Dubbing its efforts against the coronavirus ‘Ray of Light,’ the Israel Defense Forces on Thursday said it was moving to a higher state of readiness, one normally reserved for preparation for an enemy attack, which the military stresses was not in light of external threats but rather because of the pandemic.
Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan has instructed the Israel Police to prepare for a complete lockdown of the country, calling such a move ‘inevitable.’
The Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday accused the Hezbollah terror group and the Syrian army of being behind an attempted sniping attack against Israeli soldiers in the Golan Heights earlier this month, which was thwarted by an Israeli strike on the suspects’ car.
The Israel Defense Forces indicated Monday its primary foe in the region, Iran, was curbing its activities as it grapples with a major outbreak of the coronavirus.
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin will task Blue and White leader Benny Gantz with forming the next government, after the leftist former IDF chief gained a majority of seats in the Knesset with unexpected support.
The Israel Defense Forces called off a major air defense exercise with the United States on Wednesday night, a day after it launched, following stricter safety restrictions issued by the Health Ministry aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus.
As part of an agreement with the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the IDF Coordination of Government Activities in the territories (COGAT), Israel allowed the entry of cattle and other goods into the Palestinian territories, according to a COGAT press release.
A barrage of rockets and mortars fell on Israel Sunday night and Monday morning, all engineered by the Iran-linked Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror group, and now Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is threatening all-out war.
Amid reports of an emerging ceasefire between Israel and the Islamic Jihad terror group in the Gaza Strip, IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi warned Monday evening that the fighting may not be over yet.
IAF aircraft attacked Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip overnight on Thursday, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit reported. The airstrikes were targeting underground infrastructure used by the organization’s military wing, the Qassam Brigades.
The IDF is deploying additional Iron Dome aerial defense batteries in southern Israel out of concern that Gaza-based Islamic Jihad, under the influence of Iran, could attempt to escalate its rocket attacks against the Jewish state.
The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday launched a large-scale exercise simulating a war on multiple fronts, with units throughout the military taking part, the army said.
Terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip are reportedly on high alert as tensions rise in Israel’s south after a series of rocket attacks over the weekend, with Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders going into hiding for fear of targeted assassinations.
As tensions rose ahead of the publication of US President Donald Trump’s Israeli-Palestinian peace plan on Tuesday, the IDF beefed up its forces in the West Bank’s Jordan Valley region.
Palestinian factions on Sunday called for a ‘day of rage’ for the day US President Donald Trump releases his long-awaited plan for Mideast peace.
Israeli jets struck a number of targets in the southern Gaza Strip late Saturday night in response to incendiary devices being launched over the border, the Israel Defense Forces said Saturday.
The military on Sunday said it began construction of an underground defense system Sunday along its northern frontier with Lebanon to protect against cross-border tunnels.
Israeli aircraft attacked targets in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday for the second day in a row, as tensions rose on the volatile border.
The IDF’s Military Intelligence Directorate issued its annual assessment for 2020 on Tuesday, warning that Iran might have enough enriched uranium for a nuclear bomb by this spring.
Four rockets were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, the IDF said, and it responded with airstrikes against Hamas facilities in the coastal enclave.