SURFSIDE, JOHN McAFEE & THE IDF — A SERIES OF EXTRAORDINARY “COINCIDENCES” On June 24, 2021, the 12-story Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside, Florida, suddenly collapsed, killing 98 people. But more than five years later, several circumstances surrounding the tragedy remain worth revisiting. THE TIMELINE: 📅 June 23, 2021: Cybersecurity pioneer John McAfee was found dead in a Spanish prison, just hours after a court approved his extradition to the United States. McAfee had previously claimed to possess 31 terabytes of sensitive information capable of exposing corruption involving powerful government officials. The existence and contents of those alleged files were never independently verified. 📅 June 24, 2021: Less than a day after McAfee’s death, Champlain Towers South collapsed in Surfside, Florida. Video footage captured a catastrophic structural failure, with large sections of the building falling almost vertically into their own footprint. The visual resemblance to a controlled demolition immediately raised questions among some observers. 📅 June 27, 2021: Members of the Israel Defense Forces arrived in Surfside to participate in the search-and-rescue operation. Yes, the IDF — a foreign military organization — was physically involved in recovering victims and mapping the debris of a collapsed American residential building. The Israeli delegation included specialists from the Home Front Command, supported by advanced mapping and intelligence capabilities. And here’s where things become particularly interesting. 📅 June 22, 2026: Almost exactly five years after the collapse, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released its technical findings in a one-hour, 17-minute video presentation. According to NBC News, investigators concluded that structural connections between garage columns and the pool deck had begun failing weeks before the collapse. NIST attributed the disaster to structural deficiencies and deterioration, ruling out explosions as a contributing cause. The technical findings were released, although the comprehensive final written report was still being prepared. THE UNUSUAL IDF CONNECTION I have been unable to identify another documented instance before Surfside in which the IDF deployed a military search-and-rescue unit to assist with a civilian building collapse on American soil. Surfside appears to have been an exceptionally unusual deployment within the United States. The only one of it’s kind. Why was this particular disaster selected for Israeli military assistance, and how was that decision made? THE McAFEE CONNECTION Following the collapse, rumors circulated that McAfee maintained an apartment inside Champlain Towers South containing sensitive computer files. They remain unsubstantiated. But the broader chronology remains real. McAfee publicly claimed to possess damaging government information. He died on June 23. A residential tower collapsed in Florida on June 24. Israeli military specialists arrived shortly afterward. And almost exactly five years later, federal investigators released a 1 hour 17-minute video presentation explaining their findings. THE QUESTIONS: Why did this particular American building collapse involve an Israeli military rescue deployment? What precisely were the IDF’s responsibilities, and what access did its personnel have to the debris? What caused such a catastrophic structural failure, and how do NIST’s newly released technical findings explain the sequence captured on video? And what, if anything, ever became of the sensitive information McAfee claimed to possess? But the chronology, the unusual international military involvement, and the unanswered questions surrounding McAfee’s claims make this an interesting historical episode to revisit.