The militias have long resisted this threat to their independence.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Leaders of several pro-Iranian militias in Iraq have signaled a possible willingness to hand over their weapons to state authorities following Israeli threats against them, the Saudi daily Asharq al-Awsat reported Saturday.

According to the report, the heads of Asaib Ahl al-Haq, the Imam Ali Brigades, and Ansar Allah al-Awfiya said they support the Iraqi government’s demand that armed factions relinquish their independence and transfer their weapons to the state, and that they will attempt to implement the move “in the near future.”

Asharq al-Awsat cited sources saying Baghdad received two warnings that Israel was preparing an imminent and extensive military assault in Iraq.

An unnamed Arab country first alerted Iraqi officials that Israel was planning a pinpoint missile strike similar to the September operation in Doha, Qatar, which targeted a meeting of senior Hamas officials.

Although that strike failed, it was widely credited with prompting Qatar to pressure Hamas to accept the Trump administration’s Gaza cease-fire plan, signed on Oct. 10.

“The threat level is very serious and Israel is now talking about having received the green light from the Americans to act unilaterally,” the paper quoted the country’s official as warning.

Several days later, the paper said, a Western intelligence agency confirmed that Israel was about to launch a wide-scale operation.

Several days later, a Western intelligence agency reportedly confirmed that Israel was preparing a wide-scale operation.

According to the report, it provided Iraqi officials with an Israeli intelligence file containing extensive information on the militias, seemingly underscoring Israel’s detailed knowledge of the proxies and their vulnerabilities.

Earlier this month, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy on Syria Tom Barrack reportedly warned Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani that Israel would carry out a “harsh” strike if Iranian-aligned factions in Iraq attempted to support Hezbollah in Lebanon, either militarily or financially.

Although Iraq denied the Saudi report regarding warnings over an Israeli attack, Baghdad has demanded for months that such militias either disband or integrate into the regular armed forces.

Critics say the move is aimed at placating the United States, which has long pressed for the militias’ dismantlement and has designated several of them as terrorist organizations.

Despite this, the groups wield significant political power, with their Shiite “Coordination Framework” bloc winning a parliamentary majority in November’s elections.

Washington has made clear it does not want the militias represented in the government now being formed.

An unnamed State Department spokesperson told The Arab Weekly, “Iraqi leaders know well what is and is not compatible with a strong U.S.-Iraq partnership.”

Even if some militias comply with the government’s demand, other powerful Iranian proxies in Iraq have declared they will not relinquish their weapons until the American military presence is completely removed from the country.

y removed from the country.

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Another soldier was saved when his helmet stopped a round inches from his skull.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

A soldier who was critically wounded in an IDF operation early Friday morning in Syria will recover after emergency surgery, even as the bullet that nearly killed him remains lodged in his heart.

The man had been wearing a bulletproof vest when he was shot, which slowed the bullet down enough that it penetrated the walls of tissue separating the left and right sides of the heart but did not pass completely through.

He underwent a “complex and challenging operation,” according to Prof. Gil Bolotin, head of the cardiothoracic surgery department at Rambam Hospital, where the soldier was immediately flown after the battle.

“It included opening the chest both from the side and the front in order to stop the source of the bleeding,” he said.

When they found the embedded bullet, he said, “in a quick consultation we unanimously decided to leave it alone…. Later we’ll see how to continue treatment. We may have to operate again to remove the bullet from the heart, we may decide to do it by catheterization, and there is definitely a possibility that the ball will remain where it is.”

The patient was stable and communicating with those around him in the intensive care unit, the doctor said.

Six soldiers in all were wounded in the raid to capture two brothers who were members of the Al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya terror group and were planning imminent attacks on Israel in Beit Jinn, a village about seven kilometers inside Syrian territory.

At least 13 terrorists were killed in the firefight that began as the Israeli troops were leaving with their prisoners, according to the IDF.

One other soldier also underwent life-saving surgery at Rambam, and is now in stable condition, with a third soldier in serious condition and the others either moderately or lightly hurt.

i24NEWS reported Sunday that another one of the wounded was also saved by his military gear.

A bullet went through the Kevlar coating of the man’s helmet and stopped with its point sticking out of the inner padding, without touching the soldier’s head, the report said.

Two other bullets hit him in the leg, however, causing moderate injuries.

A picture of the embedded bullet has been making the rounds on the internet, with people calling it a “miracle” that the soldier was not killed.

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Iran’s crackdown on information sharing comes as details of Saturday’s early morning Israeli strikes remain uncertain.

By Jewish Breaking News

Iran is threatening to jail any citizens who share footage of Israel’s strikes, with authorities warning that distributing images or information to “hostile media affiliated with the Zionist regime could result in sentences ranging from one to 10 years in prison,” reports the Telegraph.

Despite the Islamic regime’s strict censorship laws, many Iranians continue to circumvent restrictions using VPNs, enabling access to social media platforms where footage of missiles flying over Tehran has been circulating.

Iran’s crackdown on information sharing comes as details of Saturday’s early morning Israeli strikes remain uncertain.

What is known is that the attacks targeted air defense systems and missile production facilities across Iran, though the precise number of targets and extent of damage have not been disclosed by the IDF.

Notably, there are no credible reports of Iranian air defenses successfully intercepting any Israeli missiles during the operation, nor of fighter jets being scrambled to counter the threat.

While the Islamic Republic’s establishment attempts to downplay the strikes as ineffective and praise Iran’s air defenses, the regime faces mounting pressure from hardliners demanding retaliation.

However, Iran’s response options appear limited. Having already launched hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel twice this year with minimal impact, and lacking an effective air force, the country’s retaliatory capabilities are largely restricted to medium-range ballistic missiles of uncertain accuracy.

According to Iran International, while the Islamic Republic possesses approximately 3,000 missiles at its disposal, the core issue isn’t weapon availability but rather Iran’s vulnerability to Israeli counterstrikes.

Any significant retaliation could prompt Israel to target critical economic infrastructure, particularly Iran’s domestic oil refineries.

The destruction of even one of Iran’s two major refineries could trigger serious domestic problems as winter approaches.

Furthermore, Iran’s traditional strategy of confronting Israel through its terror proxies has also shown signs of weakening.

Both Hezbollah and Hamas have been significantly degraded by recent Israeli operations, with Hezbollah unable to launch the massive rocket barrages that many analysts feared could overwhelm Israeli air defenses.

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