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IDF Adds Troops to Ground Op as Hezbollah Rains Rockets on Israel’s North
Illustrative: Israeli soldiers prepare to enter Gaza, April 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
JNS.org — The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Wednesday that another division, the 36th, was joining its ground operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon, as the Iranian terror proxy continued to launch rocket barrages across the border.
According to the IDF, some 100 rockets were fired at northern Israel during the morning hours, which followed Tuesday night’s second-ever direct attack on Israel by Iran.
In the latest barrage, around 10 rockets were launched at the Western Galiliee and Haifa Bay area.
No injuries were reported.
Also in the morning, Hezbollah fired a long-range rocket at central Israel, which fell in an open area, causing no damage and triggering no alarms.
Meanwhile, the IDF is intensifying its ground operations against Hezbollah.
“The 36th Division, including soldiers of the Golani Brigade, 188th Armored Brigade, 6th Infantry Brigade and additional forces are joining the limited, localized, targeted raids on Hezbollah terror targets and terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon that began on Monday,” the IDF announced.
The Israeli Air Force and 282nd Artillery Brigade are supporting ground forces.
The 98th Division and the 7th Brigade’s armored units have been preparing for the ground invasion for several weeks. The 98th Division joined the Northern Command after months of fighting Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
The IDF on Wednesday for a second consecutive day called on people to evacuate villages in Southern Lebanon.
“Hezbollah’s activities are forcing the IDF to act against them forcefully. The IDF does not intend to harm you, and therefore, for your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and head north of the Al-Awali River. Save your lives,” tweeted Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, head of the Arab Media Branch in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.
“Anyone near Hezbollah members, their facilities, or their weapons is putting their life in danger. Any house used by Hezbollah for military purposes is likely to be targeted. Evacuate your homes immediately. Be careful not to head south. Any movement southward may put you at risk. We will inform you when it is safe to return to your homes.”
The directive is for 24 villages in southern Lebanon.
In addition to the ground operation in southern Lebanon, the IDF said on Wednesday morning that over the past few days Israeli Air Force fighter jets have conducted a series of targeted strikes in the Beirut area, targeting several weapons production facilities and terrorist infrastructure.
The IDF emphasized that civilians were given advanced warning to evacuate the area ahead of the precision strikes.
“The Hezbollah terrorist organization has deliberately primarily embedded its weapons production facilities and weaponry beneath residential buildings in the heart of the city of Beirut, hiding them in populated areas,” the IDF said, adding that the strikes were conducted to degrade Hezbollah’s military capabilities.
Gallant: ‘We are eliminating Radwan forces’
Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was briefed over the past several days on the IDF’s efforts to dismantle Hezbollah terror infrastructure in southern Lebanon, his office said on Tuesday.
Gallant was shown Hezbollah weapons located and confiscated by Israeli forces.
“Everything you see here — the weapons, missiles, explosives, RPGs — they were found by the IDF in areas from where [Hezbollah’s] Radwan forces planned launch attacks to kill and kidnap Israeli citizens,” Gallant said while observing the seized weaponry.
“We are eliminating the Hezbollah terrorist organization in southern Lebanon and dismantling its Radwan forces along the entire border,” he continued.
“What we will do here is part of what it means to ensure the safe return of Israel’s citizens to their homes in the north. We are changing the security situation.”
The post IDF Adds Troops to Ground Op as Hezbollah Rains Rockets on Israel’s North first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Says Missile Launched by Yemen’s Houthis ‘Most Likely’ Intercepted
Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi addresses followers via a video link at the al-Shaab Mosque, formerly al-Saleh Mosque, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
The Israeli army said on Saturday that a missile fired from Yemen towards Israeli territory had been “most likely successfully intercepted,” while Yemen’s Houthi forces claimed responsibility for the launch.
Israel has threatened Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement – which has been attacking Israel in what it says is solidarity with Gaza – with a naval and air blockade if its attacks on Israel persist.
The Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group was responsible for Saturday’s attack, adding that it fired a missile towards the southern Israeli city of Beersheba.
Since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023, the Houthis, who control most of Yemen, have been firing at Israel and at shipping in the Red Sea, disrupting global trade.
Most of the dozens of missiles and drones they have launched have been intercepted or fallen short. Israel has carried out a series of retaliatory strikes.
The post Israel Says Missile Launched by Yemen’s Houthis ‘Most Likely’ Intercepted first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Holds Funeral for Commanders and Scientists Killed in War with Israel
People attend the funeral procession of Iranian military commanders, nuclear scientists and others killed in Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 28, 2025. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Large crowds of mourners dressed in black lined streets in Iran’s capital Tehran as the country held a funeral on Saturday for top military commanders, nuclear scientists and some of the civilians killed during this month’s aerial war with Israel.
At least 16 scientists and 10 senior commanders were among those mourned at the funeral, according to state media, including armed forces chief Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Revolutionary Guards commander General Hossein Salami, and Guards Aerospace Force chief General Amir Ali Hajizadeh.
Their coffins were driven into Tehran’s Azadi Square adorned with their photos and national flags, as crowds waved flags and some reached out to touch the caskets and throw rose petals onto them. State-run Press TV showed an image of ballistic missiles on display.
Mass prayers were later held in the square.
State TV said the funeral, dubbed the “procession of the Martyrs of Power,” was held for a total of 60 people killed in the war, including four women and four children.
In attendance were President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior figures including Ali Shamkhani, who was seriously wounded during the conflict and is an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as Khamenei’s son Mojtaba.
“Today, Iranians, through heroic resistance against two regimes armed with nuclear weapons, protected their honor and dignity, and look to the future prouder, more dignified, and more resolute than ever,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who also attended the funeral, said in a Telegram post.
There was no immediate statement from Khamenei, who has not appeared publicly since the conflict began. In past funerals, he led prayers over the coffins of senior commanders ahead of public ceremonies broadcast on state television.
Israel launched the air war on June 13, attacking Iranian nuclear facilities and killing top military commanders as well as civilians in the worst blow to the Islamic Republic since the 1980s war with Iraq.
Iran retaliated with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites, infrastructure and cities. The United States entered the war on June 22 with strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
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Israel, the only Middle Eastern country widely believed to have nuclear weapons, said it aimed to prevent Tehran from developing its own nuclear weapons.
Iran denies having a nuclear weapons program. The U.N. nuclear watchdog has said it has “no credible indication” of an active, coordinated weapons program in Iran.
Bagheri, Salami and Hajizadeh were killed on June 13, the first day of the war. Bagheri was being buried at the Behesht Zahra cemetery outside Tehran mid-afternoon on Saturday. Salami and Hajizadeh were due to be buried on Sunday.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would consider bombing Iran again, while Khamenei, who has appeared in two pre-recorded video messages since the start of the war, has said Iran would respond to any future US attack by striking US military bases in the Middle East.
A senior Israeli military official said on Friday that Israel had delivered a “major blow” to Iran’s nuclear project. On Saturday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that Israel and the US “failed to achieve their stated objectives” in the war.
According to Iranian health ministry figures, 610 people were killed on the Iranian side in the war before a ceasefire went into effect on Tuesday. More than 4,700 were injured.
Activist news agency HRANA put the number of killed at 974, including 387 civilians.
Israel’s health ministry said 28 were killed in Israel and 3,238 injured.
The post Iran Holds Funeral for Commanders and Scientists Killed in War with Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Pro-Palestinian Rapper Leads ‘Death to the IDF’ Chant at English Music festival
Revellers dance as Avril Lavigne performs on the Other Stage during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 30, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Dylan Martinez
i24 News – Chants of “death to the IDF” were heard during the English Glastonbury music festival on Saturday ahead of the appearance of the pro-Palestinian Irish rappers Kneecap.
One half of punk duo based Bob Vylan (who both use aliases to protect their privacy) shouted out during a section of their show “Death to the IDF” – the Israeli military. Videos posted on X (formerly Twitter) show the crowd responding to and repeating the cheer.
This comes after officials had petitioned the music festival to drop the band. The rap duo also expressed support for the following act, Kneecap, who the BCC refused to show live after one of its members, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh – better known by stage name Mo Chara – was charged with a terror offense.
The post Pro-Palestinian Rapper Leads ‘Death to the IDF’ Chant at English Music festival first appeared on Algemeiner.com.