Archive for category: news

News Update

Yesterday afternoon, dozens of Israeli aircraft struck around 100 Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon, containing hundreds of rockets aimed at Israel.

Hezbollah fired a large barrage of rockets at the northern town of Metula, damaging 50 houses. At least 70 rocket wee fired at Safed, 50 at Meron and 70 at the southern Golan. U.S. officials do not believe that an Israeli ground invasion is imminent, since reserves have not been called up. The U.S. and its European allies called for a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

Hezbollah is reportedly struggling to regroup amid worries about the extent to which its communications infrastructure was compromised by Israel. Hezbollah leader Nasrallah said in a speech in Lebanon yesterday, “There is no doubt that we have been subjected to a major security and humanitarian blow that is unprecedented in the history of the resistance in Lebanon at least and unprecedented in the history of Lebanon.” Israeli jets also flew over Beirut, setting off sonic booms, during his speech.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, U.S. officials don’t think a hostage deal will be reached during President Biden’s term in office. According to the officials, one of the main challenges is the number of prisoners Hamas is demanding in exchange for the hostages. Another challenge is that Hamas refuses to agree to demands that they have made, which have already been agreed to by Israel.

News Update

In an operation taken straight out of a spy thriller, Israel remotely detonated thousands of pagers carried by Hezbollah operatives and related persons in Lebanon, Syria and Iran. The pagers were part of a 5,000 pager shipment ordered from a company in Taiwan months ago. Explosive material was embedded near the battery of each pager, with a remotely activated switch embedded to trigger the detonation. At 3:30 p.m., a message resembling a directive from Hezbollah leadership was sent to the pagers, activating the explosives. Around 4,000 Hezbollah terrorists were reportedly wounded, hundreds critically. Many lost eyes and fingers. Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, lost an eye and suffered severe injuries to the other.

Hsu Ching-kuang, the founder and president of the Taiwanese company Gold Apollo that reportedly manufactured the pagers, that his small company, which employs just 40 people in New Taipei, had produced the devices involved in the attack. He said that they were produced by a European company called BAC, which was licensed to use Gold Apollo’s brand. The company’s website has been taken down. The sale was facilitated by a Hungarian company based in Budapest. Hezbollah used pagers to avoid its terrorists from being located. So much for that plan.

A Hezbollah spokesperson, speaking to the Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar, said, “Within a minute, the enemy dealt one of its worst blows to Hezbollah since the conflict began,” adding that the operation showcased Israel’s technological and intelligence superiority, significantly disrupting Hezbollah’s communications. He said, “The enemy has pushed the resistance beyond the traditional rules of engagement that have held for a year. We are now facing a new reality.”

The IDF is bracing for Hezbollah retaliation. The IDF is redeploying its elite 98th division from Gaza to the northern border.

Four IDF soldiers were killed in Gaza, when the building they were inside exploded:

– Cpt. Daniel Mimon Toaff, 23, from Moreshet, deputy company commander of the Givati Brigade’s Shaked Battalion.
– Staff Sgt. Agam Naim, 20, from Mishmarot, a paramedic in the 401st Armored Brigade’s 52nd Battalion.
– Staff Sgt. Amit Bakri, 21, from Yoshivia, serving in the Givati Brigade’s Shaked Battalion.
– Staff Sgt. Dotan Shimon, 21, from Elazar, also in the Givati Brigade’s Shaked Battalion.

In the same incident, an officer and two soldiers from the Shaked Battalion were seriously injured, while two others sustained moderate injuries.

The Israel Air Force struck Hamas terrorists operating from within a command and control center based in the Ibn Al-Haytam School in the Gaza City area today. Hamas terrorists were using the structure to plan and execute attacks on IDF troops and Israeli territory.

News Update

Over the weekend, the Houthis in Yemen fired a ballistic missile at central Israel that seems to have penetrated at least some of Israel’s air defenses before being intercepted. Now Yemen is reportedly bracing for an Israeli retaliation and fear that another attack on the port of Hodeidah will completely put it out of business. Israel’s security cabinet is discussing the issue today.

A Border Police officer was lightly wounded in a stabbing attack at the Damascus Gate entrance to Jerusalem’s Old City. The terrorist was neutralized at the scene.

The IDF is reinforcing positions along the Lebanon border and moving troops into fortified firing positions overlooking Lebanese villages. The idf continues to strike Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. For more, click here.

There are reports that Prime Minister Netanyahu is considering firing Defense Minister Gallant and replacing him with former Likud party rival Gideon Sa’ar, who has been in the opposition and reportedly has positive relations with the ultra-Orthodox parties. Gallant has criticized the need to maintain troops in the Philadelphi corridor and called for hostage deal as the number one priority.

Health Minister Uriel Busso said some captured Nukhba terrorists who received medical treatment in Israel, following the atrocities of the October 7 massacre, were taken into Gaza and aided forces in locating and rescuing hostages. For more, click here. 

According to research by the Center for New American Security, Israel has been the world’s largest supplier of suicide drones over the past 28 years. Turkey was the world’s leading supplier of armed drones.

News Update

According to Syrian opposition sources, the Israeli attack against targets in Syria yesterday included IDF commandos dropping from helicopters and raiding a security complex belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), where they seized equipment and documents, rigged the building with explosives and destroyed it with additional airstrikes. Several Iranians were arrested for questioning. At least 3 Syrian soldiers were killed. Airstrikes completely destroyed the underground facility.

Around 60 rockets were launched from Lebanon into northern Israel on Wednesday afternoon. Anti-tank missiles were also fired throughout the day at Metula, Mount Dov and Kibbutz Dan. One 39 year old member of Kibbutz Dan was seriously injured. In response to the escalating attacks, the IDF advised residents of evacuated northern communities and certain non-evacuated kibbutzim to restrict movement, avoid gatherings, and stay near shelter. Many residents have chosen to remain. The IDF has responded with dozens of strikes against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.

Staff Sergeant Geri Gideon Hanghal, 24, from Nof HaGalil, a soldier of the Kfir Brigade’s Nahshon Battalion, was killed in the ramming attack near Asaf Junction, close to the West Bank settlement of Beit El, yesterday. He was a member of the Bnei Menashe community.

Terror attacks are increasing in the West Bank and security officials are warning of an escalation in attacks approaching the Jewish holidays. The IDF is continuously carrying out anti-terror operations in the territories. This morning, 5 terrorists were eliminated in an airstrike in Tubas. Yesterday, 2 airstrikes killed 8 terrorists in Tulkarm. Prime Minister Netanyahu visited the Jordanian border yesterday and promised to work with Jordan to strengthen the border.

The Israeli IDF and Shin Bet announced the elimination of two Hamas terrorists involved in the October 7 massacre, one of whom played a role in the abduction and murder of IDF soldier Cpl. Noa Marciano, who was killed at Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza.

According to an investigative report by Israeli channel Kan, Israeli Air Force (IAF) Commander Tomer Bar remained unaware of the mass-casualty event at the Nova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im for many hours, despite widespread media coverage and social media posts from concerned relatives.

The investigation revealed that on the morning of the attack, the IAF was at its lowest state of readiness, with only two fighter jets and two helicopters on short notice for takeoff across the country. At 6:30 a.m., only a single drone was flying over Gaza, capturing unusual activity that went unnoticed. When fighter jets were scrambled, they were directed to protect strategic assets, leaving southern Israeli towns vulnerable for hours. One senior IAF officer revealed that pilots patrolled above a gas platform for hours, contributing little to the ongoing battle. The investigation also uncovered that Hamas had detailed intelligence on IAF bases, including runway locations, and targeted them with rockets, complicating aircraft takeoffs.

The IDF is currently conducting an in-depth review of the events of October 7, including a detailed investigation of the IAF’s performance. These findings will be made public once the review is complete. For more, click here.

The “Addis Ababa Declaration of Africa-Israel Cooperation and Partnership” was signed by lawmakers from countries including Botswana, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia during the first Africa-Israel Parliamentary Summit in Addis Ababa, which ran Sept. 10-11. he resolution declares, “We affirm Jerusalem as the legitimate, undivided, and eternal capital of the State of Israel.” It also calls for respecting the historical, legal, cultural, and religious connections of the Jewish people to historic Palestine, including Jerusalem and “the Judea and Samaria ‘West Bank.’”

News Update

Syria’s state media (SANA) last night reported Israeli airstrikes in northwestern Syria against multiple military sites, including the Scientific Studies and Research Center. SANA claimed 14 people were killed and 43 wounded. Other Syrian sources report 5 killed and 19 wounded. Major damage was caused. Arab media is describing this as the largest Israeli attack on Syria in years, involving waves of air and drone strikes. Later it was reported that some of what were believed to be attacks were failed Syrian attempts to intercept Israeli rockets. Some Syrian missiles fell on homes.

Later last night, the IDF sai, “Overnight, the IAF struck Hezbollah military structures and a launcher in the areas of Kfarkela, Taybeh, Hanine and Yarine, in southern Lebanon. Additionally, yesterday (Sunday), the IAF struck a Hezbollah military structure in the area of Khirbet Selm in southern Lebanon.”

Today, Hezbollah launched a wave of drones against northern Israel. One drone hit an apartment on the 14th floor of a building in Nahariya. No casualties were reported.

Yesterday, a terrorist from Jordan killed 3 Israeli workers at the Allenby Bridge Crossing, which connects the West Bank and Jordan. The 3 killed were, Yohanan Shchori, 61, from the settlement of Ma’ale Efraim, Yuri Birnbaum, 65, from the settlement of Na’ama, and Adrian Marcelo Podsmeser, from the city of Ariel. The Islamic Jihad said the attack was carried out by one of the “Jordanian heroes” and was a heroic act. “It is a true expression of the pulse of the Jordanian people and the Arab and Muslim nations, and the only response that the American administration, which is complicit with the criminal entity, can understand.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu promised, at a meeting of the Security Cabinet, to allocate funds in next year’s state budget for securing the border with Jordan, through which Iran smuggles a significant number of weapons to terrorists in the West Bank.

The IDF showed a video of the tunnel where the 6 murdered hostages were held, to the security cabinet yesterday. The hostages were executed on Thursday night, as troops moved closer to their location. For more, click here.

Noa Goldenberg, 27, was indicted in a Tel Aviv court on Monday for assaulting a civil servant and disrupting a police officer’s job after she allegedly threw sand at National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on Friday. According to the indictment, Ben Gvir was walking on the beach in Tel Aviv with his wife and six kids when Noa Goldenberg threw a ball of wet sand at the minister from the water’s edge. The Police issued a statement saying, “Israel Police treats harm to elected officials severely regardless of their political leanings and will act against anyone who tried to harm public servants and civilians in general equally and unbiasedly.” For more, click here.