News Digest — 9/9/25
Leave Gaza City Now, IDF Tells Residents In Sweeping Order
The IDF delivered its most sweeping evacuation order in Gaza City, demanding civilians leave at once through designated corridors as Israel prepares decisive military action against Hamas.
The military spokesperson for Arabic media, Col. Avichay Adraee, issued Tuesday morning (9th) an evacuation order to all residents of Gaza City ahead of an expected military strike.
“To everyone living or staying in Gaza City and its neighborhoods, from the Old City and Tuffah in the east, to the sea in the west, the IDF is resolute in defeating Hamas and will operate in Gaza City with overwhelming force, as it has done throughout the Strip. So, for your safety, evacuate immediately via Al-Rashid road to the humanitarian zone in al-Mawasi. Remaining in the city is extremely dangerous.”
The notice also included a phone number for residents to report “Hamas roadblocks or attempts to stop evacuation.”
“This evacuation announcement will be accompanied by major aerial operations in the coming hours or days to further push civilians to leave.
A security official told Israel Hayom that about 100,000 people have evacuated Gaza City so far, and the hope is that the numbers will now rise. Still, estimates hold that between 100,000 and 200,000 people will remain in Gaza City as human shields for Hamas.
The IDF is preparing for the relocating of a million Gazans ahead of the new campaign.
The official further said that accepting President Donald Trump’s proposal is Hamas’ only way to avoid a ground invasion of Gaza City. If the group refuses, Israel is committed to pursuing the military campaign in the city to its conclusion.
IAF Allegedly Strikes Syria’s Homs, Latakia, Palmyra
The Israel Air Force allegedly conducted airstrikes on Homs in central Syria and Latakia in Syria’s Mediterranean coastline on Monday night (8th), according to Syrian state media.
Video footage seen by The Jerusalem Post appears to show a large cloud of smoke and debris rising in the vicinity of Homs.
Footage also appears to show IAF fighter jets conducting airstrikes near Latakia, with Syrian media showing explosions near the port city.
Reports from local media also claim that the IAF has conducted strikes near Palmyra.
The military has not yet confirmed the airstrikes or the targets.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry published a statement following the strikes, denouncing them as a “flagrant violation of international law and the principles of the United Nations charter..”
The IDF has conducted airstrikes in Syria over recent months, most intensively during the clashes between Syrian Druze and Bedouin tribes in Sweida in July.
The IDF also conducted multiple strikes and incursions in late August, according to Damascus.
This also included IDF soldiers rappelling from four helicopters to a military post near Kiswa, south of Damascus, according to a Syrian military source at the time.
These soldiers carried out operations against weapons Iran provided to the now-ousted Assad regime, which were stored in the area.
Israel In Intense War On Terror, Netanyahu Said At Scene Of Deadly Jerusalem Attack
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the scene of the terror shooting in Jerusalem, stating that Israel is currently in an “intense war on several fronts,” while speaking alongside National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, shortly after the attack took place on Monday morning (8th).
At least six people were murdered and dozens were wounded after terrorists opened fire on civilians at the Ramot Junction in Jerusalem.
“We are in an intense war against terror on several fronts. I want to send condolences to the families of the dead and to the wounded,” Netanyahu said at the scene of the attack.
“A pursuit and encirclement of the villages from which the terrorists came is underway. One of the people who killed the terrorists was an ultra-Orthodox soldier from the Hashmonaim Brigade,” Netanyahu added.
He then stated that Israel will “take even harsher measures” on those who assisted and dispatched the terrorists.
“These murders, these attacks, on all fronts, do not weaken us. They only increase our determination to complete the missions we have taken upon ourselves, in Gaza, in Judea and Samaria, everywhere,” Netanyahu stated.”
Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed that the terror attack would have “severe and far-reaching consequences. We will pursue terror everywhere.”
“Whoever gives shelter to terror and directs terror will pay the full price,” Katz stated.
President Isaac Herzog said it was “a painful and difficult morning. Innocent civilians, women, men and children were brutally murdered and wounded in cold blood on a bus in Jerusalem by vile and evil terrorists.”
“In the face of this barbarity, we saw extraordinary acts of heroism which prevented even further loss of innocent lives,” he continued.
“This shocking attack reminds us once again that we are fighting absolute evil. The world must understand what we are up against, and that terror will never defeat us,” Herzog wrote in a post.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar responded to the terror attack during a press conference with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto in Budapest. Sa’ar said the terror attack underscored the importance of rejecting current attempts “to force Israel to accept a Palestinian terror state in the heart of our tiny land.”
“The terrorists this morning came from the Palestinian Authority territories,” Sa’ar added.
“We are at war against radical Islamic terror. Europe, and every country in the world, must now make a clear and fateful choice: are they on the side of Israel, or on the side of the jihadists? We know that Hungary is on our side,” Sa’ar said.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stated that “the Palestinian Authority must disappear from the map, and the villages from which the terrorists came should look like Rafah and Beit Hanoun in the Gaza Strip.” He made the statement while in India, leading an Israeli economic delegation.
“Israel cannot accept a Palestinian Authority that raises and educates its children to murder Jews,” he said.
Yisrael Beytenu head MK Avigdor Liberman responded by expressing his condolences and added that the haredi soldier from the Hashmonaim Brigade who killed one of the terrorists “prevented an even heavier massacre and saved lives.”
Blue and White head MK Benny Gantz wrote in a post that “We must strike this murderous terror with strength and determination, in Judea and Samaria, in Gaza, and everywhere.”
Hamas, Islamic Jihad Celebrate Jerusalem Attack, Call For Escalation Of ‘Resistance’
Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other Palestinian terror organizations celebrated the Jerusalem terror attack at the Ramot Junction on Monday (8th), which killed over six people and wounded scores of others.
“We bless the heroic, high-quality operation carried out by two Palestinian fighters at the Ramot settlement junction north of occupied Jerusalem,” Hamas said. “It is a natural response to the crimes of the occupation and the war of extermination it is waging against our people.”
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad also praised the attack, calling on Palestinians to escalate their “response to the crimes of the occupation army amid Arab and international silence and inaction.”
“We call for intensifying resistance operations in the Palestinian West Bank and occupied Jerusalem, and for engaging the occupation soldiers and settlers at all points of confrontation with the enemy.”
The military spokesman for the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, “Abu Jamal,” blessed the attack and honored the terrorists.
He continued, “Anyone who thought that the pulse of the West Bank would calm is deluded. The operation is a renewed confirmation that the revolution and resistance continue, striking blows at the occupation’s security and military apparatus across our occupied lands.”
He called the attack a natural response to the “genocide” and displacement in Gaza, along with the settlement expansion in the West Bank.
“We call upon our people and our steadfast resistance fighters to intensify their painful strikes and escalate their fedayeen operations against the criminals of the entity, in support of our steadfast people in the Gaza Strip,” he concluded.
The two terrorists responsible for the Monday (8th) Jerusalem attack, which killed six and wounded over 22, attempted to board the Line 62 bus. However, the bus driver, who identified the two as suspicious, refused to let them board, eyewitnesses said.
The attackers then opened fire on the passengers. An armed soldier on the bus managed to kill one of them during the shooting.
IDF Launches Large-Scale Operation In West Bank After Jerusalem Terror Attack
The IDF launched a large-scale brigade operation to thwart West Bank terrorism in the Menashe Brigade, alongside searches for other suspects who helped to carry out the attack at the Ramot Junction on Monday morning (8th), the military said.
On Sunday night (7th), the IDF and Border Police operated deep inside the villages in the Marj Sanur Valley area, as well as the Fara’a refugee camp and Kabatiya in the West Bank, aimed at dismantling terrorist activity in the area, the IDF added.
Initial Palestinian reports indicated that one of the two terrorists who carried out the attack in Jerusalem, was Muthna Omar, 20, whose father was arrested in a recent IDF operation.
Israel media reported that the other terrorist was named as Muhammed Taha, who, along with Muthna Omar, was a resident of a Palestinian village in the Ramallah area.
According to Walla , one of the terrorists involved was arrested and investigated by the police and subsequently released three months ago.
Reservists from the elite Duvdevan Unit, arrested a terrorist Sunday night (7th) who had been planning terror plots, following intelligence received from the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency). They also confiscated terror funds worth tens of thousands of shekels, along with weapons, the military said.
According to the IDF, security forces are continuing to operate in the West Bank, specifically in the Ramallah area and encircling villages.
In Just 30 Minutes, Three UAVs From Yemen Intercepted By IAF
The Israeli Air Force on Monday (8th) downed three hostile UAVs in the span of a half hour. The Israel Defense Forces said.
The drones, launched by Yemen’s Houthi terrorist group, triggered air-raid sirens in the Arava and the southern Negev, the military added.
The downing of the third drone did not trigger sirens, in accordance with policy, the IDF noted without disclosing its location.
On Sunday (7th), a Houthi explosive drone crashed into Ramon Airport near Eilat, shortly after the IAF intercepted three UAVs launched from Yemen. The airspace was temporarily closed to traffic. Less than two hours later, Ramon Airport resumed operations.
A Magen David Adom team at Ramon Airport reported two people were wounded and treated on site before being transported to Yoseftal Medical Center in Eilat – a 63-year-old man with shrapnel injuries to his limbs and a 52-year-old woman who fell, sustaining injuries to her limbs. Both worked at the airport.
At Least Five Said Killed As Israel Hits Hezbollah Sites In Northeast Lebanon
At least five people were reported killed on Monday (8th), in Israeli strikes in Lebanon’s eastern Beqaa Valley targeting sites allegedly used by the Hezbollah terror group to plan attacks.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, air force planes hit Hezbollah military compounds belonging to the terror group’s elite Radwan Force, where operatives were gathered and where weapons were stored.
The attack involved 12 separate strikes, across the Hermel region in the north of the valley, Hezbollah affiliated Al-Mayadeen News reported.
“The Israeli enemy strikes on the Bekaa and the outskirts of Hermel led to a preliminary toll of five dead and five others wounded,”Lebanon’s health ministry said.
The IDF said the sites were “used by the Hezbollah terror organization for conducting training, preparing terrorists for planning and carrying out terror attacks against IDF troops and the State of Israel.”
“As part of the training and preparation of the terrorists in the camps, the terrorists undergo shooting drills and additional training in the use of various types of weapons,” the military said.
The training and use of the sites by Hezbollah to store weapons are a “blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon and pose a threat to the State of Israel,” the IDF said.
Under a November 27 ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, weapons in Lebanon were to be held only by the state, and the IDF was permitted to act against imminent threats by the terror group.
Israel has since carried out hundreds of attacks on Hezbollah personnel or assets, the vast majority of them in southern Lebanon, though it has also taken action deeper inside the country, including in the Beqaa Valley, a stronghold of the Iran-backed group.
The ceasefire agreement came after nearly 14 months of conflict sparked by Hezbollah’s unprovoked launching of near-daily attacks on Israeli border communities starting October 8, 2023 – a day after fellow Iran-backed group Hamas stormed southern Israel, sparking the Gaza war.
The Hezbollah attacks displaced some 60,000 residents of northern Israel. In a bid to secure their return, Israel stepped up operations in Lebanon in September 2024, decimating Hezbollah’s leadership.
