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Shira Haas
Shira Haas is an Israeli actress born in Tel Aviv who became internationally known for her roles in Shtisel and Unorthodox. Her work in Unorthodox brought Emmy and Golden Globe nominations, and The Jerusalem Post later described her as the first Israeli nominated for an Emmy. Diagnosed with kidney cancer at age two, Haas underwent chemotherapy that stunted her growth.
- event
2006 Lebanon War
The 2006 Lebanon War was a 34-day armed conflict fought between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Lebanese Islamist terrorist organization Hezbollah from July 12 to August 14, 2006. It is known in Israel as the Second Lebanon War and has also been called the First Missile War. The conflict began with a Hezbollah cross-border raid and the ensuing Israeli pursuit and recovery operations, which together left eight Israeli soldiers dead and two abducted. Hezbollah fired nearly 4,000 rockets at northern Israeli population centers, displacing hundreds of thousands of civilians, while Israel launched a major air and ground campaign against Hezbollah's military infrastructure throughout Lebanon. The fighting ended with a United Nations-brokered ceasefire under Security Council Resolution 1701, which took effect at 8:00 a.m. on August 14, 2006; Israel lifted its naval blockade of Lebanon on September 8. The Winograd Commission, appointed to investigate Israel's conduct of the war, characterized the outcome as "a serious missed opportunity" that ended "without a clear military victory" and documented serious failings in government and military decision-making. Its findings contributed to political consequences for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and senior defense officials.
- event
Israeli Declaration of Independence
The Israeli Declaration of Independence, formally titled the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, was a proclamation approved by the Jewish People's Council at the Tel Aviv Museum on Friday, May 14, 1948, corresponding to 5 Iyar 5708. David Ben-Gurion read the 664-word document aloud in approximately 17 minutes during a 32-minute ceremony held before the Sabbath and the end of the British Mandate. The declaration established a Jewish state in Eretz-Israel, set out provisional governing arrangements and civil principles, and appealed to the United Nations, Arab inhabitants, neighboring states, and Jews worldwide. The United States recognized Israel's Provisional Government that evening at 6:11 p.m. Washington time, and the Soviet Union recognized the state three days later.
- person
Mohammed Deif
Mohammed Deif (1965–2024) was the longtime commander of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, and one of Israel’s most-wanted men for nearly three decades. Born Muhammad Diab Ibrahim al-Masri in the Khan Younis refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, he adopted the name "Deif" — Arabic for "guest" — because of his reported practice of constantly moving between locations to evade capture. He survived at least seven Israeli assassination attempts over roughly 25 years, earning the nickname "the cat with nine lives," before being killed in an Israeli airstrike near Khan Younis on July 13, 2024. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant called him the "Osama Bin Laden of Gaza." Deif was a principal architect of Hamas’s terrorist capabilities, credited with developing the organization’s tunnel-digging, rocket-launching, suicide-bombing, and soldier-kidnapping methods. The United States designated him a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, while the European Union added him to its terrorist list. He was indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice in connection with the October 7, 2023 massacre and subjected to an International Criminal Court arrest warrant before proceedings were terminated following confirmation of his death.
- place
Ben Gurion International Airport
Ben Gurion International Airport is Israel's primary international airport, located approximately 15 kilometers from Tel Aviv and 40 kilometers from Jerusalem. Named after Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, it is the country's main aviation gateway and the home base of El Al Israel Airlines. British Mandate authorities built the airport in the 1930s; sources identify Lydda Airport and Wilhelma Airport among its early names, and it was renamed Ben-Gurion International in 1974. The airport has witnessed major moments in Israel's history, including the 1972 Lod Airport terrorist massacre and the arrival of more than 14,300 Ethiopian Jews during Operation Solomon in 1991, when one Boeing 747 carried 1,000 passengers and set a world record. Passenger traffic grew from roughly 115,000 passengers in 1950 to a record 24.8 million in 2019, before reaching 19.16 million in 2025 amid continued war-related cancellations and disruptions. The Israel Airports Authority has operated and developed the airport since 1978, including the early-2000s opening of Terminal 3 as traffic increased.
- concept
Israeli Settlement
Israeli settlement is a term for Jewish communities established in territories that came under Israeli control during the 1967 Six-Day War, principally in the West Bank — known by its original, indigenous Jewish name of Judea and Samaria — and also historically in Gaza, East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, and Sinai. The population grew from about 1,900 residents in 38 settlements in 1977 to 515,437 Israelis in 134 settlements and 221 outposts at the end of 2024. Israel evacuated every settlement in Gaza and four in northern Samaria in 2005. Security strategy, religious conviction, Jewish historical continuity, and housing considerations have all shaped the enterprise, whose legality and effect on the peace process remain intensely disputed.