The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | October 14th, 2024: IDF Rocked by Deadly Drone Attack & China Encircles Taiwan

Episode Date: October 14, 2024

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:   First, an update on the deadly Hezbollah drone attack yesterday on northern Israel that left four IDF soldiers dead, as Israeli leaders vow a "forceful response." Then, China is escalating their harassment of Taiwan, threatening its leaders and encircling the island during provocative large-scale military drills on Monday. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief.  Email: [e-mail]. Blackout Coffee: https://www.blackoutcoffee.com/PDB Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Not loving your AT&T or T Mobile Bill? Yeah, we've been hearing that a lot. Good news. Bring your AT&T or T Mobile Bill to Verizon and we'll give you a better deal. So get away from that unfortunate phone bill and get to Verizon. Run, ride, canoe. Whatever it takes, we'll be here. Bring your AT&T or T Mobile Bill to a Verizon store today and we'll give you a better deal on the best network. A better deal. No surprises. That's Verizon. Best Network based on Route Metrics, Best Overall Mobile Network Performance U.S.

Second Half 2025. All rights reserved. It must provide a recent consumer mobile bill in the name of the person who gave me the deal. Additional Terms, Conditions, and Restrictions Apply. Kickstart your day with the great taste of Blackout Coffee. Now, Blackout Coffee is a family-owned all-American business, and they are laser-focused on producing premium coffee, fresh-roasted, and shipped out within 48 hours of roasting. Go to blackout coffee.com, promo code PDB, for 20% off your first-time purchase.

It's Monday, 14 October. Welcome to the PDB. Well, let's call it the late afternoon bulletin, shall we? I'm Mike Baker. your eyes and ears on the world's stage. Let's get briefed. First, an update on the deadly Hezbollah drone attack yesterday on northern Israel that left four IDF soldiers dead as Israeli leaders vow a forceful response.

Then, apparently because, well, a couple of major global conflicts isn't enough for the times that we're currently living in, China is escalating their harassment of Taiwan and circling the island during provocative large-scale military. drills on Monday and threatening its leaders. But first, our afternoon spotlight. I want to begin with an update on the Hezbollah drone attack that struck a northern Israeli community on Sunday, and it was one of the bloodiest attacks to hit Israel since the war began last year. Officials with the IDF confirmed that four Israeli soldiers had been killed by the drone strike, while 61 others were injured. According to Israeli military sources, who spoke with the times of Israel,

Hezbollah engaged in a multi-pronged attack Sunday evening in essentially an attempt to confuse Israel's air defenses, firing off several short-range rockets to the north, three precision rockets at the city of Haifa, and three drones. While the rockets and two of the drones were intercepted, the third managed to strike an army base near the town of Binyamina in northern Israel, some 40 miles south of the Lebanese border. The four Israeli soldiers killed in the attack have not been identified, but officials said they were all 19 years old and they were attending infantry training at the base. First responders declared a, quote, mass casualty event and worked for hours to evacuate the injured, many of whom were suffering from blast injuries and shrapnel wounds. Officials said at least three people remain in critical condition, while another 18 had moderate injuries. As we discussed this morning, Chazbullah took credit for the attack and said they were targeting the Israeli Golani Brigade, an IDF unit that has recently carried out operations against Chazbullah and southern Lebanon. Chzbollah bragged that the drone broke through Israel's defense systems without detection.

Now, the attack has raised questions in Israel over how the drone managed to penetrate Israel's sophisticated aerial defenses, particularly, as there were no reports of airtight. air raid sirens or alerts going off in the area before the drone impacted. The IDF senior spokesman said the military would be investigating what went wrong, but acknowledged that Israel needs to improve their defenses when it comes to drones. Israeli defense minister Yov Gallant, briefed U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on the incident late Sunday night, and promised a, quote, forceful response. So, given Israel's ongoing operations inside Lebanon, what might that response look like? Well, according to sources who spoke to the times of Israel,

the Israeli Air Force will pivot their current strategy in Lebanon to focus exclusively on the eradication of Hezbollah's Unit 127, which oversees drone production, maintenance, and operations. Efforts to kill every member of this unit will now take priority for the Air Force, and intelligence gathering efforts will be squarely focused on this outcome. Additionally, due to the intensifying aerial assaults on Israel, the U.S. is preparing to send Israel a new air defense system to help them better protect against these attacks. In addition to the system, a terminal high-altitude area defense or fad battery, the U.S. will also send 95 American soldiers to operate the system. Coming up, China is escalating their harassment of Taiwan,

encircling the island during provocative large-scale military drills on Monday. I'll be right back. One, two, a one, two, three, four. Give me a break, give me a break to that kidcat me a break. Break me off a piece of that Kid Cat bar! Have a break. Have a Kit Kat. This episode is brought to you by Palm Olive.

Family time isn't just the big moments. It's weeknight dinners. Sitting around the table, everyone talking all at one. So when the plates are empty and the sink is full, use palm olive ultra. Palmolive's most powerful formula removes up to 99.9% of grease, leaving your dishes sparkling clean. And the new convenient pump makes cleaning even easier so you can spend less time tackling dishes and more time together.

Shop now at palmolive.com. Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. China, encircled Taiwan with warships and aircraft on Monday in a powerful show of military strength, warning that more action could follow if necessary. The day-long war games, dubbed Joint Sword 24B, saw Chinese forces closing in on Taiwan from all directions. As you might suspect, Taiwan and the U.S. condemned the provocative move. Tensions have been rising since Taiwan's president La Ching-Té reaffirmed the island's sovereignty during a National Day speech just last week, stating, quote, Taiwan is not subordinate to China, end quote.

Now, Beijing, which views Taiwan as a breakaway province, reacted furiously, vowing to reunify the island by force if necessary. China's Eastern Theater Command launched the Joint Sword 2024B exercises, featuring Chinese warships and aircraft approaching Taiwan from multiple directions. The drills simulated joint attacks on maritime and ground tariff. targets, blockades of key ports and assaults on critical positions. Notably, China's a Liaoning aircraft carrier operated east of Taiwan, and that's a sign of China's growing military reach. It's important to note that for the first time, Coast Guard vessels entered Taiwan's restricted

waters near the Matsu Islands, escalating China's presence in the region. Though no live fire exercises were reported, the drills demonstrated China's ability to cut off Taiwan. from international waters and air routes in the event of a conflict. A map released by Chinese authorities emphasized nine areas around Taiwan where the drills took place, emphasizing the operation's close proximity to Taiwan's territory. The People's Liberation Army, the PLA, called the drills a, quote, stern warning to Taiwan's separatist forces. According to Taiwan's defense ministry, 17 Chinese warships and 125 military aircraft were

involved. That's the largest number of planes detected around the island in a single day. Taiwan's military closely monitored the situation but reported no missile launches. Now, that's a contrast to previous years when China did fire missiles over the island. Beijing's show of force comes as part of a broader strategy to normalize its military presence around Taiwan. In May, China held similar drills, Operation Joint Sword, 2024. for A, shortly after President Lai's inauguration, denouncing him as a, quote, dangerous separatist. In response, Taiwan mobilized its military, dispatched warships, and placed its forces on high alert. President Lai convened emergency national security meetings, vowing to protect Taiwan's sovereignty.

Taiwan's defense ministry condemned the drills, accusing Beijing of destabilizing regional peace. international reaction was swift. The U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller condemned China's use of military provocations, calling them, quote, unwarranted and destabilizing. Miller warned that such actions risk sparking a larger crisis, urging Beijing to exercise restraint. China's aggressive posture is part of its long-term strategy to deter international support for Taiwan. Now, both sides remain locked in a dangerous standoff. Taiwan determined to defend its democracy, while Beijing is equally intent on bending the island to its will and eventual reunification. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin from Monday, 14 October. If you have any questions or comments, please, reach out to me

at BDB at thefirsttv.com. And as most folks in the know will tell you, to listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of the president's daily brief by simply visiting PDB premium.com. It's very simple. Pound for pound, it's the best value in news. Lots of facts. Zero fluff. Okay, maybe there's a little fluff, but not much. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool. Some follow the noise. Bloomberg follows the money, whether it's the funds fueling AI or crypto's trillion dollar swings. There's a money side to every story. Get the money side of the story. Subscribe now at Bloomberg.com.