News Digest — 9/5/25
IDF Says It Controls 40% Of Gaza City As Offensive Expands
The IDF said Thursday (4th) it has already begun operations inside Gaza City ahead of a planned larger-scale ground maneuver, claiming control over 40% of the city and warning that the offensive will expand in the coming days.
IDF spokesperson BG Effie Defrin told reporters that Israeli forces have been operating for weeks in the Zeitoun and Sheikh Radwan neighborhoods of Gaza City as part of Operation Gideon’s Chariots II, aimed at seizing the entire city. “The operation will expand in the coming days,” he said.
Defrin also confirmed the killing of Abu Obaida, the masked spokesman of Hamas’ military wing who became a widely recognized figure in the Arab world and led much of the terrorist group’s psychological warfare. Displaying a photo of Abu Obaida alongside former Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif and other senior commanders, Defrin singled out intelligence chief Mohammed Ouda. “He is still alive – and we will get to him,” he said.
Asked about reported disagreements between military leaders and Israel’s political echelon over the Gaza campaign, Defrin said Chief of Staff LTG. Eyal Zamir backs the plan to capture the city. He clarified that Zamir had not advocated military rule in Gaza but warned it would be the default if no alternative governance emerges.
Defrin also linked the Gaza operations to last week’s Israeli strike in Yemen that killed Houthi Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahwi and about 10 ministers. He said the fate of the Houthi’s chief of staff and defense minister remains unclear. “None of the leaders of terror organizations in the Middle East will be immune,” he warned.
Meanwhile, Israel continues to intercept missiles and drones launched by Yemen’s Houthis following the strike in Sanaa.
As preparations for the next phase of the Gaza operation intensified, Chief of Staff Zamir toured the enclave Wednesday (3rd), saying Israeli forces “already control the approaches to the city.” He observed the urban battlefield and reviewed operational plans. “We are intensifying the fighting in Gaza and deepening the blows against Hamas,” he said, noting that the army had begun a major call-up of reservists to sustain the campaign.
Gazan School Principal: ‘Hamas Are Murderers – I Was Happy To See Hostages Go Home’
Saad al-Mashalal, whose son was killed by Hamas during one of its attacks on aid distribution sites in Khan Yunis, cursed the Hamas terror group for its violence in a video released by COGAT.
The principal, Saad al-Mashalal, stood before an assembled crowd and accused Hamas of abandoning the residents of Gaza, stripping them of their pride and property, and going against core values of Islam.
“I was happy to see the hostages leave, cared for and clothed. That is the Islam I know, that I am a part of,” al-Mashalal said. “What Islam are those murderers and criminals a part of?”
Al-Mashalal, whose son was killed by Hamas at an aid distribution site in Khan Yunis, said to the terror group, “May God burn the hearts of your parents the way you have burned ours.”
“They’re robbing our resources, spreading lies, trampling on our rights. Hamas uses us/you as human shields to serve the interests of terrorism, you don’t protect the Gaza Strip but destroy it and destroy yourselves from within,” someone by the name of ‘Alian’ wrote in a Facebook post alongside the video of al-Mashalal.
Just last week, COGAT publicized a graphic series of videos showing what it claims to be “Hamas operatives abusing, assaulting, and shooting at Gaza residents.” The video shows extensive beatings of bound men, some of whom are blindfolded, as well as guns being aimed at those being filmed.
“Hamas once again proves that it does not represent the residents of Gaza – it rules over them with force, fear and cruelty,” wrote ‘Alian’ on COGAT’s English X account, addressing the international community.
Child Reportedly Killed By Israeli Forces Found Alive, Safe
Reports concerning a Palestinian child’s death from IDF fire in Gaza have been exposed as fabricated. Abd al-Rahim Muhammad Hamdan, eight years old, known by his nickname “Abboud,” has been discovered alive and evacuated from Gaza alongside his mother, Fox News reported Thursday (4th). The case, which stood at the center of grave accusations against Israel, now emerges as another example of false information dissemination during wartime.
The affair commenced in late May, when Anthony Aguilar, a former US special forces operative who served as a contractor and was dismissed from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), claimed following his termination, that he witnessed the child being killed by IDF fire near a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation food distribution site. According to his account, the child – then referred to as “Amir” – arrived at the site carrying food bags, thanked him with a kiss on the hand and cheek, and ran back to his family. Aguilar recounted that shortly thereafter, chaos erupted, and following fire from the IDF, he discovered the child “dead from gunshots to the chest and legs.”
His testimony was broadcast on major networks, published on MSNBC and Dialogue Works, and even transmitted directly to Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen. Within a brief period, “Abboud” became a symbol against the alleged “violations” by Israel and the foundation, which were suspected of collaboration in killing Palestinian civilians.
At GHF, they identified contradictions in Aguilar’s testimony, which altered the location of the incident multiple times, and decided to initiate an independent investigation at the end of July. Through interviews with locals and cross-referencing biometric data and facial photos, the organization’s representatives successfully located Abboud’s mother, Naila, and the child himself. Both were identified with certainty, documented on cameras playing with organization personnel, and approximately two weeks ago were transferred in a covert operation to a protected distribution site.
Last week, under heavy security measures, the child, his mother, and additional family members were evacuated from Gaza to a secure location. “Being outside Gaza is nice,” Abboud said excitedly, as translated by an organization representative.
The affair embarrassed Israel’s critics, after it became clear that one of the prominent examples presented as evidence of intentional harm to civilians was based on false information. The foundation called upon the public and decision-makers to “ask themselves what other claims they heard about the organization that are nothing but lies.”
The incident joins a series of cases in which false accusations were disseminated about Israel during the Gaza War, and illustrates how critical fact-checking by media outlets is, before disseminating information when human lives are involved.
The U.S. Rejects The Palestinian Victimhood Narrative – Jonathan S. Tobin
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced last week that Washington was barring officials from the Palestinian Authority from entering the country to attend the meeting this month of the UN General Assembly in New York. Together with a ban on visitor visas for those carrying PA passports, Rubio’s order is a gesture aimed at undermining the effort by various Western nations to use the General Assembly to promote the fiction of Palestinian statehood.
Spiking the renewed campaign for Palestinian statehood is an important objective, since Oct. 7 is glaring evidence of what the Palestinians would do if they were granted sovereignty over Judea and Samaria as well as Gaza.
The claim that Abbas is a peace-loving “moderate,” which is at the core of the statehood push, is a myth. The PA continues to subsidize terrorism in the form of its “pay-for-slay” program that also applies to those who committed the crimes of Oct. 7. He has refused peace offers from Israel, making it clear that he will never accept one that compels them to recognize the legitimacy of a Jewish state, no matter where its borders could be drawn. Abbas has never condemned the Oct. 7 atrocities in Arabic to his own people.
The U.S. is right to hold him accountable and to refuse to participate in a UN charade in which he pretends to be the head of a non-existent state. It is hardly unreasonable for the administration to look at the political culture that has rejected every peace offer, including those of statehood alongside Israel.
The post-Oct. 7 war began with an orgy of mass murder, rape, torture, kidnapping and wanton destruction that was committed by ordinary Palestinians rather than just Hamas fighters. The hostages were mostly held captive by ordinary Palestinians, not only Hamas fighters. The denial of visas is a long-delayed and entirely justified reaction to a century of a Palestinian culture of hatred and intolerance, in which a war against the Jews became an inextricable part of their national identity. (JNS)
(jns.org)
Israel Has Proved That Jewish Blood Is No Longer Cheap – Alan Dershowitz
For centuries, Jews have been the victims of pogroms and racist violence. The murderers rarely paid for their actions. Jewish blood was cheap. The murderers and rapists who participated in the Oct. 7 massacre seemed to think they’d get away with it. They took videos of the atrocities they committed and bragged about killing Jews wherever they could find them.
But this time was different. Israel fought back and made the perpetrators and their supporters pay a heavy price. After Israel suffered the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, it sent a message to those who perpetrated the mass killing. It took extraordinary measures to kill every terrorist it could who had participated in the atrocities of Oct. 7, as well as their leaders.
Yet, it’s unclear whether the Israeli policy will deter future massacres, because Hamas brags that it loves death as the Israelis love life.
Israel must treat Hamas and Islamic Jihad the way the Allies treated the Nazis and the imperial Japanese. These terrorists must be totally defeated, and only then should their cities be rebuilt, as German and Japanese cities were. Just as peace wouldn’t have been possible in 1945 if the Nazis and imperialists were allowed to survive and remain in control, so, too, Hamas and Islamic Jihad must not be allowed to survive.
The message Israel has sent to the world – that Jewish blood is no longer cheap, and those who shed it will pay a heavy price – is a historical imperative. It is long overdue and made necessary by centuries of people around the world tolerating the shedding of Jewish blood without consequence.
The writer is professor emeritus at Harvard Law School. (Wall Street Journal)
(wsj.com)
Israel’sRafael To Equip South Korea’s K2 Tanks With Trophy Defense System In First-Ever Deal
Israel is tightening its defense cooperation with South Korea: For the first time, South Korea’s K2 battle tanks will be fitted with Rafael’s Trophy active protection system.
The agreement between Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Hyundai Rotem, a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group and manufacturer of military vehicles, was signed on Wednesday (3rd) at a defense exhibition in Poland. Under the deal, Trophy – the world’s only operational active protection system – will be installed on the K2 and later on additional South Korean platforms.
Trophy identifies anti-tank threats in real time, calculates their trajectory, and neutralizes or destroys them with countermeasures. The cost of installing the system on a single tank is estimated at about $300,000.
“This is a significant leap forward in the defense capabilities of the K2 tank,” said Hyung-Joon Joo, senior vice president and head of Hyundai Rotem’s R&D center. “It is the first time an active protection system will be integrated on South Korean tanks.”
The deal reflects a new stage in defense cooperation between Israel and South Korea, encompassing production, marketing, local adaptation, and full lifecycle support for South Korea’s military and future international customers.
Rafael also seeks to expand strategic cooperation with South Korea on countering hypersonic missile threats from Iran and North Korea. In a recent interview with a South Korean newspaper, Yuval Baisky, a senior vice president at Rafael and head of its air defense division, called for closer ties between Israeli and Korean defense industries to meet that challenge.
“The agreement with Hyundai Rotem is a major step toward enhancing the survivability of the world’s most advanced battle tanks,” said Tzvi Marmor, senior vice president and head of Rafael’s Land and Naval Division. “We are combining Rafael’s extensive operational experience with South Korea’s industrial and technological capabilities to provide advanced protection solutions for the evolving battlefield.”
Industry officials say the partnership could strengthen K2’s position in international tenders, particularly in Europe, where demand for advanced battle tanks is rising. The deal links Rafael’s expertise in active protection for combat vehicles with Hyundai Rotem’s engineering strength, setting new standards for survivability and battlefield advantage in modern land forces.
