Browsing: Middle East

Israeli and four Thai nationals killed in Metula orchard; pair, reportedly mother and son, killed in olive grove near Haifa; IDF hits Hezbollah sites in Syria, warns Baalbek Hezbollah rocket attacks on northern Israel killed seven people in agricultural fields near Metula and Haifa Thursday, marking what appeared to be the deadliest day in months for civilians inside Israel. The deaths, which raised the number of civilians killed in the last year of cross-border attacks on northern Israel to 39, were likely to loom large in meetings between Israeli officials and US mediators hoping to end over a month of…

Hamas terror group ‘refuses temporary ceasefire but supports any proposal which will lead to a permanent end to the war,’ official tells Al Hadath. A senior Hamas official on Thursday rejected a partial deal which would include the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for a temporary ceasefire, Al Hadath reported. According to the report, Hamas’ Taher al-Nunu stressed that the terror group rejects a temporary ceasefire, but will support any proposal which will lead to a permanent end to the war. The refusal follows reports of negotiations between Egypt and Israel for a two-week ceasefire in Gaza, during which four Israeli hostages…

Report by UK’s Times says Israel has developed an alternative course of action but must war-game it before proceeding due to the need to ‘change certain strategies and components’ Israel has been forced to delay a potential retaliatory attack on Iran after details of the planning were leaked from the US, Britain’s The Times newspaper reported Thursday. According to the report, citing an unnamed intelligence source with knowledge of Israeli deliberations, Israel is worried that even though no potential targets were named in the leak, the details provided could help Iran predict certain patterns of attack. The Times said Israel has developed…

Israeli planes dropped leaflets over southern Gaza on Saturday, October 19, showing a picture of the dead Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar with the message that “Hamas will no longer rule Gaza,” echoing language used by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The move came as Israeli military strikes reportedly killed at least 32 people across the Gaza Strip and tightened a siege around hospitals in Jabalya in the north of the enclave, Palestinian health officials said. The statement did not differentiate how many of those were civilians and how many were Hamas terrorists. The IDF said it was unaware of the…

IDF kills head of Hezbollah’s financial arm in Damascus strike The IDF revealed formerly classified intelligence about the Hezbollah terror organization’s financial network on Monday, including the location of a secret bunker with approximately $500 million in gold and cash located under Sahel General Hospital in the heart of Beirut, Lebanon. The revelations came as Israel targets Hezbollah’s economic infrastructure, in addition to its military sites, as demonstrated in the strikes on the Al-Qard Al-Hassan bank. According to the military, the Al-Qard Al-Hassan association “finances Hezbollah’s terrorist activities directly, including the purchase of weapons, and the payment and distribution of salaries…

Hamas isn’t likely to change its position on releasing the hostages The death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in a house in Rafah on Oct. 18 brought his 7-year reign of terror over the Gaza Strip to a fittingly violent close. While many Israeli security experts doubt any one person can successfully replace the charismatic, cunning, and ruthless leader, his brother Mohammed is set to take over the reins from his older brother and give it a try. Ynet News reported that Mohammed Sinwar is not likely to become Hamas’ overall leader but could instead replace his brother as the leader of…

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells French media that Israel uncovered a Hezbollah plot to attack Israel via underground tunnels involving jeeps and missiles. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told French broadcasters on Wednesday that Israel had uncovered a plot by the Hezbollah terrorist organization to attack Israel via underground tunnels involving jeeps and missiles. Netanyahu was quoted as having told French broadcasters CNews and Europe 1 that had the plan succeeded, the attack would have been more damaging than the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. “A hundred meters, two hundred meters from the border we found tunnels, tunnels that were preparing an invasion…

Dozens of casualties have been sustained from a drone strike in the Binyamin area of northern Israel; it is the highest number of casualties in a single event since the October 7 massacre. Magen David Adom Director General Eli Bin said that at least 67 people were injured Sunday evening, October 13, from a drone strike launched by Hezbollah that exploded near Binyamina in northern Israel. Four of the injured are defined as critical, five others were seriously injured and many others are in moderate condition. MDA teams evacuated 39 casualties and the military and other ambulances evacuated another 25. Emek…

Fears of a wider Middle East conflict have grown as Israel plans its response to the Oct. 1 missile attack carried out by Iran after Israeli airstrikes on Iranian-allied terrorists. The commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned Israel on Thursday against attacking the Islamic Republic in retaliation for a missile barrage, as the Israeli military stepped up its offensive in Lebanon against Tehran-backed Hezbollah. Fears of a wider Middle East conflict have grown as Israel plans its response to the Oct. 1 missile attack carried out by Iran after Israeli airstrikes on Iranian-allied terrorists. “We tell you (Israel) that if you commit any aggression against…

In video footage of the interrogation released by the IDF, the captured terrorist, Waddah Kamel Younis, told IDF’s Unit 504 investigators he was captured in an underground compound, after his comrades, including field commanders, fled during the preceding days, leaving him alone in the tunnel. “Tell me about the Radwan Force—why did they flee?” one interrogator asked Younis. “In Hezbollah’s language? Lack of faith,” Younis explained. “It’s a person who comes to receive money and that’s it.” During the fighting in southern Lebanon, Israeli forces have so far captured 10 Hezbollah fighters, including 3 belonging to Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force,…