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IDF Finishes Counter-Terror Operation in Gaza’s Jabalia
Troops from the IDF’s 98th Division operating in Jabalia, the northern Gaza Strip, May 2024. Photo: Israel Defense Forces.
JNS.org – The Northern Brigade of the Israel Defense Forces’ Gaza Division completed a targeted operation in the Jabalia area of the northern Strip, the military announced on Sunday.
The raid, which also included troops from the division’s engineering unit and the Yahalom combat engineering special forces unit, was launched in early October following indications of a resurgence of Hamas terrorists there.
Soldiers dismantled “dozens” of tunnels in the area—some of which were booby-trapped—that were used by Palestinian terrorists to harm the forces operating in Jabalia, the army said.
In one instance, soldiers discovered and destroyed an underground terrorist infrastructure stretching hundreds of feet, it said.
During the operation, the forces were attacked by Hamas with anti-tank weapons, the statement said. The IDF moved to eliminate the terrorists through Israeli Air Force strikes and in close-quarters combat, it added.
On Saturday night, explosions were heard in central Israel, which were caused by extensive airstrikes in the northern Strip.
IDF ground forces entered the coastal enclave following a weeks-long air campaign in response to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led invasion of the northwestern Negev, in which terrorists murdered some 1,200 people, wounded thousands of others, and abducted more than 250 people the Strip—96 of whom are still there, along with four others who entered Gaza earlier.
Jerusalem’s war goals for Gaza are to destroy Hamas’s capabilities, ensure that it cannot threaten Israel again, and return the captives.
Israeli security forces continue to operate in the Strip. On Friday, the IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) announced that Nachal al-Najar, the head of Hamas’s “aerial defense” unit in Gaza, was slain.
Al-Najar had been responsible for planning the aerial infiltrations into the Jewish state during the Oct. 7, 2023, assault. Since the start of the war, he led several attacks against IDF soldiers in the central Strip.
On Saturday, the IDF announced the death in southern Gaza of Capt. Avraham Ben Pinchas, 24, a platoon commander in the 401st Armored Brigade’s 46th Battalion, from Harasha. According to a probe, his tank was hit by a missile during a counter-terror operation in Rafah.
The death toll among Israeli troops since the start of the Gaza ground incursion on Oct. 27 stands at 381, and at 809 on all fronts since the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, according to IDF data.
The post IDF Finishes Counter-Terror Operation in Gaza’s Jabalia first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Signals Willingness to Scale Back Uranium Enrichment to Ease Tensions
Atomic symbol and USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, September 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
i24 News – Iran may be prepared to significantly reduce its uranium enrichment levels in a bid to stave off renewed UN sanctions and limit the risk of further strikes by Israel and the United States, according to a report published Sunday in The Telegraph.
Citing Iranian sources, the paper said Tehran is considering lowering enrichment from 60% to 20%.
The move is reportedly being championed by Ali Larijani, the newly appointed secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, who is holding talks with regime leaders.
“Larijani is trying to convince the system to reduce the level of enrichment in order to avoid further war,” a senior Iranian official told the paper.
The proposal, however, faces stiff resistance from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has long opposed concessions on the nuclear program. Still, the report suggests Iran’s leadership may be open to greater flexibility, including the possibility of reviving engagement with Western powers.
Last month, i24NEWS reported exclusively that a delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is expected to travel to Iran. The team of technical experts would seek to resume monitoring of nuclear sites, inspections that have been heavily restricted in recent years.
The development comes amid mounting regional tensions and could represent a critical turning point in the long-running nuclear standoff.
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Major Brush Fire Erupts Near Jerusalem, Evacuations Underway
A view of the new Tel Aviv-Jerusalem fast train seen over the HaArazim Valley (“Valley of Cedars”) just outside of Jerusalem, Sept. 25, 2018. Photo: Yossi Zamir/Flash90.
i24 News – A large brush fire broke out Sunday in the Cedars Valley area, near Route 1 and the Motza interchange, prompting an emergency response from Jerusalem district fire services. Several water-bombing planes were dispatched, and authorities have declared a “fire emergency.”
As a precaution, residents of Mevaseret Zion are being evacuated. Access to the town from Route 1 has already been blocked, and officials are weighing a full closure of the major highway.
Fire crews from the Ha’uma station are on site working to contain the flames, while motorists in the area are urged to heed traffic updates and follow instructions from emergency services.
Eight firefighting aircraft are currently operating above the blaze in support of ground teams. The fire comes amid one of the hottest, driest summers on record, with conditions fueling a series of destructive wildfires across the country.
Officials warn the situation remains critical, as the blaze threatens a vital transportation corridor leading into Jerusalem.
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Egyptian Army Reinforces Its Eastern Border Ahead of Israel’s Gaza City Takeover
A man sits against a wall with a graffiti of a heart with the word “Gaza”, near the Rafah border crossing, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah, Egypt, Feb. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
i24 News – The Egyptian army has reinforced its presence on the eastern border, fearing the humanitarian and military repercussions of the IDF’s takeover of Gaza City as authorities remain on high alert, Qatari media outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported Sunday.
According to the report, Egyptian authorities estimate that Israeli military operations will force roughly one million Gazans to flee Gaza City toward the southern part of the Strip, creating the opportunity for Israel to attempt to deliberately push these refugees toward the Egyptian border.
Cairo fears that Israel will force Gazans south — only as a temporary stop — before taking advantage of the chaos of the operation to push them further towards the Rafah crossing, bordering Egypt’s North Sinai.
According to the report, Egypt intends to send two messages with its reinforced military presence on the border: the first a stand against an attempted crossing breach, and the second against the idea of a humanitarian solution at the expense of its territory.