Day: September 6, 2024

Southern Lebanon witnessed Israeli enemy reconnaissance and military activity throughout the night and into the early morning on Friday, with enemy drones and aircraft flying over villages in the western and central sectors, reaching the outskirts of Tyre. Moreover, the enemy forces fired flares over the border villages adjacent to the Blue Line, while at dawn, heavy machine gun fire was directed at the hills of Al-Labouneh and Al-Alam in the western sector. Earlier, before midnight, Israeli warplanes targeted areas near the towns of Aita al-Shaab in the central sector and Marwahin in the western sector. In response to the escalation, UNIFIL forces stationed in Shamaa reportedly activated their warning sirens multiple times Source: National news agency - Lebanon

The US State Department said it was aware of the killing of an American citizen in the West Bank and that it was gathering more information about the circumstances of the incident. For his part, the US Ambassador to Israel said that the embassy is working to collect more information about the circumstances of the death of the American citizen in the West Bank. For its part, the Israeli army announced that it is investigating the "claim" that a foreign citizen was killed by gunfire in the West Bank. Earlier today, the director of Rafidia Governmental Hospital in Nablus announced the death of the American activist of Turkish origin, Aisha Nour Ezgi (26 years old), after she was shot in the head by Israeli soldiers south of Nablus. Source: Maan News Agency

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced that 90% of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza has been agreed upon, but there are still critical issues over which there are disagreements, without clarifying who the parties are that have agreed upon, or the nature of the critical issues. "It is the duty of both parties to reach an agreement on these outstanding issues," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a news conference in Haiti on Thursday, noting that Washington will put more ideas on the negotiating table in the coming days. Source: Maan News Agency

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that the ceasefire negotiations in the Gaza Strip face critical issues despite "agreement on 90%" of the terms. The US Secretary of State explained that "90% of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza has been agreed upon, but there are still critical issues." "There are still issues pending in the ceasefire and hostage release negotiations," he added. He stressed that Washington is engaged in active talks "with our partners in Qatar and Egypt to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza." The US Secretary of State urged Hamas and Israel to reach a truce agreement in the Gaza Strip. "It is the duty of both parties to reach an agreement on these outstanding issues," Blinken said at a press conference in Haiti, noting that Washington will put more ideas on the negotiating table in the coming days. Source: Maan News Agency

The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon - Hezbollah - announced on Thursday that it carried out several operations against Israeli occupation sites in northern occupied Palestine, in support of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and in support of their resistance. The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon targeted the "Hanita" site with artillery shells, confirming that it was directly hit. Source: Maan News Agency

Israeli journalist Ben Caspit wrote on the Walla Hebrew website, saying: In a controversial statement this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted that the Philadelphi Corridor is the "rock of existence" for Israel. The statements came at a press conference in which he declared the Philadelphia Tiger as the "Third Temple" and asserted that responsibility for security, "hostages" and the future of Israel now rested with him, but he stressed that this responsibility began "from today," raising questions about who bears responsibility for events that occurred before that. Two months ago, the Philadelphi Corridor would not have been prominent on Israel's security threats list. What prompted Netanyahu to change his mind? Observers say the reason may have been his secret meeting with a small 'war cabinet' away from the eyes of his allies, which could explain the media campaign that celebrates personal recordings at the expense of more important issues. In a move that surprised many, Netanyahu a pologized for his failure to recover the "hostages," but did not clarify who was responsible for their kidnapping in the first place. He also faced criticism for his conflicting statements about the war's goals and timing, speaking of "November 7" instead of "October 7", and stating "3 goals" for the war in English while speaking of "4 goals" in Hebrew. Netanyahu seems to find himself in an unenviable position, as he faces great pressure from his political allies, which is pushing him to make crucial strategic decisions that may not be in Israel's interest in the long run. Netanyahu claims to have warned former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon about the dangers of the situation in Gaza, but since coming to power in 2009, he has taken no real action. Netanyahu has been prime minister most of the time and had many opportunities to fulfill his election promise and topple Hamas in Gaza. He had full popular legitimacy to do so, but he has taken no practical steps to achieve this goal. If the Philadelphi corridor wa s so important, why didn't Netanyahu try to reach it as soon as the fighting broke out? The operation could have been carried out easily; the 'Rafah Division' was and remains the weakest of Hamas's divisions. If the IDF had reached the 'Philadelphi' in November or December, the problem might have been solved already. The simple truth is that Netanyahu was afraid to embark on a large-scale ground operation. In those days, he consulted with senior officers such as Maj. Gen. Ofer Winter and Maj. Gen. Yitzhak Brick, who warned him that Gaza would be a deadly trap for the IDF, and preferred to operate from the air and from the outside. However, Gabi Ashkenazi, who was sent on a mission by Eisenkot and Gantz, convinced him to begin the maneuver about three weeks later. However, the operation in southern Gaza was delayed by Netanyahu, while Gantz and Eisenkot were pressuring him to move toward Rafah. Now, suddenly Netanyahu has discovered the importance of Philadelphi after realizing that the government may fall i f this decision is not taken. Netanyahu knows very well that the military presence in "Philadelphi" will not guarantee stopping the smuggling, as the Israeli army was there until 2005, and Hamas was using the tunnels to smuggle weapons under the feet of Israeli soldiers. Meanwhile, the "hostages" are dying. Hamas has been dealt a severe blow. Almost all of its military leadership has been eliminated except for Yahya Sinwar. The battalions and brigades have been dismantled, the tunnels and military infrastructure destroyed. Thousands of Hamas fighters have been killed. This is the time to take the temporary risks in Philadelphi and return the "hostages" home. But Netanyahu will not do this, because the only thing that matters to him more than returning the hostages is preserving his government. This is evidenced by a report published last week indicating that during the last cabinet meeting, a clause was included that would give the Israeli negotiating team a broad mandate to negotiate a deal to release the 'hostages,' but it was canceled at the last minute under pressure from Ben-Gvir and Smotrich. As a result, we are left with Philadelphia without a settlement, without a deal, without 'hostages,' but with a government that is in fact 'the rock of our existence.' Source: Maan News Agency

An opinion poll conducted by the Israeli newspaper Maariv on Friday revealed that a large Israeli majority supports withdrawal from the Philadelphi corridor in exchange for a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas. According to the poll, 48% of the sample preferred to release the detainees in Gaza rather than keep them in detention. It showed that a large majority of the public supports withdrawing from the Philadelphi Corridor to allow for a swap deal, as 48% of the sample supported giving up the corridor, compared to 37% who expressed a willingness to abandon a deal to leave the corridor in Israel's hands. On the political front, the differences are more acute, and among opposition supporters, withdrawal from the axis enjoys 75% support. In contrast, 74% of coalition voters said they would be willing to abandon the agreement if it meant withdrawing from the Philadelphi axis. The poll also reveals that only one candidate is more fit to be prime minister than current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Accor ding to the poll, if Naftali Bennett had submitted his candidacy, he would have received 49% support, compared to 34% for Netanyahu, but the latter outperforms the other mentioned candidates. The poll showed that Netanyahu would win over Benny Gantz by 42% to 40% for Gantz, a change compared to last week, when Gantz beat Netanyahu by one percentage point. Netanyahu will also win over opposition leader Yair Lapid, with 45% to Lapid's 36%, and he will also win over Avigdor Lieberman, with Netanyahu receiving 43% of the sample's votes, compared to Lieberman's 35%. Source: Maan News Agency

Israeli police arrested three young men from the West Bank on Friday, on suspicion of their "illegal" presence in the city of Ramat Gan. Police said officers at the Mesopotamia station noticed the three waiting at a bus stop on Mendes Street, prompting them to check their IDs. After verification, it was found that the three young men were residing in the country illegally, and they were arrested and taken to the police station for investigation. Source: Maan News Agency

The extremist Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he demanded that the destruction of Hamas and other organizations in the West Bank be included among the goals of the current war. Ben Gvir pointed out in his letter that "the October 7 massacre was carried out due to a dangerous assumption, and we are now in a state of war on several fronts, one of which is the Judea and Samaria (West Bank) front." Ben-Gvir added in his letter: 'Unfortunately, this hypothesis still exists almost entirely on this front. The movement of the Palestinian Authority residents is free on the roads, and the terrorist organizations are expanding significantly. This is evident from the sharp increase in the attempts of these organizations to carry out bombing attacks, the latest of which was the deadly shooting attack that took place on Sunday, which resulted in the deaths of three Israeli soldiers at the Tarqumiya crossing.' Ben Gvir concluded his let ter by saying: 'Based on the above, I request that a preliminary and necessary decision be made in the next cabinet meeting, which must be implemented immediately, to include the elimination of Hamas and the rest of the terrorist organizations in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) among the objectives of the war.' Ben Gvir also posted on his Facebook account, saying: 'I asked the Prime Minister to include the destruction of Hamas and the rest of the terrorist organizations in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) as one of the objectives of the war. The October 7 massacre was carried out because of a dangerous assumption that must not be repeated in Judea and Samaria. The mistakes must not be repeated. The war on Hamas must include Judea and Samaria as well.' Source: Maan News Agency

The Upper Galilee Regional Council issued a statement to settlers on Friday morning, advising them to avoid gatherings, stressing the need to adhere to the instructions of the Israeli army and the Home Front Command. 'Residents of the evacuated villages are only asked to avoid gatherings and limit movement within the town,' the statement read. This statement comes at a time when clashes between Hezbollah and Israel are renewed, after a short period of calm following the "preemptive attack" launched by the Israeli army at the beginning of last week. Earlier today, the Israeli army announced that fighter jets attacked a Hezbollah weapons depot in the area of ??the town of Blida in southern Lebanon at night, and that military buildings belonging to the party were also targeted in the areas of Aita al-Shaab and Yarin in southern Lebanon. Yesterday, violent clashes erupted on the northern front, where the Israeli army attacked a Hezbollah fighter in the village of Kafra, killing him. Hezbollah responded by f iring a barrage of rockets towards northern settlements, followed by Lebanese media reports that the Israeli army had launched attacks on targets in southern Lebanon. Israeli media reported that the Israeli Air Force launched a wide wave of attacks in southern Lebanon, where 14 raids were carried out in various areas, including Al-Jbeen, Tyre Harfa, Wadi Zebqin, and Al-Eiziyeh. Source: Maan News Agency