News Digest — 10/23/26
5 Wounded In Shooting Attack Near Hebron, IDF Launches Manhunt For Terrorists
Some five people were wounded in a terror attack near Hebron, the IDF announced on Friday morning (23rd).
The military announced that two terrorists involved in the attack had been killed. A manhunt for potential additional terrorists is still ongoing.
After the attack, the city of Hebron was placed under lockdown, and several surrounding villages were closed, the IDF said. The military later blocked Highway 35 in both directions.
Magen David Adom said that five people had been wounded in the attack, with two in critical condition, one moderate and two mild. The mildly and moderately wounded people were evacuated to the hospital.
In a video recorded at the scene, a soldier can be heard saying that the terrorists had been actively shooting for over 20 minutes.
“The terrorist keeps shooting. There are still exchanges of fire with that terrorist. Our forces still haven’t managed to get the wounded out,” the person said in the video. “The terrorist has been shooting for more than 20 minutes now.”
“We brought a man in his 20s into the ambulance. He was unconscious suffering from gunshot wounds, and in extremely serious condition. We provided him with medical treatment,” said MDA emergency medical technician Zuriel Edri.
“We evacuated additional wounded people to MDA ambulances that had arrived at the scene and immediately began transporting them to hospitals. Another person in extremely serious condition was treated by IDF medical personnel in the mobile intensive care unit.”
Walla reported that the attack had apparently targeted a reservists’ battalion and had likely used the weather conditions to approach the checkpoint unnoticed.
One possibility reportedly under investigation is that the terrorists set an ambush for the soldiers, shot at them, and then attempted to escape.
Unusual Warning: Hamas Threatens New October 7 Massacre
Hamas has warned Israel that it is prepared to carry out another attack similar to the October 7, 2023, massacre, with potential targets inside Israel, in Judea and Samaria, and overseas, Ynet reported Thursday (22nd).
According to the report, the threat was delivered to Israeli officials through UN humanitarian coordinator Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov, who met with senior Hamas representatives at his office in Gaza last week.
During the meeting, the Hamas officials reportedly expressed growing frustration over developments that they said were weakening the terrorist organization’s control over the Gaza Strip. These included continued Israeli military operations and changes to the “yellow Line” marking IDF positions.
Hamas officials also cited Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas’ cancellation of elections scheduled for November 28 as another development undermining their position.
The officials reportedly made clear that Hamas was unwilling to accept the continuation of the current situation and asked Alakbarov to convey its warning to Israel.
On Wednesday (21st), the UN officials met with MG Yoram Halevy, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) and passed along the message.
Ynet reported that Israeli officials considered the warning unprecedented in its directness. A document detailing the threats was urgently forwarded to Israel’s political and security leadership.
The warning comes as Israeli forces continue targeting Hamas operatives in Gaza, including members of the organization’s elite Nukhba force and senior terrorists.
Meanwhile, the Board of Peace and international mediators have demanded that Hamas surrender its weapons. Israeli officials believe the terrorist organization will refuse to disarm and instead seek to prolong the process.
Israel has also refused to allow the proposed technocratic governing committee or Palestinian police force to enter the Gaza Strip.
Beyond the military and political developments, Hamas is reportedly struggling with a severe financial crisis.
According to Israeli security assessments cited by Ynet, Hamas requires approximately $29 million each month to pay its personnel.
Israeli officials estimate that the organization has approximately 30,000 personnel across Gaza ranging from administrative employees and lower-ranking operatives to members of its military wing. Each reportedly receives approximately $970 per month.
Hamas, for its part, blames Israel for its financial difficulties.
Hezbollah Sends Latin American Recruits To Lebanon For Training before Targeting Jewish Communities
Hezbollah is increasingly recruiting convicted felons in Latin America, targeting individuals with financial difficulties who harbor resentment toward the courts – while relaxing its requirements for ideological alignment – according to a new Washington Institute for Near East Policy assessment. The report was written by Lucas Gualtieri, A Brazilian federal prosecutor who specializes in organized crime and Hezbollah’s use of criminal networks.
Operation Trapiche, a counterterrorism operation launched by Brazil’s Federal Police in November 2023 with support from Israel’s Mossad, has shed light on Hezbollah’s efforts to outsource operatives, as well as on criminal revenue generation and financial services in Latin America, building capabilities the terrorist group can plausibly deny if confronted.
Hezbollah has long outsourced operations in Latin America, as illustrated by the 2021 expulsion of two criminals hired by the Iran-backed group to target an Israeli in Bogota.
The investigation has uncovered what amounts to an assembly line for operatives. Rather than simply contacting hitmen, Hezbollah recruits men with no prior ties to the group, flies them to Lebanon for training, and sends them back to their home countries to scout for potential Israeli and Jewish targets.
Gualtieri said Hezbollah was specifically seeking to recruit financially valuable convicted felons with no prior ties to the group or Lebanon. In intercepted audio, recruiters discussed looking for aggrieved individuals who had been “looked up” and felt they “owe the courts” he said.
By recruiting men without prior ideological or personal ties to Hezbollah or Lebanon, Gaultieri said, the group could deny involvement in attacks, allowing any resulting arrest to be dismissed as hate crimes committed by fringe extremists.
Lucas Passos Lima, whose conviction was reinstated by Brazil’s Superior court of Justice last month after a federal court ruled that his role in a network targeting Jews and Israelis was motivated by financial gain rather than terrorism, had returned from Lebanon with more than $5,000 in untraceable cash.
Had the court failed to convict Lima of terrorism, Gualtieri said, Brazil could have been viewed as a permissive environment for the group, and individuals who support terrorism for personal gain could have escaped more severe sentencing, despite their knowing involvement in plots.
Hezbollah has also increasingly relied on revenue generated by criminal networks in Latin America, he added, as in, for example, the discovery of Brazilian tobacco shops that helped fund plane tickets for recruits. The shops were initially identified by tax inspectors investigating shops in Belo Horizonte’s Mercado Central that were selling banned products. Hezbollah was also using money laundering and cryptocurrency networks.
Gualtieri highlighted a precedent by Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice, which affirmed that financial motivation does not preclude terrorism liability when suspects knowingly participate in a terrorist plot, even if they do not share Hezbollah’s ideological motives.
Gualtieri said that while international cooperation was crucial to Operation Trapiche, he argued that domestic enforcement tools remained essential to disrupting Hezbollah’s networks and prosecuting those involved.
Israel Sanctions UK-Registered Coral Oil Over Fuel Supplies To Hezbollah Company
Israel Defense Minister Israel Katz sanctioned Coral Oil after an Israeli counterterror financing investigation determined that the British-registered energy company provided approximately 130,000 liters of fuel to a Hezbollah-owned distributor in Lebanon, the Defense Ministry said.
The National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF) identified the recipient as Al-Amana, also known as Al-Amanah.
Israel designated the fuel distributor, which is owned by the Hezbollah terrorist organization, as a terrorist organization in 2020.
The shipment included both gasoline and diesel, according to the ministry.
Coral Oil is owned by Lebanon’s A. Yamin Group S.A.L. Although registered in the United Kingdom, the company conducts most of its operations from Beirut.
In explaining the sanctions, the Defense Ministry said fuel supplies help sustain several elements of Hezbollah’s operational network.
The terrorist organization requires fuel distillates to move weapons and military components, and to run generators and other infrastructure.
Fuel also supplies Hezbollah’s underground infrastructure, the military said. As a result, supplying it to a Hezbollah-owned company helps maintain the terrorist organization’s operational capabilities against Israel.
Hezbollah primarily obtains oil illicitly imported from Iran through Syria. The terrorist organization relies on those supplies for its military and infrastructure network while also employing oil as a means of increasing its political influence in Lebanon.
Hezbollah also runs illegal oil and liquified petroleum gas trafficking operations with support from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The networks conceal sanctioned crude shipments through intermediary companies and indirect maritime routes, generating millions of dollars that are directed to Hezbollah’s operations.
Within Lebanon, the terrorist organization has also brought Iranian diesel through Syria during periods of energy shortages.
Hezbollah has supplied the discounted fuel to hospitals and local communities, allowing it to operate outside Lebanese state institutions while expanding its influence among recipients.
Is There An Effective “America First” Position On Israel? – Michael Doran (Tablet)
What is the proper “America First” position on Israel? President Trump has answered through his actions, taking American military cooperation with Israel to unprecedented heights and treating the Jewish state as a powerful partner against Iran, a regime that has targeted Americans since 1979.
The US faces an emerging coalition linking China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. Washington cannot contain this challenge alone. It needs capable allies positioned along the Eurasian periphery who are willing and able to defend the common interest. Israel is one of the most valuable. America First does not mean “America alone.” It means organizing American power, including the power of allies, to prevent Eurasia from falling under the control of a hostile bloc.
In the war against Iran, Israel has contributed intelligence, targeting capabilities, technological innovation, and sustained offensive military power on a scale few American allies could match. The US has supplied capabilities that Israel lacks, creating a formidable partnership against a common enemy. No dependent client receiving American protection, Israel is a force multiplier, capable of imposing costs on Iran that the US would otherwise have to impose itself.
Rather than assess what the US gains from Israel, the conspiracists explain the relationship as the product of foreign manipulation. Yet in the Middle East, the allegation that Israel controls American policy undermines one of Washington’s most capable military allies. What begins as a conspiracy theory about Jewish influence becomes an attack on the political and strategic relationships that sustain American power.
Trump’s understanding of America First, as expressed in his defense of the Israeli partnership, begins with a calculation of American power and interests. Israel’s military capabilities, intelligence, technology, and willingness to fight are strategic assets. A capable ally strengthens the United States.
The writer is director of the Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East at the Hudson Institute.
Veteran UNRWA Teacher Exposes Hamas Radicalization, Hatred of Jews In Gaza Schools – Reuven Fenton
A veteran Palestinian teacher at an UNRWA school in Gaza told the Post in an interview that an administrator at her school confronted her with scissors days after she got into a heated argument with another teacher over what she described as the indoctrination of young girls. “She told me, ‘We’ll make you wish for death, and if you don’t stop arguing, we will cut out your tongue.’” The teacher said the threats left her afraid to speak out, particularly because she feared retaliation against her family.
“As a teacher, it’s my duty to convey an accurate picture and call upon the world to save our children from these ideas.” She said she finally sought employment with UNRWA because she believed a school operated under UN auspices would offer children protection from Hamas’ culture of violence. “I was shocked to find the reality was far different from what I had imagined.”
The teacher said she believes the school indoctrination problem has grown worse since the year began. She said she fears the children are particularly susceptible to teachers who blame Jews for Gaza’s devastation without acknowledging Hamas’ role in triggering the war.
She estimated that half or more of the teachers she encounters in Gaza believe violence against Jews is necessary to achieve Palestinian political goals. “If the upcoming generation in Gaza have the capabilities to make another attack, they will make it,” she warned. (New York Post)
