News Digest — 5/28/26
IDF Broadens Hezbollah Strikes, Tells Southern Lebanese To Move Farther North
The IDF intensified its fire in southern Lebanon and deeper inside the country over the past day, as troops expanded ground operations at several points and the Israel Air Force continued supporting forces operating beyond the so-called “yellow line” ceasefire demarcation.
The IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman also called on residents of southern Lebanon to evacuate and move north of the Zahrani River, signaling possible further strikes in the area.
Smoke from strikes was documented Wednesday (27th) near Beaufort Castle while Lebanese reports also cited unusual strikes in the Baalbek area of the Bekaa Valley and in Tyre in southern Lebanon.
In southern Lebanon, troops from the 91st and 36th divisions began deeper operations beyond the yellow line, carrying out raids on positions that provide fire control and observation. At the same time, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman issued evacuation warnings for villages deeper inside Lebanon.
The army said airstrikes are helping force Hezbollah operatives into a defensive posture after ground troops pushed them deeper into villages.
Because wide areas separate many villages in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah operatives are pushed to more distant village lines when IDF troops advance along one line of villages, sometimes several kilometers deeper inside the area.
The goal of the operation is to strike drone launchers and deny,or at least disrupt, Hezbollah’s ability to target northern Israeli border communities and military posts along the frontier.
Lebanese media described the latest activity as an escalation, amid Israeli warnings of deeper action against Hezbollah. However, reports from Lebanon did not describe an unusual number of strikes or a higher number of casualties compared with recent weeks of fighting.
The ground maneuver is continuing under restrictions imposed by the United States on the scope of fighting amid negotiations with Iran. The Israeli government has avoided approving strikes on Beirut, while Northern Command Forces say they are ready to operate anywhere in their area of responsibility, if strikes deeper inside Lebanon and against Hezbollah’s centers of gravity are approved.
Earlier Wednesday (27th), IDF Chief of Staff LTG. Eyal Zamir said at an air force ceremony that Israeli aircraft and personnel were operating from the air and ground, striking Hezbollah, supporting ground troops, defending northern Israel, repeatedly targeting senior Hamas figures in Gaza and preparing for developments in any arena.
One Man Left: Meet Imad Aqel, The Last Surviving Hamas Commander From Oct. 7
Israel has now killed every senior Hamas military figure who orchestrated the October 7 massacre, except one.
His name is Imad Aqel, and almost nobody has heard of him. That obscurity may be exactly what has kept him alive.
The IDF and Shin Bet confirmed Wednesday (27th) morning the assassination of Hamas’ brand new military chief Mohammed Odeh, killed in Gaza city on Tuesday night (26th), just 11 days after his predecessor Izz al-Din al-Haddad was eliminated on May 15th.
The rapid back-to-back eliminations have now completed an extraordinary campaign: Odeh joined al-Haddad, Yahya Sinwar, Muhammed Deif, Mohammed Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh, and other top Hamas officials who Israel assassinated since October 7, 2023
According to foreign reports, the only remaining member of Hamas’ core council is the home front commander, Imad Aqel, who did not participate directly in the October 7 attack.
Unlike figures like Yahya Sinwar or Muhammed Deif, Aqel hardly became a public or political symbol, which helped him survive several Israeli assassination attempts.
He mostly remains behind the scenes and is said to possess extensive knowledge of Hamas’ production systems, tunnels, and internal command structure.
Born in 1971in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, Aqel joined the Islamist movement in his youth and became part of the Qassam Brigades from their earliest days in the 1990s.
Over decades he built a reputation as a charismatic figurehead, but as a methodical operator, focused on logistics, sabotage, weapons production, and infrastructure.
Israel attempted to assassinate him in 2003, killing others around him, but Aqel escaped unharmed. His home in Nuseirat was bombed during Operation Cast Lead in 2009, but he wasn’t there.
He serves as head of the organization’s “home front headquarters,” responsible for logistics, production and weapons supply to fighting forces.
His role in preserving Hamas’ operational continuity during wartime makes him a major Israeli target.
Alongside Aqel, the IDF is also monitoring a new generation of commanders that Hamas is trying to foster after the severe blow to its leadership.
One prominent name is Muhand Rajab, believed to have recently been promoted to commander of the “Gaza Brigade” – a tactical and professional figure rather than a charismatic one.
While the assassination of Odeh is a stunning intelligence accomplishment, it is far from clear that it will change the strategic picture with Hamas.
The organization’s political leadership remains outside Gaza, untouched, and since the October 2025 ceasefire, Hamas has agreed only to partial disarmament, handing over some heavy weapons, while a standoff continues over Israeli withdrawal and Gaza construction.
Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a joint statement following the Odeh strike: “We will continue to pursue all those who took part in the October 7 massacre. Sooner or later, Israel will reach every one of them.”
Ambassador Danny Danon: ‘Stefanik Has Showed The Way To Moral Clarity’
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Dannon praised Rep. Elise Stefanik during an appearance at an Israel Justice Organization event celebrating the release of her new book , Poisoned Ivies.
Addressing attendees, Danon thanked Stefanik for her “devotion and dedication” to supporting Israel, calling her “a lioness” who “fights in Congress.”
“I’m sure we’ll see her in great places for the US and for Israel,” Danon said.
Danon connected Stefanik’s book, which examines antisemitism and radicalization on university campuses, to what he described as a broader international problem. He recounted a recent conversation with the ambassador of the United Arab Emirates, who told him that the UAE government no longer allows students receiving state grants to study in the United Kingdom because of concerns over extremism on campuses there.
They found out that radical ideas took over those universities,” Danon said, adding that Stefanik had exposed similar trends in the United States. “By writing this book, she showed us the path, the way to fight for moral clarity. I’m sure that you will be successful in combating that hate and that dangerous path.”
Danon also thanked attendees for their support of Israel and expressed confidence amid ongoing international tensions.
“We are winning. We are strong. We will prevail,” he told the crowd before concluding with, “Am Yisrael chai!”
Israel Receives First KC-46 Aircraft From US, Boosting Options For Independent Strikes On Iran
After years of waiting, the US delivered to Israel the first of at least six, and possibly eight, KC-46 midair refueling aircraft for future potential attacks on Iran and other distant targets, the IDF said on Wednesday (27th).
The KC-46 can carry up to 15% more fuel and double the refueling capacity per flight of its predecessor, the “Raam” refueling aircraft.
IDF Lt. Col.”A” said that had the KC-46 been in Israel’s hands during the recent Iran war, it would have significantly increased the air force’s refueling and flying capacities.
He added that the KC-46 gives the air force a much fuller ability to roam and strike anywhere necessary throughout the Middle East.
While A said that some small adjustments needed to be made to the aircraft, he predicted that it would be operational almost immediately.
On May 4, Israel’s Defense Ministry announced that this same KC-46 aircraft, to be known as “Gideon” within the Israel Air Force, had undertaken a maiden test flight within the US, and was expected to be delivered to the Jewish State in around a month.
This delivery could be a game-changer in providing Israel with much greater independence, if it decided to strike the Islamic Regime in Iran, the Houthis in Yemen, or any other potential distant adversaries in the future, even if some later US administration were to oppose such a strike.
In the short term, the move is suddenly surprisingly less necessary and imminent than once imagined.
Israeli assumptions had always been that the IDF might need to attack Iran without American help, which could require midair refueling. The IAF has had such a capability, but it has been limited.
However, ultimately Israel had some American help in attacking Iran, and has pushed its nuclear and ballistic missile threats off by some years.
Still, those threats are not gone, and when they return, it is possible that a future US administration may be less ready to assist Israel and might even oppose a strike.
In that case, the KC-46 would enable Israeli F-35s, F-16s, F-15s, and others to have much more significant mid-air refueling capabilities.
Most of Iran is at least 1,500 kilometers away, some parts are 2,000 km. away, and the Yemen Houthis are mostly at least 1,800 km, distant, with some parts beyond 2,000 km.
Recently, the IAF revealed that it has learned some new fast take-off methods to be able to fly to closer portions of Iran and back without refueling, though this significantly limits what targets can be hit within Iran, and how long the aircraft can remain in the sky if any part of the mission goes wrong or is delayed.
THis Boeing KC-46 aircraft is the first of at least six (some officials have said as many as eight) tanker aircraft procured by the ministry’s Mission to the US and is part of a wide-scale force buildup program managed by the Defense Ministry on behalf of the IDF, which includes purchasing additional F-35s and new F-15IAs as part of a new NIS 350 billion decade-long budget focused on boosting future military power and independence.
Lt. Col. A said that anotherKC-46 is expected to arrive next month, two more next year, two more by 2030, and possibly another at the start of the next decade.
According to the ministry, the tanker aircraft will be equipped with Israeli systems and adapted to its air force’s operational requirements, enabling it to extend operational range and maintain air superiority across all theaters.
In July 2025, sources warned that Israeli delays in moving forward with aspects of its purchasing process allowed Japan and Italy to jump ahead in terms of receiving additional KC-46 aircraft.
In fact, there had been points at which Israel could have received the KC-46 aircraft in 2025, though at the very start, 2026 had been the expected delivery time period.
In June 2023, The Jerusalem Post viewed a Boeing KC-46 midair refueling aircraft at a conference in Paris and participated in a briefing within the aircraft with US pilot Capt. Cody Nelson.
Nelson who has flown missions all over the world, said the KC-46 was “like a mobile gas tank” that carries 207,000 pounds of fuel (94,000 kilograms) and can refuel a wide variety of aircraft, including the F-35, F-16, F-15, and F-22, thereby covering Israel’s various combat aircraft.
If properly coordinated to allocate a certain amount of fuel, each KC-46 could refuel around a dozen aircraft, he said.
It can fly for 16 hours straight – and for up to 24 hours if it receives midair refueling from another aircraft, Nelson said.
Moreover, its advanced avionics – compared to other similar aircraft – and its transparent glass cockpit provides pilots with a significantly improved visual outlook, he added.
The large aircraft can transport around 110 troops and also be used to handle 22 different medical rescue situations, Nelson said.
British Museum Postpones Talks On “Ancient Israel” Due To Security
The British Museum has ignited a fierce free-speech controversy after abruptly calling off an upcoming academic lecture focused on ancient Jewish history, JNS reported.
Paul Collins, the keeper of the institution’s Middle East department was scheduled to present a midday lecture titled “Ancient Israel and Judah in the British Museum “ on Thursday (28th) as part of the museum’s Jewish Culture Month.
However, the globally renowned institution released a terse cancellation message on its website on Wednesday (27th), writing, “Please note this event has been postponed. We apologize for any inconvenience.”
“The museum’s framing of the delay was quickly challenged by David Wolfson, a member of the House of Lords and an Orthodox Jew. Wolfson published a screenshot of an internal email sent out by the museum’s ticketing office that explicitly cited safety risks as the catalyst for the cancellation.
“Important information about your booking. Due to security concerns, the Ancient Israel and Judah in the British Museum talk on Thursday (28th) has been postponed. We apologize for any inconvenience,” the message read.
Wolfson, who serves as the shadowy attorney general, lambasted the decision, warning of consequences for state-backed venues that capitulate to external intimidation.
“If publicly-funded institutions cannot host such events without folding to pressure, serious questions arise about that funding,” Wolfson wrote.
In a follow-up defense of its actions, the British Museum acknowledged that the measure was reactive, stating it had been “informed that a significant proportion of registered attendees were individuals intending to deliberately disrupt the event.” The administration maintained that “this decision was made to protect the event – not to diminish it.”
Alex Gandler, a spokesperson representing the Israeli Embassy in London, fiercely rebuked the museum’s administrators.
“It’s shameful that historical and academic truths are being stifled by a grotesque, violent pressure campaign,” Gandler stated. “Those who need to be canceled are the violent criminals that are threatening.”
The sentiment was mirrored by Michael Dickson, the Executive Director of StandWithUs Israel, who characterized the cancellation as an outright capitulation.
“Jewish history under attack by extremists. The British Museum – one of the world’s most famous museums, founded in 1753 – caved into them,” Dickson stated.
The incident comes amid a sharp rise in antisemitism in Britain, and specifically in London and the area. The cancellation by the museum occurred less than a month after two Orthodox Jewish men were stabbed in nearby Golders Green, and just days after another Jewish man was assaulted in the same neighborhood simply because he was overheard speaking Hebrew.
The Golders Green stabbing prompted the United Kingdom to raise its national terrorism threat level from “substantial” to “severe” for the first time in over four years.
