The Israeli military said it bombed a Syrian anti-aircraft battery on Monday night that earlier in the day had fired at one of its fighter jets during a routine mission within Israeli airspace.
Israel and Hamas have denied reports that a Gaza ceasefire understanding had been reached that would ensure six-months of calm.
The Israeli military on Monday said it was testing a new, more exact incoming rocket alert system in the north of the country as part of a larger exercise taking place this week.
Nearly 50 Palestinian rioters were reportedly wounded in ‘Nakba Day’ demonstrations on the Israel-Gaza Strip border on Wednesday.
Israeli security forces and communities near the Gaza border prepared for thousands of Palestinians to take part in Nakba Day demonstrations along the security fence surrounding the coastal enclave on Wednesday, though these were expected to be tamer than last year’s Nakba Day clashes in which protesters attempted to breach the security fence, threw explosives at Israeli troops and, in one case, shot at soldiers.
The central gathering ushering in national Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terror began at the Western Wall in Jerusalem Tuesday evening at 8:01 pm, following a minute-long siren and moment of silence. President Reuven Rivlin, IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi and police Commissioner Motti Cohen were in attendance.
A rocket fired from Gaza killed an Israeli civilian on Sunday after a house in Ashkelon suffered a direct hit. The 58-year-old father of four is the first civilian casualty since 2014 Operation Protective Edge. Since Saturday, Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants fired more than 400 rockets at Israeli communities, the military said.
Over 90 rockets were launched into Israel from the Gaza Strip Saturday morning and Israel responded with strikes as a fragile ceasefire along the border again faltered.
Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip launched at least two rockets into southern Israel early Thursday, the military said. The projectiles fell in an open area, and no injuries were reported.
The Israeli military deployed Iron Dome missile defense batteries throughout the country on Tuesday, following a rocket attack from Gaza the previous night and ahead of what is expected to be a sensitive next few weeks.
The new commander of the IDF’s Ground Forces said Thursday the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah was still planning to carry out a surprise invasion of northern Israel, despite the recent Israeli operation to uncover and destroy an extensive network of cross-border attack tunnels dug by the Iran-backed militia.
The Israeli Air Force conducted successful live-fire tests of its Patriot and Iron Dome missile defense systems on Tuesday, the military said.
Several parties were eagerly awaiting the tally of the soldiers’, diplomats’ and prisoners’ votes Wednesday morning, as a count of some 97 percent of the votes in Tuesday’s elections revealed they were very close to the 3.25-percent electoral threshold.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday, just days before Israel’s general elections on April 9.
The Israel Defense Forces and American military on Sunday completed a four-week air defense exercise that saw the deployment of the United States’ most advanced missile defense system in Israel for the first time.
Militants fired five rockets from Gaza into Israel early Sunday, the Israeli military said, following a day of Palestinian mass protests along the Israel-Gaza perimeter fence. Despite the rocket fire, the Kerem Shalom and Erez border crossings – which have been closed since last Monday when a Gaza rocket destroyed a house in central Israel – were reopened on Sunday morning.
Israel prepared for a broad military campaign in Gaza Thursday, as Egypt worked behind the scenes to ensure that Palestinians marking the one year anniversary of the Great March of Return this weekend do not spark a new IDF-Hamas war.
As the Israeli military continued its preparations for a possible outbreak of violence at protests along the Gaza border planned for Saturday, an Egyptian delegation reportedly told Hamas that any mistake it makes could lead to war.
The Israeli military began bombing targets throughout the Gaza Strip on Monday evening, some 12 hours after a rocket fired from the coastal enclave slammed into a home in central Israel, injuring seven people.
Israel has deployed two infantry and armored divisions to southern Israel and has begun a limited call up for reservists in the intelligence and air defense corps following rocket fire on central Israel Monday morning, the IDF said.