News Digest — 4/10/23
Defense Minister Gallant: ‘Terrorists Who Think They May Elude The IDF Are Grossly Mistaken’
Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant on Sunday (9th) completed a tour of the Menashe division in northern Samaria, together with the relevant commanders in the region.
The Minister was briefed on the troops operational activities and held open discussion with the soldiers and officers stationed in the area. The briefing focused on counterterrorism activities, the search for terrorists who conducted attacks in the region, and the need to contend with infiltration attempts.
“This evening I visited northern Samaria in order to closely follow the ongoing counterterrorism activities conducted by our troops. Our security forces work day in and day out to ensure the security of our citizens,” the Defense Minister remarked following the tour.
“Any terrorist who thinks he may elude the IDF during the holidays is gravely mistaken. Anyone who attempts even the slightest harm will be brought to justice,” he concluded.
Earlier Sunday, (9th) the Volkswagen vehicle belonging to the terrorists who murdered Rina and Maia Dee on Friday (7th) in the Jordan Valley was located by Palestinian Security Forces in Nablus (Shechem) and was transferred to Israeli forces.
(isnn.com)
After Tense Night, Thousands Pray At Western Wall
Dawn Ramadan Prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound ended peacefully on Sunday (9th) after days of heightened tension at the flashpoint Jerusalem site, as a mass Passover benediction at the adjacent Western Wall began.
Small groups of Jewish visitors under heavy police guard walked through the mosque compound, known in Judaism as the Temple Mount, as thousands of worshipers gathered for the Passover’s special “Priestly Blessing” at the Western Wall below.
The Temple Mount, the holiest place In Judaism and third holiest place in Islam, has been at the center of a security crisis set off last week when Palestinian rioters barricaded themselves inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque and threw rocks and fireworks at police, resulting in clashes.
Footage of the raid, triggered a furious reaction across the Arab world, sparking rocket attacks on Israel by Palestinian factions that were met with Israeli strikes on sites in Gaza and southern Lebanon.
Overnight, into Sunday (9th), at least 6 rockets were launched toward the Israeli-held Golan Heights from Syria, while Israeli jets struck Syrian military targets in response. There were no reports of casualties on either side.
At Al Aqsa, the special Tarawih Ramadan prayer on Saturday night (8th) ended peacefully, despite fears violence would erupt there once more.
On Friday (7th), two Israeli sisters from a settlement in the West Bank were killed when their car came under fire by suspected Palestinian gunmen. Hours later, an Italian tourist was killed when a car driven by a man from an Arab city in Israel, rammed into a group in a shoreline park in Tel Aviv.
After a year of escalated Israeli-Palestinian violence, tensions are running especially high as Ramadan and Passover coincide, with a focus on the Al-Aqsa area in Jerusalem’s walled Old City. Clashes there between the police and worshipers helped spark a 10-day Israel-Gaza war in 2021.
As in previous years, the government is expected to ban entry into the Temple Mount compound to non-Muslims for the last 10 days of Ramadan, which is expected to end on April 20 or 21.
Large Crowds Gathered To Pay Final Respects To Israeli Sisters
Large crowds gathered in the cemetery in the West Bank settlement of Kfar Etzion on Sunday (9th) to pay last respects to British-Israeli sisters Maia and Rina Dee who were murdered by Palestinian gunmen over the weekend.
The funeral procession departed from the settlement of Efrat where the sisters resided, as mourners marched toward the cemetery in Kfar Etzion. Rina, 15, and Maia, 20, set out for a holiday trip with their parents when their car came under fire. The family lost control of the vehicle and crashed into another car.
First responders who arrived at the scene had to pronounce the sisters dead on the spot. Their mother Lucy, 48, sustained life-threatening injuries and remains hospitalized in critical condition at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center. The father of the family, Rabbi Leo Dee, was unharmed in the shooting.
After the recitation of Psalms, the girls’ father eulogized them to the sound of weeping.
He described Maia as an industrious and affable young woman who was embarking on her second year of volunteering at the national service.
“My beautiful Maia, we named you ‘God’s water,’ you were a friend to so many people, and flowed between so many groups.
He went on to compare his late daughter to the Matriarch Sarah of the Bible saying both women arrived, left and then returned again to the promised Land. He said Maia and Rina are being buried together. To Rina, he said, “You always wanted to travel the world, and now you are traveling to heaven.”
The IDF confirmed the drive-by shooting as a terror attack and promptly initiated a pursuit for the perpetrators who remain at large. The military set up roadblocks in the area and launched an investigation to determine whether the terrorists had headed to Jericho.
The area had witnessed several deadly attacks in recent months after a period of relative calm. In February, 26-year-old American-Israeli Elan Ganeles was killed in a similar drive-by shooting.
The attack followed rioting on the West Bank over police clashes with worshipers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Thursday (6th) and rocket fire launched from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel during the morning hours on Friday (7th).
The IDF retaliated by striking Hamas targets in the Gaza Palestinian enclave, including attack tunnels and weapons production sites.
(ynetnews.com; afp.com)
Terror Summit: Hamas, Hezbollah Officials Brainstorm On Attacking Israel From Multiple Fronts
Senior Hamas and Hezbollah officials met in Beirut on Sunday morning (9th), as tensions in the region rose following rocket launches against Israel from Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria, including retaliatory IAF airstrikes.
Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah hosted Ismail Haniyeh, the chair of Hamas’ political wing, and Salah al-Arouri, the head of Hamas operations in Judea and Samaria and who is widely believed to be responsible for plotting numerous deadly terror attacks against Israelis.
According to reports from Hezbollah-affiliated media translated by Ynet, the men discussed “the latest developments in occupied Palestine, the Al-Aqsa events and the increase in resistance activity in Judea, Samaria and Gaza.
The terror leaders also spoke about “political developments in the region” and “the readiness of the resistance axis to deal with the situation and its possible implications.”
Notably, a senior Iranian official is currently visiting Damascus – Ismail Qaani, the head of the Quds Force, which is part of the IRGC. He has been in Syria for several days.
Since the start of the Passover holiday on Tuesday evening (4th), Israel has been targeted by rocket fire from Lebanon, Syria and Gaza.
Intelligence analysts have suggested that the multi-front attacks against Israel are being coordinated and supported by Iranian authorities. Iran funds both the southern Lebanon-based Hezbollah terror group and Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror organizations in the Gaza Strip.
Tehran also maintains numerous assets and militia groups throughout Syria.
In recent years, Israeli airstrikes have targeted Iranian outposts and soldiers in Syria, with two senior IRGC officials being killed in an IAF bombing last week.
According to a New York Times report citing Israeli and US intelligence officials, Iran is planning to target Israeli-owned vessels traveling through the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea.
Last year, an Iranian drone attacked an oil tanker owned by an Israeli businessman.
Hundreds Of Thousands Flock To Beaches, Parks During Intermediate Days Of Passover
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis flocked to beaches and national parks on Sunday (9th) while marking the intermediate days of Passover, leading to overcrowding that shuttered access to some sites.
Most schools are closed nationwide and many people are off work during the weeklong holiday, so leisure attractions tend to draw large crowds.
Sunday (9th) was also unseasonably warm, with temperatures topping 95F in some parts of the country, sending many to seek out beaches and natural springs.
The Israel Nature and Parks Authority said that approximately 200,000 people visited its sites Sunday (9th), forcing it to shut the Yarkon and Ein Hanya national parks, near Petah Tikva and Jerusalem respectively.
It also restricted vehicle access to Beit Yanai Beach, and reported heavy crowding at other sites.
Authorities also shut access Sunday afternoon (9th) to most public camping beaches around the Sea of Galilee due to overcrowding.
The Union of Kinneret Cities, which administers public beaches around the large freshwater lake, said about 30,000 people visited its beaches and parking areas on Sunday (9th), filling every single one – forcing them to close access to all except Dugit beach, on the Galilee’s eastern shore.
President Isaac Herzog himself paid a visit to a national park on Sunday (9th), touring Tel Lachish with his wife Michal.
Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport Records Busiest-Ever Month
Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport saw its busiest month in history, the Israel Airports Authority revealed on Sunday (9th), with more passengers passing through it in March 2023 than any other month ever. During this month, a total of 1,983,428 passengers passed through the airport on 13,490 international and domestic flights. This is a 57% increase in passenger numbers compared to March 2022.
It was also found that El Al flew its highest numbers of passengers yet, a total of 432,365 passengers in March 2023. This is almost a 50% increase compared to March 2022. ElAl had the highest percentage (22.9%) of the total traffic at Ben Gurion Airport. It was followed by the Hungarian budget airline Wizz Air, which flew 11.5% of all the passengers – a total of 221,798 people. This was followed by Irish budget airline Ryanair, which flew 134,993 passengers, or 7.5% of the total figure, followed by Turkish Airlines with 109,978 passengers and EasyJet with 83,246.
The most popular travel destination in March 2023 was Dubai, with 117,239 passengers heading for the Emirati city. This is an increase of almost 60% compared to last March.
However, the most popular destination by country was the US, where 190,249 passengers were headed – nearly 10% of all passenger traffic.
(jpost.com; reuters.com)
