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9 Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza as IDF announces less intensive phase and Lebanon border simmers

(JTA) — Nine Israeli soldiers were killed, including six in one incident, during fighting in Gaza on Monday as Israel announced a new phase that officials said would be more targeted than the campaign that has devastated the enclave.
The announcement — made first to the New York Times — came as Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel for the fourth time since Oct. 7, when Hamas initiated the war by invading Israel. Blinken’s aims include pressing Israel to limit additional civilian casualties in Gaza and to dial down tensions on the northern border, where Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon have been trading fire and the risk of a wider war is seen as growing.
A Hezbollah drone reportedly reached an IDF base in Safed on Tuesday, while Israel reportedly killed three alleged Hezbollah terrorists inside Lebanon. There were also casualties reported after a strike at the funeral of a slain Hezbollah commander, whom an Israeli minister said on Monday that Israel had killed. Another senior Hezbollah commander was killed on Tuesday, reportedly by Israel.
Monday marked one of the deadliest days for Israeli troops since the ground invasion of Gaza began in October. Israeli explosives meant to demolish a Hamas underground installation detonated unintentionally, and the explosion killed six members of an elite reserves brigade. The Israeli military is investigating the incident.
Among the dead were two study partners from a West Bank yeshiva whose funerals were scheduled for the same time on Tuesday and an American-born soldier who moved to Israel with his family.
Among the additional soldiers seriously wounded was Idan Amedi, a popular singer and actor whose credits include the hit TV show “Fauda.” Amedi was recovering from his injuries on Tuesday, according to a tweet from Avi Issacharoff, the creator of the TV series about Israeli soldiers battling Palestinian terrorists.
The latest casualties bring the military death toll in Gaza to 185, in addition to the hundreds of soldiers killed during Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, when about 1,200 Israelis were killed. More than 130 Israelis are estimated to remain hostage in Gaza, with Israeli officials signaling that some are held close to Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’ chief in the territory.
According to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, 23,000 people have been killed in the territory during the war. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. Israel said in December that it believed at the time that one third of the casualties were combatants. Most of Gaza’s 2 million residents are displaced, with conditions harsh, food scarce and disease spreading.
The situation has led the Biden administration, which has staunchly defended Israel’s right to defend itself, to press for changes in the war. After President Joe Biden was heckled by an antiwar protester during an appearance in South Carolina on Monday, he emphasized that he was pressing Israel to scale back its offensive.
“I understand their passion, and I’ve been quietly working with the Israeli government to get them to reduce and significantly get out of Gaza,” Biden said.
Cracks are also appearing in American Zionist organizations’ support for the war effort. On Monday, Americans for Peace Now, a left-wing pro-Israel group, called for a ceasefire — the first U.S. pro-Israel group to do so.
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The post 9 Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza as IDF announces less intensive phase and Lebanon border simmers appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi lays a wreath as he visits the burial site of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon, June 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A member of Lebanese armed group Hezbollah was killed in an Israeli air strike on Tehran alongside a member of an Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group, a senior Lebanese security source told Reuters and the Iraqi group said on Saturday.
The source identified the Hezbollah member as Abu Ali Khalil, who had served as a bodyguard for Hezbollah’s slain chief Hassan Nasrallah. The source said Khalil had been on a religious pilgrimage to Iraq when he met up with a member of the Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada group.
They traveled together to Tehran and were both killed in an Israeli strike there, along with Khalil’s son, the senior security source said. Hezbollah has not joined in Iran’s air strikes against Israel from Lebanon.
Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada published a statement confirming that both the head of its security unit and Khalil had been killed in an Israeli strike.
Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli aerial attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs in September.
Israel and Iran have been trading strikes for nine consecutive days since Israel launched attacks on Iran, saying Tehran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran has said it does not seek nuclear weapons.
The post Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Financial Officer and Commander Eliminated by IDF in the Gaza Strip

Israeli soldiers operate during a ground operation in the southern Gaza Strip, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, July 3, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), in cooperation with the General Security Service (Shin Bet), announced on Friday the killing of Ibrahim Abu Shamala, a senior financial official in Hamas’ military wing.
The operation took place on June 17th in the central Gaza Strip.
Abu Shamala held several key positions, including financial officer for Hamas’ military wing and assistant to Marwan Issa, the deputy commander of Hamas’ military wing until his elimination in March 2024.
He was responsible for managing all the financial resources of Hamas’ military wing in Gaza, overseeing the planning and execution of the group’s war budget. This involved handling and smuggling millions of dollars into the Gaza Strip to fund Hamas’ military operations.
The post Hamas Financial Officer and Commander Eliminated by IDF in the Gaza Strip first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei named three senior clerics as candidates to succeed him should he be killed, the New York Times reported on Saturday citing unnamed Iranian officials. It is understood the Ayatollah fears he could be assassinated in the coming days.
Khamenei reportedly mostly speaks with his commanders through a trusted aide now, suspending electronic communications.
Khamenei has designated three senior religious figures as candidates to replace him as well as choosing successors in the military chain of command in the likely event that additional senior officials be eliminated.
Earlier on Saturday Israel confirmed the elimination of Saeed Izadi and Bhanam Shahriari.
Shahriari, head of Iran’s Quds Force Weapons Transfer Unit, responsible for arming Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, was killed in an Israeli airstrike over 1,000 km from Israel in western Iran.
The post Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors first appeared on Algemeiner.com.