With the Israeli military keeping up the pressure on terrorists in Gaza, a Hamas-linked terror cell on Sunday morning tried to enter into northern Israeli though Hezbollah-controlled Lebanon.
“Israel Defense Forces (IDF) overnight Saturday to Sunday identified and eliminated a terrorist cell, who crossed from Lebanon into the Jewish state,” the Israeli Tv channel i24NEWS reported.
The foiled attempt by Hamas terrorists comes a day after the IDF eliminated three members of a Palestinian terrorist cell trying to infiltrate Israel from Palestinian Authority-controlled West Bank.
The attack once again highlights the growing operational coordination between Hamas and Hezbollah, both Iran-sponsored terrorist group.
The Jerusalem Post reported:
The IDF eliminated three Hamas-affiliated terrorists who tried to infiltrate into Israel from Lebanon in the Mount Dov area early Sunday morning, according to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.Hezbollah has attacked and destroyed significant aspects of the IDF’s surveillance capabilities during the ongoing conflict since October, and there was an extremely misty and opaque haze in the area at the time, including heavy rain.Akk of this, plus the many large boulders in the area, made it much more difficult to detect the penetration in advance, which enabled the Hamas forces to penetrate a couple hundred meters into the Mount Dov area, though still not close to any Israeli residential areas.The terrorists were very well-armed with anti-tank missiles, grenades, and significant amounts of ammunition for their Kalashnikov rifles. (…)Although the IDF forces killed the three Hamas forces, the attackers managed to wound five IDF soldiers, two moderately, and three lightly, when they engaged them with grenades.The IDF also carried out artillery and mortar fire toward Lebanon during the incident, with Lebanese media reporting over 60 projectiles were fired toward the Shebaa Farms area of Lebanon in the incident.
Meanwhile, the Hezbollah terrorist militia continued to use Lebanese territory to fire missiles and artillery into Israel. A 76-zaer-old Israeli mother and her 48-year-old son were killed by a Hezbollah missile fire in northern Israel. The father also sustained serious wounds in the strike.
The news comes as an Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist group steps up of rocket and artillery fire into Israel. “Throughout the day (Sunday), a number of launches which were fired from Lebanon toward the communities of Misgav Am and Goren in northern Israel fell in open areas,” the Israeli military informed on Telegram. “A number of anti-tank missiles were also launched toward the areas of Zar’it, Shomera, and Kfar Yuval. In Kfar Yuval, the missile hit a house in Kfar and there were a number of Israeli casualties.”
An estimated 80,000 Israelis have been forced to evacuate their homes in the north since the Iran-backed terrorist group intensified attacks.
The Jerusalem Post reported:
The Israeli citizens killed on Sunday by an anti-tank missile from Lebanon were named as 40-year-old Barak Ayalon and his 70-year-old mother Mira, Israeli media reported on Sunday.Ayalon was part of Kfar Yuval’s emergency response squad, where he was killed. His father was also seriously injured in the missile fire.The IDF responded by targeting an operational command post as well as one other military target belonging to the Lebanon-based Iranian terror proxy, Hezbollah, on Sunday, the IDF stated.“At 12:38 p.m., a report was received in MDA Yarden Region’s 101 Dispatch Centre of anti-tank guided missile fire in a village in the Upper Galilee,” the MDA spokesperson reported. “MDA Paramedics and EMTs, together with IDF Medical Teams, are providing medical treatment to an approximately 70-year-old female in serious condition, with multi-system injuries. She will be transported by helicopter to hospital.”In the IDF announcement, the military said that several rocket launches from Lebanon had been identified throughout the day.
The Israeli Air Force conducted strikes against Hezbollah terror targets responsible for the recent cross-border attacks. “A short while ago, IAF fighter jets completed a series of strikes in Lebanon. Among the targets struck were Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure and operational command centers in Lebanon,” the military disclosed in a statement Sunday evening. “The IAF also struck additional Hezbollah infrastructure and assets in Lebanon during the afternoon.”
As Israel marks the 100th day since the massacre of October 7, the Israeli military has announced the successful dismantling of Hamas in the northern part of Gaza.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi announce Saturday that the military currently has “four combat divisions . . . operating in Gaza” and had “completed the dismantling of Hamas’ military frameworks in the northern Strip.”
Despite continued pressure from the Biden White House and several Western governments, the Israeli military was determined to carry out ground operations in Gaza until all the objectives were met, the military chief assured.
“Today, we approved plans for the Southern Command to continue combat and to increase military pressure on Hamas. Pressure that will lead to the dismantling of Hamas and the return of the hostages. This pressure, and only it, has succeeded in returning many hostages,” the IDF chief declared.
Israel’s ground offensive was focused on southern Gaza’s stronghold of Khan Yunis, an area containing a vast web of terror tunnels. Hamas’s top terrorist leadership and over 100 Israeli hostages are believed to be in Khan Yunis.
“The IDF stated operations in the Gaza Strip against terrorist operatives and infrastructure are continuing as the war against Hamas entered its 100th day on Sunday with launch pits used to fire rockets at Israel destroyed by IDF troops,” the Israeli broadcaster Arutz Sheva reported. “Over the past day, IDF troops continued to operate in Khan Yunis, during which nine terrorists were killed during joint IAF and ground forces’ activities throughout the city.”
The IDF reported the latest operations across Gaza in a statement on Sunday:
IDF operations in the Gaza Strip against terrorist operatives and infrastructure are continuing; launch pits used to fire rockets at Israel destroyed by IDF troopsIn Maghazi [central Gaza], IDF troops identified two armed terrorists advancing toward a compound where the troops were located. The ground troops directed an IDF aircraft that struck and killed the terrorists, thwarting their attempt to attack the troops.In Atatra [northwestern Gaza], IDF troops located and destroyed a number of launch pits from which rockets were launched toward Israeli territory.In Khan Yunis, there was an additional instance where IDF troops located two armed terrorists, and directed an IDF aircraft that struck and killed the terrorists. In addition, IDF tanks killed five terrorists and located an underground shaft in the area of the city.Over the past day, IDF troops continued to operate in Khan Yunis, during which nine terrorists were killed during joint IAF and ground forces’ activities throughout the city.
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