made of a reluctant Netanyahu, and one that shows Trump is so desperate for a deal with Iran, that he is cravenly prepared to stop the IDF literally in its tracks.

Netanyahu cannot do what Trump demands, which is to stop all attacks on Beirut, and especially on Hezbollah’s stronghold of Dahiyeh. However, nor could he flatly reject Trump’s demand, knowing how vindictive Trump can be with those who do not submit to his diktats. Remember how he treated Zelensky with such contempt when the latter first visited him at the White House. Instead, Netanyahu has seemed to agree, but left such a loophole that will soon allow him to restart the IDF’s attack in Beirut. That loophole is this: Netanyahu announced that he had told Trump that “if Hezbollah doesn’t stop attacking our towns and citizens, Israeli will attack terror targets in Beirut.” How likely do you think it is that Hezbollah will completely stop attacking Israel? And note that even if the Hezbollah attacks are launched from outside Beirut, Israel reserves the right to attack Hezbollah sites in Beirut. Note also that Trump has not demanded that the IDF stop its operations outside Beirut, and these will no doubt continue.

Perhaps Hezbollah, desperate as it now is for the IDF to stop its relentless campaign to wipe out the terrorist group, will agree to stop fighting. But it will take very little for someone in Hezbollah, some fanatic determined to keep fighting the Zionists, to launch a few drones against Israel and thereby provide all the justification the IDF needs to resume its attack on Beirut.

Persecution: Islamic State Killing Christians Across Congo: More Than 1,100 Dead and No End in Sight

Islamic State Killing Christians Across Congo: More Than 1,100 Dead and No End in Sight

Antonio Graceffo

While Christians are being slaughtered and kidnapped on a daily basis in Nigeria, Christians are also being massacred in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Like in Nigeria, the perpetrators are not Mennonites. They are Islamic extremists.

Islamist terrorists killed 57 Christians over a week-long period ending June 2, 2026, in the Beni region of North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP) slaughtered 16 Christians in the village of Mayangose on May 31. A day earlier, 10 believers from the same village were captured and executed.

In a separate attack on May 30, fighters from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), the Ugandan-origin Islamist group that operates in eastern Congo as the Islamic State’s Central Africa Province, killed at least seven Christians in Beni’s Ngadi neighborhood. The victims were members of the Pygmy Twa ethnic community. Their escape routes were blocked before they were shot.

ISCAP has claimed the killing of at least 1,100 Christians in northeastern DRC since its campaign escalated in December 2024, and more than 6,500 since first pledging allegiance to the Islamic State in 2017.

The pace of attacks in 2026 has been relentless. On January 2, ADF rebels killed at least 16 people in overnight raids on villages in Lubero Territory. By February 2, the deadliest day of the surge, 28 Christians were killed in attacks on three villages near Ndalya in Ituri. Just days earlier, on January 29, nine Christians were killed, and around 30 houses were burned in Lubero District.

Also in February, ADF fighters executed approximately 70 civilians in a Christian village in North Kivu. Men, women, children, and the elderly were reportedly beheaded.

On March 13, Islamic State media claimed responsibility for killing 17 Christians and abducting around 100 others during an attack on the Christian village of Mushasha in Ituri Province. Dozens of homes were burned. Mushasha is also the site of a Chinese-owned gold mine and a Congolese military base, both of which were targeted in the attack.

On April 1, Maundy Thursday of Holy Week, up to 60 Christians were massacred in the village of Bafwakoa in Mambasa Territory, Ituri, after residents rejected what ISCAP described as a “generous offer,” a demand to convert to Islam or accept dhimmi status. Some victims were burned alive in their homes, while others were beheaded with machetes. Thousands were displaced.

The Congolese army confirmed 43 deaths, while ISCAP claimed 60 in a Telegram post. The Mambasa territorial administrator told Reuters that search operations were continuing and that the death toll could rise. ISCAP’s figures remain unverified, as the group is known to exaggerate casualty counts. Independent researchers at the Bridgeway Foundation recorded at least 967 civilian killings by ISCAP in 2025 alone, using data independent of both Congolese military and Islamic State reporting.

More...

Amazon Plans Data Center In Wheatfield, Indiana; Will Pay $1.25BN To Reduce Energy Cost Impact On Local Payers

Amazon Plans Data Center In Wheatfield, Indiana; Will Pay $1.25BN To Reduce Energy Cost Impact On Local Payers

 Georgia Butler of DataCenterDynamics

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is seeking to develop a data center campus in Wheatfield, Indiana. Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe, the cloud giant has purchased more land in India.

Located in Jasper County and southwest of Michigan City, Wheatfield is a small town and has a population of around 900 as per the 2020 census. AWS presented its plans for the data center during a recent open house at Kankakee Valley High School, as per a report from the Kankakee Valley Post News, in which it said it was looking to build a campus with up to nine buildings on a 304-acre plot of land.

The land in question is currently owned by the Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), with the Schahfer Generating Station located just a half mile away.

NIPSCO and AWS are in conversations regarding the project. The land is currently leased for agricultural use from the utility.

According to AWS, by locating the data center near the power plant, it would reduce costs related to infrastructure and transmission. Details about the project remain sparse, with discussions on going, but AWS is estimating an investment of around $7 billion. In addition, the project would increase tax revenue for Jasper County from around $1.2 million to more than $420m over the next 15 years.

Amazon will also pay $1.25bn to reduce the energy use cost impact on local ratepayers. The data center will use natural air cooling for around 98% of the year, so as to minimize water usage.

Speaking at the meeting, AWS president of economic development Roger Wehner said: "We want to go to places where people come in with eyes wide open and we can build a great partnership."

Should the project receive approval, construction is expected to begin quickly, with Wehner telling the audience: "We want to start growing with this community as soon as possible. As you can see, we’re already here. We’re already doing things. If it doesn’t work out, that’s okay, we’ll still love it. We won’t feel bad about a single thing we’ve done.”

AWS already has data centers in Northern Indiana, in New Carlisle, and is developing another in Hobart. The projects are part of a $15bn investment commitment to the area made by AWS in November 2025, in which the company said it aimed to add 2.4GW of capacity to the Hoosier State.

Meta, US Signals, DataBank, Netrality, and Digital Crossroads all have a presence in Indiana, with a host of developers looking to develop new campuses across the state. Microsoft and Google have both announced data center builds in Indiana, in Mishawaka and Fort Wayne, respectively.

Meanwhile, in India, Amazon has purchased a 10.61-acre land parcel in Ambernath in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region for Rs 125.13 crore (~$13m), for data center development.

As reported by the Hindustan Times, the land was acquired from Lodha Developers, and the transaction was registered on May 26, 2026.

Amazon already owns an adjacent 49-acre plot, which it acquired in November 2024 from Macrotech Developers for Rs 450 crore ($48.35m). The company also acquired 38.18 acres of land from Lodha in Palava near Navi Mumbai in December 2024.

Plans for a data center campus at the site were revealed in April 2026. Up to six buildings could be developed, four of which will have seven stories and serve as data centers. The remaining two buildings will have two stories and be used to support the electrical and water needs of the data centers. The data centers will have a capacity of 473MW.

In December 2025, Amazon committed to investing $35bn in India, including in data centers and AI infrastructure. Earlier that year, AWS revealed plans to spend $8.3bn in developing cloud infrastructure for just one of its cloud regions - AWS Asia-Pacific (Mumbai).

Russian Foreign Ministry Says Moscow and Washington Avoided ‘Fatal Breakdown’ in Relations With Secret Talks Last Week

Russian Foreign Ministry Says Moscow and Washington Avoided ‘Fatal Breakdown’ in Relations With Secret Talks Last Week

Paul Serran

While Russia is at war in Ukraine, and the US is in the Middle East, the ongoing process to normalize the bilateral relations was pushed to the back burner.

But the process is not dead, and the two superpowers reportedly avoided a major disruption by engaging in secret talks last week, as US and Russian experts met to discuss ‘mutual irritants’.

This comes a few days after top Russian aide Yuri Ushakov said that the Ukrainians are impeding the unfolding of the ‘understandings’ arrived at in the Donald J. Trump-Vladimir Putin summit in Anchorage, Alaska.

Slavyangrad on Telegram:

“Ukraine is hindering the implementation of Trump and Putin’s Anchorage agreements, said Russian Presidential Aide Ushakov. 

Many use the word ‘agreements’. I would say more precisely, ‘understandings’. Indeed, there were understandings reached about what a particular side would do in the context of resolving the Ukrainian conflict. The Americans promised to fulfill their part of these understandings, but, as I understand it, they encountered a number of difficulties, which are primarily related to the behavior of Kiev.”

Russia and US avoided 'FATAL BREAKDOWN' in relations — Russian MFA Russian & US experts met WEEK AGO to discuss 'mutual irritants' Russia 'ready to normalize' US relations IF 'its interests RESPECTED and internal affairs NOT interfered with'

The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department of the North Atlantic, Alexander Gusarov, said that ‘the emerging dynamic of restoration in relations has yet to be tested’.

TASS reported:

“Moscow is ready to move toward normalizing relations with Washington, provided its interests are respected, and its internal affairs are not interfered with, head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department of the North Atlantic Alexander Gusarov said.

‘Of course, in terms of practical results, the emerging dynamic of restoration in relations has yet to be tested. However, no matter how long and arduous this path may be, we are ready to move forward, provided both sides adhere to the fundamental principles of respect for each other’s interests, mutual benefit, and non-interference in the internal affairs’, he said in an interview with the International Affairs magazine.”