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Unreported Details: Here’s What Is Happening in Gaza Fighting Right Now
Israeli soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in this handout picture released on March 5, 2024. Photo: Israel Defense Forces/Handout via REUTERS
Demobilized Israeli reservists who participated in the battles in Gaza City and Khan Yunis said virtually every building they entered either had a weapons cache inside it or was rigged to explode, either via booby-traps designed to be tripped by an unwary soldier or via cameras set up to view the entrance.
According to the soldiers, Hamas fighters would also often move between buildings without weapons to appear like ordinary civilians, then take the weapons cached in the new building, shoot from the windows or a position adjacent to the building, put the weapons back, and again move without weapons to another building.
Fighting in the Khan Yunis area continues as previously described: a deadly form of “hide and seek” through buildings and streets. However, in addition to fighting above-ground battles, Israeli units have apparently begun entering the tunnels under Khan Yunis, and are fighting underground as well. Previously, underground operations were carried out only after an area had been cleared of Hamas, in order to search for information before destroying the tunnels. Now it seems that Israeli troops are advancing underground while fighting continues above-ground.
Israeli forces have gradually moved through more and more of Khan Yunis. Hamas continues to conduct hit-and-run attacks, and hides both underground and inside hospitals. One Israeli effort is to go through the hospitals and other “innocent” facilities like UNRWA buildings. Thus, in Nasser Hospital, the Israelis captured some 200 terrorists, including several staff members who were carrying weapons. A central command post of Hamas was found underneath the UNRWA headquarters building, connected to the electricity of that facility. That command post contained the central computer farm for Hamas’ command network and its central computerized intelligence depository.
A new angle of attack in the area of Khan Yunis is an outflanking move around and into the neighborhood of Hamad.
In northern Gaza, more and more Hamas personnel have appeared in the open following the departure of Israeli forces. They are trying to reorganize and rebuild their infrastructure. The Israeli forces have responded by conducting focused raids with tanks and infantry supported by aircraft and artillery. These raids have netted several dozen Hamas personnel as prisoners, and killed several times that number. The division commander conducting one of the raids stated that at the beginning of the war, three divisions were needed to reach the area in the center of Gaza City at which the raid was aimed, whereas now two battle groups are sufficient.
In southern Gaza, an Israeli special forces unit infiltrated into the heart of Rafah and rescued two kidnappees recently. The withdrawal was contested, and heavy supporting fire was required to evacuate the force and the rescued kidnappees.
Hamas is still firing rockets into Israel, but the frequency and total numbers have dropped. There were only about 165 rockets over the entire month of February, which is roughly equivalent to the daily average during the first weeks of the war.
Among the materiel captured by the IDF from Hamas is a large amount of cash. In the Khan Yunis tunnels alone, approximately $5.5 million in various currencies was found, as well as records indicating that Iran has transferred $150 million to Hamas over the past ten years.
Over the past month, 24 Israeli soldiers were killed and a few hundred wounded (the exact number has not been published). Approximately 3,000 Hamas and other armed groups’ personnel were killed, and a similar number were probably wounded.
In Gaza itself, more Palestinians are criticizing Hamas for initiating this war and are demanding that it surrender the hostages to stop their suffering. As yet, only a small minority are daring to come out in the open, so it is not clear how representative they are of the majority of the population. The general tone is less criticism of Hamas’ goals, and more criticism of its method of achieving them, which has exacted a terrible cost for the general population. There are also social media posts and demonstrations supporting Hamas. Again, it is not clear how much these reflect broad opinion or are organized “by the party.”
The humanitarian situation in Gaza is gradually worsening as the supplies provided by donors are both insufficient and plundered by Hamas. This is one of the reasons for the increasing criticism of Hamas by the Palestinian population.
Many critics claim that Hamas is deliberately depriving the population of the aid. There is mounting pressure on Israel to allow more aid to enter Gaza, but that means the trucks will not be checked diligently enough to prevent weapons and other equipment from being brought in for use by Hamas and the other armed groups. Smuggling from Egyptian territory on trucks and through tunnels was Hamas’ and other groups’ main source of weapons prior to the war. There have also been attempts to smuggle through Israel (in one case a couple of years ago, Israeli security personnel found that a shipment of canned food had electronics for military equipment inside the cans instead of food).
During the current war, Israeli security has found and captured items for military use when searching humanitarian supply trucks.
Two other issues are delaying the transfer of supplies into Gaza:
Egyptian truck drivers are complaining that when their trucks cross the border they are damaged by crowds of Gazans charging them to unload the supplies. More and more drivers are refusing to enter Gaza, and are demanding that Palestinian trucks come to the border and transfer the loads, which of course delays the transport.
Small numbers of Israeli protesters sometimes block the entrances from Israel and demand that the continuance of supplies be conditional on the release of the hostages.
In one incident, in order to prevent Hamas from taking incoming aid supplies, Palestinian civilians broke into the border terminal with Egypt to ransack trucks before they crossed the border. Hamas police opened fire on them, killing a teenager. In response, his family attacked the policemen, killing two of them. Such events have been recurring.
In another incident, a truck driver was killed by stones thrown at him. In another, a crowd charged a moving truck and many were run over. Locals have also reported on social media that trucks passing from southern to northern Gaza to feed the population there were ransacked en route by groups of Palestinians who then sold the goods at the market.
A partial solution has been to parachute in aid. This has its own complications. The first is controlling air traffic over Gaza during combat operations to prevent accidents. Then there is the issue that flying high enough to prevent aircraft being shot down by Hamas means the dispersal of the supplies being dropped is greater (there have been reports of the wind carrying some supplies into the sea and some into Israel). Ensuring that the supplies do not land on the people waiting below means dropping them over empty areas that are harder for the recipients to reach and more difficult to carry back supplies from. Furthermore, Hamas controls travel in the areas not occupied by Israeli forces, so air drops can only partially bypass its control. They cannot prevent Hamas from grabbing the supplies for its own use, just as it does with the truck convoys.
So far most of the air drops have been by the Jordanians flying through Israel, and this past week there was also an American supply drop. Apparently Egypt, Qatar, the Gulf Emirates, and France have also volunteered to send parachuted supplies to Gaza.
A final issue is that parachuted supplies cannot be checked. This is not a problem with the Americans and probably not with some of the Arab states, but Qatar is a supporter of Hamas and has funded it for many years. Any air drops provided by Qatar would be suspect.
Another issue that has appeared on the social media of Gazans is that the aid is not being handed out, but rather sold at exorbitant prices. This means that instead of the aid donated by foreign states and NGOs being treated as donations, Hamas is using it to earn cash at the population’s expense.
The Egyptian army has considerably reinforced its border obstacle with Gaza with concrete walls, barbed-wire fences, and so on to prevent Gazans from moving into Egypt.
Dr. Eado Hecht, a senior research fellow at the BESA Center, is a military analyst focusing mainly on the relationship between military theory, military doctrine, and military practice. He teaches courses on military theory and military history at Bar-Ilan University, Haifa University, and Reichman University and in a variety of courses in the Israel Defense Forces. A version of this article was originally published by The BESA Center.
The post Unreported Details: Here’s What Is Happening in Gaza Fighting Right Now first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire

Explosions send smoke into the air in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing said on Friday that while the Palestinian terrorist group favors reaching an interim truce in the Gaza war, if such an agreement is not reached in current negotiations it could revert to insisting on a full package deal to end the conflict.
Hamas has previously offered to release all the hostages held in Gaza and conclude a permanent ceasefire agreement, and Israel has refused, Abu Ubaida added in a televised speech.
Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have hosted more than 10 days of talks on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce in the war.
Israeli officials were not immediately available for comment on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on a call he had with Pope Leo on Friday that Israel‘s efforts to secure a hostage release deal and 60-day ceasefire “have so far not been reciprocated by Hamas.”
As part of the potential deal, 10 hostages held in Gaza would be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a number of detained Palestinians.
“If the enemy remains obstinate and evades this round as it has done every time before, we cannot guarantee a return to partial deals or the proposal of the 10 captives,” said Abu Ubaida.
Disputes remain over maps of Israeli army withdrawals, aid delivery mechanisms into Gaza, and guarantees that any eventual truce would lead to ending the war, said two Hamas officials who spoke to Reuters on Friday.
The officials said the talks have not reached a breakthrough on the issues under discussion.
Hamas says any agreement must lead to ending the war, while Netanyahu says the war will only end once Hamas is disarmed and its leaders expelled from Gaza.
Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies. Over 250 hostages were kidnapped during Hamas’s Oct. 7 onslaught.
Israel responded with an ongoing military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
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Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel

People hold images of the victims of the 1994 bombing attack on the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) community center, marking the 30th anniversary of the attack, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Irina Dambrauskas
Iran on Friday marked the 31st anniversary of the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires by slamming Argentina for what it called “baseless” accusations over Tehran’s alleged role in the terrorist attack and accusing Israel of politicizing the atrocity to influence the investigation and judicial process.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the anniversary of Argentina’s deadliest terrorist attack, which killed 85 people and wounded more than 300.
“While completely rejecting the accusations against Iranian citizens, the Islamic Republic of Iran condemns attempts by certain Argentine factions to pressure the judiciary into issuing baseless charges and politically motivated rulings,” the statement read.
“Reaffirming that the charges against its citizens are unfounded, the Islamic Republic of Iran insists on restoring their reputation and calls for an end to this staged legal proceeding,” it continued.
Last month, a federal judge in Argentina ordered the trial in absentia of 10 Iranian and Lebanese nationals suspected of orchestrating the attack in Buenos Aires.
The ten suspects set to stand trial include former Iranian and Lebanese ministers and diplomats, all of whom are subject to international arrest warrants issued by Argentina for their alleged roles in the terrorist attack.
In its statement on Friday, Iran also accused Israel of influencing the investigation to advance a political campaign against the Islamist regime in Tehran, claiming the case has been used to serve Israeli interests and hinder efforts to uncover the truth.
“From the outset, elements and entities linked to the Zionist regime [Israel] exploited this suspicious explosion, pushing the investigation down a false and misleading path, among whose consequences was to disrupt the long‑standing relations between the people of Iran and Argentina,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
“Clear, undeniable evidence now shows the Zionist regime and its affiliates exerting influence on the Argentine judiciary to frame Iranian nationals,” the statement continued.
In April, lead prosecutor Sebastián Basso — who took over the case after the 2015 murder of his predecessor, Alberto Nisman — requested that federal Judge Daniel Rafecas issue national and international arrest warrants for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over his alleged involvement in the attack.
Since 2006, Argentine authorities have sought the arrest of eight Iranians — including former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who died in 2017 — yet more than three decades after the deadly bombing, all suspects remain still at large.
In a post on X, the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA), the country’s Jewish umbrella organization, released a statement commemorating the 31st anniversary of the bombing.
“It was a brutal attack on Argentina, its democracy, and its rule of law,” the group said. “At DAIA, we continue to demand truth and justice — because impunity is painful, and memory is a commitment to both the present and the future.”
31 años del atentado a la AMIA – DAIA. 31 años sin justicia.
El 18 de julio de 1994, un atentado terrorista dejó 85 personas muertas y más de 300 heridas. Fue un ataque brutal contra la Argentina, su democracia y su Estado de derecho.
Desde la DAIA, seguimos exigiendo verdad y… pic.twitter.com/kV2ReGNTIk
— DAIA (@DAIAArgentina) July 18, 2025
Despite Argentina’s longstanding belief that Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah terrorist group carried out the devastating attack at Iran’s request, the 1994 bombing has never been claimed or officially solved.
Meanwhile, Tehran has consistently denied any involvement and refused to arrest or extradite any suspects.
To this day, the decades-long investigation into the terrorist attack has been plagued by allegations of witness tampering, evidence manipulation, cover-ups, and annulled trials.
In 2006, former prosecutor Nisman formally charged Iran for orchestrating the attack and Hezbollah for carrying it out.
Nine years later, he accused former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner — currently under house arrest on corruption charges — of attempting to cover up the crime and block efforts to extradite the suspects behind the AMIA atrocity in return for Iranian oil.
Nisman was killed later that year, and to this day, both his case and murder remain unresolved and under ongoing investigation.
The alleged cover-up was reportedly formalized through the memorandum of understanding signed in 2013 between Kirchner’s government and Iranian authorities, with the stated goal of cooperating to investigate the AMIA bombing.
The post Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns

Murad Adailah, the head of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood, attends an interview with Reuters in Amman, Jordan, Sept. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak
The Muslim Brotherhood, one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movements, has been implicated in a wide-ranging network of illegal financial activities in Jordan and abroad, according to a new investigative report.
Investigations conducted by Jordanian authorities — along with evidence gathered from seized materials — revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood raised tens of millions of Jordanian dinars through various illegal activities, the Jordan news agency (Petra) reported this week.
With operations intensifying over the past eight years, the report showed that the group’s complex financial network was funded through various sources, including illegal donations, profits from investments in Jordan and abroad, and monthly fees paid by members inside and outside the country.
The report also indicated that the Muslim Brotherhood has taken advantage of the war in Gaza to raise donations illegally.
Out of all donations meant for Gaza, the group provided no information on where the funds came from, how much was collected, or how they were distributed, and failed to work with any international or relief organizations to manage the transfers properly.
Rather, the investigations revealed that the Islamist network used illicit financial mechanisms to transfer funds abroad.
According to Jordanian authorities, the group gathered more than JD 30 million (around $42 million) over recent years.
With funds transferred to several Arab, regional, and foreign countries, part of the money was allegedly used to finance domestic political campaigns in 2024, as well as illegal activities and cells.
In April, Jordan outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s most vocal opposition group, and confiscated its assets after members of the Islamist movement were found to be linked to a sabotage plot.
The movement’s political arm in Jordan, the Islamic Action Front, became the largest political grouping in parliament after elections last September, although most seats are still held by supporters of the government.
Opponents of the group, which is banned in most Arab countries, label it a terrorist organization. However, the movement claims it renounced violence decades ago and now promotes its Islamist agenda through peaceful means.
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