The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) head of Northern Command said the IDF is at “peak readiness” amid escalating tensions with Hezbollah. After thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah exploded on September 17, more devices exploded on September 18. IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi visited Israel’s Northern Command, and the IDF deployed its elite 98th Division to the north amid tensions.
Hezbollah’s promised retaliation after Israel killed Fuad Shukr on July 31 finally came this Sunday. But the great vengeance promised by Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah turned out to be a flop. Nasrallah’s subsequent speech after Hezbollah’s attack was a transparent exercise in damage control.
An Israeli reserve brigade completed an exercise to prepare for conflict in the north. Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets at Israel on September 8, and the group claimed to be responding to an IDF strike on a village in southern Lebanon. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi visited northern Israel and met with the commander of an IDF division in the Golan on September 6.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant held a strategic discussion with IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi on August 29 and discussed the need to return Israeli citizens to their homes in northern Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to northern Israel on August 28 and said the nation must restore security and return residents to their homes. “This is a national goal of the highest order,” Netanyahu said.
The Israel Defense Forces rescued Qaid Farhan Alkadi, a hostage held in Gaza since the Hamas attack on October 7, from a tunnel in southern Gaza. Alkadi was flown by helicopter to an Israeli hospital in Beersheba, where he met members of his family and spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The IDF expanded operations in the outskirts of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza and said Israeli forces eliminated dozens of terrorists and found weapons and a tunnel. Hamas launched a rocket at central Israel on August 25, and Israel hit the launch site with an airstrike.
On Saturday, the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), Al Qaeda’s branch for West Africa, killed at least 200 people in a massive assault in central Burkina Faso.
Hezbollah launched a rocket attack on the Golan Heights on August 21, firing more than 50 projectiles at the Israeli community of Katzrin and nearby areas. The rockets caused significant damage and one injury in the town of 8,000 residents. In addition, Hezbollah carried out numerous other attacks on northern Israel, part of a recent escalation by the Iranian-backed terrorist group.
A speech by Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary general of Hezbollah, suggests Hezbollah intends to conduct painful retaliation for Fuad Shukur’s assassination but that the organization is still not interested in escalating to a full-scale conflict with Israel. When it comes, the retaliatory strike will likely aim to remain below the threshold that leads to the outbreak of war.
The Israel Defense Forces targeted a building in Beirut and eliminated senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr on July 30. In the early hours of July 31, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran. Israel did not take credit for the latter killing, but Iran and its proxies have blamed Israel and vowed to respond, and Israel is preparing for possible attacks.
Bill and Joe are joined by David Daoud to unpack this weekend’s Hezbollah rocket attack on a Druze community in Israel’s Golan Heights that killed 12 Israeli children — and whether we should soon expect an all-out Israel-Hezbollah war.
Israel’s defense minister and chief of staff held meetings with IDF officials and officers in the IDF’s Northern Command to discuss plans for possible operations against Hezbollah after a Hezbollah rocket killed 12 civilians in Majdal Shams on July 27. Despite Hezbollah’s denials about the attack, the IDF presented new evidence of the trajectory of the rocket and its type on July 28. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to Israel to meet with the security cabinet to decide Israel’s next steps.
Rocket fire from Lebanon killed 12 Israeli civilians in the northern Druze town of Majdal Shams on July 27, and Israel cites evidence that Hezbollah is responsible, while the group issued a denial. Israel will undoubtedly retaliate, and a significant escalation in the conflict is likely.
Yesterday, the US Treasury Department sanctioned three Islamic State facilitators based in Zambia, Uganda, and South Africa. The three have operated as part of a coordinated network that moves money between Islamic State franchises in Somalia, South Africa, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Mozambique.
Israel’s 228th Reserve Brigade conducted an exercise in northern Israel that included “combat scenarios in Lebanon.” Hezbollah published footage it said was taken by drones that flew over Israel’s Ramat David Airbase.
Israel’s Minister of Defense recently held important talks with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, CENTCOM head General Michael Kurilla, and White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk. Gallant spelled out Israel’s current strategy in Gaza and discussed threats from Iran and Hezbollah.
Al-Qaeda’s central leadership has released a statement lauding attacks against Jewish targets and recognizing the anti-Israel protests in Western countries and universities.
Afghanistan has grappled with a surge in terrorism, deepening ethnic rifts, protests, and the devastating impact of natural calamities in recent weeks. Two years into their control of Afghanistan, the Taliban is struggling to govern as a state actor.
Iranian-backed Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba’ issued a statement warning that it would respond against Israel for attacking a site in Damascus belonging to the militia.
The Islamic State’s Mozambique Province continues to document its da’wah campaigns across large portions of Cabo Delgado Province.
The Israel Defense Forces carried out raids in Gaza into Nuseirat and Shujaiya. The new policy of precision raids reflects a developing phase of operations in Gaza which pairs pinpoint raids with increased humanitarian support for Gaza. The IDF is also constructing a new northern crossing into Gaza for aid to reach northern Gaza.
Recent attacks by Jaish al-Adl and ISKP showcase Iran’s loosening grasp over its eastern borders. This trend also underscores the growing grievances of Iran’s ethnic minorities, exasperated by systemic neglect, mismanagement, and kleptocracy.
Whatever disputes the Pakistani state has with the Taliban, it is unlikely that its strategic depth with respect to India and strategic relations with the Taliban will be discarded for the lives of hundreds of Pakistani citizens.
Hezbollah targeted a community in northern Israel, killing one person and wounding nine others. The IDF intercepted a drone launched from Lebanon, and the IDF retaliated for rocket attacks by Hezbollah. Sirens sounded in Sderot, a city on the Gaza border, one day after Israeli school children returned to school in the border community.
Propaganda is a critical element of Hezbollah’s warfighting toolkit. The current Gaza-Israel War, of which Hezbollah considers itself a part, is no different, and the group has therefore crafted a narrative around that conflict to appeal to Western audiences to side against the Israelis.
The youngest Israeli hostage in Gaza turned one year old this week, bringing into focus the lives of the remaining 136 hostages still held by Hamas inside Gaza, where Israeli forces have continued to uncover and dismantle terrorist infrastructure, including weapons and machines for making munitions.
The current Islamic State spokesman announced yet another global campaign for the group’s global affiliates and supporters. Though intrinsically propagandistic, prior global campaigns had severe real world consequences.
The man reportedly traveled from Egypt to Kenya, where he planned to use Shabaab facilitators to cross into Somalia. The American citizen was motivated by his support of Hamas and desire to target the U.S. for its support of Israel.
Israel revealed details about a Hamas headquarters that was uncovered and destroyed in northern Gaza. The extensive tunnel system linked several houses and the tunnels included electricity and sewage systems. In southern Gaza, the IDF continued to expand operations. Hezbollah attacks targeted numerous communities in northern Israel, and the Israeli air force carried out retaliatory airstrikes against Hezbollah.
At least 62 people have been killed by the Islamic State’s local arm in western Uganda since June.