8 IDF Soldiers Wounded In Terrorist Shooting In Jordan Valley
On Tuesday morning (4th), a Terrorist Gunman opened fire at a group of Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint in the Jordan Valley area of Samaria, leaving eight wounded, including two in critical condition.
The attack occurred just before 6: a.m. when an Arab terrorist opened fire on a group of IDF soldiers securing a checkpoint outside of the Palestinian Authority administered town of Tavasir east of Tubas, on the edge of an area in Samaria where the Israeli army and Shin Bet internal security agency have been conducting a major counter-terrorism operation since January.
As the terrorist fired at the checkpoint, IDF soldiers stationed in the area returned fire, fatally wounding the gunman.
An IDF Spokesperson confirmed the attack, saying: “A terrorist fired at soldiers at an army position in Tavisir. Soldiers responded with gunfire against the terrorist and eliminated him.”
Additional soldiers have been deployed to the area following the attack.
Emergency first responders were dispatched to the scene to treat the wounded and evacuate them to Israeli hospitals. Two army medical evacuation helicopters were used to rush the most seriously wounded to the hospital.
Of the eight wounded soldiers, two are listed in critical condition, with two others in moderate. The rest are said to be in light condition,
The attack comes less than a month after a deadly terrorist shooting attack in Samaria conducted by terrorists linked with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement.
The January 6th shooting in al-Funduk left three Israelis dead, prompting Israel to launch Operation Iron Wall on January 21st.
Beginning in Jenin and spreading to other terror hotspots across Samaria, including Tulkarem and Tubas, the IDF has claimed the operation has led to the elimination of over 50 terrorists affiliated with the Jenin Brigades and other rogue organizations which have challenged the Palestinian Authority for control of northern Samaria.
US President Donald Trump Will Watch Film From October 7 Massacre For First Time This Week
US President Donald Trump will reportedly watch a film from the October 7 massacre for the first time, Ynet reported Monday (3rd).
The US Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, watched the film during his visit to Israel last week and said that Trump “must watch it himself” to see with his own eyes what happened on October 7.
According to sources who are familiar with the details, Witkoff was shown the film by the IDF spokesperson and was left “shocked and appalled.” An appeal was made shortly after to the Israeli Embassy in DC and the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit to shorten the film to show Trump. The original length of the film is 47 minutes.
Trump will watch roughly 20-30 minutes of it, at most, and will be shown the film by his aids.
Trump is expected to watch the film on Tuesday (4th), most likely before his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who landed in Washington DC on Sunday (2nd).
Shortly after the October 7 Hamas massacre on Israel’s southern border, it became clear quite quickly that it was the first ever event of its kind that was almost wholly documented digitally and that if it was not properly and swiftly organized and preserved for historical research, it would be destined to disappear.
Recognizing the transient and changeable nature of this digital media, The National Library of Israel launched a project of collaborative leadership working together in partnership with other institutions and dozens of collection efforts to serve as a central repository for all existing documentation of these events: texts, photos, audio, and video.
Stefanik Backs Trump’s UN Moves: US Tax Dollars Should Never Fund Terrorism
Elise Stefanik, the US-Ambassador-Designate to the UN on Monday (3rd) welcomed plans by US President Donald Trump to sign an executive order to withdraw the US from the United Nations Human Rights Council, and end funding for UNRWA.
“Today’s Executive Order is the correct action by President Trump to deliver America First peace-through-strength moral leadership,” Stefanik wrote in a post on X.
“The UN Human Rights Council is a den of human rights abusers, and disgraceful, obsessive anti-Semitism. And UNRWA must be defunded and dismantled. US taxpayers’ dollars should NEVER prop up terrorism. Full Stop,” she added.
Under the executive order, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio must review and report to the White House regarding any international organizations, treaties, or conventions which “promote radical or anti-American sentiment.”
The US previously halted aid to UNRWA in 2018 during the first Trump Administration. This funding was resumed under the Biden Administration.
Trump also withdrew the US from the UNHRC in 2018, citing its outstanding anti-Israel bias. The Biden administration later reversed Trump’s decision and returned to the organization, even though it acknowledged its “disproportionate focus” on Israel.
UNRWA has long been criticized for its cooperation with Hamas and that criticism has increased since Israel revealed a year ago that UNRWA staff participated in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks.
It then presented a dossier showing that the UNRWA workers who participated in the Hamas massacre kidnapped a woman, handed out ammunition and actively took part in the massacre at Kibbutz Be’eri where 97 people were murdered.
Israeli legislation banning UNRWA’s activities went into effect last week, after being passed by the Knesset in October.
Herzog Meets Thailand’s Foreign Minister After 5 Thais Held In Gaza Were Freed
President Isaac Herzog met Thailand’s Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem on Sunday (2nd), following the release of five Thai foreign workers who were held in Gazan captivity for more than 480 days.
Herzog stressed Israel’s commitment to the release of all hostages, including Thai and other foreign nationals held in the Gaza Strip after their abduction on October 7, 2023.
“They are our brothers,” Herzog said. “Everywhere we went, in all the villages that we visited that were attacked on October 7, there were pictures and signs of the Thai workers along with the Israelis held in brutal captivity by Hamas in Gaza.”
Herzog said that Israel’s objective is to complete the hostage deal fully and release all hostages, including the second phase and beyond.
Sangiampongsa thanked the President on behalf of the Thai government.
“I am here to say how much we appreciate the collaboration and assistance that the Government of Israel extended to the Government of Thailand. I met the returned hostages yesterday. Physically they are doing well but we cannot yet know the damage caused by being held captive for over a year. They were held in tunnels, and we worry about their mental and physical well being.”
The close cooperation “is an opportunity to promote a stronger link between our peoples, to radiate a message of love between our nations and to greatly increase the cooperation between us, government to government, and people to people,” he added.
Hamas Killed Thai Nationals Deliberately – Krit Saetae
Among all the casualties Hamas brought upon foreign nationals, Thai workers suffered the highest number of casualties in this war. One of the Thai survivors recounted his near-death experience on Oct. 7. In the morning, four armed Hamas militants stormed the labor camp, indiscriminately gunning down every Thai worker in sight. He managed to hide inside a bunker, narrowly escaping the same fate.
In the afternoon, Hamas fighters regrouped around the labor camp. They set fire to the room where he was hiding. He held his breath for over 20 minutes, but as the smoke thickened, he could no longer endure it. Desperate he broke down the door and ran into the nearby forest. Miraculously, by then, Hamas had already left.
Another survivor, who found himself in a similar situation, described how Hamas meticulously raided each labor camp, slaughtering every unarmed worker they encountered. Those who did not die by gunfire were executed with knives in gruesome beheadings. According to Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 44 Thais were killed during Hamas’ murderous attack on October 7. (Times of Israel)
ISIS Terrorist Gets Three Life Sentences For Jerusalem Murders
An ISIS terrorist who murdered an elderly couple and a foreign worker in Jerusalem in two separate attacks has been sentenced to three consecutive life sentences and 40 years in prison.
On Monday (3rd), the Jerusalem District Court handed down three life sentences plus a prison term of 40 years to 36-year-old Wasim a-Sayed, the Palestinian Arab terrorist who attempted to stab an Israeli teenager in 2019, stabbed an elderly couple to death six years ago and murdered a foreign worker while wounding his roommate three years ago.
A-Sayed, a resident of the city of Hebron in Judea, had aligned himself with the ISIS terror organization while in his 20s. He was jailed in Israel from 2015-2018 under administrative arrest as a preventative measure, and fears he planned to commit terror attacks on Israelis.
In January 2019, shortly after his release, a-Sayed attempted to stab a teenaged girl in Jerusalem’s Armon Hanatziv neighborhood but was forced to flee the scene when his victim screamed for help.
A day later, however, a-Sayed broke into the apartment of an elderly Jewish couple – Yehuda and Tamar Kaduri – stabbing them both to death in a double murder case that remained unsolved for years.
He was later arrested for swearing allegiance to ISIS – even as authorities remained unaware of his killings of the Kaduris – leading to a 2-year jail sentence.
Following his release in 2022, a-Sayed resumed his killing spree, murdering a foreign worker, Ivan Tamovski of Moldova, in Jerusalem’s Arnona neighborhood, and wounding a second foreign worker.
After he was arrested, following the Arnona stabbings, a-Sayed confessed to murdering the Kaduris in 2019, leading to his April 2022 indictment on three charges of murder and two charges of attempted murder.
Last September , a-Sayed was convicted on one count of murder under aggravated circumstances, two counts of terror-related murder, and two counts of attempted murder.
On Monday (3rd), the Jerusalem District Court ruled that given the severity of his crimes, a-Sayed may not be released in the current hostage deal or in any future arrangements.
Iran Is Funding Hezbollah Via Suitcases Stuffed With Cash, Israel Warns – Dov Lieber
Israel has complained to the US-led committee overseeing the ceasefire in Lebanon that Iranian diplomats have been flying from Tehran to Beirut with suitcases stuffed with U.S. dollars to fund Hezbollah’s revival, a U.S. defense official said. Turkish citizens have also been used to ferry money from Istanbul to Beirut by air. The ceasefire committee has conveyed the complaints to Lebanon’s government.
Israel has targeted Hezbollah’s sources of cash to hamper its ability to fight and slow its recovery. Over the past year, Israel killed central figures in Hezbollah and Iran who were responsible for keeping funds flowing. It also struck several sites where Israel said Hezbollah was keeping cash and gold during the fighting last fall. “First, Hezbollah literally has just lost a whole lot of money. Second, they now have massive expenses,” said Matthew Levitt, former deputy assistant secretary for intelligence and analysis at the U.S. Treasury Department.
Until recently, Iran’s main smuggling route for supplying cash and weapons to Hezbollah ran through Syria, though Israeli officials have said Iran also used Beirut airport. The Syrian option was largely removed by the fall of the Assad regime, increasing the importance of the Beirut airport route. Former U.S. officials expressed concern that Hezbollah might hold enough influence over Lebanese security forces for Iranian-backed couriers to escape rigorous searches at the airport. (Wall Street Journal)
(wsj.com)
