IDF Issues Evacuation Order For Northern Gaza Cities After Rocket Fired At Sderot
The Israeli Defense Forces issued an evacuation order for areas in northern Gaza on Tuesday morning (1st), shortly after a rocket was fired from the Strip toward the city of Sderot.
The rocket was successfully intercepted by air defenses, the military said, and there were no reports of injuries. Air raid sirens were set off in Sderot, Ibim, and Kibbutz Or Haner.
Two hours after the rocket was fired, the IDF issued an evacuation warning for Palestinians in the city of Beit Hanoun and surrounding areas.
In a post on X, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, Col. Avichay Adraee, published a map of the area that is to be evacuated, saying that it was a “final warning” before the IDF carries out strikes there.
The map also showed the IDF’s expanded buffer zone along the border with the Strip.
Israel restarted fighting in Gaza on March 18 with a series of heavy airstrikes across the Strip, two weeks after the first-phase of a ceasefire-hostage release deal ended.
On Monday (3/31), the IDF issued an evacuation warning for the entire Rafah area in the southern Gaza Strip, saying the military was “returning to fight with great force to eliminate the capabilities of terror organizations in these areas.”
It was the most significant evacuation order issued by the IDF since the resumption of the offensive against Hamas earlier this month ended a two-month ceasefire.
The IDF said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and accuses Hamas of embedding itself in civilian infrastructure, including hospitals.
For four weeks, Israel has shut off all sources of food, fuel, medicine, and other supplies for the Gaza Strip, citing Hamas’ refusal to extend the first phase of the ceasefire deal and release more hostages. Israeli officials insist they allowed enough aid in during the two-month ceasefire to last Gaza for several more months. While accusing Hamas of hoarding supplies for itself.
Amid the restarted fighting, Israel has said it is continuing negotiations aimed at the release of further hostages,
Reports on Saturday (3/29) were that Hamas had agreed to an Egyptian proposal to release five living Israeli hostages in exchange for a 50-day ceasefire. Israel insists that Hamas release 11 living hostages on the first day of a 40-day ceasefire including some of the deceased hostages.
Ahead Of Passover, Israelis Warned That Hamas, Iran May Target Travelers And Jews Abroad
In a warning Tuesday (1st) ahead of the Passover holiday, the National Security Council (NSC) said Israelis and Jews traveling abroad could be targeted by Hamas, Iran and global jihadi groups, including Islamic State.
Many Israelis typically fly abroad during the weeklong holiday, which will begin on April 12.
The warning urged Israelis to exercise caution when traveling abroad and to check NSC travel recommendations before leaving.
In its warning, the NSC said Hamas was expected to ramp up efforts to attack Jewish and Israeli targets abroad given its “deteriorating situation in Gaza and the resumption of fighting” there last month.
The NSC noted the December 2023 arrest of Hamas cells in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands on suspicion of plotting to target Jewish targets in Europe. The following April, Bulgarian police uncovered an arms cache linked to four suspected Hamas members arrested in Germany and the Netherlands.
According to the NSC, Iran is the main backer of global terrorism targeting Jews and Israelis. The body warned that “Iranian terror operatives have continued attempts to lure Israeli citizens – both domestically and abroad – through deceptive business offers or impersonation, aiming to harm or to abduct them.”
In October, Sweden intelligence agency Sapo said Iran, whose leaders are sworn to Israel’s destruction, may have been involved in recent explosions and gunfire around Israeli embassies in Sweden and Denmark. And in May, Sapo said Iran was recruiting members of Swedish criminal gangs to commit “acts of violence” against Israel and other interests in Sweden – a claim Iran denied.
In its warning Tuesday (1st), the NSC also said there was an increased risk of lone-wolf terror attacks amid a spike in the activity of global jihadi groups: Islamic State, al-Qaeda, and al-Shabab, particularly in Europe.
The NSC also warned that Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, a popular tourism destination for Israelis, remains a “high-risk area,” and that Israelis should avoid visiting it.
Soleimani Associate Who Aided Hamas: This was IDF’s Target In Beirut Monday
A source close to Hezbollah informed the Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Tuesday (1st) that the target of the assassination operation the IDF conducted in Beirut Monday night (3/31) was Hassan Badir, the deputy head of Hezbollah’s Palestinian file, who was at his home when the strike occurred. Badir is also the brother of the terrorist organization’s military communications officer.
Photographs show Badir aboard an aircraft with slain Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani and a senior Iraqi militia figure who was also killed, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis – clear evidence of his proximity to top leadership within the Iranian axis. According to the IDF statement, Badir was collaborating with Hamas elements to plan an attack against Israel.
The IDF further disclosed that Badir operated as a member of Hezbollah’s unit 3900 and the Iranian Quds Force. “Hassan Badir has been working recently in cooperation with the Hamas terrorist organization, directing Hamas terrorists and assisting them in advancing a serious attack against Israeli civilians in the immediate timeframe,” the military statement explained. The attack, planned for the immediate timeframe, was aimed at harming Israeli citizens, and thereby Hassan Badir was attacked immediately to remove the threat.”
Israel Confronts Egypt Over ‘Major’ Peace Treaty Violation
Israel has approached Egypt and the United States with a request to begin dismantling military infrastructure constructed by the Egyptian army in Sinai that violates the peace agreement between the countries. A senior security official characterized the Egyptian actions as a “major violation” of the security annex during a conversation with journalists.
The official explained that the entry of military forces into Sinai beyond the quotas agreed upon in the military annex to the peace agreement represents “the smaller problem,” since “such actions are reversible. It’s not complicated to move tanks backward,” the senior official said. He emphasized that this issue ranks high on Defense Minister Israel Katz’s priority list, who requested special attention be given to the matter.
The Israeli senior official stressed that Israel remains committed to preserving the peace agreement with Egypt and has no intention of altering its military deployment along the Egyptian border. However, he added that Israel “will not accept the situation.”
In a separate context, the senior official revealed that the threat from “external Hamas” is intensifying globally. Particularly concerning is the risk of terrorist activity by Hamas forces in Syria. The security official disclosed that Syria’s leader, Abu Mohammad al-Julani, has released Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders from Syrian prisons where they had been detained during Bashar Assad’s rule. Following their release, these organization leaders are threatening to attack Israel.
To counter this threat, Israel has established a security zone approximately 11 miles wide and 50 miles long into the Syrian side of the Golan Heights. Along this zone, nine major outposts have been constructed, with the central position located at the Hermon peak. “The IDF will remain in these areas until further notice. The army will separate the enemies from Israeli residents. The situation that existed before October 7 will not return,” the security official added.
Touring West Bank, Katz And Smotrich Vow Crackdown On Illegal Palestinian Construction
Defense Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Tuesday (1st) toured the West Bank, where they reaffirmed their commitment to Jewish settlements and cracking down on illegal Palestinian construction, according to a statement from Katz’s office.
“We will not abandon the security of settlers or allow Palestinian Authority head Mamoud Abbas and the PA to use illegal construction as a tool to create a strategic threat against the settlements,” Katz said in the statement.
Accompanied by senior officials from the Israel Defense Forces, the Civil Administration and the Defense Ministry, Katz and Smotrich visited newly recognized communities like Kerem Reim and Sde Ephraim, according to the statement.
“The West Bank is the heart of Israel and we will protect it with every means necessary,” Katz declared.
“Since 1967, there has not been such a transformation in the West Bank,” Smotrich said, adding that the government has recognized 28 new communities and is enforcing regulations in areas that were previously ignored.”
He also said that over the past year,”a record was broken for illegal Arab construction demolitions,” in the West Bank.
“With that, we recognize that to win this campaign requires using additional strategic tools that will bring about the desired turnaround,” he continued, without elaborating.
“Settlers are not second-class citizens,” Smotrich affirmed. “They deserve the same security as all Israelis. Judea and Samaria are our ancestral homeland, and we are here to stay,” he said, referring to the West Bank by its biblical names.
Last month, the security cabinet approved a decision to split off 13 so-called “neighborhoods” of existing settlements from their “mother settlements,” thereby turning them into 13 independent settlements. At the time, Smotrich described the move as an important step on the path of “de facto Israeli sovereignty” over the West Bank.
According to a March report from the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner, during the period from November 1, 2023, to October 31, 2024, a total of 1,779 Palestinian structures were demolished in the West Bank, without specifying what type of structures. The figure, it said, was nearly 200 percent higher than during the previous reporting period.
Israel said all demolitions were carried out due to “lack of building permits.” The “UN” said it is difficult for Palestinians to get permits.
How The West Can Defeat The Evil Death Cults That Murder And Maim With Glee – Douglas Murray
Israel is a country of just 9 million people, America has 333 million. The death toll in Israel from Hamas terrorists who invaded from Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, was the equivalent of 44,400 Americans killed by terrorism – more than a dozen 9/11s. It would be the equivalent of 8,400 British people being slaughtered and another 1,750 taken hostage.
The victims were mainly civilians. At the Nova music festival, 364 young people were slaughtered as they hid or tried to flee. Many of them called their families – asking for help, asking for advice, or just telling their parents that they loved them – before they were mercilessly cut down.
Many of the terrorists recorded what was happening on their cameras and mobile phones, filming the atrocities as they were carrying them out and then broadcasting their acts of violence with pride. These acts included burning people alive and raping men and women – sometimes before killing them, sometimes after.
What the people of Israel were thrown into on Oct. 7 spells out the divide between democracies and death cults. The right of Israel to fight and win the war in Gaza is vital not just for the sake of that country, but so Britain, America and every other Western country will be able to fight such a war if or when the time comes.
The terrorists of Oct. 7 did what they did with relish. Not just the endless shouting of their war cries. Or the visible glee you could see in their faces and hear in their voices. It was the fact that all of this gave them such intense joy. And that they were proud of their actions. Even the Nazis, among the most evil people in human history, sought to cover up their crimes.
What is the world to do against such cults of death, cults that threaten the future of civilization? Many people in the West today are not comfortable talking in terms like good or evil. But evil does exist as a force in the world. Indeed, it is the only explanation for why certain people do certain things. In the West, we are prone to trotting out the same old banalities – that people around the world are the same everywhere and essentially want the same things. Yet some people do not.
How can anyone hope to overcome a people who welcome death, who glory in death, who worship death? This year I finally saw an answer. I went into Gaza with the Israeli Defense Forces and saw up close its campaign to defeat Hamas. The Israeli soldiers did it not because they loved death but because they love life. They fought for the survival of their families, their nation, and their people. (Daily Mail-UK)
