RSS
‘The Maccabees of Our Day’: Israel Mourns 10 Soldiers, Including Colonel, Killed in Fierce Gaza Fighting
Israeli soldiers operate at the Shajaiya district of Gaza city amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terror group Hamas, in the Gaza Strip, Dec. 8, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Yossi Zeliger
Ten soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), including high-ranking officers, were killed fighting Hamas terrorists in Gaza, the Israeli army said on Wednesday.
Nine of the soldiers died while engaged in combat in the northern Gaza Strip village of Shejaiya, known as a stronghold of the Hamas terror group. It was one of the deadliest single encounters since Israeli troops launched their ground campaign into Gaza in October.
The soldiers were engaging in search operations when they entered buildings that they believed to be abandoned, only to find a tunnel inside. Upon entering the building, they were ambushed with grenades and gunfire, which led to four IDF deaths immediately.
Between the gun battle and grenades flying, another 5 soldiers were killed, including two from the elite 669 unit, considered one of the best search and rescue military units in the world.
Among the dead was Col. Itzhak Ben Basat, 44, head of the Golani Brigade’s commander’s team. He was the most senior IDF officer to have been killed in the ground offensive against Hamas.
Staff Sgt. Oriya Yaakov, 19, was killed in a separate incident in northern Gaza.
“The Maccabees of our day,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog tweeted in reference to the soldiers killed on Tuesday. “The joy of Hanukkah this year is more difficult than ever, when the candles of the menorah and the candles of remembrance mingle with each other, with sorrow and grief, but no less — with immense pride and faith in the righteousness of the path.”
Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights, began last Thursday and is set to end on Friday night. It marks the re-dedication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem in the 2nd century BCE, after a small group of Jewish fighters known as the Maccabees liberated the land from oppressive foreign forces.
“Ten names were added today to our bereaved tombstone in the difficult and just war against the cruel enemy,” Herzog added. “Ten commanders and fighters, the best of the best, heroes among heroes who fell in the battle for the defense of the people and the homeland, and left a huge void in their image — in the hearts of all of us.”
The Israeli president concluded by saying that the Jewish state “swears to fulfill their will: the eternity of Israel and the unity of Israel.” He also quoted the Bible: “And I heard every candle and candle, calling to me: ‘Arise, awake, living people and arise!’”
War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz also tweeted about the incident, saying, “Every one who falls is a scar on the entire State of Israel, and every such scar is a reminder of the heroism of our warriors, and of the need to be worthy as a society of their sacrifice.”
Wednesday’s announcement by Israel brought the Israeli death toll in the ground offensive to 115, not including the roughly 300 soldiers and police murdered during Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel that launched the current conflict. An additional 900 civilians were killed during the onslaught.
The post ‘The Maccabees of Our Day’: Israel Mourns 10 Soldiers, Including Colonel, Killed in Fierce Gaza Fighting first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
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.
RSS
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.
RSS
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.