IDF Confirms: Hamas leader killed in southern Lebanon drone strike

Important Takeaways:

  • Muhammad Shaheen, a senior Hamas official, was killed in a drone strike on a vehicle near Sidon, southern Lebanon, on Monday, an Israeli official confirmed to The Jerusalem Post.
  • Shaheen was Hamas’s head of operation within Lebanon. In his role, he tried to plan terror operations against Israeli citizens, whether within Israeli territory or during international travels.
  • The IDF said that Shaheen also received funding directly from Iran to carry out these terror operations.

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Hamas already rebuilding and in their view the price was worth it; did the IDF really accomplish their mission?

Important Takeaways:

  • “From Hamas’s perspective, they are making a major comeback as a dominant force in Gaza,” Dr. Michael Milshtein, a senior researcher at the Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University…
  • “Their situation is not bad. It’s terrible for us to say this because we wanted to see a battered, beaten, and maybe even barely existing organization. Yesterday, the education system in Gaza announced that schools will soon reopen, even though 85% of schools no longer exist. 6,000 Hamas police officers have been deployed throughout the strip, making it clear to everyone who is in charge and signaling that there’s no point in talking about the ‘post-war era,'” he said.
  • … in their view, the price was worth it. In their count, 50,000 died, and the destruction of Gaza is the justified price for the harm caused to Israel and for their national pride. I’m not justifying them, but that is their narrative, and it’s time we understand that,” he added.
  • Blinken spoke about 4,000 new recruits to Hamas, and that’s just from the past few months. They will use the near future to rebuild. This means organization structures, new appointments of commanders, and attempts to locate weapons’ wherever possible.”
  • Mission accomplished?
  • Yesterday, Hamas waved one of the major symbols of this statement – the commander of Beit Hanoun, whom we thought we had killed, ended up being still alive.”

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Critics pressure on IDF to use kid gloves with terrorist is dragging out the war as experts say 40% of tunnels still remain

IDF uncover tunnel

Important Takeaways:

  • IDF is continuing to find weapons depots, Hamas terrorists, and tunnels. Hamas’ military abilities cannot be defeated as quickly as critics of the IDF strategy would like to believe.
  • The Israeli military announced it had carried out airstrikes against over 100 targets, including Hamas terrorists and rocket launching sites.
  • For over a year, Israel has staged a massive military operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Its stated goals are to remove Hamas as a governing power in the territory and release all the hostages.
  • Thousands of Israelis rallied on Saturday evening to protest the government and pressure it to reach a deal with Hamas.
  • …The IDF also continued to operate in the north of the territory.
    • “The area consists of structures overlooking Israeli territory and serves as a central terror hub containing anti-tank firing positions, booby traps, shafts, numerous explosives, and launch sites for targeting Israeli territory,” read a statement by the army.
  • In addition, the army continues to control the Philadephi and Netzarim corridors in southern and central Gaza, respectively, aimed at blocking Hamas from being able to re-arm and re-position itself.
  • …according to Shamir, director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar Ilan University
    • “Hamas had over twenty years to accumulate a massive amount of firepower, dispersing it in many areas, including in its widespread underground tunnel network,” Shamir told The Media Line. “Combined with other terrorist organizations, such as the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), it had approximately 30,000 fighters. This could take two to three years to get rid of.”
  • “There is an estimated 40% of the tunnels still remaining, hundreds of kilometers of tunnels the Israeli intelligence was not aware of,” said Yoni Ben Menachem, an expert of Middle Eastern affairs from Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, told The Media Line. “There are still very long tunnels that Israel has yet to have located, some of them with hostages inside. This requires a very big operation and a massive amount of explosives that Israel currently does not possess.”
  • Hamas stunned Israel on October 7th, 2023, when it attacked the south of the country in a rampage that killed approximately 1200 Israelis and wounded thousands more. It also took approximately 250 people hostage, 100 still in captivity.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu salutes the bravery of the soldiers that conducted raid on Iranian backed underground missile factory in Syria

Important Takeaways:

  • The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted a secret raid to destroy an underground missile factory funded by Iran inside Syria prior to the fall of the Assad regime, Israeli military censors revealed on Thursday.
  • The declassified photos and videos of the operation, which involved over 100 Israeli commandos from the elite Shaldag (“Kingfisher”) unit, went viral in Israel.
  • In a statement, the IDF said:
    • On September 8th, 2024, during a special operation by the Israeli Air Force, troops from the Shaldag Unit raided and destroyed an underground compound for manufacturing precision missiles in the Masyaf area, deep in Syrian territory.
    • For years, the Intelligence Directorate conducted extensive intelligence gathering and monitoring, confirming the value of the target. In the months leading up to the operation, a plan was launched for the Israeli Air Force to destroy it.
    • The soldiers landed using helicopters, with fire and intelligence-gathering support from aircraft, fighter jets, and naval vessels of the Israeli Navy. The raid’s target was an underground compound deep in Syrian territory, funded and supported by Iran. The compound was a flagship project for Iran’s efforts to arm its terror proxies on Israel’s northern border. The compound included advanced assembly lines designed to manufacture precision-guided missiles and long-range rockets, significantly increasing the supply of missiles to Hezbollah and other Iranian terror proxies in the region.
    • During the operation, the forces reached critical machinery for manufacturing precision missiles, including a planetary mixer, numerous weapons, and intelligence documents, which were transferred for investigation. The soldiers destroyed the compound and safely returned to Israeli territory.
    • The IDF will continue to act strategically and professionally with various methods and tactics to remove threats directed at the citizens of Israel.
  • Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement: “I salute our heroic fighters for the daring and successful operation deep in Syria. This was one of the most important preventive operations that we have taken against the efforts of the Iranian axis to arm itself in order to attack us; it attests to our boldness and determination to take action everywhere to defend ourselves.”

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With the fall of Assad IDF is relaxing secrecy rules regarding operations in Syria

Missile Launch

Important Takeaways:

  • Israel conducted a commando raid on an underground Iranian missile production facility near the city of Maysaf in Syria in early September, the Jerusalem Post learned in later September, but was only allowed to confirm now after KAN News was permitted to publicize the IDF officially taking credit late Sunday.
  • That a raid took place, but without Israeli confirmation, was first reported by Axios on September 12, with the Post receiving secret confirmation shortly after, but not permission to publicize the information.
  • It appears that Israeli censor and secrecy rules regarding operations in Syria have become more flexible given the huge increase in IDF operations in Syria since the fall of the Assad regime.
  • With the fall of the regime, information security officials likely view any threat of retaliation from Syria as being at a much lower risk level.
  • The raid targeted two significant sites, which were the Syrian defense industry’s Scientific Studies and Research Center and the underground missile production facility run by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
  • The decision to carry out the strike was believed to be influenced by concerns over the ongoing war, along with the potential risk that the Iranian missile factory would begin mass-producing missiles.
  • …weapons were reportedly intended to be used as a supply for Hezbollah.
  • The operation occurred approximately 200 kilometers from Israeli territory and was deemed urgent to prevent the facility from reaching full production capacity.

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Netanyahu will deal with the Houthis after missile landed in Jaffa injuring 16 people

ballistic missile launch

Important Takeaways:

  • After days of Houthi missile launchings against Israel, the leader of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, David Barnea, has advocated a strike on Iran. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is said to prefer a more cautious approach in consultation with the U.S. and other allies.
  • An Iranian-made hypersonic missile hit the town of Jaffa south of Tel Aviv on Saturday, injuring at least 16 people.
  • According to Israeli officials quoted in Ynet News, Barnea addressed a weekend security meeting suggesting that Israel should “Go for the head, Iran.”
  • Netanyahu pledged that his government will deal strongly with the Houthi threat from Yemen, noting, “Just as we have acted forcefully against the terror arms of Iran’s axis of evil, so too will we act against the Houthis.”
  • The prime minister added that it has allies in the fight. “In this case, we are not acting alone,” he said. “The U.S. and other nations see the Houthis as a threat not only to international shipping but to the global order.”
  • U.S. forces in the Red Sea struck Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday, shortly after the attack on Israel. Early Sunday, two U.S. pilots were shot down in what officials called “an apparent case of friendly fire,” when gunners on the USS Gettysburg fired at the pilots. Both were rescued.
  • Netanyahu urged war-weary Israelis to continue to abide by the government’s instructions from the Home Front.
  • “What I ask of you, citizens of Israel, is to be patient, to continue showing the same resilience that you have shown up until now, and to strictly follow the [IDF] Home Front Command directives,” he stated.
  • Using increasingly sophisticated missiles and other weapons provided by Iran, the Houthi rebels have succeeded in disrupting life for hundreds of thousands of Israelis living in and around Tel Aviv, in the nation’s major population cluster.
  • Netanyahu prefers to follow the advice of the Israel Defense Forces Military Intelligence officials to attack Houthi positions in Yemen now, rather than take Barnea’s advice of a direct hit on Iran in the near future, according to a report in The Jerusalem Post. The thinking behind that is that an attack on the Iranian regime would be more advisable after President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated on January 20, 2025.

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Israel destroys 86% of Syria’s air defense; now looks to target Iran’s nuclear facilities

Fighter Jet, Israeli Air Force

Important Takeaways:

  • Army Radio military correspondent Doron Kadosh reported on air that Israel had destroyed 86% of Syria’s surface-to-air missile capability, among 500 other sites that the IDF had targeted since the fall of the Assad regime Sunday.
  • Kadosh elaborated, in a post on X, that Israel had used 1800 munitions in the attack on Syrian weapons — munitions that had been intended for other purposes, but were switched to the new mission once the fall of the regime began.
  • Now, he said, with a “clear axis to Iran,” Israel’s military and intelligence officials were preparing operational plans for an attack on the regime’s nuclear facilities. The decision to launch a strike would be left to elected political leaders.

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Netanyahu has taken credit for the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria: Now it’s a race to destroy strategic weapons before they fall into the rebels’ hands

Netanyahu speaking on Syria

Important Takeaways:

  • Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has taken credit for the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria from a speech delivered from the Golan Heights—where Israeli forces have seized territory formerly occupied by the Syrian Arab Army. “This collapse is the direct result of our forceful action,” Netanyahu declared.
  • Calling the takeover of Damascus by Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a rebrand of former al-Qaeda branch al-Nusra, an “historic day for the Middle East,” Netanyahu said: “The collapse of the Assad regime, the tyranny in Damascus, offers great opportunity but also is fraught with significant dangers… [It] means that we have to take action against possible threats.”
  • Chief among these is the Separation of Forces Agreement from 1974 between Israel and Syria, he said, which “collapsed” when Assad’s army “abandoned its positions.”
  • “We gave the Israeli army the order to take over these positions to ensure that no hostile force embeds itself right next to the border of Israel. This is a temporary defensive position until a suitable arrangement is found,” he claimed.
  • “If we can establish neighborly relations and peaceful relations with the new forces emerging in Syria, that’s our desire. But if we do not, we will do whatever it takes to defend the State of Israel and the border of Israel,” he added.
  • Israeli forces have launched a series of strikes described as “very intensive” by Israeli press sources since Assad’s ouster, devastating the country’s air defenses and supposed “strategic weapons sites.”

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Trump prepares his Foreign Policy team with strong Pro-Israel backing; IDF eliminate Hezbollah’s Communications Chief

Mike Huckabee CBN Screenshot

Important Takeaways:

  • The Israel Defense Forces eliminated another top leader as they continue to destroy Hezbollah’s military infrastructure in Lebanon. It comes as Israel is also closely evaluating President-elect Trump’s choices for his foreign policy team.
  • In waves of attacks, the IDF is systematically taking apart Hezbollah sites in Beirut and other Lebanese cities. The military says that for years, underneath the targeted buildings, Hezbollah built weapons manufacturing facilities within civilian neighborhoods.
  • Before the attacks in such places, the IDF sends evacuation orders to prevent civilian casualties.
  • However, a warning was not issued for one strike during the weekend, a rare attack in central Beirut, where Hezbollah Spokesman Mohammed Afif was eliminated. Afif served as a key leader in the terror group’s operations and propaganda machine.
  • While the fighting goes on, observers note President Trump’s election could have a profound impact on Israel’s wars and the entire Middle East. Many consider the first Trump administration the most pro-Israel in American history.
    • He moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and acknowledged the city as Israel’s capital.
    • He agreed Israel should possess the strategic Golan Heights.
    • His White House pushed for the Abraham Accords, forging alliances between the Jewish nation and former Muslim foes.
  • Regardless of Donald Trump’s views on Judea and Samaria, his choices for foreign policy positions come with strong pro-Israel backgrounds, including Marco Rubio as secretary of state, Elise Stefanik for U.N. ambassador, and a choice many are praising – former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee for U.S. ambassador to Israel.
  • Huckabee, who first came to Israel more than 40 years ago, says he is passionate about his calling. He believes the U.S. president should decide weighty matters such as annexing Judea and Samaria.
  • Huckabee has said he doesn’t consider a two-state solution to be practical and he has called Judea and Samaria the “Promised Land.”

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IDF strikes strategic military targets across Iran

Hossein Salami The consequences of the in Iran will be unimaginable for the state of Israel

Important Takeaways:

  • Two days after Israel’s historic strike on Iran, the Middle East is still processing its impact. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the attack on Iran was precise, powerful, and achieved all of its goals.
  • “We severely damaged Iran’s defense capacity and the ability to produce missiles aimed at us,” he said.
  • Three waves of attacks, involving more than 100 warplanes, struck targets over 1,000 miles from Israel. However, the IDF Chief of Staff noted that Israel used only a fraction of its capabilities.
  • Satellite images reveal extensive damage to key Iranian military installations, potentially delaying Iran’s ballistic missile production for years. Israel also dismantled air defenses in Iraq, Syria, and Iran, including advanced S-300 and S-400 systems.
  • Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman sees this as a powerful message to Iran. “Most importantly, it’s sending the message to Iran. Anytime, we want. We gotcha,” Friedman told CBN News. “And we didn’t do it this time but keep it up, keep up this nuclear program and you’ll see us in the near future.”

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