After negotiations to extend the first phase of a ceasefire deadlocked, Israel conducted airstrikes against terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip. Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Resistance Committees acknowledged the deaths of several leaders.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) attacked a building in Damascus, Syria, on Thursday, stating it was a Palestinian Islamic Jihad command and control center. The IDF said it conducted the strike due to concerns about planned attacks against Israeli territory. The Israeli military has increasingly carried out strikes in recent months against former and current Syrian regime assets and various groups, including Hamas.
After mostly maintaining silence about the deaths of its members, Hamas has started to acknowledge their fate.
Israeli forces located and killed Muhammad Nazzal and Katiba Shalabi, both of whom were affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad and wanted for the murder of three Israelis in the West Bank on January 6.
West Bank terrorist groups are a persistent and evolving security challenge for Israel and the Palestinian Authority. These groups’ numbers, arsenals, and capabilities have expanded dramatically since an initial surge of terrorist activity in June 2021.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) detained more than 240 suspected terrorists during a raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza on December 28. It is at least the third time in a year that the IDF has found numerous terrorists near this hospital. The IDF also launched a new operation in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, and terrorists fired several long-range rockets at Israel from the neighborhood as Israeli troops began the operation.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) deployed the 5th Brigade to central Gaza’s Netzarim Corridor, according to an IDF statement on September 16. The reserve infantry brigade recently completed training in Israel’s southern Negev Desert, in which it prepared for ground operations on the kind of terrain it will face in central Gaza. Deploying reserve units has become routine as the IDF rotates forces into central Gaza.
The IDF carried out an airstrike on three Hamas commanders who had set up a command-and-control center in the humanitarian zone in Gaza, the IDF said on September 10. In addition, the IDF targeted a Hamas battalion commander and three of his company commanders in southern Gaza. The strikes illustrate a wider campaign by the IDF to target Hamas’ remaining command-and-control centers.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out precision airstrikes on several Hamas members in Gaza and targets in Lebanon. Israeli forces also eliminated a Hezbollah member in a Lebanon strike, part of a growing pattern of targeting individual terrorists. In addition, the IDF said an RPG attack in Gaza wounded a soldier.
Israel carried out a raid in Jenin in the northern West Bank, eliminating a Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander. In Gaza two hostages holding Russian citizenship were released and another ten Israeli hostages were expected to be released as the pause in fighting continues.
Hamas targeted Israel with rockets, including long-range attacks on cities more than 100 miles from Gaza, as the war between Israel and Hamas continues. The Israel Defense Forces also highlights Iran’s support of Hamas and its involvement in providing training and support for the terrorist group.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps gave the go-ahead more than a week ago for the attack, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Israeli authorities arrested Jordanian MP Imad al-Adwan on suspicion of smuggling weapons and gold into the West Bank.
To unpack and assess the latest terror threats faced by Israel, Bill had to call in the experts: Dr. Jonathan Schanzer and Joe Truzman.
If you’d like to dig deeper on the topics discussed in this episode, we recommend you check out Joe’s project on mapping terrorism in the West Bank and Jon’s book “Gaza Conflict 2021: Hamas, Israel and Eleven Days of War” which according to LTG (Ret.) H.R. McMaster: “If you want to understand the hell in a very small place that is Gaza, read this book.”
Hamas and other aligned Palestinian militant organizations have taken advantage of social media to spread propaganda to supporters.
After a brief lull in violence during the month of November, West Bank militant groups have increasingly carried out attacks against IDF troops and Israeli settlements in recent weeks.
In recent days, Israeli operations have targeted key members of the nascent Nablus-based Lions’ Den organization.
Attacks launched by the Palestinian Authority’s Security Services against IDF troops has increased since the uptick in violence in the West Bank began last year.
Bill is joined again by Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president for research at FDD, and by Joe Truzman, research analyst at FDD’s Long War Journal, to discuss the latest round of violence that emanated from the Gaza Strip this weekend and eventually resulted in an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire. They also unpack details about the terrorist group behind the escalation, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) — including where they get their weapons, training, and funding (spoiler alert: it’s Iran).
Palestinian militants continued to fire rockets towards Israel as operation “Breaking Dawn” entered its second day.
In a targeted operation Friday afternoon, the IDF eliminated Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s northern commander, Taysir al-Jabari.
A Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader in the West Bank behind the surge in militant activity was arrested in an Israeli security forces’ operation Monday night in Jenin.
After a short lull, militants clashed with IDF troops operating in Nablus Sunday morning resulting in the deaths of two al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades members.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad announced the formation of a new unit in Tubas after clashes against IDF troops on Sunday.
Renewed clashes in the West Bank Friday morning resulted in the deaths of militants belonging to al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
A rising trend in Palestinian militant activity in the West Bank has been ongoing since last year. Nascent organizations have been established as a method to counter IDF troops operating in the West Bank.
One day before Quds Day, Palestinian Islamic Jihad unveiled a new drone called “Jenin.”
Amid clashes at Al-Aqsa Mosque and curbing the recent wave of high-profile terrorist attacks, Israel responded with airstrikes in Gaza after two nights of rockets attacks by Palestinian militant groups.
West Bank militant groups have reorganized and established the Hizam al-Nar Joint Operations Room to disrupt IDF military activity.
Suicide bombers from al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades make an appearance at a ceremony in the West Bank Friday night.