Leaders urge deescalation in Israel-Hezbollah tensions, mere handful know Sinwar's whereabouts

IDF troops of the 98th Division operated in the Shejaia area of the Gaza Strip, eliminating terrorists, finding weapons, and destroying terror infrastructure, the military said on Wednesday. 

The IDF noted that paratroopers destroyed in the past day some 50 terrorist structures. Troops also conducted raids during which they found operational shafts and weapons, among which were Kalashnikovs, grenades, and cartridges. 

US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are expected to meet in Washington in late July when the Israeli leader comes to address the US Congress about his country's war in Gaza, a White House official said on Tuesday.

Netanyahu is due to address the US Congress on July 24 during a visit to Washington. He will speak to a joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Only two or three individuals are aware of the whereabouts of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, the Saudi-owned Asharq Al-Awsat reported on Tuesday, citing Hamas officials. 

These individuals see to Sinwar’s needs and facilitate his communications with the Hamas leadership in Qatar, with which Sinwar has been in contact regarding the hostage deal negotiations, the officials claimed.

According to the Hamas officials, Sinwar was constantly updated regarding the developments of the war in Gaza. 

During the early hours of Wednesday morning, the IDF attacked Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.

Air Force fighter jets attacked Hezbollah terrorist infrastructures in the areas of Leida, Yaron, and Tir Harfa in southern Lebanon.

In addition, fighter jets attacked a military structure of the organization in the Itatron area and forces attacked with artillery to remove a threat in the areas of Lavona and Shachin.

A dozen former US government officials who quit over US support for Israel's war in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday accused President Joe Biden's administration of "undeniable complicity" in the killing of Palestinians in the enclave.

In a joint statement, the 12 former government officials said the administration was violating US laws through its support for Israel and finding loopholes to continue shipping weapons to its ally.

Both the White House and the State Department had no immediate comment on the statement.

There has been mounting international criticism of Israel's conduct in Gaza and of US military and diplomatic support for its ally in the Gaza war.

(JTA) — After reports that Israeli military leaders are pushing for a ceasefire that leaves Hamas in power, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue the fighting until the terror group is eliminated.

“Anonymous sources briefed The New York Times that Israel will be prepared to end the war before all of its objectives are achieved,” Netanyahu said Tuesday. “This will not happen. The war will end once Israel achieves all of its objectives, including the destruction of Hamas and the release of all of our hostages.”

A Tuesday article in The New York Times reported that Israeli military officials feel a ceasefire with Hamas, even before it is fully defeated, is the best means of returning some 120 hostages still held by the terrorist group from its deadly Oct. 7 invasion of Israel.  A ceasefire, the article said in the name of the senior military figures, would also allow the military to refocus its capabilities on the north, where deadly exchanges with Hezbollah on the border with Lebanon threaten to erupt into a full-scale war.

IDF forces began demolishing the house of Ahmed Duabsha, a terrorist from the village of Duma, according to Ynet reported on Tuesday night. 

Duabsha had been responsible for the murder of Binyamin Achimair, a 14-year-old shepherd, in April.

The terrorist was arrested on April 12 by The IDF, Shin Bet, and Israel Police during an overnight operation.

The Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib sent a special third-party message to Foreign Minister Israel Katz explaining to him that his country did not want a war to break out between them.

"We are interested in peace, we do not want war,” Habib said, in a statement that was delivered through the Azeri Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov who spoke with Katz on Tuesday. Their conversation was conveyed to The Jerusalem Post by Katz’s spokesperson.

Aircrafts carried out a targeted strike on Tuesday night on the Nur Shams camp, in the West Bank, eliminating a terror cell as they placed explosives, Israeli media reported. The IDF surrounded the squad and attacked it from the air while it was placing the devices. 

Maariv, citing Palestinian reports, claimed that 5 people were killed in the strike. The report indicated that only one of the 5 killed were terrorists and that several others were wounded. The Palestinian Health Ministry placed the number of casualties at 4, according to Reuters.

The attack took place near an incident in Jenin in which 22-year-old Captain Alon Sacgiu was killed after his vehicle hit one of the explosive devices.

A diplomatic solution is urgently needed to avert a third Lebanon war, French President Emmanuel Macron told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when the two spoke by phone on Tuesday night.

“The President of the Republic reiterated his extreme concern about the increase in tensions between Hezbollah and Israel along the Blue Line,” Macron’s office said.

An Israeli-Lebanese war “would harm both the interests of Lebanon and Israel and would constitute a particularly dangerous development for regional stability,” Marcon stressed to Netanyahu.