Israel Brief: Wednesday, February 18
Friendly fire in Gaza. Friendly-ish fiction in Bnei Brak. Israel buries a soldier, tightens tunnels, and asks whether the state can govern itself as seriously as it governs a war.
Shalom, friends.
Gaza enforcement continues, Iran talks continue, and at home the Haredi bargain is colliding with arithmetic, courts, and basic adulthood. We lost Staff Sgt. Ofri Yafe, z”l, in a nighttime operation that reminds us the war punishes mistakes as brutally as it punishes hesitation.
⚡️Flash Brief: The Day in 90 Seconds or Less
Khan Yunis: Staff Sgt. Ofri Yafe, 21, killed in friendly fire during nighttime building-clearing operations. See The War Today.
Rafah: IDF destroys another Hamas tunnel under armored and engineering coordination. See The War Today.
Kiryat Gat: Authorities probe attempted bribery at US Gaza logistics coordination site—tied to reconstruction flow. See The War Today.
Jericho: Four Islamic State–affiliated suspects arrested in pre-Ramadan counterterror operations. See The War Today.
Ramallah: ISA-guided forces detain weapons dealer embedded in local terror network. See The War Today.
Geneva: Iran floats three-year enrichment suspension, rejects dismantlement and missile limits. See Israel and the World.
High Court: Ministries ordered to justify full funding of noncompliant Haredi school networks by April 15. See Inside Israel.
Below: operational lessons in Gaza, the Ramadan security equation, Iran’s two-week window, and the state-capacity fight at home.
