Important Takeaways:
- Hezbollah announced a “new and escalatory phase” in its war with Israel on Thursday – hours after the Israeli military confirmed its forces killed the leader of Hamas.
- In a statement, the Iran-backed terrorist organization said that their plan “will be reflected in the developments and events of the coming days” as hundreds of fighters are prepared to “counter any Israeli ground incursion into southern Lebanese villages.”
- Along with the two chiefs, the IDF’s airstrikes in southern Lebanon and Beirut have killed more than a dozen senior officials, including the top commanders of Hezbollah’s elite military and missile firing units.
- Hezbollah’s threat comes more than a week after it announced it was ready to engage in cease-fire talks with Israel and previously vowed that it would stop its attacks until it agreed to end the war in Gaza – despite firing missiles over the border nearly every day since Oct. 8.
- It remains unclear if Israel will accept a cease-fire deal with Hezbollah as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reiterated that the operations in Lebanon would not end until he is assured the terror group will no longer pose an active threat to northern Israel.
- The US and France have repeatedly urged the two sides to engage in a truce over fears the conflict would spark an all-out war in the Middle East.
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Important Takeaways:
- Hamas announced Tuesday that it had named Gaza-based leader Yayha Sinwar as its new leader to replace political chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Tehran, Iran, last week while attending the presidential inauguration there.
- Sinwar, who is regarded as the architect of the October 7 terror attack in which Hamas murdered 1,200 Israelis, is thought to be hiding underground in a tunnel in Gaza, possibly surrounded by Israeli hostages as human shields.
- The Times of Israel reports:
- Sinwar “is now the most powerful figure in Hamas, formally too,” notes Palestinian affairs analyst Ohad Hemo on Channel 12. “That was already essentially the case, now it’s official.”
- “It’s a show of faith” by the terror group, “whose leadership is rapidly shrinking,” adds Hemo, “and it returns the formal center of Hamas power to Gaza,” whereas in recent years much of the official leadership was overseas — including Haniyeh and Khaled Mashaal.
- One advantage Sinwar has over his predecessor is that he is actually in Gaza, not in a five-star hotel in Doha, Qatar, or in a villa in Turkey. Many other Hamas leaders have become billionaires in exile, exploiting aid and smuggling.
- The choice of Sinwar also presents risks for the terror group: Israel could locate him at any moment, and he cannot easily communicate with the rest of the organization. If he is killed or captured, Hamas will again be leaderless.
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Important Takeaways:
- A senior Biden administration official said on Thursday that Hamas’s leader Yahya Sinwar’s “days are numbered” in a press conference regarding US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan’s meetings in Israel.
- “I also think it’s safe to say it doesn’t matter how long it takes…justice will be served,” the senior administration official said, adding that Sinwar has “American blood on his hands.”
- Eight US citizens and permanent residents remain among the roughly 135 hostages currently being held captive in Gaza, while 38 Americans were killed during Hamas’s terror onslaught on October 7.
- IDF Spokesperson R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari said that terrorists who surrendered in Shejaia and Jabalya told Israeli security forces on Saturday that Hamas leaders, including Sinwar, were “denying reality” despite being updated on the situation on the ground.
- “The terrorists complain that the leadership of Hamas is disconnected from the serious situation they’re in on the ground,” Hagari said. “There is also a widespread feeling that the underground Hamas leadership does not care about the Gazan public above ground. This also greatly worries the military operatives of Hamas.”
- Sinwar fled Gaza City in northern Gaza to Khan Yunis in southern Gaza in a humanitarian convoy soon after the war began, an Israeli source told KAN news on Saturday.
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