Watch the IDF attack Hezbollah's operational headquarters in Lebanese territory
(Video: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
Rocket sirens sounded across northern Israeli comminutes in the Upper Galilee including Kiryat Shmona late Wednesday.
Israeli Air Force fighter jets attacked an operational headquarters of Hezbollah in Lebanese territory, the IDF said late Wednesday evening. In addition, forces identified a number of terrorists who approached the perimeter fence from Lebanon along the border with Metula. The forces fired at them and "hits were detected." Following rocket warning sirens in the Golan, the IDF announced that four rocket launches from Syrian territory were identified that crossed into Israeli territory. IDF forces attacked the sources of the rockets as well as a military position of the Syrian army."
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The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday night that Hamas rejected an Israeli offer to stop fighting in the Gaza Strip for a week in exchange for the release of 40 hostages. According to the report, which is based on Egyptian sources, the terrorist organization stated that it will not discuss the release of Israeli hostages until the cease-fire comes into effect.
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Demonstrating for the release of the hostages in Tel Aviv
(Photo: REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura)
A United Nations Security Council vote on a bid to boost aid to the Gaza Strip and ask the U.N. to monitor humanitarian aid deliveries in the Palestinian enclave has again been delayed at the request of the U.S., diplomats said on Wednesday. "Negotiations are ongoing and need more time. A rushed vote does not seem like it will end well," a U.N. diplomat familiar with negotiations told Reuters, referring to a possible U.S. veto of the draft resolution.
It was not immediately clear when a council vote might be rescheduled. The text - drafted by the United Arab Emirates - essentially aims to dilute Israel's control over all humanitarian aid deliveries to 2.3 million people in Gaza. Washington traditionally shields its ally Israel from U.N. action.
IDF troops have secured control over Hamas' "Elite Quarter" in the center of Gaza City, including the area of "Palestine Square," from where Hamas’ administrative and military leadership operated, according to the IDF spokesperson. The complex includes a large network of tunnels that connects terrorist hideouts, bureaus, and residential apartments belonging to Hamas’ senior leadership.
This complex, both above and below ground, was a center of power for Hamas’ military and political wings. In recent weeks, the 401st Brigade in the 162nd Division, along with forces from the Shaldag Unit, Shayetet 13 and the Yahalom Unit have been operating in the area of Rimal in Gaza City, where ‘Palestine Square’ is located. The forces carried out a combined and coordinated offensive on ‘Palestine Square’ and took operational control over the area. Over the last few days, the area was completely secured. During the battles to secure the area, IDF forces eliminated approximately 600 terrorists in both ground and aerial operations.
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Houthi fighter keeps watch on the deck of the Galaxy Leader cargo ship, seized by the Houthis earlier this month
(Photo: Yahya Arhab / EPA)
Companies affected by Houthi attacks in the Red Sea are now trying to switch to so-called intermodal transport to maintain global supply chains, which involves a combined sea and air route, said Jan Kleine-Lasthues, Chief Operating Officer Airfreight with leading German freight forwarder Hellmann Worldwide Logistics on Wednesday. Iran-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen have stepped up attacks on vessels in the Red Sea since Nov. 19 to show support for Hamas as Israel's war in Gaza continues.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday said during a year-end briefing that the United States believes Israel has an obligation to eliminate the threat posed by Hamas while at the same time minimizing civilian casualties in Gaza.
"We continue to believe that Israel does not have to choose between removing the threat of Hamas and minimizing the toll on civilians in Gaza," Blinken said. "It has an obligation to do both and it has a strategic interest to do both."
Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden referred to a possible new hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, saying that "such a deal is not expected soon." However, the president added: "We are pushing for such a deal."
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U.S. President Joe Biden says a new hostage deal is not expected anytime soon
(Photos: Dana Koppel, Reuters)
The political leadership of Hamas has begun to hold talks with the opposition Fatah movement about the future control of Gaza and the West Bank after the war, the Wall Street Journal reported. According to the report, the complex contacts could cause a conflict between Hamas' political bureau in Qatar, and the military branch in Gaza.
The talks are the clearest sign that the politburo is beginning to plan for the day after the war. "We don't fight just because we want to fight. We are not partisans of a 'zero sum game,'" Husam Badran, a member of the political bureau, told the Wall Street Journal. "We want the war to end."
Following rocket alert sirens that sounded in northern Israel, two surface-to-air missiles were launched toward an IAF aircraft on Wednesday afternoon. The aircraft was not hit and continued on its mission. Additional launches toward Israel were identified, and an interceptor was launched during the incident. In response to the launches, IDF artillery struck in Lebanon.
Furthermore, a number of launches from Lebanon toward the areas of Goren and Manara in northern Israel were identified. Since Wednesday morning, IDF artillery and tanks struck a number of locations in Lebanon in order to remove a threat and also struck additional terrorist infrastructure.
In addition, late on Wednesday afternoon, Israeli Air Force fighter jets, helicopters and aircraft struck Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure, a military compound, launch posts, a command center and a weapons depot.
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IDF Chief of Staff, Maj. Gen. Herzi Halevi, conducted a tour at the Lebanese border with the commanders of Division 146
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
IDF Chief of Staff, Maj. Gen. Herzi Halevi, conducted a tour and situation assessment at the Lebanese border Wednesday with the commanders of Division 146, and said: "We are not returning to how things were before."
"This means to push further, to reinforce this and to bring the residents back here, to Netu'a, and along the entire border line, to a different situation that is much more secure. Our role as those in uniform is to prepare the first option, to be very well prepared for combat. And no matter what, the coming year will include a lot of work," Halevy said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday issued a statement on the continuation of fighting against Hamas. "We are continuing the war to the end. It will continue until Hamas is eliminated – until victory. Whoever thinks that we will stop is detached from reality. We will not stop the fighting until all of the goals that we have set are achieved: The elimination of Hamas, the release of our hostages and the removal of the threat from Gaza. We are attacking Hamas with fierce fire, everywhere, including today. We are also attacking their accomplices near and far. All Hamas terrorists, from the first to the last, are dead men walking. They have only two possibilities: Surrender or die."
The IDF said on Wednesday that Captain (res.) Uriel Cohen from Tzur Hadassah was killed in the fighting in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Earlier, the army said that Captain (res.) Lior Sivan was also killed in battle in southern Gaza the day before and another soldier was seriously wounded.
Intensive Qatari- and Egyptian-mediated talks are underway for a possible second Gaza truce under which Hamas would return some hostages in exchange for Israel releasing Palestinian prisoners, a person briefed on the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.
While the number of people slated to go free was still being discussed, Israel is insisting that women and infirm male hostages be included, said the source, adding that Palestinians jailed for serious offenses could also be on the roster.
Meanwhile, an Israeli official told CNN that Israel and Hamas are not “near a final deal at the moment."
“For the time being, it’s still negotiations. There is nothing final," said the official. Hamas is asking for “more heavy-duty prisoners than before,” the official said, a reference to the release of Palestinian women and teenage prisoners from Israeli jails in exchange for hostages in the last deal between the two sides. A temporary cease-fire as part of the deal could last for a week or two weeks, the official said.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad Secretary-General Ziad al-Nakhala, set to lead a delegation to Cairo next week following Egypt's invitation, declared on Wednesday that his group would negotiate the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza only in exchange for the freedom of all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
"We are going to Cairo with a clear vision - to stop the aggression, the withdrawal of enemy forces from the Gaza Strip, and reconstruction," he said. "Prisoner exchanges will be conducted on the principle of 'all for all', in a political process agreed upon by the Palestinian forces, led by Hamas."
IDF soldiers destroyed a Hamas truck carrying long-range rockets in the Gaza Strip’s Jabaliya, the army said IDF on Wednesday.
The forces raided the homes of Hamas leaders in central Khan Younis, uncovering underground water and electricity systems.
An Israeli Air Force aircraft eliminated an armed terrorist in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, who emerged from a military compound carrying an anti-tank missile launcher.
The terrorist was targeted following intelligence provided by the 414th Field Intelligence Battalion of the Border Defense Array, who identified the gunman.
An attempted car-ramming attack was thwarted at the Beit Einun junction, near Kiryat Arba in the West Bank Wednesday morning. An IDF reserve force present at the scene eliminated the assailant. There were no casualties on the Israeli side.
Israeli Air Force fighter jets carried out a wave of attacks against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon on Wednesday morning, mainly on the western section of the border.
"A short while ago, IAF aircraft struck a series of Hezbollah terror targets in Lebanese territory, including terrorist infrastructure and military sites where Hezbollah terrorists operated," a statement read.
Ali Shoeib, a correspondent for Hezbollah's Al-Manar network, reported on Israeli airstrikes in the area of the town of Aita al-Shaab, located east of the Israeli border community of Zar'it in Western Galilee.
A Houthi official told Qatari-owned newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed on Wednesday that the Yemeni rebel group's naval forces have additional military capabilities that they have yet to use since they imposed a blockade on commerce in the Red Sea.
The Houthi navy "possesses a large arsenal, some of which was used during Al-Aqsa Flood,” the official said, using the name given by Hamas to the October 7 terrorist attack on southern Israeli communities and the subsequent war.
"There are many secrets that the Houthi navy does not wish to reveal, except at the appropriate time and place," he added.
Regarding accusations that Iran is the one providing the Houthis with weapons, intelligence and military expertise, the source stated that "most of the equipment is manufactured by Yemen's military industrial department."
Meanwhile, the Palestinians reported heavy bombardments in the city of Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip, a day after the IDF announced that the 162nd Division established operational control of the city and dismantled Hamas' control posts in the northern Strip, in conjunction with 252nd Division forces.
The Security Council's adoption of a new UN resolution to spur desperately needed aid to Gaza has been bogged down by two issues important to the United States: a reference to a cessation of hostilities and putting the UN in charge of inspecting trucks to ensure they are actually carrying humanitarian goods.
A vote on the Arab-sponsored resolution, first postponed from Monday, was pushed back again until Wednesday as council members continued intense negotiations to avoid another veto by the United States.
“We’re still working through the modalities of the resolution,” U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Tuesday afternoon when the vote was still set for 5pm. “It’s important for us that the rest of the world understand what’s at stake here and what Hamas did on the 7th of October and how Israel has a right to defend itself against those threats.”
It was canceled as the U.S. asked for more time and is now scheduled to take place after an open council briefing followed by closed consultations on the UN political mission in Afghanistan on Wednesday morning.
The draft resolution on the table Monday morning called for an “urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities,” but this language was watered down in a new draft circulated early Tuesday.
It now “calls for the urgent suspension of hostilities to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access, and for urgent steps towards a sustainable cessation of hostilities.”
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh arrived in Cairo on Wednesday to hold talks with Egyptian officials, mainly on developments in the war with Israel in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian terrorist group said.
Earlier, he met with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian in the Qatari capital of Doha to discuss "the latest political developments and the situation on the ground in Palestine," according to an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson. "Haniyeh spoke about the high morale and aspirations of the resistance in the field."
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Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Doha, Qatar
(Photo: West Asia News Agency/Handout via REUTERS)
Kanaani also noted that Haniyeh said Hamas is ready for a cease-fire, but the terrorist organization will not negotiate under Israeli attacks.
The Washington Post reported that Israel was considering a cease-fire lasting as long as several weeks, followed by a gradual pullback of Israeli troops, especially in northern Gaza, in efforts to revive a deal for the release of hostages by Palestinian terrorist groups.
U.S. President Joe Biden said Hamas had no consideration for the safety of Gazans. Speaking at an event to raise money for his presidential campaign, the president said it was the responsibility of Israel to differentiate between the terror group and civilians and minimize casualties to them.
First published: 06:55, 12.20.23