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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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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.