Browsing: War in Israel

The IDF has killed 250 Hamas terrorists since it renewed hostilities in Gaza on March 18, IDF Chief Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Effie Defrin said on Thursday in his first press conference since taking office on March 27. Defrin also said that, more broadly, the military has struck over 600 targets in Gaza since March 18, including 60 since a stronger invasion push on Wednesday. He said these attacks, mostly from the air force, would pave the way for even more ground troops to enter deeper into Gaza. Further, the new IDF spokesperson said that the military, often with the help of the air force, had…

Hamas decided not to respond or engage with Israel’s counterproposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, an official told Reuters on Wednesday, affirming it is committed to the mediators’ plan instead. Israel said on March 29 that it conveyed to the mediators a counterproposal in full coordination with the U.S. after Hamas agreed to a proposal it received from mediators Egypt and Qatar, which included the release of five Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera, which aligns with Qatari mediation efforts, reported that Hamas accused Israel of undermining a proposal it had previously accepted.…

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that advancing IDF forces were carving out a new security corridor across southern Gaza that would likely cut off the city of Rafah from the rest of the Strip, as Israel seeks to pile pressure on Hamas to free the hostages. Israel is “shifting gears” in Gaza and creating a “second Philadelphi” route, Netanyahu said in a video message, referring to the corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border. IDF forces are seizing the “Morag Corridor,” said Netanyahu. The route, which separates Rafah from Khan Younis to its north, is located where the Israeli settlement of…

One of the unique technologies that has saved Israeli soldiers’ lives during the recent war on Hamas has been the use of autonomous systems in which vehicles can be driven by remote control. Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has been pioneering this technology, and one example of how it is transforming warfare is the autonomous RobDozer. This is a robotic version of the IDF Caterpillar D9 bulldozer, the main large bulldozer used by Israel’s combat engineers. These kinds of bulldozers are usually manned, and you can have several people in the cockpit of the large machine. However, the problem with these massive lumbering machines is that they…

The IDF will permanently seize parts of the Gaza Strip if Hamas doesn’t release the hostages held in captivity, Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a substantial yet vague escalatory threat on Friday, March 21. “I have instructed the IDF to seize additional areas in Gaza, evacuate the population, and expand security zones around Gaza to protect Israeli communities and IDF soldiers. The more Hamas persists in its refusal to release the hostages, the more territory it will lose, which will be annexed to Israel,” Katz said. “If the hostages are not released, Israel will continue to take more and…

Senior Hamas official Salah al-Bardawil was killed overnight between Saturday and Sunday, March 22-23, in an Israeli airstrike on his tent in the humanitarian zone of al-Mawasi, near Khan Younis. The strike left a massive crater at the site. According to Qatar-based media, 23 people were killed in Israeli strikes across Khan Younis and nearby Rafah since midnight. IDF Arabic-language spokesperson Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee issued an urgent evacuation warning to residents of the Tel al-Sultan neighborhood in Rafah. “The IDF has begun operations targeting terrorist organizations. The area you are in is an active combat zone and extremely dangerous.…

Despite mounting pressure on Hamas, Israel estimates that talks about a new ceasefire and hostage deal are stuck at the moment, leaving military operations as the only lever to pressure the terror group currently. According to Channel 12 News, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir and other senior defense establishment officials held a limited security consultation on Wednesday evening to decide on the next steps. Since the ceasefire’s first phase ended without an agreement on a continuation, Israel has gradually applied pressure on Hamas, first by cutting aid and electricity, before…

Two ballistic missiles were launched at Israel on Thursday by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen and were successfully intercepted by air defenses, according to the Israel Defense Forces. “Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel, two missiles launched from Yemen were intercepted prior to crossing into Israeli territory,” the military said in a statement. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage in the attack. Sirens sounded across central Israel, in Jerusalem and numerous surrounding towns, as well as in several West Bank settlements. The Houthis quickly claimed responsibility for launching the…

Hamas has allegedly told mediators that they are willing to accept any proposal to release Israeli hostages if it includes a resumption of a ceasefire, according to UK-based Qatari news organization Al-Araby Al-Jadeed’s report on Thursday. The Hamas sources also claimed that the terror group did not reject US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff’s ceasefire-hostage framework but rather accepted it on the condition that it would lead to a resumed ceasefire. Witkoff, however, reportedly rejected this, surprising Hamas, according to the Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. Continue reading this article on www.jpost.com

The Shin Bet security agency and Israeli Police announced that they thwarted a car-ramming attack targeting Israel Defense Force soldiers. The suspect, Jihad Zariqat, a resident of Kafr Kanna identified as a Hamas sympathizer, was apprehended in February. During his arrest, investigators discovered incriminating evidence in his possession, including hand-written wills, Hamas manuals detailing methods for carrying out attacks, and various nationalist documents. According to authorities, the investigation revealed that Zariqat “had made the decision to carry out a car-ramming attack against Israeli soldiers and even attempted to put his plan into action.” The North District Prosecutor’s Office is expected…