News Digest — 7/7/25
Houthis Fire Missiles At Israel After IDF Strikes Ports In Yemen
Hours after the IDF carried out a massive strike on ports in Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen Sunday night (6th), sirens warning of rocket and missile fire in the West Bank and Dead Sea areas sounded in the pre-dawn hours on Monday (7th), as at least two missiles were launched, targeting Israel. No injuries or damages were reported.
Earlier, the IDF launched a series of airstrikes, dubbing the air campaign Operation Black Flag.
According to the military, the strikes targeted key terror infrastructure at the Houthi-controlled ports of Hodeidah, As-Salif, and Ras Isa. Additional targets included the Ras Khatib power station and the Galaxy Leader, a ship hijacked by the Houthis in the Red Sea in 2023 and reportedly repurposed for terror.
Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a statement, declaring, “The same fate awaits Yemen as Tehran. Under Operation Black Flag, the IDF has powerfully struck Houthi terror targets. As I have warned, anyone who tries to harm Israel will be struck, and any hand raised against Israel will be cut off. The Houthis will continue to pay a heavy price for their actions.”
The strikes follow ongoing missile fire from Yemen toward Israel, despite a ceasefire with Iran in place since late June. Israeli officials had initially noted a lull in Houthi activity – believed linked to a prior assassination attempt on Houthi military chief Mohammed Abdul Karim al-Ghamari – but noted a resumption of launches in recent days.
Sources say al-Ghamari, a key figure in Houthi-Iran coordination and head of the group’s missile program, was seriously wounded or killed in a targeted Israeli strike last month. The IDF believes that that action may have disrupted Houthi operations temporarily.
A Yemeni security source added that al-Ghamari, who trained in Iran, was considered among the group, one of its most dangerous operatives. If eliminated, it would represent a significant blow to both the Houithis and Tehran.
Footage at the time showed Houthi forces setting up checkpoints and ambulances rushing to the scene following the strike. The attack reportedly targeted al-Ghamari’s meeting headquarters.
However, Houthi missile fire resumed after the Israeli ceasefire with Iran. The most recent launch on Israel, beside the Monday morning (7th) attack, came Saturday night (5th), triggering alarms in the Dead Sea and Judean Desert regions. The IDF later confirmed that a missile launched from Yemen had been intercepted with no casualties or damages reported.
Netanyahu Before Leaving For US: ‘There is An Opportunity To Broaden The Circle Of Peace’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to the press on Sunday (6th) before departing for a meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC.
“I am heading out for a very important visit to Washington, where I will meet with President Trump. This is my third meeting with the President since he was elected, and I will also meet with senior administration officials and representatives from both parties. I will thank President Trump for his strong support for Israel. There has never been such a friend in the White House. This support led to a tremendous victory over our rival Iran,” Netanyahu stated.
“There are 20 living hostages and 30 deceased ones left. I am determined to return them all, and for Gaza not to be a threat to Israel.”
“We will not allow the encouragement of hostage taking and murder – that means the elimination of Hamas’ military capabilities. I am committed to all the objectives, and we will achieve them with our soldiers and the correct and bold decisions that we’ve made.”
Accompanying the Prime Minister on the state aircraft, Wing of Zion, is US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. Before boarding, the ambassador told the press: “I don’t want to make any predictions, but I expect it will be a good visit.”
If Ceasefire Reached in Latest Round of Negotiations, Israel Required To Release Palestinians Prisoners Serving Life Sentences
If a ceasefire agreement is reached in the latest round of negotiations in Qatar, Israel would be required to release Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the freeing of hostages held by Hamas since the October 7 Massacre.
An Israeli delegation left for Doha on Sunday (6th) to join the talks. According to reports, the negotiations center on a proposal for a 60-day truce during which 10 live Israeli hostages and 18 bodies of hostages who had been killed would be delivered to Israel, and 1,000 Palestinians serving prison sentences, including 100 who were sentenced to life would be released from jail.
Among them would be prisoners Israel has thus far refused to release, some of whom would likely assume leadership positions in terror groups.
Palestinian officials said the releases would change the political power struggle in the West Bank in particular and would include popular figures such as Marwan Barghouti, who is serving five life sentences + 40 years for his role in the murder of five Israelis and the wounding of more.
Despite his past, Barghouti, who is considered a possible successor of Palestinian Leader Mahmoud Abbas, is seen as a unifying figure and is supported even by his political adversaries.
Hamas is demanding the release of Ahmad Sa’adat, the chairman of the Popular Front (PFLP) who was the mastermind of the assassination of Israeli minister Rehavam Zeevi in 2001. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Hamas is also demanding the release of Abdullah Barghouti, a senior member of the Hamas military wing in the West Bank who was serving 67 life sentences for his role in fatal terror attacks during the second intifada.
Other hardened terrorists that would be demanded by Hamas’ list includes Hassan Salame who is serving a term of 46 life sentences for planning terror attacks killing 100 Israelis and Abbas a-Sayed who was sentenced to 36 life sentences for his role in the attack on the Park Hotel in Netanya in 2002, where 30 people were murdered.
Hamas Leader: 95% Of Command Dead, Gaza Now Lawless
A senior-ranking member of Hamas told the BBC, that the terror group has largely “lost control” of the Gaza Strip, and that Israel is nearing the point of completely defeating its longtime enemy.
“Let’s be realistic here—there’s barely anything left of the security structure. Most of the leadership, about 95 percent, are now dead. The active figures have all been killed,” the official, who was identified as a lieutenant colonel wounded by the IDF in October 2023, told the BBC.
“So really, what’s stopping Israel from continuing this war?”
The official said he believed the conflict “has to continue until the end. All the conditions are aligned: Israel has the upper hand, the world is silent, the Arab governments are silent, criminal gangs are everywhere, society is collapsing.”
The terror group member claimed that Hamas’ control over the Strip “has completely collapsed” since the end of the most recent ceasefire in March.
Hamas’ authority in the Strip is “totally gone. There’s no control anywhere,” the official added, noting that Hamas’ stockpiles of stolen humanitarian aid had recently been looted by armed gangs and civilians.
“So, the security situation is zero. Hamas’ control is zero. There’s no leadership, no command, no communication. Salaries are delayed, and when they do arrive, they’re barely usable. Some die just trying to collect them. It’s total collapse.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Washington DC Monday (7th), where he is slated to discuss a potential ceasefire agreement with President Donald Trump.
In Late June, Trump signaled that a truce between Israel and Hamas was imminent, stressing that such a deal would see the release of the Israeli hostages who have been held in Gaza since October 7th, 2023.
A New Palestinian Offer For Peace With Israel – Eliot Kaufman
“We want cooperation with Israel, we want coexistence, “ says Sheikh Wadee al-Jaabari, 48, leader of the most influential clan in the West Bank city of Hebron, south of Jerusalem. Sheikh Jaabari and four other leading Hebron sheikhs have signed a letter pledging peace and full recognition of Israel as a Jewish state. Their plan is for Hebron to break out of the Palestinian Authority, establish an emirate of its own, and join the Abraham Accords.
Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat, a former mayor of Jerusalem, has brought Jaabari and other sheikhs to his home and met with them more than a dozen times since February. They asked him to present the letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The letter seeks a timetable for negotiations to join the Abraham Accords and “a fair and decent arrangement that would replace the Oslo Accords, which only brought damage, death, economic disaster and destruction.” The Oslo Accords, agreed to by Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization in the 1990s, “have brought upon us the corrupt Palestinian Authority, instead of recognizing the traditional, authentic local leadership.”The sheikhs propose that Israel admit workers from Hebron – a valuable source of income for Palestinian communities. Most permits for Palestinians to work in Israel were suspended after October 7. The Sheikhs pledge “zero tolerance” for terrorism by workers, “in contrast to the current situation in which the Palestinian Authority pays tributes to the terrorists.”
“Nobody in Israel believes in the PA, and you won’t find many Palestinians who do either,” Barkat says. “Sheikh Jaabari wants peace with Israel and to join the Abraham Accords, with the support of his fellow sheikhs. Who in Israel is going to say no?”
Jaabari says the clans governed their own localities for hundreds of years. Then “the Israeli state decided for us. It brought the PLO and told the Palestinians: “Take this.”’ Another Sheikh said, “The PLO called itself a liberation movement. But once they got control, they acted only to steal the money of the people. They don’t have the right to represent us – not them and not Hamas, only we ourselves.”
The Sheikhs say they can remove the PA from Hebron in a week, or a day, depending how aggressively they move. “Just don’t get involved,” one Hebron sheikh advised Israel.
(Wall Street Journal)
(wsj.com)
Tehran Is Pressing Hezbollah Not To Give Up Its Weapons – Yaakov Lappin
The U.S. is pushing for a tangible disarmament process by Hezbollah in Lebanon. An American framework links a potential Israeli withdrawal from disputed border points, to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) taking control of Hezbollah’s remaining arsenal of illegal weapons.
Col. (ret.) Dr. Jacques Neriah, a Middle East specialist at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, and former deputy head for assessment of Israeli Military Intelligence, said, “One should not expect aggressive action by the Lebanese Army against Hezbollah. It is clear to everyone that Hezbollah is doing what it can to hide its weapons and is aware of the criticism rising against it. It is totally subject to Tehran’s decision, and Tehran is asking it not to surrender to American demands. Handing over its weapons cancels Hezbollah’s role… in the Lebanese political system.”
Col. (res.) Barak Ben-Zur, a former head of the Research Unit in the Israel Security Agency, said the key to a long-term solution lies in Damascus via a comprehensive political-security settlement with the new Syrian regime under Ahmad Al-Sharaa. Such an agreement would place a major obstacle in the path of Hezbollah’s return to its former status. “Establishing a relationship… between Syria and Israel will make it possible to nullify the Iranian influence and its translation into practical steps on the ground.”
He noted that the dismantling of Iran’s forward intelligence and air defense network in Syria and Lebanon, which had been able to supply early alerts to the Iranian air-defense network and supplied Iran with ongoing intelligence on Israeli air and ground activity, was one of the crucial enablers for the surprise Israeli attack on Iran on June 13.
(jns.org)
