There’s a lot to cover, and it all connects.

1) Shin Bet Foils Drone Assassination Plot on Israel’s National Security Minister

Israel’s Shin Bet and the IDF broke up a Hamas-directed cell out of Hebron that was plotting to assassinate National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir—with drones.

• How it was supposed to work: The cell bought multiple commercial drones (think DJI FPV/Avata and Mavic-style platforms) and planned to mount explosives or use them as high-speed kamikaze vehicles.

• Who was really running it: Instructions and direction were coming from Hamas operatives in Turkey. Let that sink in—a NATO country is the rear area for a terror org that just tried to take out a sitting Israeli minister.

• Why this matters: Small drones aren’t “toys” anymore. Strap a grenade under a 250-gram quadcopter and you’ve got a precision drop weapon. Rig an FPV racer and it’s a guided missile at 60–100 mph. We’ve seen versions of this in Ukraine, Syria, and even the attempted hit on Maduro in Venezuela.

Bottom line: Counter-drone is no longer optional around VIPs—or your neighborhood, if things ever go sideways. The threat isn’t theoretical; it’s here.

2) Gaza: Hostage “Proof of Life,” Civilians Blocked, and the Coming Push

Just before we went live, Hamas released a new proof-of-life video for one of the Israeli hostages. Same old psychological warfare; same refusal to release Red Cross access.

On the ground:

• The IDF is staging for expanded operations in/around Gaza City—calling up tens of thousands of reservists, forward-positioning armor and engineering assets, and mapping humanitarian corridors and aid points away from combat zones.

• Reports on the ground say Hamas has blocked families from leaving areas Israel has warned will become active battle spaces—human shields all over again.

Translation: Israel is telegraphing the safer routes and stocking them with food/medical aid; Hamas is trying to keep civilians in the crossfire. That tells you everything you need to know about motives.

Reporting from Panama’s Pacific coast, at the very drop zone where my Ranger unit parachuted in during the 1989 Panama invasion.

Over the weekend, Israel executed what can only be called a decapitation strike against the Houthi regime in Yemen. According to initial reports coming out of Sanaa, the prime minister, the Houthi chief of staff, and most cabinet ministers were killed—with only a handful left alive, one badly wounded, and the rest fleeing the capital. Israel had warned that if the Houthis kept firing at Israeli civilians, there would be “a blow to the firstborns.” Biblical language, yes—but now you see what they meant.

The Houthis are vowing revenge. What can they actually do? Short answer: missiles and drones—because marching an army to Israel is off the table. And even those missiles keep breaking up over Saudi Arabia or getting intercepted before they get close. That doesn’t stop the Houthis from claiming victory on TV (more on the “perception war” below), but reality is stubborn.

The Information War: Manufactured “Genocide,” Manufactured Outrage

While Israel hits real military targets, aid agencies and UN-adjacent NGOs have been coordinating press pushes to browbeat global media into labeling Gaza a “genocide” and “famine.” We’ve dismantled that claim repeatedly here:

• Genocide has a definition. Israel is not “erasing a people.” In fact, Israel pushes aid into Gaza, warns civilians with calls, leaflets, and roof knocks, and routinely pauses operations for humanitarian corridors—steps no genocidal regime takes.

• Famine is weaponized rhetoric. There’s more food entering Gaza than most hot zones on earth, and we’ve all seen the videos of aid discarded in the streets when it isn’t the brand preferred by looters or Hamas handlers.

Meanwhile, the very people chanting “genocide” against Israel are silent about a very real, very measurable catastrophe:

 We’ve got a lot on the board: the recovery of two hostage bodies from Gaza, the renewed push into Gaza City, Israel’s clever strike on Houthi leadership, a consequential dust-up with Turkey, and a reminder—uncomfortable but necessary—of why this war began and why it must be finished.

Gaza: two bodies recovered

The IDF and Shin Bet located and recovered the bodies of two hostages from Gaza—one identified as Elon Weiss, an emergency responder murdered on October 7 and dragged across the fence. That grim accounting leaves 48 hostages still in Gaza; Israeli officials believe about 20 are alive. Israel has suspended “tactical pauses” around Gaza City to accelerate the hunt. The IDF’s 7th Brigade is pushing again into Zaytoun—for the eighth time—determined to hold ground they’ve cleared repeatedly. Why go back? Because every entry leaves behind eyes and ears—“various different kinds of intelligence-gathering devices”—that start painting a picture the moment Hamas and civilians flow back in. That picture is how you find hostages.