Archive for category: news

News Update

Israeli strikes have eliminated top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyah. Shukr, who was killed in Beirut, was Hezbollah’s most senior military commander and was also one of the terrorists responsible for the 1983 Beirut truck bombing that killed 241 US soldiers and injured 128 more. He had a 15 million US dollar bounty on his head. Haniyah, who was killed at his residence in Tehran, the head of Hamas’ political bureau. The Ayatollah of Iran Khamenei said, “The Zionist entity will pay a heavy price for the crime it committed, and revenge for the martyr Haniyeh will fall upon the Islamic Republic of Iran, given that the attack occurred on Iranian territory.”

A terrorist fired at an Israeli car at the junction leading to Kiryat Arba (near Hebron) and then stabbed the driver in the head. The driver, a man in his 40’s, was seriously injured. Two female passengers were unharmed. The terrorist fled the scene and is being hunted by IDF forces.

The 98th Division, an elite counter-terrorism unit, has left Khan Yunis after an 8 day operation during which it destroyed approximately 100 km of tunnels, located and destroyed 15 Hamas command and control complexes, and completed its objective of defeating the Khan Younis Brigade. The division also rescued the bodies of 5 hostages and came close to capturing Hamas leader Sinwar.

News Update

The IDF said that a soldier died and two others were seriously injured in southern Gaza, in what the army is investigating as an accident. Staff Sgt. Noam Douek, 19, from Kiryat Motzkin, who served in the 401st Armored Brigade’s 9th Battalion died and 2 other soldiers from the 9th Battalion are in serious condition from toxic fumes from a generator in their sleeping quarters overnight.

Cpt. Ariel Topaz, a 24-year-old from Pardes Hana who was an officer in the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Research division, has died from severe injuries sustained in a car-ramming attack outside a military base in central Israel earlier this month. Topaz was among four off-duty soldiers injured in the terror attack on July 14 at the Nir Tzvi junction.

Three soldiers securing a route near Nabi Ilyas, near Qalqilya, were injured when terrorists in a passing vehicle fired upon them. The IDF is actively pursuing the attackers and strengthening security in the surrounding routes and towns.

IDF forces retrieved the bodies of 5 hostages from Khan Younis yesterday:

• Maya Goren, 56, a kindergarten teacher from Nir Oz, was killed and her body was taken by Hamas terrorists on October 7 while she was preparing the kibbutz kindergarten.
• Oren Goldin, 33, a member of the Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak security team, was killed fighting the terrorists, and his body was taken to Gaza.
• Sgt. Kiril Brodski, 19, was part of the forward command team under Col. Asaf Hamami of the Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade. He was killed and his body abducted near Kibbutz Nirim during the attack.
• Staff Sgt. Tomer Yaakov Ahimas, 20, also served in the forward command team of Col. Hamami. He was killed and his body abducted along with Sgt. Brodski near Kibbutz Nirim.
• Ravid Katz, a member of the Kibbutz Nir Oz security team, was killed while fighting the terrorists on October 7, and his body was taken by Hamas.

Hezbollah attacks and IDF strikes continue in the north.

Prime Minister Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. The V.P. did not attend Netanyahu’s rousing address to Congress yesterday. About half of the Democrats in Congress boycotted Netanyahu’s speech (100 out of 212 in the House and 27 out of 51 in the Senate), including Nancy Pelosi. Democratic Party leaders that did attend criticized the speech for not being bipartisan and for failing to address a realistic vision for ending the war in Gaza. Thousands of protestors demonstrated outside the Capitol, with some burning American flags and effigies of Netanyahu and committing acts of vandalism. There were, however, many signs of overwhelming bipartisan support for Israel throughout the speech.

A senior official from the Biden administration indicated optimism about a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, suggesting that the agreement is nearing its final stages. The President will discuss the ongoing negotiations with Prime Minister Netanyahu. For more, click here. 

News Update

An IDF airstrike in Tulkarm killed 5 terrorists including Ashraf Nafa, commander of Hamas’ military wing in the Tulkarm, and Muhammad Abu Abdu, commander of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades. One of the terrorists was a woman dressed as a paramedic, carrying a rifle. The Palestinian Red Crescent condemned her actions, saying, “Her conduct harmed all medical teams and she does not represent us. Israel will show the world that among emergency responders was an armed woman.”

Hezbollah launched multiple drones and rockets into northern Israel, triggering warning sirens in various communities including Kiryat Shmona and Akko. Several drones hit Mount Meron. This followed an Israeli drone strike on a vehicle in southern Lebanon that killed a Hezbollah operative and injured another.

Two Defense Ministry employees patrolling the security fence were lightly injured by an explosion today while inspecting suspicious objects near Kibbutz Merav.

Lieutenant Mordechai Kadmon, 23, from Nof Ayalon, was killed on Monday by a grenade explosion, outside of operational activity, in Gaza. The IDF is investigating the incident.

Hamas and the Palestinian Authority’s Fatah movement signed a declaration to reconcile and to establish an interim national government to govern postwar Gaza. The signing, which included senior officials from Hamas and Fatah, was hosted by China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing. For more, click here.

Officials from Israel, the United States and the United Arab Emirates reportedly held a secret meeting in Abu Dhabi last week to discuss plans for postwar Gaza. For more, click here.

Education Minister Yoav Kisch said the upcoming school year would not begin in the northern communities that had been evacuated. He said, “This is an unfortunate decision that was imposed on us and is accepted with a heavy heart. I once again call on the Prime Minister and the heads of the security establishment to act now and strongly against Lebanon – there is no escaping the decision to wage a massive war against Lebanon to restore peace and stability to the residents of the north and for the future of the State of Israel.”

Late last night, I joined thousands of Jews to visit the traditional locations of the tombs of Joshua and Caleb ben Yefuneh, in the Arab town of Kifl Hares, near Ariel. Jews are not permitted in the town due to security concerns, but the IDF facilitates Jewish visits to the grade 4 times a year. Visiting the graves of our forefathers together with thousands of other Jews was an incredibly moving and meaningful experience and serves as a reminder to our Arab cousins, and to the world, that we have not forgotten or forsaken our heritage and history. Am Yisrael Chai!

News Update

An upgraded Iranian UAV launched from Yemen by the Houthis exploded in Tel Aviv last night, killing a man, Yevgeny Perder, 50, and injuring 10 others. A preliminary investigation by the IDF found that the drone was detected during its flight but was not shot down due to human error. Israeli officials told Ynet that, “there will be a response to the shooting of the Iranian drone by the Houthis” and that they would not rule out the possibility of a retaliatory action on Yemeni soil, saying such action was “on the table.” The drone exploded across the street from the U.S. embassy building, which Israeli officials think might have been the target of the attack. U.S. forces in the region reportedly intercepted a ballistic missile and several drones launched from Yemen towards Israel.

An IDF strike in Lebanon last night killed Hebollah’s Radwan Force commander Ali Jaafar Maatuk and six other Hezbollah members. Additional strikes caused more Hezbollah casualties in various locations in Lebanon.

Sergeant First Class (res.) Efraim Ben Amram, 25, of the 53rd Battalion, 188th Brigade, died from injuries sustained in a Hezbollah drone attack on June 30 in the Golan Heights. Sixteen other soldiers were also injured in the attack.

Prime Minister Netanyahu visited IDF troops in Rafah. He emphasized that Israel’s control over the Philadelphia corridor and the Rafah border crossing would aid in the release of hostages held by Hamas. Netanyahu is expected to meet with the cease-fire delegation to discuss and formulate policies to progress towards a deal.

In his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, former President Trump said, “To the entire world, I tell you this: We want our hostages back, and they better be back before I assume office, or you will be paying a very big price.”

Yesterday I visited the area known as the Gaza Envelope, where the horrors of October 7th were perpetrated. The places I visited include Sderot, the site of the Nova festival massacre, the car graveyard and Kibbutz Alumim. I don’t have to tell you about what happened on October 7th, because you already have read and watched live footage and first hand accounts by survivors on YouTube and other media. What I can tell you is that actually seeing the sites and hearing testimony for actual survivors, face to face, brings the horrors to life in a very powerful way. You can actually feel and hear the voices of the young men and women crying out from the earth, sanctified by their innocent blood. And you can only begin to imagine the inhuman acts of depravity perpetrated by the hordes of terrorists — which I was told by many were way beyond anything that a normal human being could even contemplate, especially as relates to the inhumanity against the women.

The message that I came out with is one we are all familiar with from a different era: Never Again. Today, “Never Again” refers to Hamas, and the only way to accomplish that sacred mission to utterly destroy the military capability of Hamas and to prevent that satanic organization from ever ruling again, anywhere. Israeli forces have already killed or captured around 14,000 terrorists, estimated to be around 50% of the Hamas terror army. That means the mission of “Never Again” is far from complete. The fight must continue, because we can never let an October 7 happen again.