Commentators within Israel have described a sense of business as usual in the wake of the country’s joint attack with the United States against Iran.
“It’s Saturday, so the streets are naturally quiet,” political analyst Ori Goldberg said from outside Tel Aviv, as he returned from his shelter for the second time.
“I think, politically, there’s a sense of triumphalism, of having attacked an enemy regime. Not really because we’re greatly invested in the future of the Iranian people, but because, through the genocide on Gaza, we’ve devalued human life,” he said, referring to the Israeli attacks on the besieged territory since October 2023.
Returning to shelters around the country is now the stuff of everyday life for most Israelis, he said.
Israel has been on high alert since it launched a wave of attacks on Iran, the country that its leaders have consistently portrayed as its nemesis for decades.
Announcing the attack through a video post on X, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu framed the attack in characteristically apocalyptic terms, saying Israel and the US had launched attacks to “remove the existential threat posed [to Israel] by the terror regime in Iran”, and going on to call upon the Iranian people to rise against their own leaders in response to the US and Israeli unprovoked strikes upon their cities.
Iran has retaliated with its own waves of missiles and drones against Israel and US assets in the region. At least one person was reported wounded in northern Israel.
But the latest strikes against Iran were met warmly by Israel’s political elite.
“I want to remind us all: The people of Israel are strong. The IDF [Israeli army] and the Air Force are strong. The strongest power in the world stands with us,” opposition leader Yair Lapid wrote on social media, referring to the US.
“In moments like these we stand together – and we win together. There is no coalition and no opposition, only one people and one IDF, with all of us behind them.”
In a subsequent post written in Farsi, he echoed the prime minister’s calls for Iran to enact regime change from within, a longstanding Israeli policy.
‘It’s crazy’
Accounts of the relative calm in Israel stand in sharp contrast to previous escalations, when sources described panic and bulk buying before an anticipated Iranian response to the wave of strikes Israel launched against targets in Iran.
“People here are well trained,” Aida Touma-Suleiman, a Palestinian member of the Israeli parliament representing the left-wing Hadash-Ta’al faction, which is almost alone in opposing the strikes, said from her apartment near Haifa, where she had just returned from her shelter.
“This is what they’re saying all the time in the media: How well-trained and ready we are. It’s crazy. I don’t think any country in the world has experienced more war than we have, so this is what they mean by ‘trained’,” she said, referencing the wars on Iran, Lebanon, Yemen and Gaza that Israel has waged since the Hamas-led attack of October 2023.
As Touma-Suleiman spoke, she was interrupted by an alarm on her phone. “That’s not the alert. That’s a warning on my phone telling me there’s going to be an alert and then I’ll have to return to the shelter,” she explained, laughing drily. “You see what I mean about being well trained?”
Texting from Israel, Ahron Bregman, a senior teaching fellow at the Department for War Studies at King’s College London, described the relative calm and almost relief felt by many within the country that the uncertainty over war with Iran was at an end.
“Both Israel and the US are after the Iranian leadership. They hope to weaken it substantially, though I doubt they could topple it from the air,” he said, raising the possibility of a prolonged conflict.
However, how ready Israel might be for a lengthy war, and to what degree that might be Israel’s choice, was far from certain, Touma-Suleiman said.
“It will be the United States that determines how long the war will be. They’ll continue until they’ve achieved whatever it is they want,” she said.
“I don’t think Israel is ready for that. People are exhausted. The army is exhausted. I don’t know if they even have the reserves to manage a long war, and this is what Netanyahu is willing to gamble with, just so he can say to the public before elections: ‘Here is at least one victory.’”
Jade Thirlwall drops biggest hint yet that full Little Mix reunion is OFF after ‘fury’ over Jesy Nelson’s comments
JADE Thirlwall has dropped a major clue that a Little Mix reunion if off the table after Jesy Nelson’s recent interview.
The Sweet Melody hitmaker, 33, said there were lots of sweet symbolisms behind the number three when it came to her career.
Sign up for the Showbiz newsletter
Thank you!
Just last month, Jesy made some bombshell claims about the “real reason” behind her Little Mix exit, which ultimately dashed hopes of a reunion.
Speaking at the BRIT Awards on Saturday, Jade praised bandmate Leigh-Anne Pinnock on her solo album, My Ego Told Me To, which was released last month.
During an interview with Capital, Jade said: “I’m so happy for her. I’ve been chatting to her today saying how proud I am.
“So deserved, the album’s amazing.”
ARTIST’S PLEA
Huge producer reveals he has no record deal despite his hits with Beyonce
BACK PINN CONTROL
Leigh-Anne Pinnock soars up the charts with debut solo album
Referring to Leigh-Anne’s album going top three in the charts, Jade said: “And I feel like it’s some weird cosmic energy that we’re all number three and that we’re a three, three, three.
“I feel like it’s quite special, very happy for her.”
Little Mix currently consists of three members – Jade, Leigh-Anne and their fellow bandmate Perrie Edwards.
The group was previously a four-piece before Jesy quit in December 2020.
Jesy, 34, revealed the truth behind her sudden departure.
The singer shocked fans when she revealed her secret suicide attempt days before quitting the group – suggesting her cry for help was ignored by her bandmates.
The revelation came after Jesy thrilled fans with news their six-year feud was over after the girls had privately reached out.
While Jesy gave fresh hope about the possibility of reconciling with her bandmates on stage, the girls’ reactions following her comments suggested an entirely different story.
A source told The Sun: “Jesy’s confession has obviously opened up a can of worms for the girls.
“The documentary itself and the backlash that has followed, has brought up a lot of bad feeling from the past.
“It’s been upsetting for the girls, but they are focused on their solo careers and the future now.”
While on her tour of That’s Showbiz Baby! in the US, Jade broke down in tears on stage as she sung Natural at Disaster.
The track is said to have been written about her struggling friendship with Jesy, with lyrics including: “It’s hard to love you when you hate yourself. Can’t be there for you without negatively impacting my mental health.”
And seemingly in another swipe at Jesy after Jesy Nelson: Life After Little Mix was released, Jade chose to play Natural At Disaster over her latest Instagram post.
Sharing video footage from behind the scenes at her show in Chicago, JADE wrote: “And all that jazz.”
One fan commented: “The song choice… I hope you’re not shading Jesy. I love you all.”
Jesy’s revelations sent Little Mix’s fanbase into a spin – with some rival supporters clashing online.
Recalling the painful breakdown of Little Mix’s friendship days before her overdose, Jesy said: “I sat everyone down to explain how I was feeling and I remember one of the responses being, ‘Are you done now? Is that it?’
“She [one of the girls] was like, ‘Can I go now?’”
Fighting back tears, Jesy added: “That made me feel really alone. I felt like there was no point. That no one cared.”
Her comments apparently sparked social media rows, with some fans “picking a side”.
However, others insisted: “Jesy sharing her side of the story of what happened shouldn’t be viewed as her trying to villainise them. Me nor you truly don’t know what happened between those girls so trying to sit there and call someone a liar as if you know better than her is very weird.”
Another said: “Both sides have faults and both sides have valid feelings. It’s really not that hard to understand.”
Someone else added: “I’m proud Jade, Leigh-Anne and Perrie reached out to her when Jesy was pregnant because they are good people all three of them. I just hope they can all move forward now and heal.”
How to get help
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide
It doesn’t discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It’s the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.
And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women.
Yet it’s rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
Source link
Inside Israel’s ‘normal’: Triumphalism and calm mix after attack on Iran | Israel-Iran conflict News
Commentators within Israel have described a sense of business as usual in the wake of the country’s joint attack with the United States against Iran.
“It’s Saturday, so the streets are naturally quiet,” political analyst Ori Goldberg said from outside Tel Aviv, as he returned from his shelter for the second time.
“I think, politically, there’s a sense of triumphalism, of having attacked an enemy regime. Not really because we’re greatly invested in the future of the Iranian people, but because, through the genocide on Gaza, we’ve devalued human life,” he said, referring to the Israeli attacks on the besieged territory since October 2023.
Returning to shelters around the country is now the stuff of everyday life for most Israelis, he said.
Israel has been on high alert since it launched a wave of attacks on Iran, the country that its leaders have consistently portrayed as its nemesis for decades.
Announcing the attack through a video post on X, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu framed the attack in characteristically apocalyptic terms, saying Israel and the US had launched attacks to “remove the existential threat posed [to Israel] by the terror regime in Iran”, and going on to call upon the Iranian people to rise against their own leaders in response to the US and Israeli unprovoked strikes upon their cities.
Iran has retaliated with its own waves of missiles and drones against Israel and US assets in the region. At least one person was reported wounded in northern Israel.
But the latest strikes against Iran were met warmly by Israel’s political elite.
“I want to remind us all: The people of Israel are strong. The IDF [Israeli army] and the Air Force are strong. The strongest power in the world stands with us,” opposition leader Yair Lapid wrote on social media, referring to the US.
“In moments like these we stand together – and we win together. There is no coalition and no opposition, only one people and one IDF, with all of us behind them.”
In a subsequent post written in Farsi, he echoed the prime minister’s calls for Iran to enact regime change from within, a longstanding Israeli policy.
‘It’s crazy’
Accounts of the relative calm in Israel stand in sharp contrast to previous escalations, when sources described panic and bulk buying before an anticipated Iranian response to the wave of strikes Israel launched against targets in Iran.
“People here are well trained,” Aida Touma-Suleiman, a Palestinian member of the Israeli parliament representing the left-wing Hadash-Ta’al faction, which is almost alone in opposing the strikes, said from her apartment near Haifa, where she had just returned from her shelter.
“This is what they’re saying all the time in the media: How well-trained and ready we are. It’s crazy. I don’t think any country in the world has experienced more war than we have, so this is what they mean by ‘trained’,” she said, referencing the wars on Iran, Lebanon, Yemen and Gaza that Israel has waged since the Hamas-led attack of October 2023.
As Touma-Suleiman spoke, she was interrupted by an alarm on her phone. “That’s not the alert. That’s a warning on my phone telling me there’s going to be an alert and then I’ll have to return to the shelter,” she explained, laughing drily. “You see what I mean about being well trained?”
Texting from Israel, Ahron Bregman, a senior teaching fellow at the Department for War Studies at King’s College London, described the relative calm and almost relief felt by many within the country that the uncertainty over war with Iran was at an end.
“Both Israel and the US are after the Iranian leadership. They hope to weaken it substantially, though I doubt they could topple it from the air,” he said, raising the possibility of a prolonged conflict.
However, how ready Israel might be for a lengthy war, and to what degree that might be Israel’s choice, was far from certain, Touma-Suleiman said.
“It will be the United States that determines how long the war will be. They’ll continue until they’ve achieved whatever it is they want,” she said.
“I don’t think Israel is ready for that. People are exhausted. The army is exhausted. I don’t know if they even have the reserves to manage a long war, and this is what Netanyahu is willing to gamble with, just so he can say to the public before elections: ‘Here is at least one victory.’”
Source link
Where are Little Mix now from Perrie’s song about Jesy to famous partners
Jesy Nelson’s documentary has brought the X Factor winners back into the spotlight – but what are they up to these days?
Jesy Nelson recently opened up about her shocking Little Mix(Image: Getty Images )
Little Mix’s unexpected split has come back into conversation following Jesy Nelson’s recent admission that another band member tried to walk away first.
Fans of the iconic group were left heartbroken when Jesy announced she was quitting the band in 2020, citing mental health reasons.
She left her bandmates Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Perrie Edwards and Jade Thirlwall to continue carrying the torch, but they soon went on a hiatus in 2022.
The X Factor winners’ legacy is still carried by their catchy tunes, which still attract over 16 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
In light of Jesy sharing behind-the-scenes truths about the band, let’s take a look at where they are today.
Jesy Nelson
Jesy has recently opened up about her life since leaving the band in a new Prime Video docuseries, Life After Little Mix.
The 34-year-old had a short-lived solo music career because her first single sparked backlash. She released ‘Boyz’ featuring Nicki Minaj in 2021, and followed it up with a music video.
Fans accused Jesy of ‘Blackfishing’ in the video, which featured her wearing makeup and fake tan that they claim made her appear Black or mixed-race. This scandal caused so much headache for the star that she vowed to never return to music in her new documentary.
Outside of music, Jesy was in a long-term relationship with ex fiancé Zion Foster, which came to an end earlier this month. The former couple welcomed twin daughters Ocean Jade and Story Monroe in May 2025.
Following their birth, the singer discovered they had a life-threatening condition called Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Type 1. The rare genetic condition causes progressive muscle weakness. Jesy is now campaigning to raise awareness about the condition.
Perrie Edwards
Perrie focused on her family life following the group’s hiatus in May 2022, as she had just welcomed her first son Axel months prior.
The 32-year-old has since welcomed daughter Alanis with footballer fiancé Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. But she hasn’t forgotten about music. The mum-of-two released her debut album ‘Perrie’ last year and dropped new single ‘Woman in Love’ earlier this month.
Her first album featured the ballad ‘Same Place Different View,’ which is widely understood to be about her former bandmate Jesy.
The lyrics delve into the pain of losing a close friendship and how these losses can be just as devastating as romantic break ups.
For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new ** Everything Gossip ** website.
Leigh-Anne Pinnock
Leigh-Anne also married a famous footballer named Andre Gray. The couple share twins but have kept their identities private.
As for her music career, Leigh-Anne has just dropped her first studio album ‘My Ego Told Me To’ and will be touring this April.
Announcing her tour to fans, she wrote: “I’m going on tour baby!!! I can’t tell you how excited I am to perform this album live for you! Get me back to my happy place nowww! This one’s going to be so special!”
Jade Thirlwall
Jade is also embarking on a tour, which spans across the UK, Europe and the US. It comes after her first album ‘That’s Showbiz Baby!’ dropped in September.
The 33-year-old bagged two BRIT Award nominations for Best Pop Act and Artist of the Year following her debut.
As for her personal life, Jade is in a long-term relationship with Rizzle Kicks members Jordan Stephens.
Jesy Nelson: Life After Little Mix is streaming now on Prime Video.
Ensure our latest headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as your Preferred Source in your Google search settings.
Source link