News Digest —8/7/24
IDF Warns Gazans To Evacuate Beit Hanoun, Reinvasion imminent
IDF Arabic Spokesperson Avichai Adraee warned Gazan residents in the Beit Hanoun area of Gaza, including those in the Manshiyya and Sheikh Zayed neighborhoods and those currently residing in shelters in the vicinity, to evacuate the areas, in a post on X, early Wednesday morning (7th).
Beit Hanoun is a city located in the northern portion of the Gaza Strip.
Adraee noted that Hamas and other terrorist organizations were using the area to fire rockets at Israel, and the IDF was set to “act forcefully against them.”
The Arabic language spokesperson added that those in the area should immediately evacuate to shelters in central Gaza City.
On Tuesday evening (6th), rocket alarms sounded in the southern Israel localities of Ashkelon, Sderot, Ibim, Nir Am and Zikim.
Shortly after, the IDF reported that it had identified three launches crossing from northern Gaza.
The military added that one of the launches was intercepted by Israel’s aerial defense array, and the others fell in open areas. No injuries were reported.
Israel Air Force Strikes Hezbollah Military Structure In Lebanon
Israel Air Force fighter jets struck a Hezbollah military base where terrorists were located and operating on Tuesday (6th) in the area of the Yaroun village in Lebanon, the IDF said in the early hours of Wednesday (7th).
In addition, the fighter jets also struck a Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure site in the area of Kfar Kila in southern Lebanon.
On Tuesday (6th), 19 Israelis were wounded by Hezbollah’s drone attacks, according to the Galilee Medical Center in Safed.
Furthermore, Hezbollah launched around 30 rockets into northern Israel on the same day, with some toward the Golan and others toward the Galilee.
Although the IDF intercepted some drones and rockets, other drones perpetrated the IDF”s defense shield, striking south of Nahariya and wounding many civilians, the IDF said.
Hezbollah later claimed to have launched a squadron of suicide drones at northerm Israel. A Hezbollah source told Reuters Tuesday (6th) that this was not the terror group’s response to the IDF’s elimination of Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut last week, but that would be coming.
The strikes come as tensions remain high between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah after Israel killed Hezbollah’s military commander Fuad Shukr.
Israel’s strike on Shukr came following a Hezbollah rocket launch, which resulted in the deaths of 12 children on a soccer field from the Druze town of Majdal Shams.
In addition, Iran has vowed to attack Israel directly following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in the early hours of Wednesday (7/31), last week.
Nasrallah: ‘Our Loss Of Fuad Shukr Is Very Great, But It Doesn’t Shake Us’
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah delivered an address at a memorial ceremony for his deputy Fuad Shukr, also known as Sayyed Mohsen, on Tuesday evening (6th).
Shortly before Nasrallah began his remarks, Israeli military aircraft flew low over Beirut, creating what locals called one of the biggest sonic booms they had ever heard.
Referencing this action, Nasrallah began by stating, “The enemy is breaking the sound barrier over the southern suburbs to frighten those gathered for the ceremony.”
“Al Sayyed Mohsen was a leader in all the resistance’s major battles,” said Nasrallah. “He was one of the architects of the 2000 victory (the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon) and that of July 2006 (the Second Lebanon War). He was in charge of the main operations room.”
“He had a strategic mind, rich in ideas, and a great capacity for planning,” Nasrallah said, adding that Shukr “drew up the general war plans as well as the necessary amendments.”
He acknowledged that “our loss is very great with the martyrdom of Sayyed Mohsen, but it doesn’t shake us at all and doesn’t make us hesitate or stop.”
The Hezbollah leader claimed that “Israel seeks to annex the West Bank and claims there is no Palestinian state,” adding that “if Netanyahu and the US-Zionist alliance are victorious over the resistance in Gaza and the West Bank, the entity that kills children will solidify itself in the region.”
“We face the danger that the occupying entity will dominate the region,” he warned. “The region is facing real dangers. Everyone must understand that if Israel wins, there will be no Palestine and the al-Aqsa Mosque will be seriously threatened. Lebanon and its riches will also be at risk, as will Jordan, whose Hashemite kingdom could disappear. Syria will be threatened, both in the Golan Heights and inside the country, and Israel will work to make the Syrian leader a friend. Egypt and all the countries in the region will also be threatened.”
He boasted, “Israel, fearing the Iranian response or that of Hezbollah, appeals to the United States and Western countries, which proves that its deterrence has diminished, as well as its capability of defending itself.”
”The aim of this battle is to prevent Israel from achieving victory and to avoid the elimination of the Palestinian resistance and the failure of the Palestinian cause,” Nasrallah said.
“Hezbollah will respond, Iran will respond, Yemen will respond, and the enemy waits, watches and evaluates each reaction. The main thing is the determination, the decision and the capability are there,” he said, adding, “We are in a battle that has an end. We call on the resistance in Gaza and the West Bank to show more patience and firmness. We call on the support-fronts in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen to continue supporting Gaza despite the sacrifices. We call on Arab countries to wake up to the danger threatening the region.”
“The Israeli danger cannot be faced by playing ostrich and running away from the storm, because the enemy fights without red lines. What is needed is confrontation, not hesitation and submission,” the Hezbollah leader said.
Nasrallah also stated that the wait for the attack is “part of the punishment” Iran and Hezbollah are seeking to inflict on Israel, and acknowledged that this tactic is “psychological.”
“Our response will come, God willing, alone or as part of a collective response from the whole front. Our response will come, God Willing, and it will be strong,” Nasrallah concluded.
Saudi Expert: Tehran’s ‘Proxy’ Strategy failed, Iran Has Significant Disadvantages
Experts on Iran told Saudi Arabia’s Al Hadath news channel on Monday (4th) that they believed Tehran’s strategy of unifying different fronts against Israel has failed since October 7.
Iran expert Jaber Rajabi said that Iran has not managed to achieve major goals despite its extreme declarations. Rajabi pointed out that Israel possesses advanced military equipment, including fifth-generation fighter jets and advanced defense systems, that can efficiently address any Iranian threat.
While Iran and its allies have formulated military plans in recent years against other, less advanced adversaries, going head-to-head with Israel is a different matter entirely.
Rajabi explained that the IDF has extensive experience in various wars. Meanwhile, Iran and its proxies rely on guerrilla warfare and irregular conflicts for their training. He also noted Israel’s relationship with the US, a global superpower.
Conversely, Iran is suffering from severe economic issues and is preoccupied with dealing with neighboring countries. Additionally, Iran does not enjoy strong international support due to previous conflicts, and even China and Russia tend to avoid intervening in these conflicts, according to Rajabi.
Rajabi also emphasized Israel’s intelligence expertise, asserting that Israel has the ability to identify and thwart any threat before it occurs thanks to its intelligence network, while Iranian intelligence mechanisms have suffered several setbacks, breaches, and failures in protecting senior figures.
Israel has also demonstrated superiority in carrying out covert operations that have reduced the power of its adversaries, while Iran’s attempts to target Israeli objectives in third-party countries often fail, according to Rajabi.
Yahya Sinwar Named Leader Of Hamas To Replace Haniyeh
Hamas named its Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar as successor to former political chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Tehran last week, the group said on Tuesday (6th), in a move that reinforces the radical path pursued since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
Along with Mohammed Deif and the senior military wing, Sinwar is considered the architect of the October 7 massacre and, since the war began, he has been hiding in tunnels under Gaza.
Shortly after the announcement of Sinwar’s appointment, rocket alert sirens sounded in southern Ashkelon, Sderot, Ibim, Nir Am and Zikim. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the rocket fire at Israel. Three rockets were launched from northern Gaza; one was intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system and two fell in open areas without causing any casualties or damage. Since July 5th, there have been 58 rocket launches from the Gaza Strip toward Israel.
Even though he is in hiding, Sinwar manages to communicate with the outside and make decisions regarding ceasefire negotiations and hostage deals. He even managed to convey a message of condolence to Ismail Haniyeh after his sons were killed in the Gaza Strip in April. Hamas officials told the Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that there are three people who know where Sinwar is, and that they provide for his needs. “He is constantly updated, communicates and is involved in developments,” the Hamas officials said.
In statements at the beginning of the month to the London-based Arabic language newspaper, the Hamas officials said that communication with Sinwar took place mainly “during the decisive periods of the negotiations,” however, they did not specify how they were conducted and whether it was direct or indirect communication. The sources claimed that “it is a very small circle that knows his whereabouts – no more than two or three people who provide for his various needs and maintain his communication with the other leaders of the movement.”
According to the report at the beginning of the month, the sources did not deny – and did not confirm – the news that Sinwar has survived Israeli assassination attempts during the current war, and did not indicate whether IDF forces have come near the hiding place where he is staying. They also avoided revealing clues to his location, nor gave away whether he is currently above ground or in the tunnels. They said that “the occupation failed to reach many of the leaders of the first and second ranks of Hamas, but tried to assassinate some of them. Some of them were injured and some survived and came out unscathed from the bombing operations in different areas.”
Since the assassination of Haniyeh in Tehran, the Arab world has been concerned with the question of who will replace him as the head of the political bureau of Hamas. The Al-Arabiya network reported Tuesday morning (6th) that Abu Omar Hassan, who is known as Muhammad Ismail Darwish and is the head of the Shura Council of Hamas, was chosen as Haniyeh’s replacement.
The assassination in Tehran created chaos in the movement’s institutions because of the difficulty in choosing a replacement. In recent days, there were estimates that Khaled Meshaal would return to the position he left in 2017, but it seems that Sinwar did not give his blessing to the move.
German Court Punishes Anti-Israel Activist For ‘From The River To The Sea’ Chant
A Berlin District Court on Tuesday (6th) fined a 22-year-old woman 600 euros for calling for the destruction of Israel, after she shouted during an anti-Israel rally, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” In Germany, as in Israel, many see this slogan as an anti-Semitic call for the extermination of Israel from the face of the earth.
The trial in which the verdict was reached was the first of its kind in Germany for using the anti-Semitic slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” The accused, Eva M., 22, chanted the hateful slogan at a rally in Berlin’s Neukalen district, an area known as an anti-Israel stronghold. The defendant’s lawyers argued that she should be acquitted due to the vagueness of the chant, but their defense was rejected.
The trial in Berlin was accompanied by a loud protest by left-wing activists and pro-Palestinian organizations and, shortly after when the verdict was handed down, court officials had to evacuate the courtroom due to rioting. During the hearing, demonstrators in front of the court building repeatedly chanted: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
The Israeli embassy in Germany said in a statement that “Berlin once again proves its determination to act against support for terrorist organizations and calls for the destruction of israel. After outlawing any activity supporting Hamas, and announcing the closure of the Islamic center in Hamburg, this is another link in the chain of actions taken by the German government.”
