News Digest — 5/7/24
IDF Takes Over Palestinian Side Of Rafah Crossing Tuesday Morning
The IDF took over the Palestinian side of the Rafah Crossing on Tuesday Morning (7th), the military said. The IDF added that since 7:00 a.m. the crossing has been under its full operational control.
After the 162nd Division left the Strip last night, the 401st Armored Brigade and the Givati Brigade advanced west and south from the Israel border.
The IDF also stated it had cut off the Rafah crossing from the Tanzer axis, with military sources adding that the Givati Brigade now controlled the axis and was scanning the area.
During the overnight operation, 20 terrorists were killed in action. According to the IDF’s estimates, many others were wounded.
“We have already found a number of significant shafts, and a car bomb that drove toward a tank was destroyed, the IDF said. The army also stated that there were no casualties among the forces.
Southern command officials stated that 50 Hamas targets were attacked in the operation.
Sky News in Arabic reported on Tuesday (7th) that the Israeli flag had been raised at the crossing early Tuesday morning (7th).
The Spokesperson of the Gaza border authority told Reuters that the crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt had been closed on the Palestinian side.
According to Reuters, citing the spokesperson of the Gaza border authority, the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt had been closed on the Palestinian side due to the IDF tanks in the area.
IDF Strikes Hamas Targets In East Rafah
The IDF Spokesperson said on Monday night (6th) that the military conducted precise targeted strikes against Hamas terror targets in Eastern Rafah.
The Prime Minister’s Office said earlier on Monday night (6th) that the War Cabinet had agreed to continue with Israel’s planned Rafah operation.
“The War Cabinet unanimously decided that Israel continue the operation in Rafah to exert military pressure on Hamas in order to promote the release of our hostages and the other goals of the war,” the statement read.
The PMO also noted that in parallel and despite the fact that the “proposal is far from Israel’s necessary requirements, Israel will send a delegation of mediators to exhaust the possibility of reaching an agreement under conditions acceptable to Israel.”
This comes despite Hamas’ earlier agreement with the Qatari and Egyptian ceasefire proposal.
A former Senior Israeli security source told the Jerusalem Post on Monday (6th) that the proposed “deal” Hamas said they agreed upon doesn’t actually exist.
“This so-called ‘deal’ is proof that we’ve just started to apply pressure on Hamas by promoting a ground entrance to Rafah, and we suddenly received a green light from Hamas for a prisoner exchange deal and a ceasefire.”
The source added that the reported ceasefire deal “is a proposal that no one in the Israeli administration recognizes. It’s a proposal that Hamas invented. They are playing with us. They are telling the world – ‘we agreed to a ceasefire,’ to try to prevent Israel from a ground incursion.”
Chairman of the National Unity Party Benny Gantz stated on Monday (6th): “I want to address the citizens of Israel and especially the families of the hostages. We face a cruel enemy. We will never give up on the effort to bring our hostages home. We will continue to work for their return as a matter of duty. The negotiation team is working around the clock to examine the proposal presented by Hamas, which does not align with the dialogue held so far with the mediators and contains significant differences. Nevertheless, we continue to turn every stone and dispatch delegations to Cairo.”
“Every decision will be brought to the security cabinet – there will be no political considerations” he added. “Even the military operation in Rafah is an integral part of our ongoing efforts and commitment to bring back our abductees and change the security reality in the south. We will continue all efforts until we bring them home.”
Former Hamas Terrorist: ‘Hamas Ceasefire Proposal Is A Trap’
“Hamas’ last-minute ceasefire proposal is a trap,” declared Mosab Hassan Yousef on social media
The former Hamas terrorist, who later became an underground agent for Israel’s Shin Bet, advised that Israel should not accept the ceasefire unless it includes the unconditional release of all hostages and the resignation of Hamas from power.
Yousef described the ceasefire as a “trick orchestrated by Hamas hosts, agents, and donors to prevent Israel from finishing 36 years of human tragedy at the expense of children and their future.”
He urged Israel to outsmart Hamas by demanding the release of all hostages in exchange for the ceasing of the Rafah operation.
This warning comes against the backdrop of intense negotiations in Cairo, where Egyptian and Qatari delegations are engaged despite Hamas’ acceptance of a ceasefire deal.
The Israeli government remains cautious, having sent a delegation to Cairo to explore all potential agreements thoroughly.
In a conversation between President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime MInister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday (6th), both leaders emphasized the urgency of resolving the situation to secure the release and safety of all hostages.
Suicide Drone Attack Leaves Two Israeli Soldiers Dead
It was cleared for publication Tuesday (7) that the two people who were critically injured in a terrorist drone attack on northern Israel Monday (6th) were IDF soldiers and that they succumbed to their wounds.
The attack occurred outside the northern Israeli town of Metula, near the border with Lebanon.
According to preliminary reports, a suicide drone rigged with explosives crashed into its target outside of Metula.
The Iran-backed Lebanon-based Hezbollah terror organization claimed responsibility for the attack.
The two dead soldiers were identified as Master sergeant (res) Dan Kamkagi, 31, from Kfar Haoranim and Master sergeant (res) Nahman Natan Hertz, 31, from Elazar.
Both served in the 6551st Patrol Battalion of the 551st Paratroopers Brigade.
Following the blast a shootout began between the IDF and Hezbollah terrorists.
In addition to the suicide drone attack, Hezbollah terrorists launched 30 rockets towards Israel’s Golan Heights.
The terror group claimed that the rockets were launched towards IDF positions in the Golan, in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike against a Hezbollah target in northeastern Lebanon.
Several homes and agricultural property in the town of Kidnat Tzvi were damaged in the attack.
The IDF on Monday (6th) struck 15 buildings in the southern Lebanese town of al-Lwaiza associated with Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, an army spokesperson said.
In response to the rocket attacks on the Golan, Israeli artillery batteries pounded the Hezbollah positions used to launch the rockets.
During the night, IDF warplanes bombed a Hezbollah command and control center in the town of Sefri, near the Baalbek Valley in northeastern Lebanon, a Hezbollah stronghold.
In addition, IDF forces bombed Hezbollah positions across southern Lebanon Sunday night (5th), including bases in Ramya, Jabal Blat, Marwhain, and Ayta ash-Shab.
Hezbollah terrorists launched some 40 rockets toward northern Israel on Sunday (5th) injuring a 65-year-old man in the Upper Galilee city of Kiryat Shmona.
Twenty two people have been killed by Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel since the terror group launched its most recent campaign against the Jewish state on October 8, a day after the Hamas invasion of southern Israel.
Of the 22 people killed since Oct 8, 13 were IDF soldiers, with nine civilians, including one foreign national, also fatally injured in a Hezbollah attack.
18-Year-Old Former Hostage Enlists In IDF
Former Gaza hostage Noga Weiss was inducted into the Israel Defense Forces as she and hundreds of other new soldiers showed up at a recruitment center in Ramat Gan on Monday (6th).
The 18-year-old Weiss, along with her mother, Shiri, were kidnapped by Hamas from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7 and released on November 25 during a temporary ceasefire after spending 50 days in captivity.
Weiss will serve as a mashakit tash, a noncommissioned officer who looks after the social welfare of soldiers.
“After a very turbulent period, I feel that enlisting in the army to the position of a mashakit tash is the right thing for me. Mashakit tash has been my dream for years. I feel that I can contribute a lot, be significant and help others,” Weiss said in a statement released by the Israel Defense Forces.
“I always wanted to enlist and dedicate myself to the country. The army for me is a combination of a distraction from what happened, a framework and a daily routine, but mainly carrying on with my life as it would have been even before all this happened,” Weiss noted.
“I remember the day my mother and I were released, they took us to Kerem Shalom, and there was a hangar full of soldiers. The presence of the soldiers made me feel safe and it only strengthened my desire to be part of and serve in the army,” she recalled.
Her father, Ilan, was killed on October 7 – last seen leaving his home to join up with the Kibbutz’s emergency response team.
In April, Weiss told Israeli media that her captor gave her a ring and insisted they would live together in Gaza and have children after the other hostages returned home.
“I pretended to laugh so he wouldn’t shoot me in the head,” she recalled.
At least 1.200 people were killed and 253 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’ attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Around 30 of the remaining 133 hostages are believed dead.
Republican Senators Warn ICC: ‘Target Israel and We Will Target You’
“Target Israel and we will target you.” a dozen Republican senators warned, in a letter to International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan, amid reports that the ICC is considering issuing arrest warrants against top Israeli officials.
“Such actions are illegitimate and lack legal basis, and if carried out will result in severe sanctions against you and your institution,” the letter led by Sen. Tom Cotton reads. Also signing on were Sens. Mitch McConnell (minority leader), Rick Scott, Tim Scott, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio.
“The ICC is attempting to punish Israel for taking legitimate actions of self-defense against their Iranian-backed aggressors. In fact, in your own words, you witnessed ‘scenes of calculated cruelty’ conducted by Hamas in Israel following the October 7 attacks. These arrest warrants would align the ICC with the largest state sponsor of terrorism and its proxy. To be clear, there is no moral equivalence between Hamas’ terrorism and Israel’s justified response,” the Senators wrote.
“The ICC is also prohibited by its charter from proceeding in any case unless the relevant government is unwilling or unable to police themselves. You yourself have said that ‘Israel has trained lawyers who advise commanders and a robust system intended to ensure compliance with international humanitarian law.’ By issuing warrants, you would be calling into question the legitimacy of Israel’s laws, legal system, and democratic form of government.
“If you move forward with the measures indicated in the report, we will move to end all American support for the ICC, sanction your employees and associates, and bar you and your families from the United States,” the letter states. “You have been warned.”
