Rockets target central Israel, IDF strikes Hezbollah terrorists

Over the past two days, the Hezbollah commanders of the Jibchit, Jouaiya, and Qana sectors were killed by Israeli air force strikes in Lebanon, the IDF stated on Wednesday morning.

The three sector commanders had reportedly overseen many attacks on civilians in Israel, including rocket and anti-tank missile attacks on communities in the North.

Additionally, Khalil Mohammad Amhaz, a terrorist operative in Hezbollah's Aerial Unit, was killed by the IAF on Monday, the IDF added.

The IDF called on residents of Tyre, Lebanon, to evacuate on Wednesday morning ahead of the IDF's planned strikes in the area, Arab Media Spokesperson Avichay Adraee announced on X/Twitter.

Adraee emphasized that the residents must move out of the locations marked in red within the graphic posted and noted that they should head "north of the Awali River."

"Anyone who is near Hezbollah facilities and combat equipment is putting his life in danger," he added.

#عاجل بيان عاجل لسكان منطقة صور في لبنان
⭕️الانذار موجهة تحديدًا إلى المتواجدون في المباني بين الشوارع: الحيرام, جعفر شرف الدين, أبو ديب و شارع الاثار

⭕️أنشطة حزب الله تجبر جيش الدفاع على العمل ضده وبقوة حيث لا تنوي المساس بكم

⭕️عليكم بالأبتعاد فوراً الى خارج المنطقة المحددة… pic.twitter.com/5ngkUehGJm

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) October 23, 2024

Rocket sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and other areas of central and northern Israel, including Herzliya and Nazareth, on Wednesday morning, the IDF announced.

The military stated that two projectiles had been fired from Lebanon into Israel, and the incident was under review.

The Israel Police later noted that it had received reports of shrapnel falling in Herzliya and Ramat Hasharon and that a vehicle had sustained damage.

Israel's emergency medical response service, Magen David Adom, also stated that no casualties were reported.

This is a developing story.

The governance of Gaza the day after the war and the potential for a hostage deal were among the topics raised during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jerusalem on Tuesday.

“The two sides discussed the issue of the governing framework in Gaza on the day after the war,” the Prime Minister’s Office said after the meeting, which it described as “friendly” and “productive.”

The United States and Israel have been at odds over day-after plans for Gaza, although they both agreed that Hamas would not be allowed to rule the enclave of some 2.2 million Palestinians.

The US wants to see a reformed Palestinian Authority govern Gaza as part of a pathway to a two-state resolution to the conflict.

US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters in Washington on Tuesday that “we want to see governance in Gaza that is unified with the West under what we hope is a revitalized Palestinian Authority.” In addition, he said, “There can be no long-term displacement of Palestinians from Gaza. We don’t want to see territorial reduction in Gaza,” he stated.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) shakes hands with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during statements to the media inside The Kirya, which houses the Israeli Defence Ministry, after their meeting in Tel Aviv on October 12, 2023. (credit: Jacquelyn Martin/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

“What we want to see are affirmative elements that will get us to a sustained peace. And that, in our view, needs to include the Palestinian people’s voices” and “their aspirations,” he explained.

“That needs to be at the center of post-crisis governance in Gaza,” he said.

Netanyahu has yet to lay down clear plans for the day after in Gaza or even markers that would determine the end of the war, except to say that Hamas must be destroyed. He has also spoken of local Gaza governance that does not include the Palestinian Authority, even a reformed Palestinian Authority.

No to a Palestinian state

Netanyahu’s government has also opposed the creation of a Palestinian state in Gaza or the West Bank.

The State Department said that Blinken spoke with Netanyahu about “the importance of charting a new path forward in the post-conflict period that allows Palestinians to rebuild their lives and provides governance, security, and reconstruction for Gaza.”

Blinken arrived in Israel less than a week after the IDF assassinated Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in a push to renew the dormant Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal.

“The Secretary underscored the need to capitalize on Israel’s successful action to bring Yahya Sinwar to justice by securing the release of all hostages and ending the conflict in Gaza in a way that provides lasting security for Israelis and Palestinians alike,” the State Department said.

Israel has already begun discussions about new options for a hostage deal, while the United States has assumed it would be resuming talks toward the three-phase deal that was first put on the table in May. No formal resumption of talks has begun, however.

Blinken also arrives at a time of tension between Israel and the Biden administration over the humanitarian situation in Gaza. The US, earlier this month, warned Israel it would constrain military aid unless the situation improved.

“The Secretary emphasized the need for Israel to take additional steps to increase and sustain the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza and ensure that assistance reaches civilians throughout Gaza,” the State Department said.

Patel stated, “The Secretary stressed and reiterated with the Prime Minister earlier today that we want to continue to see progress made.”

“We are continuing to press Israel that there is a responsibility to maximize and streamline the existing crossings and open more crossings for more examples of aid into Gaza,” Patel said.

The IDF and the office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said on Tuesday that as of last week, “237 trucks containing humanitarian aid, including food, water, medical supplies, and shelter equipment from Jordan and the international community, were transferred to the northern Gaza Strip via the Allenby Bridge and the Port of Ashdod.”

“The IDF, via COGAT, will continue to act in accordance with international law to facilitate and ease the humanitarian response to the Gaza Strip,” the military and COGAT stated. 

The IDF conducted airstrikes on Tuesday overnight targeting terror sites of the Hezbollah terror organization in Beirut, focusing on a key base of the group's naval unit, the IDF reported late Tuesday morning.

The strikes targeted warehouses containing weaponry, command centers, and additional sites associated with the Lebanon-based terrorist group, and were directed by intelligence from the Intelligence Directorate and the Navy.

A view of damage caused by previous Israeli airstrikes, as smoke rises over Beirut's southern suburbs, amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, at Choueifat district, in Beirut, Lebanon, October 3, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki)

Among the attacked locations were underground infrastructures, including aerial projectiles and naval vessels used by Hezbollah in its operations against the State of Israel, the IDF noted.

Hezbollah’s central naval base

The central base of Hezbollah’s naval unit was specifically identified as a significant operational hub, used for storing fast boats and managing training and experiments for the unit.

The vessels belonging to this unit are designed to engage Israeli Navy ships and to target strategic maritime objectives in Israeli waters, according to the IDF.

Prior to the airstrikes, the IDF implemented various measures aimed at reducing the likelihood of civilian casualties, including issuing advanced and focused warnings to residents in the vicinity.

The Pentagon denied that Ariane Tabatabai, Chief of Staff of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations, is a subject of interest in the investigation for the alleged leak of classified documents pertaining to Israel's plans for a retaliatory attack against Iran. 

"To my knowledge, this official is not a subject of interest," said Press Secretary of the Air Force, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters on Tuesday afternoon. 

Earlier Tuesday, Sky News Arabia cited a senior Pentagon official who reportedly named Tabatabai as the main suspect in the FBI's investigation into the leaks. 

According to Sky News, Tabatabai came under fire in 2023 after members of Congress wrote to Defense Secretary Austin asking for Tabatabai to be removed from her position due to security concerns over her alleged communication with the IRGC. 

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has spoken with his Israeli counterpart Defense Minister Yoav Gallant regarding the leaks, Ryder said. 

"The FBI is investigating the alleged leak of classified documents and working closely with the Department of Defense and the intelligence community on this," Ryder said Tuesday. 

"Anytime there's an allegation of potential unauthorized disclosures, the Pentagon is going to take it seriously," he said. 

The FBI is leading the investigation, limiting what Ryder was able to say from the Pentagon's podium. He declined to answer why the Pentagon is not conducting its own investigation into how the documents leaked. 

Last week, two US intelligence documents reportedly disclosing Israel's plan for a potential retaliatory attack on Iran were leaked and disseminated on a Telegram channel.

The channel claimed it had received the documents via a source within the US intelligence community.

US investigating incident

Following the leak, the US said it was investigating the incident, which House Speaker Mike Johnson characterized as "very concerning."

Israel said it would respond to Iran's October 1 attack, which saw the Islamic Republic launch some 180 ballistic missiles at Israel. 

Tovah Lazaroff, Walla, Reuters, and Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report. 

Iran and Hezbollah’s assassination attempt cannot be disregarded, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken when the two men met in Jerusalem on Tuesday.

“This is an issue of dramatic significance that cannot be ignored,” Netanyahu said during their meeting which lasted for two and half hours.

There were no joint statements or press conferences before or after the meeting. It was Blinken’s 11th trip to the region since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, 2023. He arrived at a time of heightened military cooperation and tensions between the two governments, with the United States pushing for diplomacy, while Israel has relied heavily on fighting its enemies militarily.

The two men discussed Israel’s expected retaliatory strike against Iran’s ballistic missile attack on the Jewish state on October 1. Israel is also expected to respond to the Hezbollah drone attack on Netanyahu’s house in Caesarea that damaged his bedroom window. Neither he nor his family were home at the time.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken disembarks an aircraft as he arrives in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 22, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/Nathan Howard/Pool)

The United States, which helped defend Israel against the last two Iranian attacks, is expected to do so again, should Iran respond to any Israeli retaliatory strike.

“The issue of the Iranian threat and the need for both countries to join forces against it was raised,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said, adding that Netanyahu thanked Blinken for the US support “in the fight against Iran’s axis of evil and terrorism.”

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the two men “discussed the need to deter further regional aggression from Iran and its proxies,” as well as efforts toward that end which the US and its partners are taking.

Reaffirming the US's commitment to Israel 

Blinken “reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security,” Miller said.

The US has sought to constrain Israel’s response to Iran and its strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon, even as it congratulated Jerusalem for its military achievements, including the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in August.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that Israelis have to be able to “protect themselves” and “react to” threats.

Still, she said, what Blinken is “doing in the region is important to what we’re trying to do, getting to that de-escalation, but also a long-lasting peace.”

The Secretary of State also spoke of the importance of a “diplomatic resolution” to the year-long violent conflict between the IDF and Hezbollah, Miller said.

This “includes full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and allows civilians on both sides of the border to return to their homes,” he said.

He referenced the United Nations Security Council resolution which set the ceasefire terms that ended the Second Lebanon War (2006).

Pushing for ceasefire 

US special envoy Amos Hochstein has been in Lebanon this week to push for a ceasefire, stressing the importance of basing it on Resolution 1701, which bans Hezbollah from the area of southern Lebanon near the Israeli border.

According to a report in the Lebanese news web site Al-Akhbar, Hochstein proposed strengthening and amending UNSC Resolution 1701 to include moving Hezbollah further back away from the border so that it would be several additional kilometers behind the Litani River, as opposed to at the river.

According to Al-Akhbar, he also wants to increase the peacekeeping force and expand the number of Lebanese troops that could be placed in that border area.

Netanyahu, according to his office, spoke of the importance of the IDF’s activity in Lebanon and the need for security and political changes there, which would allow for over 60,000 Israelis to return to their northern border communities which were evacuated last year when Hezbollah launched attacks at the area on October 8, 2023.

The PMO said that “the meeting was friendly and productive” and that “an expanded meeting was held afterward, with the participation of both sides’ professional echelons.”

Israel is unlikely to make a “significant move” against Tehran, but could instead mount a symbolic limited attack, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) cultural and social commander Mohammad Ali Jafari said on Tuesday, according to the Iranian Student News Network.

Israel is widely thought to be planning retaliation for the Oct. 1 missile barrage.

“Israel is too small to be able to attack Iran, although it may carry out a desperate, limited, and small attack to say it has retaliated, it will definitely not carry out an offensive (strike) similar to ours,” said Jafari, the former commander in chief of the IRGC.

He added that Iran’s response would depend on the intensity of Israel’s retaliation, and that if Israel ended up carrying out a significant attack, Iran would respond with a higher-intensity offensive against Israel.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, in his meeting with Blinken, “highlighted the importance of the US standing with Israel following Israel’s attack on Iran. This will strengthen regional deterrence and weaken the ‘axis of evil,” his office said.

He also emphasized to Blinken that “Israel will continue striking the terrorist organization’s infrastructure even once the targeted operations are complete, and that this will continue systematically until it is possible to ensure: the safe return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes, and the withdrawal of Hezbollah forces from southern Lebanon.”

Reuters contributed to this report.

The IDF eliminated Hashem Safieddine, who was set to become the head of Hezbollah, in a strike in Beirut three weeks ago, the IDF confirmed on Tuesday.

Safieddine was Hassan Nasrallah's cousin, the former head of Hezbollah, who was killed in an Israeli strike.

According to the IDF, Safieddine had a significant influence on decision-making within the Hezbollah terror group.

Furthermore, during times when Nasrallah was absent from Lebanon, Safieddine filled in for him and served as Hezbollah's Secretary-General. Over the years, Safi Al-Din directed terrorist activities against Israel and was involved in Hezbollah's core decision-making, the IDF added.

Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine, during June 2024 (credit: REUTERS)

Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi made a statement

IDF chief of staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi made a statement saying, "We have reached Nasrallah, his successor and most of Hezbollah's top brass. We will know how to reach anyone who threatens the security of the citizens of the State of Israel."

Families of American citizens held hostage in Gaza met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday and asked him to apply pressure on mediators in Qatar, aiming to leverage the opportunity created by Sinwar's elimination to restart negotiations for returning all hostages.

The families, including former captive Aviva Siegel, emphasized the urgent need for a deal, stating that the hostages don't have time for delays. 

US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew was also present at the meeting.

Earlier on Tuesday, it was reported by Walla that 15 additional soldiers signed a letter declaring they would refuse to continue serving if a deal for releasing the hostages isn't advanced, bringing the total to 130 signatories. 

Two of them are in active service, including one female officer. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends a joint press conference during the 2024 Australia-US Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, US, August 6, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/KEVIN MOHATT)

The letter

In the letter, sent to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, IDF Chief of Staff Hertzi Halevi, and other government members, they called for a stop to the war. 

"We, reserve and active duty service members, officers, and soldiers, hereby announce that we cannot continue like this. The war in Gaza is sentencing our brothers and sisters in captivity to death," they stated.