DAY 193 OF THE WAR: It's a Waiting Game, Gaza, Demonstrations in the US, Easy-Jet Cancels Flights to Israel

Tel Aviv Diary, April 16, 2024

In Israel, it was another day of waiting. The country's leadership has made it unequivocally clear that Israel will mount a retaliation against Iran’s action. Although the precise form of the response remains undecided, there is a consensus that it must be meticulously planned and thoughtfully executed. The goal is to counter the attack so that it does not provoke Iran to strike again. However, there is a general distrust in our intelligence capabilities to assess Iranian intentions accurately.

Over the past six months, intelligence has suffered two significant failures: first, on October 7th, it failed to provide warning of the attack; and second, it mistakenly gave the green light to assassinate Mohammad Reza Zahedi under the mistaken impression that Iran would not respond in any substantive way. Now that Iran has responded not just symbolically but with a massive assault, it has become apparent that all our presumptions about Iran were flawed, particularly the notion that they preferred to act solely through proxies instead of launching direct attacks.

These misjudgments, coupled with the total lack of trust most Israelis feel towards the government, transformed the fleeting happiness following the successful missile interception on Saturday night into apprehension by today. I conversed with several people today at i24news, all of whom I’ve worked with for nearly eight years. The atmosphere had markedly shifted since my appearance there just this past Thursday. The difference was palpable, as was the unanimous concerns for the future, and the prevalent lack of faith in the government to make the right decisions was widely felt.

One of our readers expressed surprise that I thought we should retaliate against Iran’s attack. I do indeed believe we should respond but with utmost caution. Completely turning the other cheek is not a viable option. I share the common hope that we discover the most appropriate response, and like many, I’m concerned about our current government’s capacity to do so.

The Army displayed the largely intact ballistic missile recovered from the Dead Sea. Although it was without its warhead, its size was quite daunting. To provide some context, the Army compared it to the size of the rockets launched at us by Hamas from Gaza—this missile was at least ten times larger, possibly more. The idea that over 100 such missiles were fired at us simultaneously is genuinely frightening. I am reasonably certain this was by far the largest barrage of ballistic missiles ever launched at a country at the same time.

GAZA

The only IDF activity in Gaza today was in central Gaza, as described by the Army:

The combat team fighters of the Nahal Brigade continued their operations in the center of the Gaza Strip, during which the forces eliminated several terrorists identified as moving toward them using tank fire.

As part of the combat efforts of the 215th Fire Brigade, the forces directed an Air Force aircraft that attacked and destroyed terrorist infrastructures.

Throughout the last day, Air Force fighter jets and aircraft attacked and destroyed a missile launcher alongside dozens of terrorist infrastructures, tunnels, and military buildings, including armed terrorists from the Hamas terrorist organization.

DEMONSTRATIONS IN THE US

It was strange to observe all the demonstrations by Hamas supporters in the United States, tying up highways, closing bridges, and blocking airports. It’s unclear what they are attempting to accomplish. Their timing could not be worse — coinciding with the rise in American sympathy for Israel following Saturday’s events. Furthermore, the tactic of chanting “Down with America” and burning American flags is undoubtedly not likely to garner support in the U.S. The slogan “Free Palestine” has become a central rallying point for the far-left — so much so that there seems to be a competition over who can be the most radical. Thankfully for us, these tactics will likely be self-destructive in the short term.

THE NORTH

It was a combative day in the North today. Hezbollah managed to sneak two drones across the border, which blew up on a base of the IDF, lightly wounding three soldiers.  Shortly afterward, the IDF assassinated a leading Hezbollah commander, as well as a lower-ranking officer, in an aerial assault. Shortly after, the IDF killed the head of Hezbollah’s rocket squads. Hezbollah responded with rocket fire targeting the Air Force base on Mt. Meron, followed shortly after by a barrage aimed at the western Galilee. One barrage struck Kiryat Shemonah, resulting in damage to several cars.

EASY-JET ANNOUNCES TEMPORARY HALT OF SERVICE TO ISRAEL

EasyJet announced that due to the recent increases in tensions, it has canceled all its flights to Israel until the fall. EasyJet was one of the leading low-cost airlines flying to Israel, and the cessation of its flights has left many Israelis without a viable flying option. El Al does not have the capacity to compensate for the flights that have been canceled. Other relatively low-cost airlines, such as Turkish Airlines, have not committed to resume service. Consequently, ticket prices for the available seats on El Al have increased. Transportation Minister Miri Regev has demanded an immediate meeting with the CEOs of El Al and Arkia to discuss the rise in prices. Unfortunately, as far as I understood, there was no deliberate decision to raise prices. Rather, the price increase resulted from the airline's fare optimization programs. These systems dynamically adjust prices to maximize revenue, immediately recognize the sudden booking surge, and adjust the prices accordingly.

BUSINESS

Today (Tuesday), American company BeyondTrust announced its acquisition of the Israeli startup Entitle, which developed a system for managing permissions for software and cloud services. The deal amount was not disclosed. Entitle was founded in 2021 by Ron Nesim (CEO) and Avi Zetzer (CTO), who met during their service in Unit 8200. The system developed by Entitle addresses the issue of excessive permissions granted to users in the organizational network. Such excessive permissions can allow attackers who gain control of them to spread to more places in the network. Entitle has raised $15 million to date from Glilot Capital, Today Ventures, and private investors. Entitle employs 30 workers, 25 of whom are in Israel. The acquisition of Entitle will serve as the foundation for BeyondTrust's development center in Israel.

The startup company Snappy, a platform for employee and customer gifts, has completed a new funding round led by the Israeli fund Komera, as reported by Globes. The round, amounting to $25 million, reflects a decrease in the company's valuation, which now ranges between $180-200 million—about half of its previous valuation of $400 million in 2021, at the peak of the coronavirus bubble.

The decline in valuation for private companies is a new trend after a long period during which entrepreneurs avoided confirming deals that reflected a decrease in value, fearing damage to the company's public reputation. However, as funds have dwindled, companies have become willing to accept any potential public relations consequences to secure sufficient funding to continue operations.

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A PIECE OF HISTORY

The Lavon Affair

In 1951, an Israeli intelligence officer arrived in Cairo and recruited a network of young Egyptian Jews to work for Israeli intelligence. The network remained dormant until 1954 the British announced plans to withdraw from Egypt. The British presence in Egypt was considered a restraining influence on the Egyptians. Attempting to undermine this strategy, Israeli intelligence hatched a plan to set off bombs in public places in Egypt.

The network was enlisted to plant bombs in various locations, including U.S. Information Centers, movie theaters, post offices, and other public venues. The initial explosion occurred on July 2, 1954, at a post office in Alexandria. The bombs were extremely small, resulting in no injuries. However, one of the bombs detonated prematurely in a saboteur’s pocket, leading to his capture. A subsequent raid led to the discovery from a list in his apartment naming other members of the spy ring, 11 of whom were arrested.

The espionage ring was put on trial. Prime Minister Sharett was initially outraged and decried the proceedings as slander against the Egyptian Jewish community. However, Sharett was subsequently briefed in confidence on the actual circumstances. The trial concluded on January 27th, resulting in two defendants, Moshe Marzouk and Shmuel Azar, being sentenced to death and later hanged.

The botched operation had significant political repercussions in Israel. Defense Minister Pinhas Lavon asserted he had no advance knowledge of the plan, while Colonel Binyamin Gibli, Chief of Intelligence, insisted he had briefed Lavon. Following Lavon’s claims, of being kept in the dark, a National Commission was established to investigate the matter. The commission ultimately reported that it could not determine who was telling the truth. When Sharett failed to support Lavon, Lavon resigned. Subsequently, Ben-Gurion returned to the position of Defense Minister.

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