News Digest — 5/28/24
Two UAVs Successfully Intercepted Over Eilat
Two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were intercepted after midnight Monday (27th) over the city of Eilat, after sirens warning of the infiltration of a hostile aircraft were sounded in the area.
The Eilat municipality stated that “following the alerts that were activated in the city, the two suspicious targets made their way towards Eilat and were successfully intercepted over the bay.”
The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said: “Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in the Eilat area, an IAF fighter jet together with the IDF Aerial Defense Array, successfully intercepted two hostile aircraft that approached Israeli territory from the east.”
It added that no injuries were reported and that the aircraft did not enter Israeli territory.
Following the interceptions, the pro-Iranian militias in Iraq claimed to have launched drones toward Eilat.
Earlier this month, a suspicious target was destroyed outside the city limits and there was no danger to local residents.
Monday’s (27th) incident came about an hour and a half after the IDF Aerial Defense Array successfully intercepted a hostile UAV that crossed from Lebanese territory into the Western Galilee area.
Simultaneously, an additional hostile UAV crossed from Lebanon territory and fell in the area. The incident is under review, the IDF said.
Airstrike: Shrapnel Hitting Fuel Tank Likely Caused Rafah Fire – US Official
Initial information suggest that the fire that broke out in Rafah following the airstrike targeting two Hamas senior members on Sunday (26th) most likely occurred as a result of shrapnel hitting and igniting a fuel tank in the vicinity of the attack, news media reported on Monday (27th) citing a US official.
According to the official, the fire most likely broke out when shrapnel – or a similar object – hit a fuel tank, which in turn ignited a nearby tent. At the moment, the US has no information to confirm or disprove the claim and is waiting for the results of the IDF’s investigation.
The official went on to affirm that the IDF was not conducting a major ground operation as per the directions of the US.
Over 40 people were killed in the incident, Reuters reported, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, adding that the death toll may rise.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the precision strike was not intended to cause civilian casualties.
“In Rafah, we already evacuated about 1 million non-combatant residents and despite our utmost effort not to harm non-combatants, something unfortunately went tragically wrong,” he said in a speech to the Knesset.
The airstrike in Rafah targeted and successfully eliminated the head of Hamas’ West Bank division Yassin Rabia, along with Khalid Nagaar, a senior member of the West Bank division.
The IDF confirmed “The attack targeted terrorists who are legitimate terrorists under international law, using precise munitions, and was based on prior intelligence indicating the use of the area by Hamas terrorists.”
The West Bank division of the Hamas terrorist organization is responsible for planning, financing, and supporting the perpetration of terrorist attacks in the West Bank and within Israel.
The terrorist Yassin Rabia oversaw all military operations of the West Bank division of the Hamas terrorist organization, was involved in transferring funds for terrorist purposes, and directed Hamas operatives to carry out attacks in the West Bank. In the past, Yassin has executed a number of murderous attacks, including those in 2001 and 2002 that resulted in the deaths of IDF soldiers.
The terrorist Khalid Nagaar, a senior member of the West Bank division of the Hamas terrorist organization, orchestrated shooting attacks and other acts of terror in Judea and Samaria and facilitated the transfer of funds earmarked for terrorism for the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip. In the past, Khalid has carried out several murderous attacks, including ones in 2001 and 2003 in which Israeli civilians were killed and additional Israeli soldiers were killed and injured.
The war in Gaza erupted after Hamas’ October 7 massacre, which saw some 3,000 terrorists burst across the border into Israel by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 253 hostages amid acts of brutality and sexual assault.
Israeli/Egyptian Forces Exchange Fire. Egyptian Soldier Killed
Israel and Egyptian forces exchanged fire near Rafah on Monday (27th), with sources in the IDF telling Israel media that an Egyptian soldier opened fire at troops operating on a tunnel near the border, who then returned fire, killing one Egyptian soldier.
After the incident, IDF officials contacted Egyptian officials. No Israeli soldiers were injured in the incident.
The IDF said the incident was under investigation and there was a dialogue with the Egyptians.
An informed security source told the Egyptian AlQahera News on Monday evening (27th) that investigative commissions had been formed to look into the incident and take necessary measures to prevent its recurrence.
Last June, an Egyptian police officer infiltrated Israel and killed three IDF soldiers. Egypt claimed that the incident occurred when the officer chased drug smugglers into Israel. An investigation by Israel found that the police officer infiltrated through an emergency gate in the border fence and walked 150 meters before killing two soldiers, infiltrating deeper into the country, and killing another soldier in an exchange of fire. The two soldiers killed first did not fire their weapons, indicating the Egyptian police officer snuck up on them before killing them.
In October, an Egyptian police officer murdered two Israeli tourists and their Egyptian guide.
Knesset To Vote On Bill Designating UNRWA A Terror Group, Another Stripping Its Immunities
Israel’s Knesset is to hold a preliminary vote on Wednesday (28th) on two bills targeting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) over its ties to terrorism.
One of the bills, proposed by Knesset member Yulia Malinovsky, seeks to define the agency as a terrorist organization and cut all official ties with it, while the other, tabled by MK Dan Illouz seeks to strip UNRWA of various immunities it currently enjoys.
Back in February, legislation that would prohibit UNRWA from operating on Israeli state-owned land passed a preliminary reading in the Knesset, 33-10.
Malinovsky’s bill”will allow for a complete dissociation from the agency – no cooperation, no trade, nothing,” she told JNS.
“For years this organization has been cooperating with Hamas, and on October 7 even actively participated in the murder, kidnapping and rape of Israeli citizens,” she said.
“I expect every Knesset member who has integrity to vote in favor of this bill and do justice to the murdered, the injured, the kidnapped and all the citizens of Israel,” she added.
In February, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told journalists that 30 UNRWA employees participated in Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel and that 1,468 of the agency’s 13,000 staff members in Gaza were members of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
He also shared the names and photos of 12 UNRWA employees Israel had accused in January of taking part in the massacre.
Also in January, a comprehensive report published by UN Watch documented a Telegram group for UNRWA teachers in Gaza in which many glorified the massacre and advocated the execution of Israeli hostages.
“This is the motherlode of UNRWA teachers’ incitement to jihadi terrorism,” said UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer at the time.
Illouz, whose bill seeks to strip UNRWA of immunities it enjoys with regard to taxation, lawsuits, and more, told JNS that the agency “is not and cannot be part of the solution” in the Gaza Strip.
“UNRWA workers took an active role in the October 7 massacre. They assisted in the heinous attack,” he said.
“To make matters worse the organization has for years been a catalyst in perpetuating the conflict and depriving the Palestinian people of a nonviolent future. They are no longer a welcome entity and we will replace them with bodies that will actually carry out the humanitarian mission,” he added.
In December, it was reported that Israel’s Foreign Ministry had put together a classified report calling for the removal of UNRWA from the Gaza Strip.
The report’s recommendations set out a three-stage process for shrinking and eventually eliminating the agency: 1) Prepare a case detailing UNRWA’s cooperation with Hamas; 2) Reduce UNRWA’s field of activity and find replacement service providers; and 3)Transfer UNRWA’s responsibilities to another entity.
The refugee agency has pushed back against claims it engages in or encourages terrorism.
“Part of this campaign involves inundating donors with misinformation designed to foster distrust and tarnish the reputation of the agency,” said UNRWA head Phillipe Lazzarini in March. The agency is facing a ‘deliberate and concerted campaign’ to undermine its operations,” he added.
Nikki Haley Visit’s Sderot: ‘Israel Cannot Stop Until It Finishes Hamas’
Former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley visited the city of Sderot in southern Israel on Monday (27th) during her solidarity trip to Israel as the guest of MK Danny Danon.
Haley stated that she would not criticize the current Democratic administration while in Israel. “I think it is very important to never talk negatively about an American president when you are on foreign soil. So this is not going to be a time when I’m going to say anything negative about the president. What I will tell you is what America should do.”
“What America needs to understand is, when Israel is fighting our enemies, how can we not help them? The sure way not to help Israel is to withhold weapons. The sure way to not help Israel is to praise the ICC or the ICJ or any of those that are condemning Israel instead of condemning what happened on Oct 7,” she said.
According to Haley, “America needs to do whatever Israel needs and stop telling them how to fight this war. Until you’ve lived it, you can’t say how to fight it. You’re either a friend or you are not a friend. Israel doesn’t need us to tell them what to do. They’ve got a good fighting force. They’re going through enough. The last thing they need is pressure from their friends.”
“If there’s anything I’ve known over the years, it’s that Israel values human life just as much as America does, just as much. And what they are having to do now is surgical, to go in there and make sure they eliminate Hamas,” she said. “They need to finish Hamas. Don’t stop until they finish. But also make sure that security is intact so that it never happens again from Hamas or anybody else.” Haley concluded.
World Narrative ON ICJ Ruling On Rafah Is Wrong Officials Say – Itamar Eichner
Despite initial headlines declaring that the UN’s International Court of Justice ordered Israel to immediately halt its offensive in Rafah, the ruling, when examined, is quite different. Israeli officials said Saturday (25th) that the judges issued a very carefully worded ruling that does not compel the fighting in Rafah to stop, nor does it prevent Israel from defending itself.
The officials do not view the ruling as preventing the IDF’s offensive, as long as all measures to prevent harm to civilians are taken, and after Israel’s National Security Council and Foreign Ministry have stated that Israel has not and will not create conditions that could bring about the destruction of the civilian Palestinian population in part or in full.
An Israeli official said, “What country would invest so many resources to bring in humanitarian aid, call off attacks and the like, if it intends to commit genocide? We are already doing and will continue to do what the ruling has called for… There is a false narrative that the ICJ ordered a halt to the fighting in Rafah and that is not the case.”
“This is the fourth time South Africa has asked for a complete halt to the war. The wording of the ruling is not accidental,” the official said. “When we read the ruling, we see… South Africa’s demands are not answered, for the fourth time.” (Ynet News)
