While still bombarding Gaza and fighting Hamas on the ground following that Islamic terror group’s October 7 massacre against Israel, the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] is now “very focused” on combatting the Hezbollah Islamic terror group in Lebanon, Algemeiner reports.
Israeli negotiators believe there is now “close to zero” chance of agreeing a phased hostage-ceasefire agreement with Hamas that would see the return of 101 captives who were kidnapped to Gaza by Hamas during the October 7 attack on Israel, the Times of Israel (TOI) reports. Similarly, having worked to secure a new hostage-ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, the US Biden administration is understood to be “sad, upset and frustrated” at the stalling of talks.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Tuesday that Hamas no longer exists as a military formation, shortly after Hamas-linked authorities said a massive Israeli strike killed dozens in southern Gaza.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Gen. Michael Kurilla met with Israeli Defense leaders to discuss “threats from Lebanon and Iran”, the Israeli military says.
Syrian media reported that at least 16 people were killed overnight between Sunday and Monday in what is described as the “most extensive” attack since the Gaza war began last year. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, six sites across four provinces—Damascus, Homs, Hama, and Tartus—were targeted.
At the MEAD Conference in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, former War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz stated that Israel should consider launching an offensive against Hezbollah within “days or a few weeks” if negotiations for a hostage deal with Hamas fail.
An estimated half a million people took to the streets of Tel Aviv, Israel on Saturday night, demanding that the Israeli government agree to a ceasefire deal with Hamas that would ensure the return of 101 hostages taken to Gaza during the October 7, 2023 attack, MediaLine reports.
The Palestinian Authority, which has limited government over parts of the Judea and Samaria also known as the West Bank, has submitted a draft resolution to the UN General Assembly requesting that Israel be forced to comply with recent International Court of Justice decisions by withdrawing some 500,000 Jewish Israeli citizens from settlements built on West Bank land that the PA wants for a Palestinian state, the Times of Israel (TOI) reports. The draft resolution is expected to be voted at the annual UN General Assembly which opens in New York on September 10.
In rapidly escalating tensions, a gunman crossing from Jordan killed three Israeli civilians at the Allenby Bridge border in the Israel-controlled West Bank, also known as Judea and Samaria, before security forces shot him dead on Sunday, Israeli authorities said.
Uncertainty remained Saturday over the future of ceasefire talks after a previously unseen Hamas document quoted by a major German newspaper revealed the “psychological warfare” carried out by its fighters since they kidnapped 251 hostages during their October 7 attack in southern Israel.
An American woman was shot and killed Friday during a protest against Israeli settlements in the Palestinian town of Beita in the occupied West Bank, also known as Judaea and Samaria, multiple sources confirm.
Daily attacks by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization on Israeli targets, ongoing since October 7, reached their highest point in August, according to data released by the Shin Bet security agency on Thursday.
During a press briefing to foreign media on Wednesday night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his stance that Israel cannot abandon the 7.8 mile long Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border without first implementing a viable plan to prevent weapons smuggling into the Gaza Strip.
Israeli authorities reported that over 100 rockets were launched at northern Israel on Wednesday by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization. In Kiryat Shmona, some of the rockets directly struck homes, sparking fires. Police and emergency teams quickly responded to the scene to provide assistance and assess the damage.
Under the newly formed United Kingdom government, led by Keir Starmer’s Labour Party, the UK has altered its policy toward Israel amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza by prohibiting the export of certain weapons, announcing a ban on some arms export licenses to Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a rare apology to the families of six Israeli hostages recently executed by Hamas in a press conference on Monday. He stressed the necessity of international pressure on Hamas and emphasized that Israel would retain its military presence in the Philadelphi Corridor, a critical buffer zone along the Gaza-Egypt border, underscoring the strategic importance of the area.
Hamas has admitted to killing hostages it abducted in Israel on October 7.
Amid limited pauses in the fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas, the United Nations and World Health Organization have launched a three-day campaign to inoculate 640,000 Palestinian children under the age of 10 in Gaza against polio, the Associated Press reports.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) recently completed a three-week-long operation in the southern Gaza Strip. During this operation, the military destroyed six kilometers of tunnels, eliminated over 250 terrorists, and recovered the bodies of twelve hostages over the past two weeks.
U.S. President Joe Biden and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Sunday that Israel’s military found six bodies of hostages in Gaza, where Hamas still holds more than 100 hostages.