An all-out military confrontation between Israel and Iran appeared on the horizon early Tuesday local time as Iran vowed revenge after Israeli warplanes reportedly destroyed the Iranian consulate building in Damascus, killing at least seven people.
An alleged Israeli airstrike near the Iranian embassy in Damascus on Monday claimed the lives of at least six people, including Mohammed Reza Zahedi, a general in the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), who oversaw operations in Lebanon and Syria.
Israel came under pressure Easter Sunday to accept a Palestinian state as talks resumed on a Gaza truce between the Jewish nation and Hamas, viewed as a terrorist group by Israel’s government and most of its allies.
Israeli-American relations appeared to be back on track on Good Friday as President Joe Biden’s administration pledged to transfer billions of dollars in bombs and warplanes, several officials said.
Thousands of Arab Israelis prayed for peace in Israel as they observed Good Friday when the Bible says Jesus, or Yeshua, was crucified before His resurrection from death on Sunday.
In a strategic move to enhance its northern front’s preparedness, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out a surprise drill, engaging all levels of its command and operational units under the direction of the Operations Division. This extensive readiness exercise, which also saw the participation of the General Staff, coincided with a series of rocket launches by Hezbollah into Israeli territory on Thursday, signaling a day marked by heightened military activity which underscores the growing anticipation among analysts of an inevitable conflict with Hezbollah.
Reports indicate that on Thursday, airstrikes believed to be conducted by Israel targeted a location near Damascus, targeting a site used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran, followed by attacks near Aleppo aimed at demolishing sites connected to the defense industry.
An international peace monitoring group has warned in a new report that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) which provides aid and education to Palestinians has actively perpetrated Hamas’ genocidal hatred of Jews through school books which teach children that Israel must be destroyed and that violent jihad and martyrdom to this end are glorious aims, the Times of Israel (TOI) reports.
Israel’s Foreign Minister has condemned the U.S. decision to withhold a veto on a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for “an immediate ceasefire in Gaza,” saying it will make it more difficult to free hostages.
Israel has agreed to release “some 700-800 Palestinian prisoners” in return for 40 hostages as part of a temporary ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, but Hamas rejected the deal, several Israeli sources said Wednesday.
As Israel’s strongest ally, the United States, has now joined the European Union and the UN in demanding an immediate ceasefire in the war against Hamas, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Monday that Jerusalem has “no moral right” to stop fighting before it has completely dismantled the Palestinian terror group’s capabilities in Gaza, Israel365 News reports.
In response to Hezbollah’s missile strikes on the Mount Meron air traffic control base, Israel confirmed it targeted Hezbollah sites Tuesday afternoon near Zboud, Lebanon, and also hit Iranian-linked targets in eastern Syria early Tuesday, aiming at Iranian operatives and assets involved in smuggling arms to West Bank terrorists.
Israel warned Monday that European Union plans to recognize a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip would effectively mean rewarding terrorism.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called off the scheduled visit to Washington by a delegation headed by his senior aides Ron Dermer and Tzachi Hanegbi following the US’s decision not to use its veto against a UN Security Council resolution, supported by Russia and China, which demanded a ceasefire without making it contingent with the release of hostages held by Hamas.
The United Nations Security Council has, for the first time, adopted a resolution calling for “an immediate ceasefire” in Gaza as the United States shifted its position and abstained from voting.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Israel is ready to launch its military campaign in the Gaza city of Rafah to eliminate the last stronghold of Hamas with or without the support of the United States.
Russia and China have vetoed a U.S. draft United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an “immediate and sustained ceasefire” in Gaza because it included “the release of all remaining hostages” held by Hamas.
Amid fighting a war against Hamas in Gaza and staving off Hezbollah in the north, the Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday night confirmed that a missile fired by the Houthi jihadist group in Yemen had bypassed Israeli air defenses and had landed north of Eilat, an Israeli tourist city which borders the Red Sea, the Jerusalem Post reports.
The U.S. has submitted a resolution to the United Nations demanding an immediate and lasting cease-fire in Gaza, along with the release of hostages, to apply pressure on Israel, the Wall Street Journal reported.
During the ongoing operation, now in its fourth day, at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, the IDF and Shin Bet security agency have reported the death of approximately 140 terrorists and the arrest of around 650 operatives, which includes several high-ranking commanders from terrorist organizations of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.