Israel Today: Ongoing War Report - Update from 2026-03-05 at 12:03

HEADLINESUS strikes Iran missile sites, Dubai attackedSingham-backed protests surge over US-Israel policyAI fusion platform shields Israel water systemsThe time is now 12:02 PM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report.In US Military Role, US Central Command says B-52 bombers conducted strikes against Iranian ballistic missile sites and key command-and-control centers. Iran has escalated its campaign with an attack on a Dubai oil facility and an airport, with launches reportedly emanating from Iran and sirens sounding in central Israel and in the Jerusalem area. Reports describe Israel’s air force highlighting a moment when the country decided to pursue a major war with Iran. Lebanon’s government has taken a dramatic stance against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, signaling heightened regional tensions as the conflict equation evolves.In US Policy Concerning Israel, rapid protests in Washington over the US-Israel campaign against Iran were reportedly driven by anti-Israel groups with alleged links to a Shanghai-based billionaire and a funding network under congressional scrutiny. The groups cited include CodePink, the ANSWER Coalition, and The People’s Forum, which are described as having led anti-Israel protests in recent years and as being connected to a broader funding network involving Neville Roy Singham and Jodie Evans. President Donald Trump urged Israeli President Isaac Herzog to grant Netanyahu a pardon immediately, saying Netanyahu should be free to focus on the war with Iran; Trump described Herzog as a “disgrace” and said Herzog had promised Netanyahu a pardon on multiple occasions. Boaz Bismuth, a Likud member and chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, welcomed Trump’s remarks. Israel’s chief rabbis sent a formal letter to Transportation Minister Miri Regev protesting plans to run public transportation on Shabbat to help Israelis return home from Ben-Gurion Airport, arguing the move would violate Shabbat without a life-saving justification and without consultation with the Chief Rabbinate.In Antisemitism and Anti-Jewish Hate, Tucker Carlson drew criticism for suggesting that Chabad, a Jewish outreach movement, was behind strikes on Iran in an effort to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque; columnist Joel Mowbray countered that the claim is unfounded and dangerous, pointing out that Chabad institutions have historically been targets of antisemitic violence and that the movement concentrates on outreach, education, and community life rather than political acts.In Israeli Economy and Business, regional disruption has spotlighted how attacks on critical infrastructure can trigger broad service outages, with drone strikes and missiles affecting cloud services and data centers across the Gulf, including reported damage to AWS infrastructure in the UAE and Bahrain. In response, governments are moving toward integrated protection that links physical security, cyber defenses, and operational monitoring. A new partnership between Octopus Systems and Bynet Communications aims to deliver an AI-powered Data Fusion platform across Israel’s critical infrastructure, beginning with water systems, to better unify protection across domains and reduce risk from threats to infrastructure.Thank you for tuning in to this Israel Today: Ongoing War Report update.I'm Noa Levi. Stay safe and informed.Keep in mind that this AI-generated report may contain occasional inaccuracies, so consult multiple sources for a comprehensive view. Find the code and more details in the podcast description.SOURCEShttps://www.maariv.co.il/breaking-news/article-1292483https://www.jpost.com/international/article-888981https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-888989https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-888980https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hkgnhxvtzlhttps://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-888979https://www.jpost.com/defense-and-tech/article-888976