Browsing: Middle East

US officials have announced that they “indefinitely postpone” the presentation of the final “take it or leave it” ceasefire-prisoner swap deal, American media reported. According to the news outlet, the latest obstacle is Hamas’ “abrupt introduction” of its demand that Israel release high-profile terrorists even in exchange for humanitarian prisoners. The report quoted a senior administration official who said that last week, as negotiators from the US, Qatar, and Egypt worked through the final details of the “bridging proposal,” Hamas said that civilian hostages would only be released in exchange for terrorists serving life sentences and who have blood on…

On Oct. 7, 2023, 251 hostages were kidnapped from Israel into the Gaza Strip. Some had already been murdered and their bodies were being held hostage by the terror group Hamas to be used as leverage in negotiations. Most of those abducted were Israeli citizens but several foreign nationals were also kidnapped on the day of the massacre. Currently, 97 hostages who were kidnapped into Gaza on Oct. 7 remain in captivity. It is believed that among them 64 individuals remain alive, according to an AFP database. A total of 117 hostages were freed and returned to Israel in hostage deals, in exchange…

Security Cabinet ministers were shown a video recorded by IDF forces, revealing the narrow tunnel where the hostages were held under brutal conditions, too cramped to stand; Video will also be shown to the families to let them decide if it should be released to the public; ‘Extremely tough to watch’ The IDF screened footage from the tunnel where six hostages were found executed by Hamas for security cabinet ministers at its meeting. The footage, recorded by IDF forces and shown to ministers at the direction of the defense minister, revealed the narrow tunnel where the hostages were held. The tunnel,…

New details about the massive attack in Syria were revealed by Greek journalist Eva Koulouriotis, who investigates Middle East affairs. She relied on the words of a “security source” regarding the operation allegedly carried out by Israeli special forces at around 11:00 pm, during which a number of explosions were reported around Syria. According to Koulouriotis, IDF special forces arrived by helicopters to the military facility located near Masyaf district in Syria, which Israel had often attacked in the past, landed in it and eventually destroyed it from the inside. In parallel, fighter jets attacks roads leading to the facility…

A Hezbollah anti-tank guided missile attack wounded three Israelis, including a civilian who was seriously hurt and a member of a northern border community’s local security team who was moderately injured, the military and a hospital said. Following the targeting of Kfar Yuval, the civilian, a man in his 40s, was brought to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa by helicopter after initially being taken to Ziv Medical Center in Safed. Ziv Medical Center said the security team member and a third person injured in the attack were in good to moderate condition and were being treated at the hospital. Meanwhile,…

During the IDF, ISA, and Israel Border Police counterterrorism operation in the northern Samaria area, the forces identified a terrorist cell led by Wassem Hazem, the head of the Hamas terrorist organization in Jenin, in a vehicle in the area. Following the identification, Israel Border Police forces, following precise ISA intelligence, encountered and eliminated Hazem. Hazem was involved in carrying out and directing shooting and bombing attacks, and continuously advanced terrorist activities in the Judea and Samaria area. Shortly afterward, an IDF aircraft eliminated two additional terrorists while they attempted to flee from the vehicle that they were inside with…

According to a report in Israeli media, the military probe after hostates were found dead in Gaza suggested that Hamas lookouts were watching Israeli soldiers in real time. According to a preliminary investigation conducted by the IDF into the murder of six hostages in a tunnel in Rafah, it appears that the lookouts stationed outside the tunnel identified the incoming Israeli soldiers. The approach likely led, by the Israeli public channel Kan 11, to the execution of six hostages and the escape of the terrorists. The IDF found indications on the ground after the discovery of the bodies of the…

Kiryat Shmona mayor laments destruction of city, says terrorists must be made afraid to fire at Israel; four drones fired, barrage of five rockets launched at north More rockets were fired at Israel from Lebanon in August than in any previous month since war broke out almost a year ago, according to data published by the Shin Bet security agency Thursday. The report said that 1,307 rockets were fired at Israel in August from the northern front, meaning Lebanon and Syria, amounting to just over 40 a day on average, with the vast majority coming from Lebanon. July saw 1,091…

IDF soldier lightly wounded by drone, Israel allegedly strikes deep within Lebanon Following the pre-emptive strikes on some 270 Hezbollah targets carried out by Israel Defense Forces, the terror group is still assessing the damage, IDF Colonel Anan Abbas told the Maariv newspaper. While the terror group resumed its daily attacks on Israel, since then, the number of attacks has been significantly lower than in the weeks leading up to escalation. Abbas, the Head of Control at the IDF’s Northern Command central operations room, stated: “They’re trying to comprehend the extent of the damage inflicted on them, and they’ll fully understand it…

Since the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolved to renew its peacekeeping mandate in southern Lebanon, US and Israeli officials have criticized the resolution for failing to condemn Hezbollah by name. The resolution renewed the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which is tasked, in part, with upholding UN Resolution 1701. This resolution is intended to prevent any armed forces, other than those of the Lebanese state, from operating in southern Lebanon. UN Resolution 1701—which was approved by the United Nations, Lebanon and Israel during the 2006 Lebanon War—does specifically name Hezbollah. American and Israeli officials, however,…