Israel news summary

Israel News for 6-10-2024

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News Update

As you’ve all already heard, IDF forces rescued 4 hostages in a daring raid in the crowded Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza on Saturday morning. Noa Argamani, 26, was being held in one apartment and Almog Meir Jan, 22, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41, in the apartment of a Hamas terrorist who was also a reporter for Al Jazeera, a couple of blocks away.

Special forces teams from the Shin Bet and Yamam (police anti-terror force) entered the area disguised as Palestinian refugees and raided both apartments simultaneously. The terrorists and family holding Noa Argamani were taken by surprise and neutralized, but the terrorists holding the men managed to fire at the rescue team, killing team leader Chief Inspector Arnon Zamora, 36.

As the rescue teams began moving the out with the hostages they came under intense fire from Hamas terrorists all over the neighborhood. One of their vehicles was hit. A large force of paratroopers entered the battle while air force helicopters and planes attacked Hamas terrorists in a massive barrage of fire to cover the extraction of the troops and hostages.

The hostages and all of the Israeli forces were extracted from Nuseirat and the hostages were taken by helicopter to Israel, where they were reunited with their families and loved ones and given medical care. The hostages appeared to be in good condition.

The hostage rescue operation was the result of precise intelligence obtained by Israel with the assistance of American and British intelligence and a few weeks of intense training by special forces on models of the apartments.

According to the IDF, around 100 people were killed in the raid, including dozens of terrorists embedded throughout the civilian population and some civilians, many of whom were killed by Hamas fire and some in the Israeli air strikes. [Civilian deaths could end if Hamas would release the remaining 120 hostages they are holding.]

IDF combat operations continue in central Gaza and in Rafah.

In the north, Hezbollah continues to fire missiles and drones and the IDF continues to respond with air and artillery strikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken held talks with in Cairo with President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi of Egypt today and will continue on to Israel later in the day to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, in an attempt to get the latest U.S. backed ceasefire proposal accepted. Hamas has, as yet, not been willing to accept it. The U.S. asked the United Nations Security Council to vote on its latest resolution for a cease-fire in Gaza, based on the proposal.

According to an NBC news report, senior officials in the Biden administration have discussed the possibility of negotiating a unilateral deal with Hamas for the release of the five Israeli-American hostages still held in Gaza, without Israeli participation, if the current talks don’t result in a deal.

National Union party leader Benny Gantz announced his resignation from the wartime unity government and called for new election. Netanyahu stills controls a narrow 64 seat majority in the Knesset, but is now completely dependent on the support of the far right parties led by Ben Gvir and Smotrich, who have both threatened to bring down the government if Netanyahu accepts the U.S. backed ceasefire proposal.

 

Israel news summary

Israel News for 6-7-2024

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News Update

The Air force used precision mission to strike 3 classrooms in a UNWRA school in the area of Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, where 30 Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas terrorists were hiding and preparing to mount an imminent attack against Israeli forces.  Many of the terrorists participated in the October 7th massacre. The IDF has so far identified and released the names of 9 terrorists killed in the strike.  Hamas claims that 33 civilians, including 9 children were killed in the strike, but these claims have not been verified.  IDF spokesman Admiral Hagari said that Israel had twice delayed the strike because it had identified civilians in the area. According to international law, Israel has the right to strike any target, including schools and hospitals, that are being used by combatants.

IDF Northern Command chief Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin said yesterday that while the army is prepared for a full-scale offensive in the north against Hezbollah aggression, such an operation will not commence until the fighting in Gaza is concluded. Senior Israeli officials have suggested that the northern conflict might be resolved through a settlement, but they acknowledge it is directly linked to the situation in Gaza. As long as there is no agreement in Gaza, the fighting in the north is expected to continue.

According to a CNN report, Qatar has threatened to expel senior Hamas officials from Doha if Hamas does not accept a deal for the release of Israeli hostages and an end to the war in Gaza. Egypt is also reportedly applying pressure on Hamas to accept a deal.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that he will include Israel in the blacklist of countries and organizations that harm children in conflict zones. This list also includes Russia, as well as terrorist groups such as ISIS, Al-Qaeda and Boko Haram. For more, click here. 

Israel news summary

Israel News for 6-6-2024

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News Update

Terrorists tried to infiltrate into Israel from the Rafah area. IDF troops engaged in a firefight with the terrorists, killing 3 of them. Warrant Officer Zeed Mazarib, 34, from Zarzir, a tracker in the Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade, was killed in the fight.

Sergeant First Class (Res.) Rafael Kauders, 39, from Tzur Hadassah, who served as the Tradition and Spirit Coordinator in the Alon 228 Brigade, was tragically killed yesterday in a UAV attack by Hezbollah on Hurfeish. A female soldier was severely wounded and 8 other soldiers lightly wounded.

Looks like Hamas has rejected the latest Israeli ceasefire proposal, endorsed and presented by President Biden. What a surprise.

I posted 2 new videos on the Youtube channel yesterday, one about the Hamas rejection and the other about Jerusalem Day.

Israel news summary

Israel News for 6-5-2024

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News Update

Fighting continues in Gaza, Hezbollah continues to fire at Israel, fires continue to rage in the north, Israel continues to strike Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, IDF to call up 50,000 more reservists, and it looks very much like there will be all out war against Hezbollah in the very near future.

Today is the 57th anniversary of the liberation and unification of Jerusalem and the return of Jewish sovereignty to the entire city including our holiest place, the Temple Mount. It was also during these days that Hebron, the burial place of our patriarchs, and Bethlehem, the birthplace of King David, and many other biblical cities and towns that were part of our ancestral Jewish kingdom, were liberated from Jordanian occupation and returned to Jewish control.

When Christianity ruled Jerusalem, it built a church on the Temple Mount, in the location where our Holy Temple stood for close to 1,000 years. When the Moslems conquered Jerusalem they magically transformed our Temple Mount into Islam’s third holiest site and replaced the church with a mosque and golden domed shrine.

When the Jews took back the Temple Mount in 1967, we did not follow the precedent set by the world’s great religions and remove the Islamic structure to prepare to construct the Jewish Temple. Instead, we let Islam remain in our holiest place and gave it administrative control over it. That mosque, Al Aqsa, is now the rallying cry for Muslims to “liberate” it, and the entire land of Israel, from infidel control and return it to Islamic control, exactly as commanded in the Koran and Islamic teachings.

The reason Israel didn’t, and has not, removed the Islamic presence from the Temple Mount is because doing so would cause worldwide condemnation and pariah status, Islamic outrage and all out war. But isn’t that happening already? The Arab nations and Iran would still destroy us if they had the power to do so, and they continue to try, via Hezbollah, Hamas and their obedient Palestinian proxies. Israel is already condemned and vilified in the international community. How much worse could it get??

Of course, no one is advocating destroying the Moslem religious places on the Temple Mount, like what the Jordanians did when they blew up all of the synagogues in the ancient Jewish quarter of the Old City when they ruled Jerusalem from 1948 – 1967. In a grand gesture of please, friendship and brotherhood the leaders of Islam would voluntarily agree to relocate their holy places to a nearby location off of the mount, at Jewish expense, and Moslems would be permitted to visit the mount at specified times.  Such a gesture would usher in a messianic-like era of peace and prosperity for the entire world.

What an amazing opportunity for Islam to prove to the world that it is a truly a religion of peace, and not one of war (Jihad) against Jews and Christians?

On this Jerusalem Day, let us pray for the peace and security of Jerusalem and the entire land of Israel, and for the peaceful return of our Holy Temple to its place on the Temple Mount.

Israel news summary

Israel News for 6-4-2024

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News Update

Fires caused by Hezbollah missiles and drones are raging around Kiryat Shemona, Metula, Safed and other communities in the Galilee and Golan. Firefighters and military firefighting battalions are fighting the fires. Some have been contained. Extensive damage to nature and some farms and plantations has been caused.

According to a recent report, suspected arson cases have skyrocketed in Judea and Samaria, especially near IDF bases.

[What would the U.S. do if Canada was firing missiles and drones at cities in Maine, Vermont and New York causing mass evacuations, extensive damage and raging forest fires? Would a massive and overwhelming response take 6 months to come, or just 6 hours?]

The IDF said that hostages Nadav Popplewell, 51, Yoram Metzgr, 80, Amiram Cooper, 85 and Chaim Peri, 79 were killed in Hamas captivity 4 months ago, during the IDF operation in Khan Yunis. Their deaths were confirmed by a panel of experts after examining forensic evidence, although the circumstances of their deaths remained unclear. The four men were being held together. Their bodies are still being held by Hamas. For more, click here.

IDF forces ambushed and killed 2 terrorists near Tulkarm today, as the terrorists were heading to fire across the security fence at an Israeli community. Yesterday, undercover Border Police officers killed a wanted terrorist in Nablus. Several other terrorists who fired at the force were also shot.

Maldives has apparently not decided to ban Israelis from entering the country. And Delta Airlines will start flying to Israel again this month.

Someone anonymously donated 1 billion shekels to Bar Ilan University. The donor is a Jewish North American who participated in World War II, viewed Israel as a safe haven for the Jewish people, and recognized the importance of its economic and social stability. The university’s president said, “We will invest this legacy gift in advancing Deep Tech sciences that will impact the future of Israel and humanity. This is just the beginning, and I call on additional partners to join us on the scientific path we are leading for the benefit of our society and economy.”

Israel news summary

Israel News for 6-3-2024

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News Update

The IDF is striking strategic Hezbollah targets in multiple locations deep inside Lebanon. Several assassinations of Hezbollah terrorists, via drones, have also been reported. Artillery is shelling targets in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah is responding with drone attacks at Metullah and Kiryat Shemona.

Yesterday, a Hezbollah drone crashed into a hostel in Nahariya. Hezbollah also fired a large barrage of rockets at Katzrin, in the Golan, triggering major fires. The Israel Nature and Parks Authority reported that approximately 2,500 acres of land were burned in the fires and that it could take several years for the areas to recover. Fires also broke out in Kiryat Shemona due to rocket fire there. Hezbollah has expanded its range of attacks to include the cities of Nahariya and Acre.

On Saturday, Hezbollah fired 2 Burkan short-range ballistic missiles at Kiryat Shemona, causing extensive damage to an IDF base there. No casualties were reported.

According to IDF sources, Hezbollah has used only about 5% of its rocket and missile arsenal and that they are testing IDF air defenses.

Arsonists are suspected to have started several fires in Jerusalem, in the valley near the Israel Museum. Flams reached the gates of the museum before they were put out by firefighters, along with six firefighting planes.

According to Syrian sources, an Israeli airstrike killed 12 pro-Iranian terrorists in a factory in the Aleppo area last night.

The Maldives government will ban Israeli passport holders from entering the island nation.

On Friday, President Biden presented a U.S. backed Israeli proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release plan. The plan has 3 phases. The first phase would include a 42 day ceasefire, withdrawal of Israeli forces from populated areas, return of some hostages, handing over hundreds of Palestinian terrorists (including murderers) held in Israeli prisons, return of Palestinian civilians to their homes in all areas of Gaza, and a surge of humanitarian aid. Phase 2 would then be negotiated, which would aim for a release of all remaining hostages and a total end to hostilities. Prime Minister Netanyahu made it clear that any ceasefire would only be temporary and that Israel would continue the war until Hamas was destroyed militarily and could not rule Gaza again. The proposal is now in the hands of Hamas.

Last night, Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant spoke with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and told him that, “Israel would not stop the war in Gaza until it brings back all of the hostages and collapses Hamas’ rule,” and added, “In any case, after the war, Hamas will not rule Gaza.”