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Israel unveils game-changing artillery against Iran-backed Hezbollah amid fragile ceasefire
Israel unveils game-changing artillery technology
An Israeli Ro’em self-propelled artillery system, whose name means «thunder» in Hebrew, is seen in action. Ehud Bibi, the IDF’s chief artillery officer, said the system marks «a new era» of faster, more precise battlefield fire. (IDF Video.)
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JERUSALEM: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have introduced a new self-propelled howitzer to combat Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon as a defensive weapon against Hezbollah attacks.
Ro’em, the Hebrew word for thunder, could play an important role if the 10-day fragile ceasefire breaks down between Israel and Hezbollah. A second round of talks aimed at disarming Hezbollah between the ambassadors of Lebanon and Israel are slated for Thursday in Washington D.C. The ceasefire went into effect Thursday.
Ehud Bibi, Chief Artillery Officer for the IDF, told Fox News Digital that «The Ro’em brings a new capability to the Artillery Corps and the IDF as a whole, reshaping how firepower is employed on the battlefield. This marks a historic milestone, introducing a new era of more precise, faster, and more flexible fire enabling us to support troops on the ground more effectively.»
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Israeli Ro’em self-propelled artillery system is seen in an undated image, part of the IDF’s next-generation artillery capabilities. (IDF)
According to the IDF statement, «During the activity, the troops conducted precise artillery fire on several Hezbollah anti-tank and surface-to-surface missile launch positions, from which attacks had been launched against IDF troops. The firing was effective, achieving operational results and introducing new artillery capabilities, thereby reducing the threat posed to IDF troops and Israeli civilians.»
The IDF said the launches were purely defensive attacks against Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorists during the truce. The howitzer can fire roughly 40 kilometers (about 25 miles). A team of three IDF soldiers operate the Ro’em.
Elbit Systems stated on its website that it’s «capable of automatic loading and laying of the gun system, rapid in-and-out action times and high rate of fire. It offers a protected cabin for a crew of three.» Adding that, «Depending on the mission, SIGMA is capable of automatically selecting and loading the required projectile, propellant and fuze and laying the gun to optimally engage targets.» Also known as SIGMA, the Ro’em is produced by South Carolina-based subsidiary of Elbit Systems of America.
Israeli Ro’em self-propelled artillery system is seen in an undated image, part of the IDF’s next-generation artillery capabilities. (IDF)
Hezbollah violated a previous November 2024 ceasefire, which was brokered by the U.S., when it launched missiles into Israel on March 2 in response to the joint Israel-Iran war on Iran’s regime. The Lebanese government and the Lebanese Armed Forces failed to adhere to a deadline in 2025 to disarm Hezbollah.
The United Nations Security Council resolution 1701 also required that Hezbollah be disarmed following the 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon.
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According to an IDF statement sent to Fox News Digital about the modern howitzer, last Tuesday, «Troops from the 282nd Fire Brigade of the Artillery Corps, led by the ‘Ro’em’ branch at the Mali (Ground Training Center) Fire Center, conducted… their first operational firing using the «Ro’em» howitzer, in support of IDF troops operating in northern Israel.»
The statement continued that «The ‘Ro’em»’is a new howitzer recently introduced into IDF service, bringing advanced and innovative capabilities to the battlefield. It significantly increases the rate of fire, enables engagement at longer ranges compared to existing systems, and provides enhanced mobility and maneuverability in the field.
Hezbollah attacks on Israel since March 2 resulted in the killing of 2 civilians and 15 Israeli soldiers. Reuters reported that Hezbollah has not disclosed its casualty figures.
Hezbollah worked to build facilities below private residential buildings and houses. (Benoît Durand / Hans Lucas / AFP via Getty Images)
Lebanese authorities report that nearly 2,300 people in Lebanon have been killed since March 2. Those figures don’t differentiate between Hezbollah terrorists and civilians.
Speaking at a Memorial Day event for the country’s fallen troops, the country’s defense Minister Israel Katz pledged to ensure that Israelis in the north, who have faced massive aerial attacks from Hezbollah, will be secure.
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«Even as we gather here to honor our fallen, after weeks of determined operations by IDF forces in southern Lebanon, our commitment to the residents of the north remains clear and unequivocal, to bring them security,» Katz said. He noted that «If the Lebanese government continues not to fulfill its obligations, the IDF will do so through continued military activity.»
Reuters contributed to this report.
israel, middle east, lebanon, war with iran, military, terrorism
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Pope Leo urges Africans to stay and ‘serve your country’ instead of migrating as displacement climbs
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Pope Leo XIV last Friday urged African youth to work toward improving their own countries rather than migrating elsewhere in search of better opportunities.
The leader of the Roman Catholic Church directed his remarks to university students at the Catholic University of Central Africa in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, during an 11-day apostolic journey in Africa.
«In the face of the understandable tendency to migrate — which may lead one to believe that elsewhere a better future may be more easily found — I invite you, first and foremost, to respond with an ardent desire to serve your country and to apply the knowledge you are acquiring here to the benefit of your fellow citizens,» Leo said.
While displacement in Africa has steadily increased in recent years amid economic and political challenges, Leo said each country’s rising generations should be «committed to society,» reflect their nations’ needs and confront systemic issues at home.
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Pope Leo XIV speaks as he meets with the community of Bamenda at Saint Joseph’s Cathedral in Bamenda on the fourth day of an 11-day apostolic journey to Africa April 16, 2026. (Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images)
«Africa, indeed, must be freed from the scourge of corruption. For young people, this awareness must take root from their years of formation,» he said.
«These are the witnesses of wisdom and justice, of which the African continent needs.»
He added that through education and spiritual formation, «you learn to become builders of the future of your respective countries and of a world that is more just and humane.»
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Pope Leo XIV delivers a speech during his visit to Central African Catholic University as part of his Africa tour April 17, 2026, in Yaoundé, Cameroon. (Ahmet Emin Donmez/Anadolu)
According to the World Migration Report, most of Africa’s displacement occurs internally within the continent, with 21 million Africans recorded as living in another African country in 2020.
Overseas African migration has also steadily increased, with figures more than doubling between 1990 and 2020.
In 2020, roughly 11 million Africans reportedly migrated to Europe, 5 million to Asia and 3 million to Northern America.
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Pope Leo XIV visits Central African Catholic University as part of his Africa tour April 17, 2026, in Yaoundé, Cameroon. (Ahmet Emin Donmez/Anadolu)
The causes of displacement are largely attributed to political conflict, corruption, violence and economic hardship, including widespread poverty.
These factors are particularly pronounced in countries such as Somalia, one of Africa’s largest sources of refugees; Nigeria, which is riddled with natural disasters and economic pressures; and Sudan’s surrounding areas, where civil war, political instability and food insecurity have driven large-scale displacement.
The Pope’s remarks come just days after President Donald Trump criticized Leo on Truth Social, calling him «weak on crime, and terrible for foreign policy.»
The backlash followed the pontiff’s criticism of the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran and his appeal for a return to peace.
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Tensions between the two boiled over several days before the Pope said last Saturday that it was «not in my interest at all» to debate the president.
Leo has insisted that his position is focused on bridging divides among nations and promoting peace and reconciliation.
pope leo xiv, roman catholic, africa, foreign affairs, refugees
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A federal appeals court has upheld a Texas law requiring public schools across the state to display the Ten Commandments—a major victory for religious freedom advocates who have long argued the biblical text is intertwined with America’s legal, moral, and historical heritage.
In a 9–8 ruling, the 17-member Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that Senate Bill 10, the law passed by Texas’ Republican-led legislature, does not violate either the Constitution’s Establishment Clause or the Free Exercise Clause.
«Because Plaintiffs fail to show that S.B. 10 substantially burdens their right to religious exercise, their Free Exercise claims must be dismissed,» the court’s majority opinion stated.
Tuesday’s ruling reverses a preliminary injunction issued by a federal judge in 2025, who had previously argued the law failed to demonstrate a historical tradition of public schools posting the Ten Commandments—a standard he claimed was necessary for the bill to withstand judicial precedent.
A federal appeals court ruling on Feb. 20 allows Louisiana’s Ten Commandments classroom mandate to proceed for now. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images)
«This is one of the most important religious liberty victories for Texas in our glorious history,» said Jonathan Saenz, president and attorney for Texas Values, which defended the law. «Texas continues to lead the nation in defending both religious liberty and constitutional truth.»
«Today’s ruling confirms that our state can honor the moral heritage that undergirds our legal system without violating the First Amendment,» Saenz added. «This decision makes clear that acknowledging the historical foundations of our laws is not only permissible—it is fully consistent with the Constitution.»
Texas Sen. Phil King, the Senate author of the Texas Ten Commandments Law, said the court’s decision means the state isn’t required to erase its history.
«The Ten Commandments have been referenced throughout our nation’s civic life because they are part of the historical tradition that influenced American law,» he said. «The Fifth Circuit properly applied the Constitution as written and understood, rather than rewriting it to scrub away our heritage.»
Under state law, S.B. 10 requires that a «conspicuous» copy of the Ten Commandments be displayed in every classroom in every public school and open-enrollment charter school in Texas. The court ruled that it was not bound by Stone v. Graham, a 1980 U.S. Supreme Court case in which the justices struck down a Kentucky law requiring public schools to post religious texts in classrooms.
That case centered on a bill passed by Kentucky lawmakers that required hanging posters of the Ten Commandments. At the time, the High Court found the law violated the First Amendment because it lacked a secular purpose.
However, defense lawyers argued that Stone relied entirely on the «Lemon test,» specifically the provision requiring a law to have a «secular purpose.» Because the Supreme Court explicitly abandoned the Lemon test in its 2022 decision, Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, the Fifth Circuit majority concluded that the precedents derived from Lemon—including Stone—have been effectively abrogated.
FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS ARKANSAS TEN COMMANDMENTS LAW IN CERTAIN DISTRICTS
The Ten Commandments displayed on a wall inside a building. (John Bazemore/AP)
«[W]ith Lemon extracted, there is nothing left of Stone,» the majority wrote.
In a dissenting opinion, the minority argued that the Supreme Court has never explicitly overturned the Stone v. Graham ruling.
Several judges on the court issued their own statements supporting the law’s constitutionality. Judge James C. Ho, a Trump appointee, concurred with the majority, emphasizing that the court can «uphold Ten Commandments displays in public schools under the Constitution» because the law does not come «close to imposing either an establishment of religion or a prohibition on the free exercise thereof.» Judge Andrew S. Oldham also affirmed his support, stating: «I agree with the majority that the district court’s injunction must be reversed. I further agree that, if the case is justiciable, Texas’s Ten Commandments law does not violate the Constitution.»
The dissenting opinions centered on the religious freedoms of parents with theologies other than Christianity.
«The displays required by S.B. 10 threaten to ‘undermin[e] the religious beliefs that parents wish to instill in their children’ and ‘pressure’ students ‘to conform,’ and Defendants have not satisfied strict scrutiny,» the order states.
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Judge Leslie H. Southwick, a George W. Bush appointee, wrote that: «Religion, though, is a matter of the mind and the heart. Faith cannot flourish when it is forced.»
The lawsuit was originally brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of Texas, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation on behalf of a multifaith group of families. These plaintiffs argued that the Texas law imposes a religious preference on their children in violation of the First Amendment.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, State Attorney General Ken Paxton, and the ACLU for further comment.
In a joint statement, the ACLU and other plaintiffs condemned Tuesday’s ruling and announced plans to appeal.
FILE – The State Capitol is seen in Austin, Texas, on June 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File) (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
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«We are extremely disappointed in today’s decision. The Court’s ruling goes against fundamental First Amendment principles and binding U.S. Supreme Court authority,» the statement read. «The First Amendment safeguards the separation of church and state, and the freedom of families to choose how, when, and if to provide their children with religious instruction. This decision tramples those rights. We anticipate asking the Supreme Court to reverse this decision.»
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman also praised the ruling, noting that the Ten Commandments are «foundational to our legal system and can be displayed in classrooms. We led a 19-state coalition to support Texas’ law and American history!»
texas, federal courts, christianity religion, us, education
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