The Israeli military is preparing for massive riots along the Gaza security fence on Friday afternoon, potentially on par with violent clashes that took place on May 14, in which tens of thousands of people participated and some 60 Palestinians were killed, a senior army officer said Thursday.
The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday appointed a new head of its Southern Command, at a time of heightened tensions in the area which includes the volatile Gaza Strip front.
Despite relative calm returning to southern Israel after more than 100 mortars and rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip, Israel is at its closest point to war since Operation Protective Edge four years ago, a senior IDF officer in the Southern Command said on Thursday.
The Israeli military on Thursday released satellite images and details of the more than 65 targets it struck in Gaza in response to massive mortar and rocket attacks by terror groups from the coastal enclave on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Thousands of Israelis spent the night in bomb shelters as terrorists in the Gaza Strip fired some 40 rockets and mortar shells at communities near the coastal enclave early Wednesday, with several of the projectiles being intercepted by Iron Dome. There were no reports of injuries.
The Iron Dome missile defense system succeeded on Tuesday where it had been entirely ineffective during the 2014 Gaza war: in shooting down incoming mortar shells that are in the air for just 15 seconds.
Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile shield shot down a barrage of mortar shells fired from the Gaza Strip on Tuesday after sirens sounded in southern Israel, warning residents to find shelter.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) revealed late Sunday that a drone originating from the Gaza Strip that had been equipped with explosive materials was discovered in Israeli territory last week.
Three Palestinians were killed when the Israeli military struck an observation post in the southern Gaza Strip after an explosive device was placed on the security fence with Israel.
Israel is the first country in the world to have flown the U.S.-made F-35 stealth fighter jet in combat, the commander of the Israeli air force said on Tuesday in remarks carried by the IDF’s official Twitter account.
Israeli jets have continued to strike targets in Syria following the recent Iranian missile barrage against IDF posts in the Golan Heights, a senior Israel Air Force officer said on Tuesday.
Israeli Air Force jets targeted underground terror infrastructure in the northern Gaza Strip early Wednesday morning, the IDF said. Two further targets belonging to Hamas naval forces in Gaza were also targeted.
Israeli police were gearing up for another possible day of mass Palestinian protests Friday, with officials saying that the points of friction may move from the Gaza border to the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday hosts for the second time in half a year a summit of the world’s main pan-Islamic group seeking to show solidarity with the Palestinians and condemn Israel after deadly clashes at the Gaza border Monday in which some 60 Palestinians were killed by IDF fire.
Fifty of the Palestinians killed in a protest in the border region between the Gaza Strip and Israel earlier this week were Hamas members, Hamas Politburo member Salah Bardaweil said on Wednesday.
The Israeli military published pictures Friday that it said showed Iranian intelligence installations in Syria that it attacked during a massive bombardment a day earlier. The attack was in response to a volley of rockets shot toward northern Israel.
Iran still has long-range capabilities to strike Israel, a senior officer in the Israel Air Force said on Thursday, even though ‘every target we wanted to hit was struck and destroyed.’
Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said Thursday morning that the IDF had destroyed ‘nearly all’ of Iran’s military infrastructure sites in Syria overnight in response to a rocket barrage on Israel’s north, and warned Tehran that attacks on Israeli territory will be met with ‘the strongest possible force.’
Some 20 rockets were fired at Israeli military bases by Iranian forces in southern Syria just after midnight on Thursday, with some of the incoming missiles being intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system, the army said, amid sky high tensions on the northern border.
The Israeli army sounded alarms Tuesday night over irregular Iranian movements in Syria, advising Golan residents to ready bomb shelters and putting its air defenses on high alert.