This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The White House would not say Monday why a neurologist with expertise in Parkinson's disease, Dr. Kevin Cannard, visited the executive campus eight different times or who specifically the doctor was there to visit.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre insinuated Cannard had traveled there to treat members of the military, telling reporters that "multiple neurologists" have traveled to the campus to treat the "thousands of military personnel," many of whom "get care from the White House medical unit."
Late Monday evening, the White House finally offered an explanation in the form of a letter penned by Dr. Kevin O'Connor, the president's physician. He confirmed that Cannard visited campus and wrote that the Parkinson's specialist "was the neurological specialist that examined President Biden for each of his annual physicals."
The neurologist, O'Connor continued, provided care to a number of other patients beyond just the president. "Prior to the pandemic, and following its end, [Cannard] has held regular Neurology clinics at the White House Medical Clinic in support of the thousands of active-duty members assigned in support of White House operations," Biden's physician wrote.
The visits only came to light because of publicly available visitor logs released by the White House. No such records exist, however, for the president’s private residence in Wilmington, Delaware, where Biden retreats nearly every weekend. He often arrives on a Friday and departs the following Monday. He has spent almost nine months of his presidency there, according to one recent analysis. His administration does not keep a record of visitors there. The residence remains effectively a black hole.
Increased scrutiny of the age and mental acuity of the president follows his disastrous debate in Atlanta, a halting performance that left members of his own party publicly questioning not just whether he can win the coming election but if he is physically up to the rigors of the presidency. “I think it’s a legitimate question to say, ‘Is this an episode, or is this a condition?’ And so, when people ask that question, it’s completely legitimate,” former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 84, said of Biden, 81.
Those questions now haunt the White House. Complicating things is the president himself, who told Democratic governors on Friday that he had a medical exam after the debate, an admission that came less than 24 hours after his spokeswoman side-stepped questions about whether the president had been examined by a doctor. On Monday, Jean-Pierre said only that Biden had "a check-in" with a doctor. The White House maintains that the president had a cold and was jet-lagged the night of the debate. The president, for his part, told ABC News that he was "exhausted" and simply had "a bad night."
Regardless of the explanation for his performance, the health of the president has subsequently reignited a debate over transparency.
The Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Kentucky Rep. James Comer, demanded that Secret Service begin keeping a record of who visits him behind closed doors.
"President Biden said he'd have the most transparent administration in history," Comer told RCP in a statement. "As President Biden's mental state continues to decline, now is the time for him to put his money where his mouth is and be transparent with the American people."
"He should immediately direct the Secret Service to keep visitor logs for his Wilmington residence so Americans know who he is meeting with when he travels there," he continued.
The White House previously tangled with Comer after classified documents were discovered at the Biden family home. Visitor logs for the Wilmington residence don't exist, said a spokesman for the White House Counsel's Office, because it is a private residence.
“Like every president across decades of modern history, his personal residence is personal,” spokesman Ian Sams told the New York Times. “But upon taking office, President Biden restored the norm and tradition of keeping White House visitors’ logs, including publishing them regularly, after the previous administration ended them.”
Former President Trump ended that practice during his four years in office. He also did not disclose visitor logs for any of his private residences, such as Mar-a-Largo, an omission that triggered a lawsuit from the Center for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
"It seems like we have the same problem here with Biden," Richard Painter, the former ethics czar for the George W. Bush administration and CREW vice chair, told RCP. He added that the current president is not unique, noting that both Trump and Bush before him did not disclose visitors of their private residences. The names of anyone meeting the president on official business, or even making a personal visit, Painter said, should be disclosed: "He is the president, after all."
The U.S. Secret Service has said previously that while they do not maintain visitor logs of private residences, they do screen visitors who meet with the president.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A record-setting heat wave gripped much of middle and western parts of the United States heading into the weekend. Temperatures in the triple digits are being documented all over.
But that's not why those in the Democrat party, from key leaders to rank-and-file, are sweating.
It's because of the confused state of their presidential candidacy, candidate Joe Biden's status as the incumbent and the evidence he's given in recent public appearances that he simply may not be up to the job, mentally.
The Washington Examiner reported the party’s top-ranking officer in the House, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, of New York, met with Biden to talk about the path forward.
The meeting came only a short time after Biden's press conference at a NATO summit where he introduced Ukraine's president as "President Putin" and he called his vice president, "Vice President Trump."
Jeffries pointed out he "expressed the full breadth of insight, heartfelt perspectives and conclusions about the path forward that the caucus has shared in our recent time together."
So far, at least 18 House Democrats have asked Biden to withdraw from the race, which likely would trigger a war for his replacement. Kamala Harris, the vice president, is even less popular than Biden, whose numbers have been far underwater all year.
Biden has refused to concede he's having difficulties, and certainly has refused to walk away.
The Daily Mail reported the intraparty battle has prompted donors’ threats to freeze $90 million in donations.
"According to the New York Times, the donations will not be transferred over if Biden remains at the top of the Democrats' 2024 ticket," the report explained.
The report continued, "Donald Trump used a brutal meme to mock rival President Joe Biden introducing Volodymr Zelensky as 'President Putin' before his NATO press conference. The former president posted an image of a Wheel of Fortune board with the letters Z,L,N,S,Y."
The image shows Biden shouting "Putin."
Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican, pointed out the national security threat from a president not able to quickly grasp the nuances of a possible threat to the nation.
"Democrats have known Biden is unfit to be president, and if they had any integrity, they'd invoke the 25th Amendment already," Hawley said. "We're talking about the security of the American people here – so why does Biden still have the nuclear codes?"
Biden's week was ending with a campaign swing through Michigan, an attempt to shore up support in a necessary swing state that easily could go for Trump this election.
Democrats convene in Chicago next month to name, officially, their candidate, presumed to this point to be Biden, who will be 82 in a just a couple of months.
Biden said they can do "whatever they want" at the meetings, but said he still has "overwhelming support."
There are those leftists who are presuming there's nothing at all wrong.
A Whatfinger report said TV personality Rachel Maddow went to a leftist news organization to defend Biden, claiming he “showed a startingly impressive command of the issues at his press conference.”
A commentary at Twitchy scorched Democrats for saying they now recognized that this Biden is not the same Biden they wanted in 2020.
Twitchy said, "Many of them are in denial about just how bad Biden has always been, even way back in 2020. Lots and lots of us tried to tell Democrats Biden was a mess then, but the media screamed about democracy and insisted Joe had a stutter and HOW DARE we pick on the kindly old man who fights through a speech impediment."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The European Commission is described as an "executive" part of the European Union, and as such it often has operated as an entity unto itself, imposing regulations as it wishes.
And now, we know, imposing censorship.
In fact, a Substack report from JD Rucker explains that it was Margarethe Vestager, executive vice-president of the commission, who announced Musk’s platform Twitter-turned-X, “doesn’t comply with the DSA in key transparency areas. It misleads users, fails to provide adequate ad repository and blocks access to data for researchers.”
She was referring to the Digital Services Act, and she noted it was the first time the commission had acted on a case involving the law.
Musk didn't take long to respond.
"The European Commission offered an illegal secret deal: if we quietly censored speech without telling anyone, they would not fine us," he charged.
"The other platforms accepted that deal. X did not."
Rucker commented, "Wow. … If Musk's accusation is legitimate, then it would seem his platform is truly doing what they claim" of protecting speech.
He pointed out the commission is just one of multiple groups demanding to control speech and thought.
"Unfortunately, the vast majority of Big Tech and legacy media companies will comply with censorship demands all too willingly. In fact, they agree with the globalist stance on 'misinformation' and want nothing more than to have a free pass to censor people," he explained.
He explained what Musk won't allow is for those bureaucrats to better understand not only how to control the narrative on X, but to use it "in a way that herds the masses toward the prescribed worldview."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
President Trump's legal team has gone to an appeals court to try to obtain an order removing prosecutor Fani Willis from her "organized crime" case she created against Trump and more than a dozen others over their criticism of the handling of the 2020 election results.
Already, a judge has determined she had the "odor of mendacity" about her because of the appearance of misconduct and an inherent conflict of interest.
But the judge said she could continue on the case if her paramour, whom she had hired with tax money to work on the anti-Trump agenda, left.
Trump's lawyers are in the Georgia Court of Appeals explaining that simply isn't enough to make the case clean again.
And now they're being joined by a prominent legal team, the voices of the American Center for Law and Justice.
That organization announced it has filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the appeals court calling for Willis to be removed from the case entirely.
The legal team noted the court has agreed to review the allegations against the prosecutor, and it is arguing for a determination she must go entirely because of her "gross misconduct.'
The organization explained, "As we told you when the trial judge's decision on Fani Willis first came out, the judge's ruling made simply no sense. The judge found as fact that Fani Willis' conduct had an 'appearance of impropriety,' based on her relationship with Nathan Wade. Nonetheless, the judge allowed Willis to proceed with the prosecution anyway. The facts are clear that Willis must be disqualified from overseeing the high-profile election interference case against President Trump."
The ACLJ listed the facts:
"Willis appointed her alleged romantic partner, Nathan Wade, as a special prosecutor – paying him over $650,000 in taxpayer money.
"She appears to have benefited personally from this appointment, taking lavish vacations funded by Wade's earnings from the case.
"Willis and Wade seemingly attempted to conceal their relationship, only admitting to it after being cornered by evidence."
What's present in the situation appears to be "corruption, cronyism, and abuse of power," the ACLJ said.
"How can the people of Georgia – or indeed, all Americans – have any faith in the integrity and impartiality of this prosecution? The Constitution guarantees the right to a fair trial, free from conflicts of interest or impropriety. Willis' actions have irreparably tainted this case," the ACLJ argues.
The lawyers noted, "The mere appearance of such misconduct is sufficient grounds for disqualification under Georgia law and ethical standards. We emphasized that even an appearance of impropriety is inherently unacceptable and erodes the public's trust in the judicial process. In the present case, merely stopping the continuation of the 'repeatedly'-made 'bad choices' by removing Nathan Wade is not enough."
The taint that attaches to the case through such conflicts cannot be corrected or remedied "after the fact," the brief argues.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, vows to continue his support for U.S. military members and their families in the wake of a new report that shows an increasing amount of U.S. military weapons are made using Chinese-manufactured components.
In a statement sent to WND, Scott said he knows firsthand the sacrifices veterans, military members, and their families make to keep America safe.
"I'd like to express my sincere gratitude for the selfless service of military members and the families who support them. As a Navy veteran myself, I know firsthand the sacrifices our military members, veterans, and their families make to keep our country safe," Scott said in his statement.
Scott noted during his time as governor of Florida, he worked to champion legislation to make the Sunshine State the most military- and veteran-friendly state in the nation. Now he uses his position in the U.S. Congress to ensure funding is directed where it is needed to keep adversaries at bay.
"Fighting for our heroes continues to be my top priority as a U.S. senator and a member of the Armed Services Committee. Every year I work with my colleagues to pass a National Defense Authorization Act which will authorize the appropriate amount of defense spending to not only deter our enemies and defeat them if necessary but also, importantly, to continue to increase the pay for all members of the armed forces and improve the quality of life for our military families," Scott said.
Scott added that the men and women of the armed forces are America's greatest asset, and vowed to serve and protect the nation's families.
"Our military provides for the safety of our country and protects our national security, and I'll never stop fighting for the funding to support them. I will never lose sight of one of the most important roles I have as a senator: to protect and serve the families of our nation. And that starts with supporting America's greatest asset — the men and women of our armed forces." Scott said.
According to a report from Govini, China’s manufacturing of military weapons components, namely semiconductors, has increased from 12,000 manufacturers to almost 45,000 manufacturers between 2005 and 2023. This puts the U.S. military in a precarious position if China decides to declare war, or simply stop the supply chain to the U.S. together.
Despite President Joe Biden claiming during a news conference Thursday that manufacturing in the U.S. is at "peak growth," the data within the Govini report shows China is outpacing the U.S. on building naval warships, and other weapons systems.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A prominent pro-life organization that has worked on behalf of the unborn for decades already is blasting a U.S. military base that allowed an employee to create a lesson – an "indoctrination" – claiming that the pro-lifers are terrorists, like ISIS.
Troy Newman, chief of Operation Rescue, responded to reports that the indoctrination lesson was delivered to soldiers at Fort Liberty in North Carolina.
Base officials confirmed the indoctrination after it appeared online.
The false claims appeared in a social media posting that featured the image of the "Terrorist Groups" list with the Operation Rescue and National Right to Life Logos embedded.
It said, "The slide you see here followed right after a slide about ISIS, a terror group in the Middle East. The organizations labeled by the army as terror organizations include National Right to Life and Operation Rescue. They also included a screenshot of a license plate with 'IM4IT,' which is a plate many pro-life citizens put on their cars which implies normal citizens are terrorists if they display this plate. The slide goes on to mention activities in which these organizations participate which include being pro-life, opposing Row (sic) v Wade, demonstrating and protesting (a 1st Amendment protected right), 'Truth Displays,' and picketing."
The soldiers were being trained to monitor access points on the base.
"Pro-life organizations have absolutely nothing to do with those responsibilities, therefore, the only perceived purpose for disparaging pro-life organizations in such a training would be to satisfy a political agenda and indoctrinate our soldiers. It is truly a disgrace and clearly violates the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which limits the powers of the U.S. government to use the military to enforce domestic policies," Newman said.
"It is a shame that the proper authorities were either not aware of the slide or allowed it to be included in multiple trainings. We await an answer after Fort Liberty's investigation is complete, that assures us this will not happen again!"
Newman called the fact that the base allowed such a presentation extremely irresponsible.
"It is utterly ridiculous that Operation Rescue and other groups that work to defend innocent babies would be put in the same category as groups like the Islamic extremist group al-Qaida that carried out the September 11 attacks," he said.
The base said after a commander's inquiry, it was determined the slides were not approved by authorities, and do not reflect the views of the military operations there. It said the slides no longer would be used.
WND reported earlier that the National Right to Life also was critical of the presentation.
"In a presentation that is deeply offensive to pro-life Americans across the nation, Fort Liberty promoted outright lies about National Right to Life in a demonstration of lazy scholarship," Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life, said. "In our over 50-year history, National Right to Life has always, consistently, and unequivocally, condemned violence against anyone."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A presentation offered on a U.S. Army base for soldiers being prepared to guard the perimeter of the operation openly bashed pro-life organizations, including National Right to Life and Operation Rescue, as "terrorist groups."
The base, in a statement, bluntly said such comments were not authorized by the base and no longer would be allowed. But it was not clear exactly who, if anyone, was being blamed.
The false claims appeared in a social media posting that featured the image of the "Terrorist Groups" list with the Operation Rescue and National Right to Life Logos embedded.
It said, "The slide you see here followed right after a slide about ISIS, a terror group in the Middle East. The organizations labeled by the army as terror organizations include National Right to Life and Operation Rescue. They also included a screenshot of a license plate with 'IM4IT,' which is a plate many pro-life citizens put on their car which implies normal citizens are terrorists if they display this plate. The slide goes on to mention activities which these organizations participate in which include being pro-life, opposing Row (sic) v Wade, demonstrating and protesting (a 1st Amendment protected right), 'Truth Displays,' and picketing."
A report in the Washington Examiner said the presentation appeared at Fort Liberty in North Carolina to personnel being trained to operate access control points at the base.
The images were confirmed by base public affairs.
The report said, "The presentation slide, photographed by an anonymous person in the briefing room on Wednesday and published on social media by a pseudonymous account, highlights common tactics used by anti-abortion activists as possibly dangerous, including 'demonstrations and protest,' 'truth display,' 'picketing,' and sidewalk counseling."
The presentation slide included the insignias of the Directorate of Emergency Services at Fort Liberty and the XVIII Airborne Corps.
Fort Liberty officials told the publication the slides were not approved and do not reflect the views of the base, the Army or others.
"The slides were developed by a local garrison employee to train soldiers manning access control points at Fort Liberty. These slides will no longer be used, and all future training products will be reviewed to ensure they align with the current DoD anti-terrorism guidance."
National Right to Life was founded in 1968, Operation Rescue in 1986. Both advocate for protections for the unborn, in opposition to America's large, and lucrative, abortion industry, which is one of Joe Biden's key agenda points.
"In a presentation that is deeply offensive to pro-life Americans across the nation, Fort Liberty promoted outright lies about National Right to Life in a demonstration of lazy scholarship," Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life, told the publication. "In our over 50-year history, National Right to Life has always, consistently, and unequivocally, condemned violence against anyone."
Under the Biden administration, it's more or less been routine for pro-life people and groups to be described as terrorists.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A new report details how deep the People’s Republic of China has embedded itself within the U.S. supply chain, especially for military machinery. While U.S. lawmakers have been calling for an end to this for some years, China's domination continues unabated.
According to the report, China's presence in the U.S. supply chain has been steadily rising for the better part of almost 20 years. From 2005 to 2023, Chinese manufacturers in the U.S. supply chain have grown from around 12,000 to almost 45,000.
The use of forced labor and dangerous working conditions gives China the ability to quickly churn out products, while keeping cost savings at a premium.
Between 2014 and 2023, the data presents a concerning trend of China outpacing U.S. supply chains across almost all industries, by 1,800% in some instances – including electronics, transportation, materials and chemicals, and industrial equipment.
A large number of Chinese semiconductors are used in critical military platforms, accounting for around 40% of all U.S. Department of Defense weapons systems and infrastructure, and are further linked to military supply chains such as Patriot air-defense missiles and B-2 bombers.
For example, a Lockheed Martin missile factory situated in Alabama produces Javelin anti-tank weapons which use more than 200 semiconductors in each weapon. This equates to thousands of Chinese-made semiconductors within U.S. weaponry.
"U.S. companies at the bottom of the supply chain pyramid often source these parts from China in open market transactions. As a result, many essential components in sensitive U.S. military systems now come from China. Countless major weapons platforms are vulnerable," the report states.
U.S. air-launched armament supply chains also relied heavily on Chinese suppliers in 2023, according to the data. Long range anti-ship missiles, joint air-to-surface standoff missiles, naval strike missiles, Tomahawk cruise missiles, and Harpoon anti-ship missiles all used Chinese made components.
The report notes China now has a larger naval force than the U.S., with 340 new warships, and is on track to reach 400 by 2025, and 440 by 2030. Currently, U.S. Navy has under 300 warships.
Furthermore, China tops the U.S. in shipbuilding capabilities, with 17 naval shipyards in China having the ability to produce new warships, compared with five naval shipyards in the U.S.
To alleviate this, the report points out the U.S. could use its allies – which would include Japan and South Korea – to open shipyards to assist with ship production, bringing vital technology and techniques with them. However, the report states the U.S. government is reluctant to invest more funding into ship manufacturing.
Some state leaders are fighting back against this trend. In January, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the Sunshine State will invest over $380 million into semiconductor manufacturing. Over $100 million will be focused on developing Florida's semiconductor "talent-pipeline" with significant investment into state colleges and universities, including the University of Florida’s Semiconductor Institute.
"Industries like semiconductor manufacturing and advanced packaging support our national security and create economic opportunities in our state," DeSantis said in a statement from his office.
WND contacted GOP members of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs about the report on Chinese made military components, but did not receive a response at the time of publishing.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
JERUSALEM – The Abu Dhabi Federal Appeals court convicted 53 defendants, leaders or members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood organization, in a mass trial Wednesday.
According to WAM, the official Emirates news agency, "The court sentenced 43 defendants to life imprisonment for the crime of creating, establishing, and managing the terrorist 'Justice and Dignity Committee' Organisation for the purpose of committing terrorist acts in the country."
In addition, the court sentenced five defendants to 15 years jail time for cooperating with the "Reform Call" Organisation and advocating for it in articles and tweets posted on social media platforms. The court decided the defendants either knew or should have known its purpose was to take action against the UAE.
Five other defendants were handed 10-year prison sentences and an AED 10 million ($2.72 million) fine for the crime of laundering money with the intent of establishing and financing a terrorist organization.
The court also ruled in favor of fining six companies, impose on each of them an AED 20 million ($5.4 million) fine, as well as dissolving and closing their headquarters, and confiscating their assets. Meanwhile, 24 defendants had their cases dismissed.
The rulings – which are not final and can be appealed at the Federal Supreme Court – drew the ire of leftist humanitarian organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. In a statement, Amnesty alleged defendants were "held in prolonged solitary confinement, deprived of contact with their families and lawyers, and subjected to sleep deprivation through continuous exposure to loud music," according to The Media Line.
The UAE, which under the leadership of Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was one of the first signatories of the Abraham Accords with Israel, establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries, has taken a zero tolerance policy toward Islamists and Islamism. Firmly aligned with conservative Sunni branch of Islam – or kingdom states such as Jordan, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia – the UAE has for more than a decade cracked down on activities it deems harmful to its peace and prosperity. It too is acutely aware of the threat radical Islam poses, including Iranian millenarianism, which through its nuclear program and the "ring of fire" it has ostensibly established to threaten Israel, can also be turned against Muslim Arab states, too.
Deporting pro-Palestinian protester
Although the incident occurred at a graduation ceremony at New York University’s Abu Dhabi campus in May, reports of the expulsion of a student protester only surfaced Wednesday. The UAE deported the student who wore a keffiyeh and yelled "Free Palestine!" as he crossed the stage to receive his diploma.
Although the UAE has offered material support to the Palestinians in Gaza in the form of humanitarian aid – much of which Hamas terrorists were recorded stealing – it has maintained a careful path between backing Arab brethren and taking too harsh a line against its Abraham Accord partner, Israel. On the domestic front, political parties are illegal and the Emirati authorities have clamped down sharply on any attempts to hold mass demonstrations against the war, the likes of which have been seen both on the Arab street, and obviously large-scale pro-Hamas protests in many Western capitals. Indeed, at cultural events in Abu Dhabi, the authorities have barred people wearing keffiyehs from entering.
"I think the government and the laws of the country don't necessarily align with wanting to create an environment that appeals to the West as well, if we’re talking about freedom of speech and so on," said one student, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, reported The Times of Israel.
Responding to questions from AP, NYU Abu Dhabi said it has been "guaranteed academic authority" on campus but "in none of our locations… are members of the NYU community immune from local law."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
JERUSALEM – The Israel Defense Forces' new report includes its findings from a military probe into some of the failings on Oct. 7, presenting them initially to residents of Kibbutz Be’eri, one of the worst-hit communities on that "Black Sabbath."
The specially convened presentation took place at a Dead Sea hotel, where internally displaced refugees have been staying since their homes were largely destroyed by Hamas terrorists. While providing some answers, the probe left significant questions hanging, and the report neither assuaged some of the community's pent-up fury amid its ongoing trauma, nor did it restore trust in the army. There are those who wonder aloud whether that sacred bond between the IDF – a largely conscript army – and the people, particularly those who felt bereft and abandoned on Oct. 7, will ever be fully repaired. It was more than just 1,200 people Hamas terrorists annihilated that day; they also damaged – perhaps irreparably – the "stickiness" that helps hold Israeli society together.
Maj. Gen. (res.) Mickey Edelstein, a former commander of the Gaza division, headed up the information gathering. The probe's findings did answer some important questions, and its thoroughness helped kibbutz members understand "the depth and complexity of the events that occurred" during the seemingly never-ending hours of Hamas' brutal onslaught.
The first wave of attackers arrived at around 6:45 on the morning of Oct 7, and at its peak, more than 300 terrorists drawn from Hamas' elite Nukhba force, additional Hamas operatives, 100-150 Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters, as well as other terrorist organizations joined the fray. At 11:30 a.m. that day, Palestinian civilians who had swarmed across the border came to the kibbutz to loot, riot and pillage.
Two additional companies of Hamas' Nuseirat Battalion arrived shortly after midday, following their massacre of young party-goers at the Nova Music Festival. Ultimately, the all-clear was not given until the morning of Monday, Oct. 9, when the final terrorists who had been roaming around both the kibbutz and the countryside were eliminated.
The investigators spent hundreds of hours sifting through residents' WhatsApp messages, reviewing both Israeli and Hamas radio communications, checking surveillance footage and aerial reconnaissance, as well as interviewing survivors and those who fought in the battle to save the kibbutz and its residents. Supplemental intelligence was also gathered from interrogating captured Hamas terrorists.
However, several critical questions – and ones that may not get resolved without a full commission of inquiry – were left unanswered.
These include why military forces did not enter the kibbutz for several hours – despite the desperate pleas of those trapped behind its yellow sliding electric gate. This issue seemed to be partly explained by the fact that although defenders did arrive in numbers, nobody took overall command of the kibbutz's defense. And certainly nobody decided to go in at once and attempt to take out the Hamas fighters. This was not expressly said, but the general chaos of hundreds of terrorists swarming around – with dead bodies liberally scattered across roads and fields – added to the confusion. More than 100 civilians and 31 security personnel were slain at the kibbutz, which had a pre-invasion population of about 1,000, while 30 other residents and two additional civilians were kidnapped to Gaza. Eleven of them remain in captivity. At one point, the attackers outnumbered the defenders by 340 to 26.
The probe also dealt with the vexing issue of the hostage incident at Pessi Cohen's house, where the IDF was alleged to have shelled the dwelling in which an at-the-time unknown number of attackers held some 13 or 14 hostages. The inquiry revealed that "under complex and difficult circumstances," in which negotiation efforts were fully exhausted, an order was given to fire a tank shell at "the area near the house" – an attempt to put pressure on the terrorists holed up inside. None of the civilians in the building was harmed by the tank shell, although shrapnel from the shell did wound two civilians outside the house. Gunfire was subsequently heard from the house following the shell being fired, and the terrorists communicated their desire to commit suicide, having killed their hostages.
"The team determined most of the hostages were likely murdered by the terrorists, and further inquiries and reviews of additional findings are necessary," the report stated.
Other questions the kibbutz's residents had centered around the intelligence failures – both on the day of the attack, and the 24 to 48 hours preceding it. The legitimate query of what caused the intelligence failure, especially as previous leaks have shown at least certain parts of the IDF were aware of Hamas' attack plans, also remained unanswered. The probe's concerns did not cover how the terrorists were able to either bypass, or simply dismantle with bulldozers, an extremely expensive fence with highly reactive sensors. This crucial question will also have to wait for the official commission of inquiry Kibbutz Be’eri’s residents have insisted the government set up.
"[The IDF] must provide us with answers that will allow us to begin to heal and draw practical conclusions for the future, so the unimaginable loss we experienced will never be experienced again by any other citizen, so we can rebuild our trust in the security forces, and so we can return to live in Be’eri with a sense of security," their statement said.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi accepted the probe's findings and drew the following conclusions: Principally, the IDF failed in its mission to defend the residents of the country "in the most grave manner." It clearly illustrates the "magnitude of the failure and the dimensions of the disaster that befell the residents of the south who protected their families with their bodies for many hours, and the IDF was not there to protect them." One of the kibbutz residents told Israel's Channel 12, "People were slaughtered in their homes. The top command should draw conclusions and those who failed should resign."
Halevi acknowledged individual and collective acts of heroism among the kibbutz's residents and the security forces who did try to defend it, but he cited "severe mistakes and errors," with a need to quickly learn from them and strengthen the response in the future. He also said the army was unprepared for the scale of the invasion that took place, having trained for "single intrusions" rather than a wide-scale assault on multiple points along the fence.
There are some 40 additional military probes in various stages of completion. The army hopes to have them all published by August. One of these investigations is reviewing the IDF's conduct and conception of operational procedure stretching back to the March 2018 Hamas-led border riots. Its findings are considered key.