Nine-year-old Emma Katzor was in disbelief when she first saw hostage posters with Israeli children on them, and rushed back home to her mother to ask if they were real.
“I asked my mom, is that even allowed?&#8221; Emma recounted to The Daily Wire. “Are they, like, really catching children? She said, yes, and I felt very, very scared.”
Emma’s mother, Elana Katzor, grew up in Massachusetts, but moved to Israel to raise her kids. Her husband has been away serving as a reservist in the Israeli Defense Forces since Hamas’ brutal October 7 attack, leaving her home alone with her three young children, while pregnant.
<h3>ISRAELI FAMILY STRUGGLES AT HOME WITH COUNTRY MOBILIZED FOR WAR AGAINST HAMAS</h3>
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She said the war has thrown her philosophy on parenting for a whirlwind when she had to decide what information to share with her children.
“I don&#8217;t lie to my children — I am of the belief that information doesn&#8217;t scare children, but the lack of information scares children,&#8221; Katzor said. &#8220;I didn&#8217;t mention the kidnappings because they didn&#8217;t ask me. And then all of a sudden the posters started showing up.&#8221;
Emma said she can’t help but think of what it would be like if she herself was taken hostage, and whether children held by Hamas were being cared for.
“Do they have diapers, shampoo? Do they have clothes? Do they have supplies? Do they have a house?” she asked. “It&#8217;s just very scary.”
Being alone with her three young children has been difficult for Katzor. She believes Hamas rocket launch times — which occur often at seven, eight, and nine at night — are part of psychological warfare against children.
“Our freedom of movement has been stressful,” she said. “I don&#8217;t drive anymore because I&#8217;m scared that I&#8217;m with three kids, I&#8217;m pregnant, there&#8217;s a siren, I have to pull over to the side of the road. I have to manage to get three kids out of the car on a highway.”
“It also tends to happen in the evenings right before bedtime,” Elana said. “Bedtime is more scary and it&#8217;s their way of terrorizing us.”
<div id="attachment_658173" style="width: 630px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-658173" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-658173" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-27-at-10.01.19-AM-300x188.png" alt="Emma Katzor" width="620" height="388" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-27-at-10.01.19-AM-300x188.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-27-at-10.01.19-AM-921x576.png 921w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-27-at-10.01.19-AM-768x480.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-27-at-10.01.19-AM.png 1420w" sizes="(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px" />Emma said she was scared when she saw the posters of child hostages and had to ask her mom if they were real. (Photo by Kassy Dillon)</div>
Katzor said she plans her daily routine around the possibility of a rocket attack, for example, only showering late at night when rockets are rare.
Emma says the rockets scare her, but she tries to stay calm for her little sister
“I say that it&#8217;s okay and that we&#8217;re winning and that we have a strong army and that we have a mother here,” she said. “That&#8217;s to make her feel like everything is okay.”
Although Katzor’s husband was able to come home for short visits and make frequent video calls, Emma said she’s been struggling without having her father around. At school, Emma said she writes letters with pictures for soldiers.
“Dear soldiers, I hope you come back with peace and I hope there is not going to be hurt people, like people who broke their arm or their leg,” Emma said she wrote in one letter. “I just hope that you have a good Shabbat.&#8221;

Katzors and hostage children

American-Israeli Child Tells What It’s Like To Have Father Fighting Hamas, Seeing Other Kids Taken Hostage

Children

Israel

A police officer in the Israeli border city of Sderot says it was just after six in the morning on October 7 when he was alerted that the city was under terrorist attack, and he rushed to begin a day-long firefight at the police station.
“There was a big fight in here and gun shooting, and eight police officers died,” Sderot municipal police officer, Elad Buadana, told The Daily Wire in front of where the police station once stood. “That&#8217;s what remains from the place I call home.”
Sderot, a city of about 30,000, is routinely the target of rocket fire from Gaza — the attacks are so common that there was once a shelf displaying dozens of rockets fired at the city&#8217;s civilian population. The police officer said he was in disbelief when he learned that terrorists were on foot attacking the city after his commander called him to fight.
<h3>ISRAELI OFFICER RECOUNTS DAY-LONG FIREFIGHT WITH HAMAS FROM SITE OF LEVELED POLICE STATION</h3>
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Israeli Officer Recounts Hamas Firefight During Day-Long Standoff At Leveled Police Station" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NxQw89dak_o?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
“I took my gun, I reloaded, and I started to drive to the city,” he said. “We saw a dead body on the sidewalk … we looked to the left and saw another one. It&#8217;s not something we are used to. We took care of the two bodies and then someone from the roof started shooting at us.”
Buadana said he wanted to get to the police station to help his fellow officers inside who were begging for help on the radio, but was fired upon again.
The police station appears to have been the main target of Hamas in Sderot, but terrorist documents obtained by The Daily Wire show that it had larger plans. A map outlining the plans for Hamas’ takeover of the city was recovered from a home attacked by terrorists by an Israeli volunteer, who shared it with The Daily Wire. It outlines Hamas intentions to take over several buildings in the city including the fire department.
<div id="attachment_660123" style="width: 630px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-660123" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-660123" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/Untitled-design-300x169.png" alt="A Hamas map shared with The Daily Wire" width="620" height="349" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/Untitled-design-300x169.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/Untitled-design-1024x576.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/Untitled-design-768x432.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/Untitled-design-1536x864.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/Untitled-design-2048x1152.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px" />A Hamas map shared with The Daily Wire by a member of Zaka who recovered it from a home attacked by terrorists on the Gaza border. It details Hamas&#8217;s plan to attack the city of Sderot.</div>
Terrorists successfully took control of the police station, but the Israelis decided to destroy the entire station — killing the Hamas force and potentially ending any further plans it had for operations in the city.
“They decided to destroy the police station because the chief commander said ‘enough blood, I don’t want any more police blood on the street,’” Buadana recounted. “The decision to throw the police station over the head of the terrorists was a very hard decision.”
Over 20 civilians, eight police officers, and 26 terrorists were killed near the police station, a spokesperson with the Israeli government confirmed to The Daily Wire.
Buadana said he personally witnessed the IDF destroying the police station with a tank and helicopter with Hamas terrorists inside. Buadana said the police officers who escaped to the building’s roof were evacuated before the call was made to destroy the building, during the standoff which he said went on for 18 hours.
“The tank was here … and the helicopter came from the back side and they shoot together on the police station,” he said. “If you tell me to write down a script to a movie, I could not write a script like that, but when you see it in your eyes, it’s something.”
<div class="mceTemp"></div>
Many civilians in Sderot were shot at point-blank range by Hamas, including Dolev Swisa while attempting to flee from his car with his daughter. Amer Odeh Abu Sabila, a Bedouin construction worker heard the cries of Dolov’s wife, Odaya, and hopped in the driver’s seat to take the mother and her two daughters to safety.
When the vehicle arrived at the police station being overrun by terrorists both he and Odaya were killed, a surveillance camera shows. The 6 and 3 year old daughters survived by laying on the floor of the car, <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/presumed-captive-amer-odeh-abu-sabila-on-guard-duty-in-sderot/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to The Times of Israel</a>.
In a separate incident, elderly passengers waiting for their bus to have a flat tire repaired were gunned down by Hamas terrorists. The son of Valeri Friedman, who was killed in the attack, told <a href="https://www.ynetnews.com/magazine/article/b1f2eqo11p" target="_blank" rel="noopener">YNet News</a> that the group included Holocaust survivors who were traveling to the Dead Sea for a day of leisure.
<div id="attachment_660135" style="width: 630px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-660135" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-660135" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/IMG_1477-2-300x186.jpg" alt="Sderot municipal police officer, Elad Buadana" width="620" height="385" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/IMG_1477-2-300x186.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/IMG_1477-2-929x576.jpg 929w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/IMG_1477-2-768x476.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/IMG_1477-2-1536x953.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/IMG_1477-2-2048x1270.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px" />Sderot municipal police officer, Elad Buadana, said he has still not processed the horrors he saw during the Oct. 7 massacre.</div>
Buadana said the sight of bodies in the street was too much for him to handle on the day of the attack, and that he still hasn&#8217;t processed what took place that day.
“People are dying and I see their faces,” he said. “I see people I know: the taxi driver, the man from the market, I know them.”
“I don’t believe what I was seeing, so I say ‘please replace me, I cannot see that anymore,” Buadana said, adding that he took a one hour break before returning to the site of the police station.
Buadana said he occasionally visits his family in one of the hotels holding refugees from Sderot, but remains in the city to work.
“I’m still in a war zone,” he said. “I’m still working 18 hours a day, I don’t have the time to process it.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Police in Sderot, a city on the border of Gaza, have been collecting common goods — diapers, formula, canned food — to deliver to residents who are unable to flee. Sderot is one of the main targets of Palestinian rocket attacks
Here&#39;s officer Elad Bohdana with <a href="https://twitter.com/KassyDillon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KassyDillon</a> <a href="https://t.co/DgMSrERmPL">pic.twitter.com/DgMSrERmPL</a>
&mdash; Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/1729899557046092012?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 29, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Residents are slowly coming back to the city, many of which request the police to walk through their homes to ensure there are no terrorists hiding before they arrive, according to Buadana. He said that one woman requested a video of her empty home from police to be reassured.
Though the city is free of terrorists, Sderot has been under frequent rocket attacks prior to the ceasefire – a reality the city is equipped for with scattered shelters all over the city and in civilian homes. Residents in Sderot have been subject to rocketfire during other conflicts and have about 15-30 seconds to run for shelter.
With many stores closed, the city stepped up by having police officers deliver goods needed by residents who are still in the city. Buadana said officers frequently deliver food, diapers, toilet paper and other products to anyone who requests them.

TOPSHOT-ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-GAZA

VIDEO: Inside The Day-Long Terrorist Siege On Israel’s Sderot Police Station

Hamas

sderot

Imagine a street lined with a chain of houses, each one as the setting of an unimaginable nightmare.
In one, your family was burned to death. A house over, a grenade exploded in your living room. In another, your sister&#8217;s bloodied legs left an impression below the window as she attempted to escape. Down the street, bullets peppered the door of the room you were hiding in. No rescue force came to save you from any of these nightmares and, in each of them, you died.
This is the reality of Kfar Aza, a kibbutz about three miles from the Gaza border where Hamas terrorists entered on October 7 and slaughtered more than 50 people. Twenty people are still missing.
AFTERMATH OF HAMAS MASSACRE ON KFAR AZA, ISRAEL
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Inside The Israeli Kibbutz Where Dozens Were Murdered By Hamas" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iXcXuB3PqN8?start=420&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The Israeli government opened up one of the village’s streets to journalists to view the evidence. Bloodied remnants of terrorists, such as Hamas vests, still litter the ground of the kibbutz, and Israeli mortar fire booms in the background.
Every person on this street died, according to an Israeli Defense Forces official leading the tour. Identifying information such as credit cards, family pictures, laptops, and documents still sit on counters and tables.
<div id="attachment_655759" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-655759" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-655759 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/4-1024x576.png" alt="Kfar Aza massacre sight in southern Israel." width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/4-1024x576.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/4-300x169.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/4-768x432.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/4-1536x864.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/4-2048x1152.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Houses in Kfar Aza / The Daily Wire</div>
It doesn’t matter how many videos you’ve watched or photos you’ve seen of the attack. Walls are collapsed, furniture and debris are spilling from homes, bullet and shrapnel holes are everywhere. But worst of all is the pungent smell.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/they-are-monsters-ayelet-shaked-vows-to-eliminate-hamas-after-visiting-site-of-terrorist-attack" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RELATED: ‘THEY ARE MONSTERS’: AYELET SHAKED VOWS TO ELIMINATE HAMAS AFTER VISITING SITE OF TERRORIST ATTACK</a>
If you’ve never smelled this before, you may associate it with sewage, as I did. But as you walk through the homes and speak to the survivors and first responders, you quickly learn that it’s the smell of death lingering from the many removed bodies.
<div id="attachment_655761" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-655761" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-655761 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/5-1024x576.png" alt="Destruction in Kfar Aza" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/5-1024x576.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/5-300x169.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/5-768x432.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/5-1536x864.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/5-2048x1152.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />The IDF told The Daily Wire that there were no survivors on the street pictured above / The Daily Wire</div>
The site has been slowly transforming over the weeks as members of Zaka, the civilian volunteer organization tasked with cleaning up bodies, look for blood and body parts to bury in accordance with Jewish law.
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One Zaka volunteer says he transported over 70 bodies in his truck on the first day of the attack. More recently, Zaka has been searching for bloodied items to remove and bury, including cutting out pieces of fabric from furniture that is soaked with blood.
Every home looks like the set of a different horror movie. The first house I walked into looked ransacked. Furniture was everywhere and broken, and debris littered the floor. When I looked at the ceiling, it was covered in bullet holes and grenade shrapnel.
The next home I went into is the one that keeps me up at night.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fighting-like-a-lioness-thousands-attend-funeral-for-american-killed-in-jerusalem-terror-attack" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘FIGHTING LIKE A LIONESS:’ THOUSANDS ATTEND FUNERAL FOR AMERICAN KILLED IN JERUSALEM TERROR ATTACK</a>
It is a one bedroom home where you enter through a tiny kitchen into a living room that has bullet holes in the walls, and was the site of a fire. At the back of the room, there is a door leading into a bedroom that doubles as a bomb shelter —  once you enter through the doorway, the first thing that catches the eye is splattered blood on the wall and what looks like the stamp of a bloodied knee of someone trying to climb out the window.
<div id="attachment_655763" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-655763" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-655763 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/6-1024x576.png" alt="Kfar Aza houses, one with shrapnel holes and another with blood." width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/6-1024x576.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/6-300x169.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/6-768x432.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/6-1536x864.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/6-2048x1152.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Two Kfar Aza homes, one with shrapnel holes in the ceiling and another with blood on the walls / The Daily Wire</div>
It appears to be a room of a young woman, who had plants and weaved art as decorations on the wall. On her bed, there is a laptop lying on red sheets, both splattered with blood. Only then, when looking down, did I realize I was standing in this woman’s blood.
Maor Moravia, a survivor from the massacre, told us that he hid in his bomb shelter with his wife and children while hearing explosions and gunfire and receiving text messages about the terrorist infiltration. He said they hid for hours in his home, which is one of the last in the kibbutz, until they finally heard terrorists in his neighbors house. After many hours, the army arrived.
Moravia expressed that every person who was murdered was one of his friends, as his village is a tight-knit kibbutz of only about 750 people.
<div id="attachment_655771" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-655771" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-655771 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-20-at-12.19.38-PM-1024x571.png" alt="Street in Kfar Aza" width="1024" height="571" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-20-at-12.19.38-PM-1024x571.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-20-at-12.19.38-PM-300x167.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-20-at-12.19.38-PM-768x428.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-20-at-12.19.38-PM-1536x856.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-20-at-12.19.38-PM-2048x1142.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />A row of destroyed homes in Kfar Aza, Israel / The Daily Wire</div>
Simcha Greenaman, of Zaka, has been working in Kfar Aza to share the atrocities he witnessed to visitors. In one instance, in Kibbutz Be&#8217;eri, just miles away, he said he saw a toddler’s body with a knife through its skull.
Another Zaka member, Mendy Chaviv, who has been cleaning the massacre sites since the first day of the war, said he personally found the body of a young female soldier in a home, with her limbs severed and her blood covering the walls.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/meet-the-american-cowboys-who-rushed-to-israel-to-fill-in-for-farmers-called-up-to-fight-hamas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MEET THE AMERICAN COWBOYS WHO RUSHED TO ISRAEL TO FILL IN FOR FARMERS CALLED UP TO FIGHT HAMAS</a>
While ducking into partially collapsed homes and letting your imagination unfold, possible scenarios of what collapsed that wall, or charred that room, or caused the wound that led to that splattered area of blood, you realize that these are close-range crimes.
The terrorists who butchered a body or kidnapped your neighbor had to look them in the eye while doing it. This wasn’t soldier versus soldier on a battlefield, or unfortunate collateral damage, this was Hamas bringing nightmares to life and being proud of doing so.
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Kfar Aza massacre sight in southern Israel

WATCH: Inside The Israeli Kibbutz Where Dozens Were Murdered By Hamas

Gaza

Palestine

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/israel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Israeli</a> rescue service Zaka reportedly recovered at least 260 bodies from a desert rave in the southern region of Israel after Hamas launched a full-scale terrorist attack on the country over the weekend.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREAKING?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BREAKING</a> ZAKA emergency services search and recovery operations says at least 260 bodies of various nationalities were found at the site of the desert rave party that was massacred by Hamas terrorists on Saturday morning and another 50 or more have been kidnapped into Gaza.
&mdash; Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/IsraelWarRoom/status/1711097067156709826?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;It was a massacre,&#8221; Yaniv, an emergency medic, <a href="https://kan.org.il/content/kan-news/defense/559552/?app=True" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Kan News. &#8220;I&#8217;ve never seen anything like it in my life. It was a planned ambush. As people came out of the emergency exits, squads of terrorists were waiting for them there and just started picking them off.&#8221;
Thousands of festival-goers were attending an all-night outdoor music festival called Supernova, also described as a peace party, near Kibbutz Re&#8217;im close to the Gaza Strip when video captured showed dozens running through an open field as terrorists began gunning them down.
WARNING: Disturbing Content.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
🚨UPDATES: HAMAS ATTACK ISRAELI RAVE PARTY 🚨HUNDREDS MISSING, POSSIBLY KIDNAPPED 🚨FEMALE SOLDIER PARADED WAS NOT A SOLDIER
The raid into Israel this morning started with a brutal attack on an all-night nature party near Kibbutz Re&#39;im, close to the Gaza Strip.
It has been… <a href="https://t.co/mGcjBC4tDl">pic.twitter.com/mGcjBC4tDl</a>
&mdash; Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarioNawfal/status/1710831053307310522?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Zaka officials reportedly said they expect the number of bodies recovered to increase as other paramedic teams provide support.
An eyewitness who goes by Ortel told local media she noticed something was wrong when a rocket warning siren went off early Saturday morning, immediately followed by gunshots.
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&#8220;They turned off the electricity, and suddenly, out of nowhere, they come inside with gunfire, opening fire in every direction,&#8221; she <a href="https://www.mako.co.il/news-military/2023_q3/Article-f88c2856ee80b81026.htm?Partner=interlink" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Israel&#8217;s Channel 12. &#8220;Fifty terrorists arrived in vans, dressed in military uniforms.&#8221;
Shani Louk, a German-Israeli citizen whose half-naked body Hamas terrorists paraded in the back of a pick-up truck in a viral online video, was also in attendance at the outdoor event before her abduction, German officials <a href="https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/israel-hamas-gaza-rockets-attack-palestinians/card/woman-abducted-from-dance-party-identified-as-german-citizen-7VROTtXqE3L10RrrOdUT" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> said.
Videos circulating on social media showed Hamas terrorists sitting on her in the back of the vehicle as supporters chanted &#8220;Allahu akbar,&#8221; a phrase used by Muslims in prayers meaning &#8220;God is most great.&#8221;
Her mother, Ricarda Louk, reportedly published a video saying she recognized her daughter and asked the public for help.
&#8220;This morning, my daughter, Shani Nicole Louk, a German citizen, was kidnapped with a group of tourists in southern Israel by Palestinian Hamas,&#8221; Louk said. &#8220;We were sent a video in which I could clearly see our daughter unconscious in the car with the Palestinians and them driving around the Gaza Strip. I ask you to send us any help or any news. Thank you very much.&#8221;
It&#8217;s unknown if she survived the attack, but her family <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/07/israel-gaza-rocket-attack-hamas/#link-ZYOKIOYOEFGK7HB2CN2BXNX7QM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The Washington Post that the family &#8220;still have some kind of hope&#8221; she is still alive.
&#8220;Hamas is responsible for her and the others,&#8221; Louk said.
Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus, the international spokesperson for the Israeli army, <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/rescuers-recover-bodies-israeli-music-festival-b2426268.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The Independent that the attack is &#8220;unlike anything we have ever seen.&#8221;
“There is a deep concern for the wellbeing and lives of the hostages. At this stage, I don’t think anyone can guarantee they will be returned alive. We do not know who is alive and who is dead.”
More than 700 Israelis have been confirmed dead, and at least 2,500 have been injured following the attacks from Hamas.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed Israel will take &#8220;mighty vengeance for this wicked day.&#8221;

Israeli forces take security measures in Sderot amid Israeli-Palestinian escalation

Crews Recover More Than 260 Bodies From Music Festival Attacked By Hamas

Over 250 Bodies Recovered From Music Festival Attacked By Hamas

Palestinians

Terrorism

World

A top <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/russia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Russian</a> official claimed on Wednesday that the U.S. was &#8220;directly involved&#8221; in fighting the war in Ukraine after Russian pilots initiated a provocation against a U.S. drone operating over international waters this week that led to a collision and destruction of the drone.
&#8220;The Americans keep saying that they are not participating in hostilities,&#8221; <a href="https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-03-15-23/h_d9b3da25e71b931319e9b8293b822d2a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Nikolai Patrushev, Russian Security Council Secretary and the former chief of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). &#8220;This is yet another confirmation that they are directly involved in these events, in the war.&#8221;
Patrushev said that Russian officials were going to try to recover the drone out of the Black Sea after a Russian Su-27 aircraft struck the propeller of the $32 million unmanned MQ-9 Reaper drone, causing U.S. forces to have to bring the MQ-9 down in international waters.
The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/russian-fighter-jet-collides-with-u-s-military-reaper-drone-over-black-sea" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> from the U.S. European Command said that multiple times before the incident occurred that both of the Russian Su-27s dumped fuel on and flew in front of the MQ-9 in a reckless manner that was environmentally unsound and demonstrated a “lack of competence in addition to being unsafe and unprofessional.”
“Our MQ-9 aircraft was conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and hit by a Russian aircraft, resulting in a crash and complete loss of the MQ-9,” said U.S. Air Force Gen. James B. Hecker, commander, U.S. Air Forces Europe and Air Forces Africa. “In fact, this unsafe and unprofessional act by the Russians nearly caused both aircraft to crash.”
“U.S. and Allied aircraft will continue to operate in international airspace and we call on the Russians to conduct themselves professionally and safely,” Hecker added.
The statement said that the incident followed a “pattern of dangerous actions” by Russian pilots while interacting with U.S. and Allied aircraft over international airspace that could “lead to miscalculation and unintended escalation.”
“U.S. Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa routinely fly aircraft throughout Europe over sovereign territory and throughout international airspace in coordination with applicable host nation and international laws,” the statement added. “In order to bolster collective European defense and security, these missions support Allied, partner, and U.S. national objectives.”
General Mark Milley said Wednesday that the U.S. does not consider the incident an act of war. &#8220;Incidents happen,” Milley <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/incidents-happen-gen-milley-wont-consider-russia-dropping-u-s-drone-an-act-of-war" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “And clearly we do not seek armed conflict with Russia and I believe at this point we should investigate this incident and move on from there.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senator-graham-suggests-shooting-down-russian-military-aircraft-after-jet-collides-with-u-s-drone" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senator Graham Suggests Shooting Down Russian Military Aircraft After Jet Collides With U.S. Drone</a>

RUSSIA-POLITICS-DIPLOMACY-SECURITY

Russia Claims U.S. Is ‘Directly Involved’ In Fighting War In Ukraine

Russia Claims U.S. Is 'Directly Involved' In Fighting War In Ukraine

Military

Russia

Ukraine-Russia War

U.S. Representative Michael McCaul (R-TX) said Sunday the odds of a conflict with China by 2025 &#8220;are very high&#8221; after a four-star Air Force General warned officers that he sees a war on the horizon over Taiwan.
McCaul, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told &#8220;<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/rep-mccaul-air-force-generals-prediction-2025-war-china-hope-wrong-think-right">Fox News Sunday&#8221;</a> he agreed with the recent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-general-predicts-war-with-china-by-2025-i-hope-i-am-wrong">statement</a> made by Air Force General Mike Minihan, which noted the military official believes U.S. forces &#8220;will fight in 2025.&#8221;
&#8220;I hope he&#8217;s wrong . . .&#8221; McCaul said. &#8220;I think he&#8217;s right, though, unfortunately.&#8221;
The top GOP lawmaker said China could look at a military invasion of Taiwan if President Xi Jinping of the Chinese Communist Party fails to influence Taiwan&#8217;s presidential election in 2024, which takes place a year from today, and further China&#8217;s efforts on its so-called &#8220;reunification&#8221; with the island.
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, has been independently governed by China since 1949. China holds a “One China” policy, asserting that Taiwan is a part of China.
&#8220;We have to be prepared for this,&#8221; McCaul said. &#8220;And it could happen &#8230; as long as Biden is in office — projecting weakness as he did with Afghanistan that led to Putin invading Ukraine — that the odds are very high we could see a conflict with China and Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific.&#8221;
Seth Jones of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) published a report last week, which follows a CSIS wargame scenario that pointed out that in a conflict with China, U.S. arms, including long-range, precision-guided munitions, could run empty in one week.
Jones explained his assessment to The Wall Street Journal, which noted the U.S. support for Ukraine in its war with Russia had drained the U.S. stockpile of weapons. As a result, Pentagon officials reassessed its quantity of munitions in December, illustrating the underinvestment in munitions that had been going on for years.
&#8220;The bottom line is the defense industrial base, in my judgment, is not prepared for the security environment that now exists,&#8221; Jones told Journal, adding that the defense industry is currently &#8220;better suited to a peacetime environment.&#8221;
&#8220;How do you effectively deter if you don&#8217;t have sufficient stockpiles of the kinds of munitions you&#8217;re going to need for a China-Taiwan Strait kind of scenario?&#8221; Jones said.
Rep. McCaul agreed the CSIS scenario had left him feeling &#8220;very&#8221; worried.
&#8220;Our defense industrial base is broken,&#8221; he said, adding he signed off on all foreign military weapons sales three years ago that have yet to go into Taiwan.
Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) countered his colleague&#8217;s possible war with China narrative on &#8220;Fox News Sunday,&#8221; saying the conflict is &#8220;highly unlikely.&#8221;
Smith further suggested that generals take caution by not signaling to the world &#8220;the U.S. is going to war with China.&#8221;
&#8220;Anything is possible,&#8221; Smith said. &#8220;I&#8217;m really worried when anyone starts talking about war with China being inevitable.&#8221;
Smith agreed with McCaul that the U.S. military stockpile of supplies puts the military forces in a vulnerable position in the face of a possible conflict with China.
&#8220;This is a huge problem,&#8221; Smith said. &#8220;We don&#8217;t have the industrial base, and we don&#8217;t have the ability to ramp up that industrial base.&#8221;
U.S. Department of Defense officials told <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/us-air-force-general-predicts-war-china-2025-memo-rcna67967?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma">NBC</a>, who first published the memo from the Air Force General, that such comments &#8220;are not representative of the department&#8217;s view on China.&#8221;
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin disregarded speculation that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan was imminent.
&#8220;What we&#8217;re seeing recently, is some very provocative behavior on the part of China&#8217;s forces and their attempt to re-establish a new normal,&#8221; Austin said. &#8220;But whether or not that means that an invasion is imminent — I seriously doubt that.&#8221;
Virginia Kruta and Hank Berrien contributed to this report.

Key Speakers At The Texas Tribune Festival

‘I Think He’s Right’: Top House Foreign Affairs Republican Agrees With U.S. General’s War With China Prediction

Top House Foreign Affairs Republican Agrees With U.S. General's War With China Prediction

China

Congress

Politics

Taiwan

Xi Jinping

Iran, the leading country in state-sponsored terrorism around the globe, is furthering its reach, announcing it will place warships in the Panama Canal this year.
That announcement came on Wednesday from the commander of Iran&#8217;s Navy, Rear Admiral Shahram Irani.
“Today, we have a great opportunity in the sea area for the development of the country, and we can turn this gift from an economic capacity into a civilizational capacity by using the maritime capacity properly,” Irani stated, according to the <a href="https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/480749/Iran-planning-to-extend-area-of-operation-to-Panama-Canal-Navy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tehran Times</a>. “Today, the use of the sea is a geopolitical advantage for us, and those who do not have this capacity are suffering from geopolitical suffocation. &#8230; So far, we have been present in all the strategic straits of the world and we have not been present in only two straits, in one of which we will be present this year and we are planning to be present in the Panama Canal.”
“We have formed three oceanic commands, including the Indian Ocean Command, the Pacific Ocean Command, and the Atlantic Ocean Command,” he continued. “Today we are present in the Indian and Atlantic oceans and soon we will be present in the Pacific Ocean.”
Joseph Humire, the executive director of the Center for a Secure Free Society (SFS), told <a href="https://freebeacon.com/national-security/iran-to-station-warships-in-panama-canal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Washington Free Beacon</a> that Iran&#8217;s goal &#8220;has always been to have a military presence in Latin America, so it&#8217;s not surprising at all for its navy to announce it&#8217;s going to make moves on the Panama Canal. &#8230; This is a tremendous escalation if it is to happen. Many people may discount Iran in terms of its capabilities … but I would not discount it because they have been building to this for a very long time.”
Iran’s government has been making inroads in South America; last June, Iran and Venezuela signed a 20-year strategic cooperation agreement. In December, Iran signed a similar treaty with Nicaragua.
In August,  Brazilian Foreign Minister Carlos Alberto Franco Franca <a href="https://iranpress.com/content/64065/iran-develop-ties-with-america-colombia-and-brazil-particular" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a>, “We are determined to shore up our relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran in different areas, including political and economic areas.”
In October, Bolivia’s ambassador to Iran, Romina Pérez, supported the despotic Iran government as it violently suppressed protesters, tweeting, “Our government condemns the recent riots in #Iran which are orchestrated by the British and American Zionists. We are sure all problems will be resolved through solidarity and the wisdom of the dear Leader of Iran.”
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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bolivia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bolivia</a>&#39;s ambassador to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tehran?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Tehran</a> Romina Perez: &quot;Our government condemns the recent riots in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Iran?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Iran</a> which are orchestrated by the British and American Zionists. We are sure all problems will be resolved through solidarity and the wisdom of the dear Leader of Iran.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/6EMFivATCq">pic.twitter.com/6EMFivATCq</a>
&mdash; Living in Tehran (LiT) (@LivinginTehran) <a href="https://twitter.com/LivinginTehran/status/1579148210899079168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 9, 2022</a></blockquote>
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IRAN-CHINA-RUSSIAN-MILITARY-DRILL

‘This Is A Tremendous Escalation’: Iran Plans Warships In Panama Canal

Iran Plans Warships In Panama Canal

Iran

Iranian navy

Panama Canal

After nearly 20 years in which members of the U.S. Army&#8217;s Delta Force had remained silent about the capture of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, retired Army Master Sergeant Kevin Holland spoke publicly of Hussein&#8217;s December 13, 2003, arrest.
<a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11590235/Delta-Force-operator-breaks-silence-20-years-reveal-Saddam-Hussein-captured.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Speaking</a> with former Navy SEAL Jack Carr on his program “Danger Close,” Holland, who served on the U.S. Navy&#8217;s elite SEAL Team 6 and the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, countered a claim by an Iraqi interpreter that Hussein had been found in a room praying when he was caught.
“President Bush sends his regards,” Holland recalled the soldiers who found Hussein saying. He delineated how the soldiers received intelligence regarding Hussein’s hideout on a small farm. “We had some human intel that showed us exactly where it was at,” Holland stated.
“They had a big Styrofoam plug, you know, that they would put in there and then cover it with leaves and dirt, sand, and it had a pipe for air – we had noticed it when we cleared it. Just dug it away, pulled it up, and sand fell in. &#8230; And in goes a banger,” Holland said of the grenade that was thrown inside.
“We had lights on our guns, when you looked in it, you could tell – you could see bricks, you know, where they bricked it up,” he remembered. “We know it’s something. And the guys says he’s in there.”
After the unsuccessful attempt to get a frightened dog to enter the underground den, Holland said, “We start hearing somebody talk in Arabic, and the interpreter starts talking back. And it’s like, someone’s coming — the voice is getting closer, you can tell. The sound, it’s getting closer. &#8230; hands come out of the hole, and then a big bushy head of hair. &#8216;We grab him and jerk him out, and it’s like, &#8216;That&#8217;s him.”
After yanking Hussein out of the eight-foot-deep hole, Holland said, the soldiers saw Hussein had a gun, prompting a “Big Texan” to hit him in the mouth and knock him down. “We had to make sure that he couldn’t get to that gun,” Holland noted, adding that the “fully automatic Glock- 15” is now owned by former U.S. President George W. Bush.
“He just said he was the president of Iraq and that he’s ready to negotiate, and he said that in English. And we’re like, ‘That time’s passed, brother,’” Holland said.
“You could feel he was just an evil guy,&#8217; Holland said of the Iraqi dictator, who murdered tens of thousands of Iraqis. “He had this presence about him that was very unnerving.”
American troops secretly reported finding thousands of chemical warheads, shells, and aviation bombs in Iraq, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/10/14/world/middleeast/us-casualties-of-iraq-chemical-weapons.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> in 2014. Many of the chemical munitions found contained potent mustard agent or residual sarin, The Times noted.

Saddam Hiding Place

‘President Bush Sends His Regards’: After Nearly 20 Years, Soldier Speaks Of Saddam Hussein’s Capture

After Nearly 20 Years, Soldier Speaks Of Saddam Hussein's Capture

Capture

George W. Bush

Iraq

Saddam Hussein

Seventy-one Chinese warplanes were detected flying around Taiwan on Sunday, performing military exercises, according to Taiwan’s Defense Ministry.
According to the People&#8217;s Liberation Army, China was conducting a “strike drill” in response to “provocations” and “collusion” between Taiwan and the United States.
“71 PLA aircraft and 7 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected in our surrounding region by 6 a.m.(UTC+8) today,” the Taiwan Defense Ministry tweeted. “R.O.C. Armed Forces have monitored the situation and tasked CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond these activities.”
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71 PLA aircraft and 7 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected in our surrounding region by 6 a.m.(UTC+8) today. R.O.C. Armed Forces have monitored the situation and tasked CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond these activities. <a href="https://t.co/DagRhnN69F">pic.twitter.com/DagRhnN69F</a>
&mdash; 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, R.O.C. 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) <a href="https://twitter.com/MoNDefense/status/1607180600355721217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 26, 2022</a></blockquote>
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The 71 warplanes included 60 fighter jets, of which six advanced SU-30 warplanes participated, AFP <a href="https://www.barrons.com/news/china-deployed-71-warplanes-in-weekend-war-drills-taiwan-defence-ministry-01672023608#:~:text=to%20AFP.com.-,China%20Deployed%2071%20Warplanes%20In%20Weekend%20War%20Drills%3A%20Taiwan%20Defence,Monday%2C%20including%2060%20fighter%20jets.">reported</a>.
The Taiwan Defense Ministry also noted that 47 of the detected aircraft had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, which separates Taiwan from continental Asia, including China. Those aircraft reportedly entered Taiwan’s southwest air defense identification zone, (ADIZ), Taiwan’s airspace plus the additional area in which foreign aircraft are expected to identify themselves. Taiwan’s ADIZ overlaps China’s and includes part of mainland China.
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47 of the detected aircraft (J-11*12, SU-30*6, CH-4 UCAV RECCE*1, J-10*6, J-16*18, Y-8 EW*1, Y-8 ASW*1, KJ-500*1, WZ-7 UAV RECCE*1) had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s southwest ADIZ, flight paths as illustrated.
&mdash; 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, R.O.C. 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) <a href="https://twitter.com/MoNDefense/status/1607180602754883589?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 26, 2022</a></blockquote>
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The importance of Taiwan cannot be overestimated. Taiwan makes 65% of the world&#8217;s semiconductors and roughly 90% of the advanced chips.
In early November, Chinese Communist President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/xi-jinping">Xi Jinping</a> declared his country would focus on preparing for war, Express <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1693723/preparing-war-china-xi-jinping">reported</a>. The communist leader pointed to security concerns, claiming that it was &#8220;increasingly unstable and uncertain.”
“For years, Xi has been ratcheting up his rhetoric around the use of military force to reunify Taiwan with mainland China, and in response, the West has done very little,” Dr. Alan Mendoza, executive director of the Henry Jackson Society told <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11403145/China-focus-preparing-WAR-Xi-Jinping-declares.html">the Daily Mail</a>. “Liberal Democracies must now take him at his word, and work collectively, using all means necessary to deter Xi from invading Taiwan.&#8221;
“As a priority, Western nations must begin the process of removing all Chinese influence from critical industries such as energy, water and nuclear power,” Mendoza continued. “Next, we must immediately start the process of decoupling China from many of our most relied upon supply chain networks and develop new ones with likeminded partner nations.”
In October, the Chinese Communist Party interpolated an extra line into its constitution that stated it was “resolutely opposing and deterring” Taiwan&#8217;s independence.
In mid-October, U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Michael Gilday <a href="https://breakingdefense.com/2022/10/navy-leader-cant-rule-out-chinese-invasion-of-taiwan-even-earlier-than-2027/">warned</a> of a Chinese takeover of Taiwan, saying, “It’s not just what President Xi says, it’s how the Chinese behave and what they do. And what we’ve seen over the past 20 years is that they have delivered on every promise they’ve made earlier than they said they were going to deliver on it. So when we talk about the 2027 window, in my mind, that has to be a 2022 window or potentially a 2023 window. I can’t rule that out. I don’t mean at all to be alarmist by saying that. It’s just that we can’t wish that away.”

CHINA-PLA-THE EASTERN THEATER COMMAND-JOINT EXERCISES (CN)

China Send 71 Warplanes Around Taiwan In ‘Strike Drill’

China Send 71 Warplanes Around Taiwan In 'Strike Drill'

airplanes

Communist China

Treasures from a Gold Rush-era sunken ship are set to go up at a Reno auction house on Saturday.
When the S.S. Central America, rightly nicknamed the “Ship of Gold,” sunk off the coast of South Carolina 165 years ago, it brought real treasure down with it. Some of it is being <a href="https://holabirdamericana.liveauctiongroup.com/SS-Central-America-Shipwreck-Artifacts-Auction-Part-I-December-2022_as86130_p3?ps=100" target="_blank" rel="noopener">auctioned</a> off this weekend, including an 1849 Colt pistol, full beer bottles, and numerous gold nuggets.
“Some collectors have been waiting for these extraordinary items to come on the market since the legendary, submerged ship was located in 1988 and Life magazine proclaimed it America’s greatest treasure ever found,” president Holabird Western Americana Collections Fred Holabird <a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-new-york-city-san-francisco-reno-ce031b4288eb8352af5ce52f5de981bc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. 
Some of the artifacts being sold are <a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-new-york-city-san-francisco-reno-ce031b4288eb8352af5ce52f5de981bc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> worth up to $1 million, including a lid to the oldest known Wells Fargo treasure box. Additional items being auctioned include 1850s currency, a gold pocket watch, a boiler steam gauge, a perfume bottle, and articles of clothing.
The Ship of Gold, originally named S.S. George Law and then changed to the S.S. Central America, was a steamship <a href="https://www.si.edu/object/rigged-model-steamship-george-law-central-america%3Anmah_844265" target="_blank" rel="noopener">built</a> in 1852 for the United States Mail Steamship Company. It sunk 200 <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/tommy-thompson-treasure-prison-shipwreck-b1981712.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">miles</a> off the coast of South Carolina on September 12, 1857, killing 425 people while 125 were rescued. It was on its way to New York from Panama.
The artifacts and gold were effectively preserved because the wreckage of the ship lies 7,000 feet beneath the surface of the Atlantic, allowing cold temperatures and a lack of oxygen to aid in their preservation. Other items were in trunks and safes that were still sealed.
<div id="attachment_470905" style="width: 862px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-470905" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-470905 size-large" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-830276998-852x576.jpg" alt="" width="852" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/12/GettyImages-830276998-852x576.jpg 852w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/12/GettyImages-830276998-300x203.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/12/GettyImages-830276998-768x519.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/12/GettyImages-830276998-1536x1038.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/12/GettyImages-830276998-2048x1385.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 852px) 100vw, 852px" />Items treasure rescued from the wreck of the SS Central America, which foundered in 1857 off the coast of South Carolina, as shown in the Lloyd&#8217;s Insurance Register (behind). Over 400 pounds of gold bars and coins are expected to raise 7 million when auctioned. on December 8th and 9th, at Sotheby&#8217;s, New York. (Photo by Michael Crabtree &#8211; PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)</div>
The sinking of the S.S. Central America helped lead to economic panic and recession, known as the Panic of 1857, partly <a href="https://www.pcgs.com/shipofgold/history-of-ss-central-america" target="_blank" rel="noopener">because</a> there were thousands of coins from the San Francisco mint headed to New York.
Not all that glitters is gold in the story of the ship of gold. The man who <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ss-central-america-shipwreck-1857-ship-of-gold-treasure-auction/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> the wreckage in 1988, deep-sea explorer Tommy Thompson, is in jail for <a href="https://archive.ph/t3YcC" target="_blank" rel="noopener">refusing</a> to disclose the location of 500 gold coins. Thompson was reportedly being held in contempt of court and being fined $1,000 a day for failing to answer the government&#8217;s questions about the booty, <a href="https://archive.ph/t3YcC" target="_blank" rel="noopener">violating</a> his plea deal after reportedly withholding money from investors. 
Some of what was found has already been sold in 2000 and 2017 for tens of millions of dollars, and the bell of the ship was donated to the U.S. Naval Academy in early 2022.
There have been multiple recovery trips to gather additional items. In 1990 and 1991, a robot submarine recovered two trunks that belonged to first-class passengers, which are in excellent condition. One of those trunks belonged to a man who served in the Mexican-American War.

TOPSHOT-AUSTRALIA-ECONOMY-COMMODITIES-MARKETS-METAL-GOLD

Treasures From Sunken Pre-Civil War ‘Ship Of Gold’ Go Up For Auction

Archaeology

Civil War

History

South Carolina

U.S.

Billionaire entrepreneur <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/elon-musk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elon Musk</a> suggested this week that war could be averted with <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/chinese-communist-party" target="_blank" rel="noopener">communist China</a> by simply giving into their demands and giving them partial control of the island of Taiwan.
Musk made the remarks during an interview that was published Friday in the Financial Times. It comes after he suggested earlier in the week that the war in Ukraine could be brought to an end by giving into Russia&#8217;s demands for control of portions of Ukraine.
&#8220;My recommendation . . . would be to figure out a special administrative zone for Taiwan that is reasonably palatable, probably won&#8217;t make everyone happy,&#8221; Musk said. &#8220;And it’s possible, and I think probably, in fact, that they could have an arrangement that’s more lenient than Hong Kong.”
Musk added that if and when war breaks out that Apple will &#8220;be in very deep trouble, that&#8217;s for sure.&#8221; He also believes that the global economy will take a catastrophic 30% hit if war breaks out.
Musk, who is the CEO of Tesla, has substantial business interests in the communist nation as the company&#8217;s Shanghai factory produces 30-50% of the company&#8217;s products. The report said that Musk is an &#8220;admirer&#8221; of China.
The report said that Musk was forced to give assurances to the communist nation that he will not deploy his Starlink satellites there as that would undermine the government&#8217;s total control over its citizens.
Musk also opened up a Tesla showroom in Xinjiang recently which is at the heart of China&#8217;s concentration camps where they <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-50511063">brainwash</a>, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/new-details-torture-cover-ups-china-s-internment-camps-revealed-n1270014">torture</a>, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-55794071">rape</a>, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTp54QwxV8U">kill</a> religious minorities.
“We are dismayed that Tesla has reportedly opened a showroom in the province that is at the heart of China’s Uyghur detainment in camps and forced labor in factories,” members of Congress <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jan/21/teslas-expansion-in-xinjiang-sets-a-poor-example-say-us-lawmakers">wrote</a> to Musk earlier this year. “Your misguided expansion into the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region sets a poor example and further empowers the CCP [Chinese government] at a fraught moment.”
This is a developing news story; refresh the page for updates.

Readers Pass – Zeisloft – Elon Musk And The Depopulation Of China16x9 (1)

Musk Sides With Communist China, Suggests Giving Them Partial Control Of Taiwan To Avoid War

Big Tech

Elon Musk

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/russia">Russia</a> is gearing up to hold “limited” annexation referendums next month in various territories captured from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ukraine</a>.
State media outlets have confirmed that Russian occupied territories from the Donbas region in the east to southern oblasts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, to the outskirts of Kharkiv in the Northeast, will hold elections on potential annexation into the Russian Federation. The vote would likely be similar to the 2014 referendum in Crimea, where returning to the control of Kyiv was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/15/world/europe/crimea-vote-does-not-offer-choice-of-status-quo.html">not an option</a> on the ballot.
“The referendum will, of course, be held on our territory,” Mayor Alexander Saulenko of Berlansk, a coastal city in Zaporizhzhia, <a href="https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/russia-hold-limited-ukraine-annexation-vote-including-region-zaporizhzhia-nuclear">told</a> the Russian state-owned TASS. “We are preparing for this referendum, it is planned for September, but I can&#8217;t say the exact date yet.”
Russia is attempting to solidify control of hard-won territory as their invasion of Ukraine has continued to stall in recent months. The referendum gives their de facto annexation of Ukrainian territory a thin veneer of legality, although international observers were quick to condemn the legitimacy of any such vote.
“Since they obviously are having trouble achieving geographic gains inside Ukraine, they are trying to gain that through false political means,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/russia-may-announce-sham-referenda-this-week-to-formalize-control-of-occupied-territories-in-ukraine-509929">said</a> last week. “The Russian officials themselves know that what they&#8217;re doing will lack legitimacy, and it will not reflect the will of the people.”
“This is a part of Russia’s playbook to attack the sovereignty, identity, and history of Ukraine,” State Department Deputy Spokesperson Verdant Patel <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/15/world/europe/crimea-vote-does-not-offer-choice-of-status-quo.html">said</a>. “We want to be clear: Any claim by the Kremlin that the Ukrainian people somehow want to join Russia is a lie.”
The outcome of the vote is almost certain, and the process is basically a formality.
Andrei Turchak, a senior Russian lawmaker, reportedly said last week, “These territories are Russian regions.”

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