News Digest — 4/24/24
Hezbollah Drones Downed Off Coast Of Acre, Nahariya After IDF Strike Kills 2 Operatives
Two top Hezbollah operatives were killed in Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon on Tuesday (23rd), as explosive-laden drones launched by the terror group were intercepted by air defenses over Israel’s northern coast.
A drone strike on southern Lebanon’s Aadloun, near the coastal city of Tyre, killed Hussein Azqul, who the Israel Defense Forces said was a “central terrorist” in Hezbollah’s air defense unit.
Azqul, according to the IDF, was “heavily involved in the activities of the air defense unit and took part in the planning and execution of a variety of terror activities.”
The military said his death was a “significant blow” to Hezbollah’s air defense unit.
Another overnight strike in southern Lebanon killed Muhammad Attiya, who the IDF said was a member of the aerial unit of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force.
Attiya was “involved in the preparation and execution of terrorist attacks” against Israel, the military said.
Hezbollah confirmed the deaths of both Azqul and Attiya, saying they were killed “on the road to Jerusalem,” its term for operatives slain in Israeli strikes.
Their deaths brought the terror group’s toll amid the war in Gaza to 287.
Hours after the strikes, suspected drone infiltration sirens sounded in the northern cities of Nahariya, Acre, and numerous other towns in the Krayot area, just north of Haifa.
The IDF said three “suspicious aerial targets” – believed to be explosive-laden drones – were successfully intercepted by air defense over the sea, one off the coast of Nahariya and two near Acre.
Hezbollah later claimed responsibility for launching several attack drones “at northern Israel.”
Following the drone attack, Israeli fighter jets struck two buildings in southern Lebanon’s Ayta ash-Shab and Blida, where the IDF said Hezbollah operatives were gathered. Additional buildings used by Hezbollah in Markaba were also hit, the IDF added.
Since Oct 8, Hezbollah and allied terror groups have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a daily basis with rockets, drones, anti-tank missiles and other means, saying it is doing so to support Gaza during the war there.
So far, the skirmishes on the border have resulted in eight civilian deaths on the Israeli side as well as the deaths of 11 IDF soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.
Hezbollah has named 287 Hezbollah members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, and another 54 killed from other terror organizations.
Hamas’ Armed Wing Calls For Escalation On All Fronts
The Spokesman for Hamas’ armed al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Obeida, called on Tuesday (23rd) for an escalation across all fronts in a televised speech marking 200 days since the start of the Israel-Hamas War in the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7.
In a video aired by Al-Jazeera TV, Abu Obeida praised Iran’s attack on Israel April 13, saying the direct strikes with explosive drones and missiles “set new rules, drew important equations, and confused the enemy and those behind it.”
He also called for an escalation in the West Bank and Jordan calling it “one of the most important Arab fronts.”
Jordan, which lies between Iran and Israel, intercepted and shot down dozens of Iranian drones that entered its airspace and were heading to Israel, two regional security sources said on April 13.
“We call on the Jordanian people to step up their actions and raise their voices,” Abu Obeida said.
He said Hamas was sticking to its demands at the ongoing ceasefire talks – that Israel ends its military offensive, pulls out forces from Gaza, allows the displaced to return to northern Gaza, and lifts the blockade.
“The government of the occupation is stalling in reaching a hostage-deal and is trying to obstruct efforts by the mediators to reach a ceasefire agreement,” Abu Obeida said.
Qatar and Egypt have been trying to mediate a ceasefire, but Qatar foreign ministry spokesman said earlier on Tuesday (23rd) all concerned parties should “show seriousness” in allowing such efforts to succeed.
On War’s 200th Day, Israel Intensifies Gaza Operations
The Israel Defense Forces intensified its operations against Hamas terrorists in the central and northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday (23rd), as the war reached its 200th day.
Israeli strikes intensified in what residents said was some of the heaviest shelling in weeks, particularly hitting the north from where the Israeli army had previously drawn down its troops.
Strikes by air and shelling from tanks on the ground were also reported in central and southern areas, in what residents said were almost non-stop bombardments.
The IDF said Tuesday (23rd) that it had targeted Hamas rocket-launching positions in the southern Gaza Strip overnight. The military said the strike was carried out following new intelligence information that was received over the past few days, allowing the rocket launchers to be destroyed before they were used.
Separately, an airstrike was carried out against several terror operatives hiding near a civilian shelter in central Gaza’s Bureij, the military said.
Dozens more airstrikes were carried out across Gaza over the past day, targeting buildings used by terror groups, observation posts, rocket launch sites and other infrastructure and operatives, according to the army.
Meanwhile, in a post on social media platform X, Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic language spokesman, urged residents of four zones in northern Gaza’s Beit Lahiya to move to shelter in two designated areas near the town.
“You are in a dangerous combat zone,” Adraee warned, adding that the IDF would operate against “terror infrastructure” and operatives in the area.
The operation in Beit Lahiya comes following recent rocket attacks from the area on Israeli border communities.
The IDF also said it launched a new pinpoint operation in northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoun just before Passover began on Monday (22nd).
The raid was carried out by forces operating under the Gaza Division’s Northern Brigade.
Amid the operation, Sgt. First Class (res.) Salm Alkreshat, a tracker in the Gaza Division’s Northern Brigade was killed.
Alkreshat, 43, was from the Bedouin community of Abu Rabia. His death brings the toll of slain troops in the IDF’s ground offensive against Hamas to 261.
On Tuesday morning (23rd), four rockets were fired from northern Gaza at the southern city of Sderot, with the IDF reporting that all the projectiles were downed by the Iron Dome defense system.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the rocket attack on Sderot.
Several hours later, two more rockets were fired at the border community of Zikim. One rocket failed to cross the border and the other one was intercepted.
The IDF said the “surprise operation” that began Sunday (21st) was aimed at “deepening the achievements” in the Netzarim corridor.
The corridor, built around a road south of Gaza City, enables the IDF to carry out raids in northern and central Gaza while allowing Israel to control access to the north for Palestinians seeking to return after fleeing south.
The fighting in the center and the northern parts of the Strip continues amid Israel’s planned offensive in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah. A recent report by the Wall Street Journal said the IDF had begun “readying to evacuate Palestinian civilians from Rafah, where more than a million are sheltering.”
Israel has said Rafah, where four of Hamas’ six intact battalions are deployed, remains one of the terror group’s last major strongholds in the Strip.after the IDF operated across the north and in part of the center and south of the enclave. It also believes that many of the remaining hostages are there.
On Tuesday (23rd), a spokesman for the military wing of Hamas Hudhaifa Kahlout, otherwise known as Abu Obeida – called for an escalation across all fronts in a televised statement marking the 200 days of the war.
The war erupted when 3,000 terrorists poured across the border with Israel on Oct. 7 in an unprecedented Hamas-led attack that resulted in the deaths of 1.200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped 253.
Hamas Official Reveals Military Arm Holding 30 IDF Soldiers
A senior Hamas official has said that the terror group’s military arm is holding 30 abducted IDF soldiers.
The official who spoke to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed but whose name was not publicized, said that Hamas “trapped” 30 soldiers on October 7, and that the soldiers are now “far from the hands of the occupation.”
He also criticized Israel’s statements that Hamas only offered to release 20 hostages in a prisoner swap as “incorrect.”
The Official added that the captive soldiers and commanders are “being held in high security locations, and are very far from the hand of the occupation – it is impossible to reach them under any circumstances.”
According to him, the proposed prisoner swap deal includes three stages: the release of living civilians, the release of living soldiers, and the exchange of corpses. In Israel, it was reported that Hamas proposed to release just 20 hostages in the first stage, Galei Zahal reported.
Regarding the reports that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is not in touch with others, the source said, “He is not disconnected, but doing his work as the leader of the movement on the ground – recently, he visited areas where there were battles between the resistance and the occupation’s army, and met with the movement’s fighters above ground, and not in tunnels.”
Pro-Palestinian Demonstrator Removed From 81st Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Commemoration In Poland
As dignitaries stood on stage in Warsaw to mark the 81st anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, a lone figure got up to join them; a man wearing a hoodie with the colors of the Palestinian flag.
The man moved to the side of the stage where he unfurled a large Palestinian flag and just stood there, according to an attendee at the event.
The protest featured just one participant and was resolved without derailing the ceremony when police officers escorted him off the stage. Still it offered evidence of just how extensive and varied the settings of prro-Palestinian demonstrations have become since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct.7.
The annual ceremony in Warsaw on Friday (19th) took place outside the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes, located in what was once the Warsaw ghetto, where the Nazis imprisoned nearly half a million Jews, almost all of whom were ultimately murdered. The monument memorializes the hundreds of ragtag, half-starved Jews who banded together in April 1943 to battle the Nazis – and held them off for nearly a month rather than surrender themselves and their brethren to the death camps. Ultimately, the uprising failed, but it remains the most famous symbol of resistance to the Nazis’ genocidal ambitions.
The gathering was smaller than last year, when leaders convened from all over the world for the 80th anniversary of the uprising. Still, it featured local dignitaries and representatives from foreign governments, who laid wreaths at the site, along with prayers by Polish Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich.
(jta.org)
Israeli Officials Are Perplexed At US Claims Of Gaza Starvation – Ariel Kahana
• In recent weeks, massive amounts of humanitarian aid have entered Gaza in hundreds of trucks. Around 500 trucks are entering the Strip daily. What is particularly irksome to Israelis is the fact that this abundance is being showered on the Gazans, who democratically chose Hamas, have never revolted against it, and still support the horrific massacre – all while our captives languish in Gaza tunnels, enduring unimaginable torture.
• According to Israeli experts, Gaza is receiving far more than it needs, and the Americans know this down to the smallest details. The Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) has presented data to the Americans that 21 bakeries are operating in southern and central Gaza and another three in the north. They bake millions of pitas daily. The amount of water produced in the Strip exceeds 5 gallons of drinking water and cooking water per person per day. There have been 3,350 coordination efforts made between the IDF and aid organizations to facilitate the entry of aid.
• This picture is well known to the official American representatives. Yet they are hounding the Israeli leaders with endless demands. Everyone dealing with the issue knows that Israel is allowing far more than Gaza can absorb. “The Americans are driving Minister Ron Dermer crazy 24/7 with all these things, knowing there is no need for them. The UN inside Gaza is failing to distribute what’s coming in so why is more needed?” asks an Israeli who is privy to the data.
• The American pressure results in an increasing burden for the IDF. Soldiers are required to secure the massive supply convoys, the construction of the seaport on the Gaza coast, the laying of a new water pipeline to the Strip, and the opening of a crossing in the north. Defense Ministry inspectors spend nights and days examining the contents of trucks destined for the enemy, even though the enemy itself doesn’t need it.
• Meanwhile the US administration is tacitly endorsing, and sometimes explicitly using, the blood libel about “starvation in Gaza.” Yet its officials are well aware that there was never any danger of starvation. Israel has been monitoring the humanitarian situation in Gaza from day one and would never allow this. Yet, the official and deliberate US message is “immediate risk of starvation” – a lie that fuels the anti-Israel propaganda machine, which has been spreading the falsehood of “genocide in Gaza” around the world for months now.
• One Israeli official said, “In direct conversations with the Americans, you see they are well-versed in the data. We, inside the room, wonder where they are getting these statements from. They know what’s happening. They have an interest in not presenting what they know, and not affirming what Israel is saying. They should be saying, ‘There is no starvation in Gaza, and Israel is doing everything it can to get food in. The bottleneck is not Israel’s fault.’ But they choose not to say that.”
