Israel-Hamas war: What happened on day 216?

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on Thursday distanced President Biden's remarks on possibly withholding future arms shipments to Israel from the findings of the impending report evaluating the credibility of Israel's assurances it's following international law. 

“Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers,” Biden said in a Wednesday night interview on CNN. 

Miller parsed through the president's words saying the administration does believe too many civilians have died and Israel needs to do more to minimize civilian harm, however, that's different than a legal question of whether there has been violation of international law. 

The traditional Lag Ba'Omer pilgrimage at Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai's grave at Mount Meron will not take place this year due to the security concerns posed by the ongoing conflict with Hezbollah, the IDF announced on Thursday night.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of people head to Mount Meron to mark Lag Ba'Omer, the anniversary of the rabbi's death, at the gravesite.

Lag Ba'Omer is set to take place on the evening of May 25 this year. The holiday is marked by Jews around the world by lighting bonfires and other festivities. Besides for the anniversary of Bar Yochai's death, the day also marks when a plague that swept through the students of the sage Rabbi Akiva ended. The weeks leading up to Lag Ba'Omer are marked with some mourning customs by many Jews, including not listening to live music, not getting haircuts, and not having marriages, although there are varying customs concerning when and how these customs are kept.

Despite protests outside the arena and boos inside, Israel’s Eurovision representative, Eden Golan, kept her head held high and her eyes on the prize as she performed the song “Hurricane” in the second semi-final at the 68th Eurovision Song Contest on Thursday night in Malmo, Sweden, and fans from around the world voted her into the Grand Final.

The haters in the audience seemed to give Golan energy, and she gave a polished, dramatic performance.

עדן בביצוע בלתי נשכח pic.twitter.com/KabXoC1oHo

— כאן (@kann) May 9, 2024

Golan and her dancers were also booed in a dress rehearsal on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to fight Hamas with his fingernails as he dismissed US President Joe Biden's warning that he would not provide arms for a major military operation in Rafah.

“If we need to stand alone, we will stand alone,” Netanyahu said in a message he issued on Thursday night. “I have said that if necessary – we will fight with our fingernails.”

“But we have much more than fingernails and with that same strength of spirit, with G-d's help, together we will win,” he said.

Arms have never before been withheld

He spoke Biden told CNN Wednesday “I’ve made it clear that if they [Israel] go into Rafah… I’m not supplying the weapons that have historically been used to deal with Rafah,”

Senate Republicans deplored President Biden blaming his political aspirations and bowing to protesters for threatening to withhold arms shipments to Israel pending a major Rafah operation. 

At a news conference Thursday afternoon, Republicans took turns calling Biden a "great friend to Hamas and Hezbollah" and a "mouthpiece for Hamas" with "schizophrenic national security policy."

This is all about Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin trying to take over the war in Israel, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who organized the news conference, said. 

Israel has right to retaliate

"I got one message for Israel," Graham said. "Don't let them do it."

Graham drew comparison to Israel's need for the bombs being withheld to the United States' bombing of Dresden and use of the atomic bomb in Japan, adding there were no red lines in WWII. 

The scene in Dresden after Allied bombing in 1945 (credit: Wikimedia Commons)

"All I can say if somebody had told us you're doing too much to destroy Germany and Japan after what they did, it would have fallen on deaf ears," Graham said. "Israel is trying to lower civilian casualties, Hamas is trying to increase civilian casualties. Therein lies our problem. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wished Israel's Eurovision contestant Eden Golan luck in her upcoming performance in a video released on Thursday. 

In his statement, Netanyahu said, "Eden, I want to wish you success, but you have already succeeded. You not only face Eurovision in a proud and impressive way, but you successfully face a wave of antisemitism while standing and representing the State of Israel with respect."

Climate activist Greta Thunberg joined thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Eurovision 2024 host city Malmo on Thursday to protest Israel's participation in the song contest ahead of this year's second semi-final.

Some 100,000 visitors have gathered in the southern Swedish city for the annual kitsch-fest, which is taking place amid protests and boycotts over the Israeli military campaign in Gaza, triggered by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

דגל של אל-חשד א-שעבי, ארגון הגג של המיליציות הפרו-איראניות בעיראק הונף בהפגנה הפרו-פלסטינית במאלמו @OmerShahar123 pic.twitter.com/6lO83pcFMr

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) May 9, 2024

Thunberg joins the protests

"Young people are leading the way and showing the world how we should react to this," Thunberg, 21, said, wrapped in a keffiyeh, the traditional scarf that has become a symbol of Palestinian resistance.

Metal barricades and large concrete blocks have been put up around Malmo Arena, which is hosting the competition.

Police are guarding the venue, and visitors need to pass through metal detectors before entering the arena. Bags are being checked, and visitors are only allowed to bring small purses.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg takes part in the Stop Israel demonstration against Israel's participation in the 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) in Malmo, Sweden, May 9, 2024. (credit: TT News Agency/Johan Nilsson via REUTERS)

Israeli contestant Eden Golan, 20, will perform her song "Hurricane" in the second semi-final later on Thursday.

Hezbollah threats on the afternoon of May 9 caused sirens to sound in thirty Israeli communities in northern Israel. Hezbollah has been increasing its attacks on Israel since May 5. This coincided with the tensions in Gaza and a Hamas attack on Israel on May 5. It also has coincided with reports in media that the US is withholding certain munitions from Israel.

The US decision to pause a shipment of 1,800 munitions of 2,000 lb bombs and also 1,700 of 500 lb bombs may be seen by Hezbollah as a sign that it can increase escalation to target Israel. Hezbollah follows Israeli and foreign media closely. It often re-reports stories from Israeli media to confirm its own assumptions. Hezbollah killed two IDF soldiers on May 7 in a drone attack and killed another IDF soldier on May 8 in attacks.

Hezbollah has also taken losses in the last several days because the Hezbollah-Israel clashes tend to be proportionate. That means that Hezbollah said that several people were killed on the road to Tyre on May 9, in a strike Hezbollah blamed on Israel.

Hezbollah's drone capabilities

It appears Hezbollah is now increasingly using drones to attack Israel. Hezbollah is proud of its new drone capabilities. An article at Al-Mayadeen, the pro-Iran media outlet, noted on May 9 that “it is noteworthy, in this context, that the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon - Hezbollah - introduced drone weapons in the battle of the ‘Al-Aqsa Flood’, targeting Israeli sites and gatherings.”

The report goes on to say that Hezbollah has used drones to target Iron Dome batteries in Israel. It may have learned this tactic from the Houthis, the Iran-backed group that Hezbollah works with in Yemen. The Houthis used drones to target Saudi air defenses several years ago. “The Islamic Resistance [Hezbollah] possesses an integrated system of military capabilities, especially with regard to the declared air force, which is represented by drones, as the party possesses reconnaissance, assault and attack drones,” the Al-Mayadeen report said.

Debris covers the floor of a damaged community center, the day after Hezbollah launched missiles and drones at the Bedouin village of Arab al-Aramshe, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, in northern Israel April 18, 2024. (credit: Hannah McKay/Reuters)

Hezbollah also has a plethora of other weapons. The Alma Research and Education Center recently held a conference. One panel looked at “Hezbollah - Between Intentions and Capabilities or Between a Terror Organization and a Social and Political Movement in Lebanon.” Tal Beeri, Head of the Research Department at the Alma Center, said that one of the main threats is Hezbollah precision munitions project. “It is not limited to Fatah 110 missiles, which have a range of 330 kilometers and a strike radius of up to 10 meters. Such a missile can hit a car in Tel Aviv if launched from the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon. The potential for precision quickly moved to Grads and Falak missiles. What is particularly concerning is the issue of short-range – comprising 65,000 rockets and missiles,” he said. 

Former President Donald Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social on Wednesday night after President Joe Biden confirmed that he'd halt US weapons shipments for Gaza if Israel embarks on a major military operation in Rafah where the last Hamas battalions remain. 

"Crooked Joe Biden, whether he knows it or not, just said he will withhold weapons from Israel as they fight to eradicate Hamas Terrorists in Gaza," Trump wrote.

"Hamas murdered thousands of innocent civilians, including babies, and are still holding Americans hostage, if the hostages are still alive."

Calls Biden "Crooked Joe"

According to Trump, "Crooked Joe" is taking the side of Hamas just like he sided with the "radical mobs" taking over college campuses. 

Trump said Biden "weak, corrupt and leading the world straight into World War III."

US President Joe Biden (L) and former US president Donald Trump. (credit: Amr Alfiky/Reuters, JONATHAN ERNST/REUTERS)

Trump wrote the war in Israel and the war in Ukraine would never have started if he were in the White House. 

In an aggressive interview with Maariv, Avigdor Liberman, chairman of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for prioritizing a Palestinian state over Israel’s welfare. "Netanyahu doesn't care about the state, only personal survival," Liberman claimed, asserting that the Israeli economy thrives not because of the government but despite it. "I am fully committed to advancing the elections," he added.

Liberman also recalled Netanyahu’s past demands for accountability, particularly after the Second Lebanon War. "He spoke then and said Olmert must go home. He who demands fairness should embody fairness. And now I say: 'Netanyahu, how do you not have the shame to continue as prime minister after such a catastrophe? Take responsibility and go home.'"

Liberman accuses Netanyahu of harboring a substantial but undisclosed plan that includes commitments to a Palestinian state and a nod to a Saudi nuclear initiative. "Today he speaks differently, but as Smotrich said, 'You shouldn't believe a word he says, but look only at his actions,'" Liberman remarked. He believes that Netanyahu aims to secure an arrangement with Saudi Arabia, endorsing a Palestinian state to facilitate his electoral strategy, motivated not by peace but by Saudi interests in advancing their nuclear agenda in the US Congress.

"Netanyahu will promote in return a declaration of a Palestinian state as he already did in the Bar-Ilan speech. The most severe is his endorsement of the Saudi nuclear program, which, in my view, is a disaster that will throw the entire Middle East into a frantic nuclear arms race," Liberman warned.

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attend the special plenary session opening the winter session of the Knesset, on October 23, 2017. (credit: HADAS PARUSH/FLASH90)

Liberman says governmental policy in economics is deterimental