Author: mackenzie

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to present President Donald Trump with options for renewed strikes on Iran during a meeting later this month at Mar-a-Lago. The discussions are described as being driven by deepening Israeli concern over Iran’s continuing efforts to rebuild and expand key military capabilities after the June conflict known as Operation Rising Lion. While Iran’s nuclear activity remains a central worry for Jerusalem, the most immediate focus described in the early details is the ballistic missile threat, which Israeli officials see as urgent and rapidly evolving. Israeli officials have voiced concern that Iran is not…

Senior officials from Israel, Greece, and Cyprus are in early-stage discussions on establishing a joint rapid reaction military force, according to three sources familiar with the matter who spoke to i24NEWS. The initiative is being examined as part of a broader effort to strengthen military-strategic cooperation among the three countries amid rising tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean. According to the sources, the proposed force would not be permanent but would be designed for rapid deployment during crisis situations at sea, in the air, and on land. The discussions are described as preliminary, with planning and assessments still underway. One source…

Israel vowed on Wednesday to respond to an incident in southern Gaza’s Rafah in which a bomb exploded against an Israeli armored personnel carrier, lightly injuring an IDF officer. The officer, who serves in the Golani Brigade, was taken to a hospital, and his family was notified, the army said. “The Hamas terror organization continues to violate the ceasefire and President Trump’s 20-point plan,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement published in English. “Their ongoing and continuing public refusal to disarm is an ongoing flagrant violation, and again today their violent intentions and violations were confirmed by their detonation…

The IDF struck Hezbollah terror infrastructure across Lebanon, and, minutes later, conducted a follow-up strike on a terrorist operative in southern Lebanon, the military announced on Thursday. In the earlier attacks, including some which the IDF said were deep inside Lebanon, it struck Hezbollah artillery launch sites, weapons storage facilities, and a military training camp. “As part of the training and education at the camp, the organization’s terrorists underwent shooting drills and additional training in the use of various types of weapons, in order to plan and execute terrorist plots against IDF forces and citizens of the State of Israel,” the military stated. Continue…

The Israel Defense Forces said a strike in Gaza City on Saturday, December 13, killed top Hamas commander Raad Saad, describing him as a senior figure in Hamas’s military wing. Saad was identified as the head of Hamas’s weapons manufacturing headquarters and as one of the architects of the October 7, 2023, onslaught. The strike was described as an escalatory move during a ceasefire period that Israel said Hamas had violated.Reports indicated the strike hit a vehicle traveling along the coastal Rashid Road on the Hamas-controlled side of the ceasefire line. Palestinian reports said multiple people were killed and more…

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Wednesday that he had approved the largest energy deal in Israel’s history, with neighboring Egypt, which is expected to boost Israel’s economy by billions of shekels in the coming years. In a video statement alongside Energy Minister Eli Cohen, Netanyahu said that the natural gas deal with Cairo was worth NIS 112 billion ($34.7 billion), of which NIS 58 billion ($18 billion) would go into public coffers. In the first four years, he said, around NIS 500 million ($155 million) would go to the state yearly, and this was expected to climb to NIS…

A senior reserve IDF intelligence officer who has spent more than a decade supporting families of the fallen and missing described the painstaking work that led to the recovery of long-held remains and the renewed push to return the last captives from Gaza. Reflecting on the emotional moment when Hadar Goldin’s body came home on Saturday, November 8, 2025, he traced the years-long effort of assembling intelligence, creating opportunities, and preparing for precisely timed operations—while counseling families through uncertainty and grief. The officer detailed how lessons from past cases informed current efforts, emphasizing persistence, creativity, and orchestration across units. He…

Israel is preparing to fully deploy the Iron Beam system on December 30, a high-energy laser interceptor designed to neutralize rockets, drones, missiles, and mortars at speed. Defense officials describe the system as a game-changer that will complement existing multi-layered air defenses by delivering precise, low-cost shots against a wide range of aerial threats. After extensive development and wartime testing, the laser will enter operational service to help secure Israel’s skies. Beyond the immediate tactical benefits, Iron Beam is intended to ease the economic strain of missile defense by replacing some costly interceptor launches with laser engagements. Planners expect its…

Hamas leaders swiftly rejected the core demand of President Trump’s Gaza plan—disarmament—signaling they intend to keep their arsenal and continue the fight against Israel. Speaking in Istanbul and Doha, senior figures cast aside any notion of submitting to international oversight in Gaza, framing the ceasefire as merely a pause rather than a step toward lasting peace. Their statements underscored a determination to resist dismantling terror infrastructure or ceding control to any outside authority. Khaled Mashaal’s remarks captured the hard line: he praised the “resistance” and portrayed weapons as a matter of honor, setting the tone for Hamas’s refusal to comply…

Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, an activist from Gaza based in the United States, accused Hamas of deliberately worsening the food crisis in Gaza by hiding significant quantities of infant formula and nutritional supplements intended for children. According to him, the organization allegedly stockpiled these products in a warehouse under the authority of the Ministry of Health in Gaza in order to reinforce its narrative of a famine orchestrated by Israel. In a video posted on social media, Alkhatib showed a large building filled with boxes of baby formula and nutritional drinks. He claimed that these supplies were hidden at the height…