🇮🇱 The Mid-East Reel

Three wanted Palestinians who were allegedly planning an imminent terror attack were captured by Israeli forces in the West Bank city of Jenin overnight, Israeli security authorities say. Troops of the police's elite Yamam unit raided a building in Jenin and apprehended the trio, following information provided by the Shin Bet on their whereabouts. The IDF, police, and Shin Bet say the three Palestinians are suspected of planning to carry out a terror attack in the "immediate time-frame."

The IDF confirms carrying out an airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip a short while ago, saying it targeted a Hamas commander who was planning an attack on troops. The strike in the Beit Lahiya area killed the head of a Hamas cell, according to the army. He is not named. The operative was planning attacks on Israeli troops in northern Gaza, and he was targeted in an airstrike "to remove the threat to the forces," the IDF says.

An IDF infantry battalion is being dispatched to the West Bank to bolster troops that are attempting to deal with provocations and attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians. The military says that IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir held an assessment today with senior officers regarding an ongoing incident in the village of Qusra, where settlers have set up an outpost outside Palestinian homes, besieging them for days. "The chief of staff instructed the continuation of efforts to strengthen order and operational control in the area, as well as to prevent the continuation of the serious incidents," the IDF says in a statement. The IDF says Zamir ordered a standing army infantry battalion, currently on a break between operational activity, to be deployed to the Qusra area "to strengthen operational control." Additional forces will be on standby "for deployment as required." The military says it is working alongside the police and Shin Bet to restore order in the area and "bring the rioters to justice." Zamir also instructed that all troops in the West Bank "be given clear guidance regarding the rules of conduct and the use of force in incidents of this type."

Palestinian media reports one dead and one injured in an Israeli strike targeting a vehicle in northern Gaza's Beit Lahiya a short while ago. There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

Israeli forces demolished the home of a Palestinian who opened fire during a deadly clash in the West Bank village of Tell last month. During the July 24 incident, Tell resident Farouk Ramadan snatched a gun from an Israeli security officer amid a confrontation between residents of the village and a group of Israelis who were hiking through the area. Ramadan opened fire with the stolen rifle, killing IDF officer Maj. Yuval Ezra, 27. Civil defense squad member Master Sergeant (res.) Benayahu Mellet, 32, was also killed in the incident, although an IDF probe found that he may have been hit by other Israelis who returned fire on the gunman. Ramadan was killed by Ezra, and three other Palestinians were also shot dead in the incident. The military says that troops, including members of Ezra's unit -- the 411th Artillery Battalion -- operated in Tell overnight and this morning to demolish Ramadan's home. As a matter of policy, Israel demolishes the homes of Palestinians accused of carrying out deadly terror attacks.\

Lebanese media reports that a vehicle was targeted in an Israeli drone strike on the outskirts of Nabatieh this morning. Lebanon's National News Agency adds that an ambulance team from the Hezbollah-linked Islamic Health Authority, Islamic Message Scouts Association, and other medical personnel was hit by a second strike while transporting an injured person in the area. The IDF has not yet commented.

The IDF's Hasmonean Brigade for ultra-Orthodox troops has declared its first reserve battalion operational, following a recent drill in the Golan Heights. The brigade's Shimon Reserve Battalion carried out its first-ever battalion-level exercise last week, completing its "official establishment and preparation for operational activity," the military says. The battalion is composed of soldiers who completed the Shlav Bet (Stage B) track, in which older people who previously received exemptions from service draft for the first time, as well as Haredi soldiers from other parts of the military. "As part of their training, the recruits underwent full combat training adapted to the Haredi way of life at the Hasmonean training base, and the battalion will later also absorb graduates of the brigade's standing army service track," the IDF says. In the coming months, the Shimon Battalion is expected to be called up for operations on the northern front, "according to operational needs," the military adds.

Three Israeli settlement activists illegally crossed the border into Syria overnight, before being returned to Israel by the IDF, the latest in a series of such incidents. The military says the trio arrived in the Mount Hermon area and crossed the border. IDF troops who were dispatched to the scene located the civilians, returned them to Israeli territory, and detained them, the military says, adding that they were handed over to the police for further handling. The activists, who call themselves the Bashan Pioneers, call for the establishment of settlements in the southern Syria area. There has been an increase in attempts by the activists to cross the border into Syria in recent months. "The IDF strongly condemns the incident, which constitutes another serious disruption of operational activity and poses a danger to the safety of IDF troops operating in the area," the military says. The IDF adds that "law enforcement authorities are required to bring those involved to justice and to prevent those individuals from repeatedly engaging in this incident, which constitutes a criminal offense." There have been no charges filed against the Bashan Pioneers members, and despite their illegal actions, they have also received support from coalition lawmakers.

A Hezbollah explosive-laden drone struck near Israeli forces in southern Lebanon earlier today, an incident which the IDF chose not to publish to the public. The attack in the Ali Taher Ridge area caused no injuries or damage. The incident was first published this evening by Ynet news. In response, the IDF publishes an unusual statement saying that it "publishes information to the public based on professional considerations and situational assessments." "The IDF spokesperson will not publish information that, according to the situational assessment, could endanger our forces operating in the combat zones," the military adds.

A Palestinian terrorist who invaded Israel during the October 7, 2023 onslaught was captured by the IDF earlier this week while working as a truck driver who arrived in the Israeli-held portion of the Gaza Strip to collect goods, according to security sources. The member of Hamas's elite Nukhba Force had requested a permit to deliver private sector goods inside the Strip, and was granted one by the Shin Bet security agency. Upon arriving at the Gazan side of the Kerem Shalom Crossing on Wednesday to collect the goods, Israeli troops apprehended him, the sources say. He was then taken to be questioned by the Shin Bet.

The Israeli Navy says it conducted a large-scale military drill this week, involving its fleets of warships, submarines, and border security. The maritime drill, in both the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, comes as part of "drawing lessons from the fighting over the past three years," the Navy says. Hundreds of sailors aboard the Navy's missile boats, corvettes, submarines, and patrol boats participated in the drill, according to the IDF. Scenarios practiced as part of the drill in the Mediterranean included "maritime infiltration, multi-front combat, aerial threats, the use of firepower, and the defense of strategic assets, including gas rigs, Israeli ports, and national infrastructure," the military says. In the Red Sea, other scenarios were simulated by the sailors in cooperation with the Navy's Operations Division, "to strengthen command capabilities, synchronization, and cooperation between the units," the Navy adds.

The military says it struck a series of Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon in the past day, in response to the bomb that killed two troops and wounded four others in Majdal Zoun yesterday. The sites included weapon depots, command centers, and other Hezbollah infrastructure, according to the IDF.

The military says the settlement activists who illegally crossed the border into Lebanon yesterday were all returned to Israel by troops. According to the IDF, around 15 Israeli civilians arrived at the border community of Ghajar, caused damage to the border fence, and entered Lebanon. Soldiers and Border Police forces dispatched to the area searched for the civilians and eventually returned them all to Israel, the military says, adding that they were handed over to the police for further handling. "The IDF strongly condemns the incident, which constitutes another case of severe interference with operational activity and a danger to the security of IDF troops operating in the area," the army says. The IDF says that "law enforcement authorities are required to bring those involved to justice, to prevent these civilians from repeatedly engaging in this phenomenon, which constitutes a criminal offense."

Two reservist soldiers were killed and four were seriously wounded after being hit by an explosive device in the southern Lebanon town of Majdal Zoun yesterday, the IDF announces. The slain troops are named as: Maj. (res.) Harel Birenstock, 34, a company commander from Nokdim; and Sgt. Maj. (res.) Tamir Vaknin, 33, from Eilat. Both served in the 55th Paratroopers Brigade's 2855th Battalion. According to an initial IDF probe,at around noon on Wednesday, troops of the reserve brigade entered a structure in Majdal Zoun, during efforts to demolish Hezbollah infrastructure. As they entered the building, an explosion occurred, killing and injuring the forces. The wounded troops were taken to a hospital and their families were notified, the army adds. Following the explosion, the IDF carried out strikes on Hezbollah targets in the area.

Lebanese media reports one dead and 11 wounded in an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanon town of Tebnine a short while ago. The state-run National News Agency says the strike hit a prayer room in the town's cemetery.

The Israeli military says it has launched "precise strikes" in southern Lebanon in response to a blatant violation of the ceasefire by Hezbollah. The IDF has not yet provided details on the violation of the truce by the terror group.

Defense Minister Israel Katz says he has instructed the army not carry out a planned reduction in the number of active duty reservists in the Gaza border communities' civil defense squads. The IDF has sought to release from reserve duty members of local security teams on all fronts, as their service is superfluous and costly. The military has two divisions operating in Gaza, and the civil defense squads in the border communities remain armed even outside of active reserve duty. Katz says the IDF will not carry out any further reduction in forces until decided otherwise, "in order to preserve the residents' sense of security."