Latest news with #BeitHanun
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hamas uses Gaza's rubble as a tactical advantage against the IDF
Hamas apparently believes that the IDF views ruined areas as secure. As such, it thinks that it can move more freely in these areas. Recent terrorist attacks in Gaza against IDF forces have revealed that Hamas and other groups in Gaza are exploiting the landscape to carry out attacks. What this means is that Hamas may view Israel's continued destruction of urban areas as a possible opportunity to exploit. Throughout the war, many Gazan neighborhoods have been reduced to rubble. In some cases whole towns have been razed. The policy of razing areas has been articulated in the media and among voices in politics in Israel. Most buildings in Gaza are presented as acceptable targets because terrorists could use them. It is also believed that many buildings conceal tunnels or tunnel shafts and entrances. The theory is that if you destroy the building, the enemy can't use it. However, Hamas appears to be shifting tactics to take advantage of the ruins. In Khan Yunis, Beit Hanun, and other places this appears to be the tactic. Its terrorists can hide in the ruins of buildings and move from one place to another. The group apparently believes that the IDF views ruined areas as secure. As such, it thinks that it can move more freely in these areas. It knows that the IDF has entered and claimed to have cleared many urban areas, such as Jabaliya in Gaza. It always returns to these areas afterward. Hamas has another reason for using the rubble. The terror organization controls the central camps and Gaza City and it knows that the IDF is reluctant to enter those areas. That is apparently where the terror group is holding the 50 hostages. At the very least, Hamas knows that Israel is afraid that could be the case. Thus, the group feels relatively secure in 30% of Gaza. Hamas terrorists can then infiltrate the other 60-70% percent and wait for targets of opportunity to appear. A recent report indicated that this is what Hamas and other groups are doing. They send cells back into the rubble and wait. They wait for an IDF armored vehicle to appear; or to identify a road that the IDF is using. The deadly attacks in Beit Hanun and Khan Yunis in the first weeks of July illustrate the new Hamas tactic. This must lead to a question about whether the policy of destroying buildings in Gaza is effective. It is possible that this policy has diminishing returns. It's not clear what percentage of Gaza has been reduced to ruins, but it appears that a large part of the areas where the IDF operates, comprising 60-70% percent of Gaza, has been badly damaged. Areas near the Israeli border are earmarked for a future buffer zone. Beit Hanun is apparently one of those areas. However, it appears that dozens of terrorists are still hiding there. The IDF has gone in now to clear them out. Will this work this time? Will the same clearing work this time in Jabaliya, Sheijaya, and Zeitoun in northern Gaza? Hamas has been able to tie down several IDF divisions for 645 days of war. Now, it appears to be adapting to the new situation. The question is whether the IDF is also adapting. The incidents in Khan Yunis and Beit Hanun illustrate that Hamas tactics should be examined and studied. The rubble across most of Gaza could become a threat just as deadly as terrorists hiding in civilian homes and schools.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Israel Police investigates left-wing journalist for expressing joy at death of five IDF soldiers
"The world is a better place this morning, without five young men who participated in one of the most brutal crimes against humanity," haredi left-wing journalist, Israel Frey, wrote on X/Twitter. A journalist is being investigated by Israel Police for expressing joy over the death of the five IDF soldiers in Beit Hanun, police confirmed on Tuesday. "Following the disgraceful post this morning on X/Twitter, the combined incitement team of the National Security Ministry and Israel Police's Intelligence Division formulated a recommendation to expedite the process," into opening an investigation of the terrorist for inciting terrorism, the police confirmed. The prosecution decided to open the case, but police have not stated that the journalist has been arrested or detained at the time of writing. This came after haredi left-wing journalist, Israel Frey, wrote, "The world is a better place this morning, without five young men who participated in one of the most brutal crimes against humanity," during a post on X on Tuesday morning. "Only in Israel can you both 'oppose' the war and 'be shocked' by what we are doing in Gaza, and also, in the same breath, send heartfelt condolences to those who actually carried out the atrocities. It's very simple: your leniency toward the criminals is indifference toward the crime. And the condolences are the legitimization and fuel for the continuation of the atrocities. Choose a side," Frey added in a second post.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gaza's deadly challenge: IDF faces renewed attacks as Hamas, allies regroup
As ceasefire talks continue, Hamas and other terrorist groups such as Islamic Jihad may be trying to go on the offensive in Gaza. Two concerning incidents this week illustrate that terrorists in Gaza are still able to carry out offensive attacks. The attacks – in Beit Hanun, northern Gaza; and Khan Yunis, southern Gaza – are likely linked to Hamas. It's also possible they are linked to other terrorist groups that operate alongside Hamas. The overall context is that Hamas and its terrorist allies are capable of ambushes and complex attacks. The two attacks are also concerning because Israel has cleared both Beit Hanun and Khan Yunis in the past. Since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas War, the IDF has generally refrained from entering key areas of Gaza. These include the central camps and parts of Gaza City. This means that Hamas and other terrorist groups are able to remain in these areas, which are about 35% of Gaza. The terrorist groups can then plan attacks from these areas and re-infiltrate the other 65% of Gaza where the IDF operates. Much of that 65% is now ruins and demolished buildings. The terrorists are able to operate in the rubble, however, and they also still have tunnels. After the Beit Hanun attack in which five soldiers were killed, IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen Effie Defrin said: 'IDF troops are currently encircling the Beit Hanun area from all directions – both above and below ground. Beit Hanun is a fortified target that currently contains dozens more terrorists and numerous underground tunnels that must be dismantled.' Beit Hanun is near Sderot, less than two kilometers from the border. It can be seen easily from roads in the Gaza periphery and from built-up areas of Sderot. Over the years, Beit Hanun was a launchpad for terrorists. After 642 days of war, it is still full of terrorists. This is concerning. The IDF is attempting to re-clear Beit Hanun, which was cleared in September and December in 2024. This time, the Kfir Brigade's 97th Battalion and elements of the Northern Gaza Brigade have been involved, under the command of the 99th Division. After five soldiers were killed and 14 wounded in an ambush on June 7, the IDF reinforced its forces, sending the Givati Brigade's combat team, under the 162nd Division, to help. The IDF softened up Beit Hanun using the IAF. This plodding maneuver may have let the terrorists know that the IDF was coming. The tactic of softening up the enemy dates from World War I. It's not clear why the IDF, which is supposed to be a very hi-tech military capable of rapid maneuver, still uses such an old tactic. Explaining how the terrorist ambush happened, Defrin said: 'During the nighttime operation, the troops advanced on foot alongside tanks and additional vehicles, securing the vehicles against various threats in the area. According to the initial inquiry, the troops were hit by three explosive devices that were detonated within minutes of each other. 'After the first device exploded and the initial report was made, a rescue squad was dispatched. During the evacuation, the troops encountered gunfire directed at them, wounding several soldiers. The troops continued the evacuation while engaged in combat under fire.' This appears to indicate that the terrorists planned this attack. They also did it in the rubble that is normal in Beit Hanun. They did it after 642 days of war, when they were supposed to be largely beaten. While in Washington this week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas would be defeated, and there won't be Hamas in Gaza when the war is over. Hamas appears to be trying to challenge this assertion, however, even as its leaders in Doha discuss a ceasefire. Beit Hanun is now encircled. The battle not far from the border is still being fought against dozens of terrorists who are believed to be hiding in the ruins of this northern Gaza town. There is no doubt the IDF can defeat Hamas. The question is whether the terrorists will continue to melt into the rubble and wait for targets of opportunity to continue its insurgency. This is the main challenge. Meanwhile, in Khan Yunis, another incident took place on June 9 that was concerning. Khan Yunis was cleared by the 98th Division between December and April 2024. Nevertheless, it seems the terrorists are back. In March and April 2024, the IDF estimated that Hamas was largely defeated in Gaza, and that 20 of its 24 battalions were dismantled. It's not clear if this assessment was correct, however, and Hamas has recruited more terrorists over the past year. 'An initial inquiry suggests that during IDF operational activity in Khan Yunis, terrorists came out of an underground tunnel and attacked IDF troops,' the IDF said. 'During the attack, the terrorists attempted to abduct a soldier who served as an engineering vehicle operator. The soldier fought the terrorists, and they shot and killed him. Security forces operating in the area opened fire toward the terrorists, hitting several of them and thwarting the abduction. The incident is under review.' This is as concerning as the Beit Hanun ambush. It shows that the enemy is trying to carry out more complex ambushes. Soldiers from the Golani Brigade, part of the 36th Division, are fighting in Khan Yunis. Golani and the 36th played a key role in taking the Morag Corridor in southern Gaza this past March and April. The IDF has been engaged in operations as part of Gideon's Chariots since mid-May. In June, 20 soldiers were killed. This shows that Gaza is still a deadly challenge. In Khan Yunis, the IDF found a tunnel 500 meters long and 13 meters deep. 'Over the past week, the troops eliminated dozens of terrorists and dismantled more than 130 terrorist infrastructure sites both above and below ground, including weapon stockpiles, booby-trapped buildings, observation posts, and launch positions directed at IDF troops,' the IDF said. Hamas and other terrorist groups, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad, may be trying to go on the offensive in Gaza. They may be trying to take advantage of hopes for a ceasefire to claw back areas they lost. They may also want to show they can continue to 'resist' the IDF. This comes as Hezbollah is still active in Lebanon, and the Houthis have increased attacks on ships. The IDF has beaten many enemies, but the enemies still continue to threaten Israel.
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
IDF begins encircling Beit Hanun, destroying Hamas infrastructure in northern Gaza
The encirclement began shortly after five IDF soldiers were killed and an additional 14 wounded due to a Hamas ambush and several IEDs in the area. The Givati Brigade and troops from the 99th Division have begun operations to encircle Beit Hanun in the northern Gaza Strip, the IDF announced Wednesday. Under the command of 162nd Division, soldiers have been working to kill terrorists, as well as dismantle infrastructure and damage Hamas' military capabilities in the area. The Israel Air Force reportedly conducted a 'fire belt,' or continuous gunfire followed by airstrikes, in the area, as well as additional airstrikes in Gaza City, according to Palestinian reports. The encirclement began shortly after five IDF soldiers were killed and an additional 14 wounded due to a Hamas ambush and several improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the area on Monday. Beit Hanun is in the buffer zone. The Gaza town, which is very close to the Israeli city of Sderot, has long been a hot spot for terrorists, often used by Hamas and other groups to launch rockets at Israel. The IDF operated in Beit Hanun many times during the 640 days of the Israel-Hamas War. Most of the city has been badly damaged or destroyed in the war. Although D-9 armored bulldozers and other vehicles have combed through essentially all of Beit Hanun and northern Gaza multiple times so far, by setting the IED in the last 24 hours before the soldiers entered, Hamas was able to avoid the early detection or destruction of the IEDs by these explosive-clearing vehicles. Seth J. Frantzman and Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
If there is a ceasefire tomorrow, were the last four months of fighting 'worth it?'
How much more did Israel really defeat Hamas than it had already done, and how much did it lose in doing so? Whether it is one day, a few days, or a couple of weeks, the chances of another ceasefire is growing – possibly one that ends the war entirely – which will leave the question of whether Israel's returning to fighting since March and other new moves were worth it. How much more did Israel really defeat Hamas than it had already done – and how much did it lose in doing so? On the con side of the coin, 37 IDF soldiers have been killed since March, and another approximately 200 have been wounded. The numbers especially increased since the anti-Hamas operation picked up its intensity in early May, with more soldiers standing in fixed spots and performing patrols in repetitive patterns in order to hold territory, which makes them easier to target. All of this was once again highlighted on Tuesday with the IDF announcing that five soldiers had been killed and 12 wounded in an ambush in Beit Hanun in northern Gaza – one of sometimes weekly, sometimes daily announcements of soldiers' deaths and injuries in recent months. Another con is that throughout this time, the 20 remaining live hostages have continued to suffer unimaginable conditions that they might not have suffered if the January-March ceasefire had continued and Israel had ended the war. Extending the war for four more months has seen between 20% and 40% of reservists' commitment to serve become shaken in many units (there is a constant debate on the real number), with potential long-term negative impacts on the IDF. This has neutralized and overtaken some of the unusual 'rally round the flag' effect that was seen at the start of the war. On the pro side, the IDF invasion progressed into new areas, and destruction of more tunnels helped it finally locate and kill Mohammed Sinwar, who had replaced his brother Yahya Sinwar as head of Hamas since the latter was killed in October 2024. Moreover, the IDF rescued several bodies of deceased hostages in multiple special operations, which it likely was only able to do after it held complete and extended control of specific areas it had not dared to remain in for any length of time at earlier stages of the war. Leaks from Israel-Hamas ceasefire negotiations have indicated that increased military pressure since March has led Hamas to give up on getting Israel to withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor. In addition, the Gazan terror group seems ready to handover more hostages without a loud and precise Israeli commitment to end the war, something it was not ready to do four months ago. Whether this is because of added IDF military pressure or a greater readiness by Hamas to trust that US President Donald Trump will hold Israel back, after he called back an Israeli airstrike following the ceasefire with Iran, is an open debate. But either way, the events of recent months do seem to have weakened Hamas's negotiating positions somewhat. Maybe the largest issue in determining success or failure is the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's aid initiative. The purpose of this initiative was to break Hamas's control over food in Gaza, and therefore, to take a major bite out of its political control of Palestinian civilians there. GHF has had some notable successes, but also some notable failures. Although some of them have not been the 'fault' of the foundation, they have been failures nonetheless. On the overwhelmingly positive side, GHF has now provided 66 million meals from four different food distribution centers in southern and central Gaza to Palestinians since it started operating in late May. For several hundred thousand Palestinians and possibly far more, Hamas no longer controls their food needs as a threat to hold over them. This is a radical change in the reality of Gaza and one of the first major challenges to Hamas's political rule. The initiative has yet to help Palestinians in northern Gaza and some other areas, but it is a potential game changer in many ways if it manages to continue. On the other hand, somewhere between several dozen and several hundred Palestinians have been killed with some kind of connection to the new GHF project. According to the aid organization, and there is no contrary hard evidence to date, no Palestinians have been killed within their facilities. That said, critics of Israel and the GHF, mostly based on Hamas-sponsored statistics, have claimed that several hundred Palestinians have been killed by the IDF near or on their way to GHF sites. Confusingly, the IDF is not present within those food centers, but does supervise entry to travel lanes that lead to them. Even the IDF has admitted that it has probably mistakenly killed several dozen Palestinians in three to four incidents where soldiers mistook Palestinian crowds for Hamas or otherwise lost their cool when those crowds were running toward the food centers in close proximity to the soldiers. Some of these incidents are under investigation by the IDF and could even lead to charges being brought against some soldiers, but the military still says that the Hamas-sponsored numbers parroted by much of the global media are highly exaggerated. One reason to believe the IDF regarding the GHF controversy is that it has not challenged the idea that it has mistakenly killed tens of thousands of Palestinians during the 20-month war, though it frames that point with reducing the Hamas sponsored numbers of dead by over 20,000 killed Hamas fighters and blames the terrorist group for using civilians as human shields. Taking all of this into account, the fact is that if not for Israel and the GHF starting this new food distribution project, at least dozens of Palestinian civilians would probably not have been killed, even if their food needs would still be wrongfully controlled by Hamas. However, Israel tries to spin that fact, in broad terms, it is clearly on the failure side of the 'balance sheet' in grading the last few months of the war. There are other, smaller negative incidents regarding the mix of the IDF and the GHF. In fact, the aid group, though clearly supportive of Israel, even filed a series of complaints against soldiers for 'harassing' their food trucks near the central Gaza food center for several consecutive days. GHF never explained the nature of the harassment, but it was significant that they publicized the criticism of the IDF and that it took several days to be resolved. There have been two incidents in which foundation workers were either killed or wounded due to attacks by Hamas. These workers knew the risks they were taking and their deaths or injuries may not have strategic significance, but they are certainly cons in the overall scheme. Meanwhile, the UN and the NGO community continue to boycott the GHF. This boycott may be well-meaning, in a vacuum divorced from reality, in terms of general humanitarian principles that the GHF should not restrict food distribution to anyone, including members of Hamas. But in the real world, the boycott is unfair and short-sighted in that it puts pressure on Israel to allow Hamas to retain its control over food for Palestinian civilians. And yet, after around seven weeks of operations, the GHF has made no progress bringing the international humanitarian community in to assist it. The reasons for this may ultimately be irrelevant, and the foundation may not be viable long-term. There have always been concerns about its funding, with largely undenied or not fully denied reports that Israel has provided some funding through odd side channels and straw companies, and with other funding coming on a temporary basis from the US or American Evangelicals supportive of Israel. But is that mix of sponsors a steady permanent source of support for food for over two million people? Also, in terms of the food distribution process within the GHF facilities, top Israeli officials have simultaneously praised the aid group while labeling the process 'chaos,' with Palestinians dashing in first come first serve to grab food, and not always leaving enough food for slower or weaker sectors. The GHF has responded to questions from The Jerusalem Post on these matters, saying, "GHF is the only aid organization providing food safely and reliably. In just a few short weeks, we have proven that we can deliver food directly to those who need it in one of the most challenging and complex environments in the world. We are actively working to scale up food aid operations to meet the urgent and overwhelming needs of the population in Gaza." Regarding reports of chaos at aid distribution sites, saying, "There is a food insecurity problem in Gaza. In Gaza's current environment, marked by severe food shortages and widespread desperation, failing to address the reality on the ground is having deadly consequences." "Until there is enough food in Gaza, chaos will persist, and that chaos must be managed responsibly," a representative noted. The GHF also clarified that despite the threats to its personnel, it remains committed to distributing aid to Gazans. "GHF has repeatedly warned of credible threats from Hamas, including explicit plans to target American personnel, Palestinian aid workers, and the civilians who rely on our sites for food. Despite this violence, GHF remains fully committed to its mission: feeding the people of Gaza safely, directly, and at scale." "Attempts to disrupt this life-saving work will only deepen the crisis. We will continue to stand with the people of Gaza and do everything in our power to deliver the aid they urgently need." GHF Interim Executive Director John Acree also pointed to a financial commitment from the US government to the amount of $30 million for funding for continued operations, saying, "This commitment reflects a simple truth: Americans deeply care about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and want to see real action, starting with getting food to those who need it most without interference from Hamas and other terrorists." "We are grateful for the support from President Trump and his administration in getting life-saving aid directly into the hands of the Palestinian people in Gaza. Now is the time for unity and collaboration. We look forward to other aid and humanitarian organizations joining us so we can feed even more Gazans, together," Acree concluded. Returning to the broader picture, reigniting the war in March also led to a return of Yemen's Houthis firing rockets into the home front. While not a strategic problem, this is a large negative for Israel economically, as well as for terrorizing Israelis psychologically. Some may try to debate how the Iran war works into all of this, but Jerusalem could have struck Tehran with or without an ongoing war with Hamas. The Israeli win against Iran may have helped make Hamas more ready to make certain concessions, but it did not completely change its attitude. Looking through this whole list of factors, the question of whether the last four months of war were 'worth it' is highly complex and not one-sided. Ultimately, in deciding whether all of this was 'worth it,' most observers will probably look at what terms Israel and Hamas agree to and how truly different they are than the terms the terrorist group offered for a return of the hostages and an end to the war in March.
