Lebanon border

2024-04-24

The IDF is preparing to begin "very soon," beginning with a massive evacuation of over a million Palestinians, Kan 11 reported Tuesday evening, citing two American officials.  Palestinians will reportedly be required to evacuate in the next four to five weeks to tent complexes that have set up.  The plan for the Rafah operation has been presented to American officials as well as other agencies in the region, KAN noted. According to the plan, the operation will move forward in stages, based on a regional division of into defined areas.  At each stage, the IDF will inform the local population before they advance into each area so the local population can evacuate before the IDF moves forward.  The IDF has announced on Wednesday that it recruited two reserve brigades to continue the defense and attack mission in the Gaza Strip under the command of Division 99. The 2nd Reserve Brigade of the 146th Division and the 679th Reserve Brigade of the 210th Division will be transferred from the north of Israel, at the Lebanon border, to the Gaza Strip. Before their transfer, they are continuing combat training in the North. The IDF approved the latest plan for the Rafah operation at the beginning of this week after three previous plans were suggested. The US government has expressed firm opposition to an operation in Rafah without a credible plan to protect civilians.  Palestinians at the site of an Israeli air strike in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on March 24, 2024. (credit: ABED RAHIM KHATIB/FLASH90) "We are preparing to establish a joint operation with the United States. We understand the concern, but we will not be able to complete the mission without entering Rafah, which could also help relieve pressure on the hostage issue," the official stated. Amid the preparations for the Rafah operation, government officials reportedly continue to discuss potential changes to Israel's side of the hostage deal negotiations to ensure the deal's advancement. ...قراءة المزيد

الكلمات المفتاحية المذكورة في المقال:

2024-04-17

Magen David Adom (MDA) paramedics received a report of a 'large number of casualties' after a direct hit of a projectile on a community center in northern Israel. Israeli media reported that at least 6 were wounded, one in serious, another in moderate and the rest in light conditions, after an anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) was fired toward the community center in the north, near the Lebanon border. This post can't be displayed because social networks cookies have been deactivated. You can activate them by clicking manage preferences. This is a developing story... ...قراءة المزيد

الكلمات المفتاحية المذكورة في المقال:

2024-04-16

An explosive-equipped unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), or another form of explosive blast, wounded 3 in northern Israel near the Lebanon border, according to Ynet. According to the initial reports, the wounded were in light condition. Israeli media indicated there were at least two UAVs that fell in the Galilee region without sirens going off. This is a developing story... ...قراءة المزيد

الكلمات المفتاحية المذكورة في المقال:

2024-04-09

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) concluded a large-scale multi-branch defense exercise with Israeli emergency services, as part of efforts to increase readiness and cooperation between multiple agencies for defense scenarios in the north. Israel Police, Fire and Rescue services, paramedics and other standby forces participated in the large-scale exercise on the northern border, headed by the IDF with reservists from the 146th Division on the ground, in cooperation with the Navy and Air Force. The 146th Division is the largest of its kind with called up reserve soldiers, who have been operating in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel since the Hamas-led October 7 attack and hostilities on the Lebanon border. The exercise was carried out with extensive multi-branch and multi-organizational cooperation, practicing a large number of scenarios, particularly the defense of the northern sector, including the evacuation of wounded while under fire, as well as other engagement and attack scenarios. As part of the training, in order to increase readiness and strengthen cooperation, the various entities practiced together in their response to the different threat scenarios that could be encountered, also in the maritime arena. The statement concluded, “The IDF vigorously in order to maintain full readiness for all threats and attempts by the enemy to harm the citizens of Israel or its territory.” ...قراءة المزيد

الكلمات المفتاحية المذكورة في المقال:

2024-04-09

Tuesday morning began with rocket alert sirens sounding for northern Israeli communities, near the Lebanon border, while overnight the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) intercepted an aerial target near the southernmost coastal city of Eilat. To catch up on the full events of the war from Monday, . Read more in-depth updates on the . IDF eliminates Hatem Alramery, Hamas Emergency Bureau chief, responsible for rocket launches from central Gaza Rocket alert sirens sound in Israel-Lebanon border communities ...قراءة المزيد

الكلمات المفتاحية المذكورة في المقال:

2024-03-24

IDF fighter jets attacked a building being used by Hezbollah in the Ayta Ash Shab region and an additional infrastructure being used by the terror organization in Odaisseh, Lebanon, the IDF announced on Sunday. According to the announcement, these attacks occurred after soldiers from the 869th battalion detected Hezbollah terrorists entering the buildings. Additionally, the IDF confirmed that multiple anti-tank missiles were launched toward the Ramim Ridge area near the Lebanon border in northern Israel. As a response, the IDF conducted artillery fire at the sources and removed the threat. Earlier on Sunday, Israeli media reported, citing Lebanese sources, that a targeted strike was carried out on a vehicle in Beqaa in eastern Lebanon. Later, Israeli media, citing Saudi news channel Al-Arabiya, reported that two people were killed in the attack.\ HEZBOLLAH MEMBERS take part in a military exercise during a media tour organized for the occasion of Resistance and Liberation Day, in Aaramta, Lebanon, last month. (credit: AZIZ TAHER/REUTERS) Following that, Lebanese media reported that Hezbollah announced that one of the two people killed in the attack was  Hussein Ali Arslan, who belonged to the group. ...قراءة المزيد

الكلمات المفتاحية المذكورة في المقال:

2024-03-24

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) jets targeted Hezbollah terrorist organization overnight, Saturday to Sunday, following rocket and missile alert sirens that sounded in Israeli communities near the Lebanon border, as the conflict in the north continues to simmer. To catch up on the full events of the war from Saturday, . Read more in-depth updates on the . ...قراءة المزيد

الكلمات المفتاحية المذكورة في المقال:

2024-03-22

The has suffered terrible losses in the Israel-Hamas war. Many fallen soldiers hailed from this sector, in which military service, particularly combat service, is often encouraged. Torah study is central for many but it is generally combined with service, employment, and Zionism.  This is perhaps why, for some in this sector, Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef’s remarks that haredim (ultra-Orthodox) “will all move abroad” if forced to were deeply significant. “Honorable rabbi, you need to ask forgiveness from my wife, from her tears, and to go to Mount Herzl and apologize to Amitay, a yeshiva student and a combat soldier,” Rabbi Tamir Granot responded to the chief rabbi’s remarks, referring to his son Capt. Amitay Zvi Granot, a commander in the 7th Armored Brigade who was killed near the Lebanon border in October. “In the name of my wife’s tears, did Amitay make a mistake? Is he lying under the ground at Mount Herzl for nothing? Should he and all his friends who are lying there with him, and in other cemeteries around the country, have stayed in yeshiva and left the IDF and self-sacrifice to secular people? Or have gone abroad to study Torah?” he asked in a video response to the chief rabbi that was posted on the YouTube channel of the yeshiva Granot heads, Orot Shaul. “The chief rabbi’s statement was an expression of something deeper that has been becoming clearer in the past few months,” Granot told The Jerusalem Post, explaining that in terms of our joint destiny, “it becomes clear that the people fighting shoulder to shoulder, ‘under the stretcher [sacrificing themselves for the greater good],’ are religious-Zionists and secular people.” Religious Zionist rabbis meet with Brothers in Arms activists. December 3, 2023 (credit: BROTHERS IN ARMS) There is a change occurring in the consciousness of the religious-Zionist sector, according to Granot. “When we were young, we would do activities in Bnei Akiva [religious-Zionist youth movement], where we would talk about who you are closer to – secular people or haredim. Generally, at the end, we would talk about how important the Torah and mitzvot are and about how that is where our connection to the Land of Israel stems from, and so maybe we are closer to these things,” he explained. “But as we are in an existential struggle, something in the heart is shifting,” he said. “There is a feeling of alienation and disappointment and frustration.” This is not due to any lack of recognition of the wonderful things that exist in the haredi world, such as “Torah, love of Israel, and hessed [kindness],” he added, explaining that these feelings stem from the fact that even if you love your brother, when you are left alone with a practical mission, especially one in which “only your blood will spill,” the disappointment is bitter. Granot says every citizen who reaches the age of 18 should be trained with at least the bare minimum needed to serve in a combat position.  “This won’t hurt Torah study,” said Granot, adding that it can be one month a year and take place during yeshiva vacations. Granot sees a haredi draft as a real opportunity for partnership between the haredi and other sectors but says that this will require effort from outside of the haredi sector as well.  “If you want to change another society, you must not attack them,” he said. “You must understand and respect them, it is better to love them. But you must at least understand and respect them,” he said. It is not possible to make change “if you come to the haredi world from the perspective of ‘you are not equal, you are lazy, you are leeches,’ if you don’t understand their values and fears,” explained Granot. A haredi draft will require more than respect and understanding according to Granot. The IDF must offer haredim service options that take ultra-Orthodox values into account, even if this sometimes clashes with other, more liberal values. “If you want everything, you lose everything,” said Granot. In his YouTube response, Granot also addressed some of the political discourse surrounding the rabbi’s words. Noting that some politicians are using the remarks for political gain, Granot added that “the truth stays the truth when [opposition head Yesh Atid leader Yair] Lapid and [Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor] Liberman say it. The Torah stays the Torah when Lapid and Liberman say it. If Lapid and Liberman said to keep Shabbat, would you violate Shabbat to not do what they said?” The situation is bad, said Granot, who added that it is also a chance for change. “This crisis can bring forth a great change in the relationship between the Torah and the people of Israel. Am Yisrael can be closer to the Torah, and bnei hatorah [scholars] can be much closer to Am Yisrael,” he concluded. Rabbi Yigal Levinstein, one of the founders and co-directors of Bnei David, the prominent religious-Zionist pre-military academy in the settlement of Eli, had a different reaction to the chief rabbi’s remarks. Levinstein told the Post that the meaning of the chief rabbi’s words should not be taken at simple face value, and contain a deeper meaning.  “He was just trying to emphasize the severity of the situation,” said Levinstein, explaining that the chief rabbi is part of the school of thought that says that those studying Torah are halachically exempt from army service. “He thinks that they are a critical spiritual shield and that their prayer is pikuach nefesh [the principle that saving human lives takes precedence over everything else]. In his view the army is dependent on this Torah study,” said Levinstein. “The rabbi thinks that this is a very big responsibility, and [when he said that they would go abroad rather than be drafted] he is saying ‘we will not agree for any price in the world to have them stop studying Torah.’ He wanted to demonstrate the severity of the matter. It is just about the severity of a forceful draft and nothing more. “No one is going anywhere,” added Levinstein, saying that he predicts the yeshivot will continue to grow. “We don’t need to get excited about everything,” he said, adding that the discussion surrounding the statement wasn’t real or honest. “The public for whom the lesson was intended understands the context in which the statement was made.” Those who want to delegitimize the Torah world are making an active attempt to do so by taking the chief rabbi’s words out of context, Levinstein added, saying that they will often watch his speeches and lessons specifically to do this. “That infuriates me,” he said. “That shows that nothing has changed since October 7. “I thought that this was the biggest lesson from the October 7 massacre,” said Levinstein. “This disaster mandates soul-searching, and language is a critical tool in our discussions and ability to live together even if we don’t think the same things. We don’t need to encourage hatred and delegitimize those who think differently.” Levinstein also touched on the political side of the discussion surrounding the chief rabbi’s words. Focus on the statement is part of a long tradition of using, or abusing, haredim for political clout, according to Levinstein. “This jumping on haredim is not because they really want them to draft, there is a different political reason every time,” he said. This time, the attack on haredim is part of an attempt to bring down the current government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to Levinstein. “Will the haredim draft if this government falls?” asked Levinstein, saying that the idea that this would happen is foolish. “To have a haredi draft you need to create the conditions that allow them to serve,” said Levinstein, referencing specifically those haredim who are not invested in Torah study and are interested in drafting to the IDF, but concerned about losing their haredi identity. “To draft them, you need to allow them to maintain their identity, which requires far-reaching changes in the IDF,” he said.When asked if he thinks the current security situation in Israel means that the haredim are needed in the IDF and Israel’s defense bodies, Levinstein said it isn’t relevant because “in life, you must be practical. “Something can be critical, but that doesn’t make it possible. Being in galut [exile] was a disaster, and the Jewish people needed to be in Jerusalem, but how long did it take to make that happen? 2,000 years?” he offered as a parallel. Whether or not Israel really needs to draft the haredim does not matter because for the draft to be possible there must be a desire and a willingness both from the haredim and from the IDF, Levinstein explained. “That is the real equation for drafting haredim – desire and willingness,” he said . “Whether or not it is needed doesn’t matter. There are haredim who want to draft and people in the army who want them to, but the conditions now don’t allow it.” A possible workaround to dealing with widespread change in the IDF could be designing a national guard to fit the haredi lifestyle, Levinstein suggested. Israel’s national guard has been talked about for years and will need thousands of people, explained Levinstein. “Since it will be built from scratch, it could be built to fit a haredi way of life,” he suggested. Whether or not the chief rabbi’s words are a watershed moment or the Israel-Hamas war brings the long controversial issue of the haredi draft to a true head and possible conclusion are not yet clear.  For some this appears to be political business as usual, while for others the cracks between Israel’s sectors are beginning to fissure, bringing opportunity for solution or crisis. With two petitions on a haredi draft before the High Court, and the IDF calling to extend the service of those who serve to cover growing manpower needs, only time will tell if a true resolution is near. ...قراءة المزيد

الكلمات المفتاحية المذكورة في المقال:

2024-03-05

As regional efforts are focused on securing a ceasefire in Gaza before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the U.S. is engaged in shuttle diplomacy on a second front: preventing a flare-up on the highly combustible Israel-Lebanon border. White House senior adviser Amos Hochstein arrived in Beirut on Monday for another round of talks with Lebanese officials. The U.S. envoy met with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who is considered a Hezbollah ally. Hochstein will not be dealing with the Hezbollah terror group itself, instead working with officials channels to force the Iranian-proxy to pull back from the Lebanon border. The White House adviser is then expected to make his way to Israel for meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Mossad chief David Barnea and other senior officials.  With efforts concentrated on securing a ceasefire-hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas, with the help of Egyptian, Qatari and U.S. mediators, there have been parallel attempts to secure a diplomatic solution to the situation on Israel's northern front. Hochstein acknowledged that even if a deal is reached in Gaza, it does not guarantee calm on the Israel-Lebanon border. Though not a party to the negotiations, Hezbollah observed the previous ceasefire that was secured between Israel and Hamas in November. There has been daily cross-border fire, with a spate of deadly incidents in recent days. On Monday, an and wounded nine others, all identified as foreign laborers, who were working in an agricultural field in Margaliot. Over the weekend, Israel killed seven Hezbollah fighters in separate strikes in Lebanon. A recent CNN report says the U.S. is particularly concerned that  in the late spring or early summer, after its ground operations in Gaza wind down. Israel has been eyeing a ground maneuver in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, the last Hamas stronghold where it is believed the majority of the remaining 134 hostages are being held. Iran has reportedly given to escalate fighting in case Israel does launch an incursion in Rafah, with plans to increase Hezbollah's weaponry. Hochstein has been serving as the U.S. point-person on the current conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, having served as the mediator of an Israel-Lebanon maritime border deal that was signed in October 2022. The Israeli-American diplomat and businessman previously served as Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources.  ...قراءة المزيد

الكلمات المفتاحية المذكورة في المقال:

2024-02-25

Israel's government is expected to extend the evacuation for residents along the to July 7, Ynet reported Sunday. There are currently 60,000 displaced residents of the northern border towns.  According to the report, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office is expecting to extend it even further, to August, amid rumored plans of .  The pending July decision was made in light of diplomatic efforts to prevent a full-scale war with Hezbollah in the north and is in line with local government requests after the military suggested only extending two months at a time.   This proposal takes the end of the school year into consideration, as Yoav Kisch said he was determined to enable evacuated kids to continue learning at the schools they have been attending since the start of the war in October.  A senior official in the Prime Minister’s Office said that if the security along the Lebanon border permits, the evacuated residents could possibly return home sooner, and that there would be more certainly in the next months, according to the YNet report. The government will continue paying for the cost of hotels or rent for their temporary accommodations while they are displaced.  Israeli soldiers guard in Metula, on the border between Israel and Lebanon, northern Israel, on May 14, 2021, after Lebanese protesters crossed the Israeli border fence. (credit: BASEL AWIDAT/FLASH90) While there are discussions of a military offensive against Hezbollah, it cannot be launched because of opposition from the United States and France, who seek to reach a diplomatic agreement instead. The proposal sent to Beirut calls for fighters, including Hezbollah's elite unit, to withdraw 10 km from the border. Hezbollah continues to reject formally negotiating a de-escalation until the war in Gaza ends. As of February 2024, there are still upwards of 100,000 internally displaced residents of the northern and southern towns of Israel. Many of the displaced residents of the south have already begun returning to their homes, however not all of them.  Reuters contributed to this report.  ...قراءة المزيد

الكلمات المفتاحية المذكورة في المقال:

2024-02-20

On Monday, February 19, a drone carrying explosives struck a field near Arbel in northern Israel. This is around 30 kilometers from the Lebanon border, which meant the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) had flown for some distance inside Israeli airspace. Initial reports didn’t provide full details on where the drone had come from, and the IDF said initially that the circumstances of the incident were being investigated. Later in the day, on Sidon in Lebanon. There have been numerous drone attacks on Israel by Hezbollah since the Iranian-backed terrorist group began attacks on Israel on October 8. Hezbollah decided, with Iranian prodding, to join the Hamas attack that happened on October 7. Hezbollah has a different type of arsenal than Hamas. First of all, it has more rockets. It also has a plethora of anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs), and it has thousands of drones of different types. Hamas, by comparison, did not have nearly as many drones or ATGMs. Hezbollah is also investing in more precision weapons. The Alma Center for Research and Education, which focuses on security threats in the north, described Hezbollah’s attempts at increased precision on February 18, saying: “The upgrade to precision capability also reached some of Hezbollah’s short-range rockets: the Grads with a diameter of 122 mm, the Fajr-Khaibar missiles, and the missile versions of the Fateh 110s in Hezbollah’s possession. It is highly likely that an increasing number of Hezbollah’s short-range Grad rockets and other rockets have become precise guided weapons.” Hezbollah is advancing into the world of precision, as a kind of 'substitute for air force.'It is highly likely that an increasing number of Hezbollah's short-range Grad rockets and other rockets have become precise guided weapons. We estimate that Hezbollah has dozens of… Along with the precision threat, the drone threat has also increased. as a central aspect of the future of warfare on battlefields from Iraq to Ukraine and in conflicts between countries such as Armenia and Azerbaijan. Drones are also increasingly used by more countries; for instance, Turkey uses a plethora of drones, and Iran has exported drones around the Middle East. A CROWD in Tehran watches an address, on the screen by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, in November. Hezbollah is virtually a state within a state, sucking the lifeblood out of Lebanon at the instigation of Iran, says the writer. (credit: WEST ASIA NEWS AGENCY/REUTERS) Iran’s drone export has become so extensive that the drones being sent to Iran’s proxies look a lot like the method once used by the Soviets to export their AK-47s as a symbol of their role on the global stage. What that means is that the drone is now the new tool of the Iranian proxies. For instance, in Syria have used drones to attack US forces and also to target Israel since 2018. In Iraq, the Iranian-backed group Kataib Hezbollah used a drone to attack US forces in Jordan, killing three Americans on January 27. In addition, Iran has moved drones to Yemen. The Shahed 136 was first sent to Yemen in 2020 before being exported to Russia to help Russia’s war in Ukraine in 2022. The drone incident in northern Israel spotlights the growing role of these types of UAVs. Some Iranian drones, like the delta-wing design Shahed 136 are what are known as “loitering munitions,” meaning they explode on impact. These types of drones, when they have communications with their base, can “loiter” over a target. The Iranian Shahed likely does not “loiter.” Rather, it flies a one-way mission like a cruise missile. This type of drone threat is different than the surveillance drone threat or the one posed by smaller quadcopters that have been converted to carry weapons. Quadcopters can often buzz around looking for targets. This can wreak havoc because they can go in any direction they want, posing a potential threat to a wider area. As such, drones are more “bang for the buck” because with one drone, a terror group can threaten a large area. With thousands of drones, like Hezbollah is believed to have, the threat increases exponentially. Think of drones like pieces on a chessboard. While one might know all the pieces, the overall permutations of what can be done with them are endless.  The Iranian-backed drone threat is its own kind of threat. What that means is that Hezbollah, for instance, has built small airstrips for drones. For instance, Hezbollah launched drones at Israel on January 25, striking near Kfar Blum in northern Israel. Israel carried out airstrikes on an airstrip in Kilat Jaber on the same day. The drone threat has slowly emerged in recent years. Iran began exporting drones to places like Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon and then sent them to proxies in Iraq. Hezbollah has been using drones for more than a decade. However, the types of drones have also changed over the years. Iran has moved from the types of drones that looked like “remotely piloted aircraft,” basically meaning large model planes that have radio control, to different types of drones that come from various “families” of drones built by large Iranian firms. The Shahed 136, for instance, has now become a type of mass-produced drone. The move from having a handful of drones that can conduct surveillance to thousands of armed drones is what has shifted the role of this weapon system into the hands of groups like Hezbollah. Nevertheless, there is some reason for optimism. Drones can conduct precision attacks and can harass large areas, but so far, they have not been shown to win wars. On the Ukrainian frontline, for instance, drones are used for a plethora of tasks, from attacking infantry and armored vehicles to helping artillery find targets. But they haven’t won the war for Russia or Ukraine. Similarly, Hezbollah’s drone army is not equivalent to the proverbial “rook” or “queen” on the chessboard discussed above. The drones are still mid-rank in terms of their threat, and Iran’s proxies have not perfected drone swarms or other methods of use for them.  ...قراءة المزيد

الكلمات المفتاحية المذكورة في المقال: