“We're going to have a substantive conversation with the Government of Lebanon, with the Government of Israel, about how best to bring about a cessation of hostilities to end this conflict,” Hochstein told reporters at a press event in Beirut.
He spoke more than a year into the IDF-Hezbollah war, which has escalated in the last month to include an IDF ground invasion into southern Lebanon and intensive Israeli aerial strikes against Hezbollah targets in Beirut. READ MORE
Israel handed the United States a document last week with its conditions for a diplomatic solution to end the war in Lebanon, a report said Sunday, as US envoy Amos Hochstein has arrived in Beirut for talks on a potential ceasefire.
According to a report in Axios, citing two US officials and two Israeli officials, Israel has demanded IDF troops be allowed to engage in “active enforcement” to make sure Hezbollah doesn’t rearm and rebuild its military infrastructure close to the border.
Israel had also demanded the Air Force have freedom of operation in Lebanese airspace, the report added. READ MORE
"These funds, which Hezbollah used for terror activities, were stored by the al-Qard al-Hassan association, which directly funds Hezbollah's terror activities, including the purchase weapons and payments to operatives in Hezbollah's military wing," the IDF stressed. "The Hezbollah terrorist organization stores billions of dollars in the association's branches, including money that was directly held under the name of the terrorist organization."
"Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including advance warnings issued via different platforms to the civilian population in the area." WATCH
Initial reports said that a large number of launches from Lebanon was identified. There are currently no reports of injuries.
The IDF reported: "Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago areas across the Galilee, Hamifrats, Wadi Ara, and HaAmakim, the IAF intercepted a projectile that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory."
According to sources familiar with the matter, Hezbollah took over UNIFIL cameras in areas near the Lebanon-Israel border, and made use of them.
The report added that in light of these revelations, any future agreement with Lebanon will demand more of a commitment from the Lebanese army and less from UNIFIL.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was established in 1978 to confirm both Hezbollah and Israeli cooperation with several resolutions intended to bring an end to Operation Litani, an invasion of Lebanon targeting the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The force was made of troop contributions from multiple UN states.
UNIFIL claims that its original mandate was to "confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces, restore international peace and security, and assist the Government of Lebanon in ensuring the return of its effective authority in the area." It was also expected to encourage the disarmament of Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Its mandate has been reaffirmed repeatedly by the UN following various Israeli offensives into Lebanon, and expanded to include the execution of humanitarian aid tasks.
Since the end of the Second Lebanon War, UNIFIL's role has focused on monitoring military activity of all parties between the Litani and the Blue Line. Its role allegedly includes preventing arms smuggling, and executing humanitarian tasks, including assisting the displaced and clearing unexploded ordnance.
According to the report, Hezbollah attempted to strike two Israeli politicians in addition. The report adds that the terror organization received Israel's message but has not made a decision on the matter.
On Monday, IAF fighter jets struck short-range missile launchers directed toward the communities of northern Israel in southern Lebanon. IAF fighter jets struck 15 launchers that were aimed toward Israeli civilians, including the launchers from which projectiles were fired toward the Western Galilee.
In addition, the jets struck terrorist infrastructure used by the Hezbollah terrorist organization in several areas in southern Lebanon. READ MORE
He said that Iran would have a proportional response ready for any Israeli attack on Iranian soil. This comes as Israel may retaliate for the October 1 Iranian attack on Israel.
Iran has believed it can wage a multi-front war against Israel and launch ballistic missiles at Israel twice in a year and not receive any pushback. READ MORE
The money was distributed to Adelson’s super PAC, Preserve America, which she had seeded earlier this year with $5 million, in a series of installments: $25 million a month in July, August and September and an additional $20 million at the end of September.
A major funder of pro-Israel politics and a prolific donor to Jewish causes, Adelson, 79, is carrying on a legacy she built with her late husband, casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. The Adelson family has long been one of the largest sources of campaign money for Republican candidates and has backed Trump during each of the last three general elections. Now, the widow is wielding an estimated net worth of $35 billion on her own. Though seen as more deliberate in her decision-making, she has not meaningfully departed from her late husband’s politics.
Her contribution was the largest in an array of new big money disclosures on Tuesday, eclipsing the $75 million contributed by Elon Musk, the world’s richest person and head of Tesla and SpaceX, to his own pro-Trump super PAC.
If Trump wins, Adelson could once again be instrumental in shaping American policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Miriam Adelson and her husband were influential in Trump’s monumental direction to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to the country’s contested capital city of Jerusalem in 2017.
Her praise for the former president includes suggesting in 2019 that a “Book of Trump” be added to the Bible. The following year, he awarded Adelson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Adelson’s ties to Israel run deep. She was born in Tel Aviv during the British Mandate and speaks fluent Hebrew. She also served as an officer in the Israeli military. Though her business empire is based in the United States, she reportedly spends much of her time nowadays in Israel, where is known as the owner of the country’s largest newspaper, Israel Hayom.
Her writing in the newspaper since the attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, makes clear that she’s been swept up in the political and social fervor gripping the country as it mourns the dead and seeks retribution. She said those who don’t support Israel in its campaign against Hamas are “dead to us.”
Adelson’s spokesperson earlier this year denied a report that she conditioned support for Trump on his public endorsement of Israeli annexation of Judea and Samaria. But a top confidant, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, told the New York Times she’s against the establishment of a Palestinian state.
That position, along with many others, puts her at odds with liberal-leaning J Street, a lobbying group set up as a counterweight to the more hawkish AIPAC. J Street on Wednesday announced a fundraising milestone of $6 million for the campaign of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, the largest contribution total from any Jewish organization.
The role of the America PAC is to encourage voting by voters in Pennsylvania, a swing state contested by Trump and Harris.
According to Musk's promise, until voting day, each day a lottery will be held among those who have registered as voters in Pennsylvania.
In order to avoid a legal problem, anyone who has registered to vote, including Democrats, can participate in the lottery. Nevertheless, Musk's intention to get out the vote of non-voting Republicans is clear.
In the event that Musk fails to secure funding for the prizes, he is expected to spend $17 million for the lotteries, in addition to the $75 million he has already donated to the Trump campaign.
Yesterday (Saturday) it was reported that members of the America PAC organization claimed to have knocked on doors of voters in order to encourage them to go out and vote, but according to the report, only 75% of the work recorded had actually been done.
The Guardian noted that the fact that the canvassers were paid could indicate a shortcoming in that the aim was to knock on as many doors as possible rather than to really try to bring about a victory for the candidate.
Diplomatic sources with knowledge of the details of the plans that will be discussed during the meeting claimed in a discussion with the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper that there would be a substantial strike in the coming days and that all preparations needed were already completed.
According to them, Israel has rejected international pressure to reduce the strike and even requested additional assistance in the counterstrike.
The cabinet will also discuss Hezbollah's punishment for the UAV that was intended, according to the terror organization, to strike the home of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Caesaria.
In two days, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to arrive in Israel. He will attempt to advance a plan for a hostage deal and ceasefire in Lebanon. Israeli officials estimate that Blinken will also try to pressure Jerusalem into moderating the retaliation to Iran and Israel is preparing to push back on the pressure.
At the same time, the ministers will discuss a plan to distribute humanitarian aid in the northern Gaza Strip using an American security company. The company plans on creating humanitarian zones in areas of Gaza that the IDF would purge of terrorists. The forces would allow only residents of those areas to enter and weapons will not be allowed in.
The company is made up of former Navy SEALS and Delta Force commandos.
One of the sources confirmed that the leaked documents were authentic.
The documents, dated October 15-16, began circulating Friday after an Iran-affiliated account named, "The Middle East Spectator," posted them on Telegram.
Axios added that the Middle East Spectator said that it had "received" the documents "from a source in the US intelligence community."
A US official told CNN that the leak is "deeply concerning."
The documents describe Israel's preparations for a strike against Iran, and were marked top secret and were intended to be seen only by the US and its "Five Eyes" allies: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK, CNN added.
One of the documents, which appears to have been compiled by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, says the plans "involve Israel moving munitions around." Another document sourced to the National Security Agency outlines IAF exercises involving air-to-surface missiles.
According to Axios, the report also states that US signals intelligence showed that the IAF conducted a large exercise involving intelligence planes "and likely fighter jets trained" for a potential attack on Iran. Israeli drone units were also preparing for such an attack, the intelligence report indicated.
CNN did not show the documents or quote directly from them.
According to a US official, the investigation surrounding the leak is examining who had access to the alleged Pentagon document.
Mick Mulroy, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East and a retired CIA officer, told CNN, "If it is true that Israeli tactical plans to respond to Iran’s attack on October 1 have been leaked, it is a serious breach."
He also stressed that, "future coordination between the US and Israel could be challenged as well. Trust is a key component in the relationship, and depending on how this was leaked that trust could be eroded."
Another US official noted that "these two documents are bad, but not horrible. The concern is if there are more."
A US official told Axios that although the alleged leak is "extremely concerning," he does not believe it would affect Israel's operational plans.
A senior Israeli official told Axios that the defense echelon is aware of the matter, and takes it very seriously.
It is not clear how the documents were made public, or if they were hacked or deliberately leaked, CNN noted.
The Iranian Telegram account Middle East Spectator, which uploaded the documents, responded to the opening of the investigation: "We are collectors of news from open sources. We thought the documents were circulating on Telegram. We do not know the identity of the leaker and reject attempts by American and Zionist media to intimidate our writers."
CNN reached out to the National Security Agency for comment, as well as to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Pentagon for comment. The Pentagon and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency declined to comment to CNN.
The Pentagon and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment on the leaked documents to Axios, but did not dispute their authenticity.
"His loss is undoubtedly painful for the Axis of Resistance, but this front did not cease advancing with the martyrdom of prominent figures," Khamenei said in a statement, adding, "Hamas is alive and will remain alive."
Sinwar, who masterminded Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, was eliminated on Wednesday by IDF soldiers.
"He was a shining face of resistance and struggle. With a steely resolve, he stood against the oppressive and aggressive enemy. With wisdom and courage, he dealt them the irreparable blow of October 7 that has been recorded in the history of this region. Then, with honor and pride, he ascended to the heavens of the martyrs," said Khamenei on Saturday.
"As always, we will remain by the side of the sincere fighters and combatants, by God's grace and help," Khamenei stated.
Later, Khamenei also posted in Hebrew to X, writing, “Hamas is alive and will remain alive.” READ MORE
In recent years, Hezbollah has focused on developing its own aerial capabilities, primarily consisting of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). This has given the terrorist organization the ability to strike buildings in Israel with precision while complicating the detection and interception of these drones. Hezbollah's aerial capabilities have proven effective in several instances, such as the attack on a Golani Brigade training base that resulted in the deaths of four soldiers and dozens of injuries, as well as a drone launch toward the Prime Minister's residence on Saturday.
The operatives responsible for these UAVs belong to Unit 127, which operates under Hezbollah’s aerial division. This unit, equipped with various types of drones based on Iranian technology, made operational advances during the Shiite organization’s fighting alongside the Syrian Army, Iran, and Russia against rebels and global jihadist fighters in Syria. The unit’s operatives spread across Lebanon, received training from Iran’s Quds Force to further enhance their capabilities. READ MORE
Fifty trucks carrying food, water, medical supplies and shelter equipment from Jordan were transferred from the Allenby Crossing into the West Bank into northern Gaza through the Erez West Crossing, said a statement from COGAT, the Israeli military body that oversees aid distribution in the coastal enclave.
COGAT said Israel “will continue to facilitate and ease the entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza.” READ MORE
According to a preliminary investigation, on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m., a soldier from the 450th Battalion noticed a suspicious individual leaving and entering a building in Rafah. The forces opened fire on the building. At 3:00 p.m., the forces identified, using a drone, three individuals leaving and walking between the buildings. Two of them were covered with blankets; they apparently walked in front of Sinwar to ensure the area was clear.
The soldiers fired at the terrorists who were wounded and began to disperse. Two entered one building and Sinwar entered another. A tank fired at the building where the terrorists hid. Sinwar was alone in the other. He climbed to the second floor. The tank fired two rounds at that building and the soldiers threw two grenades.
The drone operator saw a wounded and masked individual sitting in the room. The individual saw the drone approach and threw a piece of wood at it. An additional tank round was fired at the building.
The next morning, the IDF forces entered the building and when they checked the body they noticed it resembled Sinwar.
"We knew Sinwar's estimated location for a while despite Hamas' compartmentalization on the matter," a source in the IDF stated. "We knew that he was in Rafah and we worked to search the undergroud of Rafah to understand where he is. A few days ago, in a similar operation underground, in a tunnel that was a few hundred meters from where the hostages were murdered, we found a room with a lot of evidence that indicated that Sinwar had been in the same complex. We did not know, even yesterday, if Sinwar had fled to Khan Yunis. This was a great accomplishment that must be translated into a strategic accomplishment."
The Bislamach battalion commander who searched the building and found Sinwar's body was wounded in Kissufim when he rushed to fight terrorists in the Gaza envelope on October 7th, 2023.
During the confrontation in which Sinwar was eliminated, a soldier from the Bislamach Brigade's 450 Battalion was severely wounded. The soldier, a resident of a Druze village in northern Israel, was shot by two terrorists who fled a nearby building. The soldier was taken to Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva where he is hospitalized in the ICU. His condition is stable and he is suffering from gunshot wounds on his upper body. WATCH
“We are very determined to strike Hezbollah as hard as possible, and look, we’ve taken out their entire senior command level. You are taking out their entire local command level here, the command is also working on what’s in between, and this whole thing is shrinking, shrinking."
"There are very significant damages here, a whole chain of command is being wiped out. Hezbollah is hiding casualties, they are hiding dead commanders. We estimate that there are around 1,500 eliminated Hezbollah operatives, and we are making reserved estimates, I assume there are more, and we don’t know, from many strikes. These are very important achievements."
"The fact that they are surrendering says something about the moral situation, it says something about the level of combat, about their self-confidence, it says something about the quality you brought with you. They understand that this is it, there’s nothing left to do - back to the wall, and that’s the next stage. And that’s why I think the combat is very, very correct, it also sends the right message."
"I’ll tell you something broader, I think even Iran doesn’t understand what’s happening to Hezbollah here. This is its main arm that it built up, and this is a very important thing now. And we are making sure that every day there is a very tough surprise for Hezbollah, and you will bring your surprises - surprises are both about bringing achievements and preventing the enemy’s achievements.” Israel National News - Arutz Sheva
On Wednesday, the eve of Sukkot, around ten in the morning, a soldier of the 450th Battalion spotted two suspicious figures moving between the ruins of the neighborhood. The battalion commander advanced to the spot with infantry and armor.
While sweeping the area, three figures were identified: two were covered with blankets, and the third was wearing a combat vest and carrying a weapon. The commander of the 450th Battalion opened fire on the figure with the combat vest and hit his hand. The IDF stressed that Sinwar did not lose his hand from this.
At this point the terrorists split up, two of them entering a nearby house and the third, wounded in the hand, who turned out to be Sinwar, fled to another house. The two returned fire at the force, and a soldier from the 450th Battalion was severely wounded in the chest. He was evacuated by helicopter to the hospital, and since then his condition has improved.
The battalion commander dispatched another force under the command of a platoon commander in the paratroopers' NCO course to check the house to which Sinwar had fled. In the stairwell at the entrance to the house, he noticed fresh bloodstains. Sinwar threw two grenades at him from the window, one of which exploded but did not cause casualties. The force began attempting to demolish the building using tank fire, machine guns, and shoulder launched missiles equipped with a large metal rod to break through obstacles, known as Matadors.
After the first shell, a drone was sent in, and it recorded Sinwar, sitting wounded on the couch, throwing a stick at the drone. At 4 p.m., six hours after the incident began, another shell was fired, along with machine-gun fire, from which Sinwar was killed.
In the evening a drone was again introduced into the house and it identified a corpse, but even at this stage it was not possible to identify who it was. With morning a drone was again introduced into the house, and this time the soldiers noticed that the dead terrorist looked like Sinwar. Photographs were sent to the command post.
A senior officer sent them to his counterpart in the ISA's Operations Division, writing, "Bro, do you recognize him?" The ISA arrived at the scene and began the forensic tests required to identify Sinwar. When the commanding officer arrived at the scene himself, he immediately understood that it was Sinwar. WATCH
In recent days, combat engineering troops from the brigade located an underground tunnel route connecting two underground tunnel shafts in the area. The tunnel contained long-term hideout equipment, weapons, and documents used by Hezbollah terrorists.
IDF soldiers, in coordination with the Northern Command's engineering unit, sealed and decommissioned the tunnel shafts, the IDF said. READ MORE
Last year, Benartzi co-founded Inhayle, an Israeli startup that develops technology to purify and disinfect air and surfaces from bacteria and germs in indoor spaces, from hospitals to space stations. After emerging as the winner of Israel’s space accelerator program Expand earlier this month, the Tel Aviv-based startup is gearing up to be able to deploy its technology for astronauts on deep-space exploration missions led by NASA in the coming years.
Following years of research and development led by its co-founder and director of technology Effy Shaarabany, Inhayle was established in late 2023 by Shaarabany together with Benartzi and Dr. Israel Biran. Then during the October 7 massacre, Shaarabany’s 21-year-old daughter Sivan was murdered by Hamas terrorists at the Nova music festival. READ MORE
“We are surprised by this position, which constitutes a blatant interference in Lebanese affairs and an attempt to establish a rejected guardianship over Lebanon,” a government statement quoted Prime Minister Najib Mikati as saying.
The speaker of Iran’s parliament, Mohammad Ghalibaf, made his comments in an interview published on Thursday with French daily Le Figaro. READ MORE
The Islamic Republic shared a still image taken from drone footage of Sinwar’s last moments, in which the terror leader is seen, face covered and injured, throwing a stick at the Israeli surveillance device.
The mission compared Sinwar with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, a longtime foe of Iran whom American troops captured in 2003. READ MORE
The initial live updates article, which followed the start of Northern Arrows, can be found here.
On Friday, September 27, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah was eliminated in a large airstrike on a Hezbollah facility in Beirut. On Wednesday, October 16, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was eliminated in Rafah, in what signaled the beginning of the end of the war in Gaza.
Friday, October 18: READ MORE
Citizens of Israel, a year ago we celebrated the festival of Sukkot. At exactly that moment, Yahya Sinwar was making the final preparations for the slaughter of October 7.
I stand before you today to tell you that Yahya Sinwar has been eliminated. The one who carried out the worst massacre in the history of our people since the Holocaust, the mass murderer who murdered thousands of Israelis, abducted hundreds of our people, was eliminated today by our heroic soldiers.
Today, as we promised we would, we settled accounts with him.
Today, evil suffered a heavy blow, but our mission is not yet completed.
To the dear hostage families, I say: This is an important moment in the war. We will continue with full force until all your loved ones — our loved ones — are returned home. That is our supreme obligation. That is my supreme obligation
To the residents of Gaza, I say: Sinwar destroyed your lives. He told you he was a lion but in practice, he hid in a dark tunnel and was eliminated when he fled in a panic from our soldiers.
His elimination is an important milestone in the demise of the Hamas axis of evil.
I want to say again as clearly as possible: Hamas will not rule again in Gaza. This is the beginning of the day after Hamas, and this is an opportunity for you, residents of Gaza, to finally be free of its tyranny.
To the terrorists of Hamas, I say: Your leaders are fleeing and will be eliminated.
I say to all those who are holding our hostages: Those who put down their weapons and leave our hostages, we will allow them to come out and live. And by the same token, I say, those who harm our hostages, his blood is on his head and we will settle accounts with him.
The return of the hostages is an opportunity to achieve all of our goals, and it brings the end of the war nearer.
To the people of the region, I say: In Gaza, in Beirut, in the streets of the entire area, the darkness is withdrawing and the light is rising.
Deif, Haniyeh, Sinwar, Nasrallah, Mohsen, Aqil and many of their partners are no more.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s video statement after the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, October 17, 2024.
Citizens of Israel, a year ago we celebrated the festival of Sukkot. At exactly that moment, Yahya Sinwar was making the final preparations for the slaughter of October 7.
I stand before you today to tell you that Yahya Sinwar has been eliminated. The one who carried out the worst massacre in the history of our people since the Holocaust, the mass murderer who murdered thousands of Israelis, abducted hundreds of our people, was eliminated today by our heroic soldiers.
Today, as we promised we would, we settled accounts with him.
Today, evil suffered a heavy blow, but our mission is not yet completed.
To the dear hostage families, I say: This is an important moment in the war. We will continue with full force until all your loved ones — our loved ones — are returned home. That is our supreme obligation. That is my supreme obligation
To the residents of Gaza, I say: Sinwar destroyed your lives. He told you he was a lion but in practice, he hid in a dark tunnel and was eliminated when he fled in a panic from our soldiers.
His elimination is an important milestone in the demise of the Hamas axis of evil.
I want to say again as clearly as possible: Hamas will not rule again in Gaza. This is the beginning of the day after Hamas, and this is an opportunity for you, residents of Gaza, to finally be free of its tyranny.
To the terrorists of Hamas, I say: Your leaders are fleeing and will be eliminated.
I say to all those who are holding our hostages: Those who put down their weapons and leave our hostages, we will allow them to come out and live. And by the same token, I say, those who harm our hostages, his blood is on his head and we will settle accounts with him.
The return of the hostages is an opportunity to achieve all of our goals, and it brings the end of the war nearer.
To the people of the region, I say: In Gaza, in Beirut, in the streets of the entire area, the darkness is withdrawing and the light is rising.
Deif, Haniyeh, Sinwar, Nasrallah, Mohsen, Aqil and many of their partners are no more.
I call on you, peoples of the region: We have a great opportunity to thwart the axis of evil and to create a different future, a future of peace, a future in which the entire region thrives. Together we can push away the curse and advance the blessing.
It’s now clear to all, in Israel and the world, why we insisted not to stop the war — why we insisted, in the face of all the pressures, yes to go into Rafah, the fortified stronghold of Hamas, where Sinwar and many of the mass-murderers were hiding.
I want to express deep appreciation to the fighters of the IDF and the Shin Bet, and their commanders, for their determined and brave operations. There are none better than them.
Today we again showed what happens to those who hurt us. Today, we again showed the world the victory of the good over the evil.
But the war, the war, my dear ones, is not yet finished. It is harsh and it takes a heavy price from us. I want to send from the bottom of my heart my condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. I want to embrace the families of our fallen heroes. Their ultimate sacrifice, including in these very days, brings us closer to victory.
As King David said, “I will pursue my enemies and destroy them. And I will not turn back until they are wiped out.”
Citizens of Israel, we are in the war of revival. We still face immense challenges. We need stamina, unity in the ranks, courage, determined resilience. Together we will fight and with God’s help, together we will win.