Commenting on the escalating tensions along the Lebanese border, IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari emphasized the Israeli military's continued efforts to conduct vigorous attacks and disrupt Hezbollah's presence near the northern border. He stated that "the current layout of the area bears little resemblance to its state on October 6, and it will not revert back to that state again." Hagari firmly declared that South Lebanon will undergo significant changes, emphasizing the Israeli determination to prevent a return to the previous situation.
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Regarding the situation of hostages in the Gaza Strip, Hagari expressed concern over the proliferation of rumors and misinformation on social media platforms. He highlighted the distress experienced by the families, friends, and loved ones of the abductees, urging against the spread of unfounded information that only adds to their already immense pain. Hagari called for empathy and urged people to refrain from contributing to the anguish of the hostages' families.
The Saudi television network Al-Arabiya reported, citing sources, that Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, will accept the Egyptian-Qatari initiative for a prisoner exchange. The initiative stipulates the release of Israeli captives in exchange for the release of prisoners from Israeli prisons and a 20-day ceasefire.
According to a report in Saudi Arabia, 11 senior members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps were killed in one of the two strikes on Syria on Thursday, attributed to Israel, and the commander of the guards in Syria was wounded.
According to the Al Hadath channel, the attacks on the Damascus airport where a high level delegation from Iran was met by the IRCG members, may have a greater impact on the organization than the targeted killing of Qasem Suleimani in a U.S. strike in 2018.
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Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander Hossein Salami at the funeral ceremony of Seyed Razi Mousavi killed in an alleged Israel strike
(Photo: Abedin Taherkenareh / EPA)
Northern Israel comes under repeated rocket fire from Hezbollah in South Lebanon on Friday. The IDF struck targets across the border including launching a drone strike on a car although no details about the passengers who may have been hurt, was available.
At least four people were hurt in a suspected terrorists car ramming attack near the West Bank city of Hebron on Friday.
One of the four, all men in their 20s, was described by emergency medical teams as moderately hurt, while the other three sustained light injuries and all were receiving medical attention on the scene. The assailant was shot and killed.
Turkey arrested 32 people described as ISIS operatives for allegedly planning attacks on synagogues, churches and the Iraqi embassy, The Turkish news agency reported on Friday. The attacks were planned to take place ahead of the new year. The report said Turkish intelligence services MIT, identified the senior ISIS members who were behind the plot.
The IDF named Captain (res.) Harel Sharvit as the latest casualty in the war in Gaza. He is the 502 soldier to fall in the war against Hamas, 168 of them since the ground offensive began.
An Egyptian security source on Friday rejected an Israeli proposal to construct an underground wall along Egypt's border with Gaza, to prevent construction and use of tunnels by Hamas, to smuggle weapons into the Strip. Speaking to the Qatari owned, UK based Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper, the source called the proposal insulting and said Egypt had adequately addressed the matter of smuggling tunnels across its border.
The United States on said late on Thursday that it shot down a drone and an anti-ship ballistic missile in the Southern Red Sea that were fired by Houthis in the 22nd attempted attack on international shipping since Oct. 19. There was no damage or reported injuries.
Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Israel had carried out attacks on Iran in 2022. In an editorial published in the Wall Street Journal Bennett said Israel also assassinated a senior Iranian official in one of the attacks.
"After Iran launched two failed UAV attacks on Israel in February 2022, Israel destroyed a UAV base on Iranian soil. In March 2022, Iran’s terror unit attempted to kill Israeli tourists in Turkey and failed. Shortly thereafter, the commander of that very unit was assassinated in the center of Tehran," Bennett wrote.
The Syrian opposition group The Observatory for Human Rights, based in the UK, said on Friday that at least two members of the regime were injured in an Israeli strike on the Damascus airport on Thursday. Syria blamed Israeli "aggression" for an attack, Syrian state TV said on Thursday night. The report came after explosions were heard in the vicinity of Damascus, and investigations were ongoing to verify their nature.
First published: 07:46, 12.29.23