News Digest — 12/1/25
Hamas Commander Killed Trying To Flee Rafah Tunnel; Slain IDF Soldier’s Rifle Recovered
The commander of Hamas’ East Rafah Battalion, his deputy and two other terror operatives were confirmed by the military to have been killed early Sunday morning (11/30)) after attempting to flee a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip.
The operatives were spotted emerging from the tunnels in eastern Rafah, an IDF held area where dozens of Hamas fighters were believed to be trapped underground.
According to the military, the four operatives were killed by troops and the Israeli Air Force.
In recent weeks, the IDF has reported killing over 30 terror operatives and capturing another eight, after they tried to flee from the tunnels in Rafah. According to a prominent Hamas member in Gaza, the group estimates some 60 to 80 fighters are still holed up in the tunnels beneath the southern Gaza City.
In a video circulating online, the commander of the IDF’s Nahal Brigade, Col. Arik Moyal, said his forces, with support from the Israel Air Force, killed the local Hamas battalion commander, his deputy, a company commander, and a fourth operative he identified as the son of senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad.
Last week, IDF officers told reporters that the Hamas battalion and several company commanders were leading the trapped operatives.
In the video, Moyal showed a Tavor assault rifle recovered from the slain terror operatives, which he said belonged to Staff Sgt. Or Mizrahi, a Nahal soldier who was killed while battling terrorists on the Gaza border during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 onslaught.
“This is what happens to those who mess with us. Either they surrender, or we’ll kill them,”Moyal said.
The matter of the trapped Hamas fighters has gone without resolution for nearly two months since the ceasefire went into effect in early October, as mediating countries have tried to negotiate terms for their safe passage back to Hamas controlled areas.
According to a Channel 12 report last week, Israel conveyed a proposal to Hamas the week before that would allow the operatives to leave the tunnel, as long as they surrender and agree to be transferred to Israeli prisons.
Since the proposal was made , the operatives have not surrendered and have on multiple occasions emerged from tunnels in attempts to flee or attack IDF forces.
Israel has resisted giving the fighters unconditional free passage and has insisted that Hamas disarm, a key piece of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza.
Those who have survived after months of holding out in the tunnels are thought by the IDF to be running out of supplies and starving.
Northern Command Chief On Northern Border: ‘We Are On High Alert’
The Head of the Northern Command, MG Rafi Milo, visited the area of the Golan Heights border over the weekend during a military exercise held on the Lebanon border.
Additionally, he conducted a situational assessment in the Golan heights with other commanders in the field.
Addressing the troops, Milo discussed the importance of being on high alert on the border, stating: “The troops are at a high level of readiness in defense, and prepared for developments in the Syria and Lebanon arenas. The activity in the Bayt Jann area conducted by the 55th Brigade emphasizes the importance of proactive activity to counter terrorism in the security zone and the value of forward defense.
He added, “We cannot wait for the enemy to attack; we must be proactive. We will not allow terrorism to establish itself along our borders. We will continue to operate with determination and initiative to remove threats and attempts to harm the civilians of the State of Israel, even before they develop. The IDF will continue to stand as a barrier between the residents and the enemy, and will be the first to identify, respond, and defend.”
The commander also commended the reserve troops in the sector, “You completed the mission successfully, apprehended the suspects, and advanced to engage under fire. Great appreciation for your activity and for your repeated readiness. I wish a full recovery for the injured and hope they return to us soon.”
Surgeons Save Soldier Wounded In Syria With A Bullet Lodged In His Heart
Surgeons at Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center managed to save the life of an Israeli soldier wounded in Syria who arrived at the hospital in critical condition with a bullet lodged in his heart, the hospital said Sunday (11/30)
He was one of two soldiers wounded during a clash with gunmen in southern Syria last week who arrived in critical condition, but are now in stable condition in the intensive care unit, the hospital said.
The two soldiers were among six wounded during a brief battle which took place as the IDF carried out an operation to arrest members of a terror group in the Syrian village of Beit Jinn, some 4.3 miles east of Israel’s border.
The two critically wounded soldiers were taken to the hospital by military helicopter directly from the field, and were operated on for life-threatening gunshot wounds. One of them was shot in the chest, and the bullet penetrated his vest and stopped inside his heart.
“The surgery was complex and challenging, and included opening the chest both from the side and from the center in order to stop the source of the bleeding,” said Prof. Gil Bolotin, director of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Department at the hospital.
The bullet passed between the heart’s septa, the walls of tissue that separate the heart into different chambers. The doctors “unanimously” decided to leave the bullet in place.
“We may need to operate again to remove the bullet from the heart, we may choose to remove it by catheterization, and there is definitely a possibility that the bullet will remain where it is,” Bolotin said. “Tooday he is already recovering and communicating with those around him.”
The soldiers were wounded early Friday morning (11/28) as the IDF carried out an arrest operation inside Syrian territory, which the military said targeted two members of the al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya (Islamic group) terror organization who were planning attacks on Israel.
The pair are brothers, with one considered by the IDF to be the “main” suspect. The military said that the pair had previously launched rockets at Israel.
Israeli troops arrested the two brothers at their home. As troops were leaving with the two suspects, they came under fire from unknown assailants, according to the IDF.
The military said the troops returned fire, and the Israeli Air Force also provided support with strikes from helicopters and drones. Fighter jets also conducted several strikes on predetermined targets, the IDF said.
Iron Beam Laser System Is About To Rewrite Air Defense- Tal Shahaf
Israel has had no truly effective answer to Iran’s Shahed 101 exploding kamikaze drone. Launched from Lebanon, the Shahed 101 hit many communities in the north. While Israel’s Iron Dome air defense performed impressively, with a 90-95% interception rate, against drones only 50% were shot down in time.
A little more than a year ago, IDF soldiers spotted a threat hovering over their sector. The air defense team tracked the target and launched their response. When the system was activated, no roar of a Tamir interceptor missile was heard. It was the first operational launch of an Israeli laser weapon. Two km. away, the UAV from Lebanon was knocked sideways, then fell like a stone to the ground. Never before had anyone managed to bring down an airborne weapon using a laser beam in operational activity.
In May, Israel revealed that laser cannons had brought down 40 UAVs launched by Hezbollah. “Israel is the first country in the world to present a massive operational laser capability for intercepting threats,” said Brig. Gen. (ret.) Danny Gold, head of the Defense Ministry’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development.
Iron Beam will be deployed near Iron Dome batteries. It operates using Iron Dome’s warning and command and control systems. In a split second, the system identifies whether an approaching threat requires a $50,000 Iron Dome missile or a laser shot costing fifty cents.
Tons Of Food Seen Scattered Along The Road In Gaza – Ben-Yishai
• As we drove along the Morag Corridor in Gaza that separates the Khan Yunis area from the Rafah area, what surprised me most were piles of white sacks and cardboard cartons scattered along the entire route. They were sacks of flour and food packages brought in as humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza.
• The deeper we went into Gaza, the larger the amounts of food thrown along the roadside became. In my estimate, there were dozens, perhaps even hundreds of tons of flour sacks and cartons, containing mostly canned goods. All of them were intact and ready to eat. The image of food tossed along the roadside does not align with the photos of walking skeletons that Hamas has flooded across social media.
• The US has set up the Civil Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in Kiryat Gat in Israel to implement Trump’s Gaza plan. The ultimate goal is about two million Palestinians, most of Gaza’s residents now in Hamas-controlled territory, will first move to temporary neighborhoods and later to permanent communities the Americans will build for them with Gulf-state funding.
• The American officers heading the Kiryat Gat command center believe it will not be necessary for the IDF to capture the Hamas-controlled area. Instead they believe Hamas, with the mediators’ agreement – Qatar, Turkey, and Egypt – will agree to lay down its weapons and evacuate Gaza once it realizes it is isolated. No one should entertain illusions. The process will take a very long time.
• Inside territory under IDF control, there are still pockets of resistance. In Rafah, about 100 terrorists were trapped inside tunnels after the IDF took control above ground. Fewer than 20 remain alive. About a third were killed by precise airstrikes using penetrating munitions and by explosions set by IDF combat engineers inside the tunnels. A third came to the surface to flee or fight to the last bullet. Most were killed and a third surrendered. What especially embarrassed Hamas was that many of those who surrendered did so voluntarily to the anti-Hamas Abu Shahab militia.
Dublin Council Withdraws Plan To Rename Herzog Park Due To Administrative Issues
Prime Minister Michael Martin and Foreign Minister Simon Harris joined Israeli officials in denouncing the plans to rename the park earlier on Sunday (11/30).
Dublin City Council will withdraw the plan to rename the Irish cap[ital’s Herzog Park due to “insufficient information contained in the report to allow councillors to make an informed decision, “and other administrative issues,” local media reported on Sunday.
The Prime Minister and the deputy prime minister of Ireland came out strongly against Dublin City Council’s plans to rename Herzog Park earlier on Sunday (11/30).
“The proposal should be withdrawn in its entirety and not proceeded with,” said Prime Minister Michael Martin. He added that going ahead with it would erase the distinctive and rich contribution to Irish life of the Jewish community, and that such denial of history would “without any doubt, be seen as anti-Semitic.”
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Simon Harris also said he “strongly opposes” the move. “It is wrong. We are an inclusive Republic. This proposal is offensive to that principle. I urge all party leaders to join me in opposition to this.”
Herzog Park in Dublin is named for Chaim Herzog, who was born in Belfast and grew up in Dublin. He later emigrated to Israel and went on to be president. His son, Isaac Herzog, is the current president. Chaim’s father – Yitzhak Halevi Herzog – was chief rabbi of Ireland for many years.
The Dublin City Council will convene on Monday (1st) to discuss the proposal to rename the park. Two pro-Palestine groups are petitioning to either rename the park “Hind Rajab Park” or Free Palestine Park.”
On Saturday (11/29), Ireland’s Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee said that Herzog “is an important figure for many people, particularly for members of Ireland’s Jewish community.”
While Ireland’s government has been “openly critical of the policies and actions of the government of Israel in Gaza and the West Bank,” the renaming of the park would “remove the name of an Irish Jewish man” who “has nothing to do with this,” McEntee added.
“It has no place in our inclusive Republic. In my view, this name change should not proceed, and I urge Dublin City Councillors to vote against it.”
The office of President Herzog said it is following the situation “with concern,” adding that it would harm the legacy of the sixth president, the late Chaim Herzog, as well as the unique expression of the historical connection between the Irish and the Jewish people.
“Beyond being an Israeli leader, Chaim Herzog was also a hero of the campaign to liberate Europe from the Nazis and a figure who dedicated his life to establishing the values of freedom, tolerance, the pursuit of peace, and the fight against anti-Semitism,” the statement added.
It also addressed the deterioration in Irish-Israeli relations over the past few years, not in small part due to the Irish government’s staunchly pro-Palestine stance.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar closed the Israeli embassy in Dublin in December 2024 due to the country’s hostile stance toward the Jewish state.
“Removing the Herzog name, if it happens, would be a shameful and disgraceful move,” the president’s statement continued. “We hope that the legacy of a figure at the forefront of establishing the relations between Israel and Ireland, and the fight against anti-Semitism and tyranny, will still get the respect it deserves today.”
