RSS
IDF Releases Footage of Joint Operation to Rescue 4 Israeli Hostages from Hamas Captivity
Israeli forces provide cover with an Mk 47 grenade launcher during the rescue operation. Photo: IDF
i24 News – Israel has waited more than eight months for the four hostages rescued on Saturday to return, yet the road to success required heroism, fast thinking by commanders, and massive amounts of fire.
Media reports linked together on Sunday paint a picture of a complex operation that cost the life of Chief Inspector Arnon Zmora, a member of the Border Police’s elite Yamam unit, after whom the operation was named.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he authorized the operation on Thursday after months of intelligence gathering.
The paratrooper brigade spearheaded the rescue effort, supported by a coalition of specialized units including the Parachute Patrol, Mobility Unit (5515), 13th Fleet, Givati Patrol, and Armored Battalion (532). Operating under intense gunfire, these forces successfully extracted the hostages and swiftly transported them to safety via helicopter.
Over the preceding days, the Kafir Brigade’s battle team, bolstered by paratroopers and special forces from the Dovdevan unit, had maintained a strategic presence in the area.
Simultaneously, the 7th Brigade’s battle team, comprising armored and engineering forces along with fighters from the Rotem Battalion, worked tirelessly to neutralize terrorists and dismantle their infrastructure, clearing the path for the rescue operation.
Critical air support provided by the Air Force targeted numerous military objectives, enhancing the operation’s success rate. The operation itself was the culmination of weeks of meticulous intelligence gathering by the Shin Bet and Amn, shedding light on the abductees’ whereabouts and providing crucial insights into the operational dynamics of the rescue mission.
The joint operation, launched in collaboration with the elite police unit Yamam, reached its climax as teams stormed two separate locations in the Nuseirat refugee camp. While the extraction of Noa Argamani proceeded smoothly, the mission to retrieve Shlomi Ziv, Andrey Kozlov, and Almog Meir-Jan encountered fierce resistance. Commanding Yamam officer Zamora, leading the charge, sustained injuries during a close-range firefight but remained instrumental in ensuring the hostages’ safe evacuation.
Southern Command Colonel “Y” emerged as a pivotal figure in orchestrating the operation’s success, underscoring the collaborative efforts and strategic acumen of Israel’s defense apparatus in safeguarding its citizens against threats from hostile adversaries.
He was tasked with securing the exit point by providing cover fire against known targets, including anti-tank positions, military bases, terrorist apartments, and more. Colonel “Y” was also responsible for the swift exit of the hostages and their rescuers from the refugee camp under fire.
But as the team with the rescued hostages and Zamora tried to exit Nuseirat, their vehicles got stuck in a crowded area. At this time, drones flying overhead spotted dozens of terrorists gathering in several points to attack the Israelis.
Colonel “Y” gave swift approval to attack the terrorists, with IDF fire hitting some 30 feet away from the Israeli forces.
This allowed Israeli tanks and armored personnel carriers (APC) to enter the refugee camp and tow away the vehicle that was stuck. Meanwhile, the team transferred to an APC where they were taxied to the Gazan beach. The Yamam doctor fought all the while to provide first aid to Zamora. Due to the high risk of a surface-to-air attack, the helicopter was ordered to wait while the Israeli forces were out of danger.
It was only once he was back in Israel that doctors pronounced Zamora dead.
According to a security source quoted by Walla, the mission succeeded thanks to the “iron nerves” of Colonel “Y” and the dedicated assistance of the Israel Air Force and Armored Corps.
The post IDF Releases Footage of Joint Operation to Rescue 4 Israeli Hostages from Hamas Captivity first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Germany: 5 Killed, Scores Wounded after Saudi Man Plows Car Into Christmas crowd
Magdeburg Christmas market, December 21, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Christian Mang
i24 News – A suspected terrorist plowed a vehicle into a crowd at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg, west of the capital Berlin, killing at least five and injuring dozens more.
Local police confirmed that the suspect was a Saudi national born in 1974 and acting alone.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed his concern about the incident, saying that “reports from Magdeburg suggest something bad. My thoughts are with the victims and their families.”
Police declined to give casualty numbers, confirming only a large-scale operation at the market, where people had gathered to celebrate in the days leading up to the Christmas holidays.
The post Germany: 5 Killed, Scores Wounded after Saudi Man Plows Car Into Christmas crowd first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Syria’s New Rulers Name HTS Commander as Defense Minister
A person waves a flag adopted by the new Syrian rulers, as people gather during a celebration called by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) near the Umayyad Mosque, after the ousting of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, Photo: December 20, 2024. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo
Syria’s new rulers have appointed Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the insurgency which toppled Bashar al-Assad, as defense minister in the interim government, an official source said on Saturday.
Abu Qasra, who is also known by the nom de guerre Abu Hassan 600, is a senior figure in the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group which led the campaign that ousted Assad this month. He led numerous military operations during Syria’s revolution, the source said.
Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa discussed “the form of the military institution in the new Syria” during a meeting with armed factions on Saturday, state news agency SANA reported.
Abu Qasra during the meeting sat next to Sharaa, also known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, photos published by SANA showed.
Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir said this week that the defense ministry would be restructured using former rebel factions and officers who defected from Assad’s army.
Bashir, who formerly led an HTS-affiliated administration in the northwestern province of Idlib, has said he will lead a three-month transitional government. The new administration has not declared plans for what will happen after that.
Earlier on Saturday, the ruling General Command named Asaad Hassan al-Shibani as foreign minister, SANA said. A source in the new administration told Reuters that this step “comes in response to the aspirations of the Syrian people to establish international relations that bring peace and stability.”
Shibani, a 37-year-old graduate of Damascus University, previously led the political department of the rebels’ Idlib government, the General Command said.
Sharaa’s group was part of al Qaeda until he broke ties in 2016. It had been confined to Idlib for years until going on the offensive in late November, sweeping through the cities of western Syria and into Damascus as the army melted away.
Sharaa has met with a number of international envoys this week. He has said his primary focus is on reconstruction and achieving economic development and that he is not interested in engaging in any new conflicts.
Syrian rebels seized control of Damascus on Dec. 8, forcing Assad to flee after more than 13 years of civil war and ending his family’s decades-long rule.
Washington designated Sharaa a terrorist in 2013, saying al Qaeda in Iraq had tasked him with overthrowing Assad’s rule and establishing Islamic sharia law in Syria. US officials said on Friday that Washington would remove a $10 million bounty on his head.
The war has killed hundreds of thousands of people, caused one of the biggest refugee crises of modern times and left cities bombed to rubble and the economy hollowed out by global sanctions.
The post Syria’s New Rulers Name HTS Commander as Defense Minister first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Sweden Ends Funding for UNRWA, Pledges to Seek Other Aid Channels
View of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) building in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib / Flash90.
i24 News – Sweden will no longer fund the U.N. refugee agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) and will instead provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza via other channels, the Scandinavian country said on Friday.
The decision comes on the heels of multiple revelations regarding the agency’s employees’ involvement in the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel that triggered the war in Gaza.
Sweden’s decision was in response to the Israeli ban, as it will make channeling aid via the agency more difficult, the country’s aid minister, Benjamin Dousa, said.
“Large parts of UNRWA’s operations in Gaza are either going to be severely weakened or completely impossible,” Dousa said. “For the government, the most important thing is that support gets through.”
The Palestinian embassy in Stockholm said in a statement: “We reject the idea of finding alternatives to UNRWA, which has a special mandate to provide services to Palestinian refugees.”
Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel thanked Dousa for a meeting they had this week and for Sweden’s decision to drop its support for UNRWA.
“There are worthy and viable alternatives for humanitarian aid, and I appreciate the willingness to listen and adopt a different approach,” she said.
The post Sweden Ends Funding for UNRWA, Pledges to Seek Other Aid Channels first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login