Israel punishes Gaza as it attacks Iran

Israeli forces continued to violate the fraudulent ceasefire in Gaza this week, killing Palestinians and reimposing a total closure of the crossings to humanitarian aid, food, fuel and medicine.

In the town of Bani Suheila near Khan Younis on Wednesday, Israeli soldiers shot and killed two Palestinians, Montaser Samour and Maher Samour. According to local news sources, an Israeli military unit abducted the two men and took them across the so-called yellow line, detained them, and shot them.

Reporter Tamer Qeshta captured video footage and eyewitness testimony from residents who said that the Israeli army returned Montaser Samour’s body riddled with bullets, while Maher Samour was shot and killed in what witnesses described as a field execution.

The news agency Anadolu reported that earlier in the day, heavy gunfire from Israeli military vehicles stationed east of the so-called yellow line was reported in those areas near Khan Younis, and that Israeli artillery also targeted neighborhoods east of Gaza City while Israeli gunboats fired toward the coastline.

Last week – early on 27 February – Israeli warplanes targeted a Palestinian police checkpoint at the entrance to the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, killing at least one police officer and injuring another, according to the Palestinian interior and national security ministry.

The health ministry in Gaza reported on 4 March that since the so-called ceasefire went into effect nearly five months ago, at least 633 Palestinians have been killed and more than 1,700 have been injured.

In the same time period, the health ministry stated that more than 750 bodies of Palestinians have been recovered from underneath the rubble after more than two years of genocide.

The civil defense corps in northern Gaza stated this week that they had finished a nine-day operation that they called the Dignity of Martyrs campaign, in which they recovered 93 bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes and buried beneath collapsed homes.

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Defense Ministry halts US takeover bid for Iron Dome software developer

The Defense Ministry is delaying approval of a planned takeover of Amprest Systems, a company that develops command-and-control software for the Iron Dome air defense system, amid concerns over foreign control of sensitive defense technology, according to people familiar with the matter.

The deal would give U.S.-listed holding company Ondas Holdings control of Amprest, whose software plays a central role in Iron Dome and other air defense systems. Ondas is seeking to buy out Amprest’s shareholders for about $100 million, valuing the company at more than $200 million. If completed, the transaction would leave Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, the developer and manufacturer of Iron Dome, as a minority shareholder.

Amprest’s largest shareholder today is Rafael. The remaining shares are held by Amprest founder and CEO Natan Barak, the OurCrowd investment platform and other investors.

The transaction is being reviewed by the Defense Ministry’s Department for Security of the Defense Establishment, known by its Hebrew acronym Malmab, headed by Yuval Shimoni. Officials involved in the review have raised concerns about a foreign company gaining control of Amprest given its classified activities tied to Iron Dome and other air defense programs.

People close to the deal said the prolonged review has delayed the transaction for several months, with no clear timeline or outcome. The holdup has underscored tensions inside the Defense Ministry between efforts to attract foreign investment into defense technology and strict security oversight that can slow or block such deals.

Amprest was founded about 25 years ago by Barak, a retired Navy officer with the rank of colonel. Its profile rose roughly 15 years ago after its command-and-control software was integrated into Iron Dome. In 2012, Amprest received the Israel Defense Prize for its role in developing the air defense system.

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