Archive for July 23, 2014

Hamas Rocket Cache Found in Yet ANOTHER UNRWA School

Against a Canadian demand, it appears that UNRWA will once again hand over to Hamas the rockets it found hidden in a UN school in Gaza.

By Arutz Sheva

 

United Nations relief agency UNRWA has discovered, for a second time during the current war in Gaza, Hamas terror rockets stashed in one of its vacant schools.

A statement by UNRWA Tuesday said that “Today, in the course of the regular inspection of its premises, UNRWA discovered rockets hidden in a vacant school in the Gaza Strip.”

“As soon as the rockets were discovered, UNRWA staff were withdrawn from the premises, and so we are unable to confirm the precise number of rockets,” the agency went on to say. Continue Reading »

Abbas’s family desert the West Bank for Jordan

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ wife & grandchildren were among the family members who secretly traveled to Jordan recently.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

 

Members of the family of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas have secretly left Ramallah for Jordan, according to the online newspaper Rai Al-Youm.

amina abbas

Mahmoud Abbas and his wife Amina – Photo: REUTERS

“For the first time and secretly, all the members of President Abbas’s family have left to their residence in Amman,” the report said.

It said that Abbas’s wife and grandchildren were among the family members who left Ramallah recently.

The newspaper said that Mohamed Shehadeh, who is in charge of Abbas’s security detail, has decided to beef up security around the PA president’s office and residence in Ramallah. Continue Reading »

7 More IDF Soldiers/Officers Killed

 

Israel’s toll among the IDF in Operation Protective Edge reaches 25 dead, 30 injured, Monday.

By Tova Dvorin

 

The IDF Spokesperson’s Office stated Monday night that seven additional soldiers and officers have been killed in Gaza, as the fourteenth day of Operation Protective Edge draws to a close.

IDF soldiers in an armored personnel carrier near the Gaza border (7 July 2013) – Reuters

Their families have been notified.

Sergeant First Class Yuval Dagan, 22, from Kfar Saba, served in the Golani Brigade.  Dagan’s funeral will be held Monday night in the military cemetery in Kfar Saba.

Lieutenant General Dolev Keidar, “Gefen” commander, 38, from Modi’in was killed during the infiltration attempt into Israel early this morning. Continue Reading »

Dramatic Footage Shows Gunfight as Another Terrorist Infiltration Foiled

View clip of an infiltration by Gaza terrorists, who were killed by IDF forces in the Gaza Belt region.

By Gil Ronen

 

Residents of the Shaar Hanegev, Sdot Negev and Eshkol regions near Gaza were told to stay in their homes Monday morning because of a terrorist infiltration.

Paratroopers

Paratroopers – IDF Spokesman

According to initial reports, about ten terrorists entered Israeli territory and split up into two teams. One headed toward Erez and the second toward Nir Am. An IAF drone eliminated the squad that went toward Erez and a ground force eliminated the squad that turned toward Nir Am after a pitched battle. Continue Reading »

Hamas Spokesman on Palestinian TV: We Are Leading Our People to Death

WATCH: Hamas Spokesman belittles Westerners crying over high civilian death toll in Gaza war, boasts of human shields.

By Israel Today Staff

 

A senior Hamas officials last week boasted of using Gaza’s civilian population as a human shield, and confirmed that his movement is “leading our people to death.”

“The resistance (i.e., Hamas) is truly glorifying our people and our nation,” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told Al Aqsa TV last Monday.

He went on to belittle those Palestinians who complain of the high death toll in Gaza: “We are paying a price, but we remember our brothers in Algeria… In 1945, in a single day in Algeria, 45,000 Algerians died. Continue Reading »

While Gaza Rockets Fall on Israel’s Cities, Israeli Surgeons Operate on Palestinian Girl

 

Alert Siren blasts as medical team perform emergency surgery on Palestinian infant with birth defects.  “Our responsibility is to the children, regardless of where they are from,” replies one senior physician, “They’re not to blame for the situation.”

By Meital Yasur Beit-Or

 

As sirens blared at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, warning of incoming rockets on Thursday, a group of Israeli surgeons continued to operate on a Palestinian baby, alongside an Israeli child, in the intensive care ward, which is not adequately protected from rocket strikes.

An operation at Sheba Medical Center

The Palestinian infant was suffering from multiple birth defects and arrived at the hospital attached to a respirator.

Continue Reading »

Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades claims to have kidnapped Israeli soldier; IDF investigates

 

Announcement from Hamas’ military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades says that they captured and hold an IDF soldier captive, but provides no conclusive evidence.

By Elior Levy and Roi Kais

 

Hamas’ military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, claimed Sunday evening that the organization had successfully kidnapped an Israeli soldier in the Gaza Strip. The militants did not present any evidence in their announcement and the IDF said that officials are investigating the issue.

Hamas press conference in Gaza – Photo: Reuters

In an announcement aired on Hamas’ television station Al-Aqsa, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades spokesperson said, “What the enemy isn’t aware of is that it’s lost one of its soldiers in action today. Continue Reading »

U.S. Senate unanimously approves resolution supporting Israel on ‘Operation Protective Edge’

The resolution had 78 bipartisan co-sponsors & was introduced by Senators  Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), &  Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.)

The House passed a similar resolution on July 11.

By

 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate unanimously approved a non-binding resolution in support of Israel’s right to defend itself against rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.

Congress

U.S. Congress. – Photo: Reuters

The resolution, which had 78 bipartisan sponsors, passed late Thursday by unanimous consent, a week after it was introduced by Sens. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.).

Continue Reading »

IDF Released Names of 5 Killed Soldiers – Timeline & Explanation of Fatal Incidents

Cleared for publication: The names of 5 of the 13 IDF officers & soldiers who were killed in an attack on an APC in Gaza.

Watch: Golani soldiers in action

By Elad Benari

 

The IDF cleared for publication on Sunday night the names of five of the 13 officers and soldiers who were killed in an attack on an APC in Gaza.

Golani soldiers - Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit

Golani soldiers – Photo: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit

Captain Tzafrir Bar-Or, a commander in the Golani Brigade, 32, of Holon. His funeral will be held Monday at 1:00 p.m. in the military section of the cemetery in Holon.

Major Zvi Kaplan, a commander in the Golani Brigade, 28, from Kedumim. Continue Reading »

Korean Air cancels its Tel Aviv flights citing safety concerns

 

 

Korean Air announces “temporary flight suspension to Tel Aviv” until July 24 as a result of the Gaza war.

Airlines are offering excellent deals to counter wave of cancellations, with prices slashed by as much as 50%.

By Ilan Gattegno

Korean Air suspended Israel-bound flights until Thursday as a result of the ongoing operation in the Gaza Strip, the company announced on Friday. The airline hinted that the move was partially designed to review safety issues in the wake of the incident last week in which a Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down over eastern Ukraine.

Some 30% of ticket-holders have canceled their travel plans in the wake of the ongoing fighting, officials say – Photo: Yossi Zeliger

“To ensure the safety of customers from the political unrest of the Israel [sic], flights to Tel Aviv (TLV) will be suspended for the duration specified below,” read a statement on the company’s website bearing the headline “Notification of temporary flight suspension to Tel Aviv.”

Continue Reading »

Israel’s PM Netanyahu: Gaza’s ‘Operation Protective Edge’ moving forward fairly quickly

Prime Minister Netanyahu tells CNN in an interview, that Israel regrets all civilian casualties, accuses Hamas of exploiting the civilians as human shields.

By Reuters

 

Israel’s military mission in Gaza to destroy tunnels used by Hamas for terrorist attacks is being done fairly quickly, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CNN on Sunday.

PM Netanyahu’s message to the people of Gaza – PMO

The prime minister repeated his accusation that Hamas is using Palestinian civilians as human shields, and said that there are sometimes civilian casualties that Israel regrets.

The Saja’iyya neighborhood of Gaza City came under heavy IDF artillery bombardment overnight Saturday, and Israel and Hamas agreed Sunday to what was originally a two hours-long humanitarian ceasefire in the area, that has since been extended to four hours. Continue Reading »

13 Golani soldiers were killed in Gaza – יהי זכרם ברוך

Golani, armor & engineering corps forces were met with effective close anti-tank fire in Shejaiya, Gaza.

By David Lev

 

Thirteen IDF soldiers have been killed since Saturday night, the IDF said. The process of identifying the bodies is still ongoing.

IDF's Nemer APC is armed with ROWS .50 and the 7.62mm, AND active protection from Iron Fist - Screenshot

IDF’s Nemer APC is armed with ROWS .50 caliber and the 7.62mm, AND active protection from Iron Fist – Screenshot

Golani, armor and engineering corps forces were met with effective close range guerrilla actions in Shejaiya, Gaza.

The military said that the families of the soldiers who were killed have been notified. Their names will be released later on.

In the twelve days of rocket attacks by Hamas since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge, Arab terrorists have fired about 1,000 rockets at Israel – and at least 130 of them have come from Shejaiya, where fighting has been heavy since Saturday, the IDF said Sunday. Continue Reading »

Hamas breaks humanitarian cease-fire so IDF resumes strikes in Gaza’s Shejaia area

Israel reports IDF soldiers were shot at shortly after the 2-hr truce, assisted by the ICRC, had begun at 1:30 pm.

Palestinians say at least 50 Gazans killed in Shejaia district, which IDF reports as center of terror activity.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN, REUTERS

 

Hamas members on Sunday violated a humanitarian cease-fire in the Shejaia area of Gaza and fired on IDF soldiers with anti-tank missiles and automatic fire, the army said.

gaza

An Israeli rocket is fired into the northern Gaza Strip July 17, 2014. – Photo: REUTERS

The air force has begun resuming strikes in Shejaia, firing on locations from which the army came under fire. 

Continue Reading »

A true Hero: Col. Alian, injured by shrapnel overnight, refuses extended hospitalization

 

Despite his doctors’ orders, injured Golani Brigade commander, who was injured by shrapnel overnight in Gaza, told his family he wants to return to be by his soldiers, “I need to get back to my men”

By Ilana Curiel

 

Col. Rassan Alian, a Golani Brigade battalion commander, was injured overnight Saturday in light-to-moderate condition and was evacuated to Soroka Medical Center in Be’er Sheva. He talked with his family members on the phone, telling them he intended to return to his soldiers in the Gaza Strip.

Col. Rassan Alian (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

Col. Rassan Alian – Photo: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit

Alian was injured by shrapnel, including in his eyes, but his vision was undamaged. Continue Reading »

IDF General: Israel is Destroying Hamas’ Underground Terror Network

With deep angst, Hamas is watching their rocket-launching platforms, weapons caches, and terror tunnels fall ‘one after another,’ IDF spokesman says.

By Uzi Baruch

 

The IDF has discovered an “underground city” in Gaza filled with explosives, IDF Spokesman Brigadier-General Moti Almoz said Sunday.

IDF soldiers look down at another tunnel discovery - Photo IDF Spokesperson's Unitפלאש 90

IDF soldiers look down at another tunnel discovery – Photo: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit

He spoke to Channel 10 following the discovery of at least 36 terror tunnels in Gaza. Many of the tunnels were filled with rockets, explosives and other weapons.

“Hamas planned these tunnels for years, and planned to use them to kidnap soldiers. [Now] they see the tunnels collapsing one after the other,” Almoz declared. Continue Reading »