GAZA - As Israel continues to exchange rocket fire with Hamas fighters in Gaza, the IDF has officially entered an underground network of tunnels that serve as a respite for militants, terrorists, criminals, and others connected to Hamas. An Israeli ground offensive in the Gaza Strip is underway in the most devastating war yet with Hamas after the group led an incursion into Israel on October 7th, massacring nearly 1,500 people and taking over 200 hostages, with the tunnels becoming one of the greatest threats to both Israeli troops and the 2.3 million Palestinians trapped inside the seaside enclave buried deep underground.

USA - Billionaire Leon Cooperman, who wears his Polish-Jewish heritage as a badge of pride and has made giving away his billions to make the world a better place a major part of his life, is angry. The 80-year-old estimates that he has given $50 million over the years to New York City’s Columbia University, where he earned a master’s degree in business administration in 1967. But he will give no more to the school due to the way some students and faculty celebrated the slaughter of Israeli civilians in the massacre of October 7 that claimed more than 1,400 lives. “These kids at the colleges have sh** for brains,” Cooperman told Fox Business host Claman last week. “We have one reliable ally in the Middle East. That’s Israel,” Cooperman said. “We only have one democracy in the Middle East. That’s Israel. And we have one economy tolerant of different people, gays, lesbians, etc. That’s Israel. So they have no idea what these young kids are doing."

ISRAEL - Elon Musk has promised to help humanitarian organizations to stay connected amid an information blackout in Gaza. Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Kahri has vowed that “Israel will use all means at its disposal to fight” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s planned provision of Starlink internet access to Gaza. “Hamas will use it for terrorist activities,” Kahri claimed in a post on X (formerly Twitter), adding that “there is no doubt about it, we know it, and Musk knows it.” In response, the tech billionaire said he is “not so naive,” explaining how the proposed scheme would work, while promising to “do a security check with both the US and Israeli governments before turning on even a single terminal.”

ISRAEL - A former Navy Seal and combat medic-turned-congressman says the aftermath of Hamas’ slaughter of Israeli civilians October 7 was the most horrific and barbaric sight he ever encountered. “This is ISIS times 1,000,” Representative Derrick Van Orden (Republican for Wisconsin), who toured Israel last week, told The Post, referring to the jihadists known for beheading hostages. “I can speak with authority. I’ve done multiple combat tours. People were slaughtered at a level not seen since the Holocaust,” he said of the attack on Israel, which killed at least 1,400 people, many civilians. “These Hamas terrorists — these savages, these beasts — they specifically targeted children. They were told to cut people’s arms and legs off …It’s gut wrenching,” Van Orden said. “People are trying to legitimize this.”

USA - It is happening again. All over America, borrowers are getting behind on their payments. In particular, subprime borrowers are having a very difficult time paying the bills. Does that ring a bell? That should, because the last time we witnessed anything like this was during the last financial crisis. When things start to go bad, those at the bottom of the economic food chain feel it first, and that is why the numbers that have been coming out lately are so alarming.

TURKEY - The Turkish president suggested in a speech at a pro-Palestine rally this afternoon that Turkey can "come at any night unexpectedly". Turkey's president appears to have threatened to intervene in Gaza in an impassioned speech at a pro-Palestine rally this evening. Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered a speech to a rally this afternoon in which he told attendees Israel was responsible for war crimes, and framed Hamas as "freedom fighters". In comments that have prompted Israeli outcry, and led the country to withdraw its diplomatic presence, president Erdogan suggested assaults on Gaza constituted a "massacre".

TURKEY - For the first time in Turkey’s history, a fleet of 100 warships is on the move in the Bosphorus Strait, a spectacle that not only demonstrates Turkey’s growing military might but also its technological prowess. This is not merely a show of force but a testament to Turkey’s focus on enhancing its scientific and technical capabilities. The sight of 100 warships moving in unison is a powerful image and an embodiment of Turkey’s evolving capabilities. A result of advancements in Turkey’s shipbuilding industry, these warships represent a level of energy, talent, and ability that has not been seen before in any Turkish fleet. It is a spectacle of power and precision that reflects the progress Turkey has made. This event signifies more than just Turkey’s naval capabilities. It is a statement about Turkey’s rise as a regional power. With its growing influence in the Middle East and its expanding military prowess, Turkey is asserting itself on the world stage.

MIDDLE EAST - Now we are going to find out who was bluffing and who was not bluffing. Israeli troops have gone into Gaza, and we are being told that this is a war that could last for months. Of course it could easily last a lot longer than that. If the stated goal is to eliminate Hamas, that certainly won’t be easy. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is calling this a second war of independence, and he just told the world that “Never Again is now” …So Israel was clearly not bluffing.

USA - Joe Biden came to office declaring America is back. Now, facing hot wars in the Middle East and Ukraine and a simmering cold one with China, the US is beginning to look overextended. The US defense industry — Biden’s “arsenal of democracy” — is struggling to produce enough artillery shells to ensure Ukraine can keep firing them at Russian forces. The Pentagon is bombing targets in Syria as it rushes air defenses to the region to protect troops in case Israel’s war against Hamas prompts new attacks by enemies.

ISRAEL - The imagery is enticing, the rhythm and rhyme are propulsive. “From the river to the sea,” runs the popular slogan, “Palestine will be free!” [What the author seems unaware of, is that knowingly or otherwise, the above slogan is a perversion of the biblical promise in Joshua 1:2-4]:

EUROPE - EU militarisation stepped up a notch as European troops completed what is likely just the first of many live exercises as one joint EU fighting unit off the coast of Cadiz in southern Spain. 2,800 military personnel from 19 member states took part in the exercise.

UK - All this was on a 43-minute ­compilation of footage — from CCTV, from Hamas body­cams, first-responder cameras, and so on. It was shown a few days ago, by the Israeli government, to dozens of experienced international journalists, and it was by no means the most horrific episode. They saw a young girl — maybe seven years old — being chased under a desk, and then shot at point-blank range. They saw people being tortured, burned, beheaded. Members of the audience were seen to retch involuntarily, to weep and to beg ‘Make it stop’.

ISRAEL - The relentless bombardment came as Israeli defence chiefs confirmed IDF troops were 'expanding operations' across the enclave, in a move military experts say signalled the impending full-scale ground invasion of the territory. Ahead of the onslaught, Palestinian civilians were warned by the IDF to flee to the south of Gaza, before missiles then slammed into the Hamas-controlled region, razing buildings to the ground and bathing the skyline in an apocalyptic orange glow, as fire raged.

AFRICA - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz this weekend makes his third visit to sub-Saharan Africa in two years, as conflicts elsewhere highlight the growing importance of an energy-rich region in which Berlin has traditionally had little involvement. He will visit major energy producer Nigeria, as well as Ghana, with migration flows and instability in West Africa also on his agenda. Much of the impetus for the trip has come from the realization that Germany - and Europe - need Africa more than it thought, said Greens legislator Anton Hofreiter. "People realized we needed allies against Russia's invasion of Ukraine," he said. "And suddenly we noticed they weren't necessarily on our side... That was a rude awakening." The war between Israel and Hamas has leant new urgency in particular to the energy aspect of the trip.

USA - Newly-minted House Speaker Mike Johnson (Republican for Louisiana) told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday that the entirety of his worldview could be found if one would simply “go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it.” Johnson, who received unanimous Republican support after three weeks of chaos — and three other nominees for the position — was elected on Wednesday to replace ousted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (Republican for California) and spoke with Hannity about getting back to business in the House of Representatives. “I said, ‘Well, go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it – that’s my worldview.’ That’s what I believe and so I make no apologies for it,” he said. Johnson took his Bible with him to deliver his first speech as House Speaker — where he told every other member of Congress that he believed they were all called by God to use their gifts to the best of their ability to serve the American people.