Hostage bodies rescued earlier in the week shot by Hamas
The bodies of six hostages rescued from Gaza earlier this week by the IDF were shot by Hamas, according to forensics.
Hamas alleged that the hostages were killed by Israeli airstrikes but each hostage had gunshot wounds to their bodies indicating they were murdered by Hamas.
A statement made by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said that “the presence of bullets in the bodies of the late hostages… is further proof of the cruelty of the terrorists who have been holding onto them for 321 days now”.
In light of the hostages recovered, former hostage Agam Goldstein-Almog wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal. In it, she details how “Hamas guards hated me for being Jewish”, forcing her to wear a Hijab and recite Islamic prayers.
She was told that she would “live the rest of [her] life as a chained slave-wife”, remaining in Gaza with an arranged-husband.
“A guard made a point of telling us that, in the next war, Hamas would return to kill us. There would be no hostage-taking, no more deal making”, she said.
When she was released in the November hostage-deal, “instead of laughing and taking photos (as per her kidnapping into Gaza), the Gazans banged on the windows and screamed at us: Die, die, die”.
Noa Argamani, rescued by the IDF on the 8th June, also spoke out this week of her time in captivity, as she met with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, in Tokyo.
“I had cuts on my head; they [Hamas] beat me all over my body”, she recalled. “Every night, I was falling asleep and thinking, this may be the last night of my life”, she added. Nobody in Gaza provided her with medical treatment in her captivity, only receiving medical aid when she was rescued.
Another school found to be Hamas stronghold
Salah al-Din School in Gaza City, was used by Hamas operatives “as a hideout and a base to plan and execute attacks against IDF troops and the State of Israel”, according to the IDF.
The IAF “conducted a precise strike” at the school, mitigating harm to civilians in the area.
In a statement on X by IDF International Spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said that the school wasn’t being used for education “for months since Hamas planted a command and control center”, adding that “Hamas deliberately turns schools to terror hubs”.
In another incident, weaponry including rifles and explosives were found near a school compound in Rafah. UNRWA-marked bags, located in the compound, were found laden with explosives to be used against the Jewish State.
The IDF announced this morning that over 30 targets including Hamas command and control centers, weapon storage facilities and rocket launch sites, were struck in Gaza over the past 24 hours.
It was also announced that Sergeant Ori Ashkenazi Nechemya (19), was killed during combat in the southern Gaza Strip.
Terror Attacks thwarted within Israel
Two terror attacks were thwarted by Israel’s security agency the Shin Bet, it has been revealed this week.
Dr Muhammad Azzam, a doctor at the Soroka Medical Center, living in Be’er Sheva, was arrested after swearing allegiance to ISIS and absorbing terrorist content online. It is alleged that videos of beheadings were found on his phone alongside instructions on how to manufacture explosives and prepare poison. In a WhatsApp message uncovered by authorities, a friend of his wrote “may Allah extinguish his light”, in reference to a wounded IDF soldier arriving under Azzam’s care, in which he responded “haha, Amen”.
A terror attack was also foiled on 4th August on Route 85, Northern Israel. Two terrorists were intercepted in a car park near Giljon Junction as they planned to launch Molotov cocktails at cars driving on the main road. Police Officers found the two minors dressed in black in possession of flammable material, preparing the cocktails. An indictment has been filed against them.
Tensions continue to rise on northern border
Hezbollah launched a barrage of rockets towards Mount Meron this morning as tensions on the Israel-Lebanon border continue to rise. An anti-tank missile directly hit the Meron Air Base with no casualties reported. The Israeli Air Force (IAF) reported that the base’s detection system continued to work. Earlier this morning, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) targeted a rocket launch site and terror cell in the area of Tayr Harfa as terrorists were about to fire rockets.
Over 180 rockets were launched by Hezbollah towards northern Israel on Wednesday, including a barrage of 50 rockets in the direction of Katzrin Wednesday morning injuring a 30-year-old male moderately.
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm Daniel Hagari underscored that Hezbollah’s rocket attack was “directed at the city of Katzrin, and not a military base as the terrorist organisation claimed”. “Once again, Hezbollah is firing indiscriminately at Israeli civilians”, he said on X.
In response, the IAF targeted over 10 Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure sites throughout Lebanon, including a weapons storage warehouse in Beqaa, Lebanon. Secondary explosions occurred “indicating the presence of large amounts of weapons in the facilities that were struck”, said an IDF statement. A site used by Hezbollah’s Aerial Defence was also struck.
An IAF airstrike killed Palestinian Authority’s (PA) Fatah official Khalil Al Makdah in Sidon, Lebanon, who has links both to Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). It is the first time a Fatah official from PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ Party has been targeted in Lebanon since 7th October. Abbas’ armed wing participated in the Hamas’ massacre on 7th October and thereafter in the West Bank. In a joint statement released by the IDF and Israel’s Shin Bet, it was announced that Khalil and his brother Munir, a senior Fatah official, worked out of Lebanon transferring money and weaponry to the West Bank with the help of the IRGC.
