Israel news summary

Israel News for 4-5-2024

/by

News Update

The IDF is preparing for a potential Iranian attack launched from Iran, using long range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles or drones. An attack could be coordinated with simultaneous attacks by Hezbollah and other Iranian backed proxies like the Houthis. Some Israeli embassies abroad have been temporarily closed and all are on high alert.

Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke with US President Biden by phone yesterday. Here is the official White House readout of the call, “President Biden spoke by telephone with Prime Minister Netanyahu. The two leaders discussed the situation in Gaza. President Biden emphasized that the strikes on humanitarian workers and the overall humanitarian situation are unacceptable. He made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers. He made clear that U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps. He underscored that an immediate ceasefire is essential to stabilize and improve the humanitarian situation and protect innocent civilians, and he urged the Prime Minister to empower his negotiators to conclude a deal without delay to bring the hostages home. The two leaders also discussed public Iranian threats against Israel and the Israeli people. President Biden made clear that the United States strongly supports Israel in the face of those threats.

One of the key points of the conversation was that Biden “made clear that U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps.”  Secretary of State Blinken said it more clearly, “If we don’t see the changes that we need to see, there will be changes in our own policy.”

Does this threat of withdrawing support extend to an IDF invasion of Rafah to destroy thousands of Hamas terrorists? Also, is Biden insisting that Israel agree to the demands of Hamas in order to “conclude a deal without delay” to release the hostages?

Biden is clearly caving in to the pressure of the pro-Hamas elements of his party and the threat of losing votes in Michigan, a key state in the presidential election. How far will he go?

The US reportedly is considering marking products from settlements in the West Bank as from the settlements instead of as “made in Israel”.

A terrorist tried to attack policemen with a hammer at a gas station at the Megiddo Junction in the north. The police managed to stop the terrorist, causing minor injuries, and arrest him.

Undercover Border Police officers killed a Palestinian man who was throwing an explosive device at troops during a raid in Tulkarem to arrest 3 terror suspects.

Based on an investigation, 2 senior officers were to be dismissed and several other top commanders in the Israel Defense Forces were formally censured for their involvement in a deadly drone strike against a group of aid workers with the World Central Kitchen organization. The investigation found that the strike was ordered against the convoy of WCK vehicles after officers suspected they carried a Hamas gunman, despite a low level of confidence, and against army regulations. The officers did not identify the vehicles as belonging to WCK when the strike was ordered. For more, click here.

Several rockets were fired at Sderot and the surrounding area from Gaza yesterday. Rockets and drones were fired at northern Israel. The IDF is responding to the launches.

For a complete list of the soldiers killed in the ground offensive, click here.

 

Israel news summary

Israel News for 4-4-2024

/by

News Update

The security cabinet is meeting today to discuss, what is being viewed as, an imminent threat of an Iranian attack in some form. The IDF has cancelled weekend leave for combat soldiers and is calling up reserves in the areas of aerial defense, intelligence and the home front command. Iran has threatened revenge for the Israeli attack earlier this week that killed senior commanders in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corp in Damascus.

The Waze navigation app has been showing Israelis in central Israel that they are in Beirut today. Israel’s cybersecurity chief Yigal Unna told Ynet that the disruption of the GPS apps was an effective tool to confuse weapons using the technology to reach their targets.

Security forces arrested 11 Arabs, from the West Bank and Negev, suspected of planning to assassinate National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and attack targets such as military bases, the Ben Gurion Airport and government offices. For more, click here. 

Lidor Levi, the 34 year old man stabbed in a terror attack in Gan Yavne on Sunday, died of his wounds. He leaves behind his pregnant wife and a six-month-old daughter.

Hamas has rejected all Israeli proposals for a deal to release the hostages and is sticking to their original, unacceptable, demands.

The US, Britain and France opposed a Russian-drafted U.N. Security Council statement to condemn the Israeli attack on Iran’s embassy compound in Syria earlier this week.

For a complete list of the soldiers killed in the ground offensive, click here.

 

Israel news summary

Israel News for 4-3-2024

/by

News Update

A terrorist rammed his vehicle into police officers near Kochav Yair early this morning, injuring 4 officers, 1 seriously. The terrorist then exited his vehicle at a checkpoint and attempted to stab security forces there before being neutralized.

Security forces arrested 20 terror suspects and confiscated weapons and explosives in overnight raids in the territories.

The government released figures of the amounts of aid delivered to Gaza since the start of the war. These include 12,000 aid trucks containing 252,585 tons of food, over 3.3 million cubic meters of water via pipelines and 20 tons of medical equipment including two million vaccines doses of for various diseases. For more, click here. 

For a complete list of the soldiers killed in the ground offensive, click here.

The Temple Mount will be closed to Jews and non-Muslims during the last 10 days of Ramadan and the 3 days following the month, as in previous years, despite demands by National Security Minister Ben Gvir to keep it open.

An exhibition depicting the horror of the October 7 massacre was displayed at the entrance to the United Nations headquarters in New York. For more, click here. 

Large anti-government protests have been taking place every day this week in Jerusalem.

 

Israel news summary

Israel News for 4-2-2024

/by

News Update

An IDF strike in Gaza on a vehicle in central Gaza mistakenly killed 7 workers of the international aid organization World Central Kitchen. The IDF has launched an investigation into the incident.

The IDF struck over 25 Hamas targets in Khan Yunis, including weapons depots. Ground and air force

For a complete list of the soldiers killed in the ground offensive, click here.

Yesterday, an airstrike against the home of the Iranian ambassador to Syria in Damascus killed Mohammad Reza Zahedi, the head of the Palestine branch of the IRGC Quds Force. Hossein Allah, the head of the General Staff of the Revolutionary Guards in Syria and Lebanon and Haji Rahimi, deputy of the Quds Force of the IRGC in Syria and Lebanon, were also killed, along with several other officers. According to the Iranian ambassador in Syria, two F-35 jets fired missiles at the building belonging to the Iranian embassy in Damascus, and the building adjacent to it. Footage from the scene showed the strike was precise, hitting only its target without any collateral damage to other buildings nearby. The buildings served as military command posts and were therefore legitimate targets. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei vowed revenge. He also blamed the US for being aware of the attack. Russia condemned the attack.

Meanwhile, Iranian oil exports have hit $38 billion in the last 12 months, despite US sanctions.

The Knesset heard testimony from 2 female former hostages regarding the sexual abuse that hostages are enduring daily.

The Biden administration is reportedly set to approve the sale of 50 F-15 fighter aircraft to Israel, in a deal worth more than $18 billion. Delivery of the planes would occur over a period of 5 years.

The international credit rating agency Fitch reaffirmed Israel’s credit rating at an A+ level and the removal of the “Negative Watch”. For more, click here. 

 

 

Israel news summary

Israel News for 4-1-2024

/by

News Update

IDF jets struck at least 10 Hezbollah targets simultaneously in southern Lebanon this morning.

An attack drone reportedly launched from Iraq hit a building at an IDF base in Eilat, causing light damage but no casualties.

Last night, the air force launched a large attack against the Center for Scientific Research in Jamrya, Damascus. The center has played a key role in the development of nuclear, chemical, biological, and missile technology and weapons over the past number of years.

A terrorist from Hebron who worked at a store in the commercial area of Gan Yavne stabbed 3 people there, using 2 knives, yesterday. Police neutralized the terrorist. The terrorist’s work permit had recently been revoked and he was entering Israel to work illegally through a hole in the security fence.

Two weeks after IDF forces raided Al-Shifa hospital, the IDF has withdrawn from the complex. The IDF said in a statement today that, “IDF and Shin Bet troops have completed precise operational activity in the area of Al Shifa Hospital and exited the area of the hospital. The troops killed terrorists in close-quarters encounters, located numerous weapons and intelligence documents throughout the hospital, while preventing harm to civilians, patients and medical teams.” Around 200 terrorists, including some high ranking commanders, were killed in the operation and hundreds more arrested.

IDF soldiers killed in Gaza:

Staff Sgt. Nadav Cohen, 20, of the 7th Armored Brigade’s 77th Battalion, from Haifa.

Sergeant First Class Sivan Weil, 20, a commando in the elite Agoz unit, from Ra’anana.

For a complete list of the soldiers killed in the ground offensive, click here.

Police today arrested the sister of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in her home in Tel Sheva, a Bedouin community in southern Israel. She is suspected of maintaining connections with Hamas operatives, endorsing the terrorist group, and encouraging as well as aiding acts of terrorism within Israel.

According to the Israeli authority coordinating humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza, between 150 and 200 aid trucks enter Gaza every day. UN agencies and aid organizations operating in Gaza are unable to cope with the volume of supplies brought in by trucks every day, with hundreds of trucks waiting on the Gazan side of the Kerem Shalom crossing for distribution by aid bodies at any given moment. Food prices have been cut in half. There appears to be an abundance of food in the markets. [of course, the world still accuses Israel of causing famine in Gaza.]